The Northwood
OMNISCIENT Volume 13
Issue 2
March 2020
Points of Interest
Emma Pollard/The Omniscient
HONG KONG continues to fight for independence despite American interference pg. 3
Ethan Westmoreland/The Omniscient
ADVICE from Social Media Editor Georgia O’Reilly and Staff Writer Torin Priddle. pg. 8
Photo courtesy of Glenn Carstens-Peters, Unsplash.com
VIOLENT MEDIA and its effects are growing concerns in the film and video game industries pg. 5
OmniscienT EDITORS PRINT EDITORS CC Kallam Chase Miller ONLINE EDITOR Emma Pollard DESIGN EDITOR Henry Taylor SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR Georgia O’Reilly
STAFF WRITERS Ella Sullivan Ethan Westmoreland Torrin Priddle Joshua Bollock Ian Rivera Ben Purvis ADVISER Eliza Brinkley
ebrinkley@chatham.k12.nc.us
The Northwood Omniscient is published by journalism students at Northwood High School. It aims to present accurate coverage of events of interest to our readers, as well as provide an open forum for students, faculty and the community. We welcome letters to the editor, which can be delivered to the adviser in Room 607 or sent to the school’s address. Letters must be signed, and the staff reserves the right to reject any letter containing libelous statements, to edit for length and to ascertain the truthfulness of the content. Unsigned editorials represent the majority view of the editorial board. Columns, letters and cartoons represent the views of the authors.
Ella Sullivan/The Omniscient
NORTHWOOD GIRLS’ SPORTS lack attendance and enthusiasm pg. 6
3 News & Features The Omniscient
March 2020
HONG KONG: What’s
happening and how it affects us By Emma Pollard Online Editor
For months, violent protests in Hong Kong have been the subject of international news. The demonstrations started in June 2019, and have consistently been getting more and more violent as time has gone on. The protests began after an extradition bill that allowed criminal suspects in Hong Kong to be extradited to China passed in April 2019. Citizens of Hong Kong felt that this would lead to unfair treatment and trials of criminal suspects from the Chinese government. The bill was eventually withdrawn after protests first began, but the protests continued afterwards and kept escalating to the point of extreme violence from both sides. So, how does the Hong Kong crisis affect us high schoolers?
THE NBA In October 2019, the Houston Rockets Basketball Team’s manager Daryl Morey tweeted, “Fight for Freedom. Stand with Hong Kong.” Immediately, the public began responding, offering various opinions on the subject China, which accounts for 10% of the NBA’s revenue, responded by completely cutting off ties with the Rockets. Lebron James, however, tweeted in support of China. Hong Kong protestors were not happy about this, and began burning his jerseys during protests. The NBA and China have the biggest international partnership outside of both the U.S and China, worth around $1.5 billion U.S dollars (according to USA Today), which suggests that it is in the U.S’s best interest to maintain good relations within China. And if the relationship between countries was lost, it would be detrimental to the NBA’s revenue, most likely taking a toll on the public’s ability to access and enjoy sports.
Houston Rockets Player James Harden, Competitive MMO World of Warcraft and actress Liu Yifei Graphic Courtesy of Emma Pollard
BLIZZARD GAMES Blizzard Games is a multi-million dollar Chinese company known for video games such as Diablo and World of Warcraft. Recently, it had come under scrutiny for banning one of the best E-Sport players, Chung Ng Wai, from competing in the Hearthstone video game tournament. This was after he showed support for Hong Kong after a livestream of the tournament. This, of course, led to social media backfire, with gamers tweeting ‘#BoycottBlizzard’ to show support for Ng Wai and Hong Kong from all over the world. However, through this, two U.S senators became involved by tweeting support for Ng Wei, which contributed to heightening political tensions between the U.S and China. Bad political ties between the U.S and China may allow for blockage from both sides of the games that are distributed by Blizzard. People may be unable to access the games they enjoy, which is never very fun.
