The Next Sylvia Plath: Martha Plaehn 8 The Short Short Winners 6 Holiday Fun!

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ashnoca.org January 20, 2017 1

Whats Going on in the Ville?

THE

ASHNOCA
201617

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Serenity Harris
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF ONLINE
David Zheng Will Casse
MANAGING EDITOR
Gelsey Beavers-Damron
OPINIONS EDITOR
Bo Johnson
A&E EDITOR

Campbell Davitt
SPORTS EDITOR
Luke Mitchell
DESIGN EDITORS
Cindy Biao Ivana Xu
PHOTOGRAPHY EDITORS
Nina Mendoza
FACULTY ADIVISER
Jessica Bayer

Libby Mason holds a candle during the Candlelight Service. This years service marks the 116th Candlelight Service at
Asheville School.

SPORTS

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Robert HarlanMac Waters
JeffreyWongJourney Dreyer
Mary Alice Faunce
Ashnoca.org

Rachel Keuhn Verbally Commits to Wake Forest University

By: Luke Mitchell

Rachel Kuehn, a sophomore golf player, has
committed to Wake Forest University to pursue her passion for golf in college. Rachel loves Wake Forest and
cannot wait to continue her golf career at the collegiate
level. Rachel has spent countless hours and has missed
many Saturday classes because of training and tournaments. The entire Asheville School community is very
pleased with how hard she has worked, and we know
that she will continue to do great things in college. I
recently was able to catch up with Rachel and ask her a
few questions about golf and her commitment process.
How many years have you been playing golf ?
I started playing golf as soon as I could walk and hold
a club at the same time, but competitively at age 7.
Why did you decide to commit to Wake Forest?
I decided to commit to Wake because academics are
2 January 16, 2017

important to me, the golf program is amazing, the facilities are really nice, its relatively close to home, and the
weather is warm. A lot of people think that Im going
there because my parents went there, but thats not the
case at all. If anything, that was a reason to not go there,
because I wanted the school to be my own, but Ive decided that I can do that at Wake Forest anyways.
What is a verbal commitment?
A verbal commitment is a non-binding statement saying that you intend to go to a certain school, but you can
always change your mind if you want to.
Are you going to do anything special to celebrate
your commitment?
I dont really plan to do anything special except play
more golf.
ashnoca.org

Faculty Kid Spotlight: Martha Plaehn

By: Campbell Davitt

Martha Plaehn (Above) Martha, Mrs. Plaehn and Patrick pose with bundt cake (right, above)

Martha Plaehn, eighth grader at Asheville Middle and

former student of Francine Delany New School, has found a

great amount of success in the Asheville slam poetry scene.
She has won high awards at the LEAF festivals, with poems
about body image, teacher wages, and homelessness in Asheville.
How did you become involved in the slam poetry scene
in Asheville?
I started at the charter school Francine Delany New School,
and one of my teachers had been involved in the slam poetry
community. She wasnt actually a slam poet herself, but she
was super committed to making students and other kids
slam poets. Every Wednesday after school, she would host a
writers club, and we would just sit down and write , and I was
surrounded by poets and I wanted to be like them. At first
I was really terrible, but I followed the poets around me and
began writing poetry and have continued doing so for several
years.
What advice would you give someone who wanted to
start slam poetry?
The more you surround yourself or watch other poets the
better it is because its really inspiring. There is both a performance and writing aspect. So you want to practice your speed
and alliteration. You just have to keep writing, because with

practice youll get better

How would one go about immersing themselves in
poetry in Asheville?
Therere two youth poetry organizations that I know about
Soul Speak Asheville, and they have a Facebook page. And
Homeward poetry, which I havent yet participated in any of
their slams but Im looking into it in the future. They have
more high school and older kids, so they go to more competitions. A (See page 8 for her work)

