The Talon Newsmagazine

JOHN A. FERGUSON SENIOR HIGH 15900 SW 56TH STREET MIAMI, FL 33185

THE TALON NEWSMAGAZINEVOLUME 10 ISSUE 1 OCTOBER 2012SPECIAL THANKS TO THE PETISCO FAMILY

IN THIS ISSUE:-ELECTION 2012-WAR ON WOMEN-MAXIMUM RIDE REVIEW

4-5Entertainment• PokemonBlackandWhite2review• MaximumRidebookreview• ReviewofNoDoubt’s“Pushand

Shove”

3Features• Breakdownof

amendmentsandpropositionsonthe2012

CONTENTS2

Publisher’sNoteOurfirstissueoftheyearisonewhichwe’reparticularly

proudof.Possiblyoneofourmostpoliticaleditionstodate,itbringstolightsomeofthenation’smostimportantissuesand is an honest attempt to impartially break down theessence of American politics.We hope that you use thisissuetounderstandourrolesasvotersandthepolicieswe,as citizens, can influence.Ourwritershavealso reviewedthenewestPokemongames,books,andNoDoubt’snewestalbum, and have commented upon the hectic collegeprocessatFerguson.FromeveryoneatTheTalon,wehope

youenjoythisissueandFerguson’s10thyear.

--EMILY NIEVES PUBLISHER

10-11Sports• Football• Girls’volleyball• Swimming• Crosscountry

E Talon Staff

Elections2012This year’s presidential election has been chock-full of riddles, confusion, and ambiguity. To help eligible student voters best understand both candidates’ policies, we’ve put together a side-by-side comparison of President Obama and Governor Romney.

8-9Opinions• Counselorsandcolleges• Negativityinpresidentialcampaigns• Thewaronwomen

The Talon is the official publication of John A. Ferguson Senior High and is an open forum for student expression. The views and opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect the views or official policies of the school or the adviser. Anyone wishing to express

opinions, thoughts, or questions about this publication should direct letters to Room 1028 or e-mails to [email protected]

CONTENT MANAGERSSara ChavesVaughn Brito Justin Sanchez

STAFF WRITERSAlec ArtidieloMatthew Diaz

Amanda Gonzalez

Gabriela RuizAnabelle PetiscoLauren Mitchell

Ivana Pino

PUBLISHEREmily Nieves

PUBLICATION EDITORSYaneli MontesNicolas Zapata

A D V I S E RTracey Burger

BUSINESS MANAGERKristal Frenero

Naty DelrosalBrianna NordeloJennifer Salazar

Vanessa AdrianBrianna Rawls

Bianca PeiroCassandra Paredes Katia Fernandez

Catherine TorunoHEAD PHOTOGRAPHER ART DIRECTOR

Jessiette Tellez

TOBER 2012

THE TALON 3JO

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FEATUR

More than the presidency on the ballot on Nov. 6MATTHEW DIAZSTAFF WRITER

FeaturesAmendment 1- Health Care

Services This amendment wants to prevent laws from forcing people to purchase health care.

Amendment 2- Veterans Dis-abled Due to Combat Injury;

Homestead Property Discount This allows property tax discounts for disabled veterans injured in the line of duty but who weren’t Florida residents at the time of their active duty. This would take effect January 1st.

Amendment 3- State Govern-ment Revenue Limitation

This amendment, also known as, “Smart Cap,” will change the way that the Govern-ment calculates its revenue limit. It will replace the existing revenue limits with new ones based on in-flation and the population change since the old one was created.

Amendment 4- Property Tax Limitations

This is a five point plan to reduce commercial property taxes and non-homestead prop-erty taxes. From the Collins Cen-ter’s analysis: “Supporters say this amendment would make Florida property taxation more equitable, stimulate the housing and com-mercial real estate markets and attract investors to the state. Op-ponents say it would shift the tax burden onto new businesses and Florida residents while providing special benefits to out-of-state and non-homestead property owners.”

Amendment 5- State Courts Will give the Legislative Branch more control over the Ju-dicial Branch. The Senate would have confirmation power over Su-preme Court appointees.

Amendment 6- Abortion This amendment will pro-hibit public funds for abortions. It will also overturn previous court decisions protecting a woman’s right to privacy under the State Constitution.

**Amendment 8- Religious Freedom

This amendment will al-low public funds to be given unre-strictedly to religious institutions.

