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Photo Gallery: Gymnastics
2016 Election Cheat Sheet
This past winter I attended at least five 18th birthday celebrations, including my own. Many HHS seniors will be reaching the age of legal adulthood in the coming months, just in time for the 2016 election. Now that I am legally eligible to vote, I wanted to learn a little bit more about each of the candidates before casting my ballot. Since it is pretty difficult to find unbiased information on the internet, here are the 2016 presidential candidates at a glance.
On the Republican side:
Donald Trump- Billionaire businessman is the leading Republican candidate and has been very controversial. He is not afraid to say exactly what he thinks and has offended women, African Americans, Muslims, immigrants, Democrats and even Republicans with his uncensored remarks. His effect has been so far polarizing: people either love his ultra-conservative attitude or hate everything he stands for.
Ted Cruz- Deputy assistant attorney general in the George W. Bush administration and Texas solicitor general in 2003. In 2012 he surprisingly beat a heavily favored Texas Republican for Senate. Cruz is a hardcore conservative which has polarized some voters, and other conservatives are now favoring Trump because he is much more of a personality.
Marco Rubio- Second-generation Cuban-American and former speaker of the Florida House also was elected as Florida senator in 2010. Rubio has the support of establishment Republicans and has described his policy on interventionist foreign policy which, he asserts, would commit the U.S. to more decisive action in world affairs. He is rising in the polls and hopes to make a strong showing in the Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina caucuses.
Jeb Bush- Definitely has experience; his father and brother were both presidents and he has already served two terms as governor of Florida. His beliefs are quite similar to his father’s and brother’s, and he is attracting the most support from Wall Street donors. He has shown a declining popularity, as it has become unclear to voters exactly where he stands on key issues.
Ben Carson- Former head of pediatric neuroscience at Johns Hopkins has the support of grassroots conservatives because of his personal rags-to-riches story. Carson grew up in poverty and persevered to achieve his dreams of becoming a neurosurgeon. The only factors working against Carson are his inexperience with politics and lack of knowledge of key issues, which has led to his dropping from second to fourth in the polls.
Rand Paul- Former Kentucky senator is much more conservative, taking stands against abortion and gay marriage. He has the support of libertarians, civil libertarians, and non-interventionist Republicans.
Chris Christie- Governor of New Jersey and former U.S. Attorney who dislikes Bush and Kasich. He is a moderate Republican in favor of big business. He gained the support of the New Hampshire Labor Union but does not have a very strong support base.
John Kasich- Current governor of Ohio who ran for president in 2000. He is very popular with blue-collar voters, his beliefs are much more moderate than Donald Trump’s and he is a steady candidate. Kasich is relying on New Hampshire voters to carry him through the election.
Carly Fiorina- A CEO of Hewlett-Packard and adviser in John McCain’s 2012 presidential campaign. Her interests are friendly to big business but she has no real experience in holding a political position herself, which is keeping some voters away. She is currently only ahead of Santorum and Gilmore in the polls.
Rick Santorum- This former Pennsylvania senator is seeking the support of social conservatives but most likely will not win the election because he does not have the support he is looking for.
Mike Huckabee- An ordained preacher, former governor of Arkansas, and Fox News host who has already run in one presidential election (2008) and placed third. Huckabee has created an image for himself as a populist but faced negative feedback from more conservative groups in his party after taxes were raised during the time he served as governor. Also, most of the Evangelical Christian voters he has been trying to impress have expressed more interest in Ben Carson.
Jim Gilmore- A former governor of Virginia and chair of the National Republican Committee. If you haven’t heard his name, it’s not surprising — he is considered a long shot.
On the Democrat side:
Hillary Clinton- Definitely well known in politics. She’s a trained attorney, former Secretary of State in the Obama administration, former senator from New York, and former first lady. She has the support of most of the Democratic Party because, while she is liberal, she is not too extreme and has had a lot of experience in politics. The polls have shown that she is most likely going to win the Democratic bid.
