Destination Information
Buckhannon-Upshur High School
Death of Gene Wilder shocks fans
Beloved actor Gene Wilder, at the age of 83, passed away August 28, 2016 due to complications of Alzheimer’s disease. Wilder was an extraordinary actor and participated in many films and television shows during his long career. Wilder’s legacy is his main role as whimsical Willy Wonka in Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Senior Ashley Lynch is saddened by the loss of “the main character in Willy Wonka”.
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In addition to his iconic role, Wilder participated in many other movies. He was nominated in 1969 for the best supporting actor Oscar for The Producers, and appeared in multiple other films such as Young Frankenstein and the 1989 comedy film See no Evil, Hear no Evil.
Wilder’s death came as a surprise to the general public, because they were unaware his failing health. Wilder, worried about upsetting his fans, did not reveal his Alzheimer’s diagnosis to the public. In his passing, it is hoped Wilder will be remembered for his contributions to the acting community. Ashley believes “he should be recognized in some way as he was an important part of many children’s lives.”
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Chris Brown Posts $250,000 Bail after Standoff with Police
Rapper Chris Brown was released from an LA County jail after a standoff with police lasting nearly thirteen hours on August 30, 2016. Brown was arrested at his home after an alleged assault with a deadly weapon was called in by a female guest. Despite the standoff with police, Brown was release from jail after posting only $250,000 bail.
This is not Brown’s first incident of violence. In 2009 Chris Brown was charged with assault after punching then-girlfriend Rhianna in the face. Knowing of Brown’s past violence sophomore Amanda Marteney believes that “Brown should lose his gun rights, be on probation, and spend some time in jail.”
Brown’s bail seemed to be lower than the average man’s bail which also raises some concerns as to whether celebrities are undercharged for their crimes due to their high social class. Marteney agrees that because of Brown’s celebrity status, his bail should have been more as he “has more money” than the average US citizen. Brown’s time spent in jail also seemed significantly short for the crime he committed. When asked about how she felt about celebrities receiving less harsh jail terms, Marteney made it clear she believes celebrities receiving shorter jail sentences is, “not right, they should do their time for the crime.”
Brown added to the situation by claiming his innocence on social media. A video was posted to Brown’s Instagram in which he called out police, telling them they were going to “walk right up in here and find nothing. You idiots.” Los Angeles police continue to investigate the incident.
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SNL roasts Trump
Saturday Night Live has been making skits based on the 2016 presidential election and poking fun at Republican Nominee Donald Trump. The NBC show mocked Trump by allowing Alec Baldwin to spoof Trump when he apologized for a recording (taken in 2005) in which he made various derogatory remarks toward women. Trump has also been poked fun at by Lin- Manuel Miranda who hosted the show October eighth, and Trump has had several editions of Saturday Night Live’s segment Weekend Update made about him.
Although the show has mocked candidate Hillary Clinton, some viewers still perceive that the show is being biased and basing their skits on the negative portrayals of Trump. Senior Caiden Cowger, one of the many outraged viewers, believes the show is “as biased as you can get. It is evident that they support Hillary. The show wants people to think Trump is more childish.”
Caiden was not the only student in the school who believed the skits would affect Trump and his campaign. Sophomore Autumn Fitzsimmons agreed with Caiden that the skits would affect Trump and his supporters.
While the skits may affect Trump negatively, “Hillary will be affected positively,” Autumn claimed.
While Autumn and Caiden seemed to be against the bias towards Trump, other students did not care. Senior Sean Fitzsimmons does not mind the bias in the show, “They can be biased, it’s a comedy show.”
Saturday Night Live has been known to spoof various celebrities and political figures which makes it no surprise that Trump has been a subject in various skits on the show. Trump has not only been mocked by the show, but also the public for his speeches and video that have appeared from his past.
Seahawks tie Cardinals in bizarre game
The Seattle Seahawks and Arizona Cardinals had a showdown October 3rd at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona ending with a 6-6 tie. This is the first time a 6-6 tie has happened in the NFL since 1972.
The strong defense of Seattle was able to hold Arizona’s powerful offensive line until the third quarter when the Cardinals scored the first field goal of the game. Although the Cardinals dominated the game with possession and yardage, the Seahawks were able to power through the game. The Seahawks were able to tie up the score when kicker Steven Hauschka made a field goal for the team. Both teams scored a field goal during the first four quarters and each team also scored a field goal in overtime. During overtime, both of the teams scored field goals on their first possession, but neither team was able to score again leaving the game as a tie. Both of the missed field goals occurred within a seven second span making the game even more unbelievable than it already was.