Amendment 9- Homestead Property Tax Exemption

Authorizes the Legislature to exempt surviving spouses of veterans or first responders who died in the line of duty from pay-ing property taxes.

Amendment 10- Tangible Per-sonal Property Tax Exemption

This amendment would provide an exemption from Ad

Valorem taxes, or taxes based on the value of real estate or person-al properties.

Amendment 11- Additional Homestead Exemption

Authorizes counties to of-fer tax exemptions on the homes of seniors with a low income and who have lived in their homes for a long time.

Amendment 12- Student Body President

This amendment will re-vise the selection process for stu-dent members of the Board of Governors for the State Univer-sity System. Proposition 1: Should our school district attempt to mod-ernize our school buildings and technology using no more than $1.2 million?

Proposition 2: Should County Commissioners only be allowed to serve two consecutive four year terms in office? Proposition 3: Should the Charter be updated to clarify titles, correct and update cross-references, and delete references to offices that no longer exist? Proposition 4: Should the Charter be edited to require a two-thirds vote for County Com-missioners and to include addi-tional land within the Urban De-velopment Boundary?

Proposition 5: Should the Charter be edited to require the County Commissioner to consider the benefits of a proposed annexa-tion of commercial land while ap-proving an annexation? And cre-ate a new procedure for creating new municipalities in the County by a petition which would have a single election to approve the creation of a new municipality and approve its Charter, instead of two. Proposition 6: Should the Charter be edited to take out the provision requiring a public offi-cial or employee to forfeit office if he or she willfully violates the Citizen’s Bill of Rights? Proposition 7: Should the Charter be edited to extend the time allowed to conduct an elec-

tion to fill a mayoral or commis-sioner vacancy from 45 days to 90 days? Also, should the Charter be edited to give mayoral powers to the Commission Chairperson dur-ing a mayoral vacancy? Proposition 8: Should the Charter be edited to provide that when the County Mayor thinks that there is a conflict of inter-est in the obtaining of a County contract, the chairperson of the Board of County Commissioners will be able to exercise all author-ity provided by the Charter or the County Commission to the Mayor including the authority to recom-mend a bid waiver? Proposition 9: Do you ap-prove of the constructing of per-manent structures and expansion of existing structures at the Cran-don Park Tennis Center which will be funded solely by the tennis center. Do you also approve of the modification and extension of the agreements with Sony Open Ten-nis Tournaments? Proposition 10: Would you like it if the County Commis-sion increased the countywide general fund millage by 0.1079 mills and using the extra money to fund animal services such as: - Decreasing the killing of adopt-able dogs and cats (About 20,000 annually)- Reducing stray cat populations- Funding free and low cost spay/neuter programs, low cost veteri-nary care programs and a respon-sible pet ownership educational program. Proposition 11: Would you support using taxpayer dol-lars to obtain services from com-panies doing business in countries that are considered by the U.S. Department of State as sponsors of terrorism?

*Amendments apply to the state constitution; propositions apply for the county charter.**Amendment 7 was removed from the ballot.

Miami-Dade County has provided sample ballots for voters to familiarize themselves with before the election. Photo credit: www.miamidade.gov

Improved HuesBY KRISTAL FRENEROBUSINESS/CONTENT MANAGER

Entertainment

When it comes to video games, a third installment is always ex-pected with each new genera-tion. Nintendo announced that they had made their next Poké-mon game after over a year of speculation about the title that followed the announcement of a new installment.Here’s the thing: due to pri-

or releases, a pattern has been formed. The gist is that a new generation would be released; after, a sister game accompanies it. Once that storyline has three versions, a remake to a previous generation is made, thus creating a cycle.However, one can assume that

Nintendo caught onto this pat-tern and realized that fans must have as well. After all, the fans merely expected a “Pokémon Gray” version, and in return, got Pokémon Black 2 and Pokémon White 2. A direct sequel had never been

made before in the franchise, and fans reacted with the same mixed feelings they had when Pokémon Black and Pokémon White were announced. Though most of the reception was posi-tive, there were still fans that remained skeptical. It is under-standable if one thinks about it—Nintendo had never created a sequel to a Pokémon game, so how would it go? During the weekend of the

Japanese release of the games in June, Pokémon Black 2 and Pokémon White 2 had sold over 1.6 million copies—making it the third bestselling DS game of all time. If that isn’t a positive reception, who knows what is?

