Page 9 Connelly Chronicle February 2018

Dead Sea
WORLD NEWS
Trump's First
Scrolls State of
Brought Back
to Life the Union
BY SENECCA SALAMEH
BY THY THY NGUYEN
President Trump gave his first State of
In January, Israeli scholars linked
the Union address on January 30th, 2018.
together and were able to decode and
The State of the Union address is a yearly
translate one of two previously unread
speech given by the president to express
manuscripts of the Dead Sea Scrolls.
the political standpoints of the current
This is significant because scholars have
administration and their plans for future
been attempting to decode the Dead Sea
legislation.
Scrolls for over 500 years, they were
Trump spoke primarily about his
discovered between 1947 and 1956 in
vision for American infrastructure,
the Qumran caves above the Dead Sea.
domestic policy, counterrorism against
Within the scroll is the ancient
ISIS, and his goal for prioritizing 16 of the 17 victims from the Parkland shooting. Photo courtesy of CNBC.
calendar used by ancient brotherhoods of
celibate Jews, which has been pieced
together in 60 tiny fragments. The
“America first”. The president also made
claims about increased wages and having 17 More Lives Lost:
calendar is pretty much the same with
our modern calendar with a unique 364
created 2.4 million jobs since the
election. He also mentioned that his Tragedy in Florida,
days a year and festivals that mark the
administration has overseen the lowest
unemployment rates in a 45 year period.
Tragedy in America
changing of the seasons. These included BY CHANNING LEE
Trump celebrated the passing of the
festivals of New Wheat, New Wine and
latest tax bill. Citing that small 17. 17 school shootings since the start of AR-15 gun used in the shooting. At the
New Oil, which could relate to the
businesses are now able to deduct 20% of 2018. 17---the age of many students (and federal level, on February 20, President
Jewish festival of Shavuot. The
their own tax income. Tax rates for large some killed) at Marjory Stoneman Trump called to move to ban bump
parchment and papyrus scrolls are
Douglas High School. 17---the sum of stocks, an add-on device used to increase
written in Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic,
3+14, March 14, the day students the rate of fire on rifles such as the AR-15
also includes the oldest known
nationwide plan to protest against gun (bump stocks were used by the Las Vegas
manuscripts of the Hebrew Bible, date
violence, for 17 minutes. shooter less than six months ago.)
from the 3rd BC to the 1st century AC,
On Valentine’s Day, 2018, Nikolas Nonetheless, gun control activists do not
and the oldest surviving copy of the Ten
Cruz, a 19-year-old former student of seem optimistic, bracing for “another
Commandments. The pieces first
Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School disappointing battle with lawmakers.”
thought to be irrelevant to each other,
in Parkland, Florida (who had previously Students and staff members who
and that it came from variety of different
been expelled for disciplinary reasons), survived the shooting began the rally cry
scrolls, however, Eshbal Ratzon and
opened fire, killing 17 students and #NeverAgain. They are adamant about
Jonathan Ben-Dov of the university’s
injuring many more. According to CNN, pushing for reform and initiating change.
Bible studies department of Haifa (From left to right) Vice President Mike Pence,
President Donald Trump, and Speaker of the House the gunman is now in custody. Student protesters have already begun
University found that all the pieces
Paul Ryan. Photo courtesy of CNBC. This mass shooting has created mass marching on the capitol in Tallahassee.
belong to one scroll after they examining
corporations have also been cut from outrage throughout the country, but Survivors of the 2016 Orlando nightclub
just under a year, some of fragments
35% to 21% in attempts to improve the differently than before: students want shooting (during which 49 victims were
were smaller than 0.155 sq inches. Many
economy. The reasoning for the tax cuts more than words; they want action. The killed, and over 50 injured) will join
experts believe the manuscripts of the
is that there will be more money leftover debate over gun control has once again them, according to Independent. On the
Dead Sea were written by the Essenes,
for businesses to expand, thus creating escalated. Protesters, especially student morning of February 21, Florida students
which is a dissident Jewish sect that had
more jobs. However, “trickle-down demonstrators, have called for a range of marched out of school in protest.
retreated into the Judaean desert around
economics” remains a controversial and restrictions, including expanded “We’re what’s making the
Qumran and its caves. Scientists also
disputed economic theory across the background checks for gun purchases change...We’re going to keep talking,
found out there were annotations in the
nation. and a ban on the sale of military-style we’re going to keep pushing until
margins by the original work of the
During the state of the union address, firearms. However, according to The something is done because people are
author, these annotations helped Dr.
it was noted that many Democrats had New York Times, Republican leaders of dying and this can’t happen anymore,”
Eshbal Ratzon to figure out the puzzle
remained stone-faced during the speech the Florida House and Senate appear to said Alfonso Aclderon, a 16-year-old
hidden in the scroll.
while Republicans had shown more be pursuing more conservative from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High
support. restrictions, such as incremental School. NPR reports that some have
Despite the tension that remained measures to improve background checks, already sat in on legislative sessions and
within the air, Trump ended his long- but their primary focus is on mental met individually with some lawmakers.
winded one hour and 20 minute speech health services and increasing school Is this the beginning of a new
(ranking as the third longest in the past security. movement? Survivors of yet another
50 years!) with his expected confidence, Democrats face a challenging battle. school shooting think yes. Regardless of
as he assured his audience that Less than a week after the Florida school partisan politics, there is no doubt that
One of the Last Encrypted Dead Sea Scrolls. Photo Americans will prosper under the shooting, the state rejected a proposed concerns about school safety will
courtesy of University of Haifa. American way. ban on semiautomatic guns, such as the continue to grow.
