Issue I
Veracium / February 3rd, 2021
Greetings and hello! Welcome to Veracium, a newsletter published by BLS V.O.T.E. It is currently published bi-weekly on our website, and details some current events, be it local, national, or global. I hope you enjoy our writing, and we would like to thank Ms. Arnold, our faculty advisor, for helping us start this new club, along with our teachers, who have helped us gain the skills to be able to create this publication. In addition, many thanks to Ms. Pierce and Ms. Skerritt for supporting us, and helping to promote this newsletter
-Megan Li, Co-President (III)
Articles
Vaccinations and Covid Variants
By Megan Li (III)
The online registration system for booking COVID-19 has proved difficult to access, leading to the establishment of a call center which will assist qualified residents. In doing this, the difficulties and frustrations many people faced on Wednesday of last week will hopefully be resolved. The system used was particularly inefficient as the state directs users of its site to other vaccine providers on a map, leaving the bulk of the search up to residents. In addition, the site’s shortcomings may also exacerbate the ease with which non-native speakers and people without access to the internet are able to use the software, and by extension, receive vaccines.
The establishment of the call center will hopefully also improve the ease with which seniors are able to access the internet, as any changes to the system devised by the state will most likely be a lengthy process. The state also seems to be facing issues in distributing the vaccines it has, as only 48% of the 1.02 million doses it received have been administered as of January 28th.
There are also now five cases of the strain of COVID-19 which emerged in Britain recently, detected in Massachusetts. Out of all other New England states, Connecticut is the only other state which has discovered the variant so far. This strain of the virus was predicted to peak sometime “in the next six to 14 weeks” by Michael Osterholm, Director of the University of Minnesota’s Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy.
The new variants of COVID-19 have higher transmission rates, but prevention techniques should remain roughly the same. If possible, wearing multiple layers of masks, generally two or three, is recommended, but continuing to social distance still applies and will help. We recommend looking at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s guidelines for more information.
Sources:
“Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html. Accessed 30 Jan. 2021.
Finucane, Martin. “There Are Now 5 Cases of COVID Variants in Massachusetts - The Boston Globe.” BostonGlobe.com, The Boston Globe, 1 Feb. 2021, www.bostonglobe.com/2021/02/01/nation/concerns-rise-over-coronavirus-variants-mass-case-total-rises-5/. Accessed 30 Jan. 2021.
Parker-pope, Tara. “What You Can Do to Avoid the New Coronavirus Variant Right Now.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 19 Jan. 2021, www.nytimes.com/2021/01/19/well/live/covid-b117-variant-advice.html. Accessed 30 Jan. 2021.
Rosen, Andy, and Hiawatha Bray. “Mass. Will Offer More Help for People Struggling to Get Vaccination Appointments - The Boston Globe.” BostonGlobe.com, The Boston Globe, 29 Jan. 2021, www.bostonglobe.com/2021/01/29/business/mass-will-set-up-hot-line-help-people-struggling-get-vaccination-appointments/?p1=Article_Inline_Text_Link. Accessed 30 Jan. 2021.
Yet Another Inauguration - But This One, So Much More than That
By Joshua Rand (IV)
Ever since George Washington took the first oath of office and gave the first inaugural address in the United States of America on April 30, 1789, every President has been successfully inaugurated and bestowed with the powers of the office of the Presidency. Despite some of the most tumultuous times since the World Wars being upon us now, and our republic being shaken to its very core, our democracy persevered, leading to the inauguration of the 46th President and Vice President of the United States.
On Wednesday, January 20, 2021, Vice President Kamala Harris and President Joe Biden took the oath of office on the West Front steps of the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. (11:42 AM and 11:48 AM respectively). The crowd was much more sparse than usual, with a large national guard presence and social distancing. It went off mostly without a hitch, despite the protection of thousands of military personnel guarding the Capital and ensuring its safety.
Fast Facts:
Harris used two Bibles and was sworn in by Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, becoming the first female, first black, and first South Asian Vice President.
Biden’s oath was completed with a treasured 19th-century family Bible, and he was sworn in by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts.
Several celebrity performances graced the Capitol for the inauguration, including a rendition of the National Anthem by Lady Gaga, a mix of classic American music including selections from “This Land is your Land,” and “America the Beautiful,” and finally Garth Brooks who performed “Amazing Grace”, where he called for Americans around the country to sing it with him.
However, the star of these was Amanda Gorman, the nation’s first-ever youth poet laureate, and youngest ever inaugural poet at 22, who performed a poem called “The Hill We Climb” with personal and cultural (including Hamilton) references. Many people have been dissecting the poem and praising her inspiring performance.
Directly after the ceremony, President Biden signed his first Presidential documents, including an Inaugural Day Proclamation, and some nominations to Cabinet and sub-Cabinet positions.
Other post-inauguration events included the reception of congressional gifts by the newly inaugurated President and Vice-President, a wreath-laying at Arlington ceremony with three former Presidents, the Inaugural Parade, and their entrance into the White House.
Biden has expressed a lot of hope for our democracy and America as a whole as he begins his presidency. “We’ve learned again that democracy is precious. Democracy is fragile. And at this hour, my friends, democracy has prevailed,” he said in his inaugural address.
As the country begins a new year, with a new president, the country, at least, is looking hopeful.
Sources:
Anthony, Ted. "For a splintered nation, a delicate moment of continuity." AP News, Associated Press, 10 Jan. 2021, apnews.com/article/us-news-michael-pence-coronavirus-pandemic-united-states-fd23e8bf43a035689e6a3d3f3bd06e58. Accessed 1 Feb. 2021.
