politics

Unified Bocce 

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By: Quinn Isenberg 

 The winter sports line up is welcoming Unified Bocce as an exciting new option for athletes at GS.  

While the sport is new, it won’t be completely unfamiliar to students as it shares a lot of properties found in lawn games. 

“Bocce is an Italian game similar to horseshoes or cornhole,” Athletic Director Mr. Drake D’Angelo said. “You’re trying to get to a point, which is called the pallina. Then there’s two sets of four balls that you try to roll closest to that target.”   

Bocce is growing in popularity and GS has joined numerous other schools in the county in helping Bocce grow by starting a team.  

“The last district I taught at had bocce and it was not available here, and Mr. D’Angelo reached out to us about starting the program,” Unified Bocce coach Mrs. Christen Negich said. “I thought it would be a good program for our students.”  

Bocce at GS will be a Unified Sport, meaning it is a program sponsored by the Special Olympics in which students in special education programs will team up with students in general education programs on a single team. Unified Sports bring a lot of benefits to a school district.  

“It helps with inclusion, general education students becoming more understanding of our students that have disabilities and creating a good relationship between those students,” Mrs. Negich said.  

Those involved with the sport hope it will highlight the capabilities of the special education students at GS.  

Players listen to instructions while watching the demonstration.

Photo by: Quinn Isenberg

“It will get them out in front of the regular education population to showcase what skills they do have because a lot of times they’re not seen or heard, so this will help them be seen and heard in a positive manner,” she said.  

Due to the nature of Unified Sports, it is typical for at least one of the coaches of a Unified team to be a teacher with a background in special education. At GS both Unified Bocce coaches, Mrs. Kathryn Cutia and Mrs. Negich, have experience in this field.  

The coaches encourage students to make time to show up at games and give the athletes their support.  

“I would love to have people come and cheer on our team at the Bocce game because they’re a lot of fun and it feels really good to have the support of your classmates,” Mrs. Cutia said.  

The Unified Bocce season will be easy to follow for students looking to support the team.  

“We only have five games this season, so we’ll have three away games, and they’re all in the area no more than 45 minutes away, and then we have two home games,” she said.   

The odds are in the GS Unified Bocce team’s favor as the team has very dedicated and experienced players under its belt. 

“I’ve played about seven years, and this will be my eighth,” junior Janaya Thomas said.  

With the sport beginning, those involved are hoping for a bright future for Bocce at GS.  

“It would be awesome if we made it to state, but I would just love to see the school getting excited about Bocce the same way everybody does for other sports,” Mrs. Cutia said.  

Election Day 

Posted on by gshslionsdenadmin

By: Emma Helmick 

Election day is right around the corner. 

The 2024 election will take place Nov. 5 all around the country. The polls people will attend are based upon their address.  

“Young or old, if you’re a citizen, your voice needs to be heard,” Law and Economics teacher Mrs. Beth Simone said. “That’s the point of democracy; that we all have a voice.”  

The presidential nominees are Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump. Harris will be running alongside Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Trump is joined by Senator JD Vance. 

A poster of an electoral map with results from 2020 that hangs in Mrs. Simone’s room.

Photo By: Emma Helmick

The Pennsylvania senator race is between Republican nominee Dave McCormick and Democratic incumbent Bob Casey. 

“We’re not all going to be happy with the end result, but, if we don’t go out and vote and if we don’t exercise that power, we lose that power,” Mrs. Simone said. “It becomes more likely for someone to just be able to take power if we’re not making sure to use ours.” 

The deadline to register to vote both in person and by in-mail ballot was Oct. 21. 

“I have registered to vote this year, I looked into the candidates, and I’ve seen what their policies are and how they plan to address issues, so I do plan to vote this election,” senior Hannah Stillwagon said. 

Young people who are not currently eligible to vote but will be by the election can still register now. 

“News sources aren’t really influencing me because they are usually biased, most of the news and commercial ads are,” senior Brenna Kohl said. “I’m trying to make my decision based on what they say in their own speeches and debates.” 

For the past few months, news channels and commercials have taken over, as well as political texts, calls, emails and social media posts. 

It is easy to get lost in information by relying on that type of media. So it is important to keep up with the candidate’s websites and steer clear from staying loyal to just one news channel. 

“Know what key issues matter to you and then see how the candidates match up,” Simone said. “I’ve literally never found a candidate that believes everything I’ve ever wanted. I look to see what really matters to me and then who matches up best with that.” 

The 2024 Election  

Posted on by gshslionsdenadmin

by: Ever Schmidt 

As the election approaches students and teachers discuss their options.  

Many people do not pay attention to politics and how it is affecting their everyday life, but if you look around at the world today, it is quite different than it used to be. 

The republican nominees for president are former president Donald J. Trump and J.D. Vance, and the democrat nominees are Kamala Harris and Tim Walz.  

English Teacher Mrs. Mary Logan said that in her classes there is a lesson where she shows her students how news sources can make things biased. She shows them the headlines and how things are embedded into the articles and how they can be persuasive.  

A poster outside the Library encourages students to register to vote.

Photo by: Emma Helmick

The election is November 5th, 2024. 

 Having different news sources showing each side of politics can be helpful, but it also be hard to find the truth. They can make the other nominees seem different and might use their own opinion and make one seem better than the other, which can cause outrage from supporters of both parties. 

 “I think it is important for students to see how different places like the media and news may be attempting to manipulate them, but from there, I hope they can see the bias and make their own decisions and know when the persuasive techniques are working,” Mrs. Logan said. 

 Being able to understand politics and being too involved in them are quite different. When teachers talk about politics in a classroom, students could listen to the teacher and get informed instead of taking it personally and getting mad about other people’s opinions. It is perfectly fine to have your own views and beliefs on politics and the candidates.  

  I do not have an opinion on either side of the parties, but I do follow along with them,” junior Olivia Humberger said. “I believe it is interesting seeing the different sides even though I don’t have my own opinion.”   

  Being able to be open-minded helps to hear both sides of the parties. It helps to gain factual knowledge and being able to understand the election. Going to factual news sources that are unbiased also helps to get full knowledge from both sides. 

 “The election will be very close again; I think no matter what, whoever wins half of America will be upset no matter what,” accounting Teacher Mr. Lou Downey said. “Most of the election is all about debating and not what the nominees are going to do better for America.” 

Many people find a lot of information on online bulletin boards, commercials, ads, and most social media. Harris is ahead of the polls by about two percent according to The New York Times. Some people are basing their information off what they hear and say they are going to do with the country. Most adults are voting and some seniors at GS are, too.  

 “I will be voting because I personally feel that there is a lot at stake this election,” senior Lily Slavnik said.