By: Nicole Kazmerzack

On September 14th, one of the worst floods in Utah’s history took place, amounting to at least 20 fatalities so far. Almost instantly, innocent lives were swept away by the rigorous mudslides and floodwaters.

Seven people set out to hike in Zion National Park that day, despite the warnings that flash floods were probable in the area. The park rangers warned that they would be better off not going, but since at the time there was not yet an official warning from the National Weather Service, it was legal for them to go on the trek. Sadly, all seven would be swept away as the canyon they were hiking in swelled with water.

Several vehicles were also washed away by the rapidly moving floodwaters, all filled with families whose lives were taken as well. The flood has shaken up the community as it has changed and stole the lives of many. Almost instantly, lives were transformed as the powerful flood swept victims away.

There will be a memorial open to the public for the people whose lives were taken so suddenly.

By: Jenna Marcus

When one thinks of America, perhaps they think of the freedom and democracy that this country was founded upon (supposedly). Americans have always prided themselves upon the principles of equality and justice that they believe government to operate by. However, it is becoming more and more apparent that this may not always be the case (in more ways than one); this being no exception when examining the tactics used by certain candidates, corporations, and economic elites in the upcoming election.

For a long time, powerful corporations and wealthy individuals have had an overwhelming influence in the American electoral process. However, with the victory of the Citizens United case in the Supreme Court in 2010, corporations won the ability to spend unlimited sums of money in support of candidates who will represent their interests if elected. In a 5-4 ruling, it was decided unconstitutional that the government restrict corporations from spending on elections, greatly changing the amounts they are able to contribute and ultimately giving ruthless corporations the same rights as individual Americans. After its introduction, former President Jimmy Carter voiced the worrisome criticism, “Now America is just an oligarchy, with unlimited political bribery being the essence of getting the nomination for president. We’ve just seen a complete subversion of our political system as a payoff to major contributors, who want and expect and sometimes get favors for themselves after the election is over.”

As the influence of these corporations increase, America is beginning to see a pattern of the rich getting richer at the expense of the middle class. Through corporations’ tax evasion, outsourcing to low wage countries, lobbying, aggressive anti-union campaigns, share manipulation, funding of politicians, scandals, and more, the middle class is gradually declining, causing the gap between the rich and poor to widen. “Whether it is Wall Street, the oil companies, the coal companies, the insurance companies, the drug companies, the military-industrial complex; all of these very powerful and wealthy special interests contribute huge amounts of money into the political process, making it harder and harder for the significant needs of working families to be heard outside the power of big money,” expressed Vermont senator and presidential candidate Bernie Sanders.

This upcoming election is certainly no exception to these dirty practices. This is no secret if you examine the major donors of each candidate. Six out of ten of Hillary Clinton’s donations come from banks. Her large donor contributions amount to an astounding $38,840,036 as of August 2015, and millions more from other Super PACs. Jeb Bush’s top contributors include insurance companies, banks, and other large corporations, and has raised $103,000,000 from just 9,900 different donors, as of July. The list goes on.

What exactly does all this mean for the average American? Aside from longer hours and less pay, a shocking study done by political science professors Martin Gilens of Princeton University and Benjamin Page of Northwestern University found that ordinary Americans have virtually no impact on national policies; a “non significant, near-zero level”. Instead, they discovered that America, the quintessential democracy, is controlled significantly by rich individuals and business controlled interest groups. By lobbying and making donations, representatives of a company meet senators and other politicians to inform them about the goals of their industry, convincing officials to make decisions in favor of the company or expecting them to once they get in office.

The study also disproves the idea that the policy interests of the rich and corporations align with the views of common citizens, finding that they actually sharply diverge and that these economic elites almost always win while the ordinary Americans lose.

So, what exactly can ordinary Americans do to fight against this corruption? It is extremely important that the middle and lower class vote! Studies have shown that more affluent Americans vote in a much higher proportion than the less affluent, and that the electoral turnout is highly correlated with economic standing. Make sure to inform yourself about each candidate, their tactics, history, views, policies, and who exactly they’re representing. Another reason for the dominance of the wealthy and corporations is the decreasing participation of ordinary citizens in grassroots movements in recent decades. It is important to support and raise awareness about these movements because often times, if a large enough number of Americans protest and demand change, politicians are pressured to address these issues, which at the very least can spark important conversation. Although PACs and super-PACs are able to donate huge sums of money, if more Americans contribute modest sums, common interests can be represented. For the future of this country, its inhabitants, and democracy, it is imperative that we do not ignore this injustice.

