While I do not fall under the stereotypical categories of addiction (drugs, etc.), I have to admit that I've spent a lot of time and energy over the past year talking, thinking, and writing about this election.
We have had intense discussions about the views of particular candidates -- and the candidates themselves -- during class on an almost daily basis, and my friends and I have had many heated discussions of our own outside of school. Not many people can accuse Fike High School of political apathy.
The question is, after all this renewed interest in politics, what will all of us do once this election is over? After reading CNN.com religiously this fall, I will have to find something else to do with the few minutes of spare time that I have. I also sincerely hope that I won't be getting political jabs from my more conservative friends regarding Obama for the next four years if he is elected.
Although getting Americans of all ages involved in the political process is undoubtedly a worthwhile goal, there will be a letdown on November 5 no matter which candidate prepares to enter the White House on January 20.
- Caroline Dolman
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
School Uniforms
School uniforms are an affront to personal freedoms and individuality. The idea of homogenizing the student body for the sake of convienence is ridiculous and comparable to throwing the baby out with the bath water. Individuality in dress should not under any circumstances be considered a "distraction" to the learning process. Keeping everyone on equal grounds can only extend to the point at which it begins to impact personal freedoms.
The argument that uniforms will reduce bullying for clothing reasons is absurd and completely wrong. Making everyone wear the same thing will not magically remove clique conflict from schools. Treating a symptom of a disease does not a cure make. Bullies and cliques will simply find other ways to ostracise others, while the system in place does nothing but penalize students that only want to be an individual and have their own identity, even in small ways such as clothing.
Treating students as sub-citizens is an unacceptable solution to a problem that should be adressed directly, not through straw-man tactics such as school uniforms.
-Tyler Westcott
The argument that uniforms will reduce bullying for clothing reasons is absurd and completely wrong. Making everyone wear the same thing will not magically remove clique conflict from schools. Treating a symptom of a disease does not a cure make. Bullies and cliques will simply find other ways to ostracise others, while the system in place does nothing but penalize students that only want to be an individual and have their own identity, even in small ways such as clothing.
Treating students as sub-citizens is an unacceptable solution to a problem that should be adressed directly, not through straw-man tactics such as school uniforms.
-Tyler Westcott
Monday, October 6, 2008
Going out on a limb -- and falling flat on my face
I went out on a limb last Wednesday by bragging about Fike's football team, and I metaphorically landed flat on my face at Friday's football game.
I expect to be thoroughly reminded of this occurrence at this Wednesday's TeenINK meeting, since there is usually a high percentage of Bruins and Warriors in attendance.
Yes, I know I said that Fike would cream Beddingfield. As a loyal Fike Demon and an off-key but enthusiastic member of the Fike Marching Band, what else was I supposed to say? I can't be blamed for optimism, can I?
Even an unathletic band member, I have gotten caught up in Fike's recent wins just as much as my classmates, even if I just fully comprehended what a "down" was for the first time this year. After watching mediocre -- to put it kindly -- football performances from Fike in the past (we did not win a single game my freshman year, and only won one in my sophomore year), we are all extremely proud of this year's football team.
Even if Fike didn't manage to beat Beddingfield this time, I think they put in an excellent showing. And who knows what will happen next game? The metaphorical limb may be a little less sturdy than I initially thought, but I may be willing to gamble just the same way next time.
- Caroline Dolman
I expect to be thoroughly reminded of this occurrence at this Wednesday's TeenINK meeting, since there is usually a high percentage of Bruins and Warriors in attendance.
Yes, I know I said that Fike would cream Beddingfield. As a loyal Fike Demon and an off-key but enthusiastic member of the Fike Marching Band, what else was I supposed to say? I can't be blamed for optimism, can I?
Even an unathletic band member, I have gotten caught up in Fike's recent wins just as much as my classmates, even if I just fully comprehended what a "down" was for the first time this year. After watching mediocre -- to put it kindly -- football performances from Fike in the past (we did not win a single game my freshman year, and only won one in my sophomore year), we are all extremely proud of this year's football team.