CELEBRITIES Celebrities are also very influential when it comes to ties between China and other countries. Chinese-American Mulan actress Liu Yifei spoke out in support of China in relation to the protests. This led to many Hong Kong supporters boycotting the movie, and the eventual postponement of the movie’s release. Many Chinese celebrities from various music groups, such as Jackson Wang, Lai Kuanlin, Jun and Minghao from SEVENTEEN and LAY, were forced by their entertainment companies (JYP Entertainment, CUBE Entertainment, Pledis Entertainment, SM Entertainment) to speak out in favor of China’s action. This lead to controversy within their fanbases, as many believe that their statements were disingenuous and made to not ruin relations between South Korea and China. Overall, Hong Kong, China and the United States currently have pretty rocky relations. Many media companies predict that in the next few years, it’s likely to get worse. The year 2047 is when the deal between the separation of Hong Kong and China ends, though the deal is said to gradually become weaker as the years go on. The deal, which happened in July of 1997, was the handoff of British control of Hong Kong to mainland China. Hong Kong itself remained somewhat independent, and China ultimately has no problem with Hong Kong being a separate government, but only on the condition that they obey China’s wishes. As Hong Kong’s economy continues to grow weaker day by day due to closures of retail locations and transportation, it will be interesting to see what becomes of the region in the coming years.
The Omniscient
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The Dangers of Method Acting By Henry Taylor Digital Editor
The year is 2008, and Christopher Nolan’s film “The Dark Knight” has just hit theaters. It is quickly met with praise from both audiences and critics alike and is hailed as one of, if not the greatest superhero movie of all time. A large part of this positive reception has to do with the portrayal of the film’s villain, The Joker, by actor Heath Ledger. Ledger even won an Academy Award for best supporting actor. However, this award was given posthumously. Six months before the film’s release, Ledger passed away due to an overdose of prescription drugs. Many attribute Ledger’s dependency on these drugs to the mental strain he put himself under in order to give a more believable performance as an insane man. These strategies included self-imposed isolation, sleep deprivation and other forms of intentional psychological stress. Now, with a new version of The Joker hitting the silver screen, the question of whether or not we should encourage this kind of “method acting” has been raised once again. “Method acting” is a general term that has been used loosely in recent years, but at the most basic level it means to completely immerse oneself in the mindset of a character that an actor wants to portray. In the case of Heath Ledger, who sought to portray a believably insane terrorist, he tried to recreate the types of environments in which insanity could form. This led to a better performance, because in a sense Ledger had become the character of The Joker. Another strategy often used by actors and actresses trying to heighten a performance is that of transforming one’s body. Fellow “Dark Knight Rises” star Christian Bale is an actor known for this
March 2020
technique, putting his body through extreme conditions in order to appear visually like the character in question. These extremes can be seen in Bale’s physique in the film “The Machinist,” in which he lost an incredible amount of weight to portray a man with such severe insomnia that is has affected his body. His skeletal form in that movie is drastically different from the buff physique that he gained to play Batman alongside Ledger, or from the large amount of weight he gained to appear more like former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney. Each of these transformations, while taking an incredible toll on Bale’s body, have earned him accolades and have boosted his reputation as a dedicated performer. Most recently, Joaquin Phoenix took up the role of The Joker in the film “Joker.” Much like Christian Bale, Phoenix forced himself through intense weight loss in order to appear more frail and be able to contort his body in terrifying ways. During this process he lost nearly 50 pounds, and in an interview with ProjectCasting.com, Phoenix stated “...as it turns out, that then affects your psychology. You start to go mad when you lose that amount of weight in that amount of time.” This shows the direct effect of putting the mind and the body through such intense conditions in order to better portray a character. Now that Phoenix is rumored to likely be nominated for an Oscar, many are questioning if this style of acting should be encouraged. The Academy has a consistent trend of nominating actors and actresses who partake in these types of methods, which in turn encourages up-and-coming performers to not only emulate this, but to go even further. The film industry is now questioning whether or not this kind of acting should be rewarded considering the danger it poses, but as of now the practice shows no signs of slowing down.
