The Bluffer - Red Bluff, CA
Issue link: http://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/297834
The Bluffer Serving Red Bluff High School since 1901 Volume CXV Issue 11 April 17, 2014 New Teacher There is a new teacher at Red Bluff High School! We welcome Mr. Loechel, the new autoshop teacher. No School There is no school from April 18 to April 29. Have an awesome Spring Break! Weekend Forecast High 82° Low 54° Varsity Baseball -Page 6 Grey Grotke A&E Editor High 81° Low 52° High 82° Low 54° Thursday: Friday: Saturday: Special Olympics 'Noah' -Page 5 -Adrien Stejer Marissa Chase Editor-in-Chief 'Infamous Second Son' -Page 4 With a growing fear of government surveillance, plagued by the looming figure of Big Brother, the idea of privacy becoming obsolete is a concern among many. Add in a rapid and fast moving communications revolution and an increase in the number of social media websites, and it's apparent that the concept of privacy is changing. However, are schools contributing to this fear? How are schools, across the nation, benefiting from social media websites? Red Bluff High School looks at various social media websites, mainly Facebook and Twitter, through mainly personal accounts or accounts they can easily gain access to. "We only look at posts that This past year has brought several major changes to Red Bluff High School, and the next few years will bring their own changes as well. Though there are still unknowns regarding the schedule changes that will be taking place in the near future, next year's course has been set, and it does not include an immediate schedule change. It will, however, involve some changes students should be aware of. One change students may already be aware of is the zero-period PE class. Some students have been confused about the reasoning behind the introduction of such a class, but it has good reason to be opened. Due to state law, next year's freshmen will no longer be eligible to use sports to waive PE credits in lieu of taking an actual physical education class. In the past, however, sports have enabled students to opt of PE classes so that students could make more room for the electives they desired. To keep electives an open option for students Red Bluff High opened the zero-period PE class so that students may continue to take the electives they want that they might otherwise be incapable of fitting into their schedule. Though the specifics of the class are all subject to change at this point in time, it is fairly certain that this class will not be run exactly like the other PE classes. Mr. Minto and Mrs. Wheeler will be the teachers for the two classes that will be run in the morning. It's likely that they will be run in a manner similar to the current weight training class, but would still retain some of the sports activities that are often practiced in traditional PE. The classes will likely be more co-ed, consist of about 50 percent conditioning and 50 percent sports time. The class will be offered 7:00 to 7:50 am, and if any students are interested in taking part in these classes, make sure to talk to your counselor. negatively affect the way we are running the school, posts about a person at the school, or any post that can affect the school environment," said Miguel Barriga, Associate Principal. Although it is not a tool used as frequently by the school, GeoChirp is a website that allows people to specifcally find tweets based off of key words or descriptioms. GeoChirp first provides a map that can be set with specific area constrictions. After typing in a key word, the website essentially gathers any tweets that use that specific word, negating any other factors such as context. For example, an administrator could type the word "fight" into the search area and have access to any tweets using that word. Barriga explained, "We rarely use GeoChirp. It's only if we suspect something is serious or we are running out of leads." There's a nationwide push to use social media sites as a way to minimize bullying, preclude fights, and lessen disturbances inside of schools. Schools are allowed to enforce punishments on posts made outside of school hours if it causes "a substantial disruptive effect and threat." This is where there is a gray area between limiting freedom of speech rights and protecting students. However, in schools, according to Barriga, the right to the freedom of speech is not completely protected. "There are certain things that are not interpreted equally depending on who said it or what is being said," stated Barriga. But how do students feel? Out of the 400 students surveyed, Today is the last day to sign up for the Special Olympics. Turn in applications to room 94 in the art building. You have to have a GPA of at least 2.5 and need to include a transcript of your grades. 91 percent believed that they should be held responsible for things they post on social media websites. The overwhelming majority of students, however, who answered the survey, believed that it was not the school's business to interfere with their accounts. Collectively, the school does not spend a lot of time looking at social media accounts, according to Barriga. "We use them as a tool, not as a primary source." Whether the definition of privacy has changed for the good or better, it is clear, that at least for situations online, everything is permanent and public. Though we are certain of next year's additional PE class, the year after, however, offers the possibility of changes that we are still uncertain of. What these changes are is still unknown. The possibilities being considered right now, however, have been narrowed down to two. The two options currently being considered are a seven-period schedule and a modified version of the block schedule. The school hopes to have a schedule change in mind before summer, though that does not necessarily mean that the school would ever implement that change. The school would have to contemplate the selected option in more depth next year and figure out how the specifics of each class would work with the new schedule. If these details could not all be worked out before students started choosing classes for the next year, then it is possible that schedule changes would be set back another year. Whether or not these schedules take place one thing is certain: the preceding years at Red Bluff High school will offer some alternative shedules. Zero-period PE class offered in next year's schedule Sadie Hawkins The Juniors VS Seniors Powder Puff football game is Thursday, April 17. Kick off is at 5:45 pm. Later that night, the Sadie Hawkins dance will be at 9:00 pm in the large gym. Have fun! Should students be held responsible for what they post? 91 percent of surveyed students answered yes School takes advantage of social media Students concerned about internet privacy