The Chatterbox - Nov. 21, 2016 - CXI.05

Volume CXI, Issue 5

The student news publication of Walnut Hills High School

Monday, November 21, 2016

You’re hired Donald Trump is President-elect

NICHOLAI LEKSON/CHATTERBOX

Donald Trump won the presidential election on Nov. 8, becoming the President-elect of the United States. He has won 290 electoral votes, which is more than the necesssary 270 electoral votes needed to win.

Hillary Clinton has won 232 electoral votes and Michigan has not officially been called for either candidate. However, Hillary Clinton is projected to win the popular vote, leading by over one million votes already -- a number that is expercted to rise. Jill Stein of the Green Party and Gary Johnson of the Libertarian Party also won votes in many states, although neither won any electoral votes. Although the election has ended, effects from it have remained in the news, including protests occurring across the country. With the divsive election over, America will now look to the future with President-elect Donald Trump.

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SECTION EDITOR: ALLISON MEIER

CINCINNATI, OHIO

How Busken Trump’d the polls: the cookie conundrum Reggie Callander, ‘18 Jack Samuels, ‘20 The Busken cookie poll has been accurate in predicting the sitting president since its debut in 1984, so the question is, where did the cookies go right and the political scientists go wrong? The cookie poll included the two major parties and their nominees, along with a “cookie party,” with the classic Busken cookie smiley face.

There were 19,486 Donald Trump cookies purchased, to Hillary Clinton’s 17,925 cookies purchased, with 13,982 of the classic cookies -- considered to be the third party; which is a more significant number than any other election in cookie poll history.

Political scientists were constantly boasting Clinton’s lead over Trump during the election season, and the media followed their direction of the Clinton lead and her supposedly impending victory.

Until election night, when Trump began winning key swing states and even traditionally democratic voting state Pennsylvania, some political scientists started to believe in the fact that Trump might actually win. When the reevaluation began, the question was:

what did they miss? Everyone scrambled to get that answered.

As the election began to look bleaker for Clinton, the questions and confusion of this new and previously unheard-of vote began to arise; but where did this new vote come from and how did they slide under the radar?

It is difficult to say why the cookies beat the pollsters, but one reason may be that it is much harder to reach the people in the rural areas, who lean republican, than in the cities, who tend to vote democratic. A factor that keeps the Busken cookie count accurate is the fact that Ohio, where the poll is based, is a swing state. If Busken was based in California, for example, the cookie count would mostly, if not every time, be in favor of the Democratic candidate.

The most important reason for this new silent majority, mostly rural, white men and women without a college education, coming to light could come from how before this election, they had never voted in the first place. Trump

reached out to the unrecognized vote of rural America. Trump reached out to them in a way that was, although sometimes rude and scary, point-blank and effective.

President-elect Trump has also done something that career politicians have struggled to do: give people an opinion on what needs to happen in Washington D.C..

Lots of people don’t care about politics or the way Washington works, but Trump has given everyone an opinion on the 2016 election, for better or for worse.

If you ask anyone about Donald Trump, they will have an opinion, giving this election one of the largest voter turnouts in American history. The Trump platform may appeal to this demographic because of how original and non-traditional it is.

But what makes the silent majority silent? Think about Trump

Dear

Wally Hill

ERIC THAYER/THE NEW YORK TIMES

President-elect Donald Trump gives a thumbs-up after winning the election.

Trump won over opponent Hillary Clinton with electoral votes.

To read the rest of this column and find more election coverage, go to <,whhscbox.com.>

President-elect, checks and respect Emily Glazer, ‘17

This election isn't about who won, it is about us now learning to get along as a society Now, I will discuss my opinions politically, but I am going to equally express my opinion as a human being.

First off, checks and balances do exist. What has been done is just that; it cannot be undone. We will all have the same guaranteed rights that we had yesterday. Also, playing the rules of checks and balances, no president can become too powerful. Nothing drastic will happen. Our country will not be bursting into flames within these next four years. Now, I am not saying flames won't erupt by some natural phenomenon, just that no person who holds some degree of political power in our country will ever hold enough power to do so.

Onto a new point, we

‘that’s too extremist’ or ‘that’s too sensitive of a topic to cover”’that so many other politicians are.

So who is to ultimately blame for this apparent and embarrassing mistake? There could possibly be blamed on the media for providing an extra cushion of comfort for the Clinton win, prompting the question: is the media really in touch with the people and reporting their unbiased thoughts on this and other issues? Or has the media sided with one party, or another, reporting on issues with their interest at heart?

Or is it the many people who spent time bragging on Twitter that they wrote in things such as Bernie Sanders, Harambe, or even their own names? Or those who voted for third party candidates? Or those who ended up not voting in the election at all when they normally would? Maybe if these people would have united, it could have given Clinton the electoral edge, seeing as she did win the popular vote.

There are many factors to attribute to Trump’s win, but the bottom line now is to accept that he is our president. Whether people like it or not, they all have to change and hope his victory will be a betterment for our country.

votes are in, the country has spoken and Wally Hill: The the results are polarizing. What happens next?

Mr. Trump My name is Keegan Sullivan. I know we’ve never met before. I know you don’t know me, but over the past 18 months I’ve come to learn a lot about you. I watched you start your campaign. I watched all the “late night guys” make a joke of your campaign and early Monday morning Nov. 9, 2016 you proved them wrong.