ashnoca.org January 20, 2017 3

A L ett e r F ro m T h e E d i to r
Dear Readers,
Donald Trump is president of the United
States. Regardless of how you feel, it isnt going
to be undone because that is not the way that
The United States government works. Before
I dive in to the ramifications of this election,
I will say that I strongly dislike Donald Trump
and in no way support him or his ideas. However, he is my president now and I hope he does
well. Now, how did this happen? People are so
surprised, and the general reaction seems to
be nobody saw this coming. It was obvious!
How did people not realize that this is where
we were headed? It wasnt even a close election:
red counties dominated the electoral map. If
you look at the county by county version of
the map it is clear that Hillary got destroyed.
That outcome shows that this election was over
back in June she never stood a chance. Maybe people were so surprised because every poll
was wrong, and thats why polls are so irrelevant. First of all, many polls are done by landline. Next time they should start with a poll to
see how many people still even have landlines.
Also, people arent honest in polls because they
are scared of judgment. As British talk show
host, Jonathan Pie explains, this is the lefts
fault. Let me explain. Politics have become so
poisonous, and in my opinion election years are
the worst. The left in this country have made
it so if you are a Republican you are therefore
sexist and racist which just isnt true. There are
many bigots who supported Trump, and many
of the things he has said are bigoted, however,
this does not mean that everyone who supported him agrees with all of this. Many Trump
supporters are tired of how the government
has been run so they voted for a change. These
right-winged people in this country are afraid
to have their opinion, which is absurd. Once
4

January 16, 2017

they are in the ballot box theres nobody to

attack them based on their vote, and thats how
you get President Trump. Being offended by
the opposing position doesnt do anythin except help the other side. Jonathan Pie
also explains that if you have a problem with
Trumps ideals, then discuss this with your Republican friends instead of just getting offended and ranting on Facebook. You arent accomplishing anything by simply disregarding the
opposite view. So now that weve failed on this
front, whats next? My biggest fear for a Trump
presidency is the effects that he will have on
the environment. He has already proposed to
put an oil man in charge of the Environmental
Protection Agency and he has hinted at putting Sara drill baby drill Palin in charge of
the Interior (the National Parks). Another one
of my issues is that theres no denying the fact
that Trump and his VP will make some negative
changes in the realm of women and minorities.
You may disagree, but when he wants to end
Planned Parenthood and deport immigrants, its
hard to make any argument otherwise. So what
do we do? We cant get upset at his voters. We
cant just hate him and live in anger. Thats why
he won the right feels attacked. What we can
do is discuss, politely argue, and express our
beliefs without attacking or name-calling -- a
tactic that Hillary used as she grouped Trump
supporters as a basket of deplorables. Every election has a loser and a winner, but it
doesnt end there. The loser can be a protestor,
an activist opponent, or the loyal opposition.
Loyal opposition is opposing those things they
are against but also looking for those opportunities to advance the countrys interests.
Sometimes the winner will not give the other
side much to work with, especially when they
oppose everything the winner does. But more
often there is a lot of gray space where the
ashnoca.org

loser can shape public consensus and influence choices

the winner will make. We have four years with President
Trump so we need to get past our anger and focus on
positively protecting what we believe in and where we
want our country to go.
Best Wishes,
Will Casse
Editor-In-Chief (Online) 2016-17

A nd the W inner is ...R oy C ooper !

