All around the world, circuses travel and entertain people everywhere they go. Performers do flips, tricks, and balance on the craziest things. Something almost every circus uses is animals, which are often loved by children. 

Despite bringing huge success to the circus, people are arguing for animals to be taken out of circuses for multiple reasons.

When it comes to taming the animals, trainers use whips, tight collars, muzzles, electric prods, bullhooks and other painful tools to force animals to perform. Tigers naturally fear fire, but they are still forced to jump through fire hoops in some circuses and have been burned multiple times. 

Other than physically being abused, animals are also mentally abused. During the off-season, animals used in circuses are sometimes put in small traveling crates. The confinement has harmful psychological effects on them that are often indicated by unnatural behavior such as repeated swaying, and pacing. 

Virtually 96% of a circus animal’s life is spent in chains or cages. 11 months a year they travel over long distances in box cars with no climate control; sleeping, eating, and defecating in the same cage until they die.

Not only does this hurt animals though, it also hurts people. Since 1990, there have been more than 123 documented attacks on humans by captive large cats in the United States, 13 of which resulted in fatal injuries.

As animals everywhere get abused, the senate in Colorado is passing Senate Bill 125, called the Traveling Exotic Animal Safety Protection Act. “Circus animals often have quite difficult lives, and this bill aims to prevent exotic animals from being used in such a way here in our state,” Rachel Zenzinger, a Colorado state senator said.

Colorado is putting up a bill to ensure animals are being fairly treated. Circus animals are often abused and mistreated until the day they die. As time goes on, it only puts more animals in danger. Circuses should be discontinued if they continue to hurt animals.

In many places in the world, like America, Black women and men often face hair discrimination. On several occasions, they are denied work and opportunity because of their hairstyles and/or hair textures. Due to this, not only adults are facing mistreatment, but also children of African Descent. 

In a single week, three states around the United States introduced or advanced bills that would ban hair discrimination. Those three states are: Colorado, Minnesota, and Washington. All three states have a 3%+ population of African Americans and are becoming more open minded.

Colorado passed the Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair, or CROWN, Act and their senate introduced the new bill the next day. Minnesota is considering the bill and was introduced to the bill earlier in the week. Washington state passed a bill that would prohibit employers and schools from discriminating against people over hairstyles and textures including: afros, braids, locks and twists.

At school, many people experience hair discrimination, like Texas student DeAndre Arnold. He was told that he was unable to walk at his own graduation if he didn’t cut his dreadlocks. His school only allows short dreadlocks and because his are long, they violated the school dress code. As of January 24, 2020, Arnold had to face suspension.

It’s not just Colorado, Minnesota, and Washington though. Other states like, California, New York, and New Jersey, were the first three states to pass the CROWN Act. As other states start to roll in and start accepting others, the CROWN Act is starting to thrive each and every day giving others the rights they deserve. 

By Jillian Armstrong

Most people have heard about the Iowa caucus, and even it’s results this year. Most people, however, don’t know why the caucuses are so important and the influence it has.

The Iowa caucuses are biennial electoral events for members of the Democratic and Republican parties in the state of Iowa. The Iowa caucus is regarded as an important indicator of a candidate’s likely success and it usually is the first among the nomination contests. 

You may be wondering why the Iowa caucuses are important and why they are in Iowa in the first place. Iowa is tiny, atypical to the rest of the United States, and provides about only 1% of the nation’s delegates. However, this doesn’t stop the state from being the first indicator of whether a presidential candidate’s support is holding up. The timing of the Iowa caucus provides candidates time to adjust their messages, which gives the state a large amount of power in elections. The Iowa caucuses give the media a tangible measure of candidates’ relative strength.

The Iowa caucuses’ importance can be seen in past electoral races. According to Encyclopedia Britannica, for example, the Iowa caucuses in 2000 played an important role in the ascendance of the Democratic nominee, Al Gore. It did the same thing for the election’s ultimate winner, George W. Bush. In 2008, former President Barack Obama took lead in the Iowa caucuses. This forged a path for his nomination and victory over his rivals. 

The Iowa caucuses are run differently from other primary elections. In primary elections, in other states, registered voters go to polling places to cast ballots. In Iowa, people gather at local caucus meetings to discuss and vote on the candidates.

The caucuses were run differently this year, a decision that may have backfired. Instead of local meetings, it was decided that an app would be used to make the experience “easier.” The apps showed irregularities and votes began to have to be counted manually. This led to a significant delay in determining the results. 

According to CNN, the eventual results of the Iowa caucuses showed Pete Buttigieg and Bernie Sanders as front runners in the Presidential race, both carrying about 21% of the votes. Elizabeth Warren was not far behind in the race with about 18% of the votes. So, as the Presidential race continues, these three candidates should be paid close attention!