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The Omniscient
March 2020
MrBeast Makes Effort To Plant 20 Million By Ben Purvis Staff Writer North Carolina native, social media influencer and millionaire, Jimmy Donaldson, better known as “MrBeast”, is taking a stand against climate change with efforts to plant 20 million trees. On October 26th the social media influencer released a video entitled “Planting 20,000,000 Trees, My Biggest Project Ever!” MrBeast made it seem as if he was single handedly going to plant 20,000,000 trees with his crew. He later stated in the video that he and his team weren’t going to plant all of those trees alone. Mr.Beast claimed he has opened a charity website called “Team Trees” that people can donate money to in order to help the environment. “One dollar equals one tree, every dollar counts. MrBeast said. Many other social media influencers such as Felix Kjellberg, also known as “Pewdiepie” on the video streaming platform Youtube, have donated money and helped bring exposure to the Team Trees act and has even influenced others to donate. Not just social media influencers, but even well known celebrities like Elon Musk have donated to support the cause. As of November 14th, 14,950,450 trees have been planted. “More than 300,000 people have made donations since the teamtrees campaign launched,” Arbor Day foundation spokesman Danny Cohn told CNN. Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey donated one million and one dollars to the teamtrees act after Tesla CEO ElonMusk
donated one million dollars and changed his instagram handle to “Treelon.” “The average person can’t afford to donate $150,000 or a million, but we’ve been getting spikes of five and twenty trees every time a large donations come in and every tree counts,’’ Cohn said. “I have heard of MrBeast and I watch his videos often. I would donate money but I don’t have any.” sophomore Ben Maness said. “I know who MrBeast is and I have heard about the planting of the trees thing and honestly yeah I would like to donate a couple dollars,” said Aiden Vigus, sophomore. The Arbor Day Foundation will work with its local partners around the world to plant one tree for every dollar they raise. It will take time to get all the trees to the right places anddig 20 million holes. In a recent CNN article, Cohn said they expect to have all of the trees planted by 2022. “We want to make sure that the trees are planted in the right places so that they can do the most good for the Earth,” Cohn said. “I know who Mr.Beast is and I also know that he gives a ton of money away, Aiden Walker, Junior said. “I actually have donated to the cause because I believe that planting trees will help the Earth.” The Arbor Day foundation says that 100 million trees absorb eight million tons of carbon in their lifetime, which is the equivalent of taking 6.2 million cars off the road for one year. The trees will also reduce water runoff and filter pollution and microparticles from the
Does Violent Media Inspire Violence?
