Midterms 2018

Hypatia Fitzsimons

     On November 6th, citizens voted in the midterm elections, and this has had the highest turnout ever. This year, 113 million people voted which is roughly 49% of able voters. The last time this many citizens voted was in the 1996 midterm election. For the 2014 midterm election, only 36.4% people voted, and in the past several decades only about 40% voted in the midterms. Michael McDonald, an associate from the University of Florida said, “You'd have to go all the way back to 1914 to get a turnout rate above 50 percent.” So this shows that the midterms are not very popular and it is pretty impressive that we got up 49%.
     The midterms are held every two years after the general election and people do not think they are important since it is not an election for president. However, the midterms are still quite important. The way the votes turnout is a response to how well the President is doing, because the party he is affiliated with will either do well or poorly, and this can completely change how fast things get done. Now with this election, the House majority is Democrat and the Senate is still dominantly Republican. These two parties don’t have the same goals nor ideology, so we can predicate not as much will get done versus prior to the election when both the House and the Senate were majority Republican.

Why Care About Kavanaugh?

Quinn Collins

     The Supreme Court is boring. It’s uninteresting politics combined

Kavanaugh being sworn in as
Supreme Court Justice. 

with repetitive court procedures in the most agonizing way possible. However, the recent battle over Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh is unlike any we have seen in decades. This nomination has the potential to define our political era for generations, and you have a chance to get involved.
     When Justice Anthony Kennedy announced his retirement on June 27th, many already knew this nomination would be unique. Justice Kennedy was known as the moderate of the Supreme Court, deciding many 5-4 cases. Kavanaugh is known for much more conservative values, which would solidify conservative control of the Court.
     After Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearings, the nomination process took an unexpected turn. Over the course less than two weeks, three women came forward with sexual assault allegations against Kavanaugh. On September 27th, a Senate hearing was held which was shortly followed by an FBI investigation which lasted less than a week. While the results of the investigation are not available to the public, according to the BBC, “... the FBI files a report but does not reach any conclusion regarding the credibility or significance of allegations.” On October 6th, Brett Kavanaugh was confirmed by the Senate by a margin of 50 to 48.
     Kavanaugh's nomination was clearly controversial. Despite citizens being unable to vote directly on Supreme Court nominees, there are still many ways for student voices to be heard. Students who are over 18 will be able to vote in the Midterm elections on November 6th. As CNN notes, “Election Day in less than one month, Brett Kavanaugh headed to the Supreme Court and American voters -- maybe mobs of them -- will head to the polls.” For many, this midterm election will be a way to voice their opinions on the Kavanaugh confirmation and the entire Trump presidency. Now more than ever, it is important for people, especially young people, to vote and make their voices heard. These midterms will communicate to Donald Trump whether or not the public supports Kavanaugh and his nomination. Whether students are Republicans, Democrats, or third party supporters, the only way for their voices to heard is through voting. Despite this being the end of the article, this is certainly no the end of the Kavanaugh story.

It's A Prime Time for A School Board Election

by Saafia Masoom

Along with the Super Bowl, Valentine’s Day, and the usual February events, Platteville School District will have another date to add to the calendar that nobody saw coming: a school board election primary.

Even though Monie Konecny has decided not to run for re-election, veteran board members Steve Obershaw and Eric Fatzinger will try to hang on to their seats as they face six other candidates hoping to be elected for a three year term. That means eight candidates will be vying for the three available board seats. The primary held February 17th will allow the top six to continue to the elections on April 7th.

Community members Jaimie Brogley, Brian Brown, Jeremy Johnson, Colleen McCabe, Curt Timlin, and Matt Zielinski are up for the challenge of pursuing the spots. While many among the group are spouses of teachers, parents of students, or both, they want a say in the school board’s decisions, which is “the voice of the Platteville Community in shaping the quality of education offered to our students,” according to superintendent Connie Valenza.

So what’s the big deal?

There haven’t been this many candidates in a while. In fact, there were just enough candidates to fill the seats in the last board election. And the district can only speculate the reasons behind the six challengers decisions to run. Dr. Valenza does not speak for anyone regarding their motives for candidacy, but she personally believes a few key decisions the board has made and will have to make in the coming months may have piqued interest around the community.

