hm journal volume 4 issue 1

T H E H O R A C E M A N N

JournalV O L U M E I V • I S S U E 1

Letter from the Editor

THE HORACE MANN

Journal

2

Editor-in-ChiefLucy Golub

Managing EditorsPriyani Karim

Eden David

Executive EditorsIsabel FriesnerRebecca Okin

EditorsSara Hirade

Samantha AlbsteinElizabeth Raab

Zarina Iman

Faculty AdvisorMorgan Yarosh

The Horace Mann Journal is a current events publication for Middle Division students. The views reflected in the publication do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the school as a whole. Please contact Lucy Golub with any questions about the publication as a whole.

Issue I • Volume IVNovember 2014

Dear Readers,

Welcome to the fourth volume of the Horace Mann Journal, a publication designed for Middle School students to express their opinions on international and domestic issues. The Middle Division students have all worked incredibly hard putting their articles together, and we hope that they spur some thought or discussion. More writers have been a part of this issue than ever before. I'm proud of each and every person involved and I am looking forward to the year ahead.

This issue addresses topics ranging from gender equality in the workplace to NASA's space discovery to immigration, ISIS, and beyond.

Enjoy!

Lucy Golub

Table of Contents

America's Response to ISIS Aaron Snyder

The Border CrisisEuwan Kim

The People's Climate MarchEdwin Jin

Domestic Violence in Major Sports LeaguesAnnabelle Chan

NASA BreakthroughsSandhya Shyam

1033 ProgramWilliam Golub

Scotland Does Not Want IndependenceSurya Gowda

The Raw Injustice Against African-AmericansEunice Bae

The Challenges of Combating ISISSajan Mehrota

The Bike HazardWilliam Sassower

Gender Equality in the Workplace Dana Jacoby

Women's IssuesNishtha Sharma

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Table of Contents

4 Issue I • Volume IV

the horace mann journal

Over the summer, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), made significant progress in its

goal of establishing a caliphate for itself in parts of Iraq and Syria. As of today, the amount of land acquired continues to grow. The group practices a radical version of Islam. They will kill anyone who does not convert to their form of Islam – even other Muslims. In a 60 Minutes on ISIS, Scott Pelley said that those who reject ISIS’s ways are non-believers and are subject to execution. He said that applies to Muslims and their mosques, while footage of a mosque being blown up is shown. This violence has forced the United States to respond.

The U.S. responded to ISIS not only to reinforce its role as the “global policeman,” – a role President Obama has embraced - but also with a personal

America’s Response to ISISAaron Snyder

stake in stopping ISIS. The U.S. has spent years in Iraq trying to stabilize the country and its government. In March 2003, Operation Iraqi Freedom began. It wasn’t until December 2011 that troops pulled out of Iraq. The war cost the U.S. over 4,000 military lives, and by the Congressional Research Service’s estimate $806 billion. President Obama estimates over $1 trillion. ISIS has effectively destroyed a good chunk of nine years of work. They have forced the U.S. to act.

By the end of September, the U.S. had conducted 240 air strikes against ISIS. As a response to the air strikes, ISIS has beheaded two American Journalists, two British aid workers, and a French citizen. They have threatened more beheadings if the air strikes don’t stop. President Obama has promised that the

U.S. will not use ground troops to fight ISIS. However, U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel has said that American ground troops might need to be installed to help Iraq fight ISIS. The question is: can ISIS be stopped without putting U.S. boots on the ground? If they are to be stopped, other countries have to join the fight against ISIS.

On September 24th, President Obama addressed the United Nations general assembly, asking for the help of other countries in the fight against ISIS. The fight against ISIS now includes the United Kingdom, Belgium, Denmark, France, Australia, the Netherlands, and multiple Arab countries. For the most part, these countries are only providing support with air strikes. One notable nation that is left out is Turkey. Turkey, which shares a border with Syria and

5November 2014


America’s Response to ISISAaron Snyder

Iraq, does not want to get involved in the fight against ISIS. According to the New York Times, in an article titled “Turkish Inaction on ISIS Advance Dismays the U.S.,” Turkey will not get involved in the fight against ISIS unless the U.S. gives support to the rebels attempting to overthrow the Syrian president, Bashar

Sources

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/27/world/europe/british-parliament-vote-isis-airstrikes.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&version=LedeSum&module=first-column-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=1http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/08/world/middleeast/isis-syria-coalition-strikes.htmlhttp://www.cbsnews.com/news/isis-the-islamic-state-on-the-ground-in-iraq/http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/30/world/meast/operation-iraqi-freedom-and-operation-new-dawn-fast-facts/http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/30/world/meast/operation-iraqi-freedom-and-operation-new-dawn-fast-facts/http://projects.militarytimes.com/valor/search?first_name=&last_name=&start_date=&end_date=&conflict=1&home_state=&home_town=&branch=&age=&year=&year_month=&sortby=dod&pag

al-Assad. The White House has strongly urged that the immediate threat is ISIS, not Bashar al-Assad. If Turkey gets involved, they can play a critical role in lessening the need for American ground forces.

As for the essential question regarding ISIS – whether or not they can be stopped

without putting American troops’ boots on the ground – the U.S. will stop ISIS regardless of whether or not Turkey gets involved. If the U.S. cannot stop ISIS through solely air strikes, they should use ground forces. U.S. officials say that completely destroying ISIS may take years. HMJ



The Border CrisisEuwan Kim

The ongoing border crisis between the United States and Mexico, where illegal immigrants are

crossing the border into America, is caus-ing problems for everyone on both sides. Mexican families, mostly children, claim to be crossing the border into Texas and California, because they are escaping hu-man trafficking, gangs, domestic violence, and femicide. These waves of immigration have been causing Americans to demand changes to the current system and checks to help both the immigrants and the citi-zens.

Most families and parents in Mexico are sending their kids to America, thinking that they would have a safer, better life. This, unfortunately, is not exactly true. Before 2008, these children were allowed to stay in America in foster homes or

adoption centers. However, the children are now either being deported back into Mexico or being put in detention centers such as the Ventura County Naval Base. Many of the families in Mexico who are considering sending their children to the U.S., are not aware of the new change, causing many to still cross the border.

The U.S. and Mexican governments have been changing their regulations to-wards immigration reform, a system re-garding changes in policy, to decrease the number of illegal immigrants, especially children. The U.S. has agreed to raise its security measures on the border, make sure that all workers in America have legal citizenships or working permits, update the naturalization process, and try to un-cover smuggling networks. Smugglers are paid thousands of dollars to take people

across the border. Mexico has also agreed to raise security measures. They have put in more immigrant checkpoints by the border, sent six more deportation busses to transport kids back into Mexico, and end hitchhiking by speeding up “La Bes-tia,” a train many children hop on to get through most of Mexico.

Although many changes have occurred to prevent illegal immigration, or at least to decrease it, many children are still able to cross the border. This causes many problems. Children who lose their fami-lies while crossing the border cannot take care of themselves in the America. Also, many citizens in America are protesting that detention centers and naval bases are not proper places for children.

There are many debates surrounding the border crisis. One of the most recent

7November 2014


outbreaks was a clash between protesters who were trying to block busses shipping illegal immigrants into the Murrieta, Cal-ifornia community and supporters who were trying to welcome them. One of the protesters, Liz Herger, says, “We need to stop these busloads of illegals. We are an economically depressed area and we al-ready don’t have jobs… Who’s gonna take care of them? We’re not going to.” On the other hand, one of the supporters, Osval-do Delgado, said, “His country is based on immigration and I cannot believe how kids aren’t being welcomed. It blows my mind. They’re fleeing for their lives.” This clash resulted in a long fight with signs, law enforcement, blocked streets, the ar-rests of five people, and sickness due to the burning heat.

Another recent event that surround-ed the border crisis is President Obama announcing to a group of Hispanics that he will return to immigrant reform after midterm elections. The Hispanic group, was outraged by this announcement. Gutiérrez, a Democratic Representative from Illinois, said about the outdated im-migration reform, “The president of the United States made a promise in 2008, during the campaign, that he’d get it done in 2009 and 2010, ‘11, ‘12. It’s clear that anybody that looks at this says, ‘Wow, we weren’t the priority we should have been

and we weren’t the priority he promised we’d be.’”

