Liz Hynes

Gun Control vs. Mental Illness: Debates After Newtown

Posted on December 20, 2012 by hynese13

Last week, an unprecedented shockwave shook America to its core. The epicenter !andy "ook #$ementary !choo$ o% &ewtown, 'onnecticut, where a (unman opened %ire on students ) %acu$ty. 2* peop$e died. 20 o% them were chi$dren. +ero o% them stood a chance a(ainst an automatic weapon in the hands o% a menta$$y i$$ person. This tra(edy has cata$y,ed two important debates- those o% menta$ hea$th awareness and (un contro$. Thou(h the word .tra(edy/ o%ten imp$ies somethin( unavoidab$e, the %act is that events $ike this can be prevented, and we0ve (ot to take every possib$e measure to make sure they are. These are the two most pressin( issues. "owever, many critics are takin( a stance on one issue, but not the other. The two are not mutua$$y e1c$usive- i% you0re an advocate o% increased menta$ hea$th research, that doesn0t mean you have to dismiss the necessity %or (un contro$. The ar(ument that .(uns don0t ki$$ peop$e2 peop$e ki$$ peop$e/ is no $on(er re$evant. 3ith that $o(ic, one cou$d ar(ue that p$anes don0t %$y peop$e2 pi$ots %$y peop$e. 4ut it certain$y he$ps i% the pi$ot0s (ot a p$ane to work with. There is no ar(ument a(ainst (un contro$ anymore. Laws datin( back three centuries5when the dead$iest weapon avai$ab$e was a musket5 must be modi%ied. There0s no 6uestion about the necessity %or chan(e. The on$y uncertainty is the de(ree to which action must be taken. 3i$$ citi,ens be stripped o% their ri(hts to bear arms a$to(ether The 7.8. did 9ust that a%ter a simi$ar schoo$ shootin(, and met with $itt$e resistance %rom the pub$ic. This measure wou$d $ike$y be i$$ received in !econd Amendment: smitten America. A reversa$ o% the ri(ht to bear arms wou$d, admitted$y, put the peop$e at a (reat disadvanta(e i% the (overnment were to become oppressive and corrupt. ;t was this ominous type o% (overnment that the <oundin( <athers %eared when dra%tin( the 2nd Amendment- Americans needed to protect themse$ves %rom the ever: present threat o% 4ritish invasion and recapture. <or this purpose, a musket wou$d have done 9ust %ine.

Liz Hynes 4ut now, techno$o(y has evo$ved beyond muskets. !emi:automatic and automatic weapons, dead$y enou(h %or use in combat, are now in the hands o% menta$$y unstab$e civi$ians. *:year:o$d chi$dren were buried with 11 bu$$et wounds in their bodies. And pro:(un advocates sti$$ don0t reco(ni,e the need %or chan(e. 'onsider this- a 4ushmaster .233, the weapon o% choice in the &ewtown shootin(s, has 30 rounds per ma(a,ine, and can %ire severa$ hundred rounds per minute, with no need to re$oad as %re6uent$y as one wou$d with a hand(un or non:automatic weapon. A (un simi$ar to the 4ushmaster was used in the shootin( in Aurora, 'o$orado this past =u$y. Peop$e stand no chance a(ainst (uns $ike this. "ow does someone disarm a person with a weapon sometimes used by the 7.!. Army Lan,a on$y ceased %ire when he ki$$ed himse$% upon po$ice arriva$. ;n the time it took %or someone to noti%y the authorities that shots were %ired at the e$ementary schoo$, Lan,a cou$d have %ired hundreds o% rounds, even i% the po$ice took as $itt$e as %ive minutes to arrive. "ad they taken much $on(er, he cou$d have massacred the entire schoo$, with bu$$ets to spare. Lan,a0s menta$ hea$th is obvious$y a key issue in this debate, but you can0t i(nore the sheer barbarity o% the (un0s rate o% %ire. 3hat need does an American civi$ian have %or this kind o% weapon Terrorists are not campin( out in American backyards. There is no need %or any civi$ian to have a weapon capab$e o% such devastation > a basic hand(un wi$$ threaten any bur($ars 6uite nice$y. The Ta$iban is not knockin( on American doors anytime soon. ?aybe there0s 9ust an insidious cu$ture o% vio$ence deve$opin( in America. Take a $ook at this (raphic %or an interestin( visua$ o% 9ust how much (reater the %irearm $ove a%%air is in the 7nited !tates.

