The Bluffer - Red Bluff, CA
Issue link: http://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/584058
Page 2 October 2, 2015 Staff Editorial Students' voices can be heard... Opinions 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 BLU FFER STA FF Tymberlyn Bealer Editor-in-Chief News Editors Tymberlyn Bealer Ceighlee Fennel Kaylie Capps Kourtney Sanders Opinions Editor Britney Miranda Julissa Villalobos Features Editor Lexi Pritchard Sports Editor Becca Frey Sophie Cumpton Topics Editor Ceighlee Fennel Editor-in-Chief Julia Liebert Advertising Director Alisa Pelanconi Adviser Cartoonist Katelyn Stewart Staff Writers Brianna Tackmier Joe Mills Amy Becerra Mary Herrera Abby O'Sullivan Shania Prieto Taylor Nguyen Skyler Drew A-&-E Editor Joe Mills Staff Writer Amy Becerra Staff Writer Copy Editor Stefanie Brunello Students usually believe that they don't have a voice at the school because the school doesn't always consult the students for all the decisions they have to make. As a result, students complain about the school not asking them for their input first. Now lets be honest, not every student at the high school wants to have a say in the decisions the school makes and if the school did consult students each time, then we would be swamped with all types of little choices that many students probably don't care about or know anything about. The school makes thousands of choices on multiple topics everyday and for all those or even half of them to go through the students so that administration could get the students' opinoins would be a trainwreck. However, some students do want to have their voices be heard and to share their opinions on topics being discussed and decided on by higher powers. Here are a couple ideas students can try and use in order to contribute their ideas to the school. The first way is actually to send a letter to the editor of Bluffer! That may not seem like a place to have your voice heard, but we print every letter to the editor and that gives students' voices a chance to be seen by the teachers, administration, and higher ups. So, that is always an easy and productive way to address your school. Another way is to talk and present to the Student Government Body. If a student makes an appoinment with Mrs. Somavia, the Student Government teacher, then they can go in and adress their issues or opinions with the class which could put more changes in motion. Also, a student can take it all the way to the School Board which may seem like a big scary step, but our school doesn't deny students the right to express their thoughts and opinions so don't worry about confronting them. Most of the time the school doesn't mind students giving them their input. So now that you have more of an idea of ways to make a difference or things you could do to have your voice be heard, try some out! Complaining about not being able to get your voice out there isn't an excuse anymore! You can do it. Start being heard abou tthings that matter to you in our school. Mary Hererra Staff Writer Candidates scale office election ladders Exchange builds bonds T raveling to Italy is a dream come true for all idealists. You imagine seeing the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Coliseum and Michelangelo's David. As you prepare for your big trip with saving money and getting your passport ready, reality hits when teachers start discussing the part where you have to host an Italian student for three weeks. Hosting an exchange student is not as simple as one might perceive. It feels as if you have a teenager to look after twenty-four seven. You must make sure that they are fed, entertained, and are given as much attention as they would receive at home. Even though stress can build up and you feel as if this will be your hassle-filled life forever, you get introduced to your exchange partner and your life is forever changed. This isn't a normal friendship but instead this friendship is matched up at random where two teenagers are paired up and must get to know each other in a small amount of time in order to avoid as many awkward moments as possible. Teenagers from Italy are still teenagers. We all have the same attitude, similar interests and the identical teenage sense of humor. There will be barbeques and excursions where the American and the Italian students will get together. Somewhere in between all the laughs and the wrong pronunciation of the Italian and American languages, you will develop a strong, close friendship that feels as if you've known each other your whole life. The bond you build overpowers the stress, and thanks to the Italian Exchange Program, you don't only gain new acquaintances, but new brother and sister-like friendships that you will cherish forever. The overall meaning of high school grade point averages creates unnecessary stress T hroughout our lives, we have heard the importance of having the best G.P.A. possible and how without this high G.P.A. our lives would somehow be less successful than if we had achieved it. This advice from counselors, teachers and parents often times leads to an extraordinary amount of stress placed on the top students who all compete for that number one top spot. Obviously, having passing grades is important, but simply how important is every single tenth of a point? The competition placed among the top students at this school, and throughout the country, where we stress out over the difference between a 4.29 and a 4.3. that the extra .01 will be the deciding factor in their life, is quite simply false and adds unnecessary stress. During what is supposed to be the "year of our lives" fellow classmates are having massive amounts of stress and anxiety added to their lives. It's an unfortunate reality that you're much more likely to hear "four hours of homework, kill me now" from these students than any sort of serious support from the same people putting them under this stress. A big reason for a perfect G.P.A. is that elite colleges want it. While yes, they like to see see you have a 4.0, they'll be totally fine with you having a 3.8 or 3.9, and would rather have a student that is involved in sports and community service or student government than a 4.0 who just studies all day long. There's a reason that the Common App only has your grades as ONE piece of a ten part application, which includes extra-curriculars such as jobs and community service, standardized test scores and family background. So if having a 4.4 G.P.A. won't get me into Stanford, it will at least mean I make more than those who have a 3.4 right? This is also false, as there is little correlation between high school grades and life long earnings. The biggest c o r r e l a t i n g factor is a college degree. This means, that despite the stress and accolades that go along with being an honor roll/mention student, it doesn't mean anything later in your life. According the the University of Miami, you make about an extra 4 thousand dollars a year with a 4.0 vs a 3.0, while that drop becomes nearly 11 thousand if you have a 2.0. However, with "The biggest correlating factor is a college degree." a college degree, you make this study void, as a 3.5 student with a high school diploma makes much less throughout his life than a 3.0 student with a college degree. The silver lining in all of this for those with great G.P.A.'s? It's much more important in college, where the difference between a 3.8 and a 4.0 often leads to an additional forty thousand dollars a year. The moral of this story is to relax; yeah, your high school G.P.A. is semi-important for college, but having a 4.0 now doesn't equal any more money later on in life. 2 016 is on it's way, which means that it's almost time to choose our new President. Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are the most talked about candidates, for both good and bad reasons. So before it's time for everyone to vote, it's good to hear about other people that will do good for this country. I would like to bring two people to light, both from dif- ferent parties. Bernie Sanders (Democrat) and Carly Fio- rina (Republican) are slowly climbing up the presidential ladder. Both of them have dif- ferent views. Sanders believes that gun rights should be restricted, immigrants should be able to become US citizens, and thinks abortion facilities are okay and that women should get to choose what they want to do to their bodies, while Fiorina thinks that the people should have access to guns if they have special permission to, doesn't want immigrants to be able to become citizens because "it isn't fair to the people who worked for their citizenship," but wants chil- dren of immigrants to keep their citizenship, and thinks that abortion is only okay un- der certain circumstances. They don't really get a lot of media coverage, mostly be- cause they don't have as much money as the lead canidates, but that doesn't mean that they won't be good Presidents. We don't know who will win the presidential election, but these two candidates are slowly, but surely, creeping up from behind Clinton and Trump. SPARTAN THUMBS New TV shows Recent weather School workload Homecoming has arrived Homecoming brings much excitement to the school. Autumn blows in with many new television series for students. The students are getting a little overwhelmed. It has been too hot for this time of year. Community service Students feel the new requirement only adds to their stress. These Thumbs were acquired from Ms. Ferran's third period class.