The Viewpoint February Extra

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Viewpoint A R T X E

Mountain View High School 2135 Mountain View Road Stafford, VA 22556

STUDENT NEWS Magazine MVHS VOLUME 11 ISSUE 5 February Extra

Ashley Pearson and Zach Mumma are two swimmers who have been extremely beneficial to their teams.

Read about them on pages 10 and 11.

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The Viewpoint FEBRUARY 2017 VOLUME XI ISSUE VI

EDITORIAL In the age of respecting every individual’s right as an American citizen, the debate over transgender bathroom use has cropped up all over America. A student at Hartwood Elementary School in Stafford, Virginia, identifies as male to female transgender. Her request to use the female restroom at school sparked a heated debate. You can read more about this case on page 11.

This debate is not black and white. Some believe people should use the bathroom associated with their biological sex, whereas others believe it is an individual’s right to use the bathroom of the gender they identify as. Others, while sympathizing with transgender people, believe passing a bill allowing the latter opens up the door for pedophiles or other ill-intended individuals to take advantage of the situation. This is a widespread concern, but an important point to add to the debate is that a person with such malicious intentions could still walk into any bathroom at any time,

Managing Editors

Hailey Bullis Morgan Ocetnik

regardless of whether or not the “bathroom bill” were passed. Additionally, Media Matter for America says states that have passed non-discrimination laws have noted that there is no correlation between sexual harassment or inappropriate behavior reported after the bills had been implemented in several school districts in states such as California and Massachusetts.

While there are numerous solutions being presented, offering separate bathroom arrangements for transgender people is reminiscent of the Jim Crow era of segregation. Increased privacy in completely separate cubicles could be the solution to this, but would cause a complete overhaul of the current system of bathrooms in America.

Despite the various passionate, and often loud, opinions surrounding this issue, we can only hope to reach a compromise that promotes individual happiness and garners widespread support no matter the outcome.

Social Media Editors

Lexi Strawder Abbey Whitehead Copy Editors

Leah Garza Reagan King

Photography Editor

Emilee Holmquist Extra Editor

Paige Doerfler Briefs Editor

Ruby Jackson Adviser

Trisha Strahl The Viewpoint is a cross-section of the news and opinions of the student body of Mountain View High School. It is a forum of expression published by aPrintis. Letters to the editorial board are welcome and should be submitted to rooms 303 or 311.

Feature Figure

Staff Writers

by Paige Doerfler

Kyle Olson

“Gymnastics is a very individual sport; when you’re out there competing, it’s all about you and how hard you have trained,” explains Junior Rachel Hunter, level seven gymnast.

Hunter has been doing competitive gymnastics since she was 6 years old. She currently competes for the Stafford Royals, where she has been working for her entire gymnastics career.

“When I was younger, I started out in dance, and then my mom decided I should try gymnastics. I instantly fell in love,” she said.

Hunter has consistently done phenomenally as a gymnast. She initially progressed quickly, outdoing most gymnasts her age, but finally plateaued once she hit level five gymnastics. Since then, Hunter has been a level six Floor State Champion and a Fourth Place finalist in All-Around at a Alamo Classic in San Antonio, Texas.

Slotted to compete in every event at meets, Hunter trains around 24 hours a week.

“My best event is probably floor. In Texas,

I got a 9.675 (my personal best) and placed 2nd, so that was pretty cool,” she said.

Texas was Hunter’s first long-distance travel meet. She felt that it was a true bonding experience for her and her team, and would love to participate in more in the future.

On top of competing, Hunter makes time to coach children from three to five years of age part-time.

Despite being on a team outside of school and having a part-time job, Hunter also manages to compete at the high school level.

“High school gymnastics really helped bring me back to the fun of the sport. I was able to try new skills that I didn’t get to do in my club practice, and I was working out with girls my own age,” she said.

Hunter is setting herself up for a successful senior year, hoping to go out with a bang.

“After this season comes to an end, I plan on working extremely hard over the summer. I have already signed up for camp in Tennessee, and hopefully [I will] move up and compete level eight next season.”

Jenny Bullers, Nicholas Chechak, Charlotte Hazard, Damien Veal, Austin Venable, Adam Skoloda, Sophie Perez Front Cover Morgan Ocetnik

2014-2016 Virginia High School League State Championship First Place Award Winner 2013, 2014, 2015 Free Lance-Star Best Over All Newspaper 2011 Columbia Scholastic Press Association Gold Medalist 2011, 2010 and 2009 Virginia High School League First Place Award Winner

Mountain View High School 2135 Mountain View Rd. Stafford, VA 22556

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February at mountain view

Science Club by Charlotte Hazard

Lake Arrowhead Dam by Austin Venable Residents of the community of Lake Arrowhead met on the night of February 7 at the Stafford County Courthouse to voice their concerns on a proposed service district for the neighborhood.

For many years, the two dams that cross Lake Arrowhead have deteriorated into such disrepair that they no longer meet state safety codes. The big dam in particular was classified as an extreme hazard and was shown to fail catastrophically in every computer simulation that tested its weaknesses. Recently, the state informed the county that repairs must be done on the dams and stated that should said repairs not commence soon, the state would come in to destroy the dams and drain the lake.

The biggest dilemma, however, was determining who would pay for the repairs. The total cost of getting the dams up to code comes up to just a little over $700,000. However, nobody “owns” the dams. The Lake Arrowhead Civic Association used to possess ownership of the dam, but this association went defunct by early 2005. The state has said that it will not foot the cost for the repairs, and the Virginia Department of Transportation stated that since the two roads that run over the dams are privately owned, that they are not liable for the repairs either.

