2 OPINION
THE REFLECTOR
Reflector seniors say farewell to UIndy
Kylee Crane, Editor-in-Chief
In conversations focused on my rapidly
approaching graduation and years spent
at UIndy, I have been asked, So, are you
satisfied with what you have done? And
I smile and immediately answer.
You see, I live by cheesy, Pinterest-
worthy, motivational quotes. One of my
favorites that is displayed in my bedroom
says, Go out on a limb. Thats where the
fruit is. Its a great reminder that playing
it safe is a risk in itself, so you might as
well take those steps out and see where
that takes you.
Some of my steps have been suc-
cessfulgaining experience and educa-
tion through various leadership roles on
campus, applying and receiving amazing
internships and meeting some people I
will call friends for the rest of my life.
Other steps have led to falling off broken
branches, which may have led to heart-
ache and failures. Either way, I grew and
learned.
I spent weekends working in the
newsroom or studying for an exam and
other weekends out having fun and do-
ing nothing productive with the best of
friends. Either way, I created beautiful
memories I can talk about for years.
Some weeks were filled with stress and
tearsdays when I could not wait for it
all to be over. Others were filled with fun
and laughter, days when I wished this time
would never end. I have awards nailed
along a wall to show for the hard work
Ive put in, and I have hundreds of photos
to show the fun and other experiences I
have had along the way.
So when someone asks me if I am
satisfied with what I had done, I smile
and say, Absolutely.
I hope you can do the same.
Mercadees Hempel, Managing Editor
Ever since I was 6 years old, I have
known exactly where I was going to be
and what was going to happen: I was
going to go to school. But now I dont
know where I will be next year at this time.
Luckily, there is always a choice. I can be
anxious, fret about it and worry myself
Size difference between MOAB & VW Beetle
MOAB
30 ft
US bombings a concern
As tensions around the world intensify, will the United States keep its composure?
By Tony Lain
STAFF WRITER
The United States dropped the Mother
of All Bombs MOAB on an ISIS af-
filiate in Afghanistan on April 13, killing
more than 90 Islamic State militants and
destroying many underground bunkers
and ammunitions. Was this simply just a
mission to attack a terrorist organization,
or were there other motives at play for the
Trump administration and its plan to curb
North Koreas missile testing?
Afghanistan has seemingly been
ignored on most American news media
outlets, with catastrophe in Syria and
madness in North Korea on the rise.
According to CNN, there are still more
than 8,000 U.S. troops stationed in Af-
ghanistan on counter-terrorism missions,
and one U.S. soldier was killed in combat
during an operation in the area just days
before the attack.
The bomb that was dropped on the
Afghanistan province of Nangarhar was
the largest non-nuclear bomb ever used
in combat, equivalent to about 11 tons
of TNT and with a blast radius com-
parable to nine city blocks, according
to the Pentagon. The bomb cost about
$170,000 to make and had to be deployed
out of a cargo plane according to the Air
Force. The MOAB was dropped shortly
after President Trump authorized the
demolition of a Syrian airbase a week
earlier and is out of line with the America
First platform that he campaigned on,
and vow to take the United States out of
Middle Eastern conflicts. The attack on
ISIS in Afghanistan was not authorized
sick. I dont like that choice. Instead, I
choose to be happy.
I am happy that I have spent four
years on The Reflector staff at my dream
campus. I have made amazing friends,
connected with hundreds of people, in-
terned at my favorite newspaper, NUVO,
been mentored by the best professors, and
even met the love of my life in the most
unlikely place at the most unexpected
time. I would like to thank my friends
who always understood when I couldnt
hang out due to production. Thank you to
my Reflector staff for the laughs, the tears,
the stories and the love. I couldnt have
done it without you. Thank you, Kyle, for
all of the rides home and for saying yes
when I asked you to be my boyfriend on
our second date. Thank you, Mom and
Dad, for being in my corner since day
one. Nobody in this world will ever love
me as much as you guys do, and I love you
more. Erik and Zo, I would say dont let
me down, but I know you wont. I would
say make me proud, but you already have.
I cannot thank everybody who helped
me get to this point enough. I dont know
what happens after this, but whatever it
is, I cant wait to share it with you all. In
Abarat, the book that made me want to
be a writer, author Clive Barker writes,
Perhaps a wiser eye than hers would be
able to read tomorrow in tonights stars.
But where was the fun in that? It was
better not to know. Better to be alive in
the Here and in the Nowin this bright,
laughing momentand let the Hours to
come take care of themselves.
Quiaira Johnson, Business Manager
But even the worst decisions we make
dont necessarily remove us from the circle
of humanity. Wes Moore
You probably are wondering why I
chose to base my farewell on that quote.
The simple, honest answer is because
we are our own worst critics. College is
the place where trial-and-error gives us
the push we need to help propel us into
chasing and choosing the very things that
help us best live our lives. In that process,
we fail. Sometimes we fail so badly that
13.5 ft
by President Trump, but rather by Gen.
