opinions
mobb mentalityBy Ian Mobbs
In recent years, the priorities of our educational system have faced drastic changes. Rather than spend money on paper, higher qualified teachers, and other various supplies, our school chooses to invest in a new football stadium. Worse than the misallocation of funds, however, is the misappropriation of recognition. Announcements are made on the daily about the winner of the most recent football game, but there has never been an announcement congratulating someone on receiving an acceptance to an Ivy League college. Valuing brawn over brains is dangerous, as it can easily lend misconceptions to high schoolers about what they should believe. We often hear about baseball players having college signings in the library, while a signing for receiving a four-year scholarship for academic purposes to any university has not happened. Why is this? The truth is that in the long run, the majority of our players will not go on to be professionals - in fact, the NCAA reported that only 0.6% of high school players will continue to play professionally. That’s not to say that we should discourage anybody from playing sports - far from it, it should be encouraged. The difference is that it should be encouraged and rewarded as an additional, extra-curricular activity as opposed to encouraging our players to making it their priority. This isn’t the only example in which our school places extracurriculars over academics. The fact that our school is spending $1.6 million to build a new football stadium when teachers can’t even afford to let us write on worksheets is ridiculous. In a new district-wide effort, starting next year elective teachers will be forced to take on an extra class, losing their planning period, and teachers of core classes will have to attend mandatory meetings for half of each of their planning periods. While our school doesn’t have any control over this dilemma, this only goes to show that these issues our larger than they initially appeared. The solution is simple - reward and acknowledge academic achievement in a similar fashion to the way we currently reward and acknowledge athletic development. If anyone at our school received a full scholarship to any university, I’m sure they’d want a library celebration (even if only ceremonial, as opposed to signing an actual contract). The district itself must realize that academics need to be at least as valued as extracurriculars, if not more and begin budget cuts with topics that don’t affect the students academic experience. We cannot expect students to value education if our system places everything above it. |
not your average joeBy Joseph Moya
Minimum Wage is currently at $7.25 nationally with some states as high as $10. President Obama proposed a wage hike to $9 in his State of the Union address. Congressional democrats have shot blindly at $10.10. A Congressional Budget Office report says there will be negatives and positives to this raise. However, raising the minimum wage will help the economy minimally, and it will costs hundreds of thousands of jobs in a frail recovery. Therefore, Congress shouldn’t raise it. COB reports that raising the minimum wage could cost over a million jobs. A large percentage of these jobs will be from small businesses. Over 40% of minimum wage jobs will come from these entities, many of whom can not afford the raise. Thus, not only will there be a loss jobs, it will be hurting start up businesses, too. And one million jobs is a conservative estimate. The Pew Research Center says 64% of minimum wage workers work part-time. The average minimum wage worker works 24 hours a week, so he/she would still be in poverty. Minimum wage jobs are not supposed to support a family. Persons 25 and younger comprise one fifth of the workforce, but they make up over half of the minimum wage workers. Twenty four percent are teenagers. This majority of people will feel little effect from the raise, since they are part-time employees and often full-time students. Overall raising minimum wage won't do what it is supposed to. Eighty percent of minimum wage workers don’t even live in poverty. Many are working as supplemental income to a partner, or even under a parent who earns an average of $65,900. If you put together a family's income, most people would not be lifted out of poverty due to the fact that they were never in it. Yes some people will be pulled out of poverty, but much fewer than portrayed. Instead, many people will lose their jobs, thus pushing more people into poverty. Only 9% of those below the poverty line work full time, two thirds don't work at all. Proponents of raising it often cite the Bureau of Labor Statistics report that says 79% of those affected by a minimum wage increase would be older than 20, which still includes those who are in college. It includes 20-25, which is in the number from the Census Bureau, and it is a skewed stat. Seventy nine percent of those affected will be affected. Affected how? The report does not say. If it is those lifted above the poverty level, this would make sense, because they are more likely to be living in poverty than teenagers still dependent on their parents. According to the Census Bureau, only 7% of those who work live in poverty. Instead of forcing employers to drag them out of unstable economic conditions, help employers offer the opportunity for better jobs by not hurting them. Raising minimum wage causes small business to stall, thus preventing them from growing and producing higher paying jobs. Some things are better left as is. Minimum wage is one of them. |
letter to the editor
Anonymous
Respect between the faculty and students is dwindling, and the list of rules is getting longer every year. Punishments are not being fit to the crimes and it is simply not fair at all. No student at this school is perfect, and there a lot of students who commit the same “bad” deed, yet are not being punished. I don't think what we attend to outside of school should reflect what we do at school. Now I am not saying students should be able to be criminals outside of school and leaders inside. But a little high school fun wasn’t a big deal when our parents went to school and shouldn't be now.
I would argue to say that at least 75% of our school’s population has been to a party before, which is a rather large percentage. However, some students have gotten in trouble for a simple for a simple photograph taken at a party and others by word of mouth of their actions at a party. Other students in leadership positions have committed the same or more serious offenses such as drugs and violence, yet their actions go unnoticed.
I don’t feel that it is any of the schools business how I or other students choose to spend our weekends. If I am not any sort of legal trouble, the only people who should know about student’s weekends should include ourselves and our friends and family, not the school. I feel that a leader in someone who others are able to look up to in the field which they are in. For instance, if I was a soccer player, I would look up to the team captain in the realm of soccer rather than looking up to their entire life. I think that punishments that some students at our school were given were based solely on one faculty members crave for power rather than a real punishment that is applicable to their deed.
Respect between the faculty and students is dwindling, and the list of rules is getting longer every year. Punishments are not being fit to the crimes and it is simply not fair at all. No student at this school is perfect, and there a lot of students who commit the same “bad” deed, yet are not being punished. I don't think what we attend to outside of school should reflect what we do at school. Now I am not saying students should be able to be criminals outside of school and leaders inside. But a little high school fun wasn’t a big deal when our parents went to school and shouldn't be now.
I would argue to say that at least 75% of our school’s population has been to a party before, which is a rather large percentage. However, some students have gotten in trouble for a simple for a simple photograph taken at a party and others by word of mouth of their actions at a party. Other students in leadership positions have committed the same or more serious offenses such as drugs and violence, yet their actions go unnoticed.
I don’t feel that it is any of the schools business how I or other students choose to spend our weekends. If I am not any sort of legal trouble, the only people who should know about student’s weekends should include ourselves and our friends and family, not the school. I feel that a leader in someone who others are able to look up to in the field which they are in. For instance, if I was a soccer player, I would look up to the team captain in the realm of soccer rather than looking up to their entire life. I think that punishments that some students at our school were given were based solely on one faculty members crave for power rather than a real punishment that is applicable to their deed.
zimmerman boxingBy Ian Mobbs
Everyone wants to be famous. However, the way you obtain it is what determines whether you live in fame or infamy. Some people become famous by doing something great, such as Bill Gates. Others become famous by doing something terrible, such as Adolf Hitler. Some people become famous for nothing at all, such as Kim Kardashian. However, what happens when someone whose fