Sarah Maddox
Reporter
The anticipated arrival of the predicted Doomsday is finally upon us, and with it comes strong, opposing beliefs. Many people relate December 21, or the supposed end of the world, to the ancient Mayan calendar, which ends on the winter solstice of 2012. According to NASA, the entire story began with claims that a supposed planet was headed toward Earth in the year 2003. This was completely false, and when the predicted Doomsday in May 2003 didn’t happen, the date was moved to 2012.
Countless scientific organizations are against the concept of Doomsday and find it to be completely false. Some students look to these establishments for information on the issue. “I believe whatever the scientists are saying,” senior Frankie Hogan said.
Some believe that because the Mayans were so accurate with other calculations, like the length of the lunar moon, then they must be accurate with their prediction of the end of the world as well.“I believe that the world will end on the 21st because the Mayan calendar predicted it,” senior Ben Patch said.
According to NASA, while December 21, 2012 did mark the end of one of the cycles of the Mayan calendars, it was only the end of a long-count period, not the end of the world, and another cycle of the calendar was supposed to begin.
Believers in Doomsday don’t just credit the Mayan calendar but also turn to the Bible and other religious texts to show that the world is supposed to end in 2012. “Aside from the Mayans, the Bible says so itself that the world will end,” Ben said.
Others have a more laid-back outlook on Doomsday, predicting that the end is not this Friday. “The Mayans didn’t know what they were talking about,” sophomore Hayden Underwood said. “I don’t think the world will end because they have said that it’ll end other times, and it never happened.”
Sophomore Pacino Milbrun is equally as skeptical of Doomsday. “I think that it’s all a lie. There’s no real evidence,” he said.
Whether you believe the world will end or not, nobody is really sure what will happen, and it looks like we’ll just have to wait and see. Junior Mike Dunn-Weiss said,“It’s the world’s greatest mystery.”