By: Ananya Murthy

Bernie Sanders: the man who stars in every Republican’s nightmares. He’s a socialist, has extremely liberal policies, fights for the middle and lower class, and worst of all, he’s Jewish. How could Americans ever support a candidate like that? Where are the wealthy Christian candidates with family values and a drive to “make America great again”? Oh right, that’s the entire Republican party, which includes fan favorites like Donald Trump, the billionaire son of a KKK member, and Ben Carson, who still believes that “being gay is a choice” and that “Obamacare is the worst thing to happen to America since slavery”. That’s reassuring!

Sanders is the ultimate liberal – he aims for complete racial, gender, religious, and sexual equality, in addition to diminishing the wealth gap between the upper and lower classes. Sanders argues for increasing minimum wage and raising taxes for the rich. He even pushes for decreased college tuition and increased aid, so education is more readily available to all Americans. Sanders’ campaign looks to improve the lives of all Americans, on all fronts.

Sanders’ campaign itself is more oriented towards helping those who need it the most, compared to other candidates’ campaigns whose interests lie elsewhere. He doesn’t involve himself with lobbyists and Super PACs and the like; rather, most of his donations come from average Americans in hopes to fight against injustice and help those who are struggling, instead of those who are already rich and powerful. He refuses to be swayed by lobbyists or corporations. While other candidates are spending millions on campaigning – millions that could be used for actually helping the American people – Sanders only takes what people are willing, or able, to give. Sanders has a truly incredible and unmatched dedication to the American people and fighting against the corruption and injustices of this country. Sanders also takes the input of people attending his speeches, rather than ignoring all of his opponents. When people from the #BlackLivesMatter movement protested his lack of attention to the movements for racial equality, he took it upon himself to bring in a member of their group as an advisor for his campaign, and began to speak out more about racial inequality.

Bernie Sanders: a man who fights for equality, and cares about the American people. What a nightmare.

By: Wladimir Sarmiento

I have a radical idea: I believe that the government of the United States as a representative democracy has an obligation to represent the American people and their often differing views on a wide gamut of issues, including those that are controversial or social taboos.

While this sounds fairly reasonable, the opinions expressed in this article, in which I will attempt to prove that this ideal has not been reached in the United States of America, will almost certainly make me an unelectable candidate to more than half of voters if I should ever decide to seek political office in this country. This is because the topic of this article is one that is near and dear to many American’s hearts, and that I believe is corrupting the electoral process of this nation: religion.

Our country’s government has always been dominated by people with religious beliefs, as evidenced by a Pew Research Poll this year on the 114th Congress showing that 91.8 percent of members identify themselves as Christians, with only one member lacking religious affiliation.

The problem is that Christians constitute an ever decreasing percentage of the actual US population while numbers of Americans who do not associate with any religion are significantly rising. The same Pew Research Poll shows that only 73 percent of American adults actually identify as Christian, and the percentage of adults that do not associate with any religion has risen from 16.1 to 22.8 percent since 2007. This means that the Congress of this country no longer represents a fifth of the nation in terms of issues pertaining to religion and the teachings of the church.

For better or for worse, religion affects public policy just as much as rich campaign donors and political parties ever will. The debates currently going on about issues like same-sex marriage and the ethics of Planned Parenthood clinics, for example, are inarguably based on differing religious views on both sides. Anyone who disagrees with this is either lying, or worse, vying for a Republican primary nomination.

This is why it is so harmful that there exists a social stigma in this country against openly declaring oneself as lacking religious affiliation (a declaration often interpreted as an admission of being that terrible word, often grouped into the same hateful category as child molesters and murderers: atheist… I shiver at its very mention). Sure, adults are more than willing to do so in the anonymity provided by nationwide polls such as the aforementioned Pew Research ones. But in the inherently public process of running for office, candidates are often pressured into either lying about their religious views or not running at all if they deviate from the established norm. As I alluded in my introduction, a recent Pew study found that over half of Americans say they would not vote for an atheist president; a fact which no doubt deters non-religious candidates from expressing their views truthfully.

So I call for the more-than-one-fifth of you who are reading this article and have no religious affiliation to consider the following the next time you are contemplating voting for a political candidate: Do you want your views to be considered in the government when arbitrating important social issues? If so, it would be wise to put your votes in the few candidates who are brave enough to declare their lack of religious belief, for only then will this country be able to achieve a more accurate representation of its people.