"October Catch-Up"- Shreya Gadikota

Register to Vote!

Did you know that you can register to vote prior to turning the age of 18?!

How to register:

• https://www.usa.gov/register-to-vote

• https://www.ncsl.org/research/elections-and-campaigns/preregistration-for-young-voters.aspx

Why is it important to register:

• https://www.americanbar.org/groups/crsj/publications/human_rights_magazine_home/voting-rights/-use-it-or-lose-it---the-problem-of-purges-from-the-registration/

At the end of the day, it is your choice whether you want to register to vote or not. However, by voting you are able to use your voice to fight for what you believe is right for our country. It does not take long to register as you can find a registration form online to quickly fill out. In addition, you can register when you go to the DMV or by filling out the National Mail Voter Registration Form. Remember, election day is November 3rd, so make sure you register to vote by October 13th. Choose who you want your leaders to be by registering to vote!

October - National Bullying Prevention Month!

• https://www.stompoutbullying.org/national-bullying-prevention-awareness-month

• https://www.stopbullying.gov/resources/facts

• https://youth.gov/feature-article/national-bullying-prevention-month

Everyone is familiar with the term bullying. Most of us have witnessed someone being bullied and experienced it ourselves at least once in our life. What did you do in that situation? Did you just watch it happen or step up to help the victim out? Whatever it might have been, I just hope today you know better than to be a bystander and actually help the victim out. 

If you see someone being bullied, help them. It can be as simple as befriending them and telling the bully to back off. Sometimes it might not be the best to get directly involved, so in that case get a supervisor or adult to help. Also, be attentive to the people around you and look out for any signs of a person feeling unsafe. Therefore, make an effort to spread kindness rather than fear because we never know what a person is facing. 

Forest Fires!

• https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/

• https://fee.org/articles/forest-fires-aren-t-at-historic-highs-in-the-united-states-not-even-close/

• https://www.nifc.gov/fireInfo/nfn.htm

• https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2020/09/climate-change-increases-risk-fires-western-us/

• https://www.c2es.org/content/wildfires-and-climate-change/#:~:text=Research%20shows%20that%20changes%20in,these%20increases%20in%20wildfire%20risk.&text=Changes%20in%20climate%20add%20to,wildfires%20in%20the%20United%20States. 

To be honest, I did not know much about the forest fires that were occurring in California until recently. I was aware there were forest fires taking place, but never educated myself on the extent it was affecting people. Just by searching some websites, I found out that there were fire outbreaks that occurred less than two hours ago today! The change in the climate has created warmer and drier conditions leading to an increase in droughts. These environmental conditions have been triggering fire breakouts. With the forest fires, let’s also change our normal routines and practices to combat climate change.