THE POLITICS ISSUE

FREE PUBLICATION

NOVEMBER 5 | ISSUE 3

Clayton adamsFayetteville@PulseFHS

Bev WoessnerFayetteville@PulseFHS

JaCoB BensonHar-Ber

@PulseHarBer

sara laChanCeHar-Ber

@PulseHarBer

matt WatsonExecutive Editor

@PulseNWA

2 |

Athlete X 7 The voice of the locker room - an anonymous essay by a local athlete.

Recess 4 Puzzles, trivia and other stuff to keep you from doing your homework.

Election 2012 8 Campaign season is finally over - congratulations, you survived! What makes American politics so difficult, and should you have a say about it?

Not the News 13 Some stories are too good to be true, and some things are just completely made up.

Popcorn Previews 15 Don’t go to the movies until you know what’s there - theater and DVD reviews of the films you want to see.

Leading OffTweet of the Week 3 The best of what’s going on @PulseNWA.

PULSE STAFF

“@PulseFHS Fitt Romney #Hallowinner”@davistrice

tweetof the week

@CricketNation

PULSE | 3

Davis Trice was the winner of the Fayetteville High

School #Hallowinner costume contest, with this

tweet of himself dressed as “Fitt Romney,” a more

athletic version of the Republican presidential

candidate in a blazer and running shorts

and shoes.

4 |

RECESS1. Who is the only president to

serve non-consecutive terms?

A. John Adams

B. Grover Cleveland

C. Benjamin Harrison

D. Bill Clinton

2. Which president served the

shortest term after dying of

pneumonia?

A. Franklin Pierce

B. Andrew Johnson

C. James Garfi eld

D. William Henry Harrison

3. Which president was so fat,

he got stuck in the White house

bathtub?

A. Teddy Roosevelt

B. William Taft

C. Martin Van Buren

D. John Tyler

4. how long did Franklin

roosevelt, the longest-serving

president, serve in offi ce?

A. 2,269 days

B. 2,997 days

C. 3,655 days

D. 4,422 days

5. Who were the shortest and

tallest presidents ever?

A. James Madison/Abraham Lincoln

B. John Adams/George Washington

C. James Polk/Ulysses Grant

D. Harry Truman/Barack Obama

6. Who was the fi rst president

to throw the ceremonial fi rst

pitch at a baseball game?

A. William Taft

B. John F. Kennedy

C. Jimmy Carter

D. George W. Bush

7. how many sitting presidents

have been assassinated?

A. Two

B. Three

C. Four

D. Five

8. Which president was the

fi rst to fl y in an airplane?

A. Franklin Roosevelt

B. Dwight Eisenhower

C. John F. Kennedy

D. Lyndon B. Johnson

Games & Trivia

trivia answers:1. B, Grover Cleveland2. D, William Henry Harrison

3. B, William Taft4. D, 4,422 days

5. A, Madison/Lincoln6. A, William Taft (the fat guy)

7. C, Four8. A, Franklin Roosevelt

www.nwacc.edufacebook.com/nwacc1

Did you know?Doing crossword and other language puzzles increases your brain’s ability to think critically and improves your long-term memory?

PULSE | 7PULSE | 7

Nobody knows what to expect from the recruiting process. No

matter what sport you play or how old you begin to be recruited, you can never be fully prepared for this process.

Some athletes think that colleges will come to you, and others believe that they have to do all the work. In my situation, it was a little bit of both. I got my first letter in ninth grade from Missouri Southern. From then on I continued to get letters from lots of schools. From there it was my job to contact coaches and show my interest in their schools. After that I had to decide which schools I wanted to visit.

My first visit to Nebraska is when I got a reality check of how quickly this process is going to happen. I was a sophomore at the time and wasn’t planning on making my decision until my senior

year. I couldn’t have been more wrong. I took that visit and loved everything about Nebraska - the coaching staff, the program and the campus. I was super excited about that option, but still wanted to visit other schools. A week after that visit I got a call from the Nebraska coach telling me that another player my age had committed for my position. Just like that, that op-tion was no longer open.

After that happened, my coach explained to me that recruits in my sport are committing earlier and earlier. I realized that the latest I could commit would be the end of my junior year. After that all of my options would probably be gone.

I was lucky enough at that time to have plenty more options. I took more visits and went to lots of camps at different schools that summer. Two of my top schools at the time were Florida State and Pepperdine. But I was competing

with in-state players for both of those schools. Generally if two athletes are about equal in skill level, a coach will go with the in-state kid. Later I was informed that both of these schools had offered in-state athletes and both of them accepted. Two more options gone. Florida State being out of the picture hit me really hard. The coach there was the former Arkansas coach, and I was very close to him. After those disappointments, especially at Florida State, I just decided to put it all in God’s hands. I figured that he wasn’t going to steer me in the wrong direction, so the schools that were out of the picture must not have been the right fit.