What makes it such a direct and successful sequel is the link-ing of its story with that of the previous versions. Pokémon Black 2 and Pokémon White 2 take place two years after the events of Pokémon Black and Pokémon White. Things have changed drastically for the Unova region; it has even ex-panded, adding new towns, one of which serves as the player’s new starting point. Instead of

the Nuvema Town that everyone was expecting, the “beginning trainer” would start in a new city known as Aspertia. From there, new features along with the fa-miliar are thrown the player’s way as he or she embarks on his or her journey as a new trainer. As the players go through their

journeys, they must face the new and idealistic Team Plasma. With the support of their rival and friend, the players must ulti-mately defeat Team Plasma and

help unfreeze the Unova region. Of course, the player is still ex-pected to face gym leaders to earn badges and befriend their Pokémon along the way. Yet many fans still wonder

why this game is tagged as a se-quel when such major changes have been made. For instance, the protagonists from Pokémon Black and Pokémon White—who are now two years older and pursuing a new

journey—are replaced by two new characters. The previous rivals have also been replaced as they play their new roles as a professor’s assistant and a gym leader. As mentioned previously, new

towns have been added, expand-ing the southwest and northeast of the region. The new locations are Aspertia City, Virbank City, Floccesy Town, Lentimas Town, and Humilau City. With these new towns came new routes and

pathways that cause us to relearn Unova. The game brings along new

features to diversify game play. Though the Musicals are still in-tact, the player can venture out to Pokéstar Studios and make blockbuster movies with their Pokémon and become a star. Similarly Join Avenue—right before the entrance to Nimbasa City—allows players to invite

either non-playable characters or people they have encountered through streetpass on the C-Gear to open up a shop. The more shops one has in the avenue, the more points he or she gets from these shops, increasing the popularity of the av-enue. However, the biggest

addition that has fans excited is definitely the Pokémon World Tournament, located in Driftveil City, where the Cold Storage used to be. This tournament has been getting a lot of buzz as it allows you to challenge gym leaders

and champions from previous games. It’s also split into differ-ent types of competitions and battles. With all of this considered,

Pokémon Black 2 and Pokémon White 2 can easily be labeled as the most extensive Pokémon game to date. With impressively enhanced graphics and music, an onslaught of features and ac-tivities, and so much more, this game does not disappoint.

THE TALO

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ctober 2012ENTERTAINMENT

James Patterson’s Maximum Ride series proves to be an excit-ing and thrilling series to read.

Fourteen year old Maximum Ride, better known as Max, leads a group of five fugitive children away from evil scientists who have experimented on them for as long as they can remember. With six fugitive children on the run, things can get a little out of hand.

Together Max, Fang, Iggy, Gas-man, Nudge, and Angel are known as the Flock. They were created in a laboratory called the School and underwent scientific experiments that made them 98% human and 2% avian.

They are like ordinary kids, only they have wings and can fly. It all begins when Angel, the young-est member of the Flock, is kid-napped and taken back to the School where she and the others were genetically engineered by sinister scientists.

Max and the others take a brave journey to Death Valley, CA to save Angel, but soon enough, they encounter another night-

No Doubt’s long-awaited al-bum Push and Shove has finally released after 11 years since their last studio album Rock Steady. The album is similar to Rock Steady due to the hints of reggae as well as pop and rock.

Push and Shove has 11 new songs that are a balance of up-beat dance tracks to slow mellow tracks. “Settle Down,” the first track on the album as well as their single, is an upbeat song that has a California or Caribbean vibe to it; it also sounds similar to their older songs like ”Hey Baby” be-cause they both have an upbeat danceable rhythm. The album may remind fans of 80’s and 90’s ska, a genre that originated in Ja-maica and combined Caribbean folk music with American jazz and R&B.

Pushing a Come BackBY BRIANNA RAWLSSTAFF WRITER

Maximum Ride thrills readersBY VANSESSA ADRIAN STAFF WRITER

mare. This time their adventures involve fighting half-human, half-wolf monsters in New York City called Erasers.

Throughout the series the Flock is constantly on the run away from the Erasers and is hiding in differ-ent places. Along the way Max discovers that her purpose is to save the world from the destruc-tion of non-mutated humans.

