All posts by Jacob Rossell

Editorials/Student Voice, News

Banning of books

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A committee consisting of parents and staff members in the Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan district voted to keep the book Just One Day on the shelves of school libraries. The book is centered around a young female character named Allyson and her plans to travel Europe following her graduation. She then meets a young man during her trip, which leads to “ a day of risk and romance, and 24 hours that will transform Allyson’s life.”

The content of the book was brought into question after an 11-year-old girl checked the book out from the Rosemount Middle School library. The girl’s parents did not agree with the substance of the book, as it contains some areas with crude language and adult sexual content.

This decision raises questions about what kinds of books should be put into school libraries, and determining whether or not these books are “appropriate” for young people to read. Does there need to be some kind of rating system for literature like there is for movies? Or should we leave it up to the parents to determine what their children should be reading?

From my own experiences in high school, it was inevitable that I would run into a piece of literature that contained adult themes, especially in the IB program. So, shielding young readers from these types of  books can potentially hurt their preparation for further reading as well as limit their knowledge and understanding of the things that go on in the world around them. Who’s to say that these kids won’t be more compelled to get their hands on a book once it gets banned? Ultimately, parents should have confidence and trust in their children to determine what reading material is appropriate for them.

Basketball, Scoreboard/Schedule

Boys basketball

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The Highland Park Scots boys basketball team got off to a good start, winning their first game against Hill-Murray 78-71. The win came in front of a nice crowd, which included many returning alumni. The boys were able to get off to a hot start, and led the game early. The Scots were led by Senior Mike Cornelious who set the tone early, and led the team in scoring. Hill-Murray was able to close in on the lead however, and the Pilots pulled in within 2 points at the half, where the score was 34-32.

The second half opened up similarly to the first half, and the scots were able to once again add to their lead. From the bench you could hear Coach Deperry calling plays and rallying his players together, which only added more chemistry and teamwork for the Scots. Hill-Murray was able to keep it close until the end, but the Scots prevailed, with some clutch shooting from Junior Amitri Collins. The boys were able to come away with an impressive win over their out of conference foe, with a final score of 78-71.

World

Syrian Refugee Crisis

Five years ago civil war erupted in Syria between government powers and the Syrian people who oppose president Bashar Al Assad. Rebel brigades were formed to fight to battle government forces, and today the fighting has only gotten worse, as other jihadist groups like the Islamic State have capitalized on the chaos to take over parts of Syria. So far, over 220,000 people have been killed in the conflict, and half of Syria’s population has been displaced.

More than four million people have fled Syria since the beginning of the conflict, most of them being women and children. This has been the largest refugee exodus in recent history. 7.6 million Syrians have been internally displaced, which brings the total number of people forced to flee their homes around 11 million. About 5 million of those people are children according to the United Nations.

A report released by the UN in March of 2015 detailed that 4 out of every 5 Syrians is now living in poverty. Numerous war crimes have also taken place by all of the parties involved in the conflict. The government and rebel forces are accused of civilian suffering which includes blocking off access to food, water and health services.

The Islamic State is also accused of terror in Syria. They are known for administering harsh punishment on those who don’t accept their rule, which includes attacks on civilians.

The brutality inflicted from the rise of these jihadist groups has caused other countries from around the world to get involved in an attempt to stop eliminate the crisis. In 2014 the United States led air strikes in an attempt to ultimately destroy the Islamic State.

Russia is Al Assad’s largest supporter, and has led continued support in supplying the Syrian government’s military efforts with weapons despite international criticism. In September 2015 Russia started to launch its own air strikes against the rebel forces.

Despite help from other foreign powers, the violence in Syria still continues, and other conflict is now arising in countries where refugees are fleeing to, as they face a lot of tension from the citizens of these countries, and it does not appear that there is going to be an end to this crisis anytime soon.

Local

SPPS Board of Education election

On November 3rd, there will be four seats on the Saint Paul Board of Education up for election. These four positions are currently held by incumbents Mary Doran, Keith Hardy, Anne Carroll, and Louise Seeba. Hardy is the only current board member up for re-election.

