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OPINIONS
Appleton, Wisconsin June 2016 Volume XXI
Issue III
Page 3
Noctiluca
Editorial
The differences between the Trump and Sanders rallies
All students need to step up as seniors say farewell
As the end of the school year
nears, Appleton North tends
to become a very sentimental
place. Graduating seniors be-
gin to count down their lasts.
Last early Monday morning,
last final exam, and finally last
moment as a student of North.
The school becomes a place
of reminiscence, more a se-
ries of memories than a physi-
cal building to those who will
soon leave it behind. However,
for those who will return in the
fall, Appleton North has never
been more real.
As the seniors graduate and
move on towards bigger and
better things, it is our jobs as
future school leaders and up-
perclassmen to fill the gap
created by their departure,
continuing the long-standing
tradition of excellence within
our school’s walls.
Throughout their four years
at North, graduating seniors
have demonstrated growing
leadership responsibility and
ability. As they rose through
their classes, they showed us
what it really meant to have
school pride and to lead by ex-
ample. Now, on the eve of their
graduation, it is time for us to
pay forward the commitment
they made to our community.
By following their example,
we can strive to maintain their
standards and to build upon
the foundation they’ve laid
through their hard work and
dedication.
As the new leaders of the
school, the rising seniors have
tremendous shoes to fill. We
have a responsibility, to both
our classmates and ourselves,
to step up in our final year of
high school.
By demonstrating the same
amount of determination and
drive as our predecessors, we
can work to keep Appleton
North the tight-knit commu-
nity it is today, while building
our own character and sense of
leadership.
This is our time to lead, and
we shouldn’t let it pass us by.
By making the most of our se-
nior year, we can continue to
grow our school as a whole and
ourselves as students.
We have been given the
chance to step up and shape our
world into an image we can all
appreciate. Out of respect to
those graduating and out of
respect for ourselves, we have
an obligation to only improve
upon Appleton North High
School in the coming year.
Having attended both the
Bernie Sanders rally at the
PAC and the Donald Trump
rally at the Radisson, there’s
a major difference between
the way that the candidates
handled their campaigns.
At the Sanders rally, there
was an incredible line going
around the PAC and down
the streets nearby. Despite it
being freezing outside, people
were walking up and down
near the lines selling T-shirts,
buttons, and other accessories.
Everyone was in a good mood
and the atmosphere seemed
really welcoming, even though
everyone had to wait outside
for hours beforehand. At the
Trump rally, people were able
to wait inside the Radisson,
which was really nice for my
freezing hands.
However, the lines outside
of the Radisson were in-
timidating and almost fearful.
Protesters waited on both
sides of the Radisson; some
shouted anti-Trump phrases
and discouraged supporters
from entering the building, but
the real fear came from the
supporters, who shouted racial
and homophobic slurs and
tried to individually gang up
on protesters while I drove by
watching. Most of the support-
ers were very harmless and
sat patiently in line waiting to
enter the Radisson, but the few
that were loud and aggressive
made the scene very intimidat-
ing.
Inside the PAC, people had
to be scanned by the TSA
for weapons and had their
bags checked and then were
escorted to their seats. While
we waited for everyone to find
seats, pop music started play-
ing from the speakers. People
in line were chosen to sit on
stage and represent Sanders’
voters and they began to get
the crowd pumped; at one
point, the entire PAC had done
the wave eight consecutive
times, and everyone was in
high spirits.
At the Radisson, although
there wasn’t any waves, the
crowd seemed just as excited.
People who were chosen to sit
on stage were mainly veterans,
but the selection process was
basically the same as with Ber-
nie’s. To enter the Trump rally,
I had to undergo extensive
screening, which was incred-
ibly intimidating.
Members of the Secret Ser-
vice had followed me through
all of the screening gates and
into each separate room in
the Radisson (even when I
was in line). After agreeing
to not “slander” Trump, I was
allowed inside the conference
room, and they gave me a
seat with all of the other press
reporters in the back of the
room.
The Sanders rally began
with a speaker, a woman who
was part of Bernie’s manage-
ment team. After she spoke
for about three minutes, they
brought Bernie up onto the
stage. Sanders spoke about his
policies and what he plans to
do with the country once he
wins the presidency. On oc-
casion, he would slam Hillary
Clinton or Trump for their big-
business policies, but not to a
point where you questioned
his credibility or integrity. This
is really where Trump’s rally
began to differ from Bernie’s.
The Trump rally officially
began with a prayer and the
Pledge of Allegiance. Although
some crowd members were
happy to oblige, others seemed
confused. I personally have
never seen a prayer done at
a rally, and it seemed very
excluding towards those who
weren’t Christian, especially
with the Pledge of Allegiance
recited immediately following
it.
Interestingly enough, the
person who lead the pledge
incorrectly spoke, forgetting
part of the words. After singing
the National Anthem, a person
from “The Apprentice” spoke
on his behalf, and then Trump
came out and spoke. He began
by telling supporters what to
do if they see a protester; they
would be encouraged to sur-
round the individual and shout
“Trump” over and over until
the police arrived to that spot.
That was easily one of the least
encouraging (and one of the
most terrifying) things Trump
had said that day, that he en-
couraged mobbing someone.
Both rallies included
plans for the future; Sanders
promoted free (or reduced)
college tuition, the legalization
of marijuana, and the reduction
of taxes for the working class
whereas Trump emphasized
building foreign relations,
combatting terrorism, and
building jobs by decreasing
illegal immigration.
However, while both made
strong arguments as to why
their campaign would mean
the best for our country, it was
Trump’s constant mockery of
other candidates and even fu-
ture voters that made his elec-
tion campaign seem discourag-
ing and the country seem more
divided than ever before.
At one point, Trump had re-
cited a poem that was derived
fromAl Wilson’s song The
Snake.
The song was about an old
woman who had saved a snake
and brought it back to health,
only to have the poisonous
snake bite the woman in the
end; that relationship was
compared to the United States’
(the old woman) relations with
Syrian (and other) refugees,
comparing refugees to poison-
ous snakes.
It was at that point that I had
completely lost my interest
in the rally; to see so many
people hooting and cheering
at the comparison of people
to poisonous creatures was
appalling. Though the Bernie
rally had its moments, when
his ideas became too complex
and grandiose to be plausible,
he didn’t have to rely on
insults and mockeries to gain
votes.
Although both rallies defi-
nitely had important issues to
discuss and genuinely seemed
to want what is best for the
country and its citizens, only
one of them seemed elitist and
discriminatory, and it certainly
wasn’t the rally for the elderly
Jewish man.
By Rachel Flom
Presidential candidate Donald Trump at his Appleton
Rally in March.
Photo by Rachel Flom
The soon-to-be senior section cheering on their school at a pep rally.
Photo by
Alex Neumann