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Oct. 8, 2008
ur i ew Are the Times a’ Changin’?
Students get out of control at end of homecoming week
On Friday, Oct. 3, homecoming week took an unfortunate turn — it seemed that all of the pranks had been saved up for that one day. Pranks included fire alarms, smoke bombs, glitter-throwing, water balloon-chucking … and kicking down a sophomore and spraying him in the face with a fire extinguisher. The first pranks of that list seem relatively harmless, but the final is anything but. Chemicals such as carbon dioxide and mono ammonium phosphate are found in common fire extinguishers and spraying them in someone’s face is highly dangerous. Before Friday, the few pranks of homecoming week didn’t hurt anyone. There was no vandalism like last year and no suspen- “Homecoming week should sions or arrests. be kept safe and fun.” On Friday, several suspensions were placed upon students involved in pranks, and one student was arrested. We believe that Friday went terribly awry. Homecoming week should be kept safe and fun. In the past, events such as powder puff football have been non-school sponsored and have resulted in harassment. This year, Student Forum sponsored power puff and used flags instead of tackles. There was no harassment, only competitiveness. If that can change, why not pranks? Why can’t we, as CFHS students, have enough respect for our school and peers that we don’t do any harm to them? Homecoming week can be a lot of fun without destruction. 2008 was an improvement in terms of havoc wreaked, but we can do better.
Obama to bring wrong type of change problem, including a detailed government organization to oversee Wall Street, and, like the surge, he supported the bailout from the beginning. Barack Obama promises you To quote Obama: “I will cut taxeschange. Wherever he gets up to speak, cut taxes for 95 percent of all working whether it be on a stage or on your families.” And then this, from TV screen, he promises to bring the same acceptance speech: change if elected. “I’ll invest 150 billion dolChange from what? Obama lars over the next decade has already been involved in in renewable sources of three scandals (re: Jeremiah energy.” And then this: “If Wright, Tony Rezko and Wilyou have health care, my liam Ayers), but he’s been in plan will lower your premioffice for only two years. Two ums. If you don’t, you’ll be years! John McCain? He’s had able to get the same kind of a clean record since the early coverage that members of 1980s, when he assumed office. Congress give themselves.” Clear away the typical politiThat doesn’t sound like cian’s promises and look at the good kind of change. substance. What has Obama That sounds like socialized offered up to “change” all of health care and higher taxes. America’s problems? Vinnie Stigliani So how will John McCain Obama ridiculed McCain & Alex Entz bring change? There’s a reason when McCain wanted to focus that McCain has been termed a on the biggest economic crisis since 1929, and yet Obama has offered “maverick” in Washington. As a midline conservative, he will be able to no precise plan to solve the problem. work with a Democratic Congress. He And McCain? He has put forth a has never been afraid to fight his own comprehensive plan for the economic
party on things that he does not agree with, and indeed it’s true: McCain was so moderate that John Kerry asked him to be his vice president in 2004. A moderate official in the White House, instead of Obama, who was rated as the most liberal senator in Congress in 2007. McCain has gained a reputation as a man who fights pork barrel spending, which is quite a change from this year, when shameless congressmen even added pork-barrel projects to the economic bailout bill. McCain, the maverick who has headlined numerous bills, will work with both parties to try to keep the American people in the forefront while he is president. Barack Obama? He has never authored a major bill. He has never had to deal with anything but his cushy Senatorial job … where he failed to vote anything but present on 143 bills. Sounds like a typical Washington bureaucrat to me, not like change. One last Obama quote: “So it’s not surprising then that they get bitter; they cling to guns or religion.” That’s not change. That’s just ignorance.
have been singing. On the other side we have Obama: born of mixed race to a single mother, grew up in Indonesia and Hawaii, and voted in line with Bush merely 40 percent of the time in during his second term in the United States Senate. These facts should be telling of who the true client of change is, but let’s take a look at some key issues. McCain has perhaps been the staunchest supporter in the Senate of war in Iraq. Obama, even when it was a very unpopular move, chose to speak out against what he felt was an unjust war, calling for more attention on Afghanistan and the hunt for Bin Laden. I once admired McCain for his position on the Bush tax cuts. In a 2004 interview with Tim Russert, McCain said, “I voted against the tax cuts because of the disproportional amount that went to the wealthiest Americans. I would clearly support not extending those tax cuts in order to help address the deficit.” But in 2006, the maverick wasn’t so quick to rock the GOP boat, and he supported an extension on
these cuts and now supports making them permanent. Obama originally opposed these cuts for the wealthy and still does. So who is really going to offer change? When asked which Supreme Court justices they would not have nominated, Obama chose Clarence Thomas and Antonin Scalia, while McCain responded by saying, “With all due respect, Justice Ginsburg, Justice Breyer, Justice Souter and Justice Stephens. And by the way, Justices Alito and Roberts are two of my most recent favorites, by the way. They really are. They are very fine. And I’m proud of President Bush for nominating them.” In other words, McCain would not have nominated even one liberal or moderate judge on the court. This doesn’t sound like the bipartisan representation and change that McCain is promising. Obama truly will offer this much needed change he has promised throughout his campaign. As for McCain, looking at his record I am not convinced.
Alex Entz
Business Manager
McCain offers more of same Vinnie Stigliani Opinion Editor
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The Tiger Hi-Line is a weekly publication of the journalism classes of Cedar Falls High School, 1015 Division St., Cedar Falls, Iowa 50613. Each edition is published on Wenesdays during the school year in The Insider and Waterloo/Cedar Falls Courier, 501 Commercial St., Waterloo, Iowa 50701. Columns and letters do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Hi-Line or Cedar Falls Schools. The Hi-Line editorial staff view is presented weekly in the editorial labeled as Our View. Reader opinions on any topic are welcome and should be sent to the Tiger Hi-Line staff or delivered to room 208. All letters must be signed. Letters must be submitted by 3 p.m. on Thursday for publication the following Wednesday. Letters may not exceed 300 words and may be edited to meet space limitations. Include address and phone number for verification.
Editorial Staff
Editors-in-Chief: Honor Heindl, Kellie Petersen and Ellen Wrede Business Managers: Jill Dally and Alex Entz News Editors: Arlene Freudenberg and Sara Strever Opinion Editors: Ben Buysse, Maggie Devine and Vinnie Stigliani Sports Editors: Nick Penticoff and Paul Strike Feature Editor: Honor Heindl On-Line Editors: Torie Jochims and Ellen Wrede Entertainment Editors: Maggie Devine and Torie Jochims Photo Editor: Honor Heindl Cartoonist: Katie Dexter Senior Writers: Jackie Jordan and Tasha Woods
Ever since the campaign trail started, and especially so as of recently, it has been crucial that both Barack Obama and John McCain distance themselves from the horrendous presidency of George Bush. Americans are frustrated with the mismanaged wars in both Iraq and Afghanistan, 47 million uninsured, decreased respect from the rest of the world and now one of the biggest financial crises ever seen. Voters want to know which candidate truly will bring the promised change. Let’s first take a look at the facts: McCain voted with George Bush 95 percent of the time in 2007, stocked the vice-presidential pick’s campaign staff with at least half a dozen ex-Bush cabinet members, spent 26 years in the Washington establishment under a primarily Republican controlled Congress and under Republican presidents. This is the resume of John McCain, but these figures don’t fit the mantra of change that he and the GOP