By: Bo Johnson

While most elections were decided a month ago,

North Carolina had to wait until December 5 to figure

out who their governor is. Republican incumbent Pat
McCrory was defeated by Democratic challenger Roy
Cooper in one of the most hotly contested governors
seats in the country. It was one of the few bright spots
for the Democrats this year, as this governorship was
arguably the one Democrats desired the most. While
Roy Cooper declared victory on election night, McCrory refused to concede until December 5, insisting that there was massive voter fraud and the close
margin meant he still had a chance. Both of those fell
through for McCrory. Republican-dominated county election boards threw out his challenges, as many
of the votes he challenged were proved to have been
made by valid voters, and as vote counting progressed,
Coopers lead grew to more than 10,000 votes*. In
North Carolina, the margin must be within 10,000
votes for a hand recount statewide. McCrorys last
attempt at victory was a partial recount in Durham
County. For most of election night, McCrory actually led Cooper, but when Durham County reported
roughly 90,000 votes around 11:30pm that night
Cooper jumped ahead, giving him a narrow lead over
McCrory he would not relinquish. This surprised Republicans across the state, as the presidential vote and
the Senate were both moving in their favor. Durham
County is one of the most Democratic counties in
the state, and as such the late reporting was viewed
with suspicion by allies of the governor. However, the
recount actually caused Coopers lead to grow by 6
votes, leading McCrory to concede.
Cooper won by flipping many voters who voted for
McCrory in 2012, hoping to get a moderate gover-

Roy Cooper was a Morehead Scholar at University of North Carolina at Chapel

Hill, and was elected to the North Carolina House of Represetives at 29.

nor in Raleigh. Many of McCrorys critics said he had

sold out to the ultraconservative legislature, an argument that moderate voters appear to have agreed with.
While some said at the time that HB2 was supposed
to motivate McCrory voters, it ended up doing the
opposite, flipping those voters to the Democrats.
Cooper handily won counties that McCrory won in
2012, particularly urban counties such as Charlottes
Mecklenburg County, Raleighs Wake County, and
Winston-Salems Forsyth County. Ashevilles Buncombe County voted for the Democrats in 2012 and
2016, although nearby Jackson County flipped from
McCrory to Cooper.

While Cooper won the governorship, he will
face an uphill battle in Raleigh, as both bodies of the
legislature have Republican supermajorities that can
override a veto, thanks to current legislative district
lines which favor Republicans. Coopers task will be
to push for reforms the majority of North Carolinians
support, such as repealing HB2, and convincing the
legislature that they should let him. A

*Sources Can Be Found on The Ashnocas Webpage

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January 20, 2017 5

KITT Y
LITTER
PERSU ASION:
A S hort S hort
By: Counti McCutchen

T uesdays drag on like I dont

even know. Fifteen minutes? Then

youll come get me? The person
talking hung up the phone.
I cant believe she left me in Sams
Clubhouse, the person grumbled.
As if today wasnt bad enough.
Julie looked over her shoulder at the
person who spoke, frowning at her
expression.
Looks like you could use what Im
selling, Julie said with a smile that
increased her wrinkles tenfold, but
still managed to be endearing.
The woman sighed. Look, Im really not in the mood to be solicited.
Cmon, itll be worth your time.
Besides, dont you have to wait?
The woman walked over.
Julie stepped back, revealing a small
table with kitty litter stacked on top.
Im Julie! Julie said, pointing briefly at her nametag, which she had
embroidered with flower drawings.
Whats your name? Im glad youre
interested in kitty litter.
Julie extending a fragile looking arm
and turned one of the boxes in the
womans direction.
Im Mia. And Im not really
6

January 16, 2017

interested in kitty litter. For an old

woman, youre hyper.
I love it here, Julie said, smiling.
Its fun to talk to people.
Her ears were stretched due to years
of wearing heavy earrings, and Mia
found it mildly distracting the way
the dangling beads jingled around.
I think you should buy some kitty
litter, Julie said. Its only $5.98.
I dont have a cat, Mia said. Mia
put her sunglasses on her head,
looking at the woman closer. Eleven-thirty is too late an hour to deal
with jumpy people, she thought.
You know, Mias such a nice name.
I named all of my children with the
letter M, Julie said, laughing. How
are your parents?
Mia was caught off guard by the
question, but felt inclined to answer.
Theyre doing well. My father retired last year, so hes restless.
Oh, I could never retire! Julie said.
She really does like talking to people,
Mia thought.
Couldnt imagine it. Itd be nice to
spend more time with my grandchildren, though.
What are they like? Mia found