In order to come up with the funds, the county has agreed to take out a loan to pay for the actual repairs. Yet, this loan would not cover any future repairs and the same situation could occur again. To prevent this, the county proposed the creation of a service district. The district would define the boundaries of the neighborhood. The constituents of this district would then pay a special tax that would go to the maintenance of the dam. The tax rate would be determined by the residents property value to keep the rate fair.

At the meeting, countless residents came out to support the district.

“I’ve lived in this lake for nine years and commute three hours everyday just to live in Lake Arrowhead. Draining the lakes would not only ruin our property values, but would take away something that is important to us all,” said resident Ashley Hampton.

After many speeches of residents pleading to the Board of Supervisors to vote in support for the district, the board vote unanimously in support of the district, 7-0. The crowd erupted into applause and cheers after the decision.

“They voted not to just save our lakes, but our memories and lives that we have built here,” concluded Hampton.

School Board Meeting by Nicholas Chechak The main topics on the school board agenda at the Stafford County Community Center on February 15 were the reminders of appreciation opportunities and the redistricting of Colonial Forge.

Hartwood district school board member, Holly Hazard reported that February 6-10 is National Counseling Week.

Hazard said, “School Counselors work with teachers and other educators to help students explore their potential and set realistic goals for themselves.”

Superintendent, Dr. William Bruce Benson announced that this month is Virginia School Board Appreciation Month.

Benson said, “Local school boards devote themselves in providing a high-quality education for all students in the Commonwealth.”

Falmouth district school board member, Mr. C Scott Hirons announced that February 20-24 is School Board Clerk Appreciation Week.

Hirons said, “School Board Clerks are responsible for keeping accurate records of meetings and proceedings of the school board and a record of all official facts.”

After the announcements they opened the floor for citizens to comment. Most comments involved the redistricting of Colonial Forge and North Stafford. Most citizens had a problem with moving because they just moved into the area in search of a better education. Colonial Forge was the reason why parents moved into the area and now most of them are about to be redistricted to North Stafford in order to open up space at Colonial Forge.

Others had problems because they think that the board isn’t thinking far enough into the future to account for population growth among students.

There will be many more attempting to move into this area for better schools and the student population is going to continue to grow.

The next redistricting meeting will be March 1 at 7:00 p.m. at Colonial Forge High School.

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Charlotte Hazard

On February 7, 2017, president of the Rappahannock Astronomy Club, Scott Lansdale and fellow member, David Abbou came to talk to the science club at Mountain View High School. While Lansdale did the hands-on part of the presentation by talking about the telescope he brought in, Abbou did a PowerPoint presentation about planets, the moon, and solar eclipses. As an amateur astronomer, Abbou currently has an astronomy column with the Free Lance Star. Aside from demonstrating his knowledge on planets, he told the science club about the “telescope of their generation”, known as the James Webb Telescope that will easily be able to see faint objects previous telescopes were not able to see. He also talked about there would be a solar eclipse in August 2017, the first one since the 1979.

Besides being the president of the Rappahannock Astronomy Club, Lansdale also sets up telescopes for groups of people to be able to view the Milky Way. He brought in an Anatolian Telescope that uses mirrors to reflect light to view the galaxy. With the solar eclipse on the way, the telescope would be a fascinating tool to view it with.

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Within the past generation, both high school and college have become more competitive and challenging by Emilee Holmquist Imagine what it would be like to go to school in the 80s. Crimped hair and scrunchies aside, you would have more time to spend on actually having fun and being a teenager rather than stressing about the five tests, three quizzes, and one project due all in the same week.

Back in the “olden days,” there was so much less pressure put on high school students to get perfect grades and take difficult classes in order attend a reputable college.

When our parents were in high school, they more than likely were not offered the same opportunities and variations in advanced programs and class difficulty.

You could simply get good grades and do a couple of extra-curriculars and be almost guaranteed to get into a decent college. Now, students are expected to not only get a nearly perfect GPA, but also to be involved in as many clubs as possible and show a multitude of leadership and volunteer experience.

Thus, many students scramble to establish an impressive resumé and the numerous hard classes paired with extracurriculars and sports piled on top is bound to leave you stressed. This stress can build up and lead to depression, cheating, and even suicide.

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According to a CNN poll of 4,500 high schoolers, around 75 percent engage in “serious cheating,” and Mental Health America estimates that 20 percent of teens are clinically depressed because of heightened academic pressures.

Hannah Kenkel, a senior currently enrolled in the full IB diploma program, has a front row seat when it comes to having a heavy workload. She said, “I would say [the IB program] is a lot of work. It is not very often that an IB class doesn’t give homework.”

Many students have to find a certain balance between school and extracurriculars to manage their time. Kenkel said, “I pretty much always have something to do after school. I sometimes have a hard time [balancing schoolwork and sports] and it gets really stressful if my coach ever holds us longer for practice because it takes away from my time to do homework and on those nights I’m up pretty late.”

Despite how difficult the workload in high school can be, most teachers are understanding and are flexible towards the students’ activities. With the amount of stress on students today, it is important to take a break from the books every once in awhile and breathe.

Technology:

social affects in adolescents Technology was created to help socialize and bring people together; however, it actually does the opposite by Paige Doerfler Technology is meant to bring people together, so you’d expect adolescents to be connected and well socialized. You’d expect everyone to have a solid group of friends and a steady social life because that’s what the stereotypical “high school experience” is based on: friends, parties, and once-in-a-lifetime moments.

