The Bluffer - Red Bluff, CA
Issue link: http://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/739194
Page 2 October 14, 2016 Staff Editorial The importance of donations... 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 Lexi Pritchard Editor-in-Chief News Editors Lexi Pritchard Julissa Villalobos Kourtney Sanders Shania Prieto Opinions Editor Britney Miranda Brooke Blythe Features Editor Claire Miller Gabriel Hale Sports Editor Becca Frey Sophia Cumpton Topics Editor Julissa Villalobos Editor-in-Chief Abby O'Sullivan Advertising Director Alisa Pelanconi Adviser Cartoonist Amanda Waugh Staff Writers Brianna Tackmier Trinity Stehno Sarah Herrera Yesenia Cerrillo Aly Smith A-&-E Editor In our world we have gained the ability to communicate with someone, no matter how far away they may be, at the drop of a hat. One of those forms of communication in times of need can be a donation. While we don't hear much about donations anymore in a world fighting terror, a possibly Russian-rigged election and a clown epidemic, donations seem to be one of the positives during stressful times. Donations, while we don't give them much thought, can come in many forms: money, supplies, aid, services, anyone can name something that can be used as a donation. They are usually something a group needs, such as the Haitians who received millions of dollars of relief aid from Shakira and Usain Bolt after being slammed by Hurricane Matthew last week, according to snopes.com. As a staff, we recently received a fifty dollar gift card to Staples from a Daily News raffle drawing and used it for new camera cards because the old ones were malfunctioning. We would like to take the opportunity to thank the Daily News for delivering this gift to us that we needed but were not expecting to win or receive. While donations of these kind often Brianna Tackmier Opinions Editor Amanda Waugh Cartoonist The bushes in the quad put off a repulsive smell. SPARTAN THUMBS PSAT Pumpkin spice lattes Bushes in the quad Fall clothing Scarves, boots and hoodies are back. Practice SAT's are coming up. Instagram-worthy photos, here we come. Winter sports Fall sports are ending and winter sports are beginning. Bluffer/ Trinity Stehno ***These Thumbs were acquired by Mrs. Kerr's third period class. Aly Smith Staff Writer go unheard of, the part which receives less attention is the thanks of the recipient. It is a common courtesy often taken for granted because when a group is in need of something it becomes a high priority to them and many other issues are held off until that one is fixed. Without donations many groups would still be in need of support. We must keep this in mind that donating something we might not need or want to someone or something else happens in our society, too, otherwise support and supplies would in some cases not be possible at a sooner time. It is also a sign of trust and faith and in our world of the Zika Virus, refugees flooding our world's nations and threat of nuclear war with North Korea. Without the form of communication that is donations, people all over the world would have a much harder time trying to get their basic necessities than they already do. Donations and the thanks for them are necessary to keep some positive in society amid the crisis that seems to befall a different group of people every day. So again, thank you Daily News for your small but generous donation. S y r i a n h o s p i t a l bombed O n October 4 the news was updated that yet another air strike has taken down another civilian hospital, which happened to occur in the Syria's largest city. Seven have been reported dead and many more people are still trapped under rubble after the hospital in Aleppo was destroyed by "bunker-buster" bombs. The attacks which occurred on Monday was written down as the third time in a week that hospital had been bombed. While repairing the hospital after the damage done by the other air strikes, seven people including two medical staff members and five maintenance were killed. Due to the looming threat of air strikes in Aleppo, most of the hospital including the intensive care unit and emergency room were held underground for safety. The bombings mostly occurred because the hospital was in rebel area of Kafr Zita. Within a month, 150 operations were completed and 50 intensive care victims arose. In Hama, although no one died, the emergency department was completely destroyed, which forced all patients and medical equipment to be relocated. "Government warplanes have targeted civilian areas such as hospitals, markets, and mosques for several days," states an Aleppo Media Center activist. Meanwhile, United Nations aid chief Stephen O'Brien also stated, "Indiscriminate bombing and shelling continues in a shocking and unrelenting manner, killing and maiming civilians." In my opinion, I find all this to be rather sad because of how unstable and divided Syria is. I'm just wishing for better things. Public's idea of ideal figure leads to body shaming in high schools across the country