Senior Sean Foster thought the game was thrilling overall. “The whole game was surprising, especially the fact the teams tied,” Foster said when asked what the most surprising part of the game was.
The outcome of the game was not surprising to Ashley Lynch.” Both teams had the ability to win, but neither had the extra percent it took to pull off a win,” Lynch explained.
At the end of the game, the Cardinals had possession of the ball for a time of 46:21 while the Seahawks held possession for a mere time of 28:39.
What is up with the Cleveland Browns?
Following a loss of 35-10 against the Dallas Cowboys, the Cleveland Brown’s record became 0-9 leaving many fans wondering what is going wrong. Last year the Cleveland Browns finished their season with a 3-13 record showing the Browns have been going through a rough patch for a while now. Robert Carr, a history teacher and football coach at Buckhannon-Upshur High School claimed the Browns are having a bad season due to “A combination of young players and it’s the team’s first year under a new coaching staff.”
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While the Browns continue to fail, new coaches continue being hired and players are signed to the team in hopes of improvement. In order for the team to improve, Carr stated the Browns should “Continue on working on fundamentals, blocking and tackling, not turning the ball over, and eliminating mental mistakes.”
The last time the Browns had a winning season was in 2007 when the team had a 10-6 record leaving the current team struggling to advance. Carr believes “To really build their program they need three to four years under the same coaching staff with the same players.”
For the fans that continue to support the Browns, the team’s poor performance can be blamed on a “curse” that supposedly leaves the major league sports teams in Cleveland without championship titles. Senior Brady Teets has a different stance on the Browns struggles. “They don’t have good coaches,” Brady chuckled, “they are not cursed.” When asked who is responsible for the improvement of the Cleveland Browns, Brady says “The owners, because they can choose new coaches who can choose better players.”
Castro Comments get Kaepernick Booed in Miami
On November 27th, San Francisco 49ers Quarterback Colin Kaepernick was booed at a game against the Miami Dolphins following comments made about the late Cuban leader, Fidel Castro. This isn’t the first time Kaepernick has caused controversy in the media. Earlier this year, Kaepernick was in the limelight after kneeling during the national anthem as a protest over police brutality.
Fidel Castro was the Prime Minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and was then president from 1976 to 2008. Many people fled Cuba during Castro’s rule as his strict communist ways led to the deaths of many. Kaepernick praised the late Cuban leader because “they [the Cuban Government] invest more in their education system than they do in their prison system, which we do not do here [in the U.S.], even though we’re fully capable of doing that.”
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The statements made by Kaepernick were strongly disliked in Miami as there is a large population of Cuba refugees living there. However, senior Brittany Vaughn has a similar view as Kaepernick when it comes to the education system, “I agree with putting more money in the education system rather than the jail system.
The controversy surrounding the comments was expected by Senior Andrew Nesselrode. “[Kapernick] supported a dictator that destroyed a country,” Nesselrode claimed as to why Kaepernick’s comments were controversial, “following everything [Kaepernick] has done it’s not surprising.”
Arrests made in Paris terror attack case
Authorities in Belgium have arrested a suspect and filed terror-related charges based on the 2015 Paris attacks that killed 130 people. The suspect identified as Farid K. has been charged with taking part in the activities of a terrorist group. Prior to being charged, the suspect was accused of providing fake documents which were believed to be used in the preparation of the attacks. Authorities charged another suspect, who they identified as Meryem E.B. with falsification of documents, but he was later released.
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The common use of false documents has brought up several concerns about proper identification. Science teacher Ed Koba believes that technology may be the key to ending identification problems. When asked what could be done to prevent falsification of ID, Koba replied, “Use technology like fingerprint and eyeball scanners so identification can’t be faked.”
Senior Logan Edwards had ideas similar to Koba’s when it came to preventing crime. Terror attacks like the ones that took place in Paris can lead to searches extending across international borders. Many of the suspects in these cases come from foreign countries, which brings up the issue of how to prevent international terror attacks. Edwards claimed that “better security for international borders” may help prevent future attacks.