Bernie Sanders- Served as both a representative and senator for Vermont. He has described himself as a socialist and is extremely liberal, which has brought him support from the democrats who worry that Clinton would favor the wealthy. Sanders has been competitive with Clinton, but has had trouble establishing a support base in the south.
Martin O’Malley- Former Baltimore mayor and governor of Maryland. He is running a progressive campaign and is more conservative than Sanders. He has had a hard time gaining support because ultra-liberals support Sanders and the more conservative support Clinton.
The list of candidates will only shrink as caucus season begins, starting in Iowa on Feb. 2. During caucuses, local voters cast their support for their preferred candidate and historically, the candidate with the most caucus wins earns the presidential nomination.
Photo Gallery: Boys Basketball
Why It Isn’t Cool to Litter in School
Every day at Hanover High, students are free to use the water fountains. I find the fountains we have here to be very clean, unlike many offered in other schools. But one time when I was about to fill up my water bottle, I noticed an (almost) empty chocolate milk bottle left on top. I thought to myself, “that’s disgusting,” as I tossed it into the trash can, located not even 10 feet from the fountain.
About a week later, I noticed a wrapper with crumpled up chocolate chip cookie pieces crushed inside it right on top of the same fountain. I shook my head in annoyance, thinking about the horrific fact that some students at my school don’t even have the consideration to throw away their trash where it belongs. They leave it right on top of something we should all be taking care of for the sake of its purpose, as we are lucky to have these high quality fountains.
One morning, I was minding my own business while going for a bathroom break in the middle of Digital Media class, and noticed something else lying on top of the water fountain — this time, it was two sharp nails most likely used for some kind of woodshop project. I was furious to see that a high schooler would have the ignorance to do something like that, probably thinking it’s funny and would not affect anyone. Someone could seriously get hurt accidentally touching those nails by not noticing them, as they blended in with the color of the fountain pretty well. Many people such as myself are against littering, and those same people are sure smart enough to respect the property they live on, or go to school or work in. Once you think about it, it isn’t that hard to do.
I strongly believe that it is important to recycle and throw away your trash when needed to do so, and also to keep your belongings used for whatever purpose in the appropriate places; tools aren’t to be left out on drinking fountains, HHS. After reading this, hopefully more students will be aware of this problem I encountered, and
I won’t be seeing any crumpled bottles, wrappers or unusual belongings left on the fountains for quite some time. You can always make a difference by putting things in the right place.
A Different Kind of Resolution
Like most people, I make New Year’s resolutions that I think will help me achieve my goals. For example, I want a better body, so I am going to go to the gym more. I want to be smarter, so I am going to read more. I want to be a better student, so I am going to spend more hours studying and complete assignments earlier.
Every New Year’s Eve, I like to imagine myself a year later: hotter, smarter and with stellar study habits. Sadly, many years have gone by without any feeling of success. I often become so overwhelmed with the hope of the New Year that I always think the next year will be different.
I let this cycle go on for far too long. I felt so much pressure and anxiety over my resolutions that they became incredibly tiresome. It was easier to accept defeat than to deal with the constant pressure I put on myself to achieve. This was never more true than with school. Here, the constant need to do better had an adverse affect. I would wilt under the pressure.
This year I decided to break the cycle. My resolution is not to achieve a better grade, but to feel happier while working for my grades. I tried to recall the times when I had been successful in school. On all of those occasions, I was participating in something that I loved. My best grades were in the subjects that I loved the most. Therefore, I concluded that if I tried my best to enjoy what I was doing, rather than obsessing over perfection, I would be more successful. If my new experiment works, I will not only achieve my goal of being a better student, but will have done it in a way that is beneficial to me.
NFL Playoff Post Game and Preview
Out of the 32 teams in the National Football League, only four teams are still playing. Twenty teams saw their seasons end without making it to the playoffs and eight teams were eliminated from playoff contention this past weekend. After next Sunday, that number will drop to two and we will have our Super Bowl matchup.
The defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots defeated the Kansas City Chiefs at home 27-20 to advance to their fifth AFC Championship game in a row. The return of Julian Edelman for the Patriots was a huge factor as the absence of Edelman with a broken foot hurt the Patriots’ offense in the latter half of the season. The Patriots defense played well as did the offense, converting on many 3rd downs which allowed them to extend drives into points. The Chiefs seemed overwhelmed defensively trying to slow down Tom Brady and that lead to 27 points which the Chiefs could not match.
Another matchup was the Arizona Cardinals versus the Green Bay Packers in Arizona. The game was absolutely wild with Aaron Rodgers throwing one pass about 50 yards to set up the hopeful Hail Mary pass which was then caught for a touchdown as time expired to send the game to overtime. The first pass for the Cardinals offensive was caught by Larry Fitzgerald and run for 75 yards down to the three-yard line. The run set up Fitzgerald for a touchdown and a trip to the NFC Championship game. Arizona’s defense fooled Rodgers and the Packers offense by disguising coverage and forcing turnovers. Carson Palmer, Arizona’s quarterback, played poorly from everything I saw, missing elementary throws and just making too many mistakes. But Rodgers’ mistakes helped Palmer by giving him chances to score and the Cardinals ultimately pulled out the win to advance.
The next game was easily the most intriguing matchup as it was the Carolina Panthers hosting the Seattle Seahawks. The Seahawks represented the NFC in the Super Bowl the past two seasons but the Panthers only lost one of 16 regular season games. The Panthers were winning 31-0 and in absolute control of the game, but let their guard down and the Seahawks made a major comeback. All the Seahawks troubles in the first half consisted of poor run defense and bad blocking by Seattle’s offensive line. In the second half, both were fixed and in fact thrived resulting in the Seahawks down 7 and going for an onside kick with just over a minute left in the fourth quarter. A great kick by Steven Hauschka gave Seattle a chance to get the ball but an even better catch by Carolina linebacker Thomas Davis sealed the win for the Panthers.
Lastly, the Pittsburgh Steelers traveled to Denver to take on the Broncos. Without Antonio Brown, the Steelers star wide receiver, the odds were not in Pittsburgh’s favor. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger also was playing through a shoulder injury. Denver’s defense is its strongest unit and it showed as it held a top-three offense in Pittsburgh to a dismal 13 points. Broncos QB Peyton Manning managed the game well as he always does and led their offense to enough points to secure the win.
Now that the conference championship games are set, here are my predictions for the winners and why. From the AFC, the Patriots will win in Denver 28-24. The most prolific offense in football is the New England offense. There’s not a team that can cover the best slot receiver in Julian Edelman and the best tight end in Rob Gronkowski as well as stopping the best quarterback in league as well. Most likely this will be the last Manning versus Brady game, which is definitely one to watch as it’s a historic rivalry coming to an end.
The NFC Championship game is obvious in my mind, with Carolina beating Arizona 35-21. Arizona’s Carson Palmer struggled against the Packers man to man largely. Carolina plays a lot of zone defenses so Palmer should play better than he did against the Packers as decision-making is much easier against a zone. Still, I don’t think Arizona will be able to pull off the win. Carolina’s Cam Newton will be the NFL MVP for the 2015-16 season and is playing at too high of a level for the Panthers’ season to end.
The AFC championship game can be seen Sunday on CBS at 3:30. The NFC championship is at 6:40 on FOX.
Boys Hockey Keeps Rolling
Every winter it seems the team in Hanover with the highest expectations is the boys Hockey team. Regular season games are filled with screaming fans and players who feed off the loyalty and frenzy of their fans. The whole community rallies around the hockey team, and come playoff time rinks are filled with Hanover students and residents to see the boys pull out another win. The 2015-2016 season has not disappointed, as the Indians have gone 10-1.
