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Volume CXVIII, No. 8
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Thursday, April 28, 2016
Thursday April 28, 2016
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Bernie Sanders speaks for veterans at Gettysburg This Week’s Top Stories
Photo Credit: Gettysburg College Flickr
National
International There are 100 days left before the Olympic Games in Rio, Brazil are set to begin, but who will fill the president’s seat remains to be seen. The incumbent president, Dilma Rousseff, could have manipulated her government’s economic figures to improve her chances of winning the 2014 election. One of the opponents, Eduardo Cunha, unfortunately also has been reported to have been involved in corruption and money-laundering. Currently, Brazil is facing a severe recession, the worst since 1930s by some standards. Brazil’s economy has shrunk by almost 4% within the last year alone. Another major issue is water quality in the Olympic Games city Rio. Athletes have to take precautions to protect themselves from potential illnesses.
This week’s “Top Stories” were compiled by Brendan Raleigh with information form abcnews.go.com. and www. khaama.com
Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders hosted a town April 22 in Bream Wright Houser Athletic Complex. war. Edward self-identified as one By Nora Tidey of thousands of veterans that supStaff Writer port Senator Sanders for president. It was an overcast after- The former Marine also acknowlnoon for Earth Day on Friday, edged a number of veterans that April 22, when Senator Sanders traveled to hear the Senator speak held a dialogue with Democratic at Gettysburg College. Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard Mr. Edward explained that of Hawaii in the Bream Wright he supports Bernie for showing Houser Athletic Complex at Get- the judgement and foresight to tysburg College. keep America safe. The veteran Although he was emerg- cited Senator Sanders’ plan to ing from a tough loss in the NY combat ISIS, his vote against the primary, Senator Sanders did not Iraq war, and his prediction of the appear deterred. The event was adverse consequences of the Iraq overflowing with both community war as signs of the Senator’s good members and students enthusiasti- judgement. He also claimed that cally cheering for Bernie. Sanders is the candidate with the He spoke about the moral most veteran support. imperatives to stand up to the He advocated for the Fairfossil fuel industry, the moral duty ness for Veterans Act sponsored to reduce wealth inequality, and by Congresswoman especially the moral obligation Gabbard. The proposed act to provide veterans with mental would enable veterans without health care and benefits honorable discharges to receive Former US Marine Tyson an honorable by presenting proof Edward, a representative of Vet- of PTSD at the time of their erans for Bernie, opened the event discharge to a discharge review speaking about his experience as a board. former combat veteran of the Iraq This is important for al-
hall meeting with congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard on Friday, lowing veterans that were dishonorably discharged for reasons related to PTSD to receive veteran benefits. Mr. Edward related the story of his dishonorable discharge after his combat service in Iraq during 2003. He explained that he returned home after three and a half years of service to find that his parents had separated and his life was in turmoil. He smoke a marijuana “joint” with his fellow marines while on leave and was dishonorably discharged as a result. He claimed that this was before the military understood or treated PTSD. Ultimately, he argued that the Fairness for Veterans Act is important because 13% of veterans are dishonorably discharged from service without receiving any benefits. Army National Guard Major and Hawaii Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard took the stage after Mr. Edwards to share the opening lines of Abraham Lincoln’s Get-
tysburg Address before Senator Sanders recited the closing lines of the Address. The Senator echoed the closing line highlighting the importance of a “government of the people, by the people, for the people” at this moment in history. From here the Senator began a brief speech in which he criticized the overwhelming political influence that super PACs allow corporate interests and billionaires to have on American democracy. As he has declared many times before, he denounced tax breaks for the wealthiest 1% of Americans and explained the need to overturn the ruling of Citizens United vs. FEC. The Senator also criticized the prison industrial complex in America. more than any other country in the world. This fact is confirmed by prisonstudies.org. Sanders claimed that the US spends $80 billion a year incarcerating Americans, and disproportionately incarcerating African American and Latinos.
