Earth Week

Earth Week

Skyler Powers

This week is Earth Week, and Homer High School’s very own Environmental Club is celebrating with various activities all week long. Tuesday, April 25th, will be a campus cleanup.  Everyone will be supplied with gloves and is encouraged to join the Environmental Club in cleaning up the school’s campus. Everyone pitching in could really benefit not only the campus, but the environment as a whole.

Wednesday, April 26th is set aside as a day where any and all students can wear green in support of the week and the environment. Lastly, Thursday, April 27th will feature a composting demonstration to show students how much the school has saved with compositing as well as encourage them to continue composting, knowing that they can make a real impact.  

That is not all, however. The Environmental Club has emphasized that they have more up their sleeve to celebrate Earth Week and Earth Day later this week. It will be interesting to see what they come up with to excite Homer students and staff about the environment.  

Paint-A-Hydrant Competition in 2017

The Center for the Arts, in partnership with the Village of Homer, will host its first Paint-A-Hydrant Competition in 2017.

Be a part of a new experience that will spark your artistic brilliance! You could be selected to paint your winning design on one of five fire hydrants designated by the Village of Homer.

Winning designs are chosen from two categories:

Youth Category (students in grades 6 – 12)

Adult Category (18+)

To participate, artists must create a 2-D design on the provided application form (see below). Designs will be placed on display at the Gallery at the Center for the Arts for one month (June 2017), and the greater community will be invited to vote for their favorite designs. Two designs in the Youth Category and three designs in the Adult Category will be selected by majority of votes.

Winners will implement their designs onto the fire hydrants during July and August of 2017, with paint and supplies provided by the Center for the Arts.

Entry fee of $3 for members/$5 for non-members.

One submission per participant.

All submissions will be due by May 31, 2017.

You may send your submission and application fee to: 72 S. Main St. Homer, NY 13077, or drop it off at the Center for the Arts offices Mon – Fri, 10am – 5pm. Please make checks payable to “Center for the Arts of Homer.”

Let your artwork be a part of Homer! We encourage everyone in the community get involved and hopefully be a part of a tradition for years to come.

Homer’s New English Class

Homer’s New English Class

Skyler Powers

Next year, Homer High School will be offering AP English Language and Composition. It will replace the Honors English 11 class that has been offered to juniors. Most schools in the United States offer AP English Language and Composition for 11th graders and AP English Literature and Composition for 12th graders. Homer is simply joining the plethora of other schools that already offer both courses.While the course is designed for juniors, rising seniors are still eligible to take it. They can even enroll in both if they wish.

Despite their similar names, there are differences between the two classes. AP English Language and Composition, according to the College Board, teaches you about the elements of effective arguments and composition through critical analysis and interpretation of complex texts. On the other hand, AP English Literature and Composition teaches you to analyze and interpret imaginative literature by carefully reading and critically analyzing representative works from various genres and periods. Thus, the courses are quite different and are meant to compliment each other; taking both is definitely a good idea. These two courses allow you to take the AP exams, which can give you college credits. College credits could potentially eliminate certain classes that you are required to take in college, saving you a lot of money. Taking AP classes also makes you more appealing to colleges; they can increase your chances of being accepted into prestigious programs.  

According to the College Board, taking AP English Language and Composition can help you land a job in ninety-eight career areas and enroll in forty-six college majors. Even if you don’t want to major in English, taking both of these AP English classes is a good idea. The new AP English course will begin next year, and it will be a great academic opportunity for Homer students.  

Reed About Politics: Trumpcare

Reed About Politics: Trumpcare

Reed Cleland

Healthcare reform is one of the most pressing issues in American politics. Whether Democrat, Republican, or independent, people want the best possible care at the lowest possible cost.

As it would seem, providing people with quality care at low prices is very difficult. This is why the debate over healthcare reform is so complex. Our government leaders have the responsibility of providing millions of people with decent, low-cost care. The debate over healthcare reform is long and complicated, but it is important. Our lives literally depend on it.

There are two philosophies of healthcare reform in the United States. Republican politicians favor an open-market system. They believe that if private insurance companies receive lower taxes and less regulation, they will compete with each other. This would result in lower prices for consumers. Democrats support more government involvement. If it means that more Americans are covered, they do not see government regulation as a bad thing.  

Although many of us at Homer High School (including myself) do not remember the 2008 presidential election, Democratic candidate Barack Obama promised to reform the American healthcare system. He believed that government needed to uphold the national welfare by playing a larger role in healthcare.

In 2010, Obama passed the Affordable Care Act (ACA), commonly known as Obamacare. The bill was designed to increase quality, affordability, and the number of Americans who received health insurance. Before Obamacare, insurance companies were able to deny coverage, revoke coverage, and force clients with pre-existing conditions to pay extra money. Obamacare is meant to prevent all of this and more.

After it was passed, Obamacare faced many challenges from Congress, courts, state governments, and other organizations. The most controversial part of the law was its individual mandate section, requiring most Americans to have a minimum amount of health coverage. Conservatives gave the bill a good fight, even creating a government shutdown in 2013. Ultimately, the individual mandate section was declared constitutional by the Supreme Court.

Nevertheless, Republican politicians continue to challenge Obamacare. When Donald Trump took office in January, the nation thought for sure that Republican leaders, after so long, would finally end the Affordable Care Act.

Their attempt backfired.  

The American Health Care Act of 2017 was drawn up by Trump and other Republican politicians. Nicknamed Trumpcare, it was supposed to replace Obamacare by repealing several pieces of it, including the individual mandate section.

