After 2 long years of campaigning, we finally have picked the next person to be our leader. On November 4th, Barack Obama was elected to be the 44th President of the United States of America.

After announcing his candidacy in February of 2007, Illinois Senator Barack Obama launched an extensive grass-roots campaign, which effectively utilized the Internet for small contributions, advertising, and voter education. Encouraging the average person to donate what they could afford led to the largest campaign budget in United States history. The combination of unmatched funds, a message of change, and unsurpassed oratory skills allowed Senator Obama to easily win the election.

The life of a high school student can be extremely stressful in this day and age. Most adults do not realize how much work goes into the successes of the average teenager. From school work to after-school sports and arts, from in-school extracurriculars to minimum wage jobs and community service, there is little time for homework, a social life, or even an adequate amount of sleep. Getting into college is tougher and more competitive than ever. The pressure to do well is immense and, unfortunately, the older the student, the harder it is to keep up.

Luckily, there is more pay off to hard work than simply being accepted into college...literally! As most know, scholarships are money that is granted to high school juniors and seniors applying to college to help them afford the cost of books, housing, and tuition. Whether you're an athlete, have a parent in the military, or even left handed, there's a scholarship available for you. There are hundreds of scholarships, ranging from small to large sums of money and availability, but the most prestigious and generous scholarships are offered to the ones who work the hardest. The Marshall H. and Nellie Alworth Memorial Fund is among those scholarships.

The Alworth Scholarship was established in 1949 by a man named Marshall W. Alworth. He wanted to form a scholarship as a memorial to his parents, whom it is named after. This fund is specifically for graduating seniors who plan on pursuing a math or science- related degree. The founder's desire was to help fund the education of careers that would be beneficial to humanity.

On November 4, 2008, history was made as the United States of America elected its first African American President. On November 4, 2008, the Virginia Minnesota’s Schools also made history by continuing to be number one in terms of K-12 turnout in the nation for four elections and in the state for ten years.

The Kids Voting Program was set up to promote the idea that everyone has a voice in the election process and that by exposing them to a mock vote early, they will grow up used to the process and will continue to vote when they turn 18. Students were to accompany their parents to polling sites and cast their vote at the Kids Voting booths set up at the Miner’s Memorial Building, Parkview School, The Columbia, Pike Town Hall, Sandy Town Hall, Wuori Town Hall, or the Sand Lake Chapel. For students who are open-enrolled, they were given the opportunity to vote in their classroom by absentee ballot.

The essence of the Kids Voting program can be found in the curriculum run throughout the Virginia School system.

We all know school shootings happen. But, what people don’t get is that it’s a huge REALITY! From the shootings out in Columbine, Colorado to those lots closer to home in Red Lake, it scares everyone. It’s an incident that could happen any time, anywhere.

Some people take advantage of this and make bogus threats. Whenever schools receive some kind of a threat, like a gun threat, bomb, or any other form of violence, they take every form of precaution necessary. It’s an inconvenience, but they do what is needed to keep students and staff safe. Schools have learned the hard way to take threats seriously even though they’re usually unfounded threats.

The arguments have started: Is Harry Potter better than the Twilight Saga? Charts have stated that Harry Potter sold 500,000 copies on day one for The Prisoner of Azkaban and Eclipse sold 100,000,000. YouTube has brought many fans waiting in anticipation for Twilight to come out in a movie exceeding 500,000 views while Harry Potter exceeds 3,400,000 keep in mind that Twilight has not even hit theaters yet. The race is close, but it ends with what do you prefer, vampires or wizards?

In the Twilight Saga, there's a twisted impossible love between a vampire, Edward Cullen and a clumsy human girl, Bella Swan. When you’re reading all four books, Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse and Breaking Dawn you experience the wonders of love, lust, death and suspense. Written in a teenage girl’s point of view, this Saga has brought in not only girls of all ages, but also parents and teenage boys. With its location, a real place in Forks, Washington, it gives the Saga a feeling of reality.