The next visit I went on was to LSU, and the night before I prayed for some sort of sign on whether it was the right school for me. I got the opportunity to hang out with just the team while I was there, and the only thing they talked about

was partying and drinking. I took that as my sign and listened to it even though LSU was an awesome school.

Ultimately my decision was based on a process of elimination. I didn’t have that one school that stuck out to me; instead I had several where I could see myself fitting in. But I am extremely happy with the school I chose and feel like it was the best fit all along for me.

Like I said earlier, the recruiting process is different for everybody. Some athletes have their dream school and know exactly where they want to go, while others just have it fall in their lap. The recruiting process had its stressful moments, but overall it’s a great experience.

Athlete X is an anonymous essay from a local high schooler. If you have something to say, message @PulseNWA for a chance to be published in this space.

[ATHLETE X]the anonymous truth - written by you, about you

8 |

By Sara LachanceHar-Ber Senior

SPRINGDALE - In 2012, a vot-er can learn everything he or she needs to know about the United States presidential election from a few pieces of silk. Turn on the TV and see one guy wearing a blue tie and the other sporting red. That’s all it comes down to. Now get out and vote.

American politics are as polar-ized as ever, and polling among young people reflects a wider trend in this country, that the “lib-eral left” and “conservative right” are getting farther and farther apart.

“Nothing gets done if people are just voting for the party,” said Har-Ber senior Liz Larsen. “Politi-cians aren’t doing anything legis-lation-wise because they are too worried about getting re-elected and pleasing their party support-ers”

Media seems to only cover the Republican and Democratic nomination, but what about the Independents? Partisanship in the United States has increased over the last 25 years according to the Pew Research Center for the Peo-ple and the Press.

This poll shows Democratic and Republican voters are farther apart than ever regarding ques-tions of values and beliefs. In 1987, when Pew began gathering data on how members of both par-ties feel about a set of 48 value-oriented questions, the average disparity between Republicans and Democrats was 10 points. In 2012, the average was an 18-point difference.

In a recent study performed at Har-Ber High School, 100 students were surveyed regarding their partisanship. Thirty-four percent indicated that they were Repub-licans, while 16 percent claimed that they were Democrats and 28 percent said they were indepen-dent. Twenty-two percent claimed another party.

“I would consider myself an Independent,” said Larsen. “I vote for the person, not the party, unlike many Americans. Sure, having a group of people voting for a party helps, but people should consider the person they are voting for too, not just the party.”

Poll after poll shows Demo-crats almost unanimously agree that President Obama has done a fantastic job as president, while Republicans are unconditionally

negative towards him and his ad-ministration. The two Congressio-nal houses are at near gridlock, preventing most legislature from passing, and every issue becomes politically black and white.

Some citizens claim that this cavernous division amongst the two major parties is positive for this country while, others believe is it creating an irreversible rift in society.

“Partisanship is great for the country,” said Har-Ber senior Na-than Hernandez. “It ensures mi-norities their rights and prevents the dominance of majorities. It is also good for the people because parties absorb popular opinion to clinch more votes.”

Others, like Larsen, consider partisanship a negative aspect of our government.

“With this strong sense of par-tisanship, legislation fails to get passed because if a Democrat ad-vocates it, all the Republicans will automatically vote it down, and if a Republican introduces a bill, Democrats will turn it down,” said Larsen.

In the survey conducted with students at Har-Ber High, 45 per-cent claimed that their political ideologies stemmed from their

family, with no other source even close to that number.

“They raised me, so of course some of my beliefs will come from my family,” said Har-Ber senior Hannah Ash. “I do have some differing ideas apart from them though.”

In George Washington’s Fare-well Address, he warned against the formation of political parties. In the Federalist Papers, the authors wrote that factions were inevitable evil. They said that factions could not be stopped from forming with-out restricting freedom, so the only logical solution would be to control the parties.

“Like George Washington said in his farewell address, political parties can be the death of Ameri-ca,” said Har-Ber senior Taylor Kir-by. “In my opinion, the two-party system in America is like a bowl of dung staring itself in the mirror. The only difference is one is red, and the other is blue.”

The presidential debates of 2012 helped to spur partisanship as well. The candidates interrupt-ed each other and basically played the blame game on national TV. Too often their primary goals were to discredit the other and interrupt as much as possible.