Liz Hynes

3ant some more start$in( statistics ;n the 7nited !tates, the richest country in the wor$d, the number o% peop$e ki$$ed by (uns is 20@ hi(her than the peop$e ki$$ed by (uns in the ne1t 22 richest countries combined. That0s 22 nations0 worth o% (un deaths and then some. '$ear$y, there are some prob$ems. A key part o% this is the menta$ hea$th debate. ;s it a cause or by: product o% the American %ascination with vio$ence Probab$y both. '$ear$y, action needs to be taken- time and %unds must be devoted to menta$ hea$th research, %ocusin( on ear$ier and more accurate dia(noses, e%%ective, and non:invasive treatment. 4ut this is a much more abstract prob$em, and much more di%%icu$t to discern- Lan,a had no crimina$ record or suspicious activity. "e was the 6uiet kid at schoo$, the si$ent (enius. Like$y, there were si(ns o% instabi$ity, and in the %uture, these must be taken serious$y i% even a remote$y troub$ed person is interested in purchasin( a (un. 4ut weedin( out murderers %rom basic introverts, whi$e necessary, is a much more comp$icated process than weedin( out the dead$y weapons %rom the protective ones. Attention needs to be (iven to both o% these issues in e6ua$ measure, but more immediate, e%%ective action must be (iven to the issue that0s inherent$y easier to so$ve- ban automatic

Liz Hynes weapons. ;t won0t even in%rin(e upon constitutiona$ ri(hts > the entire 'onstitution was %ounded on the princip$e o% the socia$ contract, in which peop$e surrender certain individua$ ri(hts %or the sake o% the common (ood in e1chan(e %or (overnment protection. 4an automatic weapons2 to$erate hand(uns to sate the &!A and threaten the occasiona$ bur($ar. 'ivi$ians wi$$ maintain their ri(ht to bear arms, but surrender their ri(ht to possess weapons capab$e o% causin( the b$oodshed that has shaken the nation these past %ew months. #verybody wins. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Kushner Visits Syracuse, Tackles Injustice of All Eras

Members of the Syracuse community flocked to Hendricks Chapel Tuesday night to hear Pulitzer-Prize winning playwright Tony ushner discuss some of his most notable works! Most recently" ushner wrote the screenplay for Lincoln in #$%#" for which he recei&ed an 'cademy 'ward nomination! (uring Tuesday)s *+' session" ushner drew parallels between the themes of in,ustice e-plored in Lincoln, his Pulitzer Prize-winning play Angels in America, and continuing issues facing 'merican society today! .The Ci&il /ar is kind of the center of 'merican history"0 ushner said regarding Lincoln! .1&erything we started with flows into it" and e&erything we)&e become flows out!0 /orking on a film set during this pi&otal hour" ushner e-plained" ga&e him the opportunity to &iew 'merican morals during their most tested hours as well as how those morals sustain today! ushner also discussed the difficulty of depicting sla&ery &isually" saying that audiences ha&e become .numb0 to .isolated acts of brutality02scenes depicting sla&es in chains" being tortured" or raped! This &iolent beha&ior" ushner pointed out" has a .different meaning in the conte-t of sla&ery2we)&e come to e-pect it!0 (uring the discussion" ushner made se&eral comparisons between go&ernment in the Ci&il /ar era and the go&ernment of today! He linked Lincoln)s passage of the %3th amendment to the ongoing go&ernment shutdown4 .Lincoln insisted that an antisla&ery clause