However, along the way there is a love triangle between Max, Fang, and a new character Dylan. This adds interest and suspense in trying to figure out who ends up with whom.

Dylan’s character is techni-cally created to be Max’s mate, which brings out a bit of jealousy in Fang. With that, Max discovers she has a clone.

The evil scientist created the clone for an evil plot to take over the world and replace the real Max for the new evil one. Little do they know that the new Max would trick everyone into believ-ing she is the real Max and steal Fang and the flock all to herself.

The eight book series is exhila-

rating and adventurous. It’s guar-anteed that whomever reads this will not regret it.

No Doubt collaborated with dancehall artist Busy Signal and Major Lazer to record the song “Push and Shove.”

The song combines pop and dancehall sounds. It begins with Gwen Stefani singing fast verses, but then she slows it down with the chorus. “Push and Shove” is different from mainstream mu-sic, which is usually upbeat club tracks.

I like this album’s variety of music genres: each song is differ-ent. One of my favorite songs is Sparkle because it has a relaxing reggae beat and is similar to their songs “Underneath It All” and “In My Head.” There is “No Doubt” that fans will enjoy this album.

Can you match the eyes of each celebrity with the celebrity it belongs to?

Album Cover by No Doubt

Nevermore cover by Little, Brown And Company .

1. Hilary Duff2. Zac Efforn3. Selena Gomez4. Ryan Gosling5. Kim Kardasian

Answers

THE TALO

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TOBER 2012

Health

--Young Americans will be allowed to stay on their parents’ private insurance until they turn 26--Lifetime limits on health coverage will be eliminated--Insurers will no lon-ger be allowed to deny coverage to children based on preexisting conditions (asthma, cancer, etc.)

Education

--Raised the minimum Pell Grant award--Aspires for the U.S. to have the most college graduates worldwide by 2020--Proposes teamwork between community colleges and small businesses to train new workers

LGBT Rights

--Repealed Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell and is the first sitting pres-ident to openly support same-sex marriage--Banned discrimination in workplaces based on gender identity--Supports expanding the 1100 legal benefits given to married couples to same-sex couples in civil unions

Tax Reform

--Supports the elimination of tax breaks for companies that outsource jobs outside of the U.S.--Wants to make tax cuts for the middle class permanent--Supports the Buffett Rule, which would close tax loop-holes and havens for Amer-icans making over one mil-lion dollars a year

Women’s Rights and

Health

--Supports a woman’s right to choose--Signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act--Opposes the defunding of Planned Parenthood--The Affordable Care Act re-quires contraception to be covered in insurance plans

Clean Energy

--Would increase natural gas production--Signed the Recovery Act, which increased carbon capture and sequestration research--Approved the U.S.’s first offshore windmill project--Approved construction of 16 solar energy projects, approved construction of the newest nuclear power plant in decades; believes in climate change

Immigration

--Opposes the idea of “self deporta-tion”--Would ban racial profiling as a means for law enforcers to capture illegal immigrants--Supports the Dream Act

National defense and

foreign policy

--Ended the Iraq War--Would end war in Afghanistan in 2014--Approved the operation that killed Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden--Believes in strengthening allianc-es to achieve U.S. goals overseas instead of using military action

Health

--Repeal Obamacare--Allow states to regulate local insurance markets and allow consumers to pur-chase insurance across state lines--Block grant Medicaid and other payments to states--Limit federal standards and requirements on both private insurance and Med-icaid coverage

Education

--Reform No Child Left Behind by emphasizing transparency and responsibility for results--Attract and reward great teach-ers through increased flexibility and block grants--Strengthen and simplify the fi-nancial aid system.--Allow low income and special needs students to choose which school to attend by making Title I and IDEA funds portable

LGBT Rights

--Preserve traditional mar-riage: the joining together of one man and one woman--Will appoint an Attorney General who will uphold the Defense of Marriage Act--Plans to pass a Federal Mar-riage Amendment to the Con-stitution defining marriage as between one man and one woman

Tax Reform

--Maintain current tax rates on interest, dividends, and capital gains--Eliminate the Death TaxRepeal the Alternative Min-imum Tax (AMT)--Cut the corporate rate to 25 percent

