The Bluffer - Red Bluff, CA
Issue link: http://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/324426
o SPARTAN THUMBS Swimming weather *These Thumbs came from Mrs. Haase's 6th period class. Seniors are graduating soon Finals week Page 2 May 30, 2014 Summer break Summer break is very close with only four school days left. The weather is plenty adequate for swimming. Finals week is near and the long drag is coming with it. Seniors are ready to graduate and some are going off to college. Staff Editorial Attendance Policy... 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 Ryan Fisher Becca Blanchard News Editors Owen Ritter Grey Grotke Viewpoint Editors Ceighlee Fennel Features Editor Tymberlyn Bealer Lexi Pritchard Sports Editors 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 Molly Shea Brianna Tackmier Anh-Taylor Nguyen Mikayla Moore Jeff Mandolfo Opinion As we all enjoyed and sometimes abused this year's "No Attendance Policy", it is coming to an end with the upcoming year. So this year's seniors, you really lucked out because next year's attendance policy is extremely strict. Now, this editorial won't include all the details about the 2014-2015 Attendance Policy, but it will mainly focus on how completely outlandish the policy is. Now don't get us wrong, schools NEED an attendance policy or else students will blatantly abuse it, like they have this year. But this new policy is way too strict. For example, if you are late to a class, your teacher must send you to the office so you can check yourself in and the office administration will then keep track of the tardies. If you are tardy three times in that class you must then serve a lunchtime detention. Failure to serve the detention within three school days will result in a huge list of punishments including: "Saturday school, suspension, campus beautification, activities ban, loss of parking permit, and/or placement in Alternative Program and/or SARB referral." We can understand one of those punishments like campus beautification, but all of the other ones are way too strict. If we couldn't help being late to a class three times in a row, then forgot or missed the lunch detention and then happened to get suspended or lose a parking permit we would be livid. Students have a lot of things they need to worry about and can have a hard time controlling them, and we feel like the school is being really harsh and unfair with their consequences. Though the school definitely needs an attendance policy, they should consider revising the structure of said policy. A & E Editors H igh school has been a tremendous experience in my life. It has shaped the person I have become, all the people I have met, and soon hated for the rest of my life. The most important thing I have learned is that everyone sucks. I did once fall in love though, it was freshman year. Ah, when everything was so new and exciting. Just a young teenager caught up in the romance of the new expe- rience, adapting to the high school life.I soon met a girl who would show me the meaning of true love, but I don't really know, I might just be over zealous about it. From that point on, the first half of my high school career was fantastic. Just being by her side made every day a blessing and I could really see how great life was and the beautiful elegance in all people. Although, just as a dope fiend must come down from his opioidal high, an adolescent couples love must arc and slide back down to the ground. The realization of my mistakes in the relationship has led me to believe that all humans must be evil and selfish at the core. I can see it in everything we do collectively. I can see it in the way I live and what I want out of life. I can see it in the way we treat the planet, and each other. I do not mean pollution of our ecosystems. No what I mean is humans trying to solve the problems that we have created, "save the planet" as we call it, "Going Green" as we call it. Our efforts should really be named, "Save the Human Race from Extinction." This is the only reason we "help" the planet. Which is totally a legitimate reason, but let's be honest, it's a selfish one. The world would be much better off, (in our terms), if humans went extinct. So then the selfless thing becomes much clearer. If life on earth survived the six-mile wide meteor that covered the sky and ground with ash, then it can survive an oil spill, or a bit of trash, or even nuclear fallout. What I'm really trying to say is that all life is based on selfish goals, and therefore all life is doomed for an eternity of evil. F or my fellow seniors, graduation loomed in the distance from the very beginning of the year. We've been marching closer and closer with every new school day. The time passed, and somehow without quite every knowing when, we ended up here, looking right at a graduation's face. Some are excited, ready to boldly go into the world, to take life and build a way for themselves, and many are not necessarily excited to enter the world, but excited to leave the past. Others, however, have set their brakes against the inevitable. They kick and scream harder and harder as they are swept forward to graduation by the indomitable current of time, yet there is nothing to grip onto, no rope or life raft to grasp onto, nothing to slow its approach. Why do some fear this normally cherished passing? That may be due to what they have left for themselves after graduation. When we enter high school, we start investing in different things, friends, grades, different classes, hobbies, and sports. Others of us go for a more academic route, largely ignoring the social life for a high grade point average. Some go more specific still, focusing on a particular elective or sport. The ones that fight against the oncoming graduation, however, have not invested well into any of these things, instead they have spent their time making friends, going to social gatherings of various kinds, and in general buying into the high school life. As graduation moves closer they come to realize everything they've built up in high school is coming to an end, all but a very few of the friends they made will disappear, all of the drama they've made will be completely insignificant after they've tossed off their graduation cap. For these individuals going out into the real world will be difficult. Though they're all capable of making it, the journey will definitely hurt them more than others. Which is why I want to give a bit of advice for those who still have time to invest while in high school. For those of you who might not normally care about any aspect of high school other than