By Ian Rivera-Lopez and Joshua Bullock Staff Writers
Everyone at some point in life will hear or see violence, either in real life or through the media. The National Children’s Alliance says that nearly 700,000 children have experienced some sort of violence annually in the U.S., such as sexual abuse or physical abuse. The news talks about violence, like terrorism and school shootings. While growing up, most parents try the best they can to keep their children safe and happy, caring for their needs and wants. But is there a limit to the level of violence that toys, movies and video games should bring into kids’ lives? Blood, guns, war and death are everywhere in video games and other media, but does this mean violent media automatically inspires real-life violence? There are many factors that can cause a person to become more aggressive: the place they grew up in, the people they grew up with, and the media they grew up consuming. The Official Journal of the American Pediatrics talked about a 2007 study done in which the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) studied violent television programming and its effects on children. The report reflected that there was an increase in aggression in children who were exposed to violent media. Author Stephen King, however, isn’t convinced that violent media plays too significant a role in violent behavior. “I don’t think that books or movies are ever the cause of this sort of violence, and I don’t think that’s true of video games either,” author Stephen King said in an online interview with CBS News. “I think that of all the kids that play these things, somewhere among them are kids upon whom a certain violent scenario might act as an accelerant.” Leading star of the film “Joker”, Joaquin Phoenix, believes that no matter how big of a role violent media — specifically film — can play in increasing a person’s proclivity to violence, filmmakers should not be penalized for restricted from creating similar media in the future. “I don’t think it’s the responsibility of a filmmaker to teach the audience morality or the difference between right or wrong,” said Phoenix. In an interview with The Telegraph in response to the controversy “Joker” had stirred. This controversy was created
because some believed the movie would show support towards the Joker’s violent behavior. Film critic Allissa Wilkinson, however, disagrees with Phoenix. “What we don’t want to do is suggest that filmmakers get to make a movie, say what they think it’s about and then not take responsibility in the sense of acknowledging that other people may see it in different ways,” Wilkinson said in an interview with NPR on Joker. When it comes to individuals with violent tendencies, people often look for something — like media — to blame, but sometimes do it without research. “I think society goes periodically on a sort of wild goose chase against easily identifiable sources that we can scapegoat,” Northwood Social Studies Teacher David Orphal says.“Like, if we just stopped bands like Judas Priest and Black Sabbath [rock and heavy metal bands known for their violent song lyrics] from playing their songs, kids won’t be violent anymore,” Orphal said. “I just don’t think any kind of simple solution like that is reasonable.” Orphal cited a study he became familiar with through a colleague from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) which found that a critical piece of a child’s development is understanding the difference between fantasy and reality. If this doesn’t happen before the age of seven, he says being exposed to violent media could possibly have consequences. In a study by Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, Vice Chair of Pediatrics Robert H. DuRant talks about the research he did on a middle school. He states that violence is a learned behavior; to better control violence is to teach children to deal with situations in a non-violent way. “Children learn violent behaviors in primary social groups, such as the family and peer groups, as well as observe it in their neighborhoods and in the community at large,” DuRant said. “These behaviors are reinforced by what children and adolescents see on television, on the internet and in video games and movies, observe in music videos and hear in their music.” There are many opinions on whether media can cause or increase violent behavior. The Official Journal of the American Pediatrics found a connection between violent media and violent behavior in its 2007 study, whereas others believe that there are other factors that are to blame.
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March 2020
COVID-19: What is it and how do we prevent it? By Caroline Kallam and Emma Pollard Print Editor, Online Editor The coronavirus, also recognized as COVID-19, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, Coronavirus 2 or SARS-CoV-2 was declared an official threat on March 11, 2020 by The World Health Organization. The outbreak really started within mainland China, specifically the Wuhan area in China’s central province Hubei. The disease has a 3.4% mortality rate that increases with age. What we’ve been calling “coronavirus” isn’t a new thing; COVID-19 (which stands for “Coronavirus Disease 2019”) is simply a new strain of the of the coronavirus. Some epidemiologists believe that, like the flu, coronavirus will subside during the warmer months and come back in the Fall. However, as we’ve so far seen in Florida, this may not be the case. Coronavirus spreads from person-to-person contact, mostly through bodily fluids but can also be airborne. Other