How far we’ve come

By COLLEEN FONTANA
UNLEASHED STAFF
Inauguration Day 2009 is a day I will always remember.
At Davis High School that morning, we watched the swearing in ceremony projected on a wall in the auditorium. I was jittery and excited, and so were many other students.
For the first time in the history of this great nation, we were inaugurating an African-American president into the White House.
Six decades ago, blacks and whites couldn’t even sit next to each other on buses or in movie theaters. Blacks couldn’t go to certain schools, couldn’t be married to whites and couldn’t vote regularly.
Look at us now.
Look at how far we have come.

Inauguration Day, sitting in the school auditorium, I glanced into the faces of fellow students. And I recognized similar features in each person I saw.
I saw the strength and the perseverance of a new generation that will lead us in the coming years. I saw the relentlessness of their ancestors, on whose shoulders we young people have climbed to get to this point.
And I thought of Martin Luther King Jr.
“This is his dream,” I thought to myself.
Non-segregated schools and equal voting rights, fair treatment and everyone standing together for change, and a black president who was elected not because of the color of his skin but because of the content of his character.
I mulled over all that has brought us to this point, especially the recent election.
“This year is unlike any other year,” I thought, “because this year we can truly look at America and say we have changed.”
Some people are convinced that the color of Obama’s skin should make no difference, and that this election should be treated the same as any other election. But I believe that color of his skin does matter. It makes this election unlike any other. It teaches us the lesson of looking beyond race to embrace the whole person.
Obama will be our president, but he will also be our symbol, someone we can point to and say that we as a nation have changed and are working toward more change. I believe Obama is someone to whom we can look toward to lead us into the future.
I believe there is a parallel, that the strength of purpose that drove King years ago is pulsing through Obama. I believe Obama is living proof of the dream that King had and that we as a people should be proud to have him as our 44th president.
Our world is struggling and our country is falling into disarray, economically and environmentally. But there is hope now, and we’ve just made him our president.
His supporters think very highly of him, and perhaps we are expecting more from him than he is capable of, but the change Obama speaks of has already begun, and he has only been in office for a couple of days.
Obama has inspired children and teenagers to take action in their own lives, adults to vote when they had not bothered to before, and communities to come together to change. The hope has been ignited, and the courage to welcome that change is spreading.
I know Obama will make mistakes during his term as president, and I know he is dealing with many difficult decisions, but I also know I am willing to listen to him. For the first time in years, I actually paid attention to the election and watched the debates.
I read the articles about him and his opponents. I followed the campaign and formed my own opinions about the candidates. My friends and I wore buttons and shirts in support of this man because we listened to what he had to say and we liked it.
In my opinion, Obama did not win because he’s any better a person than McCain. McCain had great experience and great ideas, and I respect him immensely.
Obama won because he reached out to the people.
At 16, still two years away from being able to vote, I knew that if I could, my vote would be cast for Obama. In his speeches he talked of “us” needing to change and how “we” could make a difference, which tells me that it is not a one-man job, being president. Obama knows he cannot do it alone and is not afraid to admit it.
In years to come, when my generation is grown, with children and grandchildren, students will come home from school having learned of this year’s events in their history classes. They will probably think nothing of it, or at least not as much as we do now, because new things fade in time, and soon, I hope, it will be very ordinary to have an African American or Latino or Native American or Asian as president.
However, this day, this event will always remain a piece of history and one that will not be easily forgotten.
As Obama said in his inaugural address, “Let us mark this day with remembrance of who we are and how far we have traveled.”

— Colleen Fontana is a member of the Yakima Herald-Republic’s Unleashed team. She attends Davis High School.