Illegal immigrants should be welcomed into the U.S. however, their entrance into this country should be better regulated to ensure the well being and safety of the cit-izens in both countries. Immigrants help the economic status of the U.S. enormous-ly. They occupy half of the agricultural jobs in the U.S. and are a large part of the population. Without immigrants, Ameri-ca would have a sudden drop in the eco-nomic status, wages would go lower for everyone, and prices would go incredibly high. Also, employers who hire the illegal immigrants can pay them lower wages, and they can profit more and grow their companies. Although illegal immigrants are a big help to the U.S.’s economy, I think

that there is always a limit. Too many immigrants can result in overcrowded holding facilities, which can lead to food shortages, crowded spaces, and the spread of disease. Citizens who live in nearby res-idential areas where the illegal immigrants are entering the community can feel anx-ious. However, the president should not have pushed immigration reform until after mid-term elections. When the pres-ident agrees to do something, he should do it, especially when it is an urgent situa-tion involving multiple countries' citizens. People, knowing that the illegal immi-grants are a big part of the U.S’s economy and population, should welcome them into the country peacefully and make sure that they are one of the top priorities that the U.S. has to deal with. HMJ

“ ”Smugglers are paid thousands of dollars to take people across the border.

Sources

http://www.vox.com/2014/9/19/6433867/border-crisis-central-american-children-coming-over-whyhttp://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/immigration-border-crisis/flow-immigrant-children-across-border-slows-n175606http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/SoCal-Navy-Base-to-House-Children-Caught-Illegally-Crossing-Border-261739121.htmlhttp://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/immigration-border-crisis/basics-border-crisis-how-did-we-get-here-n147601http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/immigration/211567-why-are-so-many-kids-crossing-the-us-mexico-border-and-whathttp://www.cnn.com/2014/07/07/politics/5-things-immigration-reality-check/http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/Timeline-The-Border-Crisis-265472631.htmlhttp://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/Border-Crisis-Obama-Emergency-Funds-Immigration-266220121.htmlhttp://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/immigration-border-crisis/murrieta-protesters-supporters-clash-no-buses-sight-n148481http://www.usaimmigrationreform.orghttp://www.immigrationpolicy.orghttp://www.cfr.org/immigration/economic-logic-illegal-immigration/p12969http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/politics/2014/10/02/obama-to-address-immigration-reform-delay-in-congressional-hispan-ic-cau



On September 21, 2014, perhaps the most important event that affected cli-mate change occurred: the New York City People’s Climate March. More than 5,000 groups marched through midtown Man-hattan, beginning at Columbus Circle and ending at Times Square to the far West Side. The People’s Climate March led to more marches in Paris, New Guinea, and

other major cities. As a result of the Peo-ple’s Climate March, people all over the world are aware of the dangers of global warming and are working towards im-proving global warming.

More than 300,000 people participated in the People’s Climate March. Many po-litical leaders also participated in these, including Mayor Bill DeBlasio and Former

Vice President Al Gore. A week ago, De-Blasio announced he would lower green-house gases by 80% by 2050. On Fifth Av-enue there was a 3,000-pound ice statue carved with the words, “The Future.” The ice on the sculpture was melting; it was supposed to represent what can happen to us if we do not pay attention to climate change. All of these people came to march

THE PEOPLE’S CLIMATE MARCHEdwin Jin

9November 2014


THE PEOPLE’S CLIMATE MARCHEdwin Jin

because of the concern of global warming. Many people were wearing masks, which people might have to wear in 200 years. The march took place a few days before the United Nations Summit Meeting. Lat-er that day, more climate marches took place in 162 different countries. The Peo-ple’s Climate March was a very successful march that helped the planet.

The People’s Climate March led to marches in other countries too. There was a march in London where about 40,000 marchers participated. There was also a march in Melbourne, Australia that around 10,000 marchers participated in. Climate change has not been an import-ant topic until the climate march. Few people knew of this in the 1970’s and now

it is a large, publicized problem. In Octo-ber 2014, many new policies were created concerning climate change. The climate march in September gained the attention of many policymakers and has further spread awareness.

The People’s Climate March was an ef-fective way to raise awareness about cli-mate change. Making more people aware



of climate change is important because we can do a lot to improve our environment. For example, among other ways to make the climate cooler, we can recycle and use less gas. More people have to be aware about what climate change is doing to our environment. If we ignore it, Earth will be-come too warm and will mean many ani-mals losing their homes, dangerous heat waves, and flooding. If this march had not happened, fewer people would be aware of climate change, and our Earth might be a little warmer than it is right now.

Many people do not know that some of the daily tasks that we normally do, such as driving, throwing out trash, etc. can cause global warming. Global warming has al-ready caused many problems, like changes in rainfall patterns, increasing coastal ero-sion, lengthening the growing seasons in some regions, and melting of ice caps and glaciers. This causes problems for farmers and that are harmful to the economy. For example, the global temperature has gone up by 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit since 1880. This may not seem like a lot, but in 1,000 years, the global temperature will be about 10 degrees higher. The arctic ice mini-mum has also been decreasing by 13.7% per decade. With all that ice gone, many animals and creatures native to that hab-itat will lose their homes. There has been 398.5 more carbon dioxide parts per mil-lion. Carbon dioxide is safe in ordinary amounts but too much is bad for the en-vironment. The sea level has gone up 3.17 millimeters per year. If the sea level keeps going up so fast, floods will occur much more frequently. Lastly, the forest cover has gone down 1.5 million square kilome-ters over the past 12 years. Many animals live in those trees. These facts prove that climate change is a big problem in today’s

society, and that we need to stop it at all costs.

One of the most prominent causes of global warming is the emission of fossil fuels. We use gas to cook, drive cars, and complete many other tasks that require energy. Companies burn fossil fuel to cre-ate energy. When they burn the fuels, they release greenhouse gases and that causes global warming. If we can reduce the omis-sions of greenhouse gases, climate change will be a significantly smaller problem. In order to do this, policies should be passed restricting the amount of fossil fuels that can be burned. This is one of the largest causes of climate change and how we can actually resolve it.

People have already taken action for this cause. Over 5,000 groups attended the People’s Climate March. More than 100 world leaders came to march for this cause. Many political leaders have also taken action. During a United Nations

Summit Meeting, Senator John Kerry said he aims to pay attention to climate change over the course of the week. Also, the chief United States climate change negotiator, Todd Stern, held multiple meetings con-cerning climate change. The Rockefellers, who have gained their wealth from oil, announced that their fund will abandon fossil fuel funding. These events may not have happened if it were not for the march and the publicity it has provided for the movement against climate change.

In conclusion, the People’s Climate March on September 21, 2014 did a lot of good for the Earth. Now many more people are aware of climate change and are trying to prevent it. The government is also working on combatting global warm-ing, writing and passing new policies. The People’s Climate March City helped the environment because people all over the world are now taking action to save our environment. HMJ

Sources

http://climate.nasa.govhttp://www.epa.gov/climatechange/basics/http://www.usnews.com/news/us/articles/2014/09/21/march-on-global-warming-expected-to-draw-thousandshttp://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/09/21/nyc-climate-change-march/16008009/http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/science/topics/globalwarming/index.html

11November 2014


DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IN MAJOR SPORTS LEAGUES

ANNABELLE CHAN



Ray Rice’s recent suspension and termination from the Baltimore Ravens and the National Foot-

ball League for domestic violence has focused the nation’s attention on this serious problem. His actions have also raised questions about the proper role of professional athletes and their leagues in addressing these problems.