Even if Fike didn't manage to beat Beddingfield this time, I think they put in an excellent showing. And who knows what will happen next game? The metaphorical limb may be a little less sturdy than I initially thought, but I may be willing to gamble just the same way next time.
- Caroline Dolman
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Economy packs a personal punch
Is anybody but me feeling the economic crunch yet? I now understand my parents' stress a little bit better as they are starting to "give me more financial responsibility," i.e. hand more things over for me to pay. I'm now unexpectedly paying for a church ski trip planned for February in addition to my spring band trip. This is reasonable, since I'm the one skiing and playing the flute and not my parents, but I naively didn't really think that the economy -- which has always seemed so distant and complicated -- could affect me personally. After all, don't we have the FDIC to keep our economy from getting into a real mess? This whole economic crisis couldn't have come at a worse time for my family, as I'm starting to think about college. However, on a more positive note, I am also beginning to consider my spending habits much more carefully as I slowly come to terms with spending a small pile of hundred dollar bills this year. As stressful as all this, I guess re-evaluating my spending habits isn't a bad idea before I head off to college -- and (economic) freedom! -- next year.
- Caroline Dolman
- Caroline Dolman
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Presidential Candidates June 9
Caroline Barack Obama doesn't have very much experience. Judgement is more important that experience. Experience is relevant but it's not the most important. Sherrod What about the great leaders that didn't have experience prior. Malcolm X Martin Luther King Jr. Gabby I don't think (Hilary Clinton) should have dropped out when she did. There are so many ways they could attack her. I was glad she dropped out because I would rather have either one of those candidates than McCain. The longer it goes on the more it hurts them. Should have done it now rather than later. Sherrod I don't think America is ready for Clinton and Obama. Kylie People aren't ready for a man to be in charge. Caroline I've heard (McCain) is good on a city council level. Gabby I've heard more about (Clinton and Obama) than (McCain). Elix I know (McCain) he has experience but he could die before his term ends. Sherrod (McCain) He might not have the same thing in mind. He might not support people my age as well. Marcus He could fall badly and die before his time is even up. Gabby Do you think America's ready for a african american president? Sherrod He needed more security because he's african american when he first began. Gabby Other countries may be able to connect with him better. Kylie I think he seems more down to Earth. Caroline Some of the current problems have been made by mistakes. Kylie It's a lot of pressure and work. Somebody's always going to disagree with a decision. Sherrod If somebody has a good idea and you agree with it why can't you use it? Elix I still like the idea of him and Hilary in office. Sherrod Some of the things people do to the flag is almost worshipping it. I pledge allegiance to God not the flag. Caroline Didn't they catch McCain not pledging too? Kylie I don't think showing an i.d. card is a bad idea. Caroline I think it's a privacy thing but I think it's worth it. Kylie I think Michelle Obama seems nice. The first lady would rub off on her husband. She seems like she would stick with Obama. Caroline Does it bother you that Hilary Clinton showed a little bit of cleavage and that got more attention than her speach. Gabby People care too much about what they do (rather than their campaign) Elix The first thing I would do as President is use and flush every White House toilet. Gabby I'd do something about the war. Kylie People apparently aren't getting even health coverage so I think that would be the first thing I would do. Elix I would go to Alaska and drill to get oil for our cars. Marcus As president I would get the troops out of Iraq Kylir I would want to come up with something for every child to feel loved. Caroline I would take away no child left behind Terrell I would make all products made in the US environmentally safe I would make college free Sherrod I would change the legal age of things I would change a lot of them to 16. Kylie I would take away smoking in restaurants.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Daisy: I don't see alot of racism.
I see alot of it.
Sarah THere's a lot of racism at schol wthin out words
carolina we have our
racism is not just oclor though,k its' relgiion, colcor, body type
definition of racism is solely race
sherrod one group not being included by another group simply because of race
jason that's prdjucie
gabby most of the time having different feelings because people oput prejudices on themselves. They make fun of htemsleves. Trying to include himself, made apoint of being ASain. It's what they think of themselves.