You will be the 45th president of the United States of America.

I hope you understand the honor, prestige and importance of this title. I hope you do not make a joke of this position. I hope you run this country with equality, justice and diplomacy.

But you must understand, that is not how you ran your campaign.

supporters since Trump was considered a joke from the time since he announced his campaign, his supporters have been disrespected and viewed as lesser just for their political standpoint, and were treated like such. So logically, supporters kept quiet and just showed their support at the polls.

Trump seems to be the literal brick through the window of Washington, making a vote for Trump a vote against career politicians as a whole. He represents Americans who are fed up with the way politics work, and seek a change of pace. Trump embodies that, as he has never held public office, being the known outsider and the oddball that can make real change by not being bound by the way conventional politicians and politics work. To some, Trump is the epitome of what is wrong with the United States -- and many threaten to move to other countries because they can’t stand to live with such a sexist and racist president. To others, he is a political figure not bound by the political red tape of

have all heard the rhetoric during this election season. I would be lying if I denied myself of some of the fears that I have felt during this season, but I have reassured myself by understanding that those were just words, and those words are beginning to change. Nothing has changed in this country yet.

Fear will instill in me if and when something in this country changes negatively. For now the term has not begun, I can not panic.

Words have been said, but the truth lies within the actions. Stop feeling undermined currently, nothing has changed. Who is to say anything will change? Who is to say if things do change it will be for the better or worse? Who is to say some of our fears aren’t just coming from change? We have stayed steady for eight years with Barack Obama; now we are in a shift, and change is scary. I say these are the cards

our country was dealt and now we just have to play the game. Give it a chance. Until something seriously changes negatively and affects the people in our country there is no reason to emphasize the worry.

Next, I want to discuss our country in terms of us all being people. If we argue, relationships will only break. Our country needs respect right now, and this seems to be the only solution that hasn't torn people apart. The Golden Rule is universal. We should all treat each other with respect. If we want change, we have to be that change. Change will come. Just be kinder. That is all it takes. Don't turn someone away because they're different than you.

To read the rest of this article and find mor eelection coverage, go to <whhscbox.com.>

It seems this election and its results have thrown this country into quite the frenzy. However, there must be a winner, and there must also be a loser; and with that loser, a legion of voters wondering what exactly went wrong. All of this is normal, to be expected.

However, I believe I speak for all of us when I say that this particular election has been exceptional in its divisiveness. In the wake of this presidential race, the schism that divides our country has never been so apparent.

Many of us are in a state of panic over the fate of the country—our country, that has, quite unbelievably, elected into office Donald Trump, a man who promises to deport some two million people, build a wall, and presumably “Make America Great Again.”

Then again, perhaps the results of this election aren’t so unbelievable when we look at the big picture. Walnut is, admittedly, a very liberal place—but in a school that so prides itself on diversity of thought, shouldn’t we at least consider Trump’s argument? In a country with such a spectrum of political ideas, it’s imperative that we retain perspective, that we try to understand each other—and that means we must look at the facts, bare of partisan bias.

During the election, the predominantly liberal mainstream media was undeniably biased against Trump. The Chatterbox certainly isn’t an exception to this statement—we, as with the rest of the nation, took a sort of pleasure in pointing out why Trump was wrong, why his racism, sexism and all other applicable -isms would lose him the election. And why wouldn’t we?

The outrageousness of Trump’s behavior made him an easy target for mockery, simple to write scathing articles about. Maybe if we ridicule Trump and his supporters enough, they’ll shut up and disappear with the ideals that made him so popular.

He gave rural Americans a voice, a group that accounts for about a fifth of the United States’ population, but inhabits 94 percent of the landmass. Labelling them as deplorables and dismissing their message only reinforces what they already knew—that the media, and by extension liberals, don’t give a damn about their problems. That we’re content to focus on whatever social justice flavor of the week and ignore the real issues.

Small-towns still haven’t recovered from the recession—most of the growth moved to the cities.

The system has failed them, and so they have spoken, choosing to entrust their future to a man who, despite all of his visible flaws, promises to preserve and strengthen their way of life—to make their America great again.

Whether or not Trump will address these problems remains to be seen. The stones have been cast, and the battle for representation is over for another few years.

However, this cycle has shown the need for us, as a people, to be open-minded. If we cease to expose ourselves to different ideas and attitudes, we cannot hope to understand each other. Regardless of your ideology and choice of candidate, readers, I beseech you—allow yourself the opportunity to be challenged.

Emphatically eagle-itarian, Wally Hill

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PEANUTS

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NOVEMNER 21, 2016

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SECTION EDITOR: CAROLINE HORVATH

It’s raining peanut butter pellets Camille Williams, ‘18

PHOTO COURTESY OF BLACK-FOOTEDFERRET.ORG

This ferret grins in a preconditioning pen at the National Black-footed Ferret Conservation Center in Colorado. Soon, this ferret will be released into its natural habitat.

November is National Peanut Butter Lover’s month. To celebrate, instead of scarfing down the creamy nut substance with a tablespoon, The Chatterbox will focus on peanut butter’s involvement in the challenge to save the black-footed ferret.

What is this animal? The blackfooted ferret is a little critter that resides in the Great Plains---and it is currently near extinction.