Fake news falsely links man to terror
A Syrian refugee is suing Facebook after images of him were shared with comments falsely accusing him of terrorism. Anas Modamani filled the suit when a picture of him with Chancellor Angela Merkel was shared multiple times. The post falsely identified Modamani with the Brussels Airport bombing and setting a homeless man on fire with six other immigrants. Modamani was not only angered that his reputation was ruined by these false claims, but he was also worried about other refugees.
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“Some people are trying to harm the reputation of refugees like me and they are using Facebook to spread hatred against us,” Modamani told Reuters on the phone. The suit wasn’t filed until Facebook told Modamani they would not remove the negative posts about him. Several people working on the case have made the point that Facebook removes nudity, but they only remove some hate speech.
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Senior Drew Donahue believes that Modamani’s nationality may influence the case. “He is going to win because immigrants receive more benefits, it seems,” claimed Donahue. Despite believing Modamani will win the case, Drew also thinks that Facebook has no responsibility as to what is posted on their site. “People post at their free will,” Drew declared.
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Fake news is also a major topic in this case as the false information was damaging to Modamani’s reputation. Since Facebook did not remove the post of Modamani, the false information was spread to numerous people. Recently, another incident of false news led to shots being fired at a D.C. pizzeria. This brings up the question of who should be responsible for the spreading of false news. “The person who posted the picture and information,” Logan Edwards thinks. He believes they should be held accountable in Modamani’s case.
Is death a right?
Every year, nearly five hundred and fifty thousand people die from Cancer in the United States. Many of these people suffer through immense pain until their death. Assisted suicide has become an option for several people, but there are very few states that allow the practice.
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Assisted suicide is when a medical professional provides a terminally ill person with medicine and assistance to perform suicide, so the person can die peacefully rather than suffer from their illness. People who are suffering from cancer and other illness that prevent them from living a normal life and induce severe pain should be allowed to have the right to choose whether they continue to suffer or if they want to die. Art teacher Ms. Meese is one of the several people in my photography class who believes assisted suicide should be legal. At the current time, only seven states allow assisted suicide.
To work towards legalizing assisted suicide, I find it important that there are set standards for who should be allowed access to assisted suicide. Checking the person’s mentality and physical health should be some of the several factors that contribute to allowing a person assisted suicide. Senior Brittany Vaughn agreed, saying, “[Assisted suicide] should be legalized. If someone is suffering, they should have the right to choose.”
Assisted suicide is a rather controversial topic as many people do not understand what it is. With proper education about the issue, I personally believe that more people will understand and agree that assisted suicide should be legalized in following years. Ms. Meese believes that another reason the issue is so controversial is because “we have a moral and instinctual need to keep others alive.” She also believes that religion may be a contributing factor to the dispute of whether assisted suicide should be legal.
The issue of assisted suicide was recently brought to public eye when twenty-nine-year-old Brittany Maynard had to make the journey from California to Oregon just to be allowed to have assisted suicide. Maynard was diagnosed with a brain tumor on New Year’s Day in 2014. She had been married just a year earlier and was looking forward to starting a family when this news changed her life forever. Following several unsuccessful surgeries, Maynard was told by doctors that she would only have six months to live. Brittany read up on treatment options, but she realized there was nothing to help her and she would eventually succumb to her cancer.
At first, she considered passing away in hospice care, but decided she did not want her family to watch her suffer, nor did she want to struggle with the pain. There was a possibility her pain would become so strong that it would be resistant to morphine. Maynard decided her best option was assisted suicide. Due to the laws prohibiting assisted suicide in her state, Maynard had move from her San Francisco Bay home to Oregon. This was not easy for Maynard to do, as she not only had to move, but she also had to find new doctors, establish her residency, obtain a driver’s license, and even change her voter registration before she would have her right to assisted suicide. Brittany was an avid assisted suicide advocate leading up to her passing on November first—A death she chose by taking pills provided to her by proper medical staff.
Not allowing people to choose whether they suffer or pass peacefully is cruel. This problem is an issue that needs to be resolved. When a severely ill person must move hundreds of miles just to have a right to die peacefully, it is evident laws need to be changed. Whenever we see our pets suffering, humans are willing to euthanize their animals despite the animals being able to give their choice. In the case of assisted suicide, people give their opinion and have a say in whether they want to die, but they are denied access to assisted suicide. A person should be able to choose their fate, not live a life the government forces them to live.