Back in April, all of the current candidates finished outside of the top 7 on the first ballot vote, after the Democratic Farmer Labor Party (DFL) endorsed candidates excelled in the polling with backing from the teacher’s union.

The four favorite candidates heading into the election are all DFL endorsed candidates. They include Zuki Ellis, Steve Marchese, John Schumacher, and Mary Vanderwert.

Over the past four years, the current board members have faced a lot of criticism from parents and teachers from issues that range from the handling of the district’s budget to behavioral issues in school. Even more recently there are questions concerning violence in Saint Paul Public Schools, with large scale fights and a gun being found in a student’s backpack.

More concerning, is the criticism being thrown at Superintendent Silva and the district leaders for their handling of racial equality issues. Many of the district’s teachers have complained that the district moved too quickly and didn’t have a proper plan for making the school systems more equal and closing the achievement gap.

The DFL candidates say they are willing to listen to these issues.

Other important issues surrounding the election include, improving test scores and special needs education, expanding budget for the arts, and improving college readiness.

News

Bernie Sanders and young voters

If you are like me, or one of the many other young people who will be voting in next year’s presidential election, you may wondering who to cast your ballot for. You may be looking at prominent billionaire and republican candidate Donald Trump, or former first lady Hillary Clinton. But what if I were to tell you that there was an even better option, a candidate who would help out young people like me and you, and help pave the way for a more affordable and painless future.

Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders is campaigning to bring an affordable college plan that would make all public colleges and universities tuition-free. While other democratic candidates are also putting forth plans to make college more affordable, Sanders’ plan takes it a step further. This plan, known as the College For All Act, which was released last may, claims that it will eliminate federal profit from student debt and would make refinancing for students much more favorable. According to his website, Sanders’ program plans to get the funding for this endeavor from the place that he constantly harbors for sending our country into an economic crisis- Wall Street. With this arrangement the government would be covering 67% of the cost, while the states would be responsible for the remaining 33%, thus making college tuition free. For everyone.

Mr. Sanders’ college plan is an exciting proposition for young people around the country. It would ultimately eliminate not only college tuition, but years of stress and crippling debt. Plans like these have been successful in many other countries around the world, and it can be successful here as well, as long as we vote Bernie.

Scoreboard/Schedule, Sports, Volleyball

Volleyball

After a 2014 campaign that led to a conference title and a deep run into the section playoffs, the Highland Park Scots girls volleyball team is once again slated to put together another successful 2015 season. After a 4-0 start that included wins against Sibley and fellow St Paul City conference foe Johnson, the Scots entered the weekend with momentum as they attended the Visitation Invitational Tournament.

They started their tournament run against St. Louis Park, and defeated them in convincing fashion 2-1. Next they faced the team that would give them trouble throughout the entire tournament, the Academy of Holy Angels. Highland battled hard in the first set, but would ultimately end up losing to Holy Angels 2-1. Although it was a tough loss the girls were not out of the tournament yet, and next they had to face conference rival Como Park. This matchup provided one of the most entertaining games of the tournament. After dropping the first set to Co
mo, the team fought strong during the 2nd set and forced it to go into extra games and eventually pulled off a 30-28 win, and would then go on to win the 3rd set. Following anther 2-1 victory of Robbinsdale Armstrong, the girls found themselves matched up again against Holy Angels in the 1st place game. After dropping the first set in extra games 27-25, they were able to win the 2nd set 25-22 and force a 3rd game for all the marbles. The team would eventually lose the 3rd set 15-10 for their 2nd loss of the tournament to Holy Angels, and settle for 2nd place.

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http://highlandsr.spps.org/Girls_Volleyball

The team has received very good play from senior captain and Division 1 commit Emilia Czapiewska. She currently is leading the team in scoring and provides a threat in front of the net. They have also received very nice play at the setter position from sisters Cassandra and Maddy Krois. The sister duo leads the team in assists. Another player to look out for is Junior Maria Nelson, who is putting up nice scoring numbers, as well as Junior Lucia Calatayud, who keeps the opposing team on their toes with her nice serve game.