‘Happy inauguration’

By ALYSSA PATRICK
UNLEASHED STAFF
The word “inauguration” floated around everywhere, bouncing from the front page of the newspaper to the “Reesha in the Morning” show on 107.3 KFFM to a “happy inauguration” greeting from my father.
Today, it seemed the air was more alive with the buzz of this word than ever before. I don’t remember an inauguration ever being this exciting.
Then again, George W. Bush had been president since I was 9.
His last two elections left vague smudges on my memory, but I know nothing will compare to the election of Barack Obama.
Just like thousands of other 17- and 18-year-olds across the country, I feel that I own a bit of this presidency and this monumentous moment in American history.
How lucky am I that the first presidential campaign I was able to follow with complete understanding resulted in the election — and now inauguration — of a man such as Barack Obama?
Tremendously is the answer. Tremendously.
So carrying a sense of pride and ownership to school this morning, I must admit I did consider skipping class to witness his inaugural address live on television.
Of course, I didn’t, and that choice paid off.
Eisenhower High School principal Stacey Locke told teachers to keep their first-period students a few minutes longer to allow everyone the chance to watch President-elect Obama become President Obama.
I was in a Current World Problems, where lesson plans were already set aside so we could watch the events leading up to the actual oath of office and inaugural address.
It was significantly rewarding to watch former president after former president walk to their seats and fully understand the commentary news correspondents about each one. And, even further, to understand the magnitude of the crowd that was spilling into streets and stretching to the Washington Monument in a striking resemblance to the masses that gathered before Martin Luther King Jr. some 45 years ago.
The most striking moment, besides the inaugural address itself, was watching Obama make his way through the doors to the platform and see his expression, more heavy than gleeful. He looked exactly the way I would expect him to on a day like today, in a year like this year.
There was a man who ran a campaign that riled up Americans like we haven’t been riled since John F. Kennedy. Talk about setting up expectations.
There was a man who made huge promises that, if carried out, will make him an American saint. But, if they fail, they could make him more hated than even George W. Bush. Talk about pressure.
There was a man who was about to be handed the reins to a country whose horses become more wounded and off-track every day. Talk about a heavy task.
If Obama had been ecstatic and carefree, I would have been worried.
But he didn’t give me, or any American, a need to worry. His inaugural address was one of a president with a head on his shoulders. He addressed the state of our country and the difficulties ahead realistically, but stressed that there is always room for hope.
The point that stood out the most to me was his comment to those who thought some things were too big for America to take on.
“Their memories are short,” he said, and I couldn’t agree more.
The United States of America was founded on one big ideal that the monarchies of the world then laughed at: freedom.
So now all I have to say is  good luck, Obama. You have the heart, you have the logic, may America and the rest of the world help you to take us where we need to go.

— Alyssa Patrick is the student editor of the Yakima Herald-Republic’s Unleashed team. She attends Eisenhower High School.

Inauguration will bring change

By GEORGIA GEMPLER
UNLEASHED STAFF
Throughout the recent presidential election, “change” was on people’s minds and in their conversations.
It was a big part of the campaigns of both President-elect Barack Obama and his opponent, Sen. John McCain.
As we head closer to the Jan. 20 inauguration, though, the world seems to have moved on a bit from the hype of the months leading up to the election.
The candidates are no longer the main topic of discussion. People seem to be waiting for President George W. Bush’s term to end so that America can move on and we can see whether we elected the right person to make a difference.
As the inauguration comes closer, I’m reminded of the post-election night discussion at my church. Nov. 5, the Rev. Alex Holt, the minister of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Yakima, hosted a meeting to talk about the outcome of the election and what it might mean for the future of our country.
Many topics were brought up by the small group. We talked about everything from the candidates’ speeches and accepting other people’s opinions to the role of race in the election and Obama’s effect at international gatherings.
And while “change” seems to have been elected the word of the year, a recurring topic in Holt’s meeting was the past.
Participants compared Obama to such presidents as Abraham Lincoln and Lyndon B. Johnson and heroes like Martin Luther King, Jr. They also compared Obama’s current situation to the political and social climate of the 1960s.
But, I wondered, if this election was about change, then why were we comparing the present and future to the past?
As I listened to the comments and pondered them after the meeting, I began to think about some of the changes that have occurred in the history of the United States.
Racial issues, gender roles and major economic changes are a huge part of our county’s history, and they were deciding factors — if not always welcome ones — in the recent election.
The close relation our present time has shown with the past puts into context the kind of change that our country really needs.
We need a leader who can make our country a better place, a person who can be looked up to and seen as being one with the people of our country, someone who is able to make wise choices and difficult decisions.
Barack Obama is expected to be that kind of leader.
He has been compared to many great leaders and revolutionaries who have brought about change that has deeply affected the United States of America and the world.
Maybe what we need now is not a new kind of change, but a change that has already happened and needs to happen again.

