School shooting in South Florida

Preface: The events that occurred on Valentine's Day of 2018 in Florida were truly horrific. Innocent lives were lost in a particularly heinous act of school violence. My heart and prayers go out to the students who were impacted by the incident. Those who lost friends, siblings. Parents who will never get to see their children again. Shortly after the incident, almost on cue, the debates began. Below is my take on push for stricter gun control regulations.

On February 14, 2018, a former student who had been expelled for disciplinary reasons opened fire at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL. For those who do not know where that is, it is near Ft. Lauderdale. Since the incident, we have seen many debates on gun control. According to the Chicago Tribune, there have been roughly 188 shootings at schools and universities across the United States, since the beginning of the century. Each time one has occurred, we have seen a never ending cycle. First, the news breaks and we hear thoughts and prayers. Almost immediately after politics sets in, followed by raging debates. About a week or so later everyone moves on to the next thing and forgets about it. This time will likely be the same, but there have been a few interesting things that have come of the most recent incident

First of all, we are seeing the same "ban all the guns" from many people. We have heard the students that were present at the time of the shooting calling for stricter gun regulations. While firearms should not be accessible to those who have a history of mental illness or crime, stricter gun regulations might not be the answer. A common argument that we see is that the problem is guns. There is a major hole in that theory. Not all assaults involve firearms.

On May 18, 1927, one of the deadliest attacks on a school occurred, resulting in 44 fatalities. This incident is commonly known as the Bath School Disaster, in Bath Township, Michigan, and it is the deadliest school massacre to date. At 8:45AM, the north wing of the Bath School exploded. According to the Smithsonian, the blast occurred with such force that it could be heard from miles away. The building had been bombed by Andrew Kehoe. As people were rushing to the aid of those impacted, he stepped out of his truck and fired a rifle at it, resulting in an additional explosion that killed himself, and several bystanders. While a firearm was used in this attack, the attacker did not shoot any of the victims. Too long ago to be a valid argument?

On April 9, 2014, 23 students were injured in an incident Franklin Regional High School, in Pennsylvania. This incident however, did not include a firearm, but rather a knife. Just before school started before the day, a student began stabbing and slashing other students in the science wing of the building. 23 students and a security guard were all injured in the attack. 5 in critical condition.

Beyond these two incidents there are a number of additional times around the world in which individuals have come in and attacked students with alternative weapons, including but not limited to hammers, axes, and knives. One such involving an axe occurred in China in 2016. In which 7 children were struck while waiting in line for lunch. The perpetrator of the attack claimed that his motive was revenge on society, after having been arrested several times for theft.

None of these 3 incidents could've been prevented by stricter gun regulations. And while stricter gun regulations could have potentially prevented the incident from occurring in Florida, that isn't to say that attackers aren't able to illegally obtain firearms, or attack using alternative measures. Some after reading what I just wrote may be angered and disagree with what I said. I would like to however share some of my thoughts for new gun control regulations.

1. Increase the minimum age to purchase firearms to 21
1. If the perpetrator of the firearm obtained the weapon legally, this law would have prevented the whole thing occurring.
2. Prohibit the sale of firearms to those convicted of violent crimes
1. Those who have a history of violence should not be permitted to legally obtain firearms
1. This would include those who have been convicted of the following
1. Armed Robbery
2. Rape
3. Homicide
4. Attempted Homicide
5. Burglary
6. Theft involving a firearm
3. Prohibit the sale of firearms to those with a history of mental illness
1. If the weapon used in the attack was obtained legally, the incident that occurred may not have happened.

Even with these regulations in place, there is no way to stop violence from occurring, but there are ways to at least try to prevent them from occurring. 

Sources
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/1927-bombing-remains-americas-deadliest-school-massacre-180963355/

http://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2014/04/09/multiple-students-reported-stabbed-at-franklin-regional-high-school/

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/china-school-attacks-stabbing-axe-seven-injured-two-adults-beiguan-primary-school-hanzhong-a7439906.html

Reviews: Despicable Me 2

Today, I saw Despicable Me 2. Despicable Me 2 is one of the greatest movies of all time. A sequel to Despicable Me, The Minions are pretty much the same, hilarious minions that they were in the first movie. My favorite thing about the Minions is how they are constantly smacking each other and blowing raspberry and laughing. The 2nd movie starts with a birthday party for Gru's youngest daughter, Agnes. The scene fades, and gives a preview to later parts of the story. Meanwhile, Gru has given up his life of evil to become a Jelly and Jam producer. Sounds lame, right? WRONG! Gru only produces Jelly for the first few parts of the story, until kidnapped by the league against villains. It turns out, Someone else is evil, and has stolen a syrum that overtakes whoever becomes a victim to it. Worst of all, this person kidnaps almost half of the Minions and injects them. Gru takes a while to notice that half of his minions were missing, as he was entirely focused on something else. First of all, Margo was now dating someone, and Gru did not appreciate that his girl was dating someone. Second of all, Gru was assigned an undercover mission, and was assigned a partner. Their goal was to find out who took the syrum. They find someone who has traces of the syrum, and that man is arrested. However, the true criminal is actually someone else. I will not tell you this someone, because you need to see it yourself. One of my favorite scenes in the entire movie is actually shown in most of the tailors. Gru becomes angry, and starts a fire. Minions Burst into the room with fire extinguishers and hoses. The last minion enters with lights on his head yelling BEE-DO over a megaphone. The minions have some difficulties putting out the fire, and Gru takes the Megaphone. after losing the megaphone, the victim continues his BEE-
DO. Annoyed, another victim sprays him with a Fire Extinguisher. If I had to rate the movie, it would receive 5 stars out of 5 available. The movie was funny, and friendly for everyone.