In February 2014, Rice, the star run-ning back of the Baltimore Ravens, was arrested and charged with assaulting his then fiancée, Janay Palmer. The two had gotten into a disagreement and in the el-evator of a casino in Atlantic City. Rice punched his fiancée and knocked her unconscious. Unfortunately for Rice, a security guard caught him dragging Palmer out of the elevator. The guard immediately reported him to the po-lice. While Palmer later refused to press charges, National Football League Com-missioner Roger Goodell suspended Rice for two games. Fans were shocked by this extremely mild punishment, and women’s support groups were out-raged. Goodell later apologized, saying “I didn’t get it right. Simply put we have to do better. And we will.” The NFL then established new, stricter rules for players and employees who engage in domestic violence.

Football players are not the only ones involved in domestic violence situa-tions. Semyon Varlamov, a goaltender for the Colorado Avalanche of the Na-tional Hockey League, was arrested in December 2013 for kicking and stomp-ing on the chest of his girlfriend. In Sep-tember 2014, Jeff Taylor, a player on the National Basketball Association’s Char-lotte Hornets, was arrested for hitting his girlfriend, assaulting a hotel employ-ee, and damaging the hotel. In baseball, Brett Myers, a pitcher for Major League Baseball’s Philadelphia Phillies, was ar-rested for assaulting his wife on a street in Boston. All of these incidents had one thing in common: in no situation was the athlete convicted. However, the ta-bles completely turned on Rice when a video surfaced of Rice dragging his wife out of the elevator after knocking her out. Roger Goodell and the Ravens were

completely ashamed for their minor punishment, and immediately terminat-ed Rice from the Baltimore Ravens and suspended him from the NFL.

Domestic violence is defined as vio-lent or aggressive behavior within the family, which typically involves a part-ner or spouse. It is a widespread issue that affects all aspects of American so-ciety. According to the Department of Justice, 25% of women in the United States will experience domestic violence at some time in their lives. According to the same report, 1.3 million women are physically assaulted each year. The vic-tims of domestic violence are typically women between the ages of 20 and 24. After the Ray Rice incident, Vice Presi-dent Joseph Biden Jr. announced that he would organize a meeting to find ways to give victims more protection before and after attacks.

Due to these issues, the four major U.S. professional sport leagues have tak-en some action to strengthen their poli-

cies about domestic violence. The NHL’s and NBA’s policies consist of a one-game suspension and required meetings with a psychologist if a player is involved in any sexual or domestic abuse. The NFL’s policy is now a six-game suspension and required meetings with a psychol-ogist, and MLB’s extremely mild policy is simply a referral of the situation to a treatment board that makes recommen-dations that are not mandatory.

Players, even when on the same team, have different perspectives on how to address these important issues. At a re-cent fan event, Nick Folk, the New York Jets placekicker, was questioned about the commissioner’s handling of the sit-uation. Nick Folk believes that Rice’s punishment was completely just: “The commissioner did what was in the best interest of the people.” On the other hand, when Jeremy Kerley, the wide re-ceiver for the New York Jets, was asked the same question, he said, “It feels more personal, Rice’s life has turned complete-

“”

While Palmer refused to press charges, National Football League Commissioner Roger Goodell suspended Rice for two games.

13November 2014


”25% OF WOMEN

will experience domestic violence at some point in their lives

1.3 MILLION WOMEN will experience domestic violence at some point in their lives

ly upside down because of one mistake, and I feel that the commissioner is over doing it.”

Domestic violence must be stopped; currently what we are doing is not help-ing. Still, millions are being abused and several killed. It’s even worse when a professional athlete who is considered an idol acts in way that is violent. Pro-fessional athletes chose to take a job that is based on the opinion of the fans, and they are required to live up to their ex-pectations. When they do something so immoral, their fans’ opinions will obvi-ously suffer.

In order to begin to make the situa-tion better, the abuser must first recog-

nize the damage he is causing not only to his partner, but also to himself and his relationship. This can be accomplished by requiring therapy. At the same time there should be more focus on preven-tion, by putting all of the players (new and old) through mandatory awareness training each year. Also, the league com-missioners should be given less power and instead should be required to con-sult with women support groups, phys-iologists and doctors. Since the leagues rely on public support, their discipline processes should be more open to the public and less secretive.

Although there are many problems that must be addressed, there is some

hope of change in the handling of do-mestic violence. Just this week, Slava Voynov a player for the NHL’s Los Ange-les Kings was suspended from the league immediately after being accused of do-mestic violence; a sign that the leagues’ attitudes maybe shifting. HMJ

Sources

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/12/sports/football/ray-rice-is-an-outlier-most-domestic-abuse-suspects-play-on.html?_r=0http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/21/sports/hockey/kings-defenseman-voynov-suspended-after-domestic-violence-arrest.htmlhttp://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2014/5/23/5744964/ray-rice-arrest-assault-statement-apology-ravenshttp://espn.go.com/espn/otl/story/_/id/11551518/how-ray-rice-scandal-unfolded-baltimore-ravens-roger-goodell-nflhttp://www.tmz.com/2014/09/08/ray-rice-elevator-knockout-fiancee-takes-crushing-punch-video/http://www.si.com/nba/2014/10/01/nba-domestic-violence-policy-michele-roberts-jeff-taylorhttp://www.nhlpa.com/inside-nhlpa/collective-bargaining-agreementhttp://mlb.mlb.com/pa/pdf/cba_english.pdf



What is space? For most people, space is just an endless realm with no limits. The universe.

What’s out there besides Earth. A vast, mysterious expanse. But what if it was more than that?

Since the beginning of time, mankind has been curious about what lies beyond. There are so many questions about space that need to be answered. Are we the only humans? What is out there besides Earth? Can we live on other planets? These are just a few of the questions peo-ple have asked over the years.

Astronomy started with the sun, the moon and the stars. When dusk fell upon the Earth, the stars and the moon were the only things from space that we could see with our very own eyes. And the sun could be seen in broad daylight. It was the only evidence we had to prove that it was not just our planet out there. The sun was the only data/information we had to work on.

The earliest astronomy works began with the Greek civilizations. They chart-ed the stars that could be seen, the moon,

and the sun, and they plotted their po-sitions. Mayan civilizations made lunar and solar calendars to relate time to the sun and moons (their positions etc.). The real revolution in astronomy, how-ever, was when Nicholas Copernicus came up with the theory that the sun was the center of the planets of the uni-verse, and everything revolved around it - this became known as the “Heliocen-tric System.” Although incorrect, this theory was right about some things. The planets in our planetary system do re-volve around the sun, which explained their orbits. Copernicus was among the best astronomers and the most brilliant minds. Some of the other astronomers who helped mankind learn more about the universe are Ptolemy, Aristotle, Gali-leo, Brahe, and Kepler.

Today, our knowledge of the universe and space is much more than back when the Greek civilizations charted stars. Our knowledge started expanding around the beginning of the 20th century. The 20th century brought many things, both good and bad, but one of the most important

and influential things that it brought was technology. People were starting to use all sorts energy to create innovative ma-chines. With the help of technology, as-tronomers were able to discover so much more of the universe. They were able to create high-tech telescopes, the most fa-mous of which is the Hubble, which is able to view with extremely good clarity. With these telescopes, we were able to observe what we could see from Earth very clearly, and pick up deep signals from all over space that were able to tell us a rough history of cosmic events that happened in the universe.

That is not the end of space discov-eries. With technology, we were also able to create spaceships that were able to sustain human life outside of Earth. Humans were actually to leave the plan-et and explore other alien worlds not known to us before. In 1969, NASA sent Neil Armstrong and Edward Hubble, as-tronauts, to be the first humans to go and observe the moon. Armstrong was the first human to ever step on the moon. When he took his first step on the moon,

NASA BREAKTHROUGHSSANDHYA SHYAM

15November 2014


he said, “That’s one small step for man, a giant leap for mankind.” Indeed it was.

The expedition to the moon solved so many questions we had. For the first time in human history, we were able to discover and observe things from a world different from our own. Technol-ogy helped us create rovers as well, ve-hicles designed to move across the sur-face of a planet/celestial body in order to collect information and samples. The Mars Rover, which was sent by NASA and collected and sent back information about Mars this year, helped a lot with dis-covering more about the planet.

