by J.T. Buchheit
News Editor
jbuchhei@jccc.edu
A few big events took place during the winter break, including President Obama’s executive order regarding gun control, the release of the long-awaited “Star Wars” film, the record-high Powerball lottery and, on a local level, the resounding success of the college’s male and female basketball teams.
Obama’s gun control order, which was proposed on Jan. 5, tightens laws on firearms, including enforcing stricter background checks and requiring a license to any business that sells guns. One student, Jacob Buchanan, is able to see the pros and cons of this proposal.
“On one side, it’s good to have regulations and background checks when purchasing a firearm, but at the same time, if it gets to the point where no one can purchase them and the government has all the firepower and the civilians don’t have anything, then what could possibly happen?”
Student Kathleen Caldwell-Bishop agrees regulations need to be in place, but she also believes the Constitution should play a part as well.
“I think there should be some type of restriction, but not one that would violate or discriminate against the individual,” she said. “There should be some restrictions, but not to offend or violate any person’s right of the Constitution.”
The most recent “Star Wars” movie has grossed nearly $2 billion after being out for less than a month and is expected to beat “Titanic.” However, overtaking “Avatar” as the top-grossing film in history looks questionable. Some believe that while the film is not the greatest of the series, it’s a quality movie.
“It’s definitely a ‘builder’ movie,” said student Daniel Armstrong. “It wasn’t meant to be the action flick of the year, but it definitely has the building blocks to be a great trilogy. It was on par with the first of each saga, since there’s been two trilogies already. So I think it’s just fine for the first movie in 3-D. … [In a sequel], I’m looking forward to seeing how the main character develops their Force powers.”
Related: “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” delivers in a big way
Another notable event is the Powerball lottery. It has reached the highest jackpot in history at approximately $1.6 billion. One student, Byron Mata, is playing in hopes to strike it rich.
“It’s 1.6 billion dollars,” said Mata. “That’s a lot of money, so why not [play]? I’d probably help some of the poor people if I won.”
Three winning tickets were drawn Wednesday night, January 13th, in California, Tennessee and Florida. For now, the three winners will split the record breaking jackpot, though there is still a chance more winners will come forward.
Finally, after playing games that took place during the break, both the men’s and women’s basketball teams at the college are among the top-ranked in the country. The women’s team is the best in the nation, with a current record of 18-0 and the men’s team is at number two at 16-2.