2010-06-15 - Union Catholic Regional High School

WE, THE PEOPLE
Jordan Morrisey
Welcome to Union Catholic‟s only nonpartisan
student political review. We, the People serves as the
middle ground, and sometimes the battleground, for
political thought. The goal of this column is to provide
the UC community with a presentation of both neutral
and balanced analysis of political ideas, events, and
trends. It has been a good year for politics and I am
moving on from The Prophet to the political hub of our
country, Washington D.C. This is the final installment of
We, the People.
Over the past
school year, We, The People
has covered a multitude of
topics, and this final issue
will pay homage to the past
and look toward the future.
In the first issue, the late
Senator Edward M. Kennedy
was remembered after he
passed away from brain
Thanks for a wonderful
year of We, the People
cancer on August 25, 2009.
Kennedy was known as the
“Lion of the Senate” and
fought strongly for universal
healthcare in the United States. In the second issue,
We, The People held its first Liberal vs. Conservative debate
over the issue of healthcare reform. In addition,
Senator Kennedy‟s dream came to life with the passing
of The Affordable Health Care for America Act by the
House of Representatives on November 7, 2009.
The third issue of We, The People addressed
America‟s presence in Afghanistan after President
Barack Obama announced, in a speech on December 1,
2009, that troops would begin to be removed. The analogy
was made between a ship and Afghanistan and how
the Afghani government had to take the wheel of the
ship instead of the United States driving. For the fourth
issue, we the media in the form of The Prophet, and
more specifically, the We, The People column, discussed
the role that the media plays on the political landscape
of the United States.
Our fifth issue held our second and most intense
debate over the role that the Tea Party Movement
has made and is making on politics today. The liberal
side focused on the harsh negatives of the Tea Party and
the conservative side emphasized the positive aspects.
The sixth and penultimate issue focused on a subject
that is very important to the security of every country
around the world: nuclear proliferation. Specifically, a
focus was given towards Iran who currently is openly
pushing towards obtaining its own nuclear weapons.
And, that was our year in We, The People. Thank
you very much to all those who have followed the column
and to those few who never missed an issue.
Students really can
make a difference
Erin Farley
If there is something you don‟t seem to like in your town,
why not speak up On May 18 th , I was chosen to participate in
Woodbridge Township's “Youth Leadership and Government
Day.” I, as well as other juniors selected from Mother Seton,
Bishop Ahr, Colonia, Woodbridge, and John F. Kennedy High
schools, met in town hall on Main Street. My day, which was
dedicated to conveying a better understanding of the
government process to the township's youth, started at 9:15
and ended roughly around 1:30.
Our first task was to observe a town council meeting. Next,
we had the opportunity to watch a judge conduct a courtroom
session. The main event of the day followed when all of the
attending juniors were asked to use what we had obtained
from the morning council meeting and discuss our personal
ideas for the township at our own council meeting.
We all presented topics that really meant a lot to us. I
talked about recreational sports in Woodbridge Township and
how important it is for teenagers who don‟t make the high
school teams to not stop playing. Township officials
supported my idea as an excellent opportunity to get others
involved in sports teams, and the Recreation Director even
agreed to put links on his website for students interested in
playing recreational sports.
Hopefully, more teenagers will take the opportunity to get
involved in their local governments and communities. Over the
course of the day, I heard many great ideas. One in particular
focused on making teenagers more aware of drugs and
violence. Subsequently, all of us juniors shared our stories
about drugs and violence and how we feel this topic should be
addressed in the high schools. I got a lot out of this day, such
as realizing that Union Catholic really needs a club that
focuses on educating younger students about drugs and
violence.
This youth council meeting was only 45 minutes long, but
after the 45 minutes, the Vice President of the township
council had a lengthy page of notes and was ready to make
changes in Woodbridge Township. In the next few months, I‟m
looking forward to seeing these changes take effect in my
community thanks to the many ideas of twelve junior students
from all over the Township.
This day was proof that it doesn‟t matter how old one is,
today's youth are the future, and we the students make the
difference.
Student Council Board (cont’d from page 5)
“The best way to ensure a good school year is to have
an executive board that works well together, cooperatively with
the larger student council body and has the support of the entire
school” said Student Council moderator Mrs. Leegan. “The
way they get that is by getting students excited about events,
listening to input and showing leadership not only in student
council but in every other aspect at being a student here at
Union Catholic.”
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T HE PR OPHET