Among other or-ganizations intent on finding out more is CERN, the Europe-an Organization for Nuclear Research. Some scientists there believe that they have discovered something major. Sci-entists believe that about 20-30% of all matter in the universe is made up of dark matter. The existence of dark matter can-not be verified because it is invisible to the human eye and cannot be detected from the light that it emits. Since it can-not be seen directly, we don’t even know if it exists. However, its effect on other objects in the universe can be seen. Re-cent data and research at CERN has hint-ed that dark matter does exist.

Another use of technology to help astronomers observe celestial objects occurred very recently. During a solar storm, NASA cameras were able to cap-ture clear and vibrant pictures of solar flares and sunspots.

Technology has helped scientists learn so much about the universe.We have made great progress over the last 100

years in finding out about space. But this is only the tip of the iceberg. I think that there is just so much more to discover.

However, there have recently been many budget cuts for NASA. It is cur-rently a tough time for the economy, and so astronomical discoveries have lessened and lessened over the years. Ac-cording to NASA’s official website, since 1973, NASA’s federal spending has de-clined from 1.35% to less than 0.6% now. Many projects, such as SETI (Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence), have been

cancelled due to these cuts. Obama is trying to support NASA and space dis-covery, but he cannot salvage the situa-tion fully.

In my opinion, space discoveries are something that cannot be restrained or restricted. We must keep trying our best to find out more about space and our existence on Earth. Although looking out for how we live and strive amongst ourselves on this planet is first priority, finding out about what is out there is also very important. In my opinion, if the US cannot support NASA, then other coun-tries should. There are many other small, foreign space agencies and organizations that are richly funded by their respec-tive countries. NASA should collaborate with them or receive funding from them and their countries. Some examples are the China National Space Administra-tion and the UK Space Agency. The Chi-

“The only way that we will make effective progress is if all the space organizations work together.”

Sources

http://abyss.uoregon.edu/~js/ast121/lectures/lec02.htmlhttp://www.cnn.com/2014/06/10/tech/innovation/solar-flares/index.html?iid=article_sidebarhttp://www.cnn.com/2014/09/20/tech/innovation/dark-matter-experiment-data/index.htmlhttp://www.greatachievements.org/?id=3763http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/mer/home/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/05/140530-space-politics-planetary-science-funding-exploration/

na National Space Agency has made lots of progress on its own and could make even more by collaborating with NASA. Those organizations might want to keep their money and discoveries to them-selves, but they cannot deny the facts: NASA and America have by far been the most influential and successful in mod-ern space discoveries. They sent the first men to the moon, have created many ex-cellent high-tech space telescopes, and have sent many rovers to discover more about other planets.

We still have so many questions. Finding out if human civilization can survive on other planets would be ex-ponential knowledge for keeping the hu-man race alive if Earth could not support us any more. Also: are we

alone in this vast universe? Or are there others; if so, are they like us?

We will never be able to answer these questions if people keep bickering over money. Space discovery is not a compe-tition; it is a test to see if we are capable of finding out about what is outside our small, safe planet. It is not about coun-tries’ being pitted against each other, a competition of who can find out first. It is a test for the human race. The only way that we will make effective progress is if all the space organizations work togeth-er to discover more. Knowledge simply cannot be restrained like it is now. We must continue to work together to find out more about the universe. The uni-verse is huge and never ending. As old questions are answered, new ones will resurface. As technology advances over time, so will our knowledge of the realm above. HMJ



1033 ProgramWILLIAM GOLUB

17November 2014


1033 ProgramWILLIAM GOLUB

Watertown, Connecticut: home of the Paugasuck Indians, the Crestbrook Park Golf Course,

and a $733,000 mine resistant, ambush-protected (MRAP) vehicle. A town of only 22,000 people and approximately zero landmines is now capable of battling even the most mine savvy terrorists. In the 1990s, congress passed the National Defense Authorization Act section 1208, allowing the Secretary of Defense to “transfer to Federal and State agencies personal property of the Department of Defense, including small arms and ammunition, that the Secretary determines is- (A) suitable for use by such agencies in counter-drug activities and (B) excess to the needs of the Department of Defense.” This section was replaced with the 1033 program, which is designed to give small municipal police forces access to better weapons for counter-drug or counter-terrorism activities. Military grade weapons, however, have no place in small town police forces.

Police forces can apply for and receive anything from uniforms to armored

personnel carriers and only have to pay shipping and handling fees. The Pentagon was already bad at allocating funds but is now even worse. They are buying weapons and gear that are not needed and giving them to local police forces. In Oakland County, $2,683.86 was spent on hammers at $149.10 each. The Pentagon should not buy hammers for $150; let alone give their expensive hammers away when they will always be buying more. Police forces are getting much more equipment than they need. Brevard County, which has a population of a little over 500,000 people, received 58 helicopters from the Pentagon. Many counties also received snowshoes, but the one that stands out the most is El Paso. The county averages 0 inches of snowfall per year but has received 92 pairs of snowshoes.

These practices are wasteful. Although in theory it is a good idea to give used or available weapons and supplies to police, these supplies may sit in warehouses or lockers unused while the Pentagon spends more on these same supplies.

In 2013, the defense budget was $856 billion, but the government threw away billions in unused equipment.

One other type of misappropriated weapons and funds is on campus police forces. Many colleges have military grade weapons that they received through the 1033 program including grenade launchers, assault rifles, MRAPs, and more. The only justification for these ridiculous weapons is the rare live shooter situation.

Another reason why the 1033 program is counterproductive is that insufficient training can easily escalate small or unnecessary conflicts. Police forces are not required to receive training before getting these dangerous and powerful weapons. Often officers do not know the right way to use and handle these weapons. This lack of knowledge can be dangerous and can further infuriate rioters or protesters. One example of this problem is muzzle awareness. Paul D. Eaton, a retired general who previously served as the Army’s Chief of Infantry at Fort Benning summarized muzzle



awareness. “Their fingers are off the trigger; they are on the trigger guard. The barrel is either straight down or no higher than a 45-degree angle. The effort is to declare a presence but not to declare you are on the offensive,” he said.

Ferguson, Missouri is a town ravaged by rioting and clashing with police after an officer killed an unarmed African American teenager named Michael Brown. The riots might have been resolved already, if not for the 1033 program. Officers dressed in camouflage and military gear tried to shut down the protests. Due to lack of training, tensions escalated and the situation got worse. Officers were using military tactics that injured protestors. Officers charged against peaceful crowds with weapons drawn and even rode around the streets in tanks and armored personnel carriers. This response tothe riots led to more violence toward police, making protesters angry and fearful for their safety.

According to the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union), “The use of paramilitary weapons and tactics primarily impacted people of color.” These conflicts have been so bad because these weapons were used towards people that are being discriminated against. Ferguson, a mostly African-American town has only three black policemen in a 53-person department. According to USA Today, 86% of vehicle stops and 93% of the arrests from the stops were against African-Americans in Ferguson.

While it is useful to have weapons for disastrous situations, the current standards and procedures are ineffective. There are two possible solutions. The

The current system is both wasteful and

dangerous. The only way to help the public is to change or end the 1033 program.

19November 2014


first option is that weapons and supplies are only granted after a more rigorous application process and a completed training. This policy would reduce the chances that someone could be injured during use. Currently, officers are in the field with these weapons but do not know when or how to use them. Increasing training will allow the program to continue only under very strict rules. It is also unclear who decides whether police forces can get the gear that they apply for, so there should be one department whose job it is to approve or deny the requests. That way, the right people can be held responsible and the public would feel

and be safer. There should also be a very strict chain of command for approving the use of these weapons. Someone who is trained and knows when and where to use these weapons would be immensely useful to making sure that no one gets hurt and no funds are wasted.