Dr. Valenza says, “Board members play an important role in decision-making around budgets, staffing, and policy making. This is a time of huge changes in the educational system with new state testing, common core, and increased accountability measures.”

There’s also been a lot of talk about the upcoming referendum on updating facilities. The $17 million project going to vote on April 7th, as well, proposes to reconfigure which grades are in which schools and to renovate the schools. “I believe that many of the candidates recognize the importance of the decision and the process,” says Dr. Valenza in relation to board elections.   

The candidates may have been inspired by these decisions or maybe they simply disagree with the way Dr. Valenza and the board have been making them and want “to offer a different perspective in future decisions that are made,” as Dr. Valenza puts it. The superintendent realizes that the community values the board’s work and encourages its members to let their voices be heard.

In any case, all eyes will be turned to the board candidates in coming months. Currently, the body has nine members and usually meets on the second and fourth Monday of each month. As the superintendent herself says of the school board, “If we believe that our students are the future of Platteville, then the education they receive is of utmost importance. It is the board that plays the most important role in determining what that education looks like.”

Election Recap: The Businesswoman Who Braved the Fight

The Challenger

by Will Philipps

 

Democrat Mary Burke was not a household name in Wisconsin unlike her opponent Governor Walker. The Democratic candidate in the 2014 Wisconsin governor’s race beat state representative Brett Hulsey to run against Walker in the general election.

Burke is a 55-year-old resident of Madison who was relatively unknown to many at the beginning of her campaign. She grew up in the Milwaukee suburb of Hartland to a family with deep roots in Wisconsin. Burke herself is a fourth-generation Wisconsinite. When she was 17, her father Richard Burke started Trek Bicycle Corporation, which she later became an executive for. Currently the Waterloo-based company is headed by Burke’s brother. 

As a teen Mary Burke was interested in volunteering since she helped teach tennis to Milwaukee-area kids in inner-city playgrounds. Her passion for helping others has continued into her adulthood: Burke donated money to the charter school Madison Prep and to an agency that helps the homeless in Dane County. She also has a noted interest in the Boys & Girls Club, helping the organization grow. 

Mary Burke also has no shortage of educational points of interest. She got a bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University in business administration with emphasis in finance and a master’s of business administration from Harvard Business School. 

After graduating in 1985, Burke got a job with McKinsey & Company consulting firm, which took her away to Washington D.C. and New York. Later she would come back to Wisconsin to be the Director of European Operations at Trek Bicycle, her family business. But, in 2005, Burke began her appearance in politics by being appointed by Governor Jim Doyle to the position of Wisconsin Commerce Department Secretary. She left the job in 2007. After a two year break, Burke came back to Trek as the head of strategic planning. In the meantime, she pursued other projects that lead to her spending a large sum of her own money to campaign and win a race for the Madison School Board.

All politics aside, Mary Burke is a true Wisconsinite, and leading up to November she put up a fight for the coveted title of governor. And, there’s something to be said for name recognition when it’s been on the ballot of such an intense election.

Saafia Masoom contributed to this article.

Election Recap: Who is the Man Behind the Governor's Desk?

The Incumbent

by Claire McMannes

Governor Scott Walker is facing re-elections this November after a term of dramatic action. While he’s known for many things, the most obvious may be when he was recalled, and better yet, when he survived recall. For those of you who don’t know a recall is when a politician is removed from house before their term is up, you can be removed when you are at least a year into your term. 

Before Scott Walker became the 45th governor of Wisconsin, he was just like everyone else. He went to school, had job, and had a passion: politics. Born in Colorado Springs on November 2, 1967, he and his family soon moved to Wisconsin where he joined in several different clubs relating to politics. Walker attended Badger Boys State and Boys Nation and was involved in Eagle Scouts.  Walker’s first role model was Ronald Reagan who he met as an Eagle Scout. 

After high school, he attended Marquette University in 1986; although that was short lived, as he did not graduate but went to work for the Red Cross. He went into politics at age 25, running against several others for a seat on the Wisconsin State Assembly, which he won. He then married Tonette Tarantino and had two children, Matt and Alex. 