herself asking.
Theyre great. My oldest daughters
who I see the most. They have beautiful singing voices.
Im a terrible singer.
I dont believe you, Julie said,
tapping Mia on the shoulder. Your
talking voice is so nice; I would have
to imagine your singing voice to be
angelic.
Mia snorted. Im not cut out for
singing.
Julie smiled widely. Ohh, sing a
song with me!
What? Were in the middle of the
store.
No ones here, dingle berry. Cmon,
have some fun. Do you know You
are My Sunshine?
And thats how Mia ended up
singing You are My Sunshine in a
Sams Clubhouse late at night. And
thats also how she ended up staring dumbly at her receipt when she
finally got picked up. Somehow, she
walked out of Sams Clubhouse with
two boxes of kitty litter for a cat she
didnt even have, at the odd time of
midnight.A

ashnoca.org

A Forever and Final Tuesday

A S hort S hort

By: Jack Mulwee

uesdays drag on like I dont

even know. Youre not over the
Monday blues, and Friday is just
too far away. My Tuesday has been
pretty awful already, and it isnt
even over. First, I got a bad grade
on a test, then I was late to second period, and I forgot to turn in
my paper. And if that wasnt bad
enough, I died.

It was awfully quick, too
quick. One minute I was in the car
on my way home, and next thing I
knew the world was filled with loud
crashes and silence, bright lights
and darkness. Another car had run
into us, and I had been on the side
that got hit the worst. Id like to say
it was some agonizing, dramatic,
and sad goodbye, which is how Ive
always wanted to go. Unfortunately,
it was quick, painless, and I didnt
bleed out on the ground while
someone held my hand. Rather
anticlimactic, if you ask me.

And now I seem to be stuck in this

dreadful Tuesday. I havent really
figured out how this whole afterlife thing works, but all I can say
is that this better not be all there
is to it. Nothing is happening, and
Ive been sitting in the street all day,
staring at the mangled remains of
the car I was in. I saw them take my
friend, the driver, away on a gurney,
but he looked alright. Completely
unconscious, not even aware I was
dead. That was ages ago, or at least
I think it was. I cant really tell
if they found my body, but there
probably wasnt much to cart away.
There were a few splatters of blood
on the pavement, but I couldnt see
anything else. Id like to look a little
further, see what I can find, but I
seem to be rooted to this spot. I
suppose Im a ghost, doomed to
haunt the place I died forever, but
my range is surprisingly short. A
couple of cars have gone through

me, through me, but not many. The

roads been closed for most of the
day.
I seem to shine in the dark its
nighttime now. My ghostly form is
luminescent gray. I dont have any
marks from the accident, nothing
to indicate my fatal injuries. Thats a
plus, at least; Id rather not have the
clothes Im wearing for eternity be
stained.
Its definitely time to be going to
sleep, but am I even supposed to
sleep? Do ghosts even need to? Ive
had a feeling of fatigue since the
crash, but I dont really know if Im
sleepy or just dead-tired. Im lying
down in the road now, staring at the
moon. Its pretty and full, a bright
beacon in the sky. I stare at it for
a long time, long after the church
bells nearby chime midnight. A

ashnoca.org January 20, 2017 7

Everybody Has That Moment

By: Martha Plaehn

Everybody has that moment,

When were driving down the road,

talking about our impossible amount of math homework
or that awful song on the radio,
we look out the window
and we see someone,
a man,
sprawled out on a park bench,
with a BI-LO grocery bag lying next to him.
we have this one moment of sadness,
why has humanity gotten to this?
But then the car drives past,
we go back to the song on the radio.
but that man doesnt go back to his house,
that man does not have a warm bed and a full stomach
when he goes to sleep at night,
that man will never be like us.
We might want that man to leave our lives forever,
we dont want him to leave a dent in our perfect lives.
but every time we drive by that spot,
I promise you, we will look,
and every time were on that road,
we will think,
and every time were in that section of town,
we will regret.

