4 Opinion
January 31,2012
Americans show gratitude for returning
Iraqi troops but dread both personal,
financial losses
BY LINDSEY JENKINS
Reporter
Thursday, December 15,
2011 officially ended US in
volvement in the Iraq war.
Families continue reflecting
upon their experiences with the
war; many who have lost their
loved ones still grieve, while
those families whose children,
spouses, and friends that are
seeing their brave soldiers
again are in great relief. Re
maining American troops,
numbering 4,000, arrived
home for the holidays.
According to President Obama
on Yahoo News, the war was
extremely costly to the nation,
as more than 4,400 members of
the military were killed, and
32,000 were wounded. Finan
cially, involvement in the war
cost the US more than
$1.3 trillion.
Finalizing the date for the
troops to leave Iraq was de
cided after months of talk
between Baghdad and Wash
ington. The two sides could not
reach an agreement about leav
ing thousands of American
troops behind in Iraq for a
training force since the Iraqis
must still cope with the possi
bility of Iranians interfering
with them. As a safety precau
tion, 150-200 military troops
will remain behind as part of
embassy security. Therefore,
American forces remain in
great danger because of bomb
ings and other violence still oc
curring on a daily basis.
President Barak Obama had
always opposed the war, but
he claimed that the troops will
eventually all come home feel
ing proud of themselves and
their success. Unfortunately,
economic concerns plague the
returning troops since there
may not be enough work
available for them to provide
for their families.
"This group of veterans is
extremely well-trained. It's
just that they're coming home
to a terrible economy; there are
very few jobs for them, and
they're just being dumped out
on the street. We're doing our
best to change that," said Steve
White, a Vietnam veteran who
heads the nonprofit group
called Veterans Across
America (VAA) Champion
Mentor Program, on CNN.com.
Newly initiated, this
program aims to assist new
veterans in finding employ
ment. Mentors will be
assigned to individual veter
ans to evaluate and revise
their resumes, hold face-to-face
meetings, and set up profes
sional networks for them. This
nonprofit organization has al
ready helped more than 7,000
troops find jobs.
Frank Vazquez is one such
individual who has received
assistance from the program.
He told CNN his success story.
Following high school gradua
tion, Vasquez enlisted in the US
Navy and served as an elec
tronic technician, third class,
from 2000-2004. When he re
turned from his services in
2004, he searched for a job.
"I had no guidance from
anyone in the military on what
I should do next. I also never
heard from (Veterans Affairs)
or other government pro
grams. I actually didn't even
know they offered anything,"
said Vazquez.
After spending time seeking
a job on his own, he worked
temporarily as a technician
between 2005 and 2008. In
2009, a mentor from the VAA'S
program, Glenn Witt, guided
Vazquez and helped him in any
way he could.
"He [Witt] was a huge help.
He made sure I stayed on top of
my applications; he was there
if I needed to call him. He also
met me and walked with me
to my interview locations.
When I didn't think things
were gonna work out, he really
stood by me and kept me
going," said Vazquez.
President Obama remains
optimistic about the troops
finding employment, surmis
ing that troops will bring the
much needed stimulation to
the economy, according to
kwtx.com. Senator John
Barrasso recently discovered
that the 1,700 mile Keystone XL
oil pipeline is a great opportu
nity for providing jobs. Expec
tations are for the project to
create up to 20,000 jobs for re
turning veterans. Obama ar
gued that he would like to wait
to make the decision until after
the election of 2012, but
Barrasso believes that the pipe
line will not only improve the
economy, but also help make
the United States less depen
dent upon Middle Eastern oil.
High school journalists refuse to publish
photo of student they consider inappropriate
BYAKIRAHJUSTICE
Editor-in-Chief
Not often can publications pride
themselves on such high integrity, espe
cially when the editors running the
show are teenagers. Editors of Durango
Fligh's yearbook have taken a great stand
to prioritize their reputation as a busi
ness over their reputations among peers
who may now deem them prudes for
censoring a seemingly harmless photo.
Durango Fligh School's yearbook staff
refused to allow Sydney Spies' senior por
trait to appear in its publication.
"This photo represents who I am. I
want to be a model. I'm a dancer, and I
feel like the administration isn't allow
ing me to show that," said Spies on
NBC's "Today Show."
When she lashed out due to her an
ger at the yearbook adviser and school
faculty, thinking they were responsible
for claiming the picture was too pro
vocative, students of the yearbook staff
came forward and announced that they
personally found her photo too "racy,"
Editors have since proposed to
Spies that they could use her photo
if, and only if, she used it as a $300
ad in the back of the book instead
of using it as her senior portrait.
"If it's going to be in the year
book anyway, then why should I not
be able to have it as my senior pic
ture? I feel like they aren't allowing
me to have my freedom of expres
sion," said Spies to the Durango Her
ald. "I think the administration is
wrong in this situation, and I
don't want this to happen to
other people."
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Senior Sydney Spies complains that her censorship represses her
individuality. Student journalists claimed they must maintain
professionalism in the business they run. Internet photo.
It is completely understandable
why this situation is frustrating
to Spies; senior portraits are
supposed to illustrate one's
personality and interests.
Her main interest is modeling, so
it should not come as a surprise
that the style she chose was a
little too overwhelming and
adult-like for a high school
publication. The yearbook
staff should be commended for
recognizing that as a business,
especially one owned by a school,
they are expected to uphold
certain standards and cannot allow
inappropriate content.
"We are an award-winning
yearbook. We don't want to
diminish the quality with some
thing that can be seen as
unprofessional," said editor
Brian Jamirillo.
"Inappropriate" holds different
meanings to different people.
Regardless, if published in
Durango High's yearbook
published Spies' picture, surely
someone would have been
offended, and the school would
have received a storm of backlash.
"What you're looking at is not a
flier for a taxi dance club/
potato bar located on the
outskirts of Reno. This is the
picture 18-year-old Sydney
Spies (no comment on that
name) tried to submit as her
official senior portrait,"
said blogger Michael K
bn www.ibtimes.com.
People may be concerned that by
offering to use the photo as an ad
is unethical because they are
essentially disregarding profession
alism so long as they get a big fat
check as compensation, but is it
really? Businesses often add a little
leeway for ad space; they are not
necessarily promoting the image or
object; they are really just keeping
their businesses afloat.