Meanwhile Walker’s political career sky-rocketed; held the Wisconsin State Assembly seat for four consecutive terms. But he was no longer a part of the assembly after he became the executive of Milwaukee County.

Walker won the governor election on his 43rd birthday, beating Tom Barrett. He won the people over with his ideas on reducing taxes and spending until the recall effort started in 2011, this lead to the recall election June 2012. He did, however, survive the recall by 53% of the votes. Walker has shown resilience and dedication to his career in politics.  

"What About Gaza Now?" A Brief Background of the Palestinian Conflict

by Eramis Momchilovich

     The history of Palestine is a violent one, filled with anguish and abuse. The fight began after the Second World War. Many Jewish people wanted their own country and parts of Palestine became the chosen place through the Mandate for Palestine which was voted 33-13 in favor in the UN General Assembly. Six months later, the state of Israel was formed on May 14, 1948. Armies from the surrounding Arab countries invaded shortly after because they did not recognize Israel as a country and believed it was unfair that the Palestinian Arabs should be displaced from their traditional home to make room for the Jewish people. At the end of this war, Gaza was controlled by Egypt, and the West Bank (another area) was controlled by Jordan. These places served as a refuge for thousands of Palestinians who fled the newfound Jewish country of Israel.

     Later in 1967, another war occurred and Israel occupied both Gaza and the West bank for several years. When their troops eventually left in 2005, a terrorist group called Hamas was willing to use violence to achieve its aims and took over leadership. Since then life in Gaza has become very difficult because of the isolation Israel is able to put it in. Even in such controlled conditions, Hamas still manages to frequently fire off rockets into Israel. Families in the Gaza Strip are not able to get enough meat, vegetables, or fruit as they used to. Unemployment rates are high because of the lack of money and products to sell. According to the BBC, more than 4.6 million Palestinians are refugees because of the constant violence.

     In 2008 Israel invaded Gaza and 1,300 people were killed. In 2012 an estimated 167 Palestinians and six Israelis died. In the most recent conflict in July of 2014, over 2,100 Palestinians, 64 Israeli soldiers, and six Israeli civilians were killed in only 50 days, ending with a ceasefire declared on August 26. The constant struggle between the two sides has cost so many people their lives and homes, and has driven all involved to live in fear. Hopefully this ceasefire will lead to more permanent resolutions.

Recap: ISIS Threat Raises New Foreign Policy Concerns During Summer Months

by Saafia Masoom

    

     Iraq. You don’t have to say much else to conjure a pretty negative connotation of the troubled Middle Eastern country’s name. This summer has only brought more complexity to the affairs of a nation divided so strictly along sectarian lines, namely by a group we’ve come to know as ISIS. The militant group calling themselves the “Islamic State of Iraq and Syria” has been wreaking havoc and doing unimaginably horrible things across the entire region, not just Iraq.

     Long story short, when the U.S. troops left Iraq a couple years ago, the situation was quite unstable and led to the same old tension between Shias and Sunnis. There’s a lot of complications between these two religious branches, and it all gets a lot more confusing when you add a Shia prime minister Nouri Al-Maliki and a Sunni militant group that’s fighting, killing, and clawing its way through the country to establish a so-called “Islamic State.” The buildup to the current situation also has a lot to do with ISIS first establishing themselves in Iraq, then going to fight in Syria and scaring everyone there. Now they’re back to Iraq.  

     As is expected from a terrorist organization, ISIS has committed unthinkable crimes against civilians and has gone a step further by taking American lives. This summer the life of American journalist James Foley came to a horrific and tragic ending when he was beheaded after being kept prisoner and being tortured by ISIS in Syria for nearly two years. The terrorist group warned that a second American in their possession would be killed if the U.S. didn’t stop airstrikes on the region. Despite an emotional plea from freelance journalist Steven Sotloff’s mother, ISIS appeared to murder another American thirteen days later. Before his gruesome execution in a video that looked exactly like Foley’s, Sotloff said he was “paying the price” for the U.S.’s decision to intervene in Iraq.