Health --Opposes the requirement of reli-gious institutions to provide wom-en with contraception --Supports the Hyde Amendment, which broadly bars the use of fed-eral funds for abortions--He is pro-life, but it is unclear whether or not he will pursue pro-life legislation.--Wants to eliminate funding to Planned Parenthood

Clean Energy

--Opposes Cap and Trade, a method for regulating and reducing the amount of pollution emitted into the atmosphere--Wants to reduce the amount of money invested into wind and solar power. --Does not believe in cli-mate change

Immigration

--Reform the Temporary Worker Visa System--Complete a high-tech fence along the Mexican border to prevent ille-gal immigration--As governor, he vetoed in-state tu-ition benefits for illegal immigrants and opposed drivers licenses for il-legal immigrants--Favors self-deportation: “People decide they can do better by going home because they can’t find work here.”

foreign policy

--Calls Obama’s removal of troops from Iraq “tragic” and was in favor of Bush’s 2007 troop surge--Will review our transition to the Afghan military by holding discus-sions with commanders in the field and transition combat operations to the Afghan Army by the end of 2014--Will push for greater isolation and sanctions on Iran

Libertarian Party

· Presidential Candidate: Gary Johnson (former Governor of New Mexico)· Vice Presidential Candidate: Jim Gray·The Libertarian Party believes that each in dividual has the right to control his/her own body, action, speech, and property.·The Libertarian Party believes that the government’s only role is to help individuals defend themselves from force and fraud.

Green Party

· Presidential Candidate: Jill Stein·Vice Presidential Candidate: Cheri Honkala·The Green Party is committed to environmental-ism, non-violence, social justice and grassroots organizing.·Greens are renewing democracy without the sup-port of corporate donors. To achieve true citizen participation, The Green Party believes that citi-zens must share in the power of governing. They seek to bring grassroots democracy to every part of the U.S.

Peace and Free-dom Party

·Presidential Candidate: Roseanne Barr (from the sitcom, Roseanne)·Vice Presidential Candidate: Cindy Sheehan·The Peace and Freedom Party is an open, move-ment-oriented socialist party.·They are united in their common commitment to socialism, democracy, feminism and unionism and their common opposition to capitalism, imperial-ism, racism, sexism and elitism.

Constitution Party

·Presidential Candidate: Virgil Goode·Vice Presidential Candidate: Vim Clymer·The Constitution Party is predicated to the principles of the Constitution of the United States, The Declaration of Inde-pendence, and The Bill of Rights.·The goal of the Constitution Party is to restore the Ameri-can judicial system to its Biblical foundations and to limit the federal government to its Constitutional boundaries.

Obama vs. Romney

Parties

THE TALO

A. FERG

R HIGH SC

TOBER 2012

Health

--Young Americans will be allowed to stay on their parents’ private insurance until they turn 26--Lifetime limits on health coverage will be eliminated--Insurers will no lon-ger be allowed to deny coverage to children based on preexisting conditions (asthma, cancer, etc.)

Education

--Raised the minimum Pell Grant award--Aspires for the U.S. to have the most college graduates worldwide by 2020--Proposes teamwork between community colleges and small businesses to train new workers

LGBT Rights

--Repealed Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell and is the first sitting pres-ident to openly support same-sex marriage--Banned discrimination in workplaces based on gender identity--Supports expanding the 1100 legal benefits given to married couples to same-sex couples in civil unions

Tax Reform

--Supports the elimination of tax breaks for companies that outsource jobs outside of the U.S.--Wants to make tax cuts for the middle class permanent--Supports the Buffett Rule, which would close tax loop-holes and havens for Amer-icans making over one mil-lion dollars a year

Health

--Supports a woman’s right to choose--Signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act--Opposes the defunding of Planned Parenthood--The Affordable Care Act re-quires contraception to be covered in insurance plans

Clean Energy

--Would increase natural gas production--Signed the Recovery Act, which increased carbon capture and sequestration research--Approved the U.S.’s first offshore windmill project--Approved construction of 16 solar energy projects, approved construction of the newest nuclear power plant in decades; believes in climate change

Immigration

--Opposes the idea of “self deporta-tion”--Would ban racial profiling as a means for law enforcers to capture illegal immigrants--Supports the Dream Act

foreign policy

--Ended the Iraq War--Would end war in Afghanistan in 2014--Approved the operation that killed Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden--Believes in strengthening allianc-es to achieve U.S. goals overseas instead of using military action

