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CNN 10
Riots at Penn State; Veteran`s Day
Aired November 11, 2011 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi, it`s Veterans Day.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And we`re (inaudible) California.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You are watching CNN Student News.
GROUP: And we`re saluting all veterans, especially our favorite, Mr. Bonsteel.
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CARL AZUZ, CNN ANCHOR: Well, you`re going to hear from Mr. Bonsteel in today`s Veterans` Day coverage. We salute everyone who`s served in the U.S. Armed Forces, and everyone currently serving who`s watching our show. This is CNN Student News.
Upheaval at Penn State University: it`s part of all the fallout from the story we told you about yesterday. The school`s board of trustees is making dramatic changes at some of the highest levels, starting with the school`s president.
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JOHN SURMA JR., BOARD OF TRUSTEES, PENN STATE UNIVERSITY: Effective immediately, Dr. Spanier is no longer president of the university. In addition, Joe Paterno is longer the head football coach, effective immediate.
AZUZ (voice-over): Coach Joe Paterno has gotten more wins that any other coach in major college football. After the scandal broke, he announced plans to step down at the end of the season, but many people, including the Penn State Board of Trustees, didn`t think Paterno did enough to address the scandal at the school. So they forced him out immediately, along with the State president on Wednesday night.
Hundreds of students turned out to support Paterno. One rally turned into a riot that you see in this YouTube video.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: See if you can ID me. I became independent from Japan in 1945. I`m about the size of Indiana, but I have one of the world`s largest economies. I`m the Asian country whose capital is Seoul.
I`m South Korea, and about 98 percent of my population can read and write.
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AZUZ: For students in South Korea, there is no messing around senior year. More than 80 percent of high school students there go on to college. And it`s the college entrance exam that determines which university students will get into. That test was given on Thursday. It lasts for eight hours.
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AZUZ (voice-over): And the whole country changes its schedule for this. You see underclassmen here lining up in a public pep rally to cheer on seniors taking the test. Stock markets open later; there are more bus and subway routes. Police even give rides to some students to make sure they won`t be late. Seven hundred thousand South Korean students took the test on Thursday, and many of those who don`t well will take another year to study for the next test.
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AZUZ: Another animal has gone extinct in our time. It`s Africa`s Western Black Rhinoceros. It`s a subspecies of black rhino which is considered critically endangered because of poaching and a lack of places for these animals to live. But some conservationists are doing something about that.
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AZUZ (voice-over): They recently moved 19 black rhinos to an area where scientists think they`ll have a better shot at surviving. How do you move a rhino? Watch this. They`re tranquilized to keep them calm, blindfolded to keep them from getting scared, and then transported by helicopter to their new home. That might not seem very pleasant for the rhinos, but in many cases, conservationists say there`s just no other way to do it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the kindest way we`ve yet discovered of moving a rhino from the field to a vehicle.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is a big operation. It`s a lot of animals to try and move in a really short time.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There are no roads. There is no access whatsoever. You know, most of these parks are wilderness area.
AZUZ (voice-over): The animals are taken a thousand miles away to a place where they`ll have more space and less chance of being poached. There are an estimated 4,000 black rhinos left in the world. It`s hoped that a new home for these 19 will make the difference needed to keep these things around.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Today`s Shoutout goes out to Ms. Olson`s, Ms. Johnson`s and Ms. Tharaldson`s social studies classes at Bemidji Middle School in Bemidji, Minnesota. What war ended on this day in history? You know what to do. Is it World War I, the U.S. Civil War, Crimean War or World War II? You`ve got three seconds, go.
It was on November 11th, 1918, that the armistice went into effect, ending World War I. That`s your answer, and that`s your Shoutout.
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AZUZ: Today`s holiday was first known as Armistice Day in honor of troops who served in World War I. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ (voice-over): The name was later changed to Veterans` Day in the U.S., to honor everyone who served in America`s armed forces, regardless of when, regardless of where.
You`ll see parades and celebrations going on nationwide. The Veterans` Day National Ceremony will happen at Arlington National Cemetery. It`s in honor and gratitude for America`s service men and women. And something interesting about the date this time around. It`s 11-11-11, first time that`s happened since Veterans` Day became a holiday; last time it`ll happen until 2111.
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AZUZ: We`ve got your comments about Veterans` Day coming up, but we wanted to bring in a veteran to talk to us as well. I`d like you to meet Retired Staff Sgt. Louis Bonsteel. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps and the California Army National Guard. He now happens to be a teacher in California who uses CNN Student News. He sat down with me earlier via Skype for this interview.
