Despite efforts, parking remains a controversy

Staff Writers

Chloe MacGillvray and Jacob McCloskey

With any major renovation project, there must be a few setbacks. Anyone who has been in New Hope long enough knows this well, given the 2005-2006 relocation of the entire LES to the UES. Now, the major issue we encounter is the crisis of student parking.

 At the end of the summer, seniors had the opportunity to sign up for parking passes; however, there were only 100 available spots. For some people, their time had come to expire. By the time school started, not every senior and junior who drove had received a parking pass, creating absolute chaos. Around the second week of school, more passes were permitted, with the request for a rationale as to why the applying student needs a spot. While more seniors and some juniors got spots, there is still a moderately large group of seniors and an even larger group of juniors that don’t have a spot. Being the bright thinkers NHS students are, many decided to drive to school, but park in the St. Martin’s church parking lot.

 We interviewed multiple people parking in the St. Martin’s church parking lot to see how they feel. Natalie Borys, a senior who did not receive a parking pass in the earlier lottery, is concerned about the parking situation in the winter.

 “Even though it's a nice walk before school I'm not looking forward to the winter. The walk itself is much shorter than I thought, only three minutes. I'm just worried for the winter.”

 Other students, specifically seniors, are more concerned with how fairly the parking passes were handed out. Grace Rekowski, a senior unable to obtain a parking spot, stated: “I think that it's ridiculous that the school is letting juniors who only have their permits to get parking permits but not even giving it to seniors who have work after school as well as extracurricular activities. I get that there is limited parking due to the construction but there are still a decent amount of spots in the front by the theater and it doesn't make sense that they can't give out more parking permits to the remaining students who don't have them. They asked us for our rationales on why we need the permit but it does not seem that they even took it into consideration.”

 Another senior, Claire Dougherty, stated: “As a strong supporter of senior privilege, given that my class has endured three years of watching the seniors have it better, it's not fun to watch juniors have parking passes and have at least a two minute walk saved. The first- come first- serve policy is fair in theory, but it's not fair now that every other essence of senior privilege was taken from the class of 2017. At least let us park.”

 The walk from St. Martin’s is going to become difficult as the year goes on for every grade at New Hope, especially for our seniors.  

Pennsylvania will play key role in election

Owen Roberts

Staff Writer

On Sept. 15, presidential hopeful Donald Trump unveiled his newest policy initiative. He proposed a six-week maternity leave policy, promising that “our policy supports mothers who choose to stay at home, and honors and recognizes their incredible contributions.” Trump gave the speech in Pennsylvania, which is shaping up to be a key swing state in the upcoming election.

 Trump​ ​however​ ​is​ ​doubtful​ ​about​ ​losing​ ​PA,."The​ ​only​ ​way​ ​they​ ​can beat​ [me],​ ​in​ ​my​ ​opinion,​ ​and​ ​I​ ​mean​ ​this​ ​100​ ​percent,​ ​is​ ​if​ ​in​ ​certain​ ​sections​ ​of​ ​the​ ​state​ ​they cheat." Trump told CNN.

At the end of September, Clinton leads Trump by two-and-a-half points in PA (a far cry from June, where she led him by only one percent), but most experts predict Trump will need to swing Pennsylvania to take the White House. It's possible, but Trump will have to convince voters in a state that has voted blue since 1992. One of his hardest hurdles will be swaying college-educated whites, with which he trails 11 points behind Clinton. Whites with a college degree generally lean conservative, especially so in 2012 when Romney raked in a 14 percent lead over obama among the demographic. Almost 40 percent of white Pennsylvanians have a bachelor's degree or higher. Trump also trails behind two candidates with teens and young adults, polling less than 20 percent among millennial voters.

Hillary could be doing better among working class whites, with which Trump leads overwhelmingly. Considering they make up around 40 percent of voters, they could be one of the easiest ways for Trump to win. Counties to watch include Mercer County and Bucks County, which include a strong mix of blue collar and white collar voters.

Pennsylvania remains at hot zone in the election, with unusual polling and both candidates and prominent supporters making frequent stops in the state. With an election and a senate race depending on Pennsylvania voters, both parties focus on the Keystone State in 2016.  

Students Struggle with the Use of Keycards & Access Centers

Parker Miele & Amanda Horak

Staff Writers

 Since the start of the year students have been having huge issues with key cards and getting into different parts of the building. Key cards are our only way into the school, but if the key cards aren’t working we won’t be able to get into school.

Junior, Isaac Zucker, expressed concern to us because the routine he followed last year just isn’t possible this year due to construction. It’s a struggle now going to and from classes. The construction hasn’t made it easy and it’s probably not going to get easier. We all need to learn the ways that we can get in and out of the building, so none of us get stuck outside or are late to our classes.