Another solution would be to make these weapons available only to elite fighting groups. If only SWAT teams, officers who have gone through a training course established by the Pentagon or National Guardsmen could access and use the weapons, the side effects of the prgram would be reduced. These limitations would mean that there is

Sources

https://www.aclu.org/war-comes-home-excessive-militarization-american-policinghttp://cdn.govexec.com/interstitial.html?v=2.1.1&rf=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.govexec.com%2Ffederal-news%2Ffedblog%2F2014%2F08%2F10-insane-things-pentagon-gave-local-law-enforcement%2F92015%2FNewsweek:HowAmerica’sPoliceBecameanArmy:The1033ProgramNYTimes:CampuspoliceacquiremilitaryweaponsNYT:InWashington,SecondThoughtsonArmingpolicehttp://online.wsj.com/articles/senators-criticize-militarization-of-local-police-departments-1410287125http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2014/08/14/ferguson-police-department-details/14064451/http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/09/16/ferguson-st-louis-county-michael-brown-militarization/15736907/http://www.usgovernmentspending.com/federal_budget_estimate_vs_actual

access to these weapons but only for those fit to handle them. If there were an issue, these Special Forces could be deployed if needed. The trained forces could be on the scene within hours to diffuse the situation. This policy would save money by having the weapons with people who cover more area. The Pentagon could keep more weapons and would therefore have to buy fewer. They could spend the money on better weapons or it could be put towards another cause.

The current system is both wasteful and dangerous. The only way to help the public is to change or end the 1033 program. HMJ



SCOTLAND DOES NOT WANT INDEPENDENCESurya Gowda

On September 18, 2014, the Scot-tish citizens were asked in ref-erendum to vote for whether

they wanted to become an independent nation or to stay allegiant to the United Kingdom. All over the country, people went to polls asking the same question, “Should Scotland be an independent country?” The Scottish government took the stance that the union should no longer be a part of the U.K., and that it would be able continue to independent-ly use its rich oil wealth as it did before. The U.K. debates in return that Britain is one of the most successful political and social unions and that Scotland is doing very well under the British’s rule;

therefore, there is no reason or need to secede.

Shockingly, the majority of Scotland rejected the chance to separate from the U.K. and decided to continue being a part of the union. According to 26 of 32 voting districts, 54.2% of the major-ity voted against independence, while 45.7% voted with independence. One of the main reasons for the loss of ref-erendum was the uncertainty of Scot-land’s economical future, and the effect it would have on businesses located in England. The price of houses would be affected if Scotland’s tax rates and cur-rency increased, making it more dif-ficult to get a mortgage. The indepen-

dence would do a lot of damage to the country due to the unknown future de-cisions that the government could make following the ‘Yes’ vote.

The major issues that factored in with the majorities ‘No’ vote focused more on oil and currency. The North Sea oil and gas reserves are what the Scottish government depended on for their case of independence. North Sea has been Britain’s success story, but recently it has been becoming more difficult to retain gas and oil because, like fossil fuel, the amount of the materials have been lack-ing in those areas. £57 ($91.66) is the predicted tax revenue the Scottish gov-ernment would receive from the North

21November 2014


SCOTLAND DOES NOT WANT INDEPENDENCESurya Gowda

Sea by 2018, giving the country a bright economic future with or without seced-ing.

If Scotland were to become free, the government would want to use the same currency, the pound, as the U.K. They said their choice was in everyone’s best interests, but the Conservatives, Labor and Liberal Democrats, the three main U.K. parties, disagreed.

The decision to stay with U.K. saved the Prime Minister of Britain, David Cameron, from questions about his stand on continuing in office and saved the U.K.’s stand in the world because without the Scottish economy, U.K. would lose much of their money and

workers. The campaign left Scotland in a divid-

ed state. When the votes were counted, the disparity between the two opposite sides were only a few points apart. The ‘Yes’ side came near and almost had mo-mentum. In distress of almost losing Scotland, Britain’s government prom-ised to extend new powers of taxation to Scotland, yet continues to maintain a formula for public spending. In the end, Scotland opted out of independence and will continue to be reigned over by the union and U.K. All that is left to find out now is how Scotland’s majority will react and how as a country they will strive to move forward together. HMJ

Sources

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/19/world/europe/scotland-indepen-dence-vote.html?_r=2http://www.bbc.com/news/U.K.-scot-land-scotland-politics-26550736http://www.dailymail.co.U.K./news/article-2756283/Scottish-indepen-dence-referendum-House-pric-es-fall-30-000.html



The Raw Injustice Against African-Americans E U N I C E BA E

On August 9th 2014, in Ferguson, Missouri, 18 year-old Michael Brown, Jr. was fatally shot by po-

lice officer Darren Wilson. The shooting sparked uproars and drew attention to Ferguson from both a national and in-ternational standpoint. It was around 12 p.m. when Officer Darren Wilson pulled up to Brown and his friend Dorian John-son. Wilson ordered the two to stand on the sidewalk, suspecting them of a rob-bery he had heard of over the police ra-dio just a few minutes earlier. Witnesses say that Brown was leaning in through the window of the police car, and Wil-son’s gun went off; they did not specify that any type of struggle took place. The police officers, on the other hand, say that Brown was trying to take Wilson’s gun. Johnson and Brown then fled into

opposite directions, and Wilson chose to pursue Brown. As an autopsy later re-vealed, Brown was shot at least six times, including two shots to the head, one of which was fatal, suggestion that Brown was killed instantaneously. He was un-armed at the time.

In reponse to the horrible shooting, protests sprung in the Ferguson area and across the nation sprung. One can see how this shooting had crossed the line for so many black communities in our nation who have endured for too long the injustice that has repeatedly been brought down on them. Part of the prob-lem is that there is an inconsistency be-tween how blacks and whites are viewed. For example, in many places, if a white teenage boy shoots multiple people, he’s considered “misunderstood” or “angry”,

yet if a black teenage boy is shot while unarmed following a robbery, he is con-sidered a “robber”, and nothing more. The New York Times published an article that included some statistics on Fergu-son– the population is 63% black, 33% white, and 4% other. All traffic stops, get-ting pulled over by a police officer for a reasons like speeding or running a red light, are 86% black and 14% white. Out of all the arrests that are made, 92% of them are black, and 7% are white. 5 of the 6 members of the city council are white, and 50 out of 53 officers of the po-lice force are white. These statistics show us not only how the blacks in Ferguson are barely represented, but also how the majority number of white officers and city council members could have great impacts on the number of stops and ar-

23November 2014


rests made for black citizens. The shoot-ing itself was a catastrophic blow to the black communities in Ferguson, and the anger was shown in the protests that fol-lowed, which included confronting po-lice officers and looting/burning stores. From my perspective, the biggest part of the suffering of the black communi-ties was that when the case report for the robbery was filed, aside from the details that had already been released, there was absolutely no mention of the shooting. This showed the lack of will on the po-lice department’s part to take action in solving out the matters of the case; they were denying the fact that they had done something terribly immoral and wrong, and they were giving excuses to justify

their actions. While the police depart-ment claims that Brown had tried to take Johnson’s gun, there isn’t any proof of that, and it seems to me that a huge fac-tor in the events that followed stemmed from Johnson feeling alarmed and threatened by a black man leaning into his window. Furthermore, I don’t think it

would’ve been the same if there had been a white man leaning into his window.

The black communities of Ferguson and all over the nation, through protests and unrest after the shooting of Michael Brown, used this cataclysmic event and the aftermath of protests and unrest in Ferguson as an opportunity to show the world how unequal society still is, re-gardless of the so-called “changes” that have been made over many years. In this case, all kinds of problems were present, mainly the lack of representation of the black communities within the author-itative forces in Ferguson. Although the white officers on the Ferguson po-lice force will probably deny it, most of them probably target and suspect black

citizens more when making stops and arrests, which the statistics stated be-fore can help prove. With the shooting in broad daylight and the autopsy made public, a wake-up call was thrown right at the people of Ferguson. Despite the breakthroughs African Americans have made in recent decades, including our

nation’s first black president, there are still so many obstacles that keep them from having full access to their rights that have been established for all citizens by the Constitution. President Obama called on the police in Ferguson to con-duct an “open and transparent case”. I think that this could not have been said in a better or simpler way. The use of ex-cessive force against blacks has to stop, and emphasizing this on a national level has drawn more and more attention to the Ferguson case. Although some may feel that Obama’s actions are largely based on the fact that he is a black pres-ident, I think that his race has absolute-ly nothing to do with his actions; Any president should take action to ensure

justice for all citizens of the nation that he leads. This event has, hopefully, moti-vated people of all races and ages to take more effective steps against the discrim-ination that blacks all over the country face daily, and to accept the fact that dis-crimination like this, unfortunately, is very real. HMJ

Sources

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shooting_of_Michael_Brownhttp://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/08/13/us/ferguson-missouri-town-under-siege-after-police-shooting.html?module=-Search&mabReward=relbias%3Ar%2C%7B%222%22%3A%22RI%3A17%22%7D&_r=1http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/16/us/darren-wilson-identified-as-officer-in-fatal-shooting-in-ferguson-missouri.html?_r=2http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/08/17/us/ferguson-photos.html?module=Search&mabReward=relbias%3Aw%2C%7B%222%22%3A%22RI%3A12%22%7D&_r=1http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/08/09/ferguson-police-shooting_n_5665274.htmlhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/22/michael-brown-autopsy-report_n_6027800.html

“The use of excessive force against blacks has to stop.”



The Challenges of

Combating ISISS A JA N M E H R OT R A

ISIS is a terrorist group in Iraq and Syria. It is comprised of extremists from the Sunni sect of Islam. This

group opposes another Shias, members of another Muslim sect. ISIS was kicked out of al-Qaeda for being too brutal. They used to be called al-Qaeda in Iraq before this event. Now, they are one of the most brutal and strongest terrorist group in the world. Their mission is to build a state solely for Sunnis, a place where they will not be oppressed by Shi-as. These extremists carry out their goal through war instead of peace and are deadly to whom they consider non-be-lievers.

The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria is a formidable enemy to the United States and other Western countries. Between their military strength, and propagan-da machines, it is hard to take them down militarily. But they also have an economic structure and government more sophisticated than a lot of coun-tries. Unlike most armies, they would like nothing better than to die fighting for their ideology, as long as they take down a bunch of non-Sunnis as well, as is shown by the frequent use of suicide bombs by ISIS. This makes their army more effective than others ten times it’s size. The only way to truly get rid of them is to destroy an ideology that has

been in place for more than 1,000 years. Thus, the challenges of taking down ISIS are clear.

First things first: defeating and taking down are very different than destroying. If you take somebody down, you weaken them or take away their ability to fight you. The same can be said about defeat-ing. However, when you destroy some-thing, you utterly crush it and make sure it can never rise again. In the case of ISIS, taking it down means getting rid of its leaders, weapons, and fighters. De-stroying means getting rid of the ideolo-gy of violence in the name of God. That is practically impossible, and the proof is sitting right in front of us. The United States went into Iraq in part to stop sec-tarian conflict. Then, when the US left, the sectarian conflict started again be-cause the ideology is extremely hard to destroy. When Shias and Sunnis began fighting each other, there was no such thing as Rome. This fight that is happen-ing now is something from a thousand and a half years ago, before modern civilization. ISIS is a group of jihadists, meaning that they are fighting against whom they consider non-believers. The ideology of violence in the name of god cannot be destroyed, but those that fol-low it can be weakened a lot.

The Obama administration think that

airstrikes and the Iraqi government can defeat ISIS according to the speeches top administration officials, including the president, have read. Obama himself gave a speech in early September that said that there will be no American boots on the ground but instead America will weaken ISIS with airstrikes until they no longer pose a huge threat. After years of airstrikes, ISIS will barely be weakened. In response to increased airstrikes, ISIS can fortify themselves in cities. This means that if they are bombed, lots of civilians will die. Also, this would mean the Iraqi government would have to do house to house fighting which so far they have almost never been able to do effectively. In order to truly do anything, Obama must put troops on the ground with airstrikes to support it. This would substitute the Iraqi action because their government and army is incapable. The Iraqi government has won almost no battles with the Islamic State. Even though the government outnumber ISIS fighters more than 10 to 1, The Iraqi government has still been unable to stop ISIS from taking over the northern half of the country. Therefore, America must step in before ISIS is strong enough to pose a threat to the US. America also has co allies in Syria and so cannot effec-tively wage war in ISIS controlled Syrian

25November 2014


If ISIS is to be defeated, once they are weakened, America must keep a residual force in the country

to ensure another radical group like this doesn’t rise again.

provinces. The US will never join forces with Bashar al Assad and so must find another way to take ISIS down in Syria. If the American forces succeed in Iraq, then they can push into Syria and take out ISIS there. But, the only efficient solution is to get ground troops in Iraq to supplement the Iraqi army.

In order to get this done the divid-ed Congress must work together and agree. The people in Congress all accuse Obama of running a weak foreign poli-cy and then half of them are saying we should let the middle east deal with this one. The Democrats that half-support Obama and the less extreme Republi-

cans are part of this group of people. If anything is going to happen, Congress must get over the hatred between Re-publicans and Democrats so that things can get done.

The Obama Administration is also calling for Middle Eastern leadership on this crisis which they will then sup-port. However, various areas in the Mid-dle East have historically suffered poor leadership. Egypt has had so many gov-ernments in the last 5 years, trying to become a democracy. The US has Saudi Arabia as a base, why not use it? Half the region is Sunni and supports ISIS any-way so they aren’t going to show leader-ship. We should be taking the lead, like we always have, and then urging Middle Eastern support, which will come from the Shias who hate Sunnis. However, lack of leadership is just a small chal-lenge of facing ISIS.

If ISIS is to be defeated, once they are

weakened, America must keep a residual force in the country to ensure another radical group like this doesn’t rise again.

The president thought that by step-ping out of the situation, other nations would lead the way. That hasn’t worked and isn’t going to. These jihadists have wealth and technology that has never been seen in any other terrorist organi-zation. They also have a secure area from which they can attack the US. They must be stopped, and not by just airstrikes. The US must lead, once again. Obama made a speech in early September in which he addressed the nation about the threat of ISIS. He said that those that

oppose America will never find safe-ty. Well, right now ISIS has quite a lot of safety in Syria and Iraq. When over-whelmed with Iraqi troops, they can flee to Syria. When fighting Syrian troops, they can hide in Iraq. This leads to a sit-uation in which ISIS isn’t constantly bat-tle - worn and can have a more effective, functioning army.

Although ISIS has a relatively small army, it is very effective. Its propagan-da techniques and strategies inspire fear in their enemies and boost morale among its army. This also boosts recruiting. Only 800 troops were used to take the city of Mosul while 30,000 Iraqi troops turned and fled, according to Vox. This shows a lot about the internal cohesion and structure of ISIS. The Iraqi army is divided by religion and so they cannot recruit well at all. According to Vox, The Sunnis are looked down upon and the Shias dominate in Iraq. The Sunnis feel

oppressed and join ISIS. Because of divi-sion in the Iraqi army and the unison in ISIS, ISIS is able to defeat the Iraqi army every step of the way. The Iraqi govern-ment has the numbers, but ISIS has the discipline. Discipline beats numbers ev-ery time, as is seen throughout history. ISIS has military structure like no other terror group in history. They have lead-ers and officers without the hatred inter-nally. The leaders are respected, not just feared and hated. According to Vox, the Iraqi government trains someone for a month and then puts them on a battle-field. They don’t really want to die and were not prepared for battle. ISIS trains

a recruit for longer, makes them want to die for Islam and then puts them on a battlefield. Now, they want to kill as many Shias as possible and aren’t afraid of dying for their cause. This creates a situation where an Iraqi government re-cruit has people running at them, shoot-ing at them, and the Iraqi soldier turn the other way and run. The Iraqi gov-ernment soldiers are better armed and outnumber ISIS fighters ten to one in most cases, but the government didn’t prepare them properly and the recruits are scared out of their mind, and they run. And that scares others, and then they run too. This is how ISIS can take the second largest Iraqi city with 800 people, and send 30,000 troops running.