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AZUZ: As someone who`s served in the U.S. military, what does Veterans` Day mean to you?
RET. STAFF SGT. LOUIS BONSTEEL: It`s a day that we actually sit back and appreciate those that have served, all of those that have served in service, all the way from the beginning of the American Revolution, all the way to the current time now. And it`s a great time to just say thank you for what they have done for us.
AZUZ: Is there something in particular that you do having served in the U.S. military now that you`re out of the military?
BONSTEEL: Well, now that I`m teaching, I actually try to share that information with my students, especially that -- I teach about World War I, so we actually teach about the history of Veterans` Day, how it started out as Armistice Day, when they ended all fighting with World War I. And now we carry it into this new time, where we actually appreciate all of those soldiers that allow us to have those freedoms that we now enjoy.
AZUZ: We know a lot of students in our audience are considering going into the military. What advice do you have for them?
BONSTEEL: See me first? I used to be a recruiter.
AZUZ: Yes. Oh, so you`re the right guy to come to. Sure.
BONSTEEL: Yes, I`d talk to some of the veterans first before you actually talk to a recruiter, and they can actually give you a little bit more of what it was like on the inside. It`s a great opportunity.
AZUZ: And finally, Mr. Bonsteel, do you consider teaching a form of service as well?
BONSTEEL: Oh, I sure do. A lot of the skills that I took from the service I actually use in my classroom, you know, you don`t leave a soldier behind. I can`t leave a student behind. If one of my studs fails, I fail. So I make sure that I carry my students all the way through the mission and bring them to success.
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AZUZ: All right. On our blog last week, we asked why you think it`s important to honor America`s veterans today.
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AZUZ (voice-over): Caleb asks, why wouldn`t it be important? The bravery they showed allows each and every one of us to live the way we do.
Sarah writes it`s important because every day veterans risk their lives to protect people they never even met.
Jenna adds that Veterans` Day gives us a chance to think about and thank the people who keep our country safe. Without veterans, America wouldn`t be the country that it is.
From Tom: they sacrificed everything to protect America. They missed years of their kids` lives to help America. That`s why we should honor veterans.
Anna says that more often than not, veterans are modest about what they do. Some don`t even consider themselves heroes. But without them, America would not be safe.
Gabriella wrote that Veterans` Day isn`t about getting off school or work. It`s about keeping in mind the loved ones we`ve lost in war, and the people who devote their lives to keep our country safe.
Both of Rebekah`s grandfathers served in the military. That makes the holiday really special for their family. She says it takes a certain kind of courage to get up one morning and say, I want to defend my country, no matter what the cost.
And Zack believes we should celebrate Veterans` Day every day, considering that every day we live in America, we owe to them.
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AZUZ: We`re wrapping up and Veterans` Day coverage with a story about two brothers. One is an airman who just completed his third and last tour in Afghanistan. The other is a student who`d just completed a speech at his middle school.
Joe LePage of affiliate WXIN shows us what happened when these two got together.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ready?
CODY (ph) ANDERSON, AIRMAN: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You got to hustle.
JOE LEPAGE, CNN REPORTER: Cody (ph) flew into Indy (ph) at 11:30. After a quick hug to his mom, it was time to get in the car and head to Greencastle (ph) Middle School`s Veterans` Day ceremony. The festivities were moved up a couple of days because Cody (ph) was coming.
KATHERINE ASBELL, DIRECTOR OF GUIDANCE: It was madness. We were very secretive. We didn`t even tell the teachers until the very last minute.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All seventh grade students, you may report to the gymnasium at this time.
LEPAGE (voice-over): Students were dismissed while the Anderson family waited outside. Jesse Anderson was asked to give a speech about his brother and his service in Afghanistan.
During the speech, the rest of the Andersons listened quietly in a nearby locker room. As Jesse was wrapping up, his brother was walking up behind him.
JESSE ANDERSON, STUDENT: Veterans` Day is a great day to remember the people who have fought for this country, and who are fighting right now. If he were here right now, I`d tell him thanks for serving us and our country. Thank you.
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J. ANDERSON: The best birthday gift ever.
LEPAGE (voice-over): Cody says it was a lot of work to pull off this one-of-a-kind birthday present, but it will be something he will never forget.
C. (ph) ANDERSON: To see the look on his face was worth everything.
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AZUZ: And everything is what our veterans often put on the line to serve their country, so we thank them, and wish all of our audience a wonderful weekend and a wonderful 11-11-11. For CNN Student News, I`m Carl Azuz.
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