The Bluffer - Red Bluff, CA
Issue link: http://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/297834
Staff Writer Maggie Tallan o SPARTAN THUMBS Powder Puff Game *These Thumbs came from Mrs. Smith's 6th period class. Sadie Hawkins Dance Spring Break! Page 2 April 17, 2014 Dress code crack down With the warm weather comes unwelcomed dress code issues. Students are excited for the long awaited game. Spring break is near and is much needed. Ladies and gentlemen are happy for an exciting role twist. Staff Editorial Gender differences... 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 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 Anh-Taylor Nguyen Mikayla Moore Lexi Pritchard Jeff Mandolfo Savannah Sutliff Opinion Josiah Vasey G irls are kicking guy's butts. It's true. Girls hold 60 percent of all bachelor degrees in the U.S. Not only that, but our school has huge difference in the number of top academic senior boys versus girls (check out the back page for more on that). But why is there such a big difference between the scholarly performance of boys and girls? Well, it probably has a lot to do with growing up. It's easy to see that girls mature faster than boys. All through elementary and middle school, girls tend to tower over boys. It follows that their minds would mature faster as well. Girls seem to have the will to study before boys, the will to do things now rather than put them off. Of course this is not universally true. Guys can have great studying habits and work ethic. Girls just seem to get them earlier. Although girls are doing better than guys academically, women still recieve lower average wage than men. Recently, some changes were proposed to help further balance the wages of men and women, but the bill fell short of passing by only 6 votes. It seems that after all this time, measures are still not being taken to give equal rights to both sexes. While this is dissapointing, it isn't a huge obstacle to the rising call for equal pay, which is coming closer and closer to reality every day. Now more than ever women and men are treating each other as equals. Our new, more open-minded generation will probably lead to more changes ensuring gender equality. And who knows? Maybe someday, far in the future, Red Bluff High will have an AP class with more guys than girls. And Mr. Sheffield will learn to fly. A & E Editors Staff Writer Brianna Tackmier Jeffrey Mandolfo Staff Writer Staff Writer Kylee Bonds I n recent years, it has become apparent that almost anyone who has lived in Red Bluff for just about their whole lives has seen at least one squirrel do something horrendous; they commit suicide. There are several ways I've seen squirrels commit suicide (no, I don't watch or stalk squirrels for a living) a t different points in time. The most common time we see this terrible incident happen is when we you are driving down the road. The worst part is having to go down that same street every day afterward and seeing the bloated, smelly, rotting body of such a tiny creature. There are other ways I've seen them do it, too. One pitched itself over the roof of a hotel in Santa Clara, and another ran in front of a bear on my eighth grade Yosemite trip. Truly, the only conclusion is that squirrels around the world are all doing one thing together. They are committing genocide. For those of you out- of-the-loop, genocide is killing off your whole species or race. Either way, it's terrible! Almost nobody wants to see these cute, fluffy, and t o t a l l y i n s a n e l i t t l e creatures go extinct! Which leads me to my final conclusion: quit feeding the squirrels, people of the world! Squirrels used to be smart enough to avoid streets and cars, but once they got a share of our coffee and other foods, they went crazy. I mean very crazy, too, because they used to be smart and sweet, but now they are mean and haters of humans. These innocent little fur balls got addicted to our stuff and now they'll kill themselves off to get it. And what about the long- term effects it'll have? The loss of squirrels would very simply be a terrible thing to happen to the human society. And some of the animal food chains would suffer, because those eagles and hawks all live off of squirrels, too. Really, this is a problem that we have to stop before it causes massive consequences that we can't reverse. It's almost as bad as global warming, if you think about it. I know it might be hard for people to understand depression in teenagers and it is easily unrecognized. Depression in teens is caused by a variety of facets. Depression is a state of feeling sad. Each person deals with something differently and some may take it worse than others. A medically uncertified person cannot justify who is worthy of depression and who is not. Adolescence can be a very difficult time and there are many different reasons why. Here are 10 different attributes to teenage depression: academic stress, social anxiety or peer pressure, romantic problems, traumatic events, separating or divorcing parents, hereditary, family financial struggles, physical or emotional neglect, low self-esteem, and feelings of hopelessness. When in a state of depression, it is important to seek help; I believe it is even more important to know how as a young adult. Depression can take away from academic abilities and the motivation to be active and take care of responsibilities. You can seek help from a medical professional, a doctor, or a psychologist. If your case requires treatment it is