 Students will find that the only three doors that are open are the fitness center entrance to the cafeteria, the walkway entrance from the middle school, and the door next to Mr. Balmer’s room. The theater is always open in the morning, but not the afternoon. All doors lock, without key card usage, after 7:50 a.m. The only exception to this are those three doors.

 Students have been struggling with this issue this year because they’re unable to use the easy access doors, such as the back parking lot entrance to the cafeteria.

 “I come from Chemistry going to photography. Since I cannot go outside due to the construction and the key card issue, I’m stuck walking around the entire school just to get to one class. This always leads to me being late to photography,” says sophomore Kelli Schlussel.

 Mr. Seier said that only certain doors are open because of the dangers stemming from construction, and if students used those doors there could be safety issues. The administration is only locking these doors for students and staff. The only people allowed in are authorized construction workers.

 This year is going to be difficult entering and exiting the building, but in the end it will and should be worth it because our school is going to look so much nicer.  

Renovations make student life difficult

Shayna Berman and Erica Brennan

Staff Writers

It is impossible to ignore the renovations going on around the school. Hallways have been blocked off, entrances and exits have been shut down, and classrooms have been moved to the district office. The language and art wings are currently undergoing renovations and have been completely blocked off, leaving teachers like Señora Connolly, Señora Reh, and Mr. Gonsiewski to move to classrooms in the district office. There have been numerous negative comments regarding these issues. Students complain about being late to their classes, about limited resources, and cramped hallways.

 Students have complained about the long walk and how out of the way it is; junior Erica Brennan laments: “I’m always late to my next class.”

 Due to the glass stairwell being shut down, it is even more difficult to get from the district office classrooms to the other end of the school in roughly three minutes. Many students have discussed the issue of how small the classrooms are too. Sometimes, over 25 students are crammed into a tiny classroom. Sophomore Logan Waterman particularly dislikes this: “I hate how congested the hallways and classrooms are.”

 Resources are limited too. For example, Sra. Connolly does not even have a working smartboard, but rather one small whiteboard on the side of the room.

 There are arguments in favor of the district classrooms though. Mr. G is enthusiastic about his temporary room: “I love having the classrooms in the district office! The administration should continue to have classrooms down here. It creates extra classrooms and students are able to be more spread out within the building. I think it is a positive addition to our school. I love it!”

 Students have also stated that they like the isolation of it and how there are less distractions. In addition, it is nice to have a change in our school, especially for students who have been attending New Hope for a long time.

Third party candidates are noticeable in the polls

Staff Writer

Jacob McCloskey

With only nine percent of Americans having chosen either of the two major party candidates in the primaries, voters are feeling more estranged than ever in the general election and are turning to third party candidates. Gary Johnson, the former governor of New Mexico, is running with Bill Weld as the Libertarian candidate. On the Green Party ticket, Jill Stein, a physician from Massachusetts, is running with Ajamu Baraka.

 Johnson is polling around 10 percent in polls, while Stein is at four percent. The Commission on Presidential Debates has a policy that in order to participate in the upcoming debates, each candidate must be polling at a minimum of 15 percent. However, until recently, mainstream media has provided minimal coverage of the third parties, which makes the third parties’ polling even more remarkable. With the first major debate coming on Sept. 26, there is an ongoing fight for the third party candidates to get their voices heard.

 Gary Johnson, the Libertarian candidate for president, is the former governor of New Mexico and is polling around 11 percent. Running alongside VP candidate Bill Weld, the duo of former governors are campaigning on their experiences as former governors, and claim to have been able to make Democrats and Republicans work together more smoothly. The Libertarian philosophy that the party runs on is that the government should stay out of your life as much as possible. Liberty, the power or scope to act as one pleases as long as it does not put another in harm’s way, as top priority. To put this in context with today’s politics, Libertarians tend to be socially liberal and fiscally conservative.

 Jill Stein, the Green Party candidate for president, is a Harvard trained physician who has been an environmental activist for many years. Running alongside VP candidate Amaju Baraka, the party prioritizes the environment, and values taking whatever steps are necessary to preserve the Earth. Jill Stein is also pushing for student debt forgiveness, proposing solutions similar to those of Bernie Sanders. Additionally, the Green Party candidate has a proposal for a “Green New Deal,” focused on aiding both the student debt/financial crises and the environment.

 This year’s third party candidates are more remarkable than ever before, not only because around 60 percent of Americans feel estranged from this year’s election according to some polls, but also because of the amount of success these candidates are receiving despite minimal amounts of media coverage. For example, most people have seen Johnson on TV for his infamous MSNBC “What is Aleppo?” blunder, yet he currently still polls at 11 percent. One can make the argument that this is an insignificant amount of support, but it’s important to keep in mind that Trump and Clinton, the two nominees who are getting more media coverage than arguably anyone in the world, are polling around 40 percent, which is only four times more than Johnson. If the third party candidates- who have gained little recognition and still maintain a large amount of support- were included in the debates, no one could predict what would happen next.

