Ohio voters went to the polls on Nov. 8 to deliver a big win for the Republican Party. Senator J.D. Vance beat Democratic candidate Tim Ryan for the US Senate seat, and three new Republicans won Ohio Supreme Court races. Additionally, Republicans won 10 seats in the US House of Representatives, and incumbent governor Mike DeWine retained his position. However, Election Day was not a complete loss for Democrats, as they held five seats in the House. Ohio’s 11th Congressional District, in which Beachwood is located, re-elected Democratic Representative Shontel Brown. This comes as no surprise, as Ohio’s 11th Congressional District has consistently voted Democratic in recent years. So, when Ohio Republicans’ conservative agenda clashes with the liberal values of many Beachwood residents, what happens? How will Beachwood students be affected? 

Abortion

The U.S. Supreme Court voted to overturn the 1973 ruling Roe v. Wade in the case Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Center on June 24. Following this, the ACLU and other abortion providers successfully filed a lawsuit to block Ohio’s six-week abortion ban that was enacted following the Dobbs decision. However, this block was appealed by Attorney General Dave Yost, and this appeal is expected to make it up to the Ohio Supreme Court next year. As Ohio re-elected three Republican State Supreme Court justices this Election Day, the conservative Court is expected to uphold the six-week abortion ban codified by Senate Bill 23, which went into effect after the Dobbs vs Jackson decision in June. Many Beachwood students attended the “Bans Off Our Bodies” rally in May, including senior Naomi Shroge. 

“The overturning of Roe will only continue to affect women socio-economically,” Shroge said. “The women who have the money to travel will always have access to abortions. It is the women who can’t afford to support a child in the first place who will be stuck carrying to birth. It will continue to create a cycle of poverty.”

“This decision also just puts so much fear into young girls,” she added. “Young girls in red states with no access to abortions now know that one small mistake can cost them the rest of their lives.”

Guns

So far in 2022, there have been over 600 mass shootings in the United States.  Ohio has had 80 mass shootings this year, making it the state with the 10th-highest number of mass shootings in the US. Governor Mike DeWine signed Senate Bill 215 on June 13. The bill reads, “A person who is a qualifying adult shall not be required to obtain a concealed handgun license in order to carry in this state, under authority of division (B)(2) of this section, a concealed handgun that is not a restricted firearm.” Under the law, individuals are not required to have a background check, license or training in order to possess a handgun. However, according to a poll of Ohio voters conducted by Baldwin Wallace University’s Community Research Institute, majorities of all demographic groups, support a number of steps often referred to as “common sense” gun restrictions, such as extending background checks (85%) and raising the minimum age to buy an AR-15-style semi-automatic rifle from 18 to 21 (79%). As for schools, Ohio has had 55 school shootings so far in 2022. Governor Mike DeWine signed House Bill 99 into law on June 13, which allows teachers in schools to be armed after taking at least 24 hours of gun training. This left each school district to make the decision for themselves, and the Beachwood Board of Education, as well as most school districts in the area, voted to keep teachers from carrying guns in schools. 

Beachwood Federation of Teachers President Pam Crossman fully supports the Board’s decision.

“I was very grateful that the Board of Education came out with a swift response in regards to the new law that educators and school staff can carry guns,” she said. “I think that more guns in schools do not actually make us any safer, and I’m really happy that they took action to codify that for us.”

Sophomore Radha Pareek speaks for many students who are skeptical of the idea of arming teachers. 

“The idea that we are combating violence with more violence rather than eradicating the source of violence is ludicrous and appalling,” she said. “[They are] transforming institutions of education into armories…”

“I would hope to see investments that will yield a future generation that understands empathy, values creative production and art, and is not materialistically driven,” she added. “I hope the legal decisions we make today will lead to a tomorrow where students no longer have to duck under desks and dim classrooms but can learn in the unconstrained, unthreatened pursuit of self-enlightenment.”

