Ft. Lauderdale Shooting

Krupa Shah
Staff Writer

Just before 1 p.m. on Jan. 6, a shooter opened fire in the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport killing five people and injuring six others. The shooter was identified as a Esteban Santiago, a 26-year-old army veteran. Santiago spoke with officials from the FBI and the local sheriff's office about the shooting; however, the only thing gained from the conversation was that it was a planned attack but gave no indication of a clear motive.

 Santiago is known for his dangerous, erratic behavior in his Alaskan town. Within the past year he has had at least five confrontations with local officials and was arrested on two occasions . Santiago’s erratic behavior escalated in November of 2016 when it was reported that he walked into the local FBI field office to complain to the special agent in charge, Marlin Ritzman, to tell him that “his mind was being controlled by U.S. intelligence agents.”

 Just before 1 p.m. on Jan. 6, Santiago is captured on surveillance cameras walking through the baggage claim area, pulling out a handgun from his waistband and firing upon nearby passengers. Santiago was arrested without incident and taken to the nearby jail for questioning. It was there where he was charged with an act of violence at an international airport that resulted in death and two firearm offenses. If convicted of all of these charges, he could face the death penalty.

Turkey Nightclub Shooting

Adrian Roji, Matt Cabelus, and Neftali Jimenez-Castro

Staff Writers

On New Year’s Eve in Istanbul, Turkey, a gunman entered a nightclub and killed 39 people. This was an act of terror at the highest degree. There were around 600 people having a good time and celebrating at the club until the gunman came in 75 minutes after the opening. Authorities have identified the killer who stormed into the Reina Night Club, but have not released a name or personal records. They have also detained 20 ISIS members that claim to have a connection to the attack.

 In a statement posted on Twitter the group boasted about carrying out the first major terrorist attack of 2017. Police released a video that the suspected gunman took off in a market near the nightclub. An American business risk intelligence company stated that such a release suggests the attacker was part of a network supportive of or linked to ISIS.

 It is said sixty-nine people were hospitalized. Sixteen of the several victims were foreigners. Those killed in the attack were from 14 countries, including India, Morocco, Jordan, Canada, Russia, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.

 Turkey shares a 500 mile border with Syria, making it easy for ISIS fighters and supplies to cross into the country. There have been struggles between the Turkish government and the terrorist group and containment has been an issue. These acts of terror have been ongoing in high frequency throughout the country and the government has done everything it can to stop them. Although efforts are being made to end the violence, there is only so much anyone can do. The tragic part of this story is that innocent people lost their lives on a night of celebration and happiness in a place where an attack of this magnitude could have never been expected.

 The prime suspect in the shooting, Abdulgadir Masharipov, was arrested on January 16th.

Seniors Receiving College Decisions

Chloe MacGillvray

Staff Writer

With the year coming to an end, seniors are becoming more and more anxious awaiting college decisions. Many seniors decided to apply early decision (binding) or early action (non-binding) to their top schools. After applying early, seniors can typically expect a response  before the end of the year. Common dates for many decisions are Dec. 15 and 16, making these two days some of the most important this year for many people in the class of 2017. Acceptance to a top school means the world to any senior, making many extremely nervous for the month of December.

 Some seniors have complaints about the college process. Anna Lengner says, “Guidance counselors can be slow and sometimes do not provide enough information about when to send in test scores.”

 Despite what many seniors think, the college process for counselors is extremely tedious. Every transcript that is sent out is hand-checked before arriving at any school. GPA’s are also hand-checked to be sure that everything sent out is accurate. Transcripts cannot be sent to schools on the Common Application without including letters of recommendation, school reports, and a school profile. If the letters are not complete, the transcript will not be sent. Guidance suggests asking for letters to be written early, so that teachers are allowed enough time to write an accurate letter. Test scores should also be sent in as soon as possible to avoid any conflict later. About 1,018 transcripts have been processed this year alone, and all GPA’s had to be converted to a 4.0 scale by hand before being submitted. Changes to Naviance have also slowed the process down. However, Lengner also shared some positive aspects of the process and even gave some advice: “The Common App website was easy to use, and I suggest that future seniors not wait until two weeks before to send applications. Do it as soon as possible!”

 When asked about how she personally feels waiting for December feedback, she said: “I’m obviously extremely anxious, however I’m very happy I already got into my two safety schools! Getting into my safety schools makes me feel more secure.”

 Despite how many seniors feel, Jacob McCloskey said, “I was terrified of the college process going into it, but coming out of it I’m finding that it was not nearly as bad as I thought. I like how the college websites have portals that update you about status updates on your applications and what you need to have completed. Waiting for responses is nerve-racking yet exciting.”

 Overall, seniors are hoping for the best as they begin to receive decisions from their favorite schools.