Health

--Repeal Obamacare--Allow states to regulate local insurance markets and allow consumers to pur-chase insurance across state lines--Block grant Medicaid and other payments to states--Limit federal standards and requirements on both private insurance and Med-icaid coverage

Education

--Reform No Child Left Behind by emphasizing transparency and responsibility for results--Attract and reward great teach-ers through increased flexibility and block grants--Strengthen and simplify the fi-nancial aid system.--Allow low income and special needs students to choose which school to attend by making Title I and IDEA funds portable

LGBT Rights

--Preserve traditional mar-riage: the joining together of one man and one woman--Will appoint an Attorney General who will uphold the Defense of Marriage Act--Plans to pass a Federal Mar-riage Amendment to the Con-stitution defining marriage as between one man and one woman

Tax Reform

--Maintain current tax rates on interest, dividends, and capital gains--Eliminate the Death TaxRepeal the Alternative Min-imum Tax (AMT)--Cut the corporate rate to 25 percent

Health --Opposes the requirement of reli-gious institutions to provide wom-en with contraception --Supports the Hyde Amendment, which broadly bars the use of fed-eral funds for abortions--He is pro-life, but it is unclear whether or not he will pursue pro-life legislation.--Wants to eliminate funding to Planned Parenthood

Clean Energy

--Opposes Cap and Trade, a method for regulating and reducing the amount of pollution emitted into the atmosphere--Wants to reduce the amount of money invested into wind and solar power. --Does not believe in cli-mate change

Immigration

--Reform the Temporary Worker Visa System--Complete a high-tech fence along the Mexican border to prevent ille-gal immigration--As governor, he vetoed in-state tu-ition benefits for illegal immigrants and opposed drivers licenses for il-legal immigrants--Favors self-deportation: “People decide they can do better by going home because they can’t find work here.”

foreign policy

--Calls Obama’s removal of troops from Iraq “tragic” and was in favor of Bush’s 2007 troop surge--Will review our transition to the Afghan military by holding discus-sions with commanders in the field and transition combat operations to the Afghan Army by the end of 2014--Will push for greater isolation and sanctions on Iran

Libertarian Party

· Presidential Candidate: Gary Johnson (former Governor of New Mexico)· Vice Presidential Candidate: Jim Gray·The Libertarian Party believes that each in dividual has the right to control his/her own body, action, speech, and property.·The Libertarian Party believes that the government’s only role is to help individuals defend themselves from force and fraud.

Green Party

· Presidential Candidate: Jill Stein·Vice Presidential Candidate: Cheri Honkala·The Green Party is committed to environmental-ism, non-violence, social justice and grassroots organizing.·Greens are renewing democracy without the sup-port of corporate donors. To achieve true citizen participation, The Green Party believes that citi-zens must share in the power of governing. They seek to bring grassroots democracy to every part of the U.S.

Peace and Free-dom Party

·Presidential Candidate: Roseanne Barr (from the sitcom, Roseanne)·Vice Presidential Candidate: Cindy Sheehan·The Peace and Freedom Party is an open, move-ment-oriented socialist party.·They are united in their common commitment to socialism, democracy, feminism and unionism and their common opposition to capitalism, imperial-ism, racism, sexism and elitism.

Constitution Party

·Presidential Candidate: Virgil Goode·Vice Presidential Candidate: Vim Clymer·The Constitution Party is predicated to the principles of the Constitution of the United States, The Declaration of Inde-pendence, and The Bill of Rights.·The goal of the Constitution Party is to restore the Ameri-can judicial system to its Biblical foundations and to limit the federal government to its Constitutional boundaries.

Obama vs. Romney

Parties

OPINIONSTHE TA

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October 2012

Opinions

It’s gotten to the point where it is ridiculous. In a school of 4,000 students and 200+ staff I cannot, CANNOT believe there is not one single counselor in the office will-ing to help us with our college applications. I comprehend that, yes, we are overpopulated, don’t have sufficient funds, and teach-ers/staff may be overworked. But that does not give ANYONE an ex-cuse NOT to help a teen who has worked hard their four years of high school, to not give guidance in beginning their college endeav-ors.