     The conclusion of this disturbing struggle is clearly far off, and this summer proved that it’s far more complicated when American troops have just come back from Iraq. The situation is not just encompassing Iraq, however, since Syria is so closely tied to the destruction. Only time will tell how forces of evil will be dealt with this time.

A Summer Timeline of Events In Iraq:

June--ISIS seizes town of Mosul and other key areas in Iraq. The group declares a caliphate covering Iraq and Syria, thousands of people flee, and the U.S. and Iran offer assistance.

June 13th--President Obama makes it clear that there will be no American boots on the ground. He lays out options, and the government may be considering the airstrikes that Iraqis are requesting.

August--Several Kurdish towns are taken by ISIS.

August 7th--President Obama states that the U.S. will conduct airstrikes to prevent ISIS advance on a consulate in Irbil and on Mount Sinjar where civilians are trapped without food and water. He authorizes humanitarian effort on the mountain. In the meantime, Iraq’s largest dam, Mosul Dam, is captured by ISIS from the  Peshmerga (Kurdish fighters). The dam could cause flooding and excessive damage if breached.

August 17th--The Iraqi military and Peshmerga successfully launch an operation and regain control of the important Mosul Dam. U.S. airstrikes occur in the region.

August 19th--Video emerges suggesting beheading of captured freelance photojournalist James Foley.

August 28th--President Obama reports that airstrikes are weakening terrorists. He says he is sending Secretary of State John Kerry to region and has directed Secretary Chuck Hagel and Joint Chiefs of Staff to develop strategy. The president emphasizes that we need to work closely with allies.

September 2nd--Video surfaces showing second American journalist Steven Sotloff’s apparent execution.

50 Years Since the March on Washington

Nation Remembers Moment in History

Story by Saafia Masoom

  “The greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation” was how Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., described the famous March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial during his “I Have a Dream” speech. It was August 28, 1963, and the Civil Rights Movement icon was only one speaker on a program, ranging from performances by Bob Dylan and Harry Belafonte to speeches by five other “Big Six,” civil rights organization leaders.

  This summer commemorated the fiftieth anniversary of the day when nearly 250,000 demonstrators gathered in our nation’s capital to demand legislation on civil rights, minimum wages of $2 an hour, an end to segregation in public schools, and nondiscrimination for hiring, among other things.  

  As the veteran marchers led the 1.6 mile route past special rally spots such as the Department of Justice on August 28th this summer, discussion continued over whether we have yet to achieve Dr. King’s dream. Also a point of conversation throughout the day was our nation’s unemployment rate, due to the fact that this march was originally for jobs as well as equality.

  A packed agenda featured speeches from Oprah Winfrey, former presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter, various members of Congress, and U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, and performances by Mindless Behavior and LeAnn Rimes. The program was crowned by President Obama’s address to the thousands gathered before the very spot where Dr. King stood facing the National Mall. Mr. Obama spoke on progress since 1963 stating, “To dismiss that little has changed dishonors the courage and sacrifice for those who paid the price for freedom.”

  Whether the fight for freedom, jobs, and all that we hold dearly is over or still continues to this day, we stand in a remarkably different place from fifty years ago. From a day where one man in particular opened the door for the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to an early morning lighting of the Washington Monument beginning a celebration, we are left to wonder what will go down in history next. But, we do know one thing that Rep. John Lewis reminded us when he spoke for a second time in Washington, “The country is a different country, and we’re better people.”

Order in the Court

Supreme Court Decides Major Cases

Story by Sumaia Masoom

   New Kids On The Block once said "I think about you in the summertime..."--and it appears the Supreme Court really does. In the last few days of June, starting on June 23, the SCOTUS "settled" a number of cases involving various issues throughout the week.

