The Bluffer - Red Bluff, CA
Issue link: http://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/260944
F ellow Red Bluff High students, I have a question for you. Jeans from American Eagle or jeans from Walmart? Yes, those off-brand jeans may have a much lesser price, but what about the quality? To my reference, I would much rather have a pair of jeans last than having to keep buying the same pair again because of the quality difference. I, personally, prefer something that has a better quality and will last longer in the long run. Let's take the "basic white girl" for example. We all know what that is. The basic white girl is known for wearing leggings, UGG boots, sweaters from PINK, and don't forget the needed cup of Staff Writer Maggie Tallan SPARTAN THUMBS RBHS Fights Cancer *These Thumbs came from Mrs. Dehart's 6th period class. Valentine's Day Groundhog Day Page 2 February 14, 2014 Sucky Super Bowl The recent Super Bowl was very anitclimactic. RBHS joins the fight against cancer with pink-out rally. Groundhog saw his shadow, six more weeks of winter. The next winter break is around the corner. Just a reminder that you are alone. Staff Editorial Respect... Editorial Policy: Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the district, staff, or student body. We welcome signed letters to the editor. Names may be withheld upon request. We also reserve the right to edit submission based on length and/or clarity. THE STA FF Marissa Chase Editor-in-Chief Marissa Chase News Editors Owen Ritter Grey Grotke Viewpoint Editors Ceighlee Fennel Features Editor Ryan Fisher Tymberlyn Bealer Sports Editor MIkayla Moore Becca Blanchard Savannah Sutliff Topics Editors Josiah Vasey Editor-in-Chief Kellie Rodriguez Advertising Director Alisa Pelanconi Adviser Cartoonist Karla Nowicki Staff Writers Adam Swarthout Kylee Bonds Grey Grotke Maggie Tallan Molly Shea Brianna Tackmier Taylor Nguyen Mikayla Moore Lexi Pritchard Jeff Mandolfo Julia Liebert Savannah Sutliff Another Winter Break Opinion Josiah Vasey Becca Blanchard Topics Editor There's no reason to be mean to a substitute teacher. Or any teacher for that matter. Many substitue teachers think that simply being a person of authority automatically gives them respect. But authority and respect are two very different things. Authority is something bestowed upon someone to give them control over a group. This is what a teacher gets. But respect, well that needs to be earned. I've seen so many substitutes lose respect from students and not understand why. Maybe they don't understand the fundamentals of respect in the teenage world. So, let's go over them. 1. Never, ever, demean a student in front of the whole class. I've seen so many subs try to joke with a student without understanding this simple concept. 2. Have clear expectations. Often times a teacher will not leave clear instructions for a sub to follow. This does not mean that the sub should give the students unclear instructions. Ask the students what they think. Ask what the teacher usually does or if they've had an assignment similair to this one. Get their feedback and use it to give them clear instructions instead of leaving them in the dark. And do not assign extra work if you can't find anything for them to do! 3. Be f lexible. If the teachers instructions say the students need to do work out of a textbook that none of the students brought, don't just shrug your shoulders and sit behind the desk for the whole period. Try to keep the day productive, think for yourself! Maybe let them work in groups. Also, let your students go to the bathroom! We've heard horror stories of subs who wouldn't let their students go to the bathroom. That is juvenile. Do not do that. That's pretty much it. Just be nice to the students and they will like you. Follow these rules and they might just start to respect you. And maybe you'll even begin to respect them. Imagine that. A & E Editors T here's a mild ongoing controversy, about whether or not rodeo is truly a sport. And many would say it is not, most people don't even care to extend their train of thought past the bull riding. But there's a lot more to the competition than the spectator's eye sees. It's not just a string of practices and games you can go to, come home from, and forget about. Because when you leave the rodeo your horses go with you, along with the work, costs, and responsibilities. On a daily basis there are pens to be cleaned, horses to be fed and watered, grain to be made, hay to be moved around, horses to be exercised and worked, and practice to be made perfect. Because a very intelligent unknown once said "Practice does not make perfect, perfect practice makes perfect." If you are not performing to the absolute best of your ability at the rodeos and winning money (and there's lots to win), a person who is consistently going can lose over 5,000 dollars in a month easily. And a lot of times when you're on the road, winning at one rodeo dictates whether or not you will be able to enter and get to the next. You have to be tough inside and out to handle the life. It's not as glamorous as it is sometimes perceived to be there's times when your truck breaks down and you're stuck on the side of the road, when your horse comes up lame an hour before your run and times where you're just plain out of money. I don't think anyone could truly understand the hard work it takes to rodeo successfully unless they do so. Rodeo is not only a glorious sport but an amazing way of life. Mikayla Moore Staff Writer M arjorie. Mar-jo-rie. No, it's not a butter. No, you're not allowed