widespread respiratory viruses like the flu have higher death rates but are not as contagious. The disease is spreading at a rapid rate within the US. Scientific models from around the US predict that there will be upwards of 150,000 cases by the end of the month. There are currently over 1,490 confirmed cases within North Carolina. Some of the earlier cases include people who attended to a Biogen conference in Boston, one individual who came back from Italy, two who went on a cruise, and others who had contact with infected individuals outside North Carolina. As of now, all K-12 schools in North Carolina are closed until May 15, 2020. The reason behind class cancellation is in an effort to slow the spread of the virus by preventing large gatherings of people in close proximity. As Northwood is more than 400 students over its intended capacity, concern is warranted. The virus has also affected student field trips and extracurriculars. At a recent emergency meeting, Chtham County School Board members unanimously decided to cancel all out-of-state trips and after-school events until an undetermined date. Prom, most-likely graduation, and any spring break trips have officially been cancelled. North Carolina as a state will be put under a Stay at Home Order beginning Monday, March 30, preventing anyone to leave their house unless for essential items such as work or food. As of now, the future is unknown, including how Chatham County students and students across the state and country will be academically evaluated for online coursework they complete during this time. It is possible North Carolina students will not return to school before the end of the year. So, how do we prevent COVID-19? 1. First of all, STAY INSIDE! Self isolation and social distancing
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DOES NOT mean going to hang out with your friends. If you do this, you are furthering the spread of the disease unintentionally. Though you personally may not be at risk, your family members may be, your neighbors may be or even the random person you saw on the street may be. It is safest to stay with your family inside of your own home to try and contain the spread. If you do not practice actual social distancing, this problem may last longer that you want it to. 2. Practice good hygiene. Wash your hands, sterilize your house, clean everything! 3. If you feel sick, please go get tested. It is very likely that there are many more cases in the state of North Carolina that have not been confirmed yet. Please stay healthy. 4. If you need to go out to the grocery store, wear gloves and possibly a mask. It will give you extra protection against the virus. Make sure you get medical grade masks and gloves.
The Omniscient
7 Sports
March 2020
The Attendance Gap
By Ella Sullivan Staff Writer Over the summer, the U.S. Women’s National Team won the FIFA World Cup. 14.3 million U.S. viewers watched the Women’s FIFA World Cup, while only 11.4 million watched the Men’s FIFA World Cup, according to Fox Sports. These facts may lead you to believe that women’s sports are becoming more popular to watch in America, but at Northwood,this is not the case. Women’s sports at all levels have always had lower viewership than men’s sports. In high schools, the disparity of these numbers continue to increase, but it is possible that the lack of attendance at high school girls’ sports events has more to do with the circumstances than players’ skills. At Northwood, attendance differences cannot be directly compared due to ticket sales being for one ticket to all sporting events —boys’ and girls’— on a single night. However, most attendees of Northwood games can agree that girls’ sporting events generally have a lower attendance rate. “I think generally there is more attendance at boys’games,” Coach Vernon, athletics director and girls’ basketball coach said. “I do think that girls’ soccer and boys’ soccer, just from my eye test, is somewhat similar —as well as lacrosse. I mean our girls’ lacrosse team was heavily attended last year as well as our boys’. And I’ll be honest, our softball and baseball are quite comparable too. So I don’t think there is as big of a discrepancy as there is at the collegiate and professional level.” The differences at Northwood are substantial, but there are a variety of conditions creating these numbers. Some of these conditions are differences in the time of games, the excitement for games, and the publicity surrounding games. In seasons that have both girls’ and boys’ games playing on the same day, boys’ games are scheduled after girls’. This may not seem like a problem at first glance, but it does impact ticket sales because many students would rather come to later games than games that are earlier and closer to the end of the school day. Basketball has used this same system in the past, but this year boys’ and girls’ basketball will travel separately. This means JV and varsity girls will travel together instead of varsity teams of both genders traveling together. This may help increase attendance at girls’ games or may end up decreasing numbers. Some people may be motivated to go to only girls’ games, but many people come to the end of girls’ games to get seats for the boys’ games, which will no longer be the case with this year’s amended game schedule. Although this particular group of people have historically not shown up at girls’ games until the end, it nevertheless helps increase crowd size even if it is only for a limited time. Excitement levels at Northwood are also reportedly different for boys’ and girls’ games. The energy seen at Northwood boys’ basketball games is markedly less at Northwood girls’ basketball games according to students being interviewed. “I would say from experience probably about half to three fourths of the amount of people [from boys’ games] come to girls’ games,” said varsity girls’ basketball and varsity volleyball player Jillian McNaught. Many students have the notion that cheerleaders do not cheer at all girls’ games. However, Sherri Stubbs, cheerleading coach, said that “cheerleading runs from football season through basketball season.” She adds, “We have always cheered for football (away and home games) and for both girls’ and boys’ basketball home games and for the playoffs. We have cheered at maybe two ladies’ volleyball games