There is someone who acts as a CAP counselor now at our school. But every student knows that that teacher does way too much al-ready; she is always very busy as the IB lead teacher and AP coordi-nator. Students feel guilty having

BY MARIA MENDEZOP-ED WRITER

As the United States presiden-tial campaign nears its last few days, both candidates Barack Obama and Mitt Romney have in-creased the number of aired tele-vision commercials to finally con-vince the remaining undecided voters that they’re the best candi-date for the difficult term that lies ahead.

Both candidates have become cautious about their choice of words and the accuracy of the facts stated in order to avoid criti-

cism from the other party. As a cause of major disagreement about complex topics such as healthcare and tax cuts for middle classes, candidates have begun to fabricate accusations about their opponent in hopes to earn the votes of any undecided voters.

Although it is still uncertain if the attack ads will serve as an ad-vantage to either candidate in the election, the amount of money being spent by the Obama and Romney campaigns continues to soar. According to The Huffington

Post, Obama and Romney have spent nearly $250 million on negative at-tack ads to-wards the other candi-date.

D e s p i t e ads being run daily in all states throughout the coun-

try, can-

Negative ads damage candidates’ imagesBY ANABELLE PETISCOSTAFF WRITER

The War on Women: reverting to the 1960sBY EMILY NIEVESPUBLISHER

Recent efforts by several Re-publican politicians to limit abor-tion rights and access to contra-ception have been dubbed an emerging “War on Women” by congressional Democrats.

And rightfully so. It seems that in nearly every aspect of a wom-an’s life her rights are being chal-lenged—not just in a few states, but all across the nation. From how much a woman gets paid—$0.72 on the dollar to what a man makes—to reproductive rights, women have had to fight back legislation restricting their free-doms.

Even issues that had previ-ously been uncontroversial have become the center for bickering between Democrats and Repub-licans.

What was once a simple issue, rape is rape, has now suffered attempts by Rep. Todd Akin and Vice Presidential Candidate Paul Ryan to create a distinction be-tween varying degrees of rape. In a legislation presenting radi-cal “personhood” ideas, the two attempted to create a difference between “legitimate rape” and “forcible rape.”

Why we are even entertain-ing attempts to trivialize types of rape is astonishing, and it can

didates are being very cautious about states with equal amount of both party voters such as in Florida, Ohio, Virginia, Iowa, Wis-consin, North Carolina, Colorado and Nevada whereas ads are run hourly. These so-called “swing states” are crucial to the election.

Usually these attack ads consist of topics, which are of high inter-est and attention to each voter and further discuss on the faults of their opponent’s plan of action towards that topic.

The Romney campaign has drawn attention to economic is-sues by state, declaring that if elected, Obama will damage housing markets in Florida, raise debt in Iowa and have defense cuts in Virginia and Colorado.

The Obama campaign has re-lied solely on targeted genders and classes by directing his ads to-wards single women and non-col-lege educated white men through local cable and satellite television buys stating that Romney’s facts are false.

According to a recent poll in The Wall Street Journal, the majority of voters have said that within

the last few weeks of watching negative ads they have actually developed a negative opinion and that their impression on the can-didates has worsened.

Although both the incumbent and his opponent are releasing ads in hopes of persuading un-decided voters, they are actually causing previously convinced vot-ers to become spiteful towards both candidates.

The Obama campaign, aside from spending over $100 million on negative attack ads towards Romney, has yet to convince un-decided voters despite the fre-quency of the ads being run on television sets across the nation.

Despite this, the Romney cam-paign has also managed to spend about $55 million on negative attack ads towards Obama, and have also relied on the help of the “Political Action Committees” with extra money and services.

Regardless of these facts, the highly anticipated election should provide the final answer on No-vember 6th.

only be credited to deep-seated misogyny.

To make matters worse, Akin has stated that when a woman is “legitimately” raped, “the fe-male body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down” so as to avoid pregnancy. As a woman and as a potential voter, I find the idea that one of our nation’s own elected officials could make such ridiculous claims repulsive.

Similar radical views are not as distant from American women as one might think: in Colorado, despite widespread public dis-approval, voters will decide on whether the state should pass an amendment which defines “per-sonhood” as beginning at the mo-ment of conception. This amend-ment would ban all abortions, many forms of birth control, in-vitro fertilization and could crimi-nalize miscarriages.

In Arizona, a law was passed in the Republican majority sen-ate that defines conception as the first day after a woman’s last period the month that she gets pregnant. This could mean two or three weeks of a difference from when a woman last menstruated to when she has intercourse that results in a pregnancy.