We grew up watching every Disney Channel movie portray high school as some great experience. While some people really do have an amazing four years, some of us just don’t. We stepped into high school and into what we could hardly fathom as “best years of our lives.”

According to Pulitzer-Prize nominated author Lee Siegel, “We shop, work, play, love, search for information, seek to communicate with each other and sometimes with the world online. We spend more time online than ever before.”

In a survey conducted by Pew Research Center, 92 percent of teens reported going online daily; 24 percent claimed going online “almost constantly.” More than half of teens ages 13 to 17 go online several times a day.

Because of the increase in technology usage over the past decade or so, specifically increased cell phone usage, it’s almost as if our version of socialization and the whole “high school experience” is merely sitting on our phones or staring at a screen.

According to Nielsen, the average teenager sends about 3,339 text messages per month. While this may seem pretty insignificant, this number is becoming increasingly larger, proving that we are practically glued to our phones.

Schools are increasingly using technology in classrooms. Just in the last couple of years, Mountain View has begun to integrate things like Google Classroom within select classes. Economics and Personal Finance uses sites like Everfi to supplement in-class instruction. While this is useful and convenient, will it help our generation and future generations to come?

Even outside of high school, the majority of our lives are spent sitting in front of screens. Whether it’s in a cubicle or on a video call for work, we use

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technology for practically everything. While it’s not necessarily our faults that the world is so reliant on it, this is our reality.

Excluding a professional setting, we also rely on technology for basically all forms of entertainment. We’d rather sit in front of a screen, whether a cell phone or some other piece of technology, to text or merely stare at it rather than live in the moment.

I’ve heard an adult tell me that our generation is too reliant on technology probably a thousand times. Everyone’s heard the “back in my day” speech. We all groan at the sound of comments towards how we are always glued to our phones or how we can’t live without them, but if you really think about it, they aren’t entirely wrong.

Our generation has been raised in a world so dependent on technology that we struggle with not having it to rely on. We grew up with televisions and the luxury of having the Internet to help us with everyday life. If we think about our lives in a mindset accepting of this depressing reality, it becomes commonplace.

But where do we draw the line? Socially, this world that is so reliant on technology is being negatively impacted.

FaceTime and Skype, texting and iMessaging, snapchatting, and even emailing facilitate this antisocial environment. If we weren’t in school, would most of us leave the house? Yeah, many claim they would, and I applaud them for having such positive intentions, but most of the time, it seems as if we’d rather sit at home and use technology as a means of communication rather than going out and doing something.

And with the increased usage of technology in schools and work environments, we are setting ourselves and future generations up for failure and lives bound to technology.

Technology is extremely convenient and helpful, but has considerable negative impacts on the social lives of not only teenagers, but people of all ages as a whole.

Elizabeth M Attreed, DDS, PC

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Artwork by Hannah Galligan

two sides In our society of sensationalized news stories, many often jump to conclusions before hearing out both sides of the story by Charlotte Hazard

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ince the advent of twenty-four hour news, stories are reported on almost immediately. The news reports the most emotional and shocking stories and it often doesn’t take long for the public to voice their opinions, causing controversy and arguments.

This is especially aggravated through social media and the immediacy of the send or post button. Especially controversial reports in 2016 included coverage of the 2016 presidential election, Harambe, the gorilla who was shot after swinging a little boy who fell into his habitat at the zoo, the riots caused by the Black Lives Matter movement, and the shootings of police officers.

In the classic book, To Kill a Mockingbird, one of the most profound moments is when Atticus tells his daughter, Scout, that you never really know someone until you have walked a mile in their moccasins. This is extremely applicable in a society where no one seems to flip the coin over to check the other side. As we all know, there are two sides to every coin, but one must be willing to hear others’ opinions and enter into a logical, emotionless discussion. Take the presidential election for example. People come from different backgrounds and work in different places, inevitably resulting in different points of view. Hillary Clinton’s email scandal caused antagonism from some military and government officials who saw the situation through the lens of their employment background. Some Hispanics and women understandably dislike Donald Trump because of disrespectful comments he made towards them. When the election was over, people were very opinionated,

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but they didn’t just give their opinion, they trampled on the opinions of others. Everyone is different, with a different background and different life experiences, and these obviously affect their views and therefore their political standpoint. But differences should create commentary, not aggressive argument.

To highlight this, few months ago, a gorilla named Harambe in Cincinnati, Ohio was shot after an encounter with a three-year-old boy. The boy had crawled into Harambe’s area and the gorilla swung him around. After Harambe was shot, many people, especially animal rights activists, were outraged because Harambe was a Western Lowland gorilla, a species whose population has been declining due to poaching and disease. Many blamed the boy’s mother and wanted charges to be pressed against her for child neglect.

Junior Robert Brown said, “When I heard about Harambe, my first thought was it was the fault of the parent. I was upset a parent would let their kid fall into a gorilla pit.”

An online petition called Justice for Harambe was started, but according to zookeepers and animal expert Jeff Corwin, if they had tranquilized the gorilla, like many people believed they should have, it may not have taken effect in time and could have made the situation worse, possibly resulting in the boy’s death. The mother received a lot of backlash from people that did not have all of the facts. It turns out she was looking after other children, turned her back for a few seconds

the boy ran off.

