August was a chaotic month in both the political and social spheres, with the death of Heather Heyer in Charlottesville, to Hurricane Harvey wreaking havoc in Texas.
Charlottesville
White nationalists and supremacists who were planning to gather for a Unite the Right rally on Saturday, Aug. 12, made a Friday night surprise when they gathered a night early with torches around 8 p.m. and marched along the University of Virginia. At around 1:15 p.m. a medical response was ushered after a three-vehicle crash occurred. However, witnesses of the accident knew it was no accident. Rally goer James Alex Fields plowed his vehicle into a crowd of counter protesters. Heather Heyer, 32, of Charlottesville was killed in the accident and 19 others were injured.
“Our country should be a place where many different cultures can come together and be celebrated, we should find strength in our differences” first-year Megan Ballard comments.
Total Solar Eclipse
The total solar eclipse that occurred on August 21, 2017 was the first total solar eclipse to cross the United States from coast to coast in 99 years.
“Witnessing the eclipse made me not only appreciate the natural wonders of the world but also made me think about how the wonders of the world won’t stop for humans” first-year Olivia DelGandio said. “We must take care of our planet in order to continue to be able to witness these magnificent events.”
The eclipse began in Oregon, with complete totality just after 1 p.m., and had its end in South Carolina at about 3 p.m. For many a partial solar eclipse was visible until just after 4 p.m. in the Southeast United States. According to NASA, on Apr. 8, 2024, a total solar eclipse will stretch diagonally across the U.S., and many students are looking forward to it already.
Hurricane Harvey
The month of August also presented a great force of nature that caused much loss and devastation in the state of Texas. Hurricane Harvey made landfall in Texas on Aug. 25 as a category four hurricane. Harvey wreaked havoc in Texas for six days as the rains created widespread and destructive flooding. Harvey left catastrophic record flooding in most of southeast Texas, and state recovery efforts are still underway.
Harvey dumped 27 trillion gallons of water on Texas in the course of six days, resulted in 72,000 rescues, and the damage is estimated to cost around $75 billion dollars.
“What happened with Harvey is very saddening, and I hope that our government and our officials can learn from Harvey and Irma,” first-year LilyAnne Rodriguez said. “Climate change was the main contributing factor in each of these natural disasters, and it can no longer be ignored.”
Trump
The month of August was brutal for Trump, with a dramatic dip in polling numbers. Throughout August, strife among top cabinet members and the pressures of producing major legislation on tax reform became a great concern. Issues with North Korea and immigration still lay ahead.
Information for this article was gathered from nytimes.com, cnn.com