but most of those games where a conflict due to football. This year we will be cheering at the Orange wrestling match which is our big rival and the senior night.” If cheerleaders actually do not attend the games, the attitude of the game changes because cheerleaders are supposed to hype up the crowd and create energy. Having cheerleaders at all games would make the environment more lively and would also help to encourage other students to come to the games. Worldwide, women only receive 4% of sports media coverage though they account for 40% of all athletes according to a report by the University of Minnesota. At Northwood, this is not as much of a problem. Information about all games is displayed on the website and on the announcements during Plus 1. With all these disparities, it seems like skill is not the distinguishing factor between attendance of men’s and women’s games. At Northwood, the girls’ soccer team advanced further than the boys’ team in the playoffs last year. For the 2018-19 season, the girls’ team got to the third rounds of the state playoffs, while the boys did not make the playoffs at all. Although rankings and ratios may not be important to all viewers, they do help to prove that Northwood has a good girls’ athletics program that deserves to be supported. “I mean the straight answer is, we’re good,” McNaught said. “We can play too and we want support just like the guys do.” “I think people should come to girls’ sports events because they are definitely different than boys’ sporting events,” said varsity girls’ soccer player and varsity swimmer Elizabeth Cremeans. “Like, soccer— it’s just a different game. Even at professional levels, men’s soccer is typically more aggressive, but women’s soccer is more finessed.” Increasing attendance at girls’ games will not just help improve players’ attitudes. Attending games also helps to support the Northwood Athletics Department as a whole, due to proceeds from ticket sales going directly back to Northwood athletics programs. By addressing the differences in circumstances between boys’ and girls’ games at Northwood and increasing spectatorship, Northwood will be helping to close the gap in support between boys’ and girls’ athletics.
Photo courtesy of Ella Sullivan
NORTHWOOD PLAYER CAITLIN BAILEY and a Western Harnett player fight to get the ball.
The Omniscient
March 2020
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SPORTY SENIORS:
Northwood seniors follow their athletic dream By CC Kallam Print Editor Many seniors here at Northwood have earned a college or university athletic scholarship. These select seniors have shared with The Omniscient where they’ve chosen to attend to play their particular sport at the college level, as well as what they plan on doing with their time at the school, outside of their commitment to sports. Chandler Adams, Mars Hill University for Basketball: “I committed and signed to continue my education and basketball career at Mars Hill University. I plan to earn a degree in nursing in hope of becoming a nurse anesthetist. I have been playing basketball since I was four years old. I have younger siblings that play basketball as well. While I’m not playing basketball I like playing volleyball, softball, watching Netflix, and hanging out with friends.” Jamison Davis, Belmont Abbey College for Wrestling: “I started wrestling my freshman year. After having a little success after my first season, I was obsessed. I started going to a lot of camps and joined a club team. After a very strong junior season, a few schools approached me I decided I like Belmont Abbey the best and the rest is history.”
Katie Fuller, Appalachian State University for Soccer: “Soccer really has been my whole life since I was younger. I’ve been playing this sport since I was four and since then, I’ve met some of my lifelong friends and have had my favorite memories [through soccer]. I am very grateful for the opportunity that Appalachian State has offered me so that I can continue playing the game I love most while making the best memories and friends.” Kayla Amy, St. Andrews University Equestrian Center: “I have been involved in riding since I was four years old leading up to now. Riding horses has always been apart of my everyday lifestyle and something I do as an activity and a sport. When looking for a college I considered many, although I knew that St. Andrews University was the school I mostly wanted to go to. Riding horses has been a passion of mine for years and I am lucky enough to continue the incredible journey at St. Andrews University as well.” Other Northwood students who have secured athletic scholarships include Dimitrius Holst, who will be playing Lacrosse at Juniata College, Jyreah Smith, who will be going to William Peace University for Basketball and Madline Horell, who will be attending Meredith for Lacrosse.
