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Hello, and welcome to the newest installment of The Howl! I’m Dimitri Vuyadinov and I’m Grant Preves. Let’s get right into the news!

Prairie Ridge News

Hybrid Model

Starting off with some PR news, We have finally returned to the hybrid learning model. Attempting to follow the IDPH’s guidelines, Hybrid aims at giving students a safe and effective return to some level of normalcy. 75% of the student body chose this model, which splits students  into 2 groups, while offering a fully remote option. Students attend in person on Monday and Thursday or Tuesday and Friday for socially distanced in-person classes. Wednesdays are asynchronous. This comes in a time where covid is gradually reigning in and the new vaccine coming with phase 1B starting on Jan. 25  I sincerely hope this time hybrid commences will be both successful and the last time we taste of this learning model

Scholastic Bowl

In other news, underclassmen, do you pride yourself in your intelligence? Do you just love to destroy your opposition with your vast knowledge of the universe and its intricacies? If you do, then you would love Scholastic Bowl. Scholastic Bowl is a trivia based competition, in which you work to answer questions about a variety of topics. Contact Mr. Seyring or Srta. Groat for more information!

Illinois

Tier 2 Restrictions

Monday marked the day that Illinois loosened covid restrictions to Tier 2 in many key areas, including our beloved McHenry county. This comes due to changes in staffing contracts for many key hospitals, which increased the amount of staffing overall in the state. Illinois department of public health director, Dr.Ngozi Ezike, said in a statement “With new variants of COVID-19 spreading, it is more important than ever to follow the public health guidance that keeps people safe – wear a mask and watch your distance.”

National News

Capitol Riots 

Αs many well know, January 6th marked a day which will be left in infamy for many years to come. Thousands of Trump supporters, fueled by the inciting rhetoric by Trump himself, stormed the capital building in hopes of overturning the electoral college vote count and thus overturn the 2020 Presidential election. Pushing their way through the understaffed police officers, the rioters vandalized and looted the capitol building, even occupying the senate chamber(this was the second time the capitol building had ever been breached in American history, the first being in the War of 1812). Many broke out in violence against the police officers, killing one. Chanting “Hang Mike Pence” (for his refusal to violate his constitutional duties), the rioters wreaked havoc. A truly embarrassing event for the United States on a global scale, nevertheless, the issue was quelled by mid-evening, when the senate reconvened and completed the vote count, where Vice President Mike Pence declared their official victory, in opposition to the Trumpian ideology.

Local Reaction

We at the news team created a poll asking students how they would describe the events at the capitol building. The options in the survey included words like “White Supremacy” and “Patriotism.” 

Needless to say, we got an overwhelming response from students at PR! With over 2,260 responses, we received the most participation from the student body than at any time in news team history. In fact, the number of responses indicates that some students may have answered the survey more than once, and that there may have been participation from outside of our school.

The most popular word that students at PR used to describe the Capitol events was “Riot” with over 1,070 votes and 41% of participants selecting the word. In 2nd and 3rd place were the phrases White Supremacy, with about 960 votes, and Patriotism, with 427 votes respectively. These interesting results show the diversity in opinion here at Prairie Ridge.

Along with filling out the survey, multiple students left comments.

Sophomore Elliot Carlino shared his thoughts that:

“You can’t just walk into a private government building with bombs claiming that there was voter fraud because the leader of our nation got upset he didn’t win.”  

He also believed that past president Trump is responsible for “getting everyone riled up and allowing violence to quite literally enter our nation’s capital.”

A PR freshman who prefers to not be named believes that:

“Republican or not, the events that occurred at the capitol building showed signs of dictatorial tendencies, pure hypocrisy, and the justification of Trump’s intentions for our country.”

Inauguration

Today, on Wednesday, January 20th, 2021, Joseph R. Biden was inaugurated, becoming the 46th President of the United States of America. Additionally, Kamala D. Harris made history by being the first woman ever elected to the position of Vice President. The night before, at the Lincoln Memorial reflective pool, Biden and Harris, coupled with their respective partners  mourned the deaths of over 400,000 Americans who have passed from COVID-19. Understanding the difficult road ahead, during his inaugural address, President Biden promised to “press forward with speed and urgency” in reference to continuing to fight the virus and bring Americans much needed aid. 

In unprecedented fashion, lameduck President Donald Trump along with his wife Melanua Trump decided to not attend Biden’s inauguration. Trump left the white house for the last time this morning, heading to Mar-a-Lago Florida. While leaving, the president stated that “We will be back in some form” hinting that he perhaps might not be done with politics.

Covid Numbers & Vaccination Update

Our hearts go out to everyone suffering in these dark times, as the U.S. breaks 400,000 deaths by Covid-19 (a death every 26 seconds) which is the most total deaths in any country in the world. The only good news about these times is that they are coming to an end, albeit slowly. Vaccination has not been able to progress as quickly as our leaders hoped, mostly due to the overwhelming demand for the vaccine and the frailty of the healthcare department. As of now, a little more than 3% of the U.S. population has received the vaccine. President Joe Biden did announce on Thursday a $1.9 trillion coronavirus plan called the “American Rescue Plan,”which aims at getting 100 million Americans vaccinated by the 100th day of his administration.

We at news team hope you stay happy and healthy, and as always, thanks for watching.