Morgan Color still matters?
Carolina Some poepole are raised that way
DRew Prejudice is learned in the home
Jane the behavior and the actions of your teachers in the home
sarah there is so many different acategories you can stereotype people in to; like "that's gay" hits on the gay ocmmunity. Just because you ahve the First Amendment to say whatever you want doesn't mean you should exeracise ir LL RHW TIME.
Sherrod I was around nine I was in a store just stiting around I thought that I was getting old didn't want to hang around Mom all the time. Man walked up to me and told me to either buy something or leave. AFter that, me and my brother quickly explained the situation, when he saw her he left her alone. AFterwards we told my mother about it and she went back to him. He said we loked suspicious. If it had been someobdy who wasn't black they would have left him alone. MOm talked to alwayer, he contacted the head office and htey said that it was racial profiling. THey admitted it, and they were apologizing. THey asked MOm if she wanted free food and she said 'We just want our dignity.'
Carolina: I can see that it's out there. If people keep on doing it, their kids are agoing to do it, and it's going to grow bigger and bigger.
Jason; It's going to exist forever.
JANE I have seen people who are treated differently because of their size. THat happens all the time, people are treated differntly form the way they should be. THey're not accepted as a normal perosn.
DAisy But then there's people who are treated better who stand up for those people.
Morgan So you're saying that there are just as many good peole for the predjudiced ones
Jason: Dr. King and Malxom X got shot for that.
Morgan: Fewer people doing it but it's still being done. Not as widely accepted.
Gabby: MOst of the time when people were racist, they were racist to themselves not to other people. A perosn's a person. I don't think it's as amusch of an issue violence-wise, but I do see it in generalizations. WHen this country started, everybody had an opinon was a white man. It's come a long way. ANybody can be anybody, it doesn't matter. WHen people are predjudiced and racist, they're not going to do a=nhything about it. EAsier said than done when it comes to prejudice.
SHerod: You go into a major corporation, who is on top?
Olivia: THe Black person has athe same opportunities as a WHite one.
MOrgan: The newspaper business has said that diversity is a good thing. Our society is diverse, and if we're going to be read by everybody, we have to be diversified.
Gabby: I think sometimes it's more racist to include other races.Sometimes more racist to say 'we're looking for a perosn of your race' we should look at the person.
MORGAN: Someday hopefully we won't have affirmative action.
Olivia: instead of having a black person saying 'a white person is going to have that job,' you can try.
Sherrod: If everyone can, how come everyone has not?
Gabby: THeir attitudes are negative.
Carolina: Do you think it's right that people who can work get Welfare?
Jason: A perosn who's been in jail can't get a job.
Morgan: He's right. The U.S. is so sue-happy, if you hire somebody and they've done a felony and they hurt somebody, employees can sue the company.That's the main reason felons can't get jobs, because of the legal aspect.
Carolina: They can go work in the fields.
SHerrod: Slavery is all right as long as you've been convicted of a felony.
Gabby: It might be that a lot of people up there are white, but that's because they tried, they strive. There are black people and hispanic people who try, and they get somewhere.
Morgan: Do you think the SAT is racially biased?
Sarah: A lot of private schools are now not looking at the SAT.But there still has to be some form of placement testing.
Olivia: Just because your parents are racist doesn't mean you have to be. Its about doing the right thing or the wrong thing. You have to strive and try hard.
Gabby: If you see something that is bad, you yourself can correct it. Who you hang around with can rub off on you. You need to pick a good crowd to be your friends.
Olivia: You have your own mind, you have to make your own decision. You can change the cycle.
I see alot of it.
Sarah THere's a lot of racism at schol wthin out words
carolina we have our
racism is not just oclor though,k its' relgiion, colcor, body type
definition of racism is solely race
sherrod one group not being included by another group simply because of race
jason that's prdjucie
gabby most of the time having different feelings because people oput prejudices on themselves. They make fun of htemsleves. Trying to include himself, made apoint of being ASain. It's what they think of themselves.