From NHS to NFL and Back Again By Ethan Westmoreland Staff Writer High school sports are a big priority for many students. Athletes train for weeks or even months to prepare for games, and some devote their entire lives to a game. From basketball to ballet, sports are highly competitive; this causes many to shy away from the prospect of competing professionally. However, for one former Northwood high school student, pro-sports are a dream come true. Tobais Palmer, a Northwood alumnus, has been playing football in the NFL since 2013. He has been drafted by nine different teams and, after terminating his contract in April of 2019, he came back to Northwood to work as an In-School Suspension teacher and coach the varsity football team. After several months at the school, however, he left his position. “[Football] helps you network and build relationships with guys that come from different places in the world—you know some guys have a bad bring-up and some guys come from grace. It gets you involved and revolves you around different people that you come across in life that you can build a relationship with” Palmer said. “Northwood was a start; I started in recreation, and when I came to Northwood [as a student] and made a name for myself, it was a platform. A platform for me to take it and see how far it could take me in life.” When discussing why he chose to come back and work at Northwood, Palmer said, “I’ve always wanted to be the kind of person to give back to my community; this [working at Northwood] is just part of being able to come back, coach and be around the guys that I want to see succeed, to let them know that anything is possible. Palmer’s presence at the school has had an undeniable effect on the student body of Northwood. Even after his resignation
from the school, many student-athletes feel inspired by his achievements, and many hold similar professional aspirations, such as senior Justin Brower. Brower is one of the students that Palmer coaches on the Varsity Football team. “That’s my main goal [becoming a pro-athlete]...working hard, putting my mind to what I want to do, getting my grades right, and getting into a good college,” Brower said. “I think it would be pretty cool [going professional], but I don’t really know if that’s where my future is going to take me,” sophomore volleyball player Kaylee Atkins said. Now, after Palmer’s resignation and Northwood’s football season has ended, it is unclear if he will return to the school next year, be re-drafted into the NFL, or simply retire with his family. Regardless of Palmer’s future at Northwood, his impact on the student body will be remembered.
Photo courtesy of Sporting News
9 Opinion The Omniscient
March 2020
The System that Killed My Cousin By Chase Miller Print Editor
Long after night had fallen on the second Saturday in August, as Desmond Myles Jenkins said goodbye to his friends and began walking down the street towards his mother’s apartment, he was fatally shot by two strangers in the shadows. He was eighteen, and had just graduated from Sanderson High School, planning to attend Vance Granville Community College on a basketball scholarship in the fall. He had a midnight curfew, and would’ve been home just before 11:45. The two men, one of whom was about his age, who stood silently watching as he approached did not know him. He wasn’t who they had come there that evening to murder—he and the intended victim simply had similar heights and hair. His mother and younger sister, awake just inside, heard the spray of gunshots and were scared, but not shocked. These kinds of things happened in their city all the time. Desmond was my cousin, but I never got to meet him. His father and my aunt have been together for some time now, but, for whatever reason, we just hadn’t run into each other yet. I suppose we were both very busy with school. His friends called him Des, but I won’t call him that. We never got to be friends. He was killed as an act of gang violence in a case of mistaken identity. The men who shot him thought he was a member of a rival gang. His future was ripped away because of the relentless cyclical indoctrination of his peers into the criminal underbelly of the inner-city—just a few more names and numbers scratched off by the school-to-prison pipeline. Tragic, but also tragically in character for our nation, where the culminated failings of so many systems lead to comparable tragedies every day.