Hamilton County Prosecutor Joseph Deters said, “She had three other kids with her and turned her back... And if anyone doesn’t believe a 3-year-old can scamper off very quickly, they’ve never had kids.”

Many people, mainly parents of small children, would have probably sympathized with her or had a different perspective if they had known this piece of information.

Police brutality was an issue this year and many stories and videos went viral about it. However, issues arose when some began labelling all police officers as racist and cruel. For example, five officers were shot at a protest in Texas with no instigation and no warning. They were killed just because they wore a blue uniform with a police badge and were labeled as an enemy. Many people made assumptions about all police due to the brutality videos that went viral. Even if 100 police brutality videos went viral, that’s not even one percent of the police population in the world.

To me, it’s for this reason that not all officers should be judged based on the acts of the few worst ones who just happen to have been made famous through media coverage. While the attention was good in a way, because it exposed corrupt people working in the police department, it shouldn’t cause people to jump to conclusions about all officers. Police have a very public role and at least the videos exposed racism and brought such significant issues to the forefront of Americans’ thoughts.

Whenever a new story comes out, opinions will inevitably abound. But that shouldn’t give people the excuse to not listen to the other side of the story or be disrespectful to others. People tend to hear a story and believe it immediately. It’s time to hold ourselves accountable and do our own fact-checking before we speak or post.

Ruby Jackson

J The premiere of “A Dog’s Purpose” was recently canceled due a video released of a staff member forcing a German Shepard into the water.

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ecently, a video surfaced of the filming of the movie “A Dog’s Purpose.” This video shows one of the crew members pushing a German Shepherd into rapid water in order to get a shot for the movie. Subsequently, questions have arose about the way animals should be treated and what a dog’s purpose truly is.

Some think that a dog should always be outside to keep watch of the house, while others think that dogs are a humans best friend and should be inside with the family. There really is no answer as to what a dog’s purpose truly is, but sometimes a line is crossed and people do not treat dogs the way they deserve to be treated.

Dogs do not have the ability to choose what they want to do so it is our job to make sure that they are safe and out of harm’s way. Small dogs cannot defend themselves against people and have no choice to what they can and can’t do. In the video that surfaced from the “A Dog’s Purpose,” you can see the German Shepherd being forced into dangerous water although it is obviously struggling to fight against the person trying to push it into the water. This video is only one example of how a person can overpower a dog and force it to do something that isn’t safe.

The director of the movie says that no animals were harmed in video and that he wasn’t aware of what happened before the shot was filmed. The director, Lasse Hallstrom, who has directed many popular movies, says that animal safety was the utmost priority of all staff members working on the film. Although

BY abbey Whitehead the staff of the movie says that no animals were harmed in the making of the movie and that the dog in the video had performed the stunt multiple times without struggle, that does not change the fact the movie raises questions about the treatment of animals. Sophomore Anneliese Hinz said, “I hope that the dog in the video wasn’t actually abused, and I feel like the video could have come out in the wrong context. As long as no animals were actually abused I wouldn’t boycott the movie.”

According to the Humane Society Organization, over 70 percent of all animals abused are dogs. People who intentionally commit acts of cruelty against animals are also more likely to be charged with other crimes such as violence against other people. People who suffer from hoarding disorders are also more likely to victimize animal. For example, they are more likely to neglect animals because their housing situations are not adequate to house animals, and they do not have the ability to care for them. If signs of animal abuse are present, a simple call to the local animal control can help ensure that no animals are harmed.

Although there is no way to really know what a dog’s purpose truly is, we do know that dogs deserve to be treated humanely and there is no reason for a dog to ever be abused. The public outrage over the recent video should help start a dialogue so that people are more aware of the treatment of animals and be sure that no one is abusing or neglecting dogs or other animals. feature q february 2017 qthe viewpoint q9

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ASHLEY PEARSON Swimmers Ashley Pearson and Zach Mumma tell their experience with the sport they have been with for years by Hailey Bullis

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enior Ashley Pearson has been swimming competitively since she was six years old. Her father, who was in Naval postgraduate school at the time, started Pearson on swim after doing the triathlon “IronMan” as a way to fill his time, “I thought that was really cool because he had been running, swimming, and biking for miles and miles and miles and I wanted to get in on that so he said ‘Okay, let’s do something that’s low impact, and that’s not going to hurt you and that you can do forever and ever’ and he chose swim.” After this Pearson fell in love with the sport, and has been on four different competitive sports and while she moved a lot as a child swim always connected her to any place she moved due to her coming to know the people on the swim teams. “When you move your identity can change but I always knew I had swim and I have this thing I can go back to and swim was also a good outlet whether I was frustrated with school or whether I was unhappy and swim has always been a way for me to channel my energy and compete.” Pearson specializes in the backstroke, sprint, freestyle, and individual medley but she has swam in every event at least once.

Pearson will be attending MIT in the fall and will be competing on their swim team as well, “MIT emailed me back and said ‘Hey we would be interested in talking to you’ and I said ‘Okay great, that’s kind of crazy that MIT wants to talk to me about swim,oh my gosh because that’s my dream school and then the fact I could possibly swim for them, that would be my two worlds colliding’ and we talked over the summer and they really began to like me and I really began to like the school.”

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ZACH MUMMA

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unior Zach Mumma started swimming when he was eight years old after his parents signed him up for a summer swim team. Mumma did not know how to swim previous to this, “The first day I made it halfway across, grabbed the line and wouldn’t let go. Then over the season I got most improved.” Mumma continued summer swim until high school where he then joined the swim team.

