NOCTILUCA May 2018

OPINIONS Appleton, Wisconsin May 2018 Volume XXIII

Issue V Page 3

Noctiluca Editorial

Parking problems? Some creative solutions emerge

As many of you may have noticed, the parking situation at Appleton North High School has gotten increasingly… crowded. It has gotten to the point where—at certain times of the day—there are more cars than spots available to hold them. This flux between vacant spots and lots filled to over ca- pacity can be attributed to two compounding factors: Students have varying sched- ules. Whether it be for senior re- lease, lunch, or classes at other schools (Renaissance, Tesla, etc.), there are always kids com- BACKGROUND After the persecution of the Jews in Europe in World War II, Great Britain sought to find a land for them to take refuge and essentially build a home in. Great Britain, being the im- perialistic country it was, had a “British Mandate” (meaning they put a circle over it on their map and called it theirs) over an area in the Middle East named Palestine. Since Palestine is a land that is significant in Juda- ism as well as Christianity and Islam, they thought it best to have the Jews migrate there, as many were already doing so. Take note, this land was not empty, for it contained a people called the Palestinians.As more and more Jews fled in, tensions began to rise. Zionism began to take form, which is the move- ment of Jewish people creating a homeland in Palestine. As the situation worsened, Great Britain passed the mat- ter to the United Nations; but rather than unite, on May 15th, 1948, the UN divided Palestine into two states: Jewish-Israel and Arab-Palestine, and this is when the problem truly mani- fested. Where this day became the Independence Day of Israel and a day of celebration for Is- raelis, it became known as Al Nakba, or “The Catastrophe” for the Palestinians, since it signified the day that almost 700,000 Palestinians were ex- pelled from their homes. Since 1948, Palestine hasn’t seen very much peace. More wars, riots, bombings, and mas- sacres have taken place, leav- ing more Israelis and Palestin- ians dead, as well leaving more Palestinians without homes. By Sara Zaidan

ing and going. As the year progresses, more and more North students ac- quire their driver’s license. This means that the number of stu- dents utilizing the parking lot at the end of the year is signifi- cantly larger than the start of the year. The situation has bred a lot of discontentment among the stu- dent body. Some feel frustrated with the lack of space in the lots, while others are more upset with some of the unsafe/illegal parking methods they have wit- nessed. Either way, the problem

is becoming increasingly evi- dent as tensions rise. Unfortunately, at this point, there isn’t much the school dis- trict can do as far as instanta- neous solutions go. They can’t exactly build a brand new park- ing lot in a week, especially considering the underlying funding and approval that do- ing so would require. The best they can offer us is street park- ing, which, let’s be honest, isn’t ideal. However, thereare some super simple solutions that students CAN implement into their daily

lives. For one, CARPOOLING. This one is super easy. Even if each of us picked up one other person on our way to school, the amount of cars in the lot would be cut in half. Also, a positive side effect of this strategy would be a decrease in fuel emissions, making North a greener school and community. Even if you’re involved in after school activi- ties, this is a totally viable op- tion because then you simply need to find people to carpool with that share your schedule! Additionally, try taking ad- vantage of alternative meth-

ods of transportation. With the weather warming up, more green options such as walking and biking to school are becom- ing a lot easier! Not only would you not have to worry about the parking situation, you’d also be getting fit and making strides to- ward that summer body. Overall, this situation seems to be a student-made problem that is best solved with student- made solutions. We have the power within our own grasp to adopt these changes and make all of our lives easier, so let’s do it! they ate raw onions in order not to starve, they were robbed, babies died, and families were divided; but finally, the sur- vivors reached a camp where other villagers had also run to. The young boy grew into a young man in the camp and traveled to a nearby country to study, only to come back in the midst of war. Men under 20 were thrown into trucks and if they didn’t comply, they were shot. He had no choice but to once again be driven out of his home. The man was separated from his new fiance, so she decided to travel to him so they could marry. After their marriage, they migrated once more to another country where the man found a job, and maybe a stable life. They settled and had 10 lovely children. Living there for years, the man was offered citizenship of this land, but he kindly declined saying, “I will return home.” This man is my grandfather, and his home is Palestine. A home I have only heard stories about and seen pictures of, be- cause as anArab, it is immense- ly difficult, nearly impossible, to be allowed inside. A home that he always recalls the vil- lages of, while barely recalling my mother as his daughter. A home his heart aches to see one last time. A home he isn’t al- lowed to visit solely because of his ethnicity: Palestinian. Even if he is let in, even if extensive paperwork is accepted, he still can’t go back home, can’t die in peace where he was born. Not anymore. He can’t even get out of bed, because 9 years ago, a stroke paralyzed him from the neck down.

Seventy years of stolen sovereignty

Sara’s grandfather, Mohammad Alhourani. Photos contributed by Sara Zaidan.

NOW Today, only 15 percent of Palestine belongs to Palestin- ians (leaving the majority and the most resource rich areas to Israel), and millions of Pales- tinian refugees wish to return home. When they try to return to their homes, they are barred, and therefore separated from their families and loved ones inside. Most of the millions of refugees have sought out safety in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and Jordan, but have also scat- tered all over the world.The Palestinians still inside Israel are deprived of many rights such as those of land and hous- ing, and are restricted by Israeli military rule which consists of strict checkpoints, home inva- sions, arrests without reason, and abuse of civilians. Walls (which are illegal under inter- national law) and borders re- strict Palestinians from even entering Israeli areas, which is gruesome especially when medical care is needed.

Attempts at peace talks have been made but are most often unsuccessful, as Israel wants to exist, while Palestinians want their homes back. Currently, Palestinians are using non-violent, popular protest. They are tired of the violence that has lasted for decades on both sides of the conflict. These protests over the years have included boy- cotts, social media presence, as well as the events occuring now on the Gaza border fol- lowing Land Day. Palestinians have gathered at the Gaza-Is- raeli border to peacefully pro- test their right to return to their homes. The Israeli military is shooting these civilians down; the current number of Palestin- ian deaths is 35 since Land Day on March 30th, but this gives them more of an incentive to stand their ground. Because the peace talks be- tween political powers has not worked, the people have taken the cause into their own hands.

Since the issue started, young Palestinian activists have strived to bring justice to their people. As of lately, more Pal- estinians and non-Palestinians have taken action. Young ac- tivists are using social media to get information out to the world to bring attention and awareness to the conflict. In order for change to be brought about, an end to the violence, oppression of the Palestinians, and for peace to be restored, a greater global awareness needs to be made. PERSONAL ANECDOTES An 8-year-old boy and his family lived a fine life in a copious village. One day, af- ter hearing that wicked people were raiding nearby villages— killing, raping, and looting— the boy and his family had to run away. Intending to return when situations were safe, they turned away from their homes and belongings to find safety. This was a painful journey;