Morgan Color still matters?
Carolina Some poepole are raised that way
DRew Prejudice is learned in the home
Jane the behavior and the actions of your teachers in the home
sarah there is so many different acategories you can stereotype people in to; like "that's gay" hits on the gay ocmmunity. Just because you ahve the First Amendment to say whatever you want doesn't mean you should exeracise ir LL RHW TIME.
Sherrod I was around nine I was in a store just stiting around I thought that I was getting old didn't want to hang around Mom all the time. Man walked up to me and told me to either buy something or leave. AFter that, me and my brother quickly explained the situation, when he saw her he left her alone. AFterwards we told my mother about it and she went back to him. He said we loked suspicious. If it had been someobdy who wasn't black they would have left him alone. MOm talked to alwayer, he contacted the head office and htey said that it was racial profiling. THey admitted it, and they were apologizing. THey asked MOm if she wanted free food and she said 'We just want our dignity.'
Carolina: I can see that it's out there. If people keep on doing it, their kids are agoing to do it, and it's going to grow bigger and bigger.
Jason; It's going to exist forever.
JANE I have seen people who are treated differently because of their size. THat happens all the time, people are treated differntly form the way they should be. THey're not accepted as a normal perosn.
DAisy But then there's people who are treated better who stand up for those people.
Morgan So you're saying that there are just as many good peole for the predjudiced ones
Jason: Dr. King and Malxom X got shot for that.
Morgan: Fewer people doing it but it's still being done. Not as widely accepted.
Gabby: MOst of the time when people were racist, they were racist to themselves not to other people. A perosn's a person. I don't think it's as amusch of an issue violence-wise, but I do see it in generalizations. WHen this country started, everybody had an opinon was a white man. It's come a long way. ANybody can be anybody, it doesn't matter. WHen people are predjudiced and racist, they're not going to do a=nhything about it. EAsier said than done when it comes to prejudice.
SHerod: You go into a major corporation, who is on top?
Olivia: THe Black person has athe same opportunities as a WHite one.
MOrgan: The newspaper business has said that diversity is a good thing. Our society is diverse, and if we're going to be read by everybody, we have to be diversified.
Gabby: I think sometimes it's more racist to include other races.Sometimes more racist to say 'we're looking for a perosn of your race' we should look at the person.
MORGAN: Someday hopefully we won't have affirmative action.
Olivia: instead of having a black person saying 'a white person is going to have that job,' you can try.
Sherrod: If everyone can, how come everyone has not?
Gabby: THeir attitudes are negative.
Carolina: Do you think it's right that people who can work get Welfare?
Jason: A perosn who's been in jail can't get a job.
Morgan: He's right. The U.S. is so sue-happy, if you hire somebody and they've done a felony and they hurt somebody, employees can sue the company.That's the main reason felons can't get jobs, because of the legal aspect.
Carolina: They can go work in the fields.
SHerrod: Slavery is all right as long as you've been convicted of a felony.
Gabby: It might be that a lot of people up there are white, but that's because they tried, they strive. There are black people and hispanic people who try, and they get somewhere.
Morgan: Do you think the SAT is racially biased?
Sarah: A lot of private schools are now not looking at the SAT.But there still has to be some form of placement testing.
Olivia: Just because your parents are racist doesn't mean you have to be. Its about doing the right thing or the wrong thing. You have to strive and try hard.
Gabby: If you see something that is bad, you yourself can correct it. Who you hang around with can rub off on you. You need to pick a good crowd to be your friends.
