What does it mean to be the first of something, to be the first of one’s class or to be the first to walk on the moon? What does it mean to be the first person to hold a public position who isn’t white or a member of the majority?

  After winning the Democratic Primary for Providence’s Mayoral seat in September, Angel Taveras is heavily favored to be Providence’s next mayor. More importantly, if victorious, Taveras will become the first Hispanic mayor of Providence.

  For a city whose politics have been dominated by Irish and Italian-American politicians for the past 45 years, electing a minority to mayor is a tremendous step forward.

  When Barrack Obama was elected President in 2008, it reasserted the American ideal that anything is possible if you are willing to put in the time and effort. Similar to Obama, Taveras was raised by his mother and faced challenges because of his ethnicity.

  While South Kingstown’s minority percentage is less than 10 compared to Providence’s 60 percent, the message is the same.

  As an affluent community, South Kingstown students often don’t face challenges like Taveras and Obama, two men who were raised in a low income home yet pressed on to attend law school and serve their community.

  Perhaps nowadays we think we cannot accomplish great things. Yet, if these two individuals accomplished great things than so can all SK students.                

  Here at SKHS we are provided with resources which other schools lack. We are part of a close knit community which offers proper funding for education and athletics. We are part of a community which reaches out to those less fortunate members with charity and compassion.

  The United States’ history is full of Americans overcoming adversity despite the odds. A group of colonists defeated the strongest empire the world had ever seen in order to gain independence. American’s stood up against racial injustice to prove we are all equal. In each case, Americans faced greater consequences and risks so that their children could have a better life.

  John Adams once said, “I must study politics and war so that my sons have the liberty to study mathematics and philosophy. My sons ought to study mathematics and philosophy, in order to give their children the right to study painting, poetry and music.”

  We have all the components which we need to succeed and more. Whether Angel Taveras wins the mayoral election in Providence or not, he demonstrates one again, it is up to the individual to succeed.

-Mike Matthews, Editor-in-Chief

  Every new school year there’s the one article published, normally by a senior, about the chaos that is the Senior Parking Lot. The points are always the same: The spaces are too small, the exiting process takes forever, and it fills up too quickly in the morning, etc., etc. Occasionally a Rebellion staff reporter may mention the handful of Juniors with out of control egos who think they deserve to park in the Senior Lot, despite the absence of a parking sticker. However, no one ever thinks to mention the other culprits contributing to the shortage of spots: substitute teachers, and other guests to the school.

  Every morning, the spots are completely filled, but if you look out into the front lot during 2^nd or 3^rd period, you’ll see several empty spaces. A guest may park there for those two periods, and then leave the school after, providing empty spaces in the front lot. However, to the seniors forced to park at OMF, or who receive reprimands for parking in the faculty lot, seeing empty spots during 2^nd or 3^rd period that weren’t there that morning only infuriates us.

   The general rule is for guests to the school to park in the Hazard parking lot, and for teachers and other faculty to park in their own lot. If substitute teachers are a part of the school faculty, doesn’t it make sense that they should park in the faculty lot?

  Every morning, there are at least 10 empty spaces in the very back behind the gymnasium. Teachers parked back there often take up two spots, but it doesn’t even matter due to the abundance of space. However, when a senior rolls in late and finds no empty spaces in his/her designated lot, is he/she allowed to park in one of those 10 spaces? Of course not! Such blasphemous actions might make too much sense.