 Dylan Snyder
Staff Writer President Obama made history when he visited Havana, Cuba because this was the first time in nearly ninety years that a United States president has made that trip. A giant American delegation, which consisted of about eight hundred to twelve hundred people, landed in Havana the weekend of March Twenty-first planning on ending tension that is carried over from the Cold War and adding to Obama’s legacy. Cameron Goz
Sports Editor Apex High Legacy recently conducted a poll on their twitter account, @ahslegacy, on who students favor in the upcoming election. The results were both shocking and despite a small sample size, representative of whom Apex High as a unit wants running this country.  Nick Stines
News Editor With the Iowa caucus coming up on Monday, Feb. 1, the GOP and Democrat candidates are racing around Iowa to gain last minute votes. Iowa and New Hampshire are the two most important states to gain support from, and if one candidate wins one of those states, they will likely have a spot on the ballot for the election in November of 2016. The front-runner for the GOP appears to be Donald Trump, and Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders are nearly a deadlock with no clear front-runner. Sanders has a lot of media attention for socialist policies which Americans have feared for decades. Trump, on the other hand, also has a lot of positive and negative media attention for unfiltered stances. This is an election like no other; “outsiders” such as Ben Carson, Donald Trump, and Carly Fiorina are all non-political figures running for the GOP.  Henry McKeand
Editor-in-Chief and A&E Editor The always-controversial issue of gun control is in the spotlight yet again as mass shootings in San Bernardino, California and Paris, France have started another dialogue on the right to bear arms. The topic was discussed at the most recent Republican and Democratic national debates, and now President Barack Obama is planning to introduce new gun control laws using executive action this week. The new actions taken by the White House will simultaneously increase enforcement of gun laws and expand background checks. They will also aim to avoid loopholes that allow for dealers to avoid background checks. They will prevent online weapons dealers from selling weapons without obtaining licenses and information from buyers, and they will also force sellers at gun shows to conduct checks. This will end the “gun show loophole,” which has allowed people to buy firearms at large gun shows without undergoing background checks.  Dylan Snyder
Staff Writer To be the president of the United States, a person must meet many requirements including being a natural-born citizen. A ten-year-old girl from Massachusetts named Alena Mulhern is trying to change this. Mulhern was born in China, but she has lived here since she was ten months old and has basically grown up in America. She says that this law prevents many people from doing great things in politics. She asked the committee to think about how many people this affects and to realize it is all because of a law passed over two-hundred years ago. “I am just as much as an American as you are and everyone else,” says Mulhern, “and I don’t even remember China that much.” Although I do not plan on going into politics like this clearly brave girl, I can relate to this in my own life. I was adopted from Seoul, South Korea at nine months. I also do not remember it all, and I was raised by an American family. I do not know really any different lifestyle other than my life; I drive a truck, play sports, and grew up fishing and listening to country music. I am sure Mulhern has grown up in a similar way in her American family. The significance in saying that is there is no point in stopping people who are adopted or who have been here that long. There is so much potential and insight that they can teach us from their culture while in a leadership position in the government. If a person loves our country and is willing to step up and take the lead, then he/she should be given as fair of a chance as anyone else. Hopefully Alena can be an example for others who feel the same need to step up, take action, and open people’s eyes who do not see the side she is arguing.  Grace Fendrick
Features and Web Editor On Oct. 28 the third Republican primary debate was held at the University of Colorado Boulder in Boulder, Colorado. Just like any other debate, there were winners, and there were losers. The unique reasons why some candidates shined was what made this debate unlike many others. Ten candidates, three moderators, and millions of people were watching. Participating in the debate were front-runners business mogul Donald Trump and former pediatric neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Carson, fellow outsider Carly Fiorina, establishment politicians Gov. Chris Christie (NJ), former Gov. Jeb Bush (FL), and Sen. Ted Cruz (TX), Gov. John Kasich (OH), as well as freshman Sen. Marco Rubio (FL), long-time conservative Gov. Mike Huckabee (AR), and former libertarian Sen. Rand Paul (KY). When it comes to moderators John Harwood, Becky Quick, and Carl Quintanilla, The New York Post may have said it best with an article titled, “There’s no debate: The CNBC Moderators were unfair.” According to the polls following the debate, those who usually shine during debates did not perform. Trump talked much less than in past debates, and Bush, who generally performs very well in debates, was lacking. Fiorina owned the floor, amassing the longest talking time. When it finally came down to it, Sen. Rubio was the clear winner, with Sen. Cruz following closely behind. Their success can be largely attributed to them addressing and criticizing the obvious liberal bias of the moderators on stage.  Henry McKeand
Editor-in-Chief and A&E Editor The first presidential Democratic debate took place Oct. 13, giving voters the first chance to see Democratic frontrunner Hilary Clinton face off with Bernie Sanders, the Vermont senator who has been rising in the polls recently. Joining Clinton and Sanders was former governor of Maryland Martin O’Malley, former US senator Jim Webb, and former governor of Rhode Island Lincoln Chafee. Almost all of the current hot button issues were addressed, from domestic issues like gun control and racial justice to foreign affairs such as the conflict in Syria. The loud and passionate style of Sanders differed from Clinton’s cooler, more political demeanor. Clinton’s more moderate beliefs were contrasted with those of Sanders, a self-described socialist who is calling for a political revolution. While Clinton and Sanders exchanged heated words over many of the issues, however, they more-or-less agreed on the key points. In fact, all five candidates managed to play relatively nice. Aside from a few attacks on Hilary Clinton’s e-mail scandal and supposed lack of consistency, few personal jabs were thrown. |