Desmond’s death was preventable. And no, I don’t mean by gun control or police officers or urban renewal. He shouldn’t have needed protecting, because his killers should never have found themselves crouched down in the dark that day, ready to take his life and derail their own in service of some twisted cause. Far too many young people, a disproportionate amount of whom are from lower-income households, become ensnared by drugs and gangs by the time they reach high school. The government, with the assistance of non-profits, should sponsor more initiatives aimed at providing students from disadvantaged backgrounds with the skills and the tools to break from these vicious cycles. If there existed more programs to keep them engaged and participating in school, thinking about their futures, and investing in themselves, the false promises of corrupting criminal influences would become that much less lucrative. Impoverished adolescents turn to crime out of necessity: they need to fulfill their basic needs, to feel like they are a part of something, and gangs and crime can be an accessible avenue for that. But if widely-accessible and well-funded programs could provide them with sustenance, safety, shelter, support, a sense of belonging, the resources to succeed, and a tangible outlook on what their future could be, crime would, for many, lose its allure. No one turns to crime when there is a better and safer option. This idea that we’ve fabricated that criminals are of some other breed is baseless. Everyone has the potential to contribute to their community in a productive and meaningful way, but many are without the means. Everyone deserves the opportunity to strive toward their future free of the bondage and baggage of their past. And it is the responsibility of our government and society to enforce this equity for all.
The Importance of Youth Voting
By Ella Sullivan Staff Writer
Youth voter turnout is likely to change the 2020 elections, but only if youth voters show up at the polls. In 2016, 46.1% of Americans aged 18-29 voted according to the Census Bureau. Of all age brackets, this is the lowest voter turnout percentage. In 2020, these numbers need to go up. The youth is an extremely important group of voters because of their difference in views. In the 2018 Congressional elections, 68% of voters 18-24 voted for democrats, according to the Guardian. In 2016, Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by 2.9 million votes, according to ABC News. However, Clinton lost the electoral college by 74 votes. If more young voters show up to the polls in 2020, the electoral college vote could flip to favor the democratic candidate. The electoral college is a group of 538 electors who determine who the president will be. They vote based off of the states’ general votes, and 270 votes are needed to win the election. Each state has a set amount of votes, and most states are required to give all votes to the candidate with the majority of the popular vote within the state. The only states that are exceptions to this rule are Nebraska and Maine. This system makes lots of people feel like their vote doesn’t count, especially young people. This may be somewhat true, but until the electoral college is abolished, we have to work with the system we currently have. In order to make the most out of this system, young voters need to turn out to the polls in order to increase the popular vote, which will determine their states electoral college vote.
North Carolina has 15 electoral college votes. This amount of votes is not horrible, but it also is not amazing. The most amount of votes goes to California with 55, while Wyoming has the least at 3. This means North Carolina is somewhat important to presidential elections. North Carolina is generally a red or repulican state. The only exception to this since 1980 is Barack Obama’s first election in 2008. In 2016, Donald Trump beat Hillary Clinton by 3.6% in North Carolina in the popular vote. This means it is very possible for North Carolina to flip to a blue or democratic state for the 2020 elections. According to Politico’s Presidential Forecast, North Carolina is a toss up state for the 2020 elections. Youth votes will be critical to North Carolina because the youth is more progressive and can change our historically red states to blue. In 2020, I personally want a Democrat in the office of president. However, that doesn’t mean I don’t want voters who would prefer a different candidate in office not to vote. All votes are important in elections, and everyone should feel like their vote is wanted and counts. America is a democracy, and every citizen should feel empowered to vote. Voting will not only be beneficial in the 2020 election. According to Nonprofit Vote, citizens who vote are more likely to volunteer, contact their elected officials and stay informed about local affairs. So, be ready to vote on November 3rd. You can find more information about registering to vote on the North Carolina State Board of Elections website. If you aren’t yet 18 years old, but you will be on November 3rd, then you can pre-register to vote when getting your driver’s license or through the North Carolina State Board of Elections website.
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