Author: Lauren Stimpert

Last Wednesday night, the Democrats of Congress staged a “sit-in” protest on the floor of the House. Approximately 188 representatives and 34 senators participated in the protest. Over what? Gun control. The rebellion, led by Georgia Congressman John Lewis, is due to the Senate not approving the prevention of those on a terrorist watch list from purchasing firearms, meaning the bill was never brought to the House for a vote. This issue has completely divided Congress and the American people, as shown by the floor protest and the outcries by many on both sides of the aisle. And of course,…

The first Friday of every month, one of the most important statistics in economics is released – the jobs report showing the number of jobs added to the U.S economy over the course of the month. Last month, only 38,000 jobs were added. As a recent college graduate, this low number is particularly troublesome, especially since May is the month that many young graduates are supposed to go out into the “real world” to seek employment. As it stands now, the millennial unemployment rate hovers around 14%, much higher than the 5.4% general unemployment rate President Obama consistently brags about.…

Everyone can agree that this election cycle is a continuing political phenomenon. It has been a race that defies boundaries and sets new rules. Between a political outsider beating out over 15 extremely qualified Republican candidates and a “democratic” socialist with a profound youth movement, 2016 has been a year of political surprises. Like other young conservatives, I’ve enjoyed watching the defying power of the Republican Party, and I continue to be perplexed by Bernie Sanders and his “everything is free” policies. But out of everything in this election cycle, to me one issue really stands out: Hillary Clinton’s continued dishonesty.…

Although it doesn’t happen often, last week, National Public Radio and I were on the same page. They put out an article around the same time as mine about how our veterans are waiting longer than ever to see physicians. It’s encouraging to know that there is a broad interest in examining the progress in the state of our veterans’ medical care over the two years since the VA scandal broke. And from what it seems, NPR agrees there haven’t been many strides toward success. They mention how “At one facility in Phoenix, for example, veterans waited an average of…

In April of 2014, reports and rumors of the mistreatment of veterans through the VA hospitals surfaced when CNN first broke that around 40 United States veterans passed away while waiting for treatment through the hospitals. By June, these numbers and more had been confirmed. And then launched the summer of the VA scandal. Thousands of veterans across the country were kept waiting by VA hospitals for care-some even died during this time period. More crimes and cover-ups were exposed, and it was discovered how poorly our veterans were being treated by our government. Everyday citizens, as well as Washington’s…

As a college senior preparing for graduation and the real world (yikes!), I know firsthand how expensive college can be. I also know what an incredible four years it’s been, and I want as many young people to have the opportunity to experience college as possible. Spending four years in the state of Maine for college has been an invaluable experience. During my time here, I got to experience Maine’s natural beauty as well as fun up-and-coming cities and towns such as Portland, Lewiston-Auburn, Freeport and Orono. As a student who came to Maine to study, I would recommend college…

In the latest round of primaries, liberal candidates seem to be competing in a race to the bottom when it comes to the Second Amendment, and currently Hillary Clinton is leading the charge. Clinton, the lead Democratic candidate, has been adamant about changing the “gun culture” in the United States. Unfortunately, Senator Bernie Sanders has significantly shifted his stance on the issue to favor more gun control in order to compete. But what does Clinton mean by gun culture, exactly? As in America is a nation that allows you the right to keep and bear arms for self-defense? Or, is…

I’ll admit, I sometimes fall into the typical partisan trap of automatically assuming I’m not going to agree with legislation proposed by a non-Republican. While I don’t agree with many decisions made by Senator Angus King (I-ME), in this case, he’s got it right. When I saw the Bangor Daily News article “Angus King bill targets tragic tax on parents, if their child dies with college debt,” I wasn’t sure what to think. In some ways, reading about Senator Angus King’s Stop Taxing Death and Disability Act was a wakeup call to myself to not be so politically short-sighted. The…

The Hillary Clinton email scandal has dominated the news cycle for months. Aside from Donald Trump, the scandal is probably one of the most talked about issues in this political cycle. The fact Hillary Clinton unilaterally—and arrogantly—decided to use one phone for personal and classified material damages her already-crippled credibility. And going beyond that, what she did was downright illegal. Yet somehow, leading Democrats are attempting to brush it under the table as if it were simply another common blunder. Recently, this list of “leading Democrats” now includes President Obama. The Hill, an online political news outlet, recently wrote a…

My generation has seen a lot in our young lifetimes. We are the children of the “Post 9/11 era,” and have already lived through two politically diverse presidential administrations. We also saw our parents grapple with, and triumph over, the economic recession of the 2000’s. But now that my generation is in or just out of college, we’re starting to accumulate our own set of problems. Student debt continues to increase for millennials, even as unemployment overall has continued to decrease. The unemployment rate currently sits around 5% compared to about 7.8% from the height of the recession, but the…

Growing up within the public school system, I dreaded the days or weeks when we had standardized tests. Sitting and answering question after question on a test that didn’t impact my grade made me question, why did this matter so much? It wasn’t until I was older, more educated, and therefore more aware of why states administered these standardized tests—and the policies that went with them—that I understood their purpose and meaning. I grew up in the era of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). And with that came continuous testing as well as test preparation. The tests are…

There’s a fair amount of rivalry between my school and Bowdoin College. Our two schools–along with Colby College–always face each other in sports, and are always competing in terms of academics, rankings and even social scenes. As a Bates student, I’ve participated in some light hearted “smack talk” toward my Bowdoin friends, but right now, I’m feeling more than a little sympathy for those at my NESCAC rival. The school has received a fair amount of backlash for the way they’ve handled recent parties and situations that were deemed “racist.” As a student at a similar college, I can relate…

Being a movie buff, one of my favorites is Monty Python’s Life of Brian. One of the premises of the movie is opposition to Roman rule is ineffective because the opposition groups are fragmented, and spend all their time fighting each other, rather than the Romans. At one point, John Cleese says the other opposition groups are “the only people we hate more than the Romans.” The bemused Romans just stand by and watch, knowing their rule is secure as long the opposition remains divided. I can’t help but think of this movie as I watch the current Republican Primary process…

“Do you like ice cream?” This is what a canvasser asked groups of students passing by. He was attempting to persuade people in the Bates dining hall to come to the ice cream social for Bernie Sanders. I was not thrilled about this, though not surprised. He didn’t make his way to me, but if he had, I was very prepared to put on a big smile and say “Actually, I’ve already voted and I’m a registered Republican. But thank you and good luck.” My name is Lauren Stimpert and I’m a senior at Bates College. I’m the Vice President of the…