Environmental Issues

The last time that carbon dioxide levels on our planet were as high as today was more than 4 million years ago, according to Earth.org, and It could become too hot to live in many places by the end of the century. Furthermore, a study published by the National Academy of Science found that “1 to 3 billion people are projected to be left outside the climate conditions that have served humanity well over the past 6,000 years… a substantial part of humanity will be exposed to mean annual temperatures warmer than nearly anywhere today.” The study also reports that “Global warming will affect ecosystems as well as human health, livelihoods, food security, water supply, and economic growth in many ways. The impacts are projected to increase steeply with the degree of warming.”

A poll conducted by Interact for Health in 2019 revealed that 71.4% of Northeast Ohioans believe that climate change is currently affecting the United States to some degree. The poll also revealed that 57.7% of Northeast Ohio residents believe that climate change is affecting their local communities to some degree. BHS ecology club adviser Lisa Bugenske explained how the club is addressing issues such as climate change and global warming. 

“While some members of the club recycle, others are working on awareness projects,” she said.  “Our first project will be an interactive visual about climate change that will hang in the cafeteria.  We hope to continue to raise awareness about climate change as the year continues, but the students are still determining how best to do that.” 

“We’re making posters to encourage people to recycle more and we’ll hang them up,” ecology club Co-President Molly Lewis said. “We’re also talking about using old t-shirts to make tote bags and recycling them to make something new.”

The Beachwood Schools Foundation is helping to fund new recycling bins in classrooms, this year. 

“We were honored to be asked to help out,”  foundation Vice President Shana Wallenstein said.  “Climate change is one of the largest issues impacting our world and we believe that this generation – your generation – will be the one to find solutions and save the planet. The fact that there are students at this high school who care enough to be part of the solution was enough motivation for us to be supportive of the effort.” 

Discussions of Race in Schools

On May 17, 2022, Ohio HB 616 was introduced by Ohio House Representatives Mike Loychik and Jean Schmidt. The bill reads, “The school district board shall not select any textbook, instructional material, or academic curriculum that promotes any divisive or inherently racist concept described in section 3313.6029 of the Revised Code.” These “divisive and inherently racist concepts” include Critical Race Theory, Intersectional Theory, The 1619 project, diversity, equity and inclusion learning outcomes, Inherited racial guilt, and “any other concept that the state board of education defines as divisive or inherently racist, in accordance with rules adopted under Chapter 119. of the Revised Code.” According to britannica.com, critical race theory is defined by “…an intellectual movement and a framework of legal analysis according to which the law and legal institutions in the United States are inherently racist insofar as they function to create and maintain social, political, and economic inequalities between white and nonwhite people.” HB 616 would majorly impact the BHS curriculum, as many of the listed concepts and ideas are open for interpretation. Beachwood currently offers courses such as African American History, Human Rights and Conflict, and African American Literature, which could be affected by House Bill 616, if codified. 

Social studies teacher Pam Crossman discusses how HB 616 may affect the curriculum for Human Rights and Conflict. 

“If the Ohio General Assembly were to pass [HB 616] and it was to be signed by our governor, it would make Human Rights almost impossible to teach. We often talk about the legacies of injustice, and I think that this bill would require that I stick just to the history and not to the reverberations.”

LGBTQ+ Curriculum

If passed, House Bill 616 would also address the topics of sexuality, sexual orientation and gender identity in schools. The bill reads, “With respect to a student in any of grades kindergarten through three, teach, use, or provide any curriculum or instructional materials on sexual orientation or gender identity; (b) With respect to a student in any of grades four through twelve, teach, use, or provide any curriculum or instructional materials on sexual orientation or gender identity in any manner that is not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards.” 

BHS currently offers an Honors Anatomy and Physiology course available to students, which addresses topics such as sexuality and gender identity. Honors Anatomy Teacher Alexander Paulchell discusses how the curriculum would be affected by HB 616. 

“For the Honors Anatomy curriculum specifically, we talk about trans issues, gender identity, and physical gender formation, which includes intersex individuals, and people with gender dysphoria, so it would limit my ability to talk about people outside of the traditional gender binary.”