John Nicholson, the highest-ranking
military official in the country. While the
bombs use garnered enormous attention
on the world stage, the weapons impact
by any military standards was rather
underwhelming.
According to Business Insider, ISIS
has 700-1,000 militants in Afghanistan,
far less than the 25,000 members of
the Taliban. According to U.S. military
officials, the Taliban control about a
third of the population in Afghanistan,
about 10 million more people than ISIS
controlled in Syria and Iraq at the height
of its power during the summer of 2014.
The Kremlin and leaders in Moscow have
been supporting Taliban soldiers, claiming
they are helping the fight against ISIS.
However, the two radical groups forged
a truce in August of 2016 and swore not
to fight each other.
Although the bomb was dropped on
an ISIS tunnel complex in Afghanistan,
one cant help but wonder if the use of
one of the largest weapons in the United
States arsenal was actually a forewarning
to Americas enemies around the world.
The MOAB was built in 2003, right
before the invasion of Iraq, and had more
psychological implications than actual real
uses. Former Defense Secretary Donald
Rumsfeld said of the bomb after its cre-
ation,There is a psychological component
to all aspects of warfare. The goal is to
not have a war. The goal is to have the
pressure be so great that Saddam Hussein
cooperates. Short of that, an unwilling-
ness to cooperate, the goal is to have the
capabilities of the coalition so clear and
so obvious that there is an enormous
disincentive for the Iraqi military to
From right to left: Mercadees Hempel, Kylee Crane, Quiaira Johnson and Ainger Alexander.
we think we cannot recover. Whether a
failed exam or class, a friendship, an in-
timate relationshipwhatever the failure
is, it does not remove us from the circle
of humanity. In fact, it helps us search
within our experiences to define what
encompasses basic humanness.
My time at UIndy has definitely been a
roller coaster ride, but it is one for which I
am and will forever be grateful.The process
of figuring out what I want to do for the
rest of my life has not been easy; in fact,
I still dont have it figured out. One thing
that I can tell you is that this journey,
through its hardships and celebratory mo-
ments, has taught me that I, like you, can
only get better from here. My advice is to
do you.If you feel like going out to drink
rather than studying for that exam, do it.
If you think that having an internship is
more important than being part of a club
or organization, do it. If you want to lie
in bed and watch Netflix on days when
youre just not feeling it, do it. If you are
even considering studying abroad, do it.
My point is that you should do what you
Graphic by Melvin Mendez
fight against the coalition, and there's an
enormous incentive for Saddam Hussein
to leave and spare the world a conflict."
The MOAB could be a warning to
Pyongyang, the North Korean capital.
Shortly after the use of the MOAB,
North Korea again tested a nuclear bal-
listic missile, but the launch was a failure.
With 28,000 U.S. troops currently in
South Korea, the United States is looking
to strong-arm North Korea away from
nuclear testing. Visiting South Korea
last weekend, Vice President Mike Pence
had a message for Pyongyang: "Since
1992, the United States and our allies
have stood together for a denuclear-
ized Korean Peninsula," Pence said at a
joint news conference with acting South
Korean President Hwang Kyo-Ahn in
Seoul. "We hope to achieve this objective
through peaceable means. But all options
are on the table.The Vice President later
added, [The] era of strategic patience is
over.That Pences warning coincided with
the bombing in Afghanistan seems to be
no coincidence, but a showcase of power
for Kim Jong Un and the North Korean
Army. While talks are currently underway
with China to impose tougher sanctions
on Pyongyang to persuade the North to
change its course on nuclear weapons,
Kim Jong Uns radical government is hard
to predict. According to the New York
Times, in a formal proposal last month,
China said that talks should be framed
on the basis of North Korea suspending
its nuclear testing, and the U.S. and South
Korea suspending their exercises on or
near the peninsula.
Whether either is willing to put away
their guns on the Korean Peninsula is
uncertain.
want to do because you feel it is whats
best for you at that moment. Sometimes,
our decisions may leave us in some crazy
places, but learn from them, and use them
as positive reinforcement. You are better
than your last mistake, misjudgment, or
failed exam. Take these years and make
the best of them, and learn what it means
to you to live your best life.
Ainger Alexander, Editorial Assistant
I am not the traditional student. I
did not have the luxury of coasting by
on mommys and daddys money while
in school. I have supported myself ever
since I was 17 years old, and that only grew
more difficult when I turned 18 and came
to college. I had to worry about paying
bills, tuition costs and having emergency
funds in case something went wrong. I
worked two, sometimes three, jobs at a
time while maintaining full-time status
at UIndy and being involved on campus.
