Ø  Chapter  mee*ng  Highlights  

Ø  Feature  Ar*cle      

Ø  MAS/JSA  Docket  

Ø  Humans  of  South  Jersey  

 Ø  Poli*cal  

Cartoon  Corner  

   

IN THIS ISSUE

Issue Number 2 – January 2016

The South Jersey Signal a publication of the SJ Chapter of the Junior State of America

~SJ  Minutes  ~  January  5  Mee0ng  ~  7:11  Mee*ng  called  to  order      7:12  Winter  Congress  Bill  Wri*ng  Workshop  led  by  Annabelle  and  Anna  7:22  Winter  Congress  details  7:23  Announcements                    -­‐Junior  JSA  Conven*on  run  by  Isaac  and  Ka*e.  Details  are  coming  soon.    It  is  like  a  chapter  conference,  but  for  younger  kids.    There  will  be  workshops  about  debate,  how  to  debate,  what  is  JSA,  etc.    Students  needed  to  lead  and  run  workshops  for  the  kids  at  the  conference.                    -­‐Winter  Congress  bills  due  January  22nd.                    -­‐South  Brunswick  chapter  conference  January  16th.    A  car  from  SJC  will  be  going  to  the  conference.                    -­‐MAS  elec*on  process  has  begun.  Our  chapter’s  elec*ons  begin  aSer  Spring  State.    Do  not  begin  campaigning  yet  if  you  intend  to  run  for  a  posi*on  within  SJC.    7:28  Thought  Talk:  In  light  of  recent  developments  in  the  Oregon  Wildlife  Center,  what  are  your  thoughts  about  gun  control  laws?                    Members  who  spoke:  Andy  Laberee,  Isaac  Trefsgar,  Olivia  Romano,  Zach  Gill,  Zach  Chin,  Ricky  Kushay,  Faye  Nugent,  Sreeram  Mandava,  Anna  Wilson,  Nathanael  Costa,  Mary  Rockhill,  and  Emmalyne  Ford.      7:55  Fun  Debates                      8:29  Guest  Speaker:  Freeholder  Kate  Gibbs                      8:50  Guest  Speaker:  Alicia  Cafaro,  Burlington  County  GOP  Headquarters  and  founder  of  the  internship  program      8:57  Mee*ng  Adjourned  

What will 2016 bring?

1.  The hollow alliance                      Merkel  and  Obama  "The  trans-­‐Atlan*c  partnership  has  been  the  world's  most  durable  and  significant  alliance,  underpinning  the  global  economic  order  and  bolstering  peace  and  stability  for  nearly  seventy  years,"  write  Bremmer  and  Kupchan.  "But  it  is  now  weaker,  and  less  relevant,  than  at  any  point  since  the  Marshall  Plan.  In  2016,  the  transatlan*c  alliance  will  be  a  hollow  one.”  This  trend  has  been  developing  for  some  *me.  The  rise  of  China  and  other  emerging  markets  has  created  a  diverse  set  of  threats  and  opportuni*es  for  developed  na*ons,  American  unilateralism,  and  European  weakness.  

 

According  to  Business  Insider,  here  are  a  few  of  2016’s  biggest  poli*cal  risks!  

 2.  Troubles in Turkey  

       

Demonstrators  cover  their  faces  as  they  clash  with  riot  police  during  a  protest  against  the  curfew  in  Sur  district,  in  the  southeastern  city  of  Diyarbakir,  Turkey,  December  14,  2015.  

Turkish  President  Recep  Tayyip  Erdogan  will  con*nue  to  try  and  replace  Turkey's  parliamentary  system  with  a  presiden*al  one  (which  will  centralize  decision-­‐making  in  his  office).  

He  is  unlikely  to  reach  this  goal  within  the  year,  according  to  Eurasia  Group  analysts,  but  this  will  further  hurt  Turkey's  already  damaged  poli*cal  and  economic  environment.  

"Meanwhile,  the  government's  focus  on  currying  favor  with  votes  through  economic  populism  will  undermine  akempts  to  address  the  country's  structural  economic  vulnerabili*es,"  argue  Bremmer  and  Kupchan.  Moreover,  "the  country's  foreign  policy  will  be  infused  with  na*onalism  aimed  at  catering  to  Turks'  increasingly  conserva*ve  views  in  an  akempt  to  bolster  the  president's  referendum  agenda."  

 

   3.  ISIS and “Friends”

       "ISIS  is  the  world's  most  powerful  terrorist  organiza*on.  The  interna*onal  responses  to  its  rise  are  inadequate,  misdirected,  and  at  cross  purposes.  For  2016,  this  problem  will  prove  unfixable,  and  ISIS  (and  other  terrorist  organiza*ons)  will  take  advantage  of  that,"  write  Bremmer  and  Kupchan.  The  most  at  risk-­‐states  to  the  ISIS  threat  (as  well  as  Al  Qaeda,  Boko  Haram,  and  other  new  groups)  will  be  those  with  "explicit  reasons  for  ISIS  to  target  them."  According  to  Eurasia  Group,  those  countries  include  France,  Russia,  Turkey,  Saudi  Arabia,  and  the  US  —  as  well  as  those  with  the  largest  numbers  of  alienated  Sunni  Muslims,  like  Iraq,  Lebanon,  Jordan,  Turkey,  Egypt,  and  some  European  countries.  

MAS/JSA DOCKET�What’s coming up!

Ø  Chapter Meeting- 1/19 Ø  Saint Joseph's Prep/Tri County

Chapter Ø  Conference- January 30th Ø  Chapter Meeting- 2/2 Ø Winter Congress- 2/19-2/21 Ø  Spring One Day- 3/19 Ø  Spring State- 4/16-17

Humans of South Jersey

How  did  you  get  involved  in  JSA?    My  three  older  sisters  who  used  to  be  in  it.  While  they  were  doing  JSA,  they  seemed  to  be  having  a  lot  of  fun  thus  making  me  want  to  do  it.  I  have  been  in  JSA  for  two  years  now  and  have  loved  it.  Why  is  it  important  for  young  people  to  care  about,  and  be  involved  in  civics  and  poli*cs?  It's  important  because  young  people  need  to  know  what  the  world  is  like  before  they  fully  go  out  into  it.  If  they  don't  know  what  the  world  is  like,  reality  will  completely  hit  them  and  it  will  be  very  hard  for  them  to  make  a  living.  What  are  two  quali*es  that  every  leader  should  have  (in  your  opinion)?  The  two  quali*es  that  every  leader  should  have  are;      1.  Accountability-­‐  they  should  be  able  to  be  held  accountable  for  their  ac*ons.      2.  Determina*on-­‐  every  leader  should  be  determined  to  get  as  much  as  the  job  done  as  possible.    

Mary Rockhill

•  Do you agree? Let us know what you think!

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