These ferrets came close to extinction during the days of ‘manifest destiny’ and western expansion during late 1800s and 1900s. This was a time when there were many programs to eradicate the prairie dog, whose habitats centered on fertile farmland. Since the prairie dog makes up 90 percent of the black-footed ferrets’ diet, the black-footed ferret is completely dependent upon the survival of the prairie dog. Therefore, essentially

anything that kills prairie dogs will in turn, kill ferrets as well.

By 1987, there were only 18 ferrets accounted for so the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service dedicated a mission towards rehabilitating the ferret population.

Since then, the agency has established the National Black-Footed Ferret Conservation Center to help catch, breed in captivity and reintroduce the ferrets into their natural habitat. Despite their efforts, the sylvatic plague--a flea borne disease that currently afflicts the prairie dog--continues to threaten the survival of the black-footed ferret.

This year, numerous conservation organizations, such as the World Wildlife Fund and the National Association of Zoos and Aquariums, have devoted research and equipment to help the ferrets.

In 2015, molecular biologists developed a vaccine to cure the sylvatic plague. Scientists laced the vaccine

in peanut butter balls to sprinkle across vast plains in Montana. The federal government also authorized drones to accomplish the job both space- and time-efficiently.

The combined efforts of local volunteers, federal workers and scientists have been successful in spreading the peanut-butter-filled antidote and reviving both prairie dogs and black-footed-ferrets. For now, the black-footed ferret is still America’s most endangered mammal, but an increase in their population has already been noted.

Whether you choose to celebrate National Peanut Butter Lover’s Month or the boom in ferret population, check out this live feed of a black-footed ferret named Two-bit from the Fish and Wildlife Service Website: <https://www.fws.gov/mountain-prairie/ea/ferretCam.php>.

Thanksgiving advice for Agitated Alfred Dear Piper Peanut, Thanksgiving is coming up and I love the holiday. All my family comes and I really don’t mind talking to them. However, there is one aunt, Aunt Agatha, That drives me crazy! She makes really good olive cheese puffs, but that’s the only good thing about her! She is incre dibly superstitious, a total perfe ctionist and nothing is ever good enough for her. She complains about everything. I don’t even know how to respond to the crazy things she says! How can I enjoy my Thanksgiving without her ruining it?

Sincerely, Agitate d Alfre d

Thanksgiving is supposed to be about appreciating family, friends and food. Although people should love all their family members, some do things that sure make them hard to like!

First thing is first: show respect to your elders, no matter how crazy or rude they are.

However, keep in mind that just because they are older, they are not always infinitely wiser than you nor do they have the right to make you feel small. Be mindful of your tone; responding to them the way you would respond to an annoying person your age might come off as very disrespectful.

Being a perfectionist isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but the way you’ve described it sounds quite off-putting. If she insists that everything is wrong and you think that is ridiculous, remind yourself that her opinions do not affect your satisfaction level.

If she says, “this turkey is bland,” offer her salt and pepper. Grumbling about her complaints is just as bad as her grumbling.

Sometimes it can be hard to shake off comments that your own family members make about you. Petulant comments are bothersome, but not worth getting upset about. If

CAMILLE WILLIAMS/ CHATTERBOX

her comments become truly offensive, tell her to stop. Politely tell them that you do not like it when they say things like that, and how the comments make you feel. It may seem awkward to say out loud, not worth it or just too confrontational, but what is the worst that could happen? She will hopefully respond apologetically and will most likely stop. If she doesn’t, politely excuse yourself to talk to other relatives instead.

Speaking of which, other relatives can provide a buffer between the one(s) you want to avoid. If you have a cousin, sibling or parent, have them by your side when your aunt approaches you. Or better yet, approach them first to get the awkward small talk out of the way.

Many people know someone who is superstitious. If your aunt begins a rant recounting some-bizarre conspiracy theory, get out of the discussion sooner rather than later.

It may seem tempting to stay, hoping that the anecdote is brief or that she’ll simply stop talking at some point, but that “short” story might morph into a never-ending one.

Smiling and nodding can only take one so far. One option is to come up with a good, believable, even truthful excuse to leave the premises. “Wow, that’s all very interesting, but I have to use the bathroom” is always a safe bet. If you choose to be bolder and if your parent is in another room, a solid “Coming Mom! Sorry, I just heard my mom call me” works. Another option is

to actually engage in whatever your crazy relative is saying. Even if she makes some absolutely wacky suppositions, find ways to laugh about it later on. Relatives’ quirks can be just as funny as they are off-the-wall.

Think of weird encounters with eccentric relatives as an exciting, once-in-a-year experience. Thanksgiving is the only day of the year where you can stuff your face with turkey and pie and enjoy the company of your closest relatives that you usually don’t see. Don’t let a single person ruin one of the most special holidays of the year!

Sincerely, Piper Peanut

The Chatterbox Policy Statement The Chatterbox has been guaranteed the right of freedom of the press through the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.

The administration of Walnut Hills High School is thus bound to support and protect the Chatterbox’s inalienable rights as a free press.

As an integral part of the Walnut Hills High School community, the Chatterbox has the responsibility to report in the most comprehensive and objective manner possible. Students,

parents, faculty, and administrators are encouraged to use this publication as a forum to express any ideas or concerns, whether they be personal or of local, national, or international scope.