Red, Black & , & BlueUnited States Growing More and More Hyperpartisan

“Modern politics tend to be less about proving your case and more so about proving your oppo-nents case wrong,” Ash said.

The debates of 2012 were well watched, with more avenues avail-able to viewers.

Some believe Independents were not swayed either way as a result of the debates.

“I felt they were more for enter-tainment,” said Larsen, who iden-tifies herself as an Independent. “I don’t feel that the undecided voters got to see the true differ-ences in policy because there was so much interruption. The debates were just a mess.”

People wonder about the cause of this widening gap be-tween the parties. Media can share much of the blame as each station covering politics is labeled either liberal or conservative.

“We’ve become more parti-san because of the media,” said Kirby. “Stations like Fox News make Obama and the Congress look bad with their anti-American spiel. People assume that’s true and vote based on that.”

With television as one of the most competitive media outlets, viewers must fact check not only the presidential candidates, but also news stations as well.

“Part of the blame is on the media. All the 24-hour news shows have to have something to talk about, and they dissect every little thing. With both candidates, they’ll take something out of context and

make the other side look racist or silly. They bear a lot of the blame,” said John Stewart, a U.S. history teacher at Har-Ber. “They have to perpetuate whatever thread they have over and over. This has led to a lot of the partisanship. People are easily led and manipulated.”

The media isn’t only to blame though. Political Action Commit-tees (PACs) and Super PACs only have one purpose - getting a can-didate elected or defeated. Super PACs can take as much money as they want and create advertise-ments.

“These commercials are creat-ed with little to no accountability,” said Mr. Stewart. “They can mis-construe things or purposely mis-lead the people, because people with a lot of power are waiting for a candidate to drift toward com-promise. Our country was built on

compromise. People are interest-ed in winning, not finding a solu-tion.”

This gaping division between parties is increasing every time a candidate opens his mouth. One can’t just turn on the television and decide what’s true or not with-out further research.

“In order to avoid becoming a senseless partisan voter, examine what the candidate truly believes in, and study what PACs and com-panies are donating money to in their campaign. This will reveal their true motivations and what they actually plan to do during their term in office,” Ash said.

PULSE | 9

“In my opinion, the two-party system in America is like a bowl of dung staring itself in the mirror. The only

difference is one is red, and the other is blue.”-Har-Ber senior Taylor Kirby

PARTY AFFILIATION OF STUDENTSREPUBLICAN - 34%

INDEPENDENT - 28%

OTHER - 22%

DEMOCRAT - 16%

PARTY AFFILIATION OF PARENTS

REPUBLICAN - 43%

INDEPENDENT - 16%

OTHER - 27%

DEMOCRAT - 14%

PARTY AFFILIATION OF GRANDPARENTSREPUBLICAN - 46%

INDEPENDENT - 14%

OTHER - 23%

DEMOCRAT - 17%

MOST IMPORTANT ISSUE TO STUDENTS

Data based on survey of 100 students at Har-Ber High School

EDUCATION - 17%HEALTHCARE - 16%

FOREIGN POLICY - 12%TAXES - 12%

SAME SEX MARRIAGE - 7%WOMEN’S RIGHTS - 5%

OTHER - 31%

By Bev WoessnerFayetteville Senior

FAYETTEVILLE - The dark curtain closes behind the adult’s back, and he stands in front of the clean table. With pen in hand and ballot on table, he is ready for one of the key privileges of a United States citizen. It is the beginning of November, and adult citizens make the trek to the courthouse to do what America has struggled for since its independence - the right to vote.

Since 1790, suffrage in the U.S. has evolved into availability for different races, genders and ages.

Suffrage today is an ignored right to almost half of our own state. According to the Social Science Research Council, 53.4 percent of eligible voters actually vote in the state of Arkansas, as of the 2010-2011 data set. The other 46.6 percent of eligible vot-ers decide to not exercise that hard-earned freedom. Arkansas ranks close to last place in voter outcome. Hawaii brings up the tail with 50.5 percent of its able voters actually voting. On the other side of the spectrum, Minnesota is the crowning winner with 78.1 percent of eligible voters voting last year.

But what about those of us who cannot vote?

Fayetteville High School senior Christine Tan believes she for sure deserves to vote because of the way she has prepared herself over

the past few months. She watched the debates and engaged herself in research on the candidates. Yet not all high school students feel this way.

“I don’t think I have all the knowledge about the election that I would hope a responsible voter would have,” Fayetteville junior Dakota Hill said.

This “knowledge” comes in different forms and fashions com-pared to when our parents pre-pared for election day at our age. With easy access to the Internet and other ways to get informed about the candidates, some would assume that more teens are in the know.