Report of two fires started at Alpha Tau Omega
The State Police Fire Investigator reported the incident as “malicious and intentional” arson B y J ulia S ippel S taff W riter
On the early morning of April 21, DPS came to the scene of two fires set at ATO. According to an email from Executive Director of Public Safety Bill Lafferty, “[o]ne fire involved the lighting of toilet paper which was then placed on a windowsill of the chapter house and a separate fire involved the lighting of an exterior pine tree located adjacent to the chapter house.” The State Police Fire Investigator who reported to the scene ruled the incident as “malicious and intentional” arson, defined by the federal government as “the
Inside This Issue
Dennis Hastert, a former House Speaker, was sentenced to 15 months in prison on April 27 for paying hush money to cover up the fact that he had sexually abused young boys while he was a coach in Illinois. In court, he admitted openly to abusing one boy. He also admitted to misleading the FBI when the case was under investigation. Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay and Hastert’s wife, among others, wrote letters of support. However, prosecutors said that the alleged abuse, as a severe offense, should be taken into account as well. The victim sued Hastert for the remainder of the 3.5 million he was promised in exchange for his silence.
Senator Sanders argues that this money could be better spent investing in education and jobs for you people. He asserted that the high prison population and the disproportionate rate of incarceration for African Americans and Latinos is correlated to youth unemployment as high as 50% in major cities such as Philadelphia. He criticized the private prison system and the perverse incentive to jail people in order to earn more profits. He cited the case of former Luzerne County Judge Mark Ciavarella Jr. who accepted bribes from developers of juvenile detention facilities to sentence more juveniles to their facilities. The talk took a somber turn when Congresswoman Gabbard questioned Senator Sanders about the issue of veteran suicide. Sander mentioned his work as the chairman of the Senate Veteran’s Committee. He declared that is the government’s moral obligation to treat post-war injuries including traumatic brain injuries and psychological injuries such as PTSD. The Senator related the story of a woman whose veteran husband served in WWII. The man still has nightmares of hand to hand combat that he experienced in WWII, and one evening he nearly strangled his wife when he awoke in the middle of the night believing that he was under attack. The Senator used this story to transition into the importance of supporting the families of wounded warriors. He criticized American militarism and said “If you can’t afford to take care of veterans, don’t go to war.” He argued that the issue of foreign policy and military intervention is not about whether or not we like foreign dictators, but whether or not they pose an imminent threat to American people. The Senator firmly reminded the crowd that he use of military force should be the last response and not the first response. He explained that diplomacy is not weakness, but intelligence and strength.
willful or malicious burning or attempt to burn, with or without intent to defraud, a dwelling house, public building, motor vehicle or aircraft, or personal property of another kind.” Junior, Cole Flashenberg said, “Kyle Wigley {Senior}, noticed the fire outside his bedroom window and went down into the kitchen to get water to put it out and noticed the flaming roll of toilet paper in the kitchen. Kyle and two other brothers got pots and pans full of water and successfully put the fire out.” While there were no injuries nor any significant structural damage, the inci-
Review of Owl Weird News, and Nightingale pg. 2 performance, pg. 3
dent was deferred to the Gettysburg Police Department. As of this publication, a representative from the Department informed The Gettysburgian that there were no updates to report on the case. Greg Sachs, secretary and PR chair for Gettysburg’s Interfraternity Council, expressed the IFC’s concern regarding the fire. “The act of arson, as this incident has been ruled, is not only a criminal offense but also one of the ultimate acts of cowardice and a violation of the most basic principles that the IFC stands for.” Sachs elaborated, “While the Interfraternity Council and its member
Language and perception, pg. 4
chapters place our full faith in the Department of Public Safety and the Gettysburg Borough Police Department in their ongoing investigation, we would like to make it clear that arson should not and will not be tolerated in any of our chapter houses or anywhere else on campus.” In light of this incident, many may wonder how to avoid having a similar event occur to them. According to Bill Lafferty, “Students can always enhance their own safety by knowing who is in their spaces; especially the theme houses, chapter houses, and apartments. . . . Reporting suspicious activity or suspi-
An effective dietary plan, pg. 5
cious persons to DPS immediately is always advisable.” More specifically in the case of fire and arson, Lafferty reported that “Every residential space the college owns is equipped with state of the art fire detection and reporting systems, to include sprinkler suppression systems.” Flashenberg said, “In terms of security, all doors and windows of the house remain locked and shut and any flamable items are locked in the house.” “The brothers were shaken and a bit angry when they found out. But it brought us closer together in the long run,” said Flashenberg.
Democracy Under Siege pg. 6
Gburg lax boasts 5-0 season, pg. 7