ISIS also has an amazing recruitment strategy. They use social media, trav-el to poor towns, and find people who want a higher purpose. The recruits are convinced that fighting for ISIS is this



higher purpose. People in other terrorist groups look at ISIS and think just how much more effective ISIS is compared to their group. People who aren’t even Muslim are joining ISIS because they need a higher purpose. People convert to Islam because of ISIS propaganda. Then, they realize that their sect of Mus-lim is being oppressed and join ISIS to establish a safe place for Muslims. Kids are going from poor neighborhoods to ISIS sometimes just for adventure. When ISIS seized a dam in Iraq near Er-bil, that was just for propaganda. They didn’t mean to hold it, they meant to use it to show that they were successful and the rest of the world couldn’t stop them. This, in turn brings in a flood of new re-cruits. ISIS also pays better wages than surrounding groups and governments.

ISIS also has a stronger government than a lot of other countries. The pun-

ishments are harsh, beheading and maiming are common. This means that a lot of people do their best to follow ISIS law. The choice is to renounce your religion or be maimed, beheaded. ISIS now has a “code of conduct” in captured cities. This means that residents must convert to Islam or die. Adam Kredo, the author who wrote the article Iraqi Terror Group Instates Sharia ‘Code of Conduct in Seized Cities, writes that ISIS has a documented code of conduct. Mr. Kre-do rephrases one line of the document by saying, “All members of the ’apostate’ Iraqi security forces who do not ‘repent’ will ‘face the death penalty.” Some are maimed, some are beheaded, and oth-ers are tortured. Two Americans have already been beheaded in Iraq by the Is-lamic State. ISIS also frees any prisoners they take on the condition that they con-vert to the Sunni sect of Muslim.

There is also a highly sophisticated economic structure to ISIS. They col-lect taxes in their territory and sell elec-tricity, owning a lot of oil. They are so powerful that they are selling electric-ity to the Syrian government that they are fighting, and they are still winning. They also get a lot of money from sell-ing hostages. Another economic advan-tage ISIS has is that if the West tries to clamp down on their oil trade, it could starve civilians in the area and create a humanitarian crisis. Of course, a small part of ISIS revenue is from donations from rich Sunnis.

Also, Americans like to talk about how to destroy ISIS, but what happens after? With ISIS gone, does another group take it’s place or does the US put a stable gov-ernment in place? In order for Iraq to survive, the sectarian government must go. There needs to be religious equality

27November 2014


Sources

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/27/world/europe/british-parliament-vote-isis-airstrikes.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homep-age&version=LedeSum&module=first-column-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=1http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/08/world/middleeast/isis-syria-coalition-strikes.htmlhttp://www.cbsnews.com/news/isis-the-islamic-state-on-the-ground-in-iraq/http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/30/world/meast/operation-iraqi-freedom-and-operation-new-dawn-fast-facts/http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/30/world/meast/operation-iraqi-freedom-and-operation-new-dawn-fast-facts/http://projects.militarytimes.com/valor/search?first_name=&last_name=&start_date=&end_date=&conflict=1&home_state=&home_town=&branch=&age=&year=&year_month=&sortby=dod&page=

or another version of ISIS will evolve. If the US doesn’t help in this, Iraq will collapse. If ISIS is gone, the transition to a religiously equal government must be perfect, or this will be the end of Iraq.

Therefore, the only way to destroy ISIS is militarily. You can’t win a propa-ganda war because ISIS will twist your information to suit them. If you say that ISIS isn’t powerful and doesn’t stand a chance of surviving, so as to discour-age new recruits from joining, they will turn it into “ISIS needs your help come help the Sunni’s win their equality.” And

If ISIS is weakened, then there won't be as much of a will to join them becaus they are not successful.Nobody wants to be on the losing side; people join

ISIS because they are succesful.

then you have more recruits. Of course, this new statement is also twistable but the propaganda war is going to take long and not make a difference against those that are extreme Sunnis. If ISIS is weakened, then there won’t be as much of a will to join them because they are not successful. Nobody wants to be on the losing side, people join ISIS because they are successful. There is no propa-

ganda being spread and no victories to boast of if ISIS is sufficiently weakened. Therefore, to win the PR war, you must win the war with guns as well.

You can’t win economically because then you risk a humanitarian crisis. ISIS has an economy mostly based on oil pi-racy. If the US and Iraq don’t buy Sun-ni oil, nothing is stopping Syria from buying it. Other countries will buy their oil anyway. Also, their economy is self sustaining. You can’t stop civilians from paying taxes to ISIS unless you weaken ISIS’s ability to collect them, which will

come from military action and taking them out of the cities they are getting taxes from. They collect money from hostages too. Somebody isn’t going to sit there and say, “they have one of my top generals. but I don’t want to give them money so I think I will let ISIS kill him and my army will be leaderless.” The government is going to give ISIS the money for the life of their military lead-

er.You can’t weaken their government

without military action either. Only by pushing ISIS out of a city can the city be free from ISIS law. There are no up-risings in ISIS controlled cities because then people get beheaded. People in ISIS cities are scared and unless you push the cause of their fear, ISIS, away, they are going to listen to ISIS.Also, ISIS’s military cannot be defeated without an-other military to defeat them. You can try to kill their leaders with airstrikes. However, airstrikes have been happen-

ing for a couple of weeks now and the leaders of ISIS aren’t dead. The keaders are boasting about how even America can’t defeat them and attracting new re-cruits. America has the best military in the world; why is it that a country with so many resources and the most highly trained army are so incapable of coming up with a strategy to defeat 10,000 or 30,000 fighters? HMJ



The Bike Hazard

WILLIAM SASSOWER

29November 2014


Jill Tarlov died shortly after a tragic ac-cident in our very own Central Park this past September. The accident was

all over the news for an entire week. Tar-lov was casually walking across the street in Central Park when cyclist, Jason Mar-shall, was speeding and knocked her to the ground and killed her. Tarlov has left behin a husband and a daughter, and she will be dearly missed. On a typical Sun-day afternoon, Tarlov was carried to the hospital where passed away from severe head injuries. The people of New York have learned a lot from this situation. This unfortunate incident has shown the dangers of speeding bicycles in Central Park. New laws have been created to reg-ulate these bicyclists.

The NYPD has been patrolling Central Park to ticket to speeding cyclists. They have given out more than 25,000 tick-ets this year so far. The NYPD decided to create a speeding limit for bicycles in Central Park, because they can be as dan-gerous as a car. Therefore, they should be treated like cars. The speed limit in Cen-tral Park for bicycles is 25-30 miles per hour. These laws will be greatly enforced going forward. Some people think that these laws are ridiculous because they think that bikes should not be taken as seriously as cars because they are not powered vehicles. Most of this feedback comes from bikers. However, most of the people of New York do agree that these laws should be enforced. Sure, there has

only been one tragic accident this year regarding bikes in Central Park, but how many accidents do we need to occur be-fore realizing that bikes can be extremely dangerous? We need to act before it is too late and we have. This tragic accident will hopefully never happen again after what New York City is now doing with the new laws in Central Park. After reading this article you may be asking yourself what can we do to help in this situation? You’re probably wondering if you can help in this situation. You can. When you go bike riding in Central Park, please go slowly. If you see someone speeding on a bike in Central Park and see a policeman nearby, please consult him. If we work together, we can make New York a better place. HMJ

Sources

http://online.wsj.com/articles/woman-hit-by-cyclist-in-central-park-dies-1411437146



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G E N D E REQUALITY

in the workplaceDANA JACOBY

31November 2014


Inequality between the sexes has existed since the beginning of time. There are countless religions,

cultures, and governments, all based on the idea that women are somehow inferior. For nearly 200 years, women have been fighting to change that perception. But even as women are now able to vote and hold almost any job, they still have a long way to go. While there are many signs of sexism, sexism is particularly prominent in the workplace.