Journalists are required to work under established guidelines. Invasion of privacy as a means of news gathering is prohibited. Articles found to be discriminatory, libelous, or unnecessarily obscene (as determined by the editors or the advisor) will not be published. Finally, journalists are granted the right to keep private the

name of a source from whom they received information with the understanding that the source was to remain anonymous. The role of the newspaper advisor will be to provide counsel and criticism pertaining to the newspaper’s content and production. Although both the advisor and the administration hold certain powers regarding the Chatterbox, both must respect the paper’s autonomy.

No student shall be prevented from joining the staff on the basis of sex, race, creed or national origin.

SARAH DAVIDOFF, ‘13

The Chatterbox Editorial Staff Augusta Battoclette, Editor-in-Chief Ibrahim Munir,

Managing Editor of News and Features

Maham Usmani, Managing Editor of Student Life

Ashwini Kamath, Managing Editor of Opinions

Hannah Bundschuh, Managing Editor of Visual Elements

Pavan Yaddanapudi, Business Manager

Nick Robertson, Online Content Manager

Samantha Gerwe-Perkins, Adviser

Dawn Wolfe, Adviser

NEWS

NOVEMBER 21, 2016

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SECTION EDITOR: MATTHEW YOUKILIS

CINCINNATI, OHIO

2016 election brings new hor Aftab strives for equality Brianna Jones, ‘17 Aftab Pureval has visited Walnut Hills High School, spoken at Hillary Clinton rallies in Cincinnati and will be Hamilton County’s new Clerk of Courts; but few students know what his job will entail.

The Clerk of Courts maintains the records of Hamilton County’s courts, manages the flow of cases through the courts, processes over $130 million a year and employs more than 250 staff members.

The position of Clerk of Courts is currently held by Tracy Winkler, a Republican with a well known last name. The Winkler name has been around for generations in Cincinnati, as several family members have served as judges for decades.

Pureval, a Democrat, outspent Winkler about five-to-one on his campaign, and ran commercials featuring a talking duck puppet.

The commercials may have a funny puppet, but cracked down on controversy surrounding Winkler’s campaign. In one of his commercials, Pureval tells of when some of Winkler’s staff felt pressured to campaign for her due to emails sent

during work hours, as criticized by WCPO. In the end it was still a close race, with Winkler getting 48% of votes and Pureval receiving 52%.

Not having a well known last name like Winkler, Pureval focused his campaign on his first name, which led to him making a bird in his commercials squawking “Aftab! Aftab! Aftab!”

Pureval’s parents are both firstgeneration Americans who settled in Ohio, where Pureval was born and attended public schools. He was later elected student body president at The Ohio State University before attending the University of Cincinnati College of Law. Pureval plans to change operations in the Clerk’s office to save taxpayers money and aims to extend equality on many fronts.

He has spoken out about his work to promote equality for women, the LGBTQ community and other underrepresented groups in our justice system.

Pureval has co-chaired The Grand City Experiment, an initiative to make Hamilton County more welcoming and inclusive, and plans to extend this inclusiv-

ity to the Clerk’s office. He will also hold regular meetings with the community, particularly underrepresented groups, to ensure that everyone understands how the justice system can work for them. Pureval will also ensure that the Clerk’s office has fair and open hiring practices for the LGBTQ community.

On his website, Pureval boasts how he will ensure that women in the Clerk’s office are paid equal to male colleagues for their corresponding work and experience.

Pureval has worked representing women in the Domestic Violence Clinic and while at White & Case, was awarded for his free public service work representing battered women. Pureval is also a current board member of the Women’s Fund of the Greater Cincinnati Foundation.

Many believe that Pureval will bring long needed changes to the Hamilton county court system.

These changes include updating technology in the courts system, ensuring that everyone in the community is treated fairly and that Hamilton county taxpayers have their money spent effectively.

What powers do Amanda Anderson, ‘19 As the news broke that new president-elect will Donald Trump, many votbegan to wonder if he will able to fulfill the promises made during his campaign.

This brings into question the powers given to the president in the United States Constitution. As the head of the executive branch and leader of the country, it is often assumed that the president has full power over all decisions.

This is mostly true when it comes to the executive branch, where, besides executive orders, most decisions must still be approved by Congress.

In the executive branch, the president has the broad power of controlling foreign affairs and the workings of the government.

More specifically, the president has the power to issue executive orders: rules, regulations and instructions which do not rethe be ers be he

Third parties turn

Pavan Yaddanapudi, ‘17

PHOTO COURTESY OF AFTAB PUREVAL /TWITTER

Aftab Pureval, stands with two students in the junior high gym. Pureval visited WHHS for the candidate fair where in Government classes attended.

Historically, third parties have had little success winning elections shown by the fact that no third party presidential candidate has won an election since 1860.

Competing in the established two-party system makes it tough, but they can still make a significant impact on the outcome of the election.

Third parties center their party’s platforms around a single issue and bring attention to that particular issue in mainstream politics. “[Third parties] are the ones that raise the issues that no one wants to raise,” Sean Wilentz of the American Studies program at Princeton University said.

Political

Augusta Battoclette, ‘17

LORI SHAULL/WIKIMEDIA.ORG

Ihan Omar from Minnesota became the first Somali-American state representative this election cycle. She came to the country as a preteen, escaping Somalia’s civil war. Omar is also the Director of Policy at the Women Organizing Women Network, which is an organization that aims to help East African women obtain positions of civic leadership.

