Volume 85 No. 4
high LIFE
i
“The symbolic start to the
holiday season should
always happen on Nov. 1
when the holidays jump
into full swing.”
Mac Ball
page 3
News
Israelis and Palestinians
continue to struggle over
territorial disputes,
Syria and Egypt attract
serious attention as well.
page 2
Opinion
Claims from Darwin in
the mid-1800s continue to
incite debate today among
scientists,ieligioiis advocates,
educators, and politicians.
pages
Features
Nations around the
world celebrate the new
year in a variety of ways,
often different from
American traditions.
pages
Sports
Major changes in NCAA
conferences affect the
ACC, the Big Ten, and
the Big East.
page?
Index
News
2
Opinion
3-4
Features
5-6
Sports
7-8
I I I ■■■
1^ I I r r
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Happy Mew Yearn
Grimsley High School
801 Westover Terrace
Greensboro, NC 27408
HAPPY
NEW YEAR
from your
HIGH LIFE
STAFF!
December 19,2012
As country approaches fiscal cliff,
Congress tries to put politics aside
BY LUKE SUMERFORD
Reporter
With the elections determined.
Congress and the President re
turned to work. Before January 1,
President Barack Obama,
Speaker of the House John Boehner,
and Senate Leader Harry Reid
joined together to solve one the
worst economic problems the
United States has ever encoun
tered: the "Fiscal Cliff."
President George W. Bush and
Congress passed in 2003 what
was called the "Bush Tax Cuts,"
which reformed part of the tax.,
code and decreased everyone's
taxes. Since then, every time the
policy was about to expire. Con
gress renewed it. While such a
decision may not sormd harmful,
tax cuts, combined with an in
crease in spending, forced the na
tion into $16 trillion in debt.
Obama and Congress tried last
year to solve this debt crisis. Dur
ing the summer of 2011, all they
could devise was a bi-partisan
Congressional committee whose
job was to unite Democrats and
Republicans. This committee failed
miserably; consequently, auto
matic spending cuts and tax in
creases will take effect on January
1,2013, known as the "fiscal cliff."
Although the economy is
improving, it is doing so at a
very slow rate. Tax increases
will hurt everyone, lower,
middle, and upper class. One of
the largest increases will be the
payroll tax. For the majority of
Americans, this raise in taxes
will mean a $400 deduction for
individuals and $800 for a mar
ried couple from a single pay-
check. Increasing taxes, espe
cially on the middle class, will
hurt the economy greatly, thus
consumers will not spend as
much money, causing a lower
demand, forcing layoffs and
higher unemployment.
Possibly even worse than an
increase in taxes is the U.S. gov
ernment reaching the debt ceil
ing, or a set borrowing limit.
When such circumstances oc
cur, the U.S. federal govern
ment can no longer pay all of
its bills, so it must decide
which bills to pay and which
ones to set aside. As a result,
the government could shut
down completely, and thou
sands of federal employees
would not be paid. While this
scenario sounds terrible, it can
easily be prevented; Congress
just needs to pass a bill approv
ing the increase in the debt ceil
ing. Similar situations have
occurred eight times since 2001
and four times under the
Obama administration. Re
publicans in Congress oppose
this move because they believe
it will lead to more spending
and more debt; however, if the
ceiling is not raised, financial
experts claim the stock market
could plummet, sending the
U.S. into a deep recession.
Currently, the President and the
Democrats, as well as the Republi
cans, are writing bills on which
Congress can vote. If Congress does
not act before January, the U.S.
economy will suffer. Nearly all
Americans will feel the fimandal
effects of the upcoming decisions.
Writers impress at Phoenix Festival
BY MAC BALL
Editor-in-Chief
English and Creative Writing
teacher Jennifer Wilson was
pleased to accompany several
students to the High Point Uni
versity Phoenix Literary Festi
val on November 16. Whirlie
writers won many accolades.
CoUege and high school stu
dents' works were judged in three
categories: fiction, poetry, and
nonfiction. Sophomore girls re
turned home with seven awards
and $850 for their works.
In the category of fiction,
sophomores Caitlyn Council
man won second place for her
short story "Lights Out," and
Allie Corcoran won an Honor
able Mention for "The Way the
World Spins."
Councilman's story was a
murder mystery involving two
sisters escaping a predator.
"The day the lights went out
at school, I remember being in
Mrs. Wilson's class, and her
giving us a journal prompt of
what to do if the lights did not
come back on," said Council
man, who also earned recogni
tion for her nonfiction piece
entitled "An Encounter That
Changed My Life."
Inspiration comes from many
areas. Some writers draw ideas
from their childhood memories,
camp experiences, family gath
erings, and embarrassing mo
ments, among others. In
Councilman's case, her story
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Several students participated in a writing contest held at High Point University:
AUie Corcoran, CEutlyn Councilman, Natasha Derezinski-Choo, Ceha Calhoun, Alda Royal,
Kemaya Willis, Aaron Ashby, Mrs. Wson, Amina Alghali, and Jordan Dixon. Wilson photo
stemmed from the relationship
between best friends during a
difficult moment in their lives.
"A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
was a novel I read that in
spired me to write my own
short piece," said Corcoran. "I
really loved the turn-of-the-
century time period and the
narration regarding the char
acter Francis."
In poetry, Celia Calhoun won
first place with "Forgotten,"
and Corcoran won second
place with "Just Because."
"I was at the beach the week
before I wrote the poem, and I
suppose that is what inspired
me to write 'Forgotten.' The
weather was gloomy and
rained all day, and that is how I
began my poem," said Calhoun.
In nonfiction. Councilman
won first place, Corcoran won
second place, and Natasha
Derezinski-Choo won an Hon
orable Mention for her personal
narrative entitled "Casting
New Chains."
"I think my writing in gen
eral has always been about
finding closure either for me or
for one of my characters," said
Derezinski-Choo.
Finally, the last award
given to the college or high
school writer who shows the
most promise all around is
called the Tom Walters Award.
Allie Corcoran was the recipi
ent and was quite surprised to
hear her name announced.
"I was very happy to win
but more excited about hear
ing author Chang-Rae-Lee
speak about the many aspects
of the writing process," said
Corcoran.
Several students from differ
ent schools read from their own
material. To an audience of pro
fessors, published writers, col
lege students, and high school
writers, senior Aaron Ashby,
junior Amina Alghali, and
sophomore Natasha Derezinski-
Choo read their works.
"I enjoyed hearing about the
writing process of other stu
dents and what inspires them,
and then I really liked actually
hearing them read some of their
work," said Derezinski-Choo.