A vote on Trumpcare in the House of Representatives was scheduled for March 23rd. Republican leaders, however, could not find enough support, and the vote was delayed until March 24th. On the night of March 23rd, Trump released a video stating that the bill would be Republicans’ only chance to repeal Obamacare. Republicans broke ranks; there were several who voted against their own bill. They believed that Trumpcare did not go far enough in repealing Obamacare.

For Trump, the bill’s defeat was an undeniable setback. In 2016, he campaigned on being a dealmaker who could shake up government corruption. Republican leaders believed that it would be relatively easy to send the Trumpcare bill through Congress. For many Americans, the bill’s defeat casts a shadow over the rest of Trump’s presidency. They are asking themselves how many more setbacks might be in store. Republicans in Congress opposed Obamacare for seven years. They created a government shutdown, led protests, and have endlessly sought its repeal. In the public eye, their failure on March 24th will hurt the reputation of the new Republican administration.

House Speaker Paul Ryan, a key figure in attempting to pass Trumpcare, stated that Obamacare will remain law for the foreseeable future. Although he and the President have expressed their desires to move on to other issues, their defeat in Congress came at a poor time. Trump hoped to begin his presidency with repealing Obamacare, and he failed. Democrats and Republicans both agree that it is going to be an uphill battle for him to regain credibility.             

Works Cited

Antos, Joseph; Wilensky, Gail; Kuttner, Hanns. “The Obama Plan: More Regulation, Unsustainable
Spending.” Health Affairs. September 16, 2008. Web.

Collinson, Stephen; Diamond, Jeremy. “How Trump’s health care loss will shape his

presidency.” CNN Politics. March 27, 2017. Web.

Pear, Robert. “Brawling Over Health Care Moves to Rules on Exchanges.” New York Times. July 7,
2012. Web.

Cabaret Night

Cabaret Night

By: Skyler Powers

On Saturday, April 1st, lucky audience members watched Cabaret Night. The event took place in the newly renovated Homer High School gymnasium. Cabaret Night showcases student musical talent throughout the Homer district in a variety of ways.  

The night was full of performances from staple musical groups, including the Soul Singers, Junior High Swing Choir, the Ruby Rhythms, the Men in Black, and the Junior High and High School Jazz Bands. The night also showcased the talents of individual students and groups of students. There were several great soloists that performed this year. They included Alex Cottrell with a flute solo and Adam Brown with a piano solo. There were also several great duets and other small groups. One that stood out was the song “Sisters”, performed by Jenniellen Withers, Julia Gustafson, Drew Gustafson, and Chris DeLage. All of the performances were exceptional, and they certainly didn’t fail to impress.  

If the wonderful performances were not enough, the audience also enjoyed a large array of delicious desserts. For the first time at Cabaret Night, each table had their own plates of desserts. In addition, there were student volunteers serving platefuls of even more desserts to the tables. I ate many desserts during the event and they were all very delicious (even if I did eat too many of them).

Lastly, the night was made even more wonderful by the impressive hosting skills of Homer alumnus David Perfetti. He did not quite reach the grandeur of the beloved Mr. Turck, but he was still very good. He told excellent jokes, and he dealt well with the frequent program changes.

All proceeds from the event went to the Homer Music Boosters, the organization that supports Homer’s music department. The money can be used to buy anything from new instruments to new chairs, and every penny helps. There was also a raffle. One lucky audience member won half of the money that was garnered. This year, that half came out to $213. The winner, however, generously returned the money to Homer Music Boosters.

All in all, the night was very entertaining and the performances were wonderful, not to mention the scrumptious desserts. Cabaret Night has always been one of my favorite events that Homer High School hosts, and it once again did not disappoint me.  

Global Warming

Global Warming.

“Global Warming is real and human activity is the main cause. The consequences are mainly negative and headed toward catastrophic, unless we act. However, the good news is that we can meet this challenge. It is not too late, and we have everything we need to get started.” - Al Gore

What is it? An increase in the earth's atmospheric and oceanic temperatures widely predicted to occur due to an increase in the greenhouse effect resulting especially from pollution (Merriam-Webster Dictionary).

Causes: As more air pollutants and CO2 is produced, gases build up in the atmosphere and absorb more sunlight and solar radiation that have bounced off of the earth’s surface. Thus, instead of escaping into space, the pollutants trap the heat and cause the planet to heat up.

Don’t wait:

-Join groups dedicated to preserving the environment.

-Attend climate change seminars and become informed.

-Preserve energy by buying products with a Energy Star label on them.

-Support politicians who advocate for climate-friendly policies.

Effects: Scientists agree that the increase in the earth’s temperature is linked to extreme weather and affects all humankind:

• Rising temperatures are fueling longer and hotter heat waves, more frequent droughts, heavier rainfall, and more powerful hurricanes.

• Melting glaciers, early snowmelt, and severe droughts will cause more dramatic water shortages and increase the risk of wildfires in the American West.
• Rising sea levels will lead to coastal flooding on the Eastern Seaboard.
• Forests, farms, and cities will face troublesome new pests, heat waves, heavy downpours, and increased flooding. All those factors will damage or destroy agriculture and fisheries.
• Disruption of habitats such as coral reefs and Alpine meadows could drive many plant and animal species to extinction.
• Allergies, asthma, and infectious disease outbreaks will become more common due to increased growth of pollen-producing ragweed, higher levels of air pollution, and the spread of conditions favorable to pathogens and mosquitoes. (https://www.nrdc.org/stories/global-warming-101)