Olivia: You have your own mind, you have to make your own decision. You can change the cycle.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Dress Code
Kylie: I think the rule about tucking in shirts is a little extreme
Hannah: they don't always make the girls tuck in their shirts
Santiago: the reason they did this was because someone saw a video where a guy had 12 guns in his pants. Girls can do that just as well as a guy can
Laura: girls could put guns in their purses
Terell: the dress code makes me mad because most people care about what they are wearing
Laura: teachers at my school have been cracking down on the dress code more at the end of this semester
Hannah: shorts are fingertip length or longer, and skirts are three inches above the knee
Santiaogo: the tucking in shirts thing is supposed to take care of the baggy pants but it really doesn't
The worst part is getting written up and not knowing it
Laura: a few weeks ago, a girl got sent home and her skirt was long enough, but another girl's skirt was to short and she didn't get in trouble
Hannah: some of the rules are really silly like you can't zip up your jacket
Laura: it's a respect thing; how much do you respect yourself and your school
Group: teachers and principles pick favorites
Carolina: when I was in eighth grade, when the guys didn't have a belt, they would give them a rope to put on their pants
Santiago: the people at my school used to staple our pants to our shirts
Carolina: when guys pants are way down low, they have to grab their pants to walk
Hannah: I think they are doing their best just to protect us. We may not like it but they are just trying to protect us from things like Columbine
Sarah: teachers have to make donations to organizations in order to wear jeans because they have a dress code too
Jason: I get distracted by girls with low cut shirts sometimes
Carolina: clothes are a way to express yourself
many group members: uniforms would be horrible
Kylie: uniforms would not cause as many problems with people being jealous of people with designer clothes
Savannah: I think the dress code is not good because I can't wear shorts because I have long arms
Laura: sometimes you can get away with just pulling your shoulders up
Carolina: I have friends who get sent home and cant get home so they just hide when someone who cares comes up
No one wears anything to bad- no one goes half naked to school
Hannah: sometimes if people think they are going to get in trouble, they will just bring extra clothes
Savannah: they dress code needs to be changed
Carolina: it takes to much time; people could be in class learning in stead of worrying about it
Daisy: I think people should take care that they dress well so that people will respect them
Hannah: they don't always make the girls tuck in their shirts
Santiago: the reason they did this was because someone saw a video where a guy had 12 guns in his pants. Girls can do that just as well as a guy can
Laura: girls could put guns in their purses
Terell: the dress code makes me mad because most people care about what they are wearing
Laura: teachers at my school have been cracking down on the dress code more at the end of this semester
Hannah: shorts are fingertip length or longer, and skirts are three inches above the knee
Santiaogo: the tucking in shirts thing is supposed to take care of the baggy pants but it really doesn't
The worst part is getting written up and not knowing it
Laura: a few weeks ago, a girl got sent home and her skirt was long enough, but another girl's skirt was to short and she didn't get in trouble
Hannah: some of the rules are really silly like you can't zip up your jacket
Laura: it's a respect thing; how much do you respect yourself and your school
Group: teachers and principles pick favorites
Carolina: when I was in eighth grade, when the guys didn't have a belt, they would give them a rope to put on their pants
Santiago: the people at my school used to staple our pants to our shirts
Carolina: when guys pants are way down low, they have to grab their pants to walk
Hannah: I think they are doing their best just to protect us. We may not like it but they are just trying to protect us from things like Columbine
Sarah: teachers have to make donations to organizations in order to wear jeans because they have a dress code too
Jason: I get distracted by girls with low cut shirts sometimes
Carolina: clothes are a way to express yourself
many group members: uniforms would be horrible
Kylie: uniforms would not cause as many problems with people being jealous of people with designer clothes
Savannah: I think the dress code is not good because I can't wear shorts because I have long arms
Laura: sometimes you can get away with just pulling your shoulders up
Carolina: I have friends who get sent home and cant get home so they just hide when someone who cares comes up
No one wears anything to bad- no one goes half naked to school
Hannah: sometimes if people think they are going to get in trouble, they will just bring extra clothes
Savannah: they dress code needs to be changed
Carolina: it takes to much time; people could be in class learning in stead of worrying about it
Daisy: I think people should take care that they dress well so that people will respect them
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