According to PBS Newshour, the Reform Party is the most successful third party in recent history. Ross Perot, the Reform Party candidate, gained popularity in the 1992 election and received 19 percent of the popular vote. Perot did not win any states in the 1992 election.

This said, third parties have not actually won a prominent office such as the presidency since 1860 when Abraham Lincoln, representing the Republican Party, beat both the Whig and the Democrat candidates.

The likelihood of winning the presidency for third parties nowadays is slim. Minor parties can steal votes from the two major parties and shift the election in favor of one of the two major parties, but will rarely win a presidential election.

The 2016 election was marked

PETE FORSYTH/WIKIMEDIA.ORG

Kate Brown is the first openly LGBT person to win an election for governor. Recently elected in Oregon, Brown spent years hiding her sexuality, fearing she would lose her job if it became public knowledge that she was bisexual. While she isn’t the first LGBT to serve - former New Jersey Gov. Jim McGreevey came out as gay in 2004 - she is the first openly LGBT person to win a gubernatorial election.

PHOTO COURTESY OF D

Former Nevada Attorney Gen came the first Latina woman elected She joins Senators Marco Rubio, T the fourth Latino senator. After he proud to be Nevada’s 1st female an It’s about time our government mi

NEWS

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SECTION EDITOR: MATTHEW YOUKILIS

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rizons, divisions for country

oes the president have? quire

congressional approval.

The lack of need for congressional approval is what allows for these rules to be called ‘executive’, because they come directly from the president.

When it comes to a Trump presidency, many believe the presidentelect has not presented himself as particularly knowledgeable or interested in handling foreign affairs. In August of this year, Trump allegedly had one of his representatives offer Ohio Governor John Kasich the opportunity to be his vice president and, in addition, wanted to put him in charge of all domestic and foreign policies.

This decision was one that was completely unprecedented and took many voters off guard.

Kasich released this information to CNN television host Jake Tapper after refusing Trump’s offer. The Trump campaign later denied Kasich’s statement.

In addition to giving ex-

ecutive orders, the president is also exclusively in charge of maintaining and repairing the U.S. budget. This, however, must be approved by Congress.

The president is also Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Armed Forces. This title allows the president to call into power the National Guard, but, in times of crisis, he is allowed to maintain not only the security of the nation, but its economy as well.

This brings up the question: what will Trump really do? Trump addressed this in an interview with 60 Minutes on Nov. 13th as his first interview after his election.

Trump made it abundantly clear that he does plan to use his power to repeal parts of Obama’s health care program and replace them.

However, he also plans to keep vital parts of the Affordable Care Act such as care for patients with pre-existing conditions, and those forced to live with their

parents for an extended amount of time due to health problems.

This is contrary to his previous statement that Obama’s program would be abolished altogether and completely replaced.

Trump also addressed his plan to deport the estimated millions of illegal immigrants, saying that they would be immediately removed and if they resisted they would be incarcerated.

“What we are going to do is get the people that have criminal records, gang members [and] drug dealers. We have a lot of these people, possibly two million, it could even be three million, and we’re getting them out of our country or we’re going to incarcerate them,” Trump said in the interview.

Either way, the American people will just have to wait and see if Trump will really take full advantage of his executive powers as he promised.

the tide in the election by close calls in the vote for several key states including Florida, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan. According to Steve Benen of MSNBC, Hillary Clinton lost by about 1.4 percent of the vote in Florida, 1.1percent of the vote in Pennsylvania, 1 percent of the vote in Wisconsin and .3 percent of the vote in Michigan to Republican candidate Donald Trump.

Third parties won 2 percent of the vote in Florida, 2 percent of the vote in Pennsylvania, 4 percent of the vote in Michigan and 4percent of the vote in Wisconsin.

Benen says that Clinton could have won these states if Jill Stein and Gary Johnson supporters had voted for the Democrats. Jill Stein represented the Green Party and Gary Johnson represented the Libertarian Party as third party candidates in the 2016 election cycle.

In times when major party can-

didates are unpopular, some voters turn to third party candidates for their voting decision. This likely factored into many voters’ decisions in this past election.

According to a Gallup poll from Nov. 6, Clinton has a 40 percent favorability rating and Trump has a 35 percent favorability rating. These low ratings likely led a large portion of voters to consider and choose third party candidates in this past election.

The f u nd a mental principles of a republi-

can democracy are protected when an electorate participates by voting in elections. The electorate chooses the candidates who represent the best of their opinions. Third parties broaden the opinions represented in the political process by introducing new issues to the main political stage and bringing attention to them in the long run. No matter what decision occurs at the ballot box, third parties add a twist to the conventional two candidate option.

ALI ZIFAN/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Pictured above is a map of the states’ size relative to the amount of electoral college delegates.The electoral college election occurs Dec. 12 in Congress.

The real election The electoral college

Nick Robertson, ‘19

The morning of Nov. 9th arrives.

Some of the country grimaces while others cheer as the results of the election are reported. But the votes cast on Nov. 8 do little to select the next President of the United States.

The national election is nothing but an opinion poll for the electoral college. Who you were really voting for was not Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump, but a group of electors nominated by the Republican and Democratic parties to select the president at the meeting of the Electoral College in Congress on Dec. 12.

There are 538 electors in the college, distributed based on the state’s population with a minimum of three delegates per state.