“Now we have televisions that can record political debates and conventions, we have social net-works such as facebook and twit-ter, and we have youtube to watch highlights or reruns,” FHS senior Lezlie Flores said.

Sophomore Grace Steiner agrees with Flores. “I defi nitely think we are more informed that our parents were.”

Hill said when looking at his parents’ adolescence, “It’s much easier for us to seek out the in-formation today, if we’re willing to look for it.”

Just having the information readily available doesn’t mean it’s being disseminated, however.

“People are politically ignorant despite media and technology,” senior Matt Hart said.

Senior Vanessa Matlock

agreed, because “even though we have technological advantages over our parents and easier ac-cess to information, we don’t take advantage of it.”

Tan said that when it comes to the average high school student setting his or her pri-orities, “Our generation would much rather explore Facebook over Obama.”

The same media capable of educating the masses produce just as many distractions - TV and Internet are far from academic-fi rst inventions.

And even for teens who are staying any bit in-formed, the way a candi-date presents himself can overshadow what he is actually saying. The John F. Kenne-dy-Richard Nixon de-bate in 1960 changed everything in the elec-tion playing fi eld. This was the fi rst-ever televised presi-dential debate, marking a shift in what voters evaluate in a potential

agreed, because “even though we have technological advantages over our parents and easier ac-cess to information, we don’t take

Tan said that when it comes to the average high school student setting his or her pri-orities, “Our generation would much rather explore Facebook

The same media capable of educating the masses produce just as many distractions - TV and Internet are far from academic-

And even for teens who are staying any bit in-formed, the way a candi-

everything in the elec-tion playing fi eld. This was the fi rst-ever televised presi-dential debate, marking a shift in what voters evaluate in a potential

10 |

“Facebook over Obama”High School Opinions Differ on Student Right to Vote

ILLUSTRATION BY EMILY HOLLAND | HAR-BER

In a presidential campaign where two grown men traded barbs over Big Bird,

who’s to say 17- or 16-year-olds are mature enough to vote?

PULSE | 11

president. The public pays less and less attention to the candi-dates’ platform and paid more and more attention to the candidates’ personality. Nixon was not the best looking of men, and Kennedy greatly countered.

Behold, there is a new facet in the election process. “Looking presidential” is as important as actually proving capable of be-ing the president of a first-world country.

Hart feels the same and said, “People are so ill-informed these

days.”Maybe the answer is stricter

laws and restrictions.Hill said, “I don’t know if a

lot of 18-year-olds know enough or are mature enough to make a responsible voting decision.”

Hart stays confused on the subject.

“I think voting laws should not be stricter because at the point, we need more people voting,” he said. “But there are a lot of stupid voters.”

Flores countered with, “There

are those people that don’t really care about who wins, but there are other people that really do care about who the next president will be and their vote means a lot.”

Tan believes there is a reach-able solution to this confusing predicament.

“There should be some kind of qualification that voters need to prove that they at least know the platforms of the candidates and are nor just voting based on per-sonality,” senior Tan said.

These qualification brings back

a world of suffrage many years ago. According to infoplease.com, Connecticut emerged first with the literacy test for voting in 1855. This limited the voting pool to white, educated men. Over time the literacy test spread throughout most of America.

Is an uninformed adult vote doing more for our country than an informed and eager 17-year-old?

Is a qualification test the answer to diminishing voting participation in the U.S. today? If not, what is?

STUDENT VOTE 2012

ON TUESDAY, NOV. 6, GO TO FACEBOOK.COM/PULSENWA TO CAST YOUR VOTE FOR PRESIDENT!

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PULSE | 13

NOT THE NEWS: stuff wemade up

Romney pledges to cut “Candy Tax”

Source: Hurricane Sandy result of ‘special efffects miscue’ during production of Noah film

As voters head to the polls to finally and mercifully bring an end to the campaign season, Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney has one more campaign pledge.

After three debates and count-less rallies and speeches, the central message of this year’s presidential race hasn’t deviated much from one topic - the lagging economy.

While incumbent President Barack Obama wants to raise taxes on the affluent to generate more capital for government pro-grams, the former Massachusetts governor wants to lower taxes for middle and upper class citizens, starting with what he calls “the candy tax.”

“On October 31 each year, mil-lions of unemployed citizens take candy from working-class, tax-

paying Americans,” Romney said. “Under a Romney administration, the average American won’t have to pay this candy tax any longer.

“The United States is not a welfare state. We’ll put those moochers back in their place - in timeout. It’s time to put an end to the the President’s redistribution of Reese’s Pieces. Not only will I stop the tricks, but I’ll stop the treats.”