its social aspects, make sure you build something that will last after graduation. Make sure that what you build won't just be a fleeting experience, to dissipate immediately after they've occurred, but rather build for yourself something that can withstand the the test of time, and something to build a life off of after high school. I t is so w e i r d to think this is the end. The end. It sounds really dark and ominous; in actuality, it's really sad. This is the last article in The Bluffer I will ever write. This will be the last issue I get to grab during first period and admire it, knowing that that our hard work and dedication was what made it possible. The nostalgia has already kicked in and I haven't even finished typing. When you think about journalism the word truth comes to mind, investigating following it, and deadline right behind it. Integrity is the key, CMYK is its chant, and Times New Roman is the bane of its existence. (Although, I do have to add that Minion is my one true love and ultimate favorite font.) Part of this editorial serves as a goodbye, but what I would really like to do is say thank you. Thank you to all the people that have served alongside me on the staff. As brilliant as you all are, I'll never forget the late nights that drove us to insanity and the unforgettable memories that ensued. I'm really proud of all the progress we have made and the issues we've created. A big thank you goes to our adviser, Alisa Pelanconi. Unfortunately this editorial does not afford me enough space to properly give her credit, but she has been such a crucial piece to our publication. As a person, teacher, adviser, and friend, she has been such a pivotal person in my life and I love her so much. She means so much to me and The Bluffer as a whole. Finally, our readers. As short and simple as this is, thank you for your continued support and readership; it really does mean a lot. As I conclude this article, I want to share with our readers one piece of advice: whether you're leaving high school, just starting, or retired, find something that makes you as happy as being on The Bluffer staff has made me. It has been an incredible experience for me and I have loved every second of it. I hope everyone gets to enjoy something as special and worthwhile as being a part of The Bluffer. Kellie Rodriguez Grey Grotke Maggie Tallan Marissa Chase Owen Ritter E ver since freshman year I have sung with the choir at graduation. We'd sing an emotional song about moving out into the world, that, at the time, was hard to relate to and understand. I'd then sit front row, watch the seniors take their victory walk across the football field, shake the teacher's hand, and excitedly grab their diplomas. And now, it's hard to believe that in a weeks time I will be singing at my own graduation and going through this graduation ceremony I have watched time and time again. I will be the one excitedly grabbing my diploma this time, and the lyrics will be all too understandable. I feel lucky to be graduating with such a phenominal class. Pretty soon, we will be the ones taking off into the world to pursue what we've been working for. Red Bluff High School has prepared us for college and what the future holds. Even in this last year, whether it was traveling to choir competitions, building projects in physics, reading Shakespeare in AP Engish, or preparing cheer dances too early in the morning for rallies; they've all helped me strengthen who I am and what I'm going to do. Now as I wrap up my last days as a high school student, I realize high school is more than just a place to prepare us for college, though. Sure, I could give advice that would sound like our parents, "take school seriously," "do your homework," "college is competitive." And even though all these things are absolutely true, the best advice I can give is to try everything. Over the last four years I've made unforgettable memories through involvement with volleyball, track, golf team, dance team, cheer team, show pop choir, plays and now, The B l u f f e r. The Bluffer has been a truly memorable experience watching writers come together to form an exciting, current school newspaper for every other Friday. I've met some great, talented writers, and have gotten to personally see the hard work and time put into this newspaper. I truly have enjoyed my time as advertising director, and am so glad I was able to be a part of something as special as The Bluffer. So, as you all move forward with your days in high school, jump at every opportunity. The greatest piece of advice I can give is to not hesitate to try something new. Just go for it-- time flies. I never planned to become a member of Bluffer. Not until my junior year had I so much as ventured into the classroom during the Bluffer period. When I became desperate to find a class to fill the one-hour void in my schedule, Marissa Chase suggested I join Bluffer. The idea seemed daunting to me; writing expository stories and publishing my writing for the entire school to see. When I joined the class at the beginning of my senior year, I was overwhelmed with how wrong I really was. Bluffer has allowed me to elaborate upon my own beliefs and ideas and share them, while participating in a real time working environment that has given me a glimpse of different writing styles I now have the ability to pursue in the future. Before this year, I wasn't able to envision myself as a writer. Sitting behind a desk and poring over a computer never sounded like my cup of tea, but I was encountered with an entire new world of capabilities that are attached to sitting behind a desk and spilling out words. I can now see myself as an entertainer. That doesn't necessarily entail starring in movies or performing on stages, but I now know I am capable of entertaining through the avenue of creative writing. I think the defining moment for me as a staff writer was when another human approached me and exclaimed, "I hang all of your stories up in my room!" My only response to this event is, "Did this event actually happen?" I suppose this one little comment is what has ultimately driven me as an editorialist and news writer this past year in Bluffer. The fact that that one human being has believed in me in such a way is so powerful to me, and it has helped to add some degree of shape to my visions of the future. I truly believe that my whole idea for the future would be shattered into a million pieces had I not joined Bluffer. I'd have a messy idea of my career goals, but I wouldn't have a definite field. Now I know. I'm grateful for that. Marissa Chase Maggie Tallan Insert Editors