Kieran Snyder, a linguist and tech entrepreneur, published a study revealing just how far women have yet to come, particularly in technology. She collected 248 reviews from 180 people, across 28 companies with both male and female managers. There were 83 critical reviews that men received, and

“ ”If women are criticized for being assertive when men are not, which gender is more likely to rise?

94 for women. A vast majority of men’s reviews were constructive, mostly telling them what skills to develop to help them become more successful. Women’s reviews, on the other hand, were filled with personal criticism. They were told to “Step back,” and “Quiet down,” or were told that they were “Abrasive,” or “Judgmental.” 71 out of the 94 reviews contained criticism like this, whereas only 2 out of 83 of the men’s reviews did. This stastic shows that the very traits that help men to succeed are traits that women are criticized for. With women being judged for their personality as well as their work, while men are judged solely for their work, it is much harder for a woman to advance.

Beyond this study, there are all kinds of biases against women in the workplace. Women asking for a raise are much less

likely to get one than a man. In fact, women who do so are often seen as unpleasant. Women are less likely to be excused from work for family reasons as well. In another experiment, two groups of people were given identical résumés, but one was said to be from “John,” and the other from “Jenifer.” John was on average offered $4,000 more than Jenifer. This means that women are disliked for the very traits needed for success. People are predisposed to seeing women as less capable, and before they even get to work, they are already judged, criticized, and with a lower salary. With people being predisposed to see these characteristics as negative in women, once again women will be unable to rise as quickly or as far.

This brings up another issue:

paychecks. The most common estimation is that women make 77 cents as compared to a man’s dollar. The accuracy of this statistic is debatable; the statistic does not take into account the differences in men and women’s jobs, and men on average hold higher paying jobs than women do. But how much of the gap does that account for? Looking at other statistics concerning women’s lack of equality, it is more likely than not that the paycheck gap exists. Even if women do hold lower paying jobs than men on average, how much of this is caused by discrimination, or discouragement of women’s success? If women are criticized for being assertive where men are not, which gender is more likely to rise? Also, women have centuries of setbacks and stereotypes to overcome. How many women chose

these lower paying careers because they were passionate about them, and how many chose these because they did not have a choice? Earlier, I mentioned many of the responses given to women when asking for raises. These responses further explain the paycheck gap. If a man is given a raise when a woman’s request falls on deaf ears, how are women supposed to move up and make comparable money?

General biases and stereotypes are a major setback for women looking for jobs—hirers prefer men based on their conventional image. Where employers see women as emotional, warm, sensitive, or soft, employers see men as strong, rational, competent, or objective. When employers do not have all the facts on two practically identical candidates,

they tend to fill in what they do not know with these biases, making men more appealing choices. This phenomenon happens particularly in male dominated professions, like technology.

The flip side of these stereotypes is that when women go against them, rather than being considered strong, competent, or decisive like men are, women are considered brusque or strident. Particularly, women who succeed in a male’s domain are generally disliked rather than respected. People are biased against women who stand up for or promote themselves, and this bias can result in an even lower position or paycheck

A study from Lean In, by Sheryl Sandberg, (Chief Operating Officer of Facebook, a leading activist, author and mother) shows just how far personality



stereotypes have stretched. Two professors wrote about Heidi Roizen, an entrepreneur. They gave the identical story to two groups; the story given to one group used her real name, the story given to the other group called her Howard. While both groups said they were equally successful, Howard was considered as likeable, while Heidi was thought of as egotistical and “not the type of person you would want to hire or work for.”

The question is: what can be done about this issue? The first step is admitting there is a problem. While women all over are hindered by their gender alone,

the overwhelming opinion on sexism is that it is disappearing, or perhaps even almost gone. However, rather than disappearing, this discrimination has gotten more subtle, more personal, and a lot harder to locate. In order for the discrimination to get better, it first needs to be noticed.

In congress, 20 out of 100 members of the Senate (20%) are women, and 79 out of 435 members of the House (18%) are women. With men dominating politics, it will be much harder to create equality for women. For sexism to improve on a local scale, it needs to improve on a national scale. This includes

schools and the educational system. Schools should be working with girls nationwide to teach them to stand up for themselves, become more assertive, and learn how to deal with the personal criticism that follows so many working women. Likewise, schools should also be working with both genders to encourage boys and girls to see women in a more positive, successful light. One place to start is right here, at Horace Mann.

But mostly, it is important for women to keep pushing for success. With more and more women rising to positions of power and influence, hopefully people will begin to recognize women as competent, strong, and capable. Until then, women must slowly push back and defy the stereotypes, speak up when something is not fair, push for a promotion when they deserve one, and be able to understand that significant work merits both praise and criticism.

Sexism in the workplace has inhibited women by lowering their paychecks and preventing them from rising. By increasing women’s confidence and promoting them as capable, sexism will decrease and women will be closer to equal. HMJ

33November 2014


Sources

http://www.forbes.com/sites/susanadams/2013/03/04/10-things-sheryl-sandberg-gets-exactly-right-in-lean-in/http://fortune.com/2014/08/26/performance-review-gender-bias/http://www.theguardian.com/money/us-money-blog/2014/apr/08/equal-pay-women-fact-sheet-salary-careerhttp://www.fastcompany.com/3031101/the-future-of-work/the-new-subtle-sexism-toward-women-in-the-workplacehttp://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2014/08/28/performance_review_study_women_in_tech_get_criticized_more_than_men_are.html



NISHTHA SHARMAWOMEN’S ISSUES

Harry Potter child actress, Emma Watson, moved members of the United Nations and the world

with her speech on feminism. Watson, 24 and a graduate from Brown University, was appointed as the UN Woman Goodwill Ambassador in July 2014. On September 20, 2014, Watson gave a 14 minute speech at the UN about feminism and the common misperception that it solely about overpowering men. Simultaneously, she launched the “HeForShe” campaign that urges men to stand up for the rights of their female counterparts. In her heartfelt address, Watson explained the meaning of feminism and its impact on her own life.

In Watson’s powerful address she stated, “And if you still hate the word [feminism]

– it is not the word that is important but the idea and the ambition behind it.” This idea speaks volumes because women all over the work find difficulty in earning their basic rights. Watson debunked the myth that feminism includes the assumption that the men should be treated as inferior to women. She conveyed that she was advocating for equality, whether one wishes to call it feminism or not.

Watson continued to analyze the treatment of women who proclaim themselves to be feminists. “Apparently I am among the ranks of women whose expressions are seen as too strong, too aggressive, isolating, anti-men and, unattractive,“ she asserted. Watson is aware that the general public holds a

negative view of feminists, due to the labeling of women who choose to be as confident as men. Watson discussed how her own experiences made her believe in feminism. She declared that more issues are created from the word feminism than the actual principle of gender equality.

Watson then described her privilege, living in a country where she is not treated poorly for being a female. She spoke about how she is blessed to be able to make decisions about her life on her own, as an individual. She reminded us that most women are not even allowed to make choices about personal aspects of their life, like their body.

Towards the end of the speech, Watson discussed stereotypes that men are subjected to. “We don’t often talk

35November 2014


about men being imprisoned by gender stereotypes, but I can see that that they are and that when they are free, things will change for women as a natural consequence.” The stereotypes she was referring to are the ideas that men must be strong, athletic, and fearless. Watson explains that once society stops labeling activities and feelings as male and female, women will be able to pursue a wider

Gender equality is beneficial for both genders, as people will be able to do what they wish without being labeled.

variety of passions. For example, more women could have a career in ice hockey, if it was no longer labeled as a “male” sport. The constant need to classify things as male or female prevents both men and women from following what they find fascinating.

Watson concluded her speech by introducing the HeForShe Campaign. She urged people to, “be seen, to speak

up, to be the “he” for “she”. And to ask yourself if not me, who? If not now, when?” Watson explained that gender equality must be backed by both men and women. Half the world’s population cannot achieve something this large if the other half refuses to collaborate. Gender equality is beneficial for both genders, as people will be able to do what they wish without being labeled. HMJ

Sources

www.unwomen.org"EmmaWatson:Genderequalityisyourissuetoo"www.HeforShe.org

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