Current delegate projections give Trump 306 votes and Clinton 228 votes out of the total delegates, with a 270 vote majority required to win, even though Clinton won the popular vote by a projected 1-2 million votes.

In the meeting of the electoral college, each delegate selected by their state’s winning party will cast their ballot for President and VicePresident. Even though the electors pledge to vote for the winner of their state’s election, they are only legally bound to do so in some states.

Some people are now calling for the electoral college to be abolished and for the country to

make the popular vote decide the presidency instead of the electoral college. They view the system as unnecessary and undemocratic.

The electoral college has been in place since the founding of the United States because of the logistics of voting in the 1700s. Every state would organize elections and the people would choose their candidate -- and therefore their delegates. The electoral college delegates would then go to Washington to vote on behalf of the people.

The electoral college exists because running an election of that scale was impractical for the time. It also allowed news to be taken into account, as word traveled slow before television and online news. The electoral college delegates are selected to act on the best behalf of the people that selected them in the election.

There is still a chance that Clinton can win the presidency if she can sway 40 Republican delegates to vote for her instead, but don’t get your hopes up. Only 108 electors in the entirety of American history have cast their ballots for the candidate that did not win their state’s election.

An upset for Clinton is unprecedented and nearly impossible.

Even though the 2016 presidential election may seem like a done deal, and likely is, the real election is still yet to occur.

Profiles

DEPARTMENT OF STATE

neral, Catherine Cortez Masto, bed to the Senate in the 2016 election.

Ted Cruz and Robert Menendez as er win, Cortez Masto tweeted “I’m nd our nation’s 1st Latina senator. irrors the diversity of our nation.”

JOHN HILTON/DARRENSOTO.COM

Elected to Florida’s 9th Congressional District, Darren Soto made history as the first Puerto Rican in Congress. According to NBC News, salsa music played at Soto’s watch party as he celebrated with supporters in a heavily Hispanic district. “It’s been a long time coming. We finally get representation in our nation’s capital,” Soto told Fox News Latino.

PHOTO COURTESY OF DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

California’s Attorney General, Kamala Harris, became the second African American woman to be elected to the U.S. Senate. 20 African American women are currently in the House of Representatives, but Harris is the first African American woman senator since Carol Moseley Braun was elected in 1993.

NOVEMBER 21, 2016 PAGE 6

FINE ARTS SECTION EDITOR: BRIANNA JONES

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Watch these art wizzes do their business

was developed mid 19th century and led by Gustave Courbet. This art There are a variety of ways visual form expresses the ideas, customs, artists, such as painters and draw- and appearances of everyday life. ers, express themselves. Donald Melat Kassahun, ‘21, worked on the Stocker, art teacher, has the students impressionism, cubism and realism do a project on impressionism, cub- project with her class and feels that she ism and realism as ways for the stu- can best express herself through forms dents to express their artistic ability. like Impressionism and Cubism.

According to European Art 1600 to “I prefer Impressionism and CubPresent , impressionism ,cubism and ism because I feel like they have realism movements all began in France. more meaning whereas realism Impressionism is taking visual imi- was just mirroring the same imtations painted directly from nature age of something,” Kassahun said. and using primarily light and color. Since Julia Johnson, ‘22 , another Impressionism is not about the ob- student in Stocker’s art class, has ject or event but the light and col- finished her project, she started carvBRIANNA JONES/CHATTERBOX ors used to represent and re-express ing a sculpture out of Styrofoam.

Sophia Necco, ‘19 had her pictures diaplayed in the art show Nov. 13. She is using one of the pictures the person’s view of that event.

“I wanted to do a sculpture of a (the one in the upper left hand corner) for her Allo stickers to give to charirities helping world hunger.

Cubism was formed in the early lady in a cross position and it was 20th century. Artists like Pablo Pi- supposed to be a bit unrealistic when I rounded out the edges and then “I’m submitting my portfolio to casso and Georges Braque took I painted it, but I didn’t get to the we got toothpicks for the parts we get into these design colleges, which abstract concepts and formed art painting part. First, I got two boxes needed to add on,” Johnson said, are part of bigger universities, mainpieces that represent geometric ob- of Styrofoam and I drew out the describing the sculpting process. ly so that I can go into the indusjects from many angles. Realism shape and got a knife and carved it.

Johnson went to the School of trial design program,” Lawson said.

Lawson’s long term goal is to design Creative and Performing Arts before coming to Walnut but is interested in outdoor gear for companies such as becoming a cardiothoracic surgeon, a Apple. She is more interested in the deheart and lung surgeon, or an engineer. sign aspect and feels it has more value.

The three students have different While Johnson might not be too interested in an artistic ca- goals for their art in the long run reer, SENIOR Katie Lawson has and also have diverse methods to already decided that she is go- accomplish their goals. Art students ing to be an industrial designer. have various ways they use to express With the help of her AP Art teacher themselves. These three art students BRIANNA JONES/CHATTERBOX Stocker, Lawson picks out a collec- show some of the variety that art Melat Kassahun, ‘21 has her artwork for her impressionism, cubism and realism project displayed in tion of her paintings to photograph pieces can take on. the forum. She has painted self- portraits (tryptych) done in left to right order, realistic, impressionistic as a portfolio for college transcripts. and cubistic based off of the painter of her choice.