When you ask someone to recall a trip to Asheville they

say that they couldnt imagine a more picture-perfect
town.
But what they dont realize is over 563 people are on
the streets
each night in Buncombe county.
What they dont realize is that over 100,000 people in
these picture-perfect mountains dont get three full
meals a day.
What they dont realize is that,
in Asheville,
everybody has that moment,
when Im driving down the road,
talking about my impossible amount of math homework,
or that awful song on the radio,
I look out the window,
and I see someone.
A man,
sprawled out on a park bench
with a BI-LO grocery bag lying next to him.
I have this one moment of sadness,
why has humanity gotten to this?
But then the car drives past,
I go back to the song on the radio,
but that man doesnt go back to his house.
So what am I going to do about it?

So we flee.
We flee until we find a place where that man stops
chasing you,
you flee,
because its so much easier to run away
than it is to help.
We flee,
and were happy.
Because we fled to a place where tourists drive SUVs
around town and shop all day,
to a place where people marvel over fancy restaurants
and beautiful views.
8

January 16, 2017

ashnoca.org

Student Shoulder to Shoulder:

By: Claire Hill

n Detroit, my Shoulder to Shoulder crew experienced everything from being given Mexican lollipops in the hostile to witnessing homeless people
fighting. Every day brought something new, even
from the very start of our trip when we landed at
the Detroit Airport.
Each day started with the assembling of the
group in Hostile Detroit, an old and repurposed
house in the oldest part of Detroit. From there,
we would be given a plan for the day based on the
wishes of the NGOs that needed all the volunteers they could get. Shoulder to Shoulder has
partnered with NGOs all over the world to help
create each course. In Detroit, we worked with Focus:
Hope and The Neighborhood Service Organization.
Both are working on reimagining and recreating the city
of Detroit after the crash of the auto industry and the
devastation that came with it. With very few jobs and
opportunities, a very large portion of Detroits population left, leaving many neighborhoods, buildings, and
businesses empty.

reflected in tears of gratitude from local residents. Even

though many of the projects we did seemed small in the
large scale of things, we saw the great impact they had
on the lives of the people who we got to work with.A

In just a week, a group of 10 high school students

played a small part in achieving the goals of the city. We
fed homeless people who have all been left without jobs
and support. We fixed gas stations and bus stops that liter the city, which all looked as if they had been ignored
for many years. We helped maintain whole neighborhoods and watched as the impact of our work was

ashnoca.org January 20, 2017 9

OPINIONS

S N O I N IP O

Nikolai Young:Why I Support Donald Trump

By: Nikolai Young

was in the third grade when Barack Obama
was elected to the presidency eight years ago. I remember watching his inauguration live on TV with my third
grade class. It was a historic day in American history, our
country was swearing in our very first African-American
president. As all of us young children watched history
unfold before us, I do not think any of us at the time
could have fathomed anything better than being an
American on that day. People were cheerful and hopeful for new leadership coming from the White House
following the financial crisis of 2007-2008. So how did
that all work out and how did we get to where we are
today? Lets find out. The Obama administration began
what they refer to as an economic recovery in January of
2009the slowest economic recovery since the Great
Depression, far from a victorious accomplishment on
President Obamas part. After eight years of sluggish
recovery, President-Elect Donald Trumps Economic
plan is different than the Democratic plan that has been
used for the past eight years. Trump wishes to cut taxes
and reduce regulations that hinder economic growth.
He plans to reduce the current seven tax brackets down
to three brackets that would have married-joint filers
making less than $75,000 a year paying 12%, joint-filers making more than $75,000 and less than $225,000
paying 25%, and top bracket joint-filers making more
than $225,000 paying 33%. These tax rates would be
one-half of the given amounts above for single filers.
One of Trumps plans to encourage business, both small
and huge in the US is to lower the business tax rate from
35% to 15% and eliminate the corporate alternative minimum tax. Trumps tax plan will cut taxes for all income
groups whereas his opponent, Hillary Clintons tax plan
will have an increase on certain income brackets. On
average, taxpayers will receive a tax cut of $1,818 under
the Trump Plan but a tax increase of $176 under the
Clinton plan (Tax Foundation, Sept. 23, 2016)*. Another major factor contributing to our crippled economy
10

