December 2020
FROM THE EDITORS
Happy Holidays! With winter break comes anticipations of late nights filled with Netflix and relaxing days sipping hot chocolate while covered in fuzzy blankets, but with the added weeks of break you can stay active over break and keep these traditions. If you want to get some fresh air, you can try hiking in the Loess Hills or sledding if it snows. If you are looking for a cozy indoor activity instead, try baking cookies that will be perfect when reading Marilynne Robinson’s new novel Jack.
As our first semester rolls to an end, we are excited to wrap up the year with an action-packed publication filled with your favorite holiday recipes and articles regarding our local community. This month’s feature story discusses Nebraska’s unique government as the 2020 presidential elections come to an end. Our Activities page covers the new virtual competitions and events that have been going on within Competition Math and Music, while our Community page asks members of the BT community their favorite ways to fill time during the holiday break. Finally, our Culture section touches on Christmas movie classics and analyzes the amazing CRISPR-Cas9.
By Aishani Srikumar and Crystal Huang
FEATURE
"Free, Honest, and Fair": Nebraska's Unique Role in the Electoral Process
By Claire Cenovic, Kidman Ip, and Berlyn Thompson
Prof. Randall Adkins, Senior Associate Dean of the Social Sciences and Graduate Education at UNO, has a clear message for high school students learning about the ins and outs of American government and elections: "Our elections are free, honest, and fair. They may not be 100 percent right, but they’re 99.9 percent right. They are conducted by state and local government officials on a bipartisan basis and the folks that run the elections are top-notch public servants and volunteers that take great pride in their impartiality." This message is especially pertinent in an election year like no other, and it's fitting that the state of Nebraska has a distinctive electoral process unlike any other state.
Two of the most unique aspects of Nebraska government include its Unicameral Legislature and its splitting of Electoral College votes. Unlike any other state in the country, Nebraska uses a Unicameral legislative system, not a Bicameral. This Unicameral system consists of only one house instead of the usual two. In addition to being the only Unicameral in the United States, Nebraska also has the smallest legislative branch in the country with 49 senators. Although Nebraska is Unicameral today, this was not always the case. Until 1935, Nebraska was a bicameral legislature like many other states. However, the Unicameral system was first introduced and promoted by George Norris, A United States Senator from 1913 to 1943. According to the official Nebraska Unicameral Legislature website, Norris believed that a unicameral legislature would be more affordable to the taxpayers of Nebraska and that there was not point in having the same thing done twice.
“The constitutions of our various states are built upon the idea that there is but one class. If this be true, there is no sense or reason in having the same thing done twice, especially if it is to be done by two bodies of men elected in the same way and having the same jurisdiction," Norris said
Mark Smith, the History and Religions Teacher at Brownell-Talbot School, shared his insights regarding the number of seats each state should hold in the House of Representative. Since the number of members each state has in the House differs depending on the state’s population, some states have substantially more representatives than others. For example, California has 52 representatives with a population of 39.5 million, while Nebraska’s 1.9 million residents are represented by 3 representatives. Although it is a given that California would receive more representation in the House of Representatives because the state has a larger population than Nebraska, the ratio of House of Representative members to residents in Nebraska and California are not equivalent. While the House representative-resident ratio in Nebraska is 3:1,900,000, the Californian ratio is 52:39,500,000. Nebraska House members represent roughly 633,333 people while Californian members represent about 759,615 people-a noticeably larger number. In Mr. Smith's eyes, California should be given more members in the House to create even representation for larger states.
The 2020 election between Joe Biden and Donald Trump emphasized many of Nebraska’s unique qualities that separates itself from other states. Brownell-Talbot Journalism students reached out to Megan Hunt, Omaha Nebraska's 8th District Legislator, to hear a government leaders’ opinions and experiences as an elected official:
Did You Know?
Brownell Talbot plays its own role in Nebraska's electoral process.
Mr. Rotert, Brownell Talbot's Director of Facilities and Campus Safety, tells us that BT has been asked to serve as a polling site for local, state, and national elections at least going back to 1997, and probably longer. The school did not host election workers this year because of coronavirus restrictions, but according to Mr. Rotert, "BT intends to be open for polling business as usual starting in 2021 for any city, county, or state elections as needed."
An interview with Megan Hunt, Senator, District 8
Ms. Hunt is a member of the Nebraska Legislature. She represents Nebraska's 8th Congressional District which includes the neighborhoods of Benson, Dundee, and Midtown.
What motivated you to join the legislature?
The opportunity for public service through elective office opened for me in 2015, when my local public school district was considering a new comprehensive sex education curriculum to educate students about sexual health, consent, and healthy relationships. Omaha’s sex ed curriculum hadn’t changed since 1971, which is horrible, but our efforts to bring about change were met with heavy and sometimes violent opposition. I became deeply involved in this effort because I want kids to receive education informed by the best possible science and research, which they weren’t getting at that time. I became involved because I am an assault survivor, and I believe that if my peers and I had received this education, we would have grown up in a safer world. I also became involved because I am a mother, and I want our children to grow up supported in their own identities, and be able to thrive without shame or judgment as they navigate relationships. My county also had some of the highest rates of STDs and STIs in the nation, and I knew that an updated sex ed curriculum was a simple and inexpensive way to change those deplorable and dangerous statistics.
Long story short, our efforts worked. Our school district updated the curriculum. Our STD/STI rates are declining. And the opposition to the program has pretty much disappeared. When we had this win with the sex education update, I started to see my potential differently.
What do you believe are the advantages and disadvantages of the unicameral system?
What many people may not realize is that the Unicameral has no party leadership, no majority or minority leaders, no whips, and no caucuses. There is nobody telling us how to vote. It’s incumbent upon every bill introducer to gather support for the legislation they are trying to move forward. Those who do know that we are the only nonpartisan unicameral in the country may not realize that we are also the smallest legislature in the country. When you’re in a body of only 49 people, it’s practical and possible to build these relationships, to give those personal asks, to convince each other about the merits of policy, and to not expect votes along party lines. We have to get along and we can’t move anything across the finish line without bipartisan (and sometimes multi-partisan, depending…) support. Although registered Republicans are in the majority, they do not have the numbers to pass anything without registered Democrats coming along. That's the magic of this institution and system that you do not see in Washington - and it's what every Nebraska ought to be invested in protecting in a much bigger institution, if we were one of those legislatures that had 200 people, if we had party leadership and caucuses, then pure partisanship would work. But we have to get along here. And I value that.
Do you support legislation to keep our unique electoral process or change to what every other state does?
I certainly support keeping it.
What would be lost if Nebraska switched to a winner-take-all system?
When the conditions are right, Nebraska becomes a state that candidates have to pay attention to. And that gives a lot of hope and motivation to people in Nebraska who want to operate on the side of justice and independence, and not just give away our electoral power along party lines. And that’s what the heart of democracy is really about.
Why is the second congressional district different from other parts of Nebraska?
Our urban community of Omaha has the highest population density in Nebraska, and also attracts so much diversity.
What is one thing you would want every High Schooler in Nebraska to know about Nebraskan politics?
One of my favorite things about Nebraska is our nonpartisan unicameral because it offers our representatives a solid foundation and framework for collaboration, cooperation, and compromise. In the thirteen years that I’ve lived here and been a business owner here, I have worked with people all across the political spectrum and I’m proud of my reputation as someone who can work with anyone to find the best solution for the most people, regardless of political affiliation. That’s only possible, in this way, in this place.