Krilaunda C. Perkins, ‘17

Up-and-coming Luke Miller Ibrahim Munir, ‘18

The number of teenage celebrities has risen in the past year, and reports show that social media stars are more relatable and popular than mainstream celebrities. Walnut Hills High School recently now has their very own new music creator. Luke Miller, ‘19, recently released his first song on SoundCloud, and amassed over 1000 plays within a week after publishing. Miller made the entire song in about a month. However, he said that this is definitely not his last song and he intends on making more.

“I’ve always been into music - I’ve been writing stuff here and there since I was young, and a lot of it is really serious stuff,” Miller said. The song Miller posted on SoundCloud started out as a joke about how he couldn’t rap.

“It just developed so I decided to finish and record it. I’m currently writing other more serious [songs], so be on the lookout for that.”

The 15-year-old says he already has a few other songs recorded. He’s currently waiting for his first song to die down a bit, so he can shift to a more serious genre and perspective.

He has also decided to post most of his music on SoundCloud for now because he doesn’t want to make anybody pay for it - “especially not when it’s not fully developed yet.”

Miller is also known for his YouTube channel. He has been on the platform for two years and hopes to expand it and make more content more frequently. As well as making videos for his songs and posting them on his YouTube, he has other aspirations for where he wants his channel to go.

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“I want to use my channel to try and make a difference and address more important social issues, while being goofy and making funny videos as well,” Miller said.

His main focus for a future career path is in the entertainment business, and he can see himself pursuing a musical career, but says he would really love to be on Broadway one day. However, he promises he will never completely stop making music.

Hundreds of SoundCloud users of WHHS have heard Miller’s song, and it’s something that students from all grades have been playing.

“He’s an extremely strong and talented individual. He’s basically a miniature Tyler Oakley and I can tell that one day he’s [going to] be real famous,” Nicole Betscher, ‘18, said.

“The song expresses a strong idea

and interest [that] Luke has [and] the song gives vibes that show it’s a banger,” Anidya Soni, ‘19, a fellow classmate of Miller, said.

The song was also very popular among the theater crew for Julius Caesar.

“Luke actually snapchatted me bits and pieces of the song and then I heard the full thing at [a Julius] Caesar rehearsal when other people were listening to it. It was fun because everyone was dancing and having a good time,” Talia Raider-Roth, ‘20, said.

Miller leaves one piece of advice for other aspiring artists his age: “Just make what you like and do whatever you want with it. I was a little concerned before releasing my song because it is pretty controversial; but, in the end, everyone thinks it’s funny and I’m happy with the outcome.”

ARCADE

WHHSCBOX.COM

NOVEMBER 21, 2016

SECTION EDITOR: SARAH HANSEN

CINCINNATI, OHIO

Crossword

PAGE 7

Sarah Hansen, ‘17 Across 3. Protesters in this East Asian country are demanding that their president resign 5. Another name for a person on a religious journey 8. This presidential candidate won the popular vote 9. The eponymous red fruit of this shrub is used in many traditional Thanksgiving dishes 10. Department store that sponsors annual parades in New York City 12. Large bird native to the Americas, known as a hindi in Turkish 13. This presidential candidate won the presidential election Down 1. Recently deceased Canadian musical artist, wrote “Hallelujah” 2. This Prime Minister of India surprised citizens with a move to demonetize illegally acquired cash 4. Holiday celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States 6. This first female Attorney General of the United States died last week 7. Initials of the American president that set the current date of Thanksgiving 11. The largest city in Syria, and a target of the ongoing conflict against insurgent fighters

Come to room 2306 during your lunch on Thursdays to join

the Chatterbox club!

Sudoku Sarah Hansen, ‘17

Answers to all puzzles and games can be found online at <whhscbox.com>.

SPORTS

NOVEMBER 21, 2016

PAGE 8

WHHSCBOX.COM CINCINNATI, OHIO

SECTION EDITORS: AARON ESPELAGE AND EMMA FARRELL

A look at the up coming WHHS swim team Michael Sweeny, ‘17 It is November and that means one thing, the beginning of the Walnut Hills High School swim season. As practice begins, they look to prepare for their upcoming competitions.

The student athletes are coached by Jennifer Golden, who during the off season, said she trained her swimmers very hard.

“We have a lot of new things this year. We are training both mentally and physically. Since swimming is such a mental sport, we are focusing more on controlling the body and being aware of how it moves,” Coach Golden said.

The team, however, did lose quite a few swimmers last season. Nevertheless, Coach Golden is optimistic with her returning swimmers: “We have Dan Cashell, Isiah Valentine, Sarah Grace Smith, Dominique Valentine, Emma Reed, Amara Dam and Shelby Ewing - alll of which can improve this coming season. From what I have heard from their club coaches, they are going to continue to have a amazing high school careers.”

With all this returning talent for the team, it seems they can improve on their city rank from last year in which they ranked ninth in

the men’s rankings and 16 in the women’s ranking. Coach Golden also looks to improve on their impressive rankings from last year in the Eastern Cincinnati Conference.

Last season, they finished third in womens and second in mens’. They also look forward to competing with their ECC rivals, Turpin (mens’ and womens’) and Kings (womens’).

SENIOR Ethan Willbrand, who has become a leader to his teammates, believes just being positive and energetic helps the team prepare for their events and bring out the best of each player. Realizing this is his last year swimming, Willbrand hopes to make it his best year yet and win as many events as he can.