Atlanta Braves face off. Against Miami in a tight game

Very intense game today in the MLB as the Atlanta Braves face off against the notorious Miami Marlins. The Braves had an amazing early start by scoring 3 times in the first inning and taking the lead 3-0. The Marlins were not out of the game though as they score one time 3 innings in a row to tie the score at 3 each. The score stayed the same until the ninth inning when the Marlins scored one run to take the lead and the Braves couldn't capitalize. The final score was 3-4 Miami. Despite the loss, spirits remained high as Turner Field hosts one of the best Independence Day celebrations in the world. Fireworks synced with music and the longest and most colorful display I had ever seen. I would recommend going to a braves game any day, but would strongly recommend going on a Friday if you like fireworks. Happy Independence Day!

Georgia Aquarium

So today I go to visit the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta. While there was exhibits that I found interesting, I was not impressed with the Aquarium. For starters, the crowd was larger than it should have been. There were so many people that you couldn't even see the exhibits. The employees were very snobby. One employee yelled at my aunt about going the wrong way in the line. My biggest problem was the mass amount of people that were there. The Dolphin show that was at the aquarium was okay but it was rather short and involved the same things multiple times in a row. The effects were interesting. I would not recommend going to the Georgia Aquarium during summer vacation. If you are going to go, go during the school year.

Journalists Review- Monster's University

Journalist's Review on Monsters University
Monsters University is a decent sequal to Disney Pixar's Monsters University. The movie itself cleared some questions left unanswered by Monsters Inc. For example, my main question was always When did the grudge between Randall and Sullivan begin? And my other question was always why? Monsters University also takes you back to where the monsters started. Mike Wazowski was the smallest and least scary monster in all of his class in Elementary School. He was like me, not good at talking to people, and always being left out. I myself have improved with that. In College, Mike is Randall's Roomate and Mike is hard working and always worried about the Scare Final exam. James Sullivan (Which is Mike's Partner in Monster's Inc.) is lazy because of his family. He came from a family of the most famous scarers, so he thinks he can be lazy and still get what he wants. I feel that this is a good lesson because we all find out that Sullivan fails miserably. One of the values that anyone can get out of this movie is "You have to Work Hard to be sucsessful". Because of the storyline, Monster's University should have come out before Monsters Inc, because of the order and the questions that it clears. The entry of Sullivan was also an unusual time. I felt that the movie was more focused on Mike, while Monsters Inc was more focused on Sullivan. A critic may say that the movie is unorganized and chaotic. Being a bit older than I was when I saw Monster's Inc, the effect isn't quite the same. I enjoyed the movie but not the same way that I enjoyed Movies like Finding Nemo, and Madagascar, because being younger allowes you to enjoy those movies. Please check back soon for a review on World War Z.

Story by Head Journalist Gabriel Hall

Man Tightropes across Grand Canyone

Nik Wallenda Tightropes across the Grand Canyon

Nik Wallenda is a tightrope walker who comes from a 7 generation family of tightrope walkers. He premiered on Discovery Channel on Monday June 23, 2013 in a 1 hour special showing previous walks, including the walk that killed his grandfather. That walk, he completed with his mother. But walking 115 feet in the air was not enough for Nik Wallenda. Even Walking across Niagara Falls wasn't enough for Wallenda. Wallenda decided to attempt something that had never before been attempted. Wallenda decided to walk across the Grand Canyon. This would not only be the most extreme stunt to be performed at the Grand Canyon, but also the first time that anyone had ever attempted to walk across the Grand Canyon on a tightrope. The rope that Wallenda walked was 1 quarter of a mile in length and rose 1500 feet above the canyon floor. Even though there was a paramedic below, anyone who would fall from that height would likely die. The height wasnt the only danger. Winds were strong, and updrafts caused by escaping heat constantly moved the rope from side to side. Something that made it nearly improbable for anyone to be successful. Nik Wallenda finished by running the rest of the rope. Because of his great balance, he did not struggle at all.

Hersheypark Opens more Water Rides

Thought Skyrush was last? Think again! During the 2012/2013 offseason Hersheypark bid farewell to Roller Soaker to make room for a spray ground. Hersheypark also added 2 more water slides to Coastline Plunge bringing the grand total of water rides to 15. Unfortunately the opening date was postponed due to temperatures being below 60 degrees.