— Georgia Gempler is a member of the Yakima-Herald Republic’s Unleashed team. She attends Davis High School.

White Swan Grad Heads to National Democratic Convention

By GEORGIA GEMPLER
DAVIS HIGH SCHOOL
It was inspired by Barack Obama’s “Yes, We Can” speech.
And so was Katherine Bell.
The teen saw the black-and-white video, featuring a star-studded cast and pictures of Obama delivering his now famous speech, on YouTube earlier this year. Those images — as well as the lyrics by will.i.am of The Black Eyed Peas — helped her decide who to vote for in the 2008 presidential election.
The first-time voter plans to cast a ballot for Obama in November.
But she’s hoping to meet him before then.
And she might get her chance this week.
The 18-year-old recent White Swan High School graduate is serving as an at-large delegate at the 45th Democratic National Convention in Denver. The convention, which began Monday, runs through Thursday.
Democratic delegates from all 50 states — as well as Democrats Abroad, American Samoa, The District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands — are gathering to show their support for the Democratic candidates and cast their official votes for the Democratic presidential nominee and party platform.
Serving as a national at-large delegate as a first-time, teenage voter is unusual. In Washington state, there are only 17 at-large delegate spots — 11 for Obama and six for Hillary Clinton — plus four alternates.
Still, Bell wants Yakima Valley teens to know, “It’s possible to be able to do something like this.”
Bell heard about the opportunity to be a national delegate through a high school English class. Her teacher created a demonstration exercise to teach students about caucuses.
After attending a series of conventions and caucuses in February, April and May, Bell, who plans to attend Central Washington University this fall, was elected an at-large delegate at the state convention in Spokane in June.
She had to give speeches at the congressional district and state conventions to get elected. Her speeches were about her community and how Obama’s ideas would help solve problems there.
The main focus of Bell’s speeches at the state convention was how she wants to help her community in many ways, including ending poverty.
According to the last U.S. Census, 27 percent of the population in White Swan lives below the poverty line, including 30 percent of those under 18 and about 22 percent of those 65 or over.
“Even though they don’t have anything, they’re still giving,” Bell says, adding that one of the reasons she supports Obama is because “he can get young voters involved.”
She also says she likes the “excitement he brings off.”
And, “He is for the lower middle class” and “helping people who don’t have enough.”
Since Bell had no prior experience in running to become a delegate, she needed some help getting elected.
Aaron Case, 36, of Yakima was elected as a congressional district delegate. He met Bell in May at the district caucus at Eisenhower High School.
He says he was impressed with her speech at that caucus and thought she was good at speaking in public.
“I think it’s really exciting that we have a delegate who’s recently graduated from high school,” says Case, who helped Bell prepare by prepping her on the conventions, introducing her to people, and giving her advice on points to talk about with people at the conventions as well as other Democrats.
According to Case, more than 400 people ran for the at-large delegate spots.
In order for Bell to get elected, “Older people had to listen to and support Katherine,” says her father, 51-year-old David Bell, pastor of the Log Church in White Swan.
Bell is one of the youngest members of the Washington delegation, bringing the perspective of young voters in Washington state to the national convention. There, the 4,440 delegates will be casting about 4,235 votes.
And, her father says, “It gives her a chance to be a part of the national system.”

• For more information, visit www.demconvention.com.

Teens and Politics

By JASMINE OKBINOGLU
EISENHOWER HIGH SCHOOL

What do politics mean to the average student? Do today’s youth really care?

Most teens in high school are busy and can’t vote because they’re not old enough. But that doesn’t mean they all don’t care.

Just look at all the Obama shirts they wear, the Clinton and McCain buttons on their backpacks. And listen to their conversations about the November election.

Still, teens have a lot on their plates. Classes, homework, friends, jobs and sports don’t leave a lot of time for politics. So while many know the general goings-on, it’s difficult for some teens to keep up with politics on a daily basis.

