Trump impeached again

He becomes the first U.S. President to be impeached twice

After the attempted insurrection against the U.S. government on Jan. 6, people around the world questioned whether President Trump would be blamed and punished for inciting the violence that led to the attack on the U.S. Capitol while Congress was in session. Resignation, the 25th Amendment and impeachment were all on the table as options to handle the situation that occurred only one week ago.

Ultimately, Vice President Mike Pence refused to invoke the 25th Amendment in a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi Wednesday. Then, in a 232-197 vote, the U.S. House voted to impeach President Trump for the second time. Both events happened within hours of each other.

The House charged Trump with, “incitement of insurrection” after last week’s events. In case you missed it, you can check out Trump’s actions that caused impeachment here.

Trump will face a second jury trial in the U.S. Senate, but it won’t happen until at least Jan. 19 — Trump’s second-to-last day in office — because Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) will not bring that business to the Senate floor. After that date, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-New York) will become majority leader as the Democrats will have a slight majority (51-50 counting Vice President-elect Kamala Harris’ vote) in the Senate.

Twitter bans Trump for good

America’s core value: what does it really mean?

After messages and videos posted to President Trump’s personal Twitter account were posted last week relating to the Jan. 6 violent insurrection on the Capitol, Trump’s Twitter account was temporarily suspended for 12 hours. Then, it was banned indefinitely, Twitter said, because of Trump’s continued lying about the election, which his supporters used as rationale for attacking the Capitol.

Additionally, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Amazon Web Services, Snapchat, Reddit and other social media platforms have banned Trump or some of his supporters for intermediate amounts of time.

Because of his status as president for another six days, Trump is still able to issue releases, video and other content through White House channels and through any news media who wish to show that content. He also has the @WhiteHouse Twitter account at his disposal, and Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany still has her Twitter account.

Multiple Trump supporters, including the President himself, have called the First Amendment into question regarding mass social media blocking certain content. The argument becomes political: opposers believe these private companies are taking sides when they have no right to be subjective. So, what’s the truth?

Let’s look at the language of the First Amendment.

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

What’s important to note here is the first line: “CONGRESS shall make no law…” Because social media platforms are private entities that are not government owned, legally, they can regulate users they feel are in violation of their policies.

Yet, some are still concerned over this move by very powerful platforms to exercise their right to limit the powers of speech of very influential people. Kate Ruane, an A.C.L.U. lawyer said in a statement to The New York Times, “We understand the desire to permanently suspend him now, but it should concern everyone when companies like Facebook and Twitter wield the unchecked power to remove people from platforms that have become indispensable for the speech of billions.”

The concern over the power of private entities has been a long standing issue in the history of the United States. However, it’s important to note the parameters surrounding these claims: multiple social media platforms did not ban or suspend the account of Trump and his supporters because they do not like them; rather, they fell under scrutiny because the statements they were making were false, inflammatory or potentially dangerous.

Photo by Scott Graham on Unsplash

Free Application for Federal Student Aid gets a makeover

Legislation makes higher education application easier

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid, also known as the FAFSA, is the application for U.S. citizens to apply to receive aid toward earning a degree in higher education. The omnibus spending bill passed in December of 2020 will make the application shorter as well as more accessible to future undergraduate students.

As of right now, the FAFSA is 108 questions, making the application at first glance a daunting task. The bill will chop the questionnaire to 36 questions total, drastically cutting the number of questions students must answer about household income and makeup.

Additionally, the new application will automatically qualify any students that fall below the the federal poverty line for the maximum Pell Grant, or the grant that is usually awarded to students who show incredible financial need. The grant does not have to be repaid. The maximum grant amount is now $6,495.

The bill will now allow formerly incarcerated individuals to apply for federal aid.

Some language has changed from the former FAFSA that labels the “expected familial contribution -” meaning, the amount of money the government has gauged a student’s family is responsible for paying toward their child’s education. Instead, it will now be referred to as a “student aid index.”

These changes will take affect in the 2022 FAFSA that applies to the 2023-2024 school year.

Quill and Scroll chapters respond to Jan. 6 siege

High school journalists work to cover the Capitol attack

Last week, we reached out on Twitter to our student members and chapters to let us know how they were covering the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol by a group of pro-Trump supporters.

Check out the few examples below from Q&S chapters!

• “How did your legislators respond to Jan. 6 events?” – McCallum HS, TX
• “Breaking: Capitol Building Evacuated as Pro-Trump Demonstrators Enter the Building” – Shawnee Mission East HS, KS
• “STAFF EDITORIAL: We must stay united during this attack on our democracy” – Dupont Manual HS, KY
• “The Capitol Has Fallen” – Francis Howell Central HS, MO
• “RM reacts to Wednesday’s storming of the Capitol” – Richard Montgomery HS, MD
• “Extremist supporters of President Trump invade Capitol in failed effort to halt confirmation of the President-elect” – James A. Bowie HS, TX

Do you have a story you’re proud of? Make sure to tag us on Twitter and consider submitting to our 2021 Writing, Photo and Multimedia Contest!