Thats very hard to balance when you
have to support yourself, yet people are
telling you that the only way to be a suc-
Nuclear option in Senate
By Erik Cliburn & Madison Hays
OPINION EDITOR & ONLINE EDITOR
PRO: The nuclear option that has
been so covered and argued over recently
is essentially a change in parliamentary
rules within the United States Senate.
It established the need for only a simple
majority (51 votes) to end the filibus-
ter of the minority party during the
confirmation of a Supreme Court
nominee, rather than the previously
needed 60 votes.
Many, especially those to the left on the
political spectrum, have argued that this
change in the Senate rules undermines the
need for compromise and takes away from
democracy as a whole. This move came
after a filibuster by Senate Democrats to
block nominee Neil Gorsuch from being
confirmed to fill the vacant seat of the late
Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court.
While there is validity in the argument
of wanting the opposing parties within the
Senate should work together and reach a
compromise, that was the last thing that
was happening before the nuclear option
was put into place. This essentially will be
the first nail in the coffin for filibusters in
the Senate, which is something that has
been needed for a long time.
One of the most annoying cases of the
filibuster was when Republican Senator
from Texas, and later presidential candi-
date, Ted Cruz protested the Affordable
Care Act (Obamacare). Cruz stood on
the Senate floor for more than 21 hours
filibustering because the then Democratic
majority, in the Senate could not reach
60 votes to end the filibuster. Not only
did he filibuster, but Cruz actually read
from Green Eggs and Ham to fill more
time. If that doesnt make a mockery of
the democratic process, then I dont know
what does. While the nuclear option
wont completely rid the Senate of the
filibuster, it is a step in the right direction.
Abolishing the filibuster in the Senate
for nominees is a two-way street. While
the Republicans have the majority in the
Senate now, the Democrats could have the
majority after the midterm election. This
means the change in the rules benefit not
only the current party in power, but any
future party in power as well, whether
Democrat or Republican.
While those who oppose to the
nuclear option have argued that it
interferes with democracy, I say that it is,
in fact, a shining example of democracy.
The members of the Senate are democrati-
cally elected by the people of the United
States and therefore should use their
representation of the people to reform
government, create, change and abolish
laws. The people who make most of the
APRIL 26, 2017
Photo by Laken Detweiler
cessful student is to simultaneously be
involved on campus as much as possible,
volunteer, excel academically and work
on your career.
All of these things and more are the key
to post-secondary success. Dont get me
wrong; Im not complaining. I actually take
pride in working for everything I have.
However, I wish that someone had told
me that self-love and self-care are equally
as important. Missing a class or failing an
exam is serious, but not as serious as a de-
cline in mental health and feeling burned
out. These things cause emotional strain,
physical strain and sometimes theyre
just not worth it. Working my body and
mind so hard and overextending myself
are probably some of the things that most
negatively impacted my university experi-
ence. If I could offer one piece of advice,
it would be: take care of yourself. Take
breaks from cramming, explore the city
you go to school in, spend an afternoon
doing things you love. And when youre
feeling overwhelmed, overworked and
overextended, take care of yourself first.
decisions are in Congress. Those who
disagree with the way government oper-
ates need to participate in the political
process to change it.
Erik Cliburn
CON: While supporters of Repub-
lican Senators recent use of the nuclear
option may claim that the shortcut
will make democracy quicker and more
efficient, I find the nuclear option to only
stifle the conversation and debate that
makes democracy liberating.
The filibuster serves as a tool for the
minority party, not only to buy time,
but also to inform other members
of Congress about who or what they are
voting on and to provide the majority
party a new perspective before the voting
occurs. This allows the minority party to
bring up thoughts and concerns about the
issue at hand, and when the two parties
can work together, compromises can be
considered.
The filibuster allows for the minor-
ity party to have a voice and a way of
affecting decisions. Using the nuclear
option to bypass the filibuster, the
minority party loses its voice.
The nuclear option makes rash
decisions more likely because it removes
the filibuster step in which members of
the Senate can drive home important
information about an issue that affects
voters.
And while I hope that our Sena-
tors are always well-informed on every
nomination or issue they vote on, some-
times it does take several hours of our
diaper-wearing representatives fighting
for the minority voice to get across a dif-
ferent perspective. The big fear is that the
nuclear option will be used in the Senate
when it votes on proposed legislation.
When first used in November of
2013, the nuclear option was said not
to be intended for use in conformations
of Supreme Court nominees. Now that
it has been used for that, it is now being
said that it is not intended for other uses
in the Senate.
But now that door has
been opened, it may well be just
a matter of time before the nuclear
option is used over some a controversial
piece of legislation. If the nuclear option
is introduced into our legislative system,
legislators will find it easier to conceal
legislation plans until the time of proposal,
putting Senators more at risk of casting
an uninformed vote.
The nuclear option puts the power
solely in the hands of the majority party,
allowing them to decide how long the
filibuster will last, and to control the
time the minority party is able to spend
reviewing legislation.
Madison Hays