DNC Hacking Causes Trouble for Convention

Heather Borochaner

Staff Writer

 Days before the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, the Philly-bound democrats were hit with a nasty surprise. Wikileaks had hacked into the emails of many democratic officials, including the head of the DNC, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who had to resign after the emails came out. The content within the leaked emails did not bode well for the presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, who at the time was about to receive her official title as the Democratic nominee. The emails released showed Democratic officials, including Schultz, showing favoritism towards Clinton over the other running Democrat, Bernie Sanders, who had started a political revolution within the Democratic community supporting very far left views.

 The emails sparked outrage among Sanders supporters and delegates, and even the Republican candidate Donald Trump had a word in the aftermath of the email leaks, claiming how he knew the system had been rigged against Sanders from the start. Many Democrats demanded that Clinton not be the nominee, claiming that the rigged system made the delegates Clinton had won void.

 The convention itself was riddled with issues. Throughout the convention, there were protests going on both inside and outside the convention center. Outside the convention, people stood and shouted in support for Bernie Sanders against Hillary Clinton, whilst similar protests were heard inside. Delegates held Bernie Sanders signs and crossed out or otherwise modified Hillary signs, and when speakers would show their support for and endorse Clinton, the crowd would be riddled with booing. Just before Clinton spoke, Sanders himself addressed the crowd on the stage and urged them to support Clinton, but based on current attitudes towards the previous secretary of state, this may not happen too quickly.

Trump Admires Vladimir Putin; Putin Admires Strength

Jessica Mullen

Staff Writer

Donald Trump, current Republican presidential nominee, has praised Russian president, Vladimir Putin, on numerous occasions throughout his campaign. Likewise, Vladimir Putin shows his support towards Trump as he moves forward in his presidential race. Putin is favoring Trump in this year’s election because of his previous relations with Hillary Clinton. If Trump wins, the United States will have a president on good terms with Russia as Trump voices he will treat Putin “firmly” yet the two countries will be “friendly.” In the past, Putin and Clinton have shared “tough dealings” with each other, she stated in a democratic debate. She also shared that her relationship with Putin is “interesting” and she warns that “he is someone that you have to continually stand up to.” Putin on the other side, states that “if it’s Hillary Clinton, it’s war” and voices that Trump is “the absolute leader in the presidential race.”

Before politics, Putin possessed a career in the KGB which was the main security agency for the Soviet Union. Putin started as an intelligence officer and retired with a rank of lieutenant. After the fall of communism, Putin became involved in jobs such as political advisement, external relations, and head of the Federal Security Service (a branch of former KGB). After being appointed acting president, Putin won the election in 2000 and has been Prime Minister or President of Russia for 16 consecutive years. In between his second and third term, Putin was Prime Minister. Putin’s time in office has a direct correlation to his level of experience in politics. Likewise, this is Trump’s first time running for any political office, so he has a clear lack of experience in this area. Putin has been inside the ring of politics for 16 years, while Trump remains just outside.

A key idea to keep in mind when delving into the relationship of Putin and Trump is media inflation. There are many articles and statements circulating of “Trump’s Putin crush” and Hillary Clinton also called the two so-called lovers “the most famous bromance going.” In 2014, Trump bragged twice about meeting with Putin, getting to know him very well when they were on ‘60 Minutes’ together, and receiving a gift with a note from Putin when he was in Moscow for a Miss Universe competition. In fact, Putin did give Trump a gift and note, however he shifts from referring to him and Putin as “stablemates”, to never meeting or let alone talking on the phone. Trump notes that Putin “said one nice thing about [him]. He said [Trump is] bright. [Trump] said thank you very much to the newspaper and that was the end of it.” Trump clearly states that “[he] never met Putin.” In this case, the bright Putin was talking about translates in English to a colorful bright, not an intelligent one, as Trump so often claims.

On multiple occasions, Trump has praised Putin and his leadership of Russia and continues to do so. Dating back to 2007, Trump told CNN that Putin is “doing a great job in rebuilding the image of Russia and also rebuilding Russia period.” Again in 2011, in Time to Get Tough by Donald Trump, he states that he “respect[s] Putin and Russians, but cannot believe our leader (Obama) allows them to get away with so much,” as well as saying “hats off to the Russians. ” In 2013, Trump also told Larry King that Putin has “done a really great job of outsmarting our country.” Also, on multiple occasions, Trump has called Putin a great leader. In his own words “far more” of a leader than Obama. Recently, during the Democratic National Convention, Trump said “Russia, if you’re listening, I hope you’re able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing,” and later said that he would “like to have them released.” The Russians seemed to satisfy his wants.