Q - Millard North High School

May 10. 2011 news 2I’mwritin’solonithyarajagopalannews editor“Justice isdone”His was a face many of us recognized betterthan our own next-door neighbors.A face elevated to a degree of evil in our collectivementality once reserved for dictators likeAdolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin, capable of churningunease and triggering painful memories at aglance.He was the face of terrorism.By heading the Sept. 11th, 2001 attacks onNew York and Washington, which took an upwardsof 3,000 lives, Osama bin Laden searedhimself into the very memory of America.And we? We were just first graders, secondgraders, and third graders at the time, while one ofour seemingly endless bright days became darkenedby the destruction of the twin towers.That was the beginning.And nearly one decade later, we witnessedthe end of that beginning. On May 1st, 2011, binLaden was killed in a firefight headed by specialU.S. forces.Justice, in the form of personal retribution tomany, resounded throughout the global community,from Bali to London, Madrid to New YorkCity.But news of his death chimed most stronglyin the U.S., the nation whose core he had once sodeeply shaken.But exactly what it did it mean?With no armistice, truce, or treaty, we had notreached any form of historic closure.By eliminating just one extremist, we had notnecessarily eradicated the global militant operationof al-Qaeda, nor had we ended the fractiousviolence wrought upon the world everyday.We had not filled “the empty seat at the dinnertable”, as acknowledged by President Obamaduring his national address; a sense of closure,or even of retribution, seemed too trivial to beachieved by the death of just one man.So what was achieved?Justice.We did not reach historic closure, but we didreach a historic milestone. At a turbulent time ofglobal uprisings and revolutions, we sent a messageto Yemen, Bahrain, Egypt, Libya, and tothe rest of the world, that hope still thrives. Andwe sent a message to terrorism—in the words ofObama, that we “will never tolerate our securitybeing threatened.”Though it would be naïve to think that theend of bin Laden marked the end of al-Qaeda,we certainly did achieve a valuable moral victoryagainst the terrorist organization. Bin Laden wasjust one man, but he was one man largely responsiblefor thousands of deaths. Additionally, wewere able to mark the end of the beginning—asymbolic victory at best, but a valuable one nonethelessthat brought us a little closer to being ableto look back on Sept. 11th with slightly less pain.Finally, though little but time will be able tofill empty voids at dinner tables and in hearts, weare now able to move forward and look to the future.Reeling from the devastating losses of theinitial Sept. 11th attacks, many Americans felt theneed for some form of closure or retribution formany years. But the death of bin Laden broughtwith it a surprising realization—that justice, anidea more noble than revenge, had been captured.From the iconic images of President GeorgeW. Bush standing at the site of Ground Zero,pledging to achieve justice no matter how long ittook, nearly a decade later, we have witnessed thedeclaration of a new era.That finally, “justice has been done.”ACROSSTHESTATESInternational National LocalMourns and calls for revengewere voiced at the funeralof Libyan leader MuammarGaddafi’s son. Saif al-Arab, 29,along with three of Gaddafi’sgrandchildren who were killedduring a NATO airstrike inGaddafi’s compound.Colorado StateColoradoHonestly, Nebraska’s awesome, butnot really. My goal since 7th grade hasbeen to leave NE and now I’m lookingforward to Ft. Collins.Mike Davidson“Before venturing to thefar corners of the U.S.,seniors share their enthusiasmsand apprehensionsabout traveling totheir colleges.On April 29th, the U.S. Courtof Appeals in Washingtonoverturned an earlier suspensionof federal funds for stem cellresearch. The controversial 2-1ruling marked a “significantvictory” for President Obama,according to correspondents.Located off 192nd and WestDodge Road, LawrenceYoungman Lake is nowOmaha’s newest recreationarea. The park includes alake, children’s playground,a natural amphitheater, andvast outdoor recreation space.Infographic by Nithya RajagopalanValues of volunteeringStudents bond while cleaning up communityelisha-kimdesmanglesfocus editor“University of Nebraska at LincolnNebraskaUNL’s not expensive, I get to stay closeto my family, and I definitely wouldn’tsay that Nebraska is a bad place to stayfor a few more years.”Ben LorenzenTheir tennis shoes soakedin the muddy soccer field ofWalnut Grove Park. With selflesssmiles, the volunteerscleaned up Millard Avenue. OnApril 22th, 85 students fromMN, Millard West, and HorizonHigh School came togetherto help their community. Forsome, the Walnut Grove ParkCleanup project was a field trip.For the students that participated,it meant so much more.“We were helping the environmentin a constructivemanner with our friends anddeveloping our [DevelopmentalAssets],” junior James Albrightsaid.The MN Assets team sponsoredthe service project withthe hopes of giving students achance to participate in a cooperativeserving experience.Students had the ability to learnabout the importance of youthinvolvement in the communityas well.“[This trip] taught us aboutyouth empowerment and communitywhile learning about ourpeers,” sophomore Kenae Merrittsaid.In addition to learningabout how they can help takecare of the community, the participantslearned about themselvesas well.“Service to others givespeople a chance to look outsideof themselves. They get to opentheir eyes to the needs of othersand the needs of the community.Service opportunities help studentsto become [well] roundedcitizens,” MN Assets coordinatorLeslie Irwin said.Activities that studentscompleted while on the trip includedcleaning trash on MillardAvenue and piling up branchesat Walnut Grove Park.“Being outdoors, gettingour shoes wet, collecting trash,we [were] making the world abetter place, making the Earthhappy,” junior Katy Mattes said.Along with making theEarth happy, participants hadthe opportunity to bond withthe students from other schools.Through games such as freezetag and other bonding activities,new friendships were madewhile helping the community.“My favorite part wasmeeting new people. We madeArticles of trash and plastic bags in hand, seniors Rina Morrisand Avery Meador clean up the Walnut Grove Park and MillardAvenue. A total of approximately 50 to 60 bags were collected bythe students.Photo by Alex Rizathree different groups for onegame and I had to learn allthe kids’ names,” junior JohnBirkentall said.The clean-up experiencewas a day that changed the students’outlook towards coomunity.“Picking up trash andcleaning up the park made mefeel good because I know I’mhelping other people,” freshmanAshley Cox said.With the combination ofUniversity of MinnesotaMinnesotaI’m going to be in the Honors Programand it’s a really great college.I’m not looking forward to the coldweather, but at least the universityhas tunnels between buildings.Nick Lambert” ”““Emory UniversityGeorgiaI’m really excited to getrid of my winter coatand wear lots of sundresses [in Georgia].Most of all, I’m ready toget my tan on inAtlanta.ddHelen Wu”making new friends and makingtheir city a cleaner place,MN Assets supervisor MatthewWood sees even more benefitsfor students doing communityservice projects.“Getting teens out into thecommunity changes folks’ perceptionof what students do.By cleaning up our neighborhoodcommunity, members geta small taste of all the greatthings students do in Millard,”Wood said.