Along with a big win for the boys basketball team on Friday Feb. 12, seniors Joe Reitz and Jonathan Cameron left the high school with the winning chili. 

The 2016 chili cook-off was the second year student council hosted this event. In this competition, each participant made their own homemade chili to showcase their talents. Each person tasting the chili received tickets to vote for their favorite chili. The participant with the most tickets at the end of the night would result in winning the competition. 

“The reason for having this event at the high school is to promote community involvement,” said Alex McMahon.

Reitz and Cameron will be rewarded with four Cleveland Cavaliers tickets, provided by Student Council. The money raised by this event along with any other function held by student council, 10% of the proceeds will go to Camp Quality. Camp quality is a year round support program for children with cancer. Student Council has raised over $3,000 for this camp. 

There were five chili’s that competed in this cook-off. The first chili was made by the Steve Buzaki crew, named “Buzz’s Bomb Chili.”

“My favorite chili was senior Kristen Buzaki’s chili, but they were all really good. I think it was a fun and different event to have during the basketball game,” said sophomore Audra Greavu. 

The second chili was made by Sherry Vitone, a speech pathologist at the high school. Vitone named hers “The Sweet Vegan Chili.” The sweet vegan chili consisted of onions, peppers, and a special ingredient of brown sugar. 

The third chili was cooked by a chemistry teacher at the high school, Dean Kinkoph. Kinkoph named his chili “The Chipotle Chili.”

The fourth chili was cooked by a calculus teacher at the high school, Adam Harder. The name of his chili was “The Harder Pork Chili.”

“I thought the chili cook-off was very fun, and we had a pretty good turn out. My personal favorite chili was Harders,” said sophomore Sophie Perez. 

The winning chili was named “JJ’s Chili” cooked by Reitz and Cameron. 

Since the chili cook-off ended in success, student council seeks to continue this event in the following years. 

With the 2016 presidential election growing closer and closer everyday, many Americans are becoming excited to exercise their rights. Those turning 18 before the general election may be missing important information; they are allowed to vote in the primaries and caucuses as 17-year-olds if they turn 18 before the voting day.

17-year-olds can vote in primaries and caucuses in large number of states, including Alaska, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Virginia, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia and Wyoming.

Although that may seem like a large number of states, less than half allow 17-year-olds to participate in state primaries and caucuses.

Also, in Alaska, Kansa, North Dakota, and Washington, 17-year-old Democrats are able to participate in their party’s caucus, but Republicans may not.

Allowing 17-year-olds the right to participate in primaries and caucuses encourages them to engage in voting and form a habit of it at a younger age; which is vitally important due to the country’s extremely low voter turnout on Election Day. Political parties also benefit from this as well. If a teen votes for a certain party when they are young, their chances of voting for that party throughout their life is very high.

Opening up the primaries and caucuses to teens is opening up whole new door in politics as well. Candidates must strive to appeal to the younger voters now as well. In 2008, four million 17-year-olds were eligible to vote, but many young voters (18-29) do not turn out on Election Day because they are not prepared. Allowing 17-year-olds to participate early in the primaries and caucuses with increase their likelihood of voting each year after.

“I’m excited to be able to make a difference and voice my opinion in this election,” Hudson junior Anne Kennedy said.

To register to vote, one must visit the state online registry website. The form can be mailed in to the county’s board of elections, or physically taken into the office by Feb. 15 to participate in the Ohio primary election.

Mr. Moyer has registry forms in his room for student to encourage all of his students to exercise the right to vote.