Cole, Devan, and Paul LeBlanc. "An inauguration like no other: Notable moments of a momentous day." CNN, Cable News Network, 21 Jan. 2021, www.cnn.com/2021/01/20/politics/biden-inauguration-notable-moments/index.html. Accessed 1 Feb. 2021.
Coleman, David. "Presidential Inauguration Dates, Washington to Biden." RESEARCH History in Pieces, historyinpieces.com/research/presidential-inauguration-dates. Accessed 1 Feb. 2021.
"Inauguration at the U.S. Capitol." Architect of the Capitol, US Government, www.aoc.gov/what-we-do/programs-ceremonies/inauguration. Accessed 1 Feb. 2021.
President Biden's Inaugural Address
By Peter Guo (V)
The 20th was a very important day in US history. On that day, the 46th President of the United States, Joseph Robinette Biden Jr., took over, ending the 4 year reign of Donald J. Trump, and the struggles which came with it . During Biden's campaign, he promised great things for the USA if he became president, and now that he's officially the 46th President of the US, I hope and believe that he will keep his word. Biden implemented new COVID-19 regulations, to end the virus and speed up recovery. He also undid soe of Trump's actions, which included unbanning transgender people from the military, revoking the KXL pipeline permit, rejoining the W.H.O, and reopening the immigration system, which allows nearly 11 million undocumented immigrants a road to citizenship. This is a new America, a brighter one.
President Biden and Vice President Harris both have promised great things for America, but this can not be done alone. I want to bring up a quote from Biden himself, stating “but the American story depends not on any one of us, not on some of us, but on all of us”. This means that all of us must unite together, to reform this nation from the collapse that Trump has brought upon us. Speaking of Trump, There was no quote from him, nor voice, as he decided not to attend the inauguration.
Sources:
"2021 Inauguration of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris | WSJ." YouTube, uploaded by Wall Street Journal, 20 Jan. 2021, www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrdDUCCk8_Q. Accessed 2 Feb. 2021.
Trump’s Social Media Terminations
By Albert Chen (IV)
Over the last few weeks, you may have noticed that there has been no new news or scandals emerging from the Facebook and Twitter accounts of former President Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump). Well, don’t be surprised, as on Friday, January 8th, Twitter released a message on its website announcing the “permanent suspension” of Trump’s account, citing he violated one of Twitter’s Terms of Service by using the platform to “incite/glorify violence” due to his tweets earlier that week which were most likely partially responsible for causing the Capitol Riot, which resulted in the deaths of five people, and subsequently causing Trump’s second impeachment.
The former President’s final tweet was a statement where he claimed that he would not be attending the inauguration of President Joseph Biden, an action perceived as further denial of the official results of the 2020 presidential election (a victory for Joe Biden), a result that has not only been confirmed by the Associated Press, but also Congress after the day of the storming of the Capitol. That, along with some of his previous tweets condoning the behavior of the violent protesters in Washington, and potential violence at the Biden's inauguration was a clear sign of Trump’s attempts to incite violence.
Following the insurrection at the Capitol, Facebook released a message on its board stating that it will also indefinitely suspend Trump’s account and open an investigation, potentially leading to a ban, that not even Mark Zuckerberg, the founder and CEO of Facebook, can overturn. The current head of Facebook’s Board (essentially its Congress/Cabinet) Jamal Greene, has stated that he supports the banning of Trump. Zuckerberg himself has even stated that the "risks" of continuing to allow Trump access to the company's platforms were "simply too great." Facebook is yet to decide Trump’s fate on their platform, but the result seems rather clear that he won’t be getting on anytime soon.
And as a final note, to answer a question asked by one of our members, whether we will ever see the former President on social media again, I would say probably not, at least on his own account. Due to the fact that Trump has become an international figure, any bypass of these bans is virtually impossible. Yet I doubt that this is the last time we will see him, as the result of his impeachment trial is still undecided.
Sources:
Twitter. “Permanent Suspension of @RealDonaldTrump.” Twitter, Twitter, 8 Jan. 2021, blog.twitter.com/en_us/topics/company/2020/suspension.html.
Slotkin, Jason. “Facebook Oversight Board Co-Chair On Determining The Future Of Trump's Accounts.” NPR, NPR, 24 Jan. 2021, www.npr.org/sections/insurrection-at-the-capitol/2021/01/23/959987896/oversight-board-co-chair-on-how-it-determines-trumps-fate-on-facebook.
Images from above sources: in order of appearance, Licensed Through Creative Commons
Unsplash Images, Photo by Daniel Schludi on Unsplash;
Unsplash Images, Photo by Maria Thalassinou on Unsplash;
NikkeiAsi (https://tinyurl.com/amandagormanimage);
AP (https://tinyurl.com/voteissue1sourceimage1);
Yahoo Finance (https://tinyurl.com/voteissue1sourceimage2);
Pixabay, Image by Gordon Johnson from Pixabay
Upcoming Online Events
BLS V.O.T.E would like to recommend the following online events for students who would like to learn more about politics in the U.S.
Robert Reich: The System, Who Rigged It, How We Fix It (Read More + Registration )
Thursday, February 11th 7:00-8:30 PM EST
Healing the Political Divide: A Path Forward Virtual Event (Read More + Registration)
Thursday, February 11th 8:00 PM EST