Tuesday, October 30, 2018

Clarence Thomas vs. Brett Kavanaugh

Krupa Shah
Editor in Chief

Twenty seven years ago a young walked into the Hearing Room of the Senate Judiciary Committee to testify against her harasser. Coincidentally, the same events unfolded in the hearings for Dr. Christine Blasey Ford. It was once Anita Hill and now its Dr. Christine Blasey Ford and both deserve to have their stories told.

In 1991, Anita Hill upended Clarence Thomas’s confirmation hearing. She accused him of sexually harassing her after she denied his previous advancements to date. Obviously, then Supreme Court-nominee Clarence Thomas vehemently denied the allegations stating, “ [this hearing is] a high-tech lynching for uppity Blacks,” referring to the idea that Hill’s purpose in testifying was to prevent him from entering a public position so she could further herself. These allegations were the first of their kind and left a deep mark on the confirmation hearings.

Sitting before and all white male panel of senators that made up the Senate Judiciary Committee, Anita Hill was grilled on her relationship with and the alleged actions of then Judge Clarence Thomas. Hill’s testimony alleges that Thomas sexually harassed her through discussion of sexual acts and other types of pornographic content, much of which was extremely salacious and was never deemed acceptable to discuss on the bench until now. Over and Over, she was, essentially, forced to repeat graphically, embarrassing details that would forever go down as one of the most brutal yet uncomfortable questioning in history. In the end, Clarence Thomas would be confirmed.

The echoes of Anita Hill’s testimony emanated from each of the words spoken by Dr. Ford in the September 27, 2018 hearing, proving that this hearing would be no different from the one that occured in 1991. Dr. Ford’s allegations of assault still caused shockwaves all throughout DC and the rest of country in terms of detailing Kavanaugh’s alleged actions towards her at that high school party 36 years ago. Furthermore, the account being detailed all these years later describes the “reluctance of someone to come forward demonstrates that even in the #MeToo era, it remains incredibly difficult to report harassment, abuse or assault by people in power,” explains Hill when discussing the parallels between the cases in 1991 and now.

The parallels between both of the cases are strikingly similar as both women are educators who accused people whom they had worked with and went a party with, respectively, as well as sitting before a predominantly white, male panel discussing the graphic details of each incident. Furthermore, both of their alleged perpetrators were eventually confirmed to the Supreme Court and have vehemently denied all of the allegations. However, this denial should not and does not discount both of these women’s stories.

Thursday, October 25, 2018

The woods are "haunted" in October

Laney Hefelfinger and Lucie MacGillvray
Staff Writers

Happy Halloween! The Haunted Woods, organized by student volunteers at New Hope Solebury High School, will be taking place in the woods at the school on Oct. 25th-27th to celebrate the exciting and spooky Halloween! Students have been seen donning Haunted Woods shirts.The anticipation is extremely high.
   “We’re super excited! We’ve already started making the decorations! This year is going to be the scariest Haunted Woods yet!” exclaimed an ecstatic student.
   Another student claimed that the Haunted Woods is scarier than any other scary attraction. Why go to a haunted hayride when you could go the Haunted Woods?
  In the past, the Haunted Woods have been scare-your-socks-off horrifying, but this year, those involved have promised to deliver the most eerie event yet.
   Trick-or-treating may be fun, but nothing compares to the absolute fright of walking through the dark woods at night. If you aren’t spooked by cheesy and unrealistic costumes and decorations, then skip the trick-or-treating, and head to the woods instead.
   Instead of tuning into a Halloween Movie, feel like you’re in one. Face the horrors provided by student volunteers. The talented actors with realistic and scary costumes are actually your peers, whom have devoted lots of their time towards establishing their routes and actions. Come out and support these hard-working individuals by sharing a scream and a scare. These amazing students will knock your socks off!
  Don’t be a bore, coming to the Haunted Woods will be a score.

Monday, October 15, 2018

As the seasons change it's time to get excited about upcoming events!

Devon Beacham
Staff Writer

It is officially fall and though summer is dearly missed, there are so many reasons to look forward to this season! Although summer is fantastic, it’s hard to not look forward to fall!
Junior Kel MacDowell says, “I had an awesome summer break, and it’s been hard to see it go, but I'm looking forward to all the fun and beauty fall brings this year!” Nature’s colors are changing to beautiful hues of orange, yellow, green, red, brown, and more! It’s finally time to go outside and be able to wear warm clothing, such as sweatshirts, jackets, or jeans and be comforted in not worrying about being completely hot or freezing. It's “sweater weather.”
It’s now certainly valid to begin diving into the Halloween spirit. One of the best ways to immerse yourself - aside from putting in an effort to find a Halloween costume that isn’t offensive - is to rev up with Halloween movies and TV specials, especially if you’ve grown out of some of the more traditional outdoor holiday activities such as trick-or-treating. Everyone loves a good Halloween film, whether it is a thriller or family friendly. During the week, pondering creative costume ideas and bringing them to life can be a great preparation for the spooky October event.
Don’t know what to do on a nice fall weekend? Grab some friends on a Friday or Saturday night and go to a nearby haunted attraction our area has to offer to enjoy hayrides, haunted houses, mazes, bonfires (s'mores of course), live music, good food, warm drinks, and more, such as Shady Brook Farm, Sleepy Hollow, and more. A nice way to finish off your weekend of fall festivities could be going apple or pumpkin picking with friends or family and ending the night with carving, creating new apple recipes, chatting, and enjoying it all outside by the fire or inside with music!
But, before Halloween is Homecoming! With Homecoming comes choosing a stylish outfit, and the themed days all week leading up: the home football game on Saturday at 12:30 p.m., Fall Fest on Saturday from 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the field next to the stadium and the semi-formal dance on Saturday, Oct. 20 at 7:00 p.m. in the gym with your peers.
Our area offers some of the finest outdoor fall activities in the world, such as walking around town and getting a meal with your friends and family or going for a bike ride on the scenic Delaware River Canal. If you go visit Bowman's Tower, you can use the student discount for tickets to head up to see the naturally gorgeous view of the river and the fall colored trees.
Peddler’s Village is known for the many festivals they hold. Throughout the fall, you can view the scarecrows that are on display for the annual scarecrow competition. The OctoberFEAST and Halloween Spooktacular have passed, but you can still look forward to the Apple Festival on November 3-4, Kick Off to the Holidays Festival on Nov. 9, and the famous Grand Illumination on Nov. 16. Peddler’s Village does a nice job at keeping the season lively and festive.
All these reasons should have you excited and festive for the joyful season ahead and hopefully make the transition from summer to fall feel a little more smooth.