In high school swim Mumma was able to give a few motivational speeches to his team, “On our swim team we have this thing called a ‘Hive Circle,’ so before a swim meet we all get together and we all scream and whatnot, but before the hive circle we all get on one knee in a circle and somebody gives a motivational speech. Normally it’s the captain but I was able to give a couple of those motivational speeches and that was one of my proudest moments,” said Mumma.

In these speeches Mumma says, “We may not will, but we’ll win in spirit and I’d rather lose every single meet and have our spirit than win every meet and not have our spirit.” Mumma thinks the team’s spirit keeps the team together and encourages team members to come back.

The swim coach Katie Frost also recognizes Mumma’s ability to motivate his teammates, “Zach is just one of those swimmers I really trust to kind of bring the team together and be the positive force on the team,” Frost continued, “Zach is this great positive figure in everything. He wants to do the best that he can in everything and he wants to be successful.

He’s a good swimmer and tries his best and he made a lot of big movements for the team this year being a member of the boys A relay.”

Mumma specializes in the 100 breaststroke.

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VEGANISM Many people are deciding to go Vegan but aren’t aware of the risks and benefits

by Abbey Whitehead

The Bad

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here may be downsides to being vegan, but there are also many health benefits associated with being vegan. Some vegans report having an increase in energy, and fewer allergy symptoms like runny and stuffy noses. A recent study conducted by Jama international medicine even linked people that don’t eat meat to potentially living a 12 percent longer live. Other health benefits of being vegan are less risk of cardiovascular disease, lower cholesterol, lower blood pressure, and healthier skin, nails, and hair. Some vegans who suffered migraines before going vegan also reported less migraines.

Vegans not only improve their health, but also help the environment. They help conserve water because animal farms require large amounts of water to be sustained. The creation grain feed that is fed to many farm animals has also led to deforestation. Changing to veganism and avoiding animal products is a great way to lower one’s carbon footprint, the measure of how much impact one has on the environment.

Veganism is a great way to improve your health and reduce your impact on the environment. Many vegans experience reduced risk for serious illnesses and many other health related issues. The also help the environment by reducing their carbon footprint.

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Junior, Shawn Long

“I think if someone wants to be vegan because it’s healthy for them than they should do it, but personally I would never be vegan just because I feel like I would never get enough protein.”

The Good

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any students and adults are choosing to go vegan, but is it really good for you? One of the many downfalls of going vegan is that if it’s based only on activism it can lead to poor health decisions. Alternatively, if done with proper planning, vegans can reduce their risk for serious illnesses. Becoming vegan requires a meeting with a nutritionist. Visiting a nutritionist will not only make sure that your body is physically capable of being vegan, but will also help insure that you develop an individualized meal plan to serve your personal dietary needs.

Being vegan can cause serious health risks if not done correctly. Many people decide to go vegan without putting the much needed thought into it. Some even completely cut foods out of their diet without considering any of the health impacts. For example, a lack of protein can cause serious health problems; protein is necessary for the human body to function and maintain healthy energy levels. It’s very important to consider all factors before going vegan.

Although a common issue for vegans is protein deficiency, being vegan can actually increase one’s energy if done correctly. Another problem that is very common is vitamin B-12 deficiency. Vitamin B-12 is essential, but is not found in any plants except for some algae, so it is very important to get a daily vitamin that contains a healthy dose of B-12. B-12 is not the only vitamin that vegans are often deficient in and nutritionists are increasingly continuing to recommend vitamin supplements to provide such necessary vitamins.

Sophomore, Lauren Jackson “I think that people being vegan is awesome and very healthy for you. I would love to try being vegan one day.”

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Global warming is the theory that burning fossil fuels like coal and oil has a strong negative impact on the planet. These fossil fuels create greenhouse gasses, an excessive amount of CO2 which breaks down the ozone layer, our only protection from the sun’s burning rays.

Global warming policies often takes a backseat today’s politics. Many people don’t believe in global warming at all, claiming it’s all a tool used to garner votes. These individuals either believe that climate change is not occurring at all or that is it occurring naturally, not because of man’s impact. However, while the debate rages the problem only continues to grow as temperatures change more rapidly than ever with highs of 70 degrees in mid-december. Global warming is often overlooked because it does not pose an immediate problem, but future generations will feel the weight of the current generation’s apathy.

Global warming doesn’t just affect whether or not we wear a jacket; many species of animals are in danger of becoming extinct if the problem isn’t addressed now. Polar bears and many types of fish are in danger. The climate change causes the Ph (acid) levels in the ocean to rise, creating a hazardous environment for fish and causes polar bears’ homes the melt beneath them.

With more than a mile lost from Antarctica annually, sea levels are rising constantly. Sea levels have risen over 7.5 inches since 1870 and are expected to rise another one to four feet by 2100.

Small nations that live along the coast will be swallowed entirely by the ocean. Some places have resorted attempts to barricade the ocean water from taking their land as the sea is rising constantly.

If this continues, it will not only affect small nations, but also the entire globe. According to The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), average U.S. temperatures will rise between 3 to 12 degrees by 2100.

The problems presented by climate change seem endless, but the solutions are very limited.

Changing from fossil fuels to clean energy is necessary in order to stop climate change, but this will not only cost billions of dollars but millions of jobs as well. People need to use energy wisely and efficiently. The rising temperatures are inescapable, but adapting to the new climate is necessary. If this issue continues, more drastic changes, likely with large price tags, will have to made later on.

