Current Events

Steve Jobs dies at 56

Elise Brown
October 5, 2011

Steve Jobs, founder and CEO of Apple, died on Oct. 5 at the age of 56. The cause of death was not specified by Apple or his family, but he has battled pancreatic cancer in the past seven years. The Jobs family released a statement saying that Jobs died “peacefully… surrounded by his family.”

“Steve’s brilliance, passion and energy were the source of countless innovations that enrich and improve all of our lives,” Apple’s Board of Directors said in a statement released on the day of his death. “The world is immeasurably better because of Steve.”

He is survived by Laurene Powell Jobs, his wife; their three children, Reed Paul, Erin Sienna, and Eve; and Lisa Brennan-Jobs, his daughter from a previous marriage.

Jobs founded Apple Computers in 1976 with Steve Wozniak. They invented the Apple II, the first personal computer. Over the three decades that followed, Apple released such devices as the Macbook, iPhone, iPod, and iPad, devices which revolutionized the worlds of technology and entertainment.

Jobs also was the CEO of Pixar from 1986 until the company was bought out by Disney in 2006. He was credited as one of the executive directors of “Toy Story.” He was Disney’s largest individual shareholder and a member of the company’s board of directors.

Jobs remained the CEO of Apple until August 2011, but continued to be the chairman of its board of directors. He died only one day after the release of the iPhone 4S was announced.

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About the Contributor

Elise Brown, Co Editor-in-Chief

Elise Brown, senior, has always felt comfortable standing up and giving her opinion in front of everyone and for the most part, she enjoys it very much. That is one of the many reasons why she heads the debate team, and also why in June she earned a place in the National Speech and Debate Competition in Indianapolis.

Out of the 250 people entered in the competition, she finished 151st in the country. Before she earned her rightful place in Nationals, however, she needed to prove herself in Districts and State.

Her 10 minute long speech about socialism and its benefits took first and second in Districts and State, respectively.

“In the National competition the judges didn’t appreciate politics or controversy as much as they did in Districts and State,” Brown said. This was confirmed from one of the judges she conversed with in order to find out what she could do better.

Brown’s interest in current events started in the eighth grade. She then did the Amplifier, the high school newspaper to help communicate her ideas about the world with her fellow peers, she also did the debate team to better understand the problems throughout the world and learn how to solve them somewhat.

“Debate involves knowing what is going on in the world,” Brown said.

This year for upcoming competitions, she has a speech in the works that she feels will top her last one. This year’s speech is about interdependence inspired by the “you didn’t build that debate,” caused when President Barack Obama told business people that they did not create their businesses on their own.

Brown’s passion for debate has influenced what college she will go to, what she will study in college, and what she wants to do in her life. Brown’s goal is to graduate high school and then travel to Massachusetts and attend Wellesley College, a very well known and prestigious college, where Brown hopes to study political science.

To achieve this goal she has taken part in a number of rigorous courses and activities such as Speech and Debate, AP Government, AP Economics, Honors Law, AP English and journalism. Once Brown achieves her education goals, her next goal is to become a political commentator.

“I want to change people’s minds,” Brown said. Brown has chosen the path to become a political commentator because she believes political power lies with the media.

Brown has worked very hard throughout high school and continues to work hard through her senior year. She has taken many challenging courses to achieve her goal of going to Wellesley, and will need to continue down the very rigorous path to success to accomplish her goals.