Liz Hynes must be passed before the war ended" when the issue was still fresh in the nation)s mind! 5 think President 6bama is showing that same kind of determination with the 'ffordable Care 'ct!0 ushner is a &ocal supporter of President 6bama and his health care plan" saying it)s an important contribution to .ending the stratification between rich and poor!0 ushner)s other prominent work" Angels in America, also focuses on themes of in,ustice" but in a more recent era than Lincoln. Angels focuses on '5(S and gay culture in 'merica" but confronts many of the same essentially human topics addressed that ushner would later re&isit with Lincoln. Angels has gained a young following" which ushner .ne&er e-pected"0 but .pleasantly surprises0 him! .7oung people are a really &aluable force in affecting social change"0 ushner commented" citing .6ccupy /all Street0 as a recent e-ample! .'nd 5 think we older generations tend to resort to a form of terrorism" telling young people these economic horror stories" that you ha&e to make money" as if that)s the only goal!0 5t is these types of .horror stories"0 ushner belie&es" that help spark such protests! .5t)s really kind of sad when you think about how monetary success has become more important than a true passion for learning"0 ushner laments! .More and more young people are choosing &ocational schools o&er a liberal arts education" and 5 think that)s a real loss!0 ushner praised institutions such as Syracuse" which encourage a more complete learning e-perience in con,unction with ,ob searches! To close his *+'" ushner spoke candidly about the .indirect power of art0 and how the audience plays a ma,or role in the success of any piece! The target audience" ushner said" is .people like the creator"0 and that target audience has an .element of choice0 when it comes to how to respond! .5t)s really the audience" as much as2if not more than2the creator" that holds the power when it comes to how art sustains in society" or how it can affect change in the world!0 8ut ushner as a creator is certainly not afraid to address important social themes to help the audience enable that change! 99999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999 9999999999999999999

Liz Hynes

Obama Pardons Snowden in E chan!e for "el# $i in! "ealthcare %ebsite

/'SH5:;T6: < President 6bama held a press conference on Tuesday announcing his official pardon of former :S' contractor 1dward Snowden! The decision came as a surprise to many who ha&e sided with the President)s call to punish Snowden)s release of international go&ernment secrets to the media! Howe&er" their concerns were allayed once 6bama pointed out that Snowden could pro&e a &aluable asset in re&amping the go&ernment)s recently launched and poorly recei&ed health care website! .Snowden leaked some of our go&ernment)s most classified information"0 the president acknowledged! .'nd we are committed to punishing treason! 8ut we are more committed to making at least one part of this health care plan actually works! 'nd that)s where 1ddie comes in!0 6bama belie&es Snowden)s e-pertise in coding" encryption" and .cool fonts0 will be indispensable in reno&ating the unpopular website! President 6bama added that Snowden)s return would also pro&ide more photo opportunities" so that ;oogle searches of the former C5' employee would yield more results than Snowden pictured in .that lame grey button-down!0 .5 mean" seriously! 5t)s like the guy)s only been photographed one time in his entire life! 5s anyone else seeing this=0 6bama said! /hite House representati&es reported that official talks to return Snowden to the >nited States would resume once he helped ?ladimir Putin reco&er his MySpace password! 99999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999