Temperatures have already risen and so far are showing no sign of stopping.

This past winter has only been a preview of what is to come, with Tuesday feeling like a summer day and Wednesday feeling frozen in ice.

Halting climate change is a huge feat, but with international cooperation and individual contributions, it is one the world can accomplish as one.

The Greenhouse The effects that climate change will bring

by Damien Veal

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FAST PITCH SOFTBALL

You must have been 16 or younger on January 1, 2017

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advertisement qfebruary 2017 qthe viewpoint q15

House Bill 2025

Grace Dalton, sophomore:

“The fact that our

country’s leaders have

shown any form of discrimination against LGTBQ+ community is horrendous.”

Leigh Haag, sophomore: “If we have laws to discriminate

about this, what’s next? Gen-

der, Race?”

On February 2, 2017, the Virginia House of Delegates passed a religious freedom bill that allows for anti-LGBT discrimination by Sophie Perez

N

icholas Freitas, the Virginia state delegate introduced a bill that would not require any person or religious organization to “participate in the solemnization of any marriage if it interferes with a sincere religious belief or moral conviction that recognizes marriage as a union between a man and a woman.”

House Bill 2025 also states that no person may face a penalty or civil liability by the Commonwealth for said discrimination.

While many Republicans would argue that the bill is needed to protect religious freedom, especially in a culture that is becoming increasingly more accepting of LGBTQ+ members, many Democrats argue that a bill allowing discrimination is unconstitutional.

The bill was approved 57-37 with four Republicans (Delegates Davis, Stolle, Villanueva, and Yost) voting “no” and five members of the House not voting.

Last year, Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe vetoed a similar bill that would prohibit state agencies from punishing religious organizations that discriminate against same-sex couples. The Senate failed to override the governor’s veto. In January, McAuliffe signed an executive order that bans anti-LGBT discrimination among state employees, contractors, and subcontractors. McAuliffe stated in a radio interview with WTOP that the previously introduced bill that he vetoed was unconstitutional and discriminatory.

Many organizations, as well as individuals, have spoken out against the bill. Delegate Marcus Simon stated that there are already statutes in place to protect religious freedom and that the bill is “going to send the wrong message.” The Human Rights Campaign legal director, Sarah Warbelow, said that the decision to pass this legislation “puts the state’s people, reputation and economy at risk.”

Delegate Nicholas Freitas, who initially introduced the bill, claims that the bill is simply about preventing religious organizations from being persecuted for not fitting in with society’s standards.

The bill will now be passed on to the Senate where it will be determined if it becomes a law.

Nelson Alvardo, sophomore:

“I believe that this goes against our rights and that people shouldn’t be treated differently for what they feel.”

Jennifer Cooper, security guard:

“Even though churches are pri-

vate organizations, they should

still be kind and welcoming.”

Addison Flores, senior:

“I think its unfair and against

our rights. As a Chris-

tian, we should be kind

and accepting even

if it’s against our personal beliefs.”

16 q

the viewpoint q february 2017 q feature

Girls just wanna have fundamental rights Women’s rights have progressed greatly in recent years, but many issues are still hotly debated by Ruby Jackson.

Photos by Aaron Spicer

Feminism, a word with greatly varied implications, is the principle of equal rights for all women and men--regardless of their sexual orientation, gender, religion, or race. We live in a world where people are still unjustly discriminated against for reasons such as these.

Many events have been organized in order to fight this inequality, including the Women’s March on Washington on January 21, 2017. This specific march in D.C. had over 500,000 participants and had many sister marches occurring on the same day all over the world, with at least one on every continent.

“We work peacefully while recognizing there is no true peace without justice and equity for all,” said The Women’s March on Washington.

Thousands of people attended, hoping to have their voices heard and concerns addressed.

“We were people from all different genders, ethnicities, socio-economic situations, ages, religions, and backgrounds, and yet, from start to finish, we saw people being kind, helpful, supportive, and encouraging to one another,” said teacher Lisa Renard. While some people fail to see how a march could impact anything, they don’t realize that the very first women’s march in 1913 played a direct role in women achieving the right to vote.

Some of the concerns marchers voiced included the funding cuts for Planned Parenthood and inequality among the LGBTQ+ community, people of color, and survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault.

According to the National Sexual Violence

Resource Center, one in every five women in college are sexually assaulted. Rape is currently the most underreported crime in the United States--over 63 percent of these crimes go unreported. Marches like these fight to make it safer for these women (and men) to fight back against their perpetrators and make our society a safer place by sending them to jail.

Another huge issue presented at the march was religious freedom. The first amendment in the Constitution gives us religious liberty; however, establishments, businesses, and more continue to discriminate against those that practice a different religion than they do.

“In 2014, the nation’s law enforcement agencies reported that there were 6,727 victims of hate crimes. Of these victims, 46 were victimized in 17 separate multiple-bias incidents,” said the FBI on hate crime statistics in 2014.

People shouldn’t be oppressed based upon their freedom to practice their own religion, or any other basic human right.

“A lot of these women in other countries do not have equal rights and they’re struggling.

Countries look to us [the United States] as an example, so when we advocate for equal rights we are very empowering to those women,” said senior Lily Cowper. Currently, there are several countries in the world where women are suppressed and not seen as equal.