Not only is this law scientifi-cally inaccurate and wrong, it’s a sly way to cut down the weeks in

which a woman can have a legal abortion in that state. In addition, the law re-moves any criminal liability for doctors that misinform their pregnant patients.

In Virginia, 15 out of their 20 abortion clinics are expected to close because the state’s Health Board was pressured into approv-ing specifically designed regulations proposed by Governor Bob McDonnell and his attorney general. If these abortion clinics close, it would remove essential resources for women who are seeking abortions all across the board—even those abortions sought are due to rape or incest--be-

cause the clinics would have been shut down outright.

In Michigan, House Bill-5711, considered the most extreme leg-islation of its kind, was passed. In addition to the bill that forces any woman seeking an abortion to undergo a forced vaginal ultra-sound (which in itself humiliates a woman making such an emo-tional decision), it would ban all abortions past 20 weeks of preg-nancy unless the mother’s life is in danger and force doctors to be present when a woman has an abortion—even for women tak-ing prescribed abortion-inducing medication. This makes it difficult for women living in rural areas to have a safe, legal abortion.

When Rep. Lisa Brown spoke out against the bill on the floor of the House of Representatives, saying, “I’m flattered that you’re all so interested in my vagina, but ‘no’ means ‘no’,” she had her speaking privileges suspended in-definitely. This blatant sexism and fear of the clinical terms for our reproductive organs is not only unjustified, but abhorrent.

Even in Florida, voters will es-sentially determine whether the right to privacy will be eliminated from our state’s constitution.

Frankly, I’m tired of the constant battle women face to keep their rights. I’m tired of the threat that millions of women will have no access to health services such as mammograms and cancer screenings if congressional Republicans get their wish and Planned Parenthood is defunded. I’m tired of the incessant efforts made by people without a uterus to restrict the constitutional rights granted to women by the 14th Amendment and the Supreme Court’s deci-sion on Roe v. Wade.

We seem to be, as a na-tion, so obsessed with achieving our personal agendas that we forget about democracy—we for-get that many will not agree with us and will suffer as a result.

This isn’t a battle be-tween pro-choicers and pro-lifers, it’s a battle be-tween those who believe they can make decisions for the rest of Americans and those who will be af-fected by such legislations.

to go to her for help because they can’t get that help from their own counselors. There is no way she can physically sit down with every single senior that needs help and guide them; it is unrealistic with all the other jobs she has. We have had college presentations and a college fair, yet there is one por-tion of the potion missing: kids do not know HOW to apply to these schools. Students know what date it is due and the qualifications for the school but are LOST when it comes to actually doing it.

I was angered by talking to one of my counselors and practically having her just shrug me off. I must mention constantly hearing my own peers’ encounters with the same counselors telling the students that they are being ridic-ulous for applying to X amount of schools, telling them that certain things are only a privilege for IB

Letter to the Editorstudents, and bluntly saying that they will not fill out the counselor portion of the college application.

I tried to find the closest ad-ministrator and expressed my disbelief! I began with saying that maybe these students would get some help if administrators didn’t spend so much time on the kids that are always causing trouble; maybe that’s why the counsel-ors are always in a crabby mood. They should spend a little more time on the kids who are making a positive influences on this school, who are trying to make a differ-ence and are trying to go places in life.

I’ve put in way too much effort and dedication to Ferguson to be treated this way; it makes me not even want to come to this school any more. Still, I recommended a system that could be too late to instate this year but could help

Men and women alike protested against state legislatures when Rep. Lisa Brown had her speaking privileges suspended indefinitely after using the word “vagina” . Photo credit for both images: Marie Reimer at iamateenagefeminist.tumblr.com.

future Falcons. Maybe we should start a College Application Club, where if teachers and counselors don’t have the time to help, we can offer peer to peer advising. I’ve helped countless numbers of my friends figure out where to apply, and my friends and I have proofread each other’s papers. Our informal system can evolve into a program.

If a club can’t be created be-cause of funds, the English Honor Society or the National Honor So-ciety should take on a community service role such as this. It isn’t a solution to this problem but could definitely help. Yet the biggest issue that should be addressed, aside from paying for a full-time CAP advisor, is the administration appreciating the students who genuinely care and succeed in our school.

An Anti-Romney Ad by Obama for America