January 16, 2017

is NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement),

which was passed by Bill Clinton with Hillarys support in December of 1993. Since NAFTA was passed,
America has lost one-third of its manufacturing jobs.
The fourth point in Donald J. Trumps 7 Point Plan To
Rebuild the American Economy by Fighting for Free
Trade explicitly addressees this issue by stating he will
Tell NAFTA partners that we intend to immediately
renegotiate the terms of that agreement to get a better deal for our workers. If NAFTAs partners do not
agree to a renegotiation, the US will submit notice that
we intend to withdraw from NAFTA. Since Trumps
historic election where he won the Electoral College in a
landslide and won the most counties any Republican has
won since Ronald Reagan in 1984, both Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo and Canadian President
Justin Trudeau said they would be open to discussions
over NAFTA with President-Elect Trump. A
*Sources Can Be Found on The Ashnocas Webpage
Ashnoca.org

Nikolai Young(6th) and Drake Coleman(5th) at the Asheville Trump

rally.
ashnoca.org

War On the EPA Under a Trump Presidency

By: Robert Harlan

President-elect Donald Trump names Scott Pruitt as head of the EPA. The
Oklahoma attorney general is suing the EPA over the agencys Clean Power
Plan

ith the outcome of the recent presidential election, many people have been wondering how Donald
Trump will change the United States. One issue that
seemed to be overlooked in the election process was the
environment. As global warming becomes a more pressing issue, we must ask ourselves, what will our future
look like?

President Trump plans to implement a sharp
policy regarding the environment. Coming from a man
who referred to climate change as a hoax, there is
reason to doubt his new environmental policy. First, he
has appointed a man named Myron Ebell as the head for
the transition of the Environmental Protection Agency. Maybe a change in the EPA could be a good thing
for the environment well it might be a good thing
if Trumps plan was not to cut out the EPA in almost
every form. Ebell is also a part of the climate change
nonbelievers. He even goes so far as to say the warming
caused by gas emissions would be modest and possibly beneficial. Coming from someone who Vanity Fair
called an oil industry mouthpiece, Ebell may not be
the best choice for the future of the environment. And

with Sarah Palin as the main candidate for Secretary of

the Interior, Trumps team for protecting the environment appears inadequate to do anything good.

Former President Barack Obama implemented
various environmental policies during his time in office.
In his Clean Power Plan, Obama had a goal of reducing
power plant emissions by 32% from 2005 to 2030. This
was an ambitious goal for America, but Obama promised this during the Paris Agreement of 2015, which
was a group of countries coming together to try and
stave off the dreaded tipping point of global warming
(an increase of 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit)*. With Trumps
new environmental policy, however, he plans to remove
the United States from the Paris agreement and thus
destroying all possibility of reaching climate goals. The
US emits the second most amount of pollution behind
China in the Paris Agreement, and if we pull out of
the agreement, there is almost no chance to reverse the
climates course.

It may be easy to have a pessimistic outlook on
the future of the environment because of the decisions
of a few people. While one person may be making major
decisions for the environment in a detrimental way, it is
not enough to just criticize them and give up. Everyone
has some impact on the Earth, and it is up to each one
of us to live in a sustainable way to give our climate the
change it needs. A
*Sources Can Be Found on The Ashnocas Webpage
Ashnoca.org

ashnoca.org January 20, 2017 11

Holiday Games!
Unscramble the letters to find the Christmas words from the list
below!

lsble
dgindpu

icdre

sthiacsrm

voatainc

neichym

stniemt

nseilt

encdal

Holiday Word Search

12

January 16, 2017

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