These current marches and future events aim to improve the lives of many, including the oppressed women in countries around the world that are still fighting for basic rights.

feature qfebruary 2017qthe viewpoint q17

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Countering the Counter-Culture I

Pix a

ba y.c om

n this current era, many debates have arise over the issues of female body image and the elimination of gender expectations and stereotypes. While this progress, for the most part, is positive and enhances the lives of many, I believe it has veered off the path that originally gave it respect and created change.

Recently, a sort of backlash movement has formed from this: Meninism, or the advocacy of men’s rights.

For many individuals who identify as feminists, they immediately roll their eyes and say it’s a display of male “privilege” and sexist.

This is partially true. Initially, the movement did spawn out of anti-feminism.

It was satire in response to third wave feminists and their seemingly extreme beliefs on the state of American society. Some of these beliefs include only men can be sexually aggressive, multiple genders, and the wage gap among other things. Meninism was born from dislike of these beliefs and feeling like they were experiencing misandry (the dislike or prejudice of men), and as such was anti-feminist in its inception.

While this may still be true with some the members of this group, I believe they need to grow up and move on if they don’t actually support the true meaning of this new movement. There are people like me that wish to “take back” this movement and turn it into something positive and constructive. This movement is about creating a brotherhood of sorts among men. Similar to the sisterhood among feminists, it is meant to be a crutch when a fellow brother is down and needs help getting up, or just doesn’t feel like he is a part of society.

Meninism has gotten a reputation for being a misogynistic backlash against Feminism. This is one individual take on it. by Austin Venable Many men, however, have just as many, if not more, stereotypes and expectations placed upon them as women. When men have body image problems and feel discriminated against, we are simply told “You’re a man, deal with it.” Another example is the draft. Women are not required to sign up for the draft while all men are forced to sign up for it if they want to be able to have a drivers license and essentially be a part of modern society. That’s right, legally men can be rounded up, sent to a foreign land, and possibly be killed or severely injured, all simply because they are men. What if I disagree with this because of moral or religious reasons? Is this not an unfair requirement laid upon a person simply for his gender?

Personally, I am overweight. This is something that I have struggled with my entire life due to thyroid issues and poor eating habits. As a child, I lost my mother.

To cope with the stress and disorientation of no longer having a mother in my life, I began to eat … insanely. It was not uncommon for me to eat half a loaf of bread and call it dinner. Ramen noodles were my best friend. Skittles would calm me down when nothing else would. I knew what I was doing was extremely unhealthy for myself, but the feelings of emptiness and sorrow would go away just for a little longer after binge eating junk food. The worst part is that when I wanted to stop myself, I felt powerless to end it, because I felt like I had an addiction, and I did. I was a binge eater, a variation of an eating disorder.

Eventually, I decided that enough was enough and I sought help. I asked a few people that I once called friends what I should do. A few were helpful and gave tips for how to beat my cravings, but what was the overall response?

“You’re fat.”

“Just stop eating food.”

“You chose to be the way you are.”

Phrases said to me by both females and males that are still ingrained in my mind to this day. Overall, there was very little sympathy or help for me. I was basically told it was my fault and nobody cares.

What would happen if I told an overweight female the same things that I was told? I would immediately have social justice slammed down upon me. People would call me inconsiderate and flock to the girl’s aid. I would be told to “look at yourself.” The response would be overwhelmingly negative, because apparently girls face body issues that men don’t have to deal with.

Yeah … ok.

My entire life I have never felt content with my body. I would look at magazine ads and see those that are tan and muscular. I would look at the ad and tell myself, “That’s not for people like me,” and flip the page.

Other times, I would go to popular clothing stores, wanting to buy the same things that my friends were wearing, only to discover their extra large was the equivalent of a small or medium at the other stores that I bought clothes at.

Wanting to see if they had a larger size, I was told that it was the largest size they had at the store, and that their clothing was meant “for those that are slimmer and athletic.”

At pool parties, everybody else would be having fun and getting tan, meanwhile I would awkwardly wear a shirt to cover my body and protect my skin from sunburn because I burn easily and am unable to tan due to my Irish and Eastern European ancestry.

Every time I would hear a group of people talking about who’s the hottest people in the grade at the time, I knew I would never make the list. It felt like a world that was completely distant from mine. I would try my hardest to become part of the “in” crowd and mimic them, but it felt very unusual for me and I eventually just accepted the fact that it must be because I was not normal and not attractive in the slightest sense.

Are these not all examples of body issue problems that men supposedly don’t have?

This is not a cry for help or a request for sympathy. As I got older, I learned to accept myself and just laugh it off. While I am comfortable in my body now, I can’t help but wonder how many other young boys out there might be thinking the same things that I used to wonder.

This is why I implore women, and everyone, to look at the Meninism movement with an open mind. Yes, there may be a few immature people that will take the label and misuse it, but this can apply to any kind of movement.

Meninism isn’t about knocking women back down to subservient citizenship.

It’s not about stripping women of the right to vote, work, and sexual autonomy.

Meninism does not advocate for women to make less than men do. It is about empowering all men, regardless of their creed, and reminding them that everyone deserves to feel just as important and relevant as the next person. It’s about saying “Yes, there are expectations by society, but you are not required to follow them and you should be comfortable with whoever you are in your heart”. opinion q february 2017 q the viewpoint q20

New Radicals?

The underlying appeal of the West’s neo-nationalists

I

f the Brexit vote hadn’t made it clear enough, the election of Donald Trump set it in stone: right-wing nationalism has found a firm foothold in the West.