best to see your general practitioner or a pediatrician. They will help you determine the best course of action when dealing with depression. If you notice someone who is severely depressed and has not yet to seek help, tell someone. That person may not know how to seek help by themselves. If you have a family member and/or members who struggle with depression issues, you may be at risk of experiencing depression yourself. Depression that is passed down genectically may be hard to recognize, but if you do feel yourself becoming depressed, seek help immediately, I know it may be tough to admit to yourself, but it's worth it. Just remember, everyone is important and everyone deals with their own complications. Treat everyone equally, and help out when you can. Mass murder squirrel extinction: Why humans are the reason for this massacre T hroughout the entirety of my life, I've been advised to "act like a lady". This is more often than not a default phrase that some parents and teachers verbalize to a female when she speaks, acts or dresses differently than what's clearly drawn out within the realms of being "ladylike". Something that irks me about the concept of ladylikeness is that it is nearly impossible to meet the standards set for a true "lady". This would insinuate that a female always wears appropriate clothing (nothing too short, nothing too revealing), never speaks out of line (no swearing, or even thinking negatively), and always presents herself in the most pleasant way possible, adhering to even the most ridiculous stretches of ladylike perfection. But then there's a completely opposing set of rules drawn out for a female to follow. Women are supposed to have sex appeal, to draw men in with perfect bodies and just the right amount of promiscuity. This would imply that shorts should be at a revealing length, and that body image is the key to embody just the right amount of raciness to meet the most important goal of pleasing onlookers. So, if the order is correct, women should speak provocatively, but still perfectly clean, their clothes should reveal a risqué amount of skin, but still instill "self- respect", and promiscuity is a must, but modesty and non- competitiveness should balance it out. That's a lot to take into account and act upon. Let's dissect the concept of self respect. Self respect seems like a harmless manner of dressing or speaking a certain way, and the term itself idealizes the fact that self respect helps oneself. However, if one human being tells another to "have self respect", doesn't that take away the purpose of self respect? Self respect is about knowing and living what is best for you, female or male, and not what any other human being tells you to do. That's why it's called SELF respect. Embodying your ideal self is vital to avoiding misery and living a happy life. Aside from the seven hours at school every day, the only person that can decide how you dress, act, think, eat, and speak is yourself. There is no available perfection in this world, so don't become obsessed and unhappy with a concept that's impossible to achieve. Acting like a lady is ovverrated, as is dressing and acting to achieve sex appeal. But if either of those apply to your natural personality, I suggest you keep being yourself. There is no perfect mix, and you can't win them all. Be who you want to be The teenage life causes an uproar S chools today have struggled with perfecting a system of discipline. In schools and modern society alike, it seems impossible to create a perfectly fair and balanced justice system. However, some aspects of disciplinary systems can still be improved. A system of discipline that schools should have is a student court. A student court would give the student body the ability to decide for themselves how they will be disciplined. This could bring alternatives to ineffective punishments such as, for example, suspension. From a student's perspective, a suspension simply means a free week off from school. This would normally mean a load of make- up work at the end of the week, but when the time comes, the student isn't motivated to do the work. This kind of punishment doesn't motivate a student to be successful. In high schools, part of this difficulty is caused by the students being unwilling to follow the rules. One of the reasons that high school students refuse to follow rules is that they feel the need to defy the higher power. The rules are enforced by adults (the higher power), and most teens at this stage in life are more concerned about what other students think, rather than what adults think. Knowing that they will have to face fellow students, rather than adults, could give those students a better sense of equality. This would make it easier for them to follow school rules. The students would find the court's decision more agreeable because the decision would be made by the students themselves. The students in the court could be picked based on GPA to ensure that the court is made up of responsible students. To prevent vengeful actions by the defendants against the students of the court, the "cases" could be presented to the court anonymously. Implementing a student court would also teach students first-hand about actual court environments and conduction. This would bring an environment of equality, and more respect for the teachers. A perfect discipline system may be nearly impossible to achieve, but we can still improve the system we have. of depression in adolenscence Schools having disclipline issues