![]() By Carolina Aceves and Geovanna Estrada Staff Writers “Hey hey. Ho ho. Rahm Emanuel has got to go” was one of the more notable phrases that teachers chanted during their week long strike. On Monday, September 10th, approximately 26,000 Chicago Public School teachers picketed outside their schools as a result of failed contract negotiations between the Chicago Teacher’s Union and Chicago Public Schools. “Enough is enough,” said Karen Lewis, president if the CTU, and for the first time in 25 years, 350,000 students were out of school. All around the city, teachers, staff members, school nurses, and even parents and students were picketing outside their schools and downtown at the Board of Education’s headquarters. All dressed in red and carrying picket signs, they chanted and demanded that their voice be heard about the remaining issues at the negotiation table. The issues were: classroom conditions, health benefits, teacher layoffs, and last but certainly not least, teacher evaluations. For several days, the CTU and CPS were at odds, and the remarks against each other became more resentful by the day. Meanwhile, Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s patience was growing thin. Although he insisted that the negotiations be done at the table, parents all around the city were voicing their concerns about their kids not having a safe place to go during the day. This was a major inconvenience to many families across the city, especially ones with young children. Older students, however, leaned more towards the teachers’ side in this whole predicament. “I was definitely in favor of it,” Franco Landa, a senior at Hubbard High school commented. “I felt the reasons to strike were totally justified, and I was in agreement with them as well.” On Sunday, September 16, CTU’s House of Delegates turned down their latest proposal. “They felt pressured,” Karen Lewis commented to the media. Therefore, they asked for more time and scheduled a second meeting on Tuesday. Rahm Emanuel, however, didn't want to give them the extra time. On the following Monday, the mayor filed an injunction, asking a state court of law to end the strike and force teachers to go back to schools. Unfortunately for him, the court judge put it off until Wednesday. The need of an injunction was quickly put to rest when the CTU House of Delegates agreed to the proposed contract and ended the seven day teacher strike. The Chicago Teacher’s Union strike motivated other school districts in the state of Illinois to start a strike of their own. Evergreen Park, Lake Forest, Highland Park, and Prairie Grove had to cancel classes due to a teacher strike when they disagreed with their own contract talks. On October 11th, 2012, Jean-Claude Brizard, Rahm Emanuel’s handpicked choice for CPS CEO, resigned by “mutual agreement”. He is to be permanently replaced by Barbara Byrd-Bennett.
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![]() By Carolina Aceves Staff Writer It has been four years since President Barack Obama was elected into office in 2008. Now, Obama faced another Republican candidate, former governor of Massachusetts, Mitt Romney. Unfortunately for Obama, his chances of winning weren't as great as they were in 2008. Mitt Romney gave President Obama a run for his money. However, Obama won a second term in office by winning crucial battleground swing states such as Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Florida. These states could have voted either way and Obama’s campaign strategy seems to have triumphed over the Romney camp. With the slow economy and millions of Americans out of a job, the reelections became a critical part of bettering the country. It is not surprising that each candidate made promises that would fix the broken country that former President George W. Bush left behind. The biggest question the American people faced was: whom do we trust? Obama, who people claim has done nothing in the last four years in office, or Romney, who wants to go back to very similar regulations the Bush Administration held? Barack Obama is a graduate of Columbia University and Harvard Law School. After college, he worked as a civil rights attorney in the city of Chicago, Illinois. In 1996, he was elected to the Illinois Senate as senator from Illinois’ 13th District. In 2004, Obama ran for U.S. Senate and won against Alan Keyes with 70 percent of the vote in his favor. In 2008, after running a very close race against fellow Democrat Hillary Clinton, Obama was nominated as the democratic candidate for presidency. Later that year, he and vice-president Joe Biden won the elections against Republican John McCain and Sarah Palin, becoming the first African-American to be elected as President. Presently, Obama, along with Vice-President Biden are running for a second term in the 2012 elections. Mitt Romney attended Stanford University and Brigham Young University. Unlike Obama, Romney started out his career in the business world. He worked as a Management Consultant at Boston Consulting Company, then later at Bain & Company. In 1984, Romney left Bain & Company to co-found the spin off investment firm, Bain Capital. In 1999, he was hired as President and CEO of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games of 2002. In 2002, Romney was elected to be the Governor of Massachusetts. Mitt Romney won the Republican primary to run for President in the 2012 elections against current President Barack Obama. The elections have come and gone. It’s now up to President Obama to determine our course for the next four years of our country, but it could have easily been Mitt Romney at the helm. It might not seem like it, but every vote counts. ![]() By Viridiana Munoz and Orlando Ortiz Staff Writers On Monday September 10, 2012, the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) set out in hopes of getting a better contract to benefit everyone. Teachers all over the city either protested downtown at Market Place and at the CPS HQ, or they protested outside of their schools. Hubbard teachers stood on 63rd and Pulaski, in hopes of getting attention. Many didn't know what teachers were striking for and the media played a huge role on the impact of the public. Misleading information made some people think that the strike was happening only to favor teachers but that was false. Teachers were fighting for better classroom conditions, updated books, more resources, smaller class sizes, and a fair raise. “We, as teachers, have been treated unfairly for so long that we let go of our rights. Last year we were not given the four percent raise and our contracts weren't being respected. We simply cannot be bullied anymore,” said Mr. Glascoff, an English teacher here at Hubbard High School. While the strike was going on, an incredible amount of support was shown. Teachers were saluted by police officers, honked at in support, pedestrians applauded, students went out to chant with them, and the Hubbard band played loud and proud! Some teachers even barbecued for everyone! It was a truly positive atmosphere and a learning experience to stand up for what you believe in and not let anyone take away your rights. Although the strike has been resolved, many teachers still feel that the fight is not over. You may have noticed that teachers wear red on Fridays. They do this to show union solidarity and to remain vigilant so that the strike of 2012 does not repeat itself. |
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