to call me Marge or Margie or anything close to it. Maggie seems like a perfectly fine name, right? So why is it that my parents decided to bestow upon me the curse of a name of a cat lady, or a name that so closely resembles that of a certain kind of butter? Whenever a substitute teacher goes through the attendance sheet at the beginning of the period, they stumble and halt upon my full name: "Is it pronounced Majority? Menagerie?" I am named after a grandmother that I used to have, and sometimes I wonder whether she dealt with such annoying issues as this. Maybe back when the dinosaurs roamed the Earth, Marjorie was as common a name as Sam or Kaitlyn. (You guys have it so easy.) Over the course of my life, I've been advised to "embrace" the uniqueness of my name. Because it's classy, timeless, beautiful, blah blah blah. Even the shorter version, Maggie, which I've grown up with, has its own downfalls. (I'll leave it to you to picture in your mind some of the unpleasant terms you can craft from that name.) However, I find it terribly difficult to embrace something as annoying as a toil as this. I do have the option to change my name in less than a year. What would be a good angle for me, perhaps maybe Elise or Isabelle, but no, I'm not really into paperwork. The meaning behind my name is also quite exciting and entertaining. It's derived from marjoram. An herb. From the end of the nineteenth century. Hoorah. So I guess the main reason I'm bringing this up is to console those that assume the life of a human with a common, short name. Your name is simple for the humans around you to read and pronounce, and I urge you to be thankful for this graceful title. Throughout your life, you may frown upon your name and say that it's "boring" or "common". While this may be true, you can A) legally change your name when you are of age if you like doing piles of paperwork or B) Suck it up and be thankful you're not named after a basically obsolete spice that was apparently a big deal when Jesus walked the Earth. Do you have an interesting name you'd like to whine about to the student population of Red Bluff High? You can e-mail me or stalk me in the hallway, or even send a note to Bluffer (room 315), and I would be more than glad to hear your name and story. S o the oldest trend that has still not died out is obviously trends themselves. It sounds cliché, yet the idea that a swoosh or an apple can carry so much weight in society. First and foremost, I should clarify that I don't necessarily have anything against people who wear the brands (though I have issues with the brands themselves, not Apple or Nike, but others) rather I have a severe problem with the individuals who believe that that is all that matters. For instance, imagine two grey shirts of the same quality. In this case, they don't even have a large logo to separate them. The sole difference is the tiny label that lies right above the cleaning instruction tag. One says a generic brand, while another says it is a Kanye West shirt. In my mind, this is unfathomable because the Kanye West shirt is upwards of $200 more! Then there is the violence that is caused by brand names, particularly shoes. In many occasions, people have been harmed, robbed or…worse… just for a pair of shoes. We as a society have put such emphasis on a pair of shoes that resides under a certain name on such a high pedistool, that people have lost lives. There are places in the world that don't even have money to feed the inhabitants, and we have people dying over a name. Under similar names, often cosmetic, animals have lost their lives. Just a few of the brands that still in this day test on animals are: Coppertone, Cover Girl, Crest, Dove, Estee Lauder, Fendi, Garnier, Glade, Herbal Essences, Huggies, Listerine, L'Oreal USA,MAC Cosmetics, Maybelline, Neutrogena, Pledge, Revlon, Sally Hansen, Smashbox Cosmetics, Splenda, Suave, Windex. We as a society have put labels above all. I have nothing against lables, its the power we give them and I cannot emphasize that enough. We have, by makling these products such neccisarry everyday products in many lives, allowed the power of a lable to no longer be a proud claim of item creation, but rather an excuse for murder. Starbucks. Already, that "basic" girl has three brands pinned on her. Yes, a lot of girls have UGG boots, sweaters and jackets from PINK, and we have the occasional Starbucks. However, what's wrong with it? Is it that big of a deal that we like clothing and other products with a brand name? Nonetheless, this topic can relate to our males as well. Fellow males, do you like the brand Nike? I'm going to assume your answer is yes based of the fact that every time I walk in the halls I see a majority of the boys having at least one brand from Nike, whether it's a pair of shoes or a bag. I'm also going to assume that you have a product from that company because of the quality and not because of its name; it's long lasting versus a pair of tennis shoes at Walmart. There's nothing wrong with wanting to feel that way. Nowadays, society makes us believe that if we want to feel this way, we need to buy clothing with a famous brand name such as Nike, PINK, or even Converse. If it makes you feel good about yourself, then I don't see anything wrong with putting your own money into what makes you feel good about yourself. So if you like that pair of Converse, then get it because you like them, not because everyone else is wearing them. Pros and cons of buying name brand products Taylor Nguyen Staff Writer The problem with Marjorie Rodeo-not for the weak