 Page 12
'Well Done World!'
BY GRACE EDWARDS
Well Done World is a feature of the Connelly
Chronicle that hopes to create awareness that
we are a nation of people who care about one
another... well done world!
A 93-year-old theft victim is comforted
by a police officer in England who
played the piano for her.
-- Huffington Post
A New Jersey school bus driver and huge
Eagles fan was surprised with Super
Bowl tickets.
-- TODAY Show
A female designer created a new way to
generate electricity using wind from
subways in London.
--Good News Network
A wrestler with Down Syndrome finishes
his last season undefeated.
-- Good News Network
A message in a bottle written 30 years
ago was found by a couple in Florida,
and returned to its author.
-- Inside Edition
MAGGIE LATON ‘18
(Anaheim, CA)
Lauren: Where did you march?
Maggie: Downtown Santa Ana. We were
there from the very beginning of the
march itself, but not for the speeches. We
got two-thirds of the way and decided to
get food instead. No offense but we were
hungry!
Lauren: What were you marching for?
ML: I actually was thinking about this
on the drive over. I was marching for
equality in our pay, equality in our rights.
LC: When you were marching, did you
feel a bond with anyone? How did it feel
to march with so many people?
ML: It felt amazing. I love to see the
diversity; there were gay men, straight
men, old and young people, even babies;
I feel like I do not see that enough in my
daily life.
LC: Who did you go with?
ML: I went with my sister and my mom,
as well as several family friends.
LC: What changes do you hope for this
year?
ML: That’s hard (laughs). I hope to see
women treated more equally, especially
Connelly Chronicle
OPINION
Let
Them
Vote
BY BRENDA CEJA
Voter disenfranchisement is the removal
of a citizen’s right to vote, most often due
to a felony conviction. However, voter
disenfranchisement does not only affect
current prisoners.
According to the Sentencing Project, a
non-profit criminal justice research and
advocacy group, as of 2016, more than
50% of all disenfranchised voters from
felonies have already served their prison
sentences. In total, over 6.1 million
Americans “are prohibited from voting
due to laws that disenfranchise citizens
convicted of felony offenses.”
Taking the right to vote away from
citizens who have already served their
prison sentences goes against the
democratic values America holds so
highly. If a judge sentences a criminal to
10 years in prison, their punishment
should only last for 10 years—not an
entire lifetime. As European countries
grapple with the question if current
inmates should vote, the United States
struggles to come to an agreement on
MARCHING FOR EQUALITY
Every year since 1913, women have come together in solidarity to march for their values.
The Connelly Chronicle interviewed two Connelly girls about their experiences in the march.
think it will spark a move to toward total
equality between men and women.
ISABELLE FABRIZIO ‘17
(Bronx, NY)
Lauren: Where did you march?
Isabelle: I marched in New York City.
LC: What did you march for?
IF: So I marched as a way of standing up
for those who do not have a voice in our
society: those who have been sexually
harassed and assaulted, those who
identify as LGBTQ+, those who are
immigrants, those who are of color, those
who are disabled, those looked down
upon or taken advantage of. People
before me marched to give me the right to
whether formerly incarcerated people
should be granted their voting rights.
The 14th Amendment grants states the
liberty to individually decide voting
rights for felons. Currently, four states
permanently prohibit convicted felons
from voting in elections: Iowa,
Kentucky, Virginia, and Florida.
In 2011, former governor of Iowa and
loyal Republican, Terry Branstad,
reversed a 2005 executive order that
“restored voting rights to individuals
with former felony convictions.”
Similarly in Kentucky, Republican
Governor Matt Bevin reversed an
executive order that “restored voting
rights to individuals with former non-
violent felony convictions” shortly after
taking office in 2015.
In Virginia, some progress has been
made but many legal battles still lie
ahead. Until Virginia’s constitution is
amended to reform disenfranchisement
laws, “Virginia will continue to
disenfranchise individuals with felony
convictions post-sentence, and the
restoration of their voting rights will
depend on a governor’s continued
action.”
Florida has also started to move in a
more progressive direction. According to
the Brennan Center for Justice, Floridians
Photos: above & upper right by Isabelle Fabrizio
'17; upper & middle left by Maggie Laton '18
vote, so now I march so people after me
February 2018
have gathered enough petition signatures
for “a ballot initiative that would amend
Florida’s constitution and restore voting
rights to most people who have
completed their sentences.” The ballot
initiative passed the reviews of the state
Supreme Court and State Attorney
General, and will now appear and the
states upcoming election in November. If
approved, approximately 1.5 million
post-sentence citizens will once again be
able to vote.
Second Chances Florida is one social
advocacy group fighting for this change.
Their website states “Now is the time to
return the ability to vote to Floridians
who have done their time and paid their
debts. These are our family members,
friends, and neighbors who have earned
the opportunity to participate in and give
back to their communities. It’s simply the
right thing to do."
Voting is a central aspect of American
government, and no one should be barred
from this fundamental right because of a
prior conviction that has already been
served.
The debate on whether citizens have
already served their sentences for non-
violent felony convictions should not be
viewed as a partisan issue, but rather as
an issue of injustice.
can be treated with human dignity and
respect, no matter if they are cisgender,
straight, white men with money or if they
are not.
LC: What was the experience like?
IF: It was really empowering. Seeing all
the people standing up against oppression
for themselves and others was wonderful.
LC: Did you feel like you had a
connection with the others who marched?
IF: I felt like everyone at the march had
something in common; either we'd faced
oppression or we were scared we would
be oppressed in the future. It kinda
connected all of us. We were all there,
standing united, and supporting each
other.