“Honestly, I enjoy listening to and knowing things regarding politics in America, especially with elections coming so close,” says 15-year-old Ann Hodges, a junior at Eisenhower High School. “However, I don’t take time out of my day” to keep up with politics, she says.

She’s not alone.

Edwin Llamas, a 16-year-old junior at Eisenhower High School, says he doesn’t watch the news every day, either, because he doesn’t have the time.

If he does watch, he says it’s because “one day I want to be a lawyer, so I think I would need to know politics and gain experience that way.”

Llamas and Hodges both agree that Barack Obama is the better presidential candidate and are crossing their fingers hoping he wins.

Some students are interested in politics, but don’t feel there’s a point in having a political opinion.

“My belief is that students under the age of 18 shouldn’t really form opinions on political aspects because they can’t do anything about it,” says 17-year-old Max Foster-McCalpine, a senior at Davis High School. “A lot of teens’ opinions also come from their parents, so it’s not really even their opinions. That is why I pay attention and watch the news, but I don’t have views.”

Foster-McCalpine also says he doesn’t support any candidate for president because he won’t be able to vote in the election.

Sixteen-year-old Daniel Ullom, a junior at Eisenhower, agrees that teens can’t do much about the next president. But he says he believes political decisions will affect him. And he does have his own opinions about the current candidates.

“McCain is not well-rounded in politics, more focused on war efforts, and is old so he might die,” Ullom says. “Obama doesn’t have enough experience and makes promises that he can’t keep.”

“I know many candidates promise things they can’t keep, but I feel Obama is basing his campaign around them. So I don’t really support either, but I do care,” he says.

First-time Voter Still Undecided

By ANDY CARROLL
LA SALLE HIGH SCHOOL

Next fall represents very notable “firsts” and “lasts” for me.

It will be my last year of high school. It will also mark the first election — presidential or otherwise — in which I’ll be able to vote.

With my 18th birthday falling 13 days before the presidential election Nov. 4, I will be able to cast my vote.

This makes me part of a minority at my school. With that in mind, a few people have asked me who I might consider voting for in the 2008 presidential race.

Now, it’s already pretty clear where some of my peers lie on the political scale. Some give the impression they’re definitely leaning to the left. I’ve listened to conversations about the debate over Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton as the Democratic nominee, accompanied with disdain for any potential Republican candidate.

On the other hand, some of my peers seem to be leaning to the right. One of my friends has been talking up the Republican Party since the last presidential election.

But I’m not yet sure of my personal political direction. With about four months to go before I turn 18, I’ve yet to decisively label myself a liberal or a conservative.

There isn’t a clear-cut family influence for me. While my dad’s side is mostly a mix of independents and conservatives, many of the relatives on my mom’s side are registered Democrats.

All the while, I’m not totally sure where to stick my pin on the political map.

It seems like the “cool” thing for teenagers to do is take up liberal values. And it’s no wonder, with the kinds of campaign run by Obama, and earlier, Clinton.

I believe there is some kind of change needed. For the most part, it seems to be the liberals who are willing to make such changes. To me, the liberal stance seems to support and fight for the rights of the people as a collective whole.

But, on the other hand, change isn’t always necessary. Some aspects of this country are always going to be the way they are. So long as there are big, successful businesses, there will be rich and poor. As nice an idea as it may be to believe, a government can never fix all the problems of its society. Though the idea of working for the betterment of society as a whole is a good one, the importance of family — as well as faith, should it apply — cannot be forgotten either.

That’s why ideas about conservatism also appeal to me. Ideas of family and faith — two of the big items in the conservative book — are very important to me. I believe the country should stick as closely to traditional values as possible, though change should be made where it is needed.

I feel like the clash between liberalism and conservatism is a battle of the new and the old. I believe the old can be made better with the new, and there are flaws within every political division.

Still, neither liberalism nor conservatism fully work for me because there are bits of each I like and pieces I don’t. I have full confidence ideas from both sides can work well in tandem, but they’re not without flaws on their own.

For that reason, I think it’s just as likely I might end up being an independent. Though I wouldn’t be able to definitively call myself a liberal or a conservative, I would probably end up finding a place where my overlapping values don’t contradict those of either end of the political spectrum.