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People Feature: U.S. Presidential Candidates 2024

By Siena Goldman

As some of you may know, the Republican presidential debate occurred recently. This means that our presidential election will start within the following year. It is essential to know candidates who could be the next leader of our country so that we have the best president we can get. This feature article will tell you all about our upcoming presidential candidates in America.

Our first candidate is our current president, Joe Biden. He is the only candidate for the Democratic party right now. He is currently the 46th president of the United States. Before becoming president, he was a part of the United States Senate, serving as a Senator of Delaware for 36 years. He is qualified and can run again, as he has only served one term.

Our next candidate is Nikki Haley, former Senator of South Carolina. She also served as Governor of South Carolina, and Haley was the first woman for that position. She was also the second Indian American to be Governor in the United States. Not only did she serve those two prestigious jobs, but she also served as United States Ambassador to the United Nations from 2017 to 2018. She is qualified to be president, and if she won, Nikki Haley would be the first woman president in the history of the United States.

Another candidate for president is Asa Hutchinson, the 46th governor of Arkansas. He served as Governor from 2015 to 2023. In 2018, he made Arkansas history by having received more votes than any other governor in the past. Former President Ronald Reagan made Hutchinson U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas. He is a candidate for the Republican party with a solid political background.

Also in the running, we have businessman, Vivek Ramaswamy of the Republican party. After graduating from Harvard University with a degree in biology and later attending Yale Law School, he succeeded as a businessman for many years. He founded a successful company called Roivant Sciences, which is a company that finds medicine and technology to help the general public.

Another possible candidate is Ron DeSantis, the current Governor of Florida. Before becoming the governor, he served in the U.S. Navy as a JAG officer. While in the military, he was deployed to Iraq to support the SEAL mission. He earned various awards in the army, and he could fight for our country the way he fought for America then.

Next up running for president is former Governor of New Jersey, Chris Christie. He has run for president but was disappointed in 2016 when he lost. As governor of New Jersey, he capped property tax growth, cut spending, and was very involved in the recovery efforts of Hurricane Sandy.

Another candidate for president is former Vice President Mike Pence. He was the 48th Vice President of the United States to Former President Donald Trump. Pence served as Governor of Indiana for a long time and made significant changes to the state. He graduated from Hanover College, earning his bachelor's degree in 1981. Afterward, he attended Indiana University School of Law.

Doug Bergum is another option for president. Currently, he is in his second term as Governor of North Dakota. Before becoming an active politician, he was a software entrepreneur who sold his company to Microsoft in a 1 billion dollar deal. This makes him one of the wealthiest people running for president. This could give him a better chance to use this money to enhance his campaign funds, meaning more people will know about the things he promises. Burgum founded the Kilbourne Group, which specializes in real estate and properties. He has an educational background, attending North Dakota University for an undergraduate degree and Stanford Graduate School of Business.

There is yet another candidate running for president, and that is Republican senator Tim Scott. He served as Senator of South Carolina for many years before running for president. Scott broke a barrier when he was elected, becoming the first African American elected from the Southern United States since Reconstruction.

Lastly, we have former president Donald Trump. Before being indicted for his crimes in Georgia, he was the 45th president of the United States. Before serving as president, he graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in economics and took over his father's real estate business, which he became president of. He renamed it "Trump Organization" and expanded it into hotels, buildings, and more. He was also the co-producer of The Apprentice, a reality television show he hosted. In 2016, a year after leaving the show, he ran for president and won. Because of his experience as a previous president, he would not be a bad choice. But he is a charged criminal, and that might put a pause on his campaign. We have yet to find out!

These presidential candidates all have an educational background, most have experience in politics, and they all share one thing: a passion for the United States of America. So when the time comes, go ahead and vote (If you are old enough)!

Australia: What You Know and What You Might Not Know About this Vast Country

By Beaudy Sipser

This is a picture of Bondi Beach, Sydney, Australia's most famous beach where I grew up. The weather here has mild winters and boiling summers. It attracts people from all over the world because of its crystal clear water and beautiful coastlines.