Homecoming rally schedule dissatisfies a plethora of students N u c l e a r p o w e r endangers our world N uclear power plants have proven time and time again that they're a bad idea. All of them ranging from Chernobyl to Fukushima. A few meltdowns almost hitting close to home, such as Detroit. However, they are still being built and used after situations where they are the root to mass destruction. Radiation isn't something that can be simply contained, which is obvious since the disaster at Fukushima. Although Fukushima occurred 5 years ago, it leaks tons of radiation into the Pacific Ocean everyday, so much that it's made its way to the West Coast of North America. The severe spread of radiation has caused the ocean life to suffer. Many sea animals coming up grotesquely deformed or with some type of cancerous tumors present all over their body. There are plans to build on ice wall in order to slow down the spread, but it still won't stop it. Even with the plans being brought up to solve the problem, it'll take about five thousand years to lower the amount of radiation to safe levels for the sea creatures. For years we've used this unsafe technique for power when solar panels can easily be at our disposal, but we choose nuclear power plants instead. Already in the U.S., we've had multiple power plants act up, almost resulting in a catastrophic meltdown; something that would be detrimental to a densely populated country. Already, America's beaches are being contaminated. We can't have more contamination in heart of the country. It's time to change our ways of power. "I agree that students should try to get involved during high school, but not all are the same." A s a senior, it was bittersweet to experience my final Homecoming; it was the last one with the classmates I grew up with, but at the same time a milestone on the journey toward graduation day and adulthood. Later, I listened to several experiences concerning this year's Homecoming rally. From what I heard and experienced, there is no perfect schedule for those kinds of days and changes will be made as the years pass by, but this year's way of going about the event wasn't a hit with our students. My concern was that rally attendance was mandatory. I understand the concern with students not attending the rally is they would leave campus or get into some kind of trouble, but making rally attendance mandatory is not a solution. Our gym has a sign over by the doors on the side of the bleachers near the boys' locker room saying that maximum capacity is over twelve hundred people, and we had to fit about fourteen hundred in there. I felt an unpleasant vibe from those who did not want to be there, which toned down the mood of the rest of us. Ref le c t i ng upon that, it is clear that alternatives should be a v a i l a b l e for people like my friends and acquaintances who were and are "turned off" by the noise, energy, heat, or even the large crowds. A suggestion I can think of would be to open up two or three classrooms to students who don't want to go to the rallies like the hospitality rooms we open up to visiting teams for Holiday Classic. I say that because it felt like punishment to have to attend that rally. For them, it was. At least, that is how I interpreted t h e i r opinions. I agree that s t u d e n t s s h o u l d try to get i n v o l v e d d u r i n g h i g h school, but not all are the same. Education has become so fast-paced that we implement a system and try to fit all the students into it, but extending that to something that doesn't pertain to education was extreme. Also, not every student is the same, and therefore not everyone fits into the system. Everyone has a comfort zone that they must leave eventually but those bounds are not the same for all of us. None of us should have to attend any rally not only because some people are "turned off" by them, but also because we should be able to remember the opinions of other students matter. For some, they needed the time to commit to other causes because Homecoming is infamous with students due to the tendency of tests and other important deadlines falling on that week. When most people hear the term "body shaming", chances are that they think of the cover of a magazine portraying a 5'10 model who weighs 100 pounds with mounds of makeup and plastic surgery, bringing her up to code on the world's beauty standards. This image of the "perfect woman" has been changing throughout the years. It compels them to change their looks. However, there is a flaw to this; there is no such thing as perfection. Every person on this earth has a different shaped face and personality. No one is better than another just because their nose is straighter. You can never achieve the acceptance of everyone. Why can't we make ourselves look to the personality of an individual rather than their looks? I'm not saying that we should let ourselves go, but I'm challenging everyone to stop shaming others for their body by getting to know the heart of a person. Story by: Brooke Blythe