    On Monday, the Court tackled affirmative action. The case, Fisher v. University of Texas, involved a white woman who had been rejected from the University of Texas at Austin in 2008. She argued that although she was not in the top 10% of her class (as the majority of those who were admitted to the university were), she had the other credentials that were examined before the university began taking race into account. It's a complex and confusing situation, just like affirmative action is in and of itself. In the end, the case was decided in a 7-1 decision with Justice Elena Kagan "recusing" or removing herself from the voting. The justices argued that the 5th Court of Appeals had not examined the case in full, vacated said court's decision, and sent the case back to be re-examined. However, much to the relief of many civil rights activists, affirmative action was not overturned completely. Rather, the ruling served as a warning to schools everywhere: in the words of the Court, to avoid problems, schools must make sure that "each applicant is evaluated as an individual and not in a way that makes an applicant's race or ethnicity the defining feature of his or her application."

    Next up was a historic ruling in the case Shelby County v. Holder on the constitutionality of two vital sections of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Section 4b of the Act created a formula that determined whether or not anyone one of nine specific states has enough discrimination in its history to warrant preclearance by the federal government before it makes any changes in voting policy, and Section 5 enforced this preclearance. In a shocking turn of events, the SCOTUS ruled 5-4 to strike down Section 4b (and as a result, Section 5), effectively invalidating the civil rights legislation, arguing that racism no longer runs rampant in the United States, so the federal government has no need to oversee voting policies. Interestingly, not even two hours after the decision was announced, the Texas state legislature passed the most stringent voting ID laws in the nation. Voters will be allowed to carry expired concealed gun licenses with them to the polls, but not student IDs.

    Finally, Wednesday was the biggest day of all: the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in two cases (United States v. Windsor and Hollingsworth v. Perry) that the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and California’s Proposition 8 (which banned same-sex marriage) were both unconstitutional as they violated the 5th Amendment and the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection clause. As a result, the federal government will now officially recognize members of same-sex couples as spouses for all federal purposes. California has resumed same-sex marriage ceremonies, and a number of states have taken up legislation to legalize same-sex marriage within the next year. However, the battle for equality isn’t over yet; among other things, Texas refuses to grant divorces to couples married in other states.

For more information on any of these cases, or to find out which cases will be decided in the Supreme Court's following term (beginning October 7th), check out SCOTUSblog.com.

Summer of the Spy: Edward Snowden vs. The NSA

Mass-Leaking of Government Agency's Documents Leads to Controversy

Story by Sumaia Masoom

   On May 1, Edward Snowden and his girlfriend silently moved out of their home in Hawaii after which Snowden alone fled to Hong Kong. The next few steps of his master plan didn't take place until a few weeks later on June 5, when the first of a series of revelations about the NSA's surveillance program PRISM occurred. Over the next few weeks, outcry over the federal government "spying" on its citizens grew exponentially as it was revealed that the program went deeper than just telephone calls, for it consisted of email surveillance as well. However, although many Americans were (and continue to be) outraged, there remains a visible split over how the country as a whole feels about this. A significant number of people hail Snowden as a hero, an unfairly persecuted whistle-blower. On the other hand, Snowden is also being portrayed as, in the words of Speaker of the House John Boehner (R), a "traitor" and a spy himself. Snowden, it seemed, didn't really care how he's branded--he just doesn't want to be found, and he's made that clear by starting a worldwide goose-chase, from the U.S. to Hong Kong to Moscow to potentially Cuba or even Ecuador, where Wikileaks founder and perpetrator Julian Assange looked to for help. He finally settled down in August when Russia offered him asylum for one year after he had lived in the Moscow airport for a month. Since then, Snowden has disappeared once more to an undisclosed location in Russia.

   There's enough blame to go around on both sides--not of the aisle this time, but between both the government and the whistleblower. While the government is clearly violating the 4th Amendment with its often unwarranted investigations of its citizens, it could make the "probable cause" argument and say that it was only doing all of this for our safety. And Edward Snowden made a serious breach of trust when he began leaking the information he was privy too.

    But, the other side also has a fair point as well: our citizens should be allowed to know if we're being spied on--and it could be argued that we shouldn’t be spied on at all in the first place . By making this such a clandestine operation, the government pretty much ravaged the little trust that it had regained from the public since Watergate in the '70s. Now, the main question is this: is our safety worth the infringement of our rights, and should there even be a question about how much it's really safe for the common citizen to know?