Liz Hynes 99999

High School Teachers Weigh ros an! Cons of SAT

The college application process is a long and often perplexing road. Aspiring college students are tested rigorously in several areas: socially, financially, and, of course, academically. The main adjudicator of future academic achievement has always been the Standardized Assessment Tests, commonly referred to in fearful, hushed whispers as the SATs. As the testing season begins, !A faculty members weighed in on how effective they really consider the infamous process. "The SAT provides a sense of students# potential for success," says $s. %atrice $c&onough, a seasoned history teacher of mmaculate !eart Academy. "There are always concerns about #cultural unfairness,# and these tests sort of level the playing field." "They show colleges what 'ind of student they#ll be ta'ing in," agrees $r. &avid (ong, mmaculate !eart#s morality teacher. $r. (ong has also been a SAT math tutor for over a decade. Students don#t tend to ta'e this test lightly. $any start preparing for the examination as early as )th grade, enrolling in prep courses and poring over instructional boo's. *ecently, people have begun to +uestion the validity of the SAT. *umors have circulated that colleges aren#t stressing it as much, that some aren#t even re+uiring it at all. " thin' that#s always been the story," comments $rs. *osalyn ,im, A% history teacher at mmaculate !eart. "-.ut/ despite all the stories, everyone 'nows that the SAT is still an important element in the overall college process." The importance of the test has been explained to students over and over again, to the point where many have to deal with extreme anxiety issues. .ut does the stress stem from outside sources, or from the students themselves0 "There#s always pressure put on students," says $rs. ,im. "Some they place on themselves, but in certain houses, familial pressure can affect them as well." " thin' it comes e+ually from both sources," observes $r. (ong. " t can come from your peers, especially if you hear that a section is difficult."

Liz Hynes

$s. $c&onough agrees: " t turns into the interesting form of competition of #how many hours did you study0#" Study habits are another puzzling facet of the SAT. $any students are unsure of how to study effectively, and often end up doing more harm than good. $rs. (auretta $iller, a math teacher at mmaculate !eart and SAT math tutor encourages students to start at the beginning: "1or' very hard in your actual math and 2nglish classes," she recommends. .e sure to resist the urge to slac' during your early math courses: "The SAT consists primarily of algebra and geometry," $rs. $iller informs us. According to the staff at !A, assisted preparation for the SAT is a wise investment. "Ta'e courses, buy prep boo's," suggests $r. (ong. "3our studying will be effective if it#s done the way it4s supposed to." "They#re very effective when it comes to familiarizing yourself with the material," $s. $c&onough concurs. "2nroll in SAT prep," suggests $rs. $iller. !owever, she warns students: ".e prepared to wor'5 The rigor of these courses re+uires a real commitment." $rs. ,im recommends that students "focus on building s'ills," such as reading comprehension. "*ead5" she urges. "(earn what words mean, wor' on writing, thin' about logical ways to approach a problem." 1hen it comes to actual practice, focus and dedication seem to play big roles. "&igest the material," says $r. (ong. " thin' one SAT math test is 67 minutes long. f you can spend 67 minutes to a half hour doing problems88that#s how you improve, through repetition of s'ill." " t#s better to thin' in terms of deliberate practice," suggests $s. $c&onough. "(ess can be more. 9ind a +uiet place, and focus on your level of concentration." 9inally, the hardest part of studying: "%ut away the phone, and eliminate the laptop distraction," $s. $c&onough advises. ":7 minutes can turn out to be more effective than ; hours if you wor' the right way." <nderstanding the actual format of the test gives students another advantage. "The earlier +uestions are usually the easier ones. They#re worth guessing on," $s. $c&onough informs. "The obvious answer is usually the right one." "The difficulty increases as the test goes on," she continues. "<se the process of elimination to increase your odds of selecting the right answer." "All the sections are weighted e+ually," $r. (ong adds. "So it#s really just a matter of practice." =1riting is also a really important s'ill," $r. (ong insists. " f you don#t have strong writing s'ills, you can#t get your message across. spend more time reading and grading ambiguous essays than anything else." $rs. $iller strongly recommends learning to read for comprehension: " always say the math

Liz Hynes
portion of the SAT is as much a test of reading comprehension as the 2nglish section." " t would be wonderful if colleges didn#t have to rely on the SAT," $rs. $iller remar's. " t#s sat that a student#s potential for success is based on a three8hour exam. .ut with thousands of students, they have to have something to screen them by." "&espite its faults 8 and it has faults," $rs. ,im assures, " t#s an indicator of how well you#ll do in college. .ut it shouldn#t be the last note." >olleges are encouraging students to ma'e sure that the SAT isn#t the last note. Schools now focus on grades, community involvement, and extracurricular activities. Solid wor'88and, more importantly, solid results in all of these areas ma'e a student all the more appealing to colleges. = t4s bound to pay off," says $rs. ,im. " t will benefit you in the long run."