The Bluffer

Page 2 October 13, 2017 Staff Editorial Low morale and high stress in school... 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 Becca Frey Editor-in-Chief News Editors Becca Frey Sophie Cumpton Kourtney Sanders Opinions Editors Katie Louisell Rebeccah Smith Features Editors Claire Miller Bryce Stephenson Logan Carver Sports Editors Caden Moniz Topics Editor Sophia Cumpton Editor-in-Chief Pranav Patel Ad Director Alisa Pelanconi Adviser Brooke Blythe Trinity Stehno Staff Writers A-&-E Editor S ince the beginning of the school year, we at The Bluffer have been noticing that this school year seems to have a less-than-excited vibe. We have noticed that there is higher stress and lower morale with both students and staff; and we've heard along the same lines from various staff members and students in classes. With the normal stress of school work on top of upcoming college stressors (especially for seniors), we've had the disappointing football field, an unusual amount of "drama" from various clubs and sports teams around the school, and the many differences and changes at the school we as students have had difficulty accepting, the overall vibe at the school this year has been lower in morale than what we have seen in the past. Not to mention the outside factors that has been affecting the population as well, such as tragedies on a local, national, and international level, such as the recent Las Vegas tragedies, and the tense political climate America has been experiencing. On a more local level, we've had a significant decrease in school spirit and pride that has been noted by several members of staff and administration, and the student body as well. Teachers and students alike hardly dressed up for Homecoming this year, and the rally moving to the morning compared to having it at the end of the day definitely got some complaints, especially from the groups that either put on the rally or are involved in it. Perhaps with the loss of Mrs. Haase this year, who was usually one to rally the school for spirit, has left a void that needs to be filled. Besides activities at the school like Homecoming, there has been an overall apathetic Cartoonists Rebeccah Smith Easton Ross Kenzie Salinas Noel Adams Yvette Saldana Valerie Barragan Andy Garcia Emma Hale Olivia Fambrough Chris Huhn Jake Benner Tera Norton Bradyn Klein Brayden Pritchard Staff Writers Shania Prieto Estrada Stephanie Pena Student Opinions Editors vibe from classes in both academic and elective sense. Some here at The Bluffer have noticed that, from the senior class especially (overall, not individually), the academics have not been astounding, so to speak. The controversy and confusion over last year's SBAC test from this year's seniors, for example, have been a stressor for both students and administration. We here at the Bluffer are a diverse group with many different beliefs, ideals, interests, and outlooks, and like everyone else we have been affected, in contrasting ways, by the many different events and occurrences. We believe we all, students, staff, administration, and community alike, should have pride in our school, and we conclude that in order to do that we as a group need to take back our school together. This high school is where many of us spend four years of our lives, or more if you're teachers or administration. It's a large part of our small community, and we offer so much for both our students and our town. This "keep your head down and just get through it" attitude is affecting the whole, not just the individual. Doing so would include supporting the cleaning up of our school and participating in school events; which can actually be really fun. Know that you take care of you, but you also represent Red Bluff High School and Red Bluff, California. If you have issues or complaints, don't give up; take action and help the school or community change or improve. We need to take back our school and take pride in a place where we make so many memories in an important time of our lives. Lizzy Crooks I llegal search and seizure, illegal drug possession, and illegal human trafficking are all examples of things the law is heavy with punishments for; so why is illegal immigration any different? Illegal immigration has been a problem in our country since the beginning. Illegal immigration causes a lot of problems for instance: crime rates, disease, drugs, and sinister intent. When the president of the United States offers a solution to the problem at hand, we the people, should be grateful for the solution that we have been looking for years. Legal immigration, on the other hand, stimulates our economy. It is a benefit to our country when people do not cheat the system and do the right thing by waiting their turn and coming to our country to benefit it instead of damaging it. When immigrants come over illegally, they will not Trump's plan for the wall: competent or prejudiced? the border, can solve all of these problems that are caused by illegal im mig ration. When the wall is built, it will cause M e x i c a n citizens to come over legally, and it will be better for everyone involved. T h e problem at hand can be solved simply if only the A m e r i c a n p e o p l e realize the benefits it has our society instead of getting in their own way. have as good as an opportunity to escape poverty. Because when they find a job, they will have to be paid under the table or compromise the integrity of their employer. When they get paid under the table, they may be cheated the money they deserve, and they will not receive any benefits a U.S. citizen will receive. However, coming to our country legally, not only helps us, but will also help the immigrants. For example when coming over legally they have a chance to escape poverty, when they find a job they will be paid fairly, and they can also get the benefits of health care. Because coming over illegally leaves you at a higher risk of poverty those people are more likely to fall into gang or drug activity. According to www.nccivitas. org, 80% to 85% of the drug smuggling happens over the U.S. and Mexico border. The wall, built along More hotel security A f t e r n e a r l y t w o decades of Donald J. Trump dancing around the idea of running for president; he made his decision. F r o m T r u m p ' s a n nou n c e me nt of his p r e s i d e n t i a l campaign to today's current date the idea of a bordering wall between the United States of America and our neighboring country Mexico has been imminent. H o w e v e r , there is an overabu ndance amount of reasons why the wall would be bad for the United States. The border that Mexico and the United States share is a