The Bluffer - Red Bluff, CA
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/673930
ready. To be college ready, you need to pass a freshman English class with a B- or better. "The vast majority of colleges pick very recent, very easy, and very progressive books," said Peter W. Wood, the president for the NAS. One other thing they all have in common is that they are set at junior high reading level. If colleges want to produce students that are equipped and ready to handle what the world gives them, shouldn't reading comprehension be high on the Page 2 April 29, 2016 Staff Editorial The importance of anti-bullying... 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 Kourtney Sanders Shania Prieto Opinions Editor Britney Miranda Julissa Villalobos Features Editors Lexi Pritchard Joe Mills Sports Editors Becca Frey Sophia Cumpton Topics Editors Ceighlee Fennel Editor-in-Chief Julia Liebert Advertising Director Alisa Pelanconi Adviser Cartoonists Katelyn Stewart Staff Writers Brianna Tackmier Amy Becerra Abby O'Sullivan Taylor Nguyen Skyler Drew Trinity Stehno Brooke Blythe Hanne Mae Dittner Brianna Zotea Gabe Hale Colton Epperson Claire Miller A-&-E Editors Brooke Blythe Staff Writer Claire Miller Staff Writer Anti-bullying has, over the years, become a major issue in the school environment. We discourage it, we have speakers come to schools to educate us about the negative effects of bullying. Many of us have those memories from elementary and middle school of being forced to sit with everyone in our class to the umpteenth assembly about why bullying is such a bad thing and having to pretend to pay attention despite already knowing what they discuss (except that one teacher who forces their students to annotate the presentation for that hundred point quiz about such presentations). Yet, if bullying is such a large problem in our schools, why doesn't Red Bluff High make such a big deal out of it? Well, tuns out we do. The seniors and juniors remember when the bully reporting page was the main display of the page their freshman and sophomore years. Now, it is a tab under the 'Students' folder on the RBHS Homepage. At this time of year, we host the Tehama County Special Olympics and we also have ALLY Week, GSA's week to celebrate being an ally to anyone who is considered "different". The school does try to reach out to the students about the importance of bullying through these methods. However, these small spurts of anti-bullying awareness at the end of the school year makes the school look like it doesn't highlight such an important issue. As a staff, we would like to suggest making anti-bullying an even greater issue on campus…or at least spreading out the anti-bullying awareness throughout the course of the school year. We're not saying bring in the boring presenters back to school, but make anti-bullying seem like something other than a little side piece to our high school life. With it being late April, vast amounts of students are going to pay little attention to this sudden burst of awareness due to AP Exams, state testing, finals prep, and planning for the upcoming summer vacation. If this were spread throughout the course of the year, not only would the awareness of anti- bullying be more enforced in the classroom, it would also become the greater issue that receives more attention from the students. It wouldn't simply be something else to crowd our schedule with. As a staff, we strongly discourage bullying of any kind, and we believe the rest of the school should take more notice of the bullying dilemma. Trump is beginning to bore voters. SPARTAN THUMBS Job Fair Flocking Trump Special Olympics The yearly event excites students. It's a nice opportunity to find employment. The flocking brings excitement to school. Officers' Elections Congratulations to the officers for next year. Bluffer/ Gabe Hale ***These Thumbs were acquired by Mr. Wheeler's third period class. Amy Becerra Staff Writer Samsung dominates industry Reading declines O ne of the top five most common readings assigned to college freshmen in 2015 was 'Enrique's Journey' by Sonia Nazario. Even though it was assigned to college freshman, this book is at a fifth grade reading level. Well, it seems the books are picked based upon their ability to make up for the schools that don't focus on reading at high standards. Surveys show that in a normal week, 31% of students won't read a book for pleasure on their free time. Because students haven't been taught to read high level books, colleges assign limited books of low reading levels just to keep students from dropping out. In my opinion, they are having to feed kids mental junk food. If you ever want your brain to get better, you've got to expand it. To keep dumbing it down by reading books under what is expected of college ready freshman not only diminishes a student's ability but also the quality of the degree you earn. If you want results, you have to challenge yourself. "Indeed, they seem to be suggesting that a middle school level of reading is satisfactory, even though most college textbooks and adult literary works written before 1970 require mature reading skills," said Dr. Sandra Stotsky. Stotsky, who is an education expert, is concerned about how colleges don't require a high level of reading to attend. Out of those who took the ACT, only 46% of students were college Y ouTube is full of so many fun and exciting entertainers, but a lot of these people have been accused of some horrible things. YouTubers like PewDiePie, Tobuscus, and Onision are being accused of rape, abuse, and fan manipulation. With most of these cases, there are fans backing the people up, saying that the YouTuber would never do anything like that because they seem like really nice people in their videos. You are putting that person on a pedestal and saying all of these wonderful things about them without knowing that they're ruining people's lives. Why would you even try to defend someone that you've never met if they are being accused of raping and abusing innocent people? Yeah, sure, they've earned the title of being a hero to many people, but no one knows what goes on behind the computer screen. In a case like Toby Turner's, his fans are defending him by talking about what a fun, nerdy, awkward dude he is. YouTubers who have spoken out about his situation have said that he is a pleasant person to be around, but he's one of those people who need constant attention, and if he doesn't get it, he goes into a state of, "I'm not good enough for anyone," and takes it out on friends. He has also had problems with drug abuse in the past, and friends of him have said that he is always drinking at parties and making everyone uncomfortable. Whichever side you're on, you need to think about how it would feel to come out to anyone and say that you have been abused. No sane person would lie about abuse, it is a very humiliating thing to admit. If you think these YouTubers are not at fault, that's okay, but please listen to both sides of the story with an open mind before blaming anyone. Hear the victims out, you or a loved one could face the same problem one day and people might not take you seriously for telling social media instead of the police. Not all YouTubers are as sweet and kind as they seem. "In my opinion, they are having to feed kids mental junk food." Watch the media drama with caution H ere's a topic that most of America can't decide which to pick: Samsung vs. Apple. Which one is better? The dimensions of the iPhone 6s are 5.44 by 2.64 by 0.28 inches with a weight of about 5 ounces. The Samsung Galaxy S6 is a bit bigger with dimensions of 5.65 by 2.78 by 0.2 inches, but it's lighter at 4.87 ounces and slightly thinner. When it comes to display quality, the Galaxy S6 is the clear winner. That doesn't mean the iPhone 6s display is bad, it just means that Samsungs have a little better of screen quality. However, the raw pixel density of the Galaxy S6 can't be matched and Samsung excels in creating gorgeous displays. Meaning that the iPhone has great picture quality, the big new feature that Apple has brought with the iPhone 6s is 3D Touch. The feature builds on multi- touch by allowing the iPhone 6s to recognize force and carry out actions like Peek and Pop to preview content. Quick Actions provide shortcuts to basic functions like messaging a contact or launching the camera. Samsung's company hasn't developed any shortcuts in their software and has not changed really at all besides maybe the size and shape. Samsung's own double-press of the home button to launch the camera, but overall 3D Touch is unique and intriguing feature for the iPhone 6s.