Last year, Willbrand won a few events at a dual meet and dropped time from his 500 and 200 freestyle. When asked what he plans to accomplish by the end of the season, Willbrand said, “Personally I hope that I end my season with no regrets and being proud of every time I end with. I’m hoping for a 5:00 in the 500 freestyle the most.”

With leaders like Coach Golden and SENIOR Ethan Willbrand propelling the group, along with the team bonding as a unit, they seem to have no barriers or limits and have endless possibilities ahead of them.

PHOTO COURTESY OF SCOTT TENGEN

This photo is of a WHHS alumni swimmer. This year, the student athletes are looking forward to a promising season of swimming.

Walnut Hills athletes sign to play in college Emma Farrell, ‘18

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•

Haley Hauser College: Stanford Sport: Lightwieght Rowing How long: Three years Valuble lesson from the Coach: Keep pushing through. You can’t let the bad days define who you are, you just have to pick yourself up and keep moving on.

“I’m really looking forward to being in a community with a bunch of equally driven, smart, and fast women in and hopefully winning some races with them!”

• • • • • • •

Forrest Longeway College: Lake Erie College Sport: Baseball How long: Been playing since age of three Scholarship: Academic Valuble lesson from the Coach: If you work hard, good things will happen.

“If you work hard, good things will happen”

• • • • • •

•

Katie Flynn College: Clemson Sport: Rowing How long: Four years Scholarship: Athletic; 70% scholarship Valuble lesson from the Coach: Just as long as you try your best and have fun the rest will take care of itself.

“I’m looking forward to getting better and faster.”

Students athletes have the opportunity to play their sport in college. Recruiters can be invited or voluntarily come and see players they have heard of. The athletes that they have an interest in, meet up with the recruiter and discuss the possibilities of playing in college. For some students, they are asked to come and visit the college to see if this is a possibility. Others have already been thinking of playing in college and take the initiative to contact recruiters. However, if a student signs on to a team, that does not necessarily guarantee that they will get scholarship money. This year there are three athletic signings.

Check online for a photo story about the athletic signing after Wednesday’s signing at <whhscbox.com>.

ALL SIGNING PHOTOS: MACKENZIE CANTO/CHATTERBOX

Final Fall Sports Standings ECC Conference

Football Turpin Kings Anderson Loveland Walnut Hills Withrow Glen Este Milford

Overall 11-1 8-3 7-4 4-6 4-6 3-7 2-8 2-8

Men’s Golf Conference 7-0 6-1 5-2 4-3 1-6 2-5 2-5 1-6

Women’s Golf

Score 35.86 1. Cooper Hausfeld/Wyoming 35.98 2. Garrett Wood/Mason 36 3. Tyler Goecke/Carroll 36.9 4. Alex Major/Indian Hill 36.92 5. Ty DeBonis/McNicholas 37 6. Nolan Schrand/Holy Cross 37.11 7. Kyle Schmidt/Lakota East 56. Max Broxterman/Walnut Hills 40.86

Score 35.75 1. Katie Hallinan/Walnut Hills 38.1 2. Hallie Heidemann/McAuley 3. Natalia Sompolvorachai/Lakota W. 38.41 38.54 4. Isabel York/ St. Ursula 38.8 5. Vivienne Su/Mason 39.5 6. Brittney Blackschak/Carroll 40 7. Delany Day/Taylor 40.1 8. Orchid Wang/Sycamore

Men’s Cross Country Women’s Cross Country Women’s Volleyball Time 15:01 1. Dustin Horter/Lakota East 15:14 2. Conant Smith/Middletown 15:58 3. Joe Ingram/Anderson 16:02 4. Kevin Lawson/Sycamore 16:04 5. Zach Birdsall/Fairfield 16:13 6. Jackson Siddall/Lebanon 94. Weston Floro-Hageman/Walnut 17:24 17:24 94. Brendan Li/Walnut Hills

1. Samantha Bush/Turpin 2. Hannah Rasmussen/Kings 3. Maddie Walker/Amelia 4. Ellie Brush/Mason 5.. Rachel Ploeger/Monroe 6. Leah Maschino/Kings 7. Jessie Hartman/Lebanon 87. Lina Drechsler/Walnut Hills

Time 17:50 18:02 18:06 18:08 18:29 18:35 18:38 20:29

Turpin Loveland Anderson Kings Walnut Hills Glen Este Milford Withrow

Overall 21-3 20-7 18-6 13-11 11-13 9-15 7-16 1-19

Conference 13-1 12-2 11-3 7-7 4-10 4-10 5-9 0-14

Men’s Soccer Anderson Turpin Milford Walnut Hills Kings Loveland Withrow Glen Este

Overall 16-3-2 13-4-0 9-7-2 7-7-4 7-8-3 4-10-4 2-13-0 1-16-0

Conference 6-0-1 6-1-0 2-3-2 3-3-1 3-2-2 3-2-2 1-6-0 0-7-0

Women’s Soccer

Loveland Walnut Hills Turpin Milford Anderson Kings Glen Este

Overall 19-1-1 8-6-3 7-6-4 7-8-2 6-7-3 3-9-4 2-10-3

Conference 6-0-0 3-3-0 2-2-2 3-1-2 2-3-1 1-4-1 0-4-2