A resurgence in contemporary nationalism, which emphasizes national strength and cultural unity, has manifest itself not only in Brexit and Trump, but also in the unexpected popularity of far-right, anti-establishment, anti-immigration politicians across Europe.

In the wake of the ongoing refugee crisis and the relatively recent European debt crisis, such figures have gained widespread support from many native Europeans who feel mainstream political entities do not effectively represent their interests – interests that typically include closed borders and Euroskepticism.

As such, nationalist parties have acquired startling popularity throughout the Western world. Switzerland, Denmark, Austria, and Hungary all saw right-wing nationalist parties gain over 20 percent of the vote in their most recent national elections; furthermore, Marine Le Pen, the candidate for French presidency fielded by the right-wing National Front party, is currently polling second out of five major candidates.

The current crop of Western nationalist leaders represent a broad range of views, from the moderate closed-border policies of Le Pen to the directly anti-Islamic rhetoric of the Netherlands’ Geert Wilders, who was recently convicted of publicly inciting discrimination. Yet despite the varied nature of their platforms, the media has largely sought to portray these nationalists as various flavors of the same ideological dish: a toxic mix of racism and xenophobia.

Right-wing populist Norbert Hofer, who lost the election for President of Austria by a slim margin, argued that his nationalistic platform was aimed more toward establishing the image of a strong, independent nation than furthering discriminatory ideals; however, such statements did little to squelch rumors of his Nazism. Trump was forced to deal with similar allegations, though he notoriously failed to condemn the numerous white supremacist groups that endorsed him during his presidential run. The UK Independence Party, Britain’s infamous anti-European Union political party, is considered by many to be a contemporary incarnation of the working-class white supremacist attitudes that permeated northern England during the Thatcher era. UKIP leader Nigel Farage has fought to dispel these notions, stating that the party’s anti-EU and anti-immigration stances stem from economic, rather than racial, concerns.

One of Farage’s key arguments in favor of leaving the EU was his claim that staying in the EU cost the UK £350 million annually, a sum he felt would be better spent on the country’s national health system. He also argued that the EU’s granting of visas to large numbers of Middle Eastern and North African migrants would enable them enter Britain en masse, encumbering the UK’s social welfare systems. Likewise, fears that large numbers of Central and South American migrants would collapse the American welfare state motivated many to turn to the strongly anti-immigration Trump. Marine Le Pen’s primary arguments in favor of leaving the EU, beyond her opposition to immigration, center on the instability of the Euro, which has seen large fluctuations since the aforementioned debt crisis. And, much like Trump, she has consistently campaigned on a promise of bringing back blue-collar jobs outsourced to foreign states.

But to many of its proponents, Western nationalism is about more than eco-

W (T ild he N

ethe

20

nomic benefits; it is also about the recovery of national self-determination supposedly denied by globalism and corporatism. According to Farage, one of the primary motivations underlying Brexit was the autonomy of the British people in the face of multinationalism. Indeed, Farage said in a speech before the European Parliament following the Brexit vote that “the ordinary people…rejected the multinationals, they rejected the merchant banks, they rejected big politics, and they said, ‘Actually, we want our country back…’”. Donald Trump successfully built his campaign on similar attitudes throughout the American South and Midwest, mining the dissatisfaction of these rural populations with an elitist government they felt was disregarding their interests. Nearly every nationalist candidate has followed in his footsteps, each seeking to cultivate an “outsider” image that will win over those disillusioned with globalism.

Ultimately, the rise of nationalism in the West can be explained almost entirely by this disillusionment. For years, rural, working middle-class families have watched their bank account balances plummet while their governments have pursued policies that they have opposed - opening borders, aiding the large financial corporations many held responsible for the financial crash of 2008, and failing to address the massive shipment of jobs to low-income, less-developed countries. They therefore saw a political elite that served no interests other than their own and those of multinational corporations. Hence, the Western nationalists have provided them with a perceived alternative: politicians who will not only close borders and fight to bring back jobs, but will also carry out a sort of political revenge on the neglectful establishment. Sure, there may be a few racists within these parties’ voting blocs, but seriously believing that 50 percent of the population of any Western country is racist is logically flawed at best. For the most part, this a movement aimed at deconstructing the elite, rather than constructing a new racist empire.

The anti-establishment perspective likely comes the closest to predicting how these figures will operate if elected to office. The implementation of tighter border restrictions, the scaling back of welfare programs, and the lowering of corporate taxes are all in order should Le Pen or Wilders prevail in their upcoming elections. Trump has pledged to repeal the Affordable Care Act in his first hundred days in office, and, of course, his promise to “build the wall” represents a genuine attempt to achieve closed borders, if only symbolically. If anything, these politicians represent a return to classical liberalism more than a return to Nazism.

The impact of those policies, however, is completely unpredictable. The final outcome should the West transform into a breeding ground for neo-nationalist ideology is an absolute unknown; this explains why the value of the US dollar experienced extreme fluctuations immediately following Trump’s election.

What is known is that these politicians, whether successful or not, have already massively impacted the political culture of the West. Public acceptance of lax immigration policy and broad welfare programs can no longer simply be assumed. The nationalist parties have allowed rural, lower-education, middle-class populations to express their political desires to the fullest extent, and, in doing so, have found far more support than the establishment ever expected possible.

Farage

n e P Le nce)

(UK)

ers

Trump

rlan

ds)

by Nick Chechak

(Fra

(USA)

q the viewpoint q january 2017 q news

Phil Nijhuis

Greg Skidmore

Greg Skidmore

Remi Noyon