total distance of 3,100 kilometers long (around 1,989 miles), but instead of Trump's initial plan of building a wall along the entire border he recently stated it will only be a total length of 1,000 miles. Trump's price estimate of the border blocking wall is anywhere from ten billion dollars to twelve billion dollars, Mitch McConnell (United States Senator from Kentucky) estimates that the total will be closer to fifteen billion dollars and The Washington Post has the most realistic estimates of twenty- five billion dollars. A plain fence costs seven billion dollars for only 650 miles; meanwhile, Trump wants a fifty feet tall concrete barrier that is reinforced by steel. The price of the wall is not the only issue; it has several environmental hazards. From the greenhouse gasses that are produced from the production of cement, to the dividing of the local animals. It would block immigration routes of wild animals harming them indefinitely. In reality, the practical effectiveness of the wall is atrocious. A main problem with a wall is that there will always be a beginning and an end; no matter how long or how tall the wall is people will always be able to just walk to the end of it, and go around. Technically, he could build a wall around the entire United States of America, but that just turns our country into more of a prison than a place of freedom. Finally, the wall will have multiple downsides; it'll compromise the wildlife, economy and the taxes for United States citizens will rise abruptly. R unning a hotel isn't an easy business. Hotel management has a seemingly endless task of getting customers booked, settled in, and making sure they are happy before they leave, only to do this over and over again. Even though it is hard running a hotel do you think they should have more security? Recently, there has been a shooting in Las Vegas. A man checked into his suite on the 32nd floor. He supposedly had 10 suitcases filled with firearms which there was over two dozen of fire arms. Later that night, he killed at least 59 and injured at least 500 people. That's insane for a person to do. They say he even had a perfect record so for a man like him one wouldn't ever expect him to kill so many people at once. Without security, hotels are at a greater risk of being involved in a tragedy. Some have stepped up a little on security but obviously not enough. It is sad to think about that we need so much security in just a simple place like a hotel. Hotels are just a place to stay for a short period of time there should not have to be much security, but not everyone is a good person as we have recently experienced. With the potential of murder or suicide in a hotel, you would think that it is time to step it up with the security and change something about this, but no one has yet to do something about hotel security. Hotels should have some type of security other than people patrolling about the hotel, like a metal detector. If hotels had metal detectors, that shooting would have never happened, and since there has been incidents similar to that in the past you would think it is time to step it up. Overall, I think hotels should have metal detectors because it would make the environment a more safe and people will not feel so threatened. Foreign languages prove cultural equality I n order to graduate high school and go to a 4 year college, students must take at least two years of a foreign language. The options at RBHS consist of only two: Spanish and American Sign Language through Shasta College. Although these are awesome languages to learn, we should have more available to us! My main reason for this stance is that just about every country School uniforms minimize schoolyard outside of the U.S. is multi- lingual - take the Italians who just visited, for example. Some spoke up to four different l a n g u a g e s; how many do WE know, or even have access to? With the g r o w i n g international nature of our world, being exposed to different cultures and languages is a very important experience; living in California It's also considered a romantic language, just like Spanish, and is a very convenient second dialect to be exposed to. France is a country whose culture no one here has a very good grip of understanding on and it would be beneficial to become at least a little more familiar with that side of the world. High school is supposed to be the place of education for adolescents- it's supposed to be the place preparing teenagers for the world outside the safety of their home towns- shouldn't we be as equipped as possible? and therefore having a fairly solid understanding of Latin American/Mexican culture, we as students s h o u l d have more f o r e i g n options. I think we should at least have one o t h e r : French. Most every other school in the U.S. offers French, and even Red Bluff High School used to- so why did we stop? S hould schools have school uniforms? Many in this generation think that uniforms are uncool, dorky, or not needed in school. I, however, think that schools and students should review the benefits of uniforms. My first reason for believing this is it helps parents save money on clothes. When people grow, they tend to go through clothes quickly, this causes parents to buy clothes constantly and spend large amounts of money. With buying the same clothes for the same price reduces the chance of spending more. Second, bullying for not having the certain trending clothes would be lowered. Brands are a popular item these days and not having the recent style causes name calling things in a small amount of time are what makes you late to school. Lastly, having uniforms makes the school look organized. Everyone wearing similar clothes makes the school look unified and equal. This makes parents feel a bit more secure about sending their children to school. Because of today's current events, parents need a little reassurance of their child's safety. and others things that aren't respectful towards each other. It would also stop students from wearing inappropriate clothing to school. Because of this, more public schools are adding uniforms to their school every year. Third, it would make the mornings easier. Sometimes, when running late in the morning, it is because of trying to find what to wear for the day. Having to do this and other Brayden Pritchard Staff Writer Lizzy Crooks Staff Writer Yvette Saldana Staff Writer "High school is supposed to be the place of education for adolescents..." protects the public bullying caused by economic differences For the wall by Tera Norton Against the wall by Logan Carver Taylor Bell

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