Australia is a land of wonder and mystery to some and others, home. It was first discovered by Captain Willem Janszoon in 1606 when he saw the coastline but mapped out 300 Kilometers of coastline before going back to Europe to tell the Dutch government that there was land, which started the race to colonize Australia. The British ended up colonizing Australia, though, because Britain was desperate to send their convicts somewhere else after they had lost the war with America. Captain Arthur Phillip was the first to land and set up a penal colony in Botany Bay, which started the British colonizing Australia.

Quite the contrary, Australia is not just kangaroos and koalas. It also boasts various sports, such as the Australian Football League (A.F.L), rugby, and cricket. All these sports are celebrated nationwide, but some cities prefer a different sport than others. Most people in Sydney like rugby the most, and Melbourne is notorious for being where most A.F.L. teams and games are held. Australia is a vast country, differing in landscapes and sometimes even cultures. The pictures below are hidden gems that are a must-visit if you want a vacation.

Overall, Australia is a beautiful country with many destinations. These are only a few of the variety of places that you can visit in Australia and everything it has to offer, and hopefully, this has helped you to find your dream vacation in the "Land Down Under."

Byron Bay, New South Wales. One of my favorite places on my road trips across the East Coast of Australia is Byron Bay. It holds many natural waterfalls, gorgeous hikes with breathtaking views, Cape Byron, a lighthouse that is the most eastern point in Australia, and fantastic surfing opportunities. It is an hour long drive to the Gold Coast, or twenty minutes to the local airport in Ballina, the next town to the south, with many flight options across the country.

Bondi Beach, Sydney. Bondi Beach is my hometown and is a place you must visit if you ever go to Australia. It may be home to 11,656 residents and even more tourists, but it feels like a small town with its charming cafes, crystal clear water, and white sanded beach. Located in Australia's largest city, it is a 30-minute train ride into the city center or 45 minutes to Sydney's Kingsford Smith International Airport, which has many global destinations; it is centrally located in terms of getting to places within the city or the world.

Mermaid Beach, Gold Coast. Mermaid Beach is where I often visited and where my grandma lives. It shows off luxury beachfront resorts and humid, tropical heat year round. It is a 45-minute drive to the Gold Coast Airport, which hold many connections to flights throughout the country and other destinations in Asia.

Pi, Your Personal AI, Will Change Everyday Life

By Teja Wolfe

Everybody knows Chat GPT and Pandorabots, but a new conversational AI, Pi, is rising to power as a personal AI. Pi is a new AI created to be nonjudgmental, listen to problems, help solve them, and teach fun and exciting topics in a simple, easy-to-understand way. What is original about Pi is that it feels like talking to an actual human.

Pi is an excellent advice giver. When talking to Pi about any situation, it will give the necessary advice that is needed to make a good decision. According to Inflection (the people who created Pi), it is supposed to be kind, friendly, and good at giving advice. Sometimes, while providing this advice, it can teach you something new. This is true; anyone can see that after testing around with Pi.

Pi can talk like any average person, and it can be like texting a friend. Pi can type correctly with good grammar or use modern-day slang and emojis. It chooses what to use depending on how the person using it types. When no one can tell they are talking to an AI, the AI has passed the Turing Test. According to Big Think, even though no AI has passed the Turing Test, some are coming close. Pi will be a convincing AI to talk to when it evolves and updates.

Also, Pi can help brainstorm ideas of any sort. If you want ideas to make a new invention or create the best jokes, Pi can brainstorm anything. Mrmichaelrm says, " I have been using Pi to generate ideas on specific topics I am drawn to, to educate myself on new topics, and even as a place for any range of emotions/reactions. I found most unexpected from Pi was the calming presence it embodies while we converse". It is like a muse waiting to be used.