The only loss through nine games was to Pembroke and the rematch later this season will be very meaningful, according to Junior forward Ryan Mahoney.
“We can’t play selfish, we need to move the puck much better than we did the first time we played them,” he said. “They were an aggressive team and next time we hope to draw more penalties and get our power play involved as it’s one of the stronger parts of our team.”
The Indians have 10 games left in their season and look to push for a high seed come playoff time. If any team makes the playoffs, it’s usually a pretty big accomplishment for the program. But with Hanover Boys Hockey being such a consistently winning program, playoffs are expected for the team. With Hanover playing in Division 3, they wouldn’t have to face the Division 2-Pembroke again. The Indians should make a deep playoff run this year as they are loaded with talent. The team that could give Hanover the most trouble is Norwell. Hanover was eliminated by Norwell last year in the playoffs. Hanover did have the upper hand when they played this season as Hanover beat Norwell 2-1.
It’s very realistic that Hanover will be able to go to the Division 3 championship game at The TD Garden and win a state title. Led by captains Noah Clapp in goal and Landon Hasenfuss at center, the Indians are solid in all aspects of the game and are an unbelievably talented team. For more about the Hockey team and all other Winter Sports teams, check back for the Winter Sports Wrap Up coming soon.
A Fresh Start (The Soap and Towel Campaign)
In September of 2007, Jazna Stannard started a project called the “Soap and Towel Campaign” with the help of student council kids at Hanover High School. The charity drive collected things like shampoo, conditioner, soap, towels, mouthwash, toothpaste, deodorant and other toiletries for people who are homeless. Although it all started in our little old town, it has since expanded across the whole state of Massachusetts as well as many areas throughout the country. Now known as “A Fresh Start,” this nonprofit organization is a huge success and seems to be expanding every day. Its partners include universities, hotels, corporations and ordinary people like us.
Many of us in Hanover (especially us teenagers) take for granted the things that we have, and never worry about not having soap, or toothpaste or towels. We may never think about how truly grateful we are to have these things because we are just so accustomed to having them at our fingertips whenever we need them. There are thousands and thousands of people all over the globe who aren’t even privileged enough to have even a bar of soap, and that is where it is our job to work with organizations like “A Fresh Start.”
Because it all started right here at Hanover High School, we have made sure our school collects bins of toiletries every year. Some teachers like Mrs. Fay even offer their students extra credit for bringing in items to donate. This year, Callie Hoadley and I are committee heads of this campaign through Student Council. We have a donation box in the office, and flyers all over the walls, but nobody can benefit without YOUR donation. Please bring in any toiletries and towels and drop them off in the office. These small actions we take create big movements throughout the world.
To learn more about the national campaign, visit http://www.afreshstartcampaign.org/
Steph Flynn Hits Hoops Scoring Milestone
Senior co-captain Stephanie Flynn became only the third girls basketball player in Hanover High history to score 1,000 points. Steph hit the milestone Jan. 5 in a 74-43 win over Silver Lake. The game was the team’s first home contest of the season, and the Indians were excited that Steph might hit the mark on her home court.
Hanover fans packed the gym for the game, cheering as Steph scored 18 points throughout the game. Her 19th point of the night became the 1,000th of her career. It came on a free throw with 2:10 remaining in the third quarter, and the game was briefly stopped as fans ran onto the court. Steph was then honored in a ceremony with her family.
“To be a part of her amazing accomplishment is just great, ” said Coach Brian Fisher, who has coached Steph on varsity since she was a freshman. “She is a super student and a great athlete and such an integral part of the program. She is a true leader and a role model for all to look up to and has worked very hard to get where she is.”
The team has had a lot to celebrate so far this season is going strong, having gone undefeated in its first seven games. Hopes are high that the team will continue its winning ways and do well in tournament play. Regardless of how the season turns out, though, Steph’s milestone will live in HHS history.
Steph will continue to play basketball in college. In November, she signed her National Letter of Intent to attend Columbia University.
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