You could fill an ocean with the amount of irony resulting from the production stoppage of the Bible-based film Noah, the Russell Crowe epic set to hit theaters in early 2014.

You could say that ocean might even overflow.

The special effects team of Noah is taking responsibility for the massive damage caused by Hurricane Sandy, which ravaged the eastern coast of the United States in late October.

“We were working on some state-of-the-ark effects - you see what I did there? State of the ark?” said production assistant Steve

Scheffler. “Wet I meant to say was that we were working on the set, two by two, and - I’m sorry, what was the question?”

Director Darren Aronofsky said the entire effects crew has been fired for acting like “a bunch of clowns.”

“The level of professionalism was sorely lacking. I let them all go.” Aronofsky said. “Look, I ad-mit it, we’re just trying to keep this project afloat. The studio has flooded us with ideas, and we’re struggling to keep our heads above water. We’re not going to let this situation put a damper on - okay, listen, there’s a lot of water.”

moreHEADLINES:

Americans demand two new candidates, Romney volunteers to “be whoever you want!”

“Why do we need a need a new president anyway?” Obama asks

PULSE | 15

By Clayton AdamsFayetteville Senior

Just like its predecessor, Taken 2 is a full-on action movie that leaves you on the edge of your seat at times and waiting for more. However, it also suffers from several fl aws that typically affect sequels. For one, the character development is not very fl eshed out. In order to know anything about the characters, you had to have seen the fi rst movie. This can throw people off who heard about the fi rst fi lm and simply decided to watch the second.

The antagonists’ motive is also questionable, especially with the main villain Murad (Rade Serbedzija). I understand why Murad would want to get revenge for his son, but after acknowledging he knows that he was a human traffi cker who ruined hundreds of lives, I can’t see why he would still blindly defend him.

Overall, the actors do the best they can to with the given plot. Liam Neeson turns in a fi ne performance as Byran Mills and once again proves why he’s one of the best action movie actors in Hollywood. Maggie Grace and Famke Janssen turn in good performances as Kim and Lenore, Byran’s daughter and ex-wife.

The action sequences are as good as you’d expect based on the trailer. If all you’re looking for is a fun fl ick to get away from your life for a hour and a half, this is it. If you’re seeing this movie though, I’d guess that’s already what you’re looking for.

By Jacob BensonHar-Ber Senior

I had the pleasure of watching “Here Comes the Boom”, a story of teacher Scott Voss (Kevin James) who, when his school has to cut extracurricular classes to make room in the school budget, decides to raise $48,000 before the end of the semester in some miraculous way. Scott takes up a US citizenship class to make extra money, where he meets Niko, a Dutch immigrant, who used to fi ght in Mixed Martial Arts (MMA).

After discovering that MMA fi ghters make $10,000 even when they lose and $50,000 to win, Voss requests that Niko train him, in exchange for more

time to study for his citizenship test.

The fi lm wasn’t very origi-nal, and was terribly similar to “Warrior”, directed by Gavin O’ Connor, what with using MMA to quickly gain money.

Other than that, I really did enjoy the fi lm. Admitted it’s not going to win an Academy Award any time soon, but it’s still an enjoyable movie for the whole family. It’s a story of sur-passing obstacles and always bringing the fi ght, regardless of the odds against you.

For anyone who can accept it for what it is, a generic family movie, I’d give it 7 out of 10. If you’re looking for a Rocky-esque movie, then cut that rating in half.

Regardless, the fi lm has clever writing that adults and kids can appreciate. It may be

silly at some points, but it’s a feel-good movie, and I suggest it to anyone who wants to spend a Saturday afternoon with a couple laughs.

RATING: 7.5/10

IN THEATERS:

TAKEN 2

IN THEATERS:

HERE COMES THE BOOM

in theaters soon:

POPCORN PREVIEWSPOPCORN PREVIEWS

MAGIC MIKEChanning Tatum, Matthew McConaughey

TAKE THIS WALTZMichelle Williams, Seth Rogen

SAFETY NOT GUARANTEEDAubrey Plaza, Mark Duplass

MARLEYDocumentary

COWGIRLS N’ ANGELSBailee Madison, James Cromwell

neW to

NOVEMBER 9

SKYFALL

CHICKENS WITH PLUMS

NOVEMBER 17

LINCOLN

TWILIGHT SAGA: BREAKING DAWN PT. 2

NOVEMBER 21

LIFE OF PIRED DAWN

RISE OF THE GUARDIANS

SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK

THE SESSIONS

NOVEMBER 30

KILLING THEM SOFTLY

RATING: 7/10

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