In conclusion, Pi will be a part of people's daily lives, whether with its good advice or help brainstorm ideas. Pi will evolve so much in the future, becoming an even better AI than it already is.

Grade Anxiety: An Issue Plaguing the Country

By Samuel Zuboff

According to Evolve Treatment, 31.9% of students between thirteen and eighteen years old worldwide have anxiety. There are around 2.5 million schools in the US that offer Advanced Placement or Honors classes. Believe it or not, there is an overlap between both anxiety and honors classes.

There is usually an 85% or higher threshold to remain in an honors class. When a child attends an honors class, it encourages them to work even harder to remain in the honors class. Many kids do not know that grades do not reflect who they are. Earning a C does not make a child a bad person. A common factor of a student's struggle is needing help understanding the material. This issue can be resolved by asking the teacher for help. It can flesh out the topic for someone, but some kids do not do this because they worry their questions will be dumb. Struggling in a subject in an honors class can often lead to students overworking themselves to earn better grades.

There needs to be more than earning good grades and being in honors for some kids. When someone gets into honors, they are told they are above standard. This leads to competition between kids. Because they want to be the smartest in the room, but that is another harmful way of thinking. If someone has an 85% in a class and other kids have an A. Some children are going to compare themselves to other kids. Instead of being content with their excellent grades, they only think about how they are doing wrong. Kids need to realize that people learn the material at different speeds and can even understand certain subjects better than others.

A significant factor in grade anxiety is the parents of a kid. Students are given high expectations when they are inducted into Honors classes. Being in honors is a significant achievement. Many families pressured their kids to do well in school so they could stay in Honors. This pressure on a kid to perform well is detrimental to a child's mental health. If a parent focuses on what a child is struggling with and makes them feel wrong about that, it reflects on the kid. Parents might see it as wanting the best for their kids because being in Honors and having good grades could present more job opportunities. A child's success, however, could lie in just helping them instead of making them feel bad about themselves.

In conclusion, being in honors is a gift. Only some get that opportunity. It is for the people who have exceeded the standards. No one is superior to someone else because they are in Honors. It also does not demote one's worth if they struggle. Someone can do better in school if they keep an open mind to improvement instead of feeling bad about themselves. A student can learn more effectively if they are not being plagued by stress or anxiety.

Colonel Sanders From Beyond the Grave - The Hanshin Tigers' Curse

By Philip Lee

The Curse of the Colonel is an attractive Japanese urban legend that spawned from the Tiger's win in 1985. Colonel Sanders is known as the founder of the worldwide chain KFC, but some believe he had a temper that affected the Hanshin Tigers from beyond death's door. Since 1985, the Tigers' last Championship Series victory, they have not won a single time. However, why is that?

After the Tigers' victory after twenty-one years, their fans celebrated by throwing doppelgängers into the river. Since no one in the crowd looked like the American Randy Bass, they stole a nearby Colonel statue and threw it in the river.

Then, the Tigers returned to their losing streak. They made it to the Championship Series 3 times, following 2003, 2005, and 2014. They were losing every time. Why did this happen if the colonel was found in 2009? Shouldn't that lift the curse? Sadly, the fans said, "Nay ."The statue is still, to this day, missing his left arm and glasses. The fans say that until the colonel is made whole again, the curse will not be lifted.

It is easy to argue that the curse is ridiculous, and to an extent, it is. It is in baseball fans and members' nature to be superstitious. Dick Harmon, a sports columnist, says, "Athletes by their nature tend to be superstitious, especially when it comes to preparing for events. I have seen players wear the same socks underneath their actual game socks, listen to the same song or music, eat the same food, and hit the bathroom at the same time before going out on the court or field ... I do not think this is hatched out of fear, but of comfort; not of jinxing themselves but setting their minds straight."

The Curse of the Colonel, as well as other sports superstitions, is an interesting case study into the psyche of humans. So unwilling to blame themselves, they make up insane ghost stories. The lesson? Learn from the Tigers and learn from their fans. Never give up and take accountability.

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