Hi, I am Tori Gagnon. In a moment I will be speaking my mind about some of the topics that may have been troubling you recently, but I will also be speaking about myself. Some of you, knowing me for as long as you have may be surprised that I actually have a voice, figuratively speaking. You are thinking how this girl 5 years ago would never run for something like this and I do agree with that, I truly do. I have matured a lot in those 5 years and do what I need to get done, but people never truly change. The character that you own and the thoughts, opinions, and love for subjects that others may not understand by any means will stay. But people grow, and as a person myself I will continue to grow. I encourage the people in this classroom and this school in general to grow with me. The characteristics that a valued Vice President should obtain are loyalty to their word, creativity and the ability to seek multiple solutions, and the want of a better America. I have the confidence to fight for you and the hardships we are all facing. Every one of us in this room have troubles of some kind. I will stand by my running mate in attempts diminish these current issues. Whenever you meet a new person the first thing you are asked to break the ice is most likely “What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?” You immediately know what you’re going to say because you have said this so many times before. My answer always had something involving art or music, it still does. You all may wonder “Well, how will your involvement in art help with our country?” The great thing about it is that you can take the principles one can learn in art and music and easily apply them elsewhere. The questionable aspect of it is how can this be done? We seek to change the people’s view on people with mental illness. Art and music therapy had been an underestimated career for far too long. The addition of the arts to certain treatments are found most effective than the ones without. This method can also brilliantly help people on the autism spectrum, or people with other disabilities to find ways other than speaking to express themselves easier. This can also help with their learning experiences as well. Special education in public schools should have more interactive ways of teaching their students especially if they are nonverbal. More funds should be going to such programs and wages for teachers should be increased. This subject is taken too lightly in our country. It is easily avoided, especially in families who are skeptical of their child having a mental illness and not seeking help. Vincent Van Gogh is a prime example for the mentally ill taking advantage of art in order to cope. This classic artist has always been a great inspiration to me. The emotion filled in his work allowed me to easily express my feelings in my own. When I first became interested in art I heard of a story about Van Gogh that always stayed in the back of my head. True or not, the story goes that Vincent Van Gogh consumed yellow paint thinking it would make his insides bright and therefore make him happy. Why would someone consume something so toxic to feel happy? I feel that this story can be used as a metaphor in several different ways, but the most fitting would be how the pressure in our society drives people to go to the extreme. Nearly 1 in 5 Americans face a mental illness of some kind each year, and it only is growing from there. The psychiatric hospitals are often unfit and the patients are often turned away from the facility. They are released back into society where harm can be caused to themselves or others. This is also related to specific events that have been occurring as of late. The topic of gun regulations have been greatly talked about for a while but gained popularity since the recent shootings in public schools. Immigration has become a huge problem as well, causing tension between the foreign relations with Mexico. We aim for background checks on the people buying the guns, and certainty that the workers selling these weapons are properly qualified. This way possible attacks in the future can be avoided. Sadly, in most cases, the use of background checks and the use of stop and frisk is widely taken advantage of. Especially when it comes to minorities. I, as well as my running mate, will fight for equal rights among races. As difficult as every day life can be, we will look out for you. This is why you should be voting for me as your Vice President to stand alongside Jack Carter, your future president. Vote for the people that will make the changes in order to supply a better and safer life for you and your families. I will be sure to increase awareness to the topics people often avoid and this is why I should be your Vice President.
https://youtu.be/Yb-pOJKqMck
President's speech
Most of you sitting here in this classroom know my story. Those of you know the tragedy of my mother passing away after a losing battle of cancer. Yet through it all, most of you know that I’ve come back from a dark place and from the point of no return. Instead of giving up, never returning back to school, or ending up a failure, I thought long and hard to try and make the right decisions. See, I don’t accept failure and I can’t afford giving up on the people I care about. Not to myself, definitely not to my family, but above all to the American people. Of course, I’ve made many sacrifices over the years in order to do the right thing, especially coming to work after school rather than hanging out with friends. Or taking the day off from school in order to work for the family business and work beside my family. People in the past berated me about not showing up to school or how I’m never gonna be successful in life, but I’ve always known that coming to work was the right thing to do. I plan on continuing to make the right decision in order to fulfill my goals, no matter the cost. In order to do that, I need to not only look out for myself, but also for the greater good. However, I did not come here to tell you all about my past or empty promises, I’ve come here today to discuss business. Although we live in a beautiful country, we have some situations to diffuse before we can move on. One situation would be our relations between America and North korea. Although things have come to a temporary stalemate between the U.S and North Korea, it doesn’t mean that it will always remain calm. A retired U.S Navy admiral has told the press that there is a 10% chance of nuclear warfare and a 20-30% chance of a conventional conflict which could kill millions of people. Although these are very low chances, leaving things up to chance is never the right option, and actions need to be taken in order to solidify peace between the two countries. Another problem are the rise of mass shootings due to poor mental health care. It has been stated that within 2018 alone, there has been at least 30 school shootings. Everytime this horrific crime is initiated, we try to come up with a solution. But every time we come up with said solution, it proves to be obsolete and causes everyone’s lives to be endangered. It’s stated that teens who are convicted of these crimes are are troubled teens who are aged around 13 and 18 years old, which are usually the ages that teens will develop a type of mental illness. Finally, there’s economic issues concerning the greater good. With the government placing taxes on 25% of steel imports and 10% on aluminum imports, some business manufacturers need to pay off these tariffs in order to get steel from countries such as Switzerland, Japan, Turkey, Russia, and China. This proves to be a liability due to the fact that it could increase the price of everyday household goods with aluminium or steel used to make the product. Even then, this causes companies to want push for exemptions in order to get out of paying these taxes. However, the more companies wanting to push for exemptions to be given out, the less effective the tariffs are. These are all problems everyday Americans face and they all need to be stopped the efficient way. There’s only a handful of options one can use to combat these situations the right way. For North Korea, there should be a United Nations meeting for peaceful negotiations. That way, terms could be discussed and peace treaties can be signed in order to avoid a nuclear war. This could also provide mutual trade routes if North Korea chooses to comply to trade between them and the U.S, which could prove beneficial to the economy. Where I stand on the topic for education, I believe that the best way to improve our daily education system is to focus our awareness on mental health, especially for troubled teens. Some conclude the problem by banning guns, but we all know that this goes against our right to bear arms that is protected by the Second Amendment. Disarming the public would prove to be ineffective because then it leaves millions of Americans defenseless against home invaders, only causing more problems for the citizens of America. But getting back to the educational problem, I believe the U.S should focus on mental health awareness. If more and more people start focussing on the fact that troubled teens are in need of help, then mass shootings will start to decrease and tensions for these horrific crimes will be reduced. Finally, there’s the tariffs on steel and aluminum. Again, since these tariffs are initiated, the whole economy is at risk due to these unneeded taxes. With this being stated, there seems to be only one option and that option is to decrease these tariffs. Yes, this could decrease American made goods, but it would prove more mutual for the workers who process the materials and makes it cheaper for civilians to purchase aluminum or steel made products. It would prove to be more mutually beneficial if these tariffs are removed from the American economy. These are my tactics on keeping the peace in our country both in foreign affairs, and domestically as well. All in all, America should vote for me and my association. This country needs to be run like a professional business, and I am the one who is willing to see the job is done correctly. In a more directly brusque manner, I cannot afford the greater good to be manipulated any longer and a leader must step up to the plate. Ladies and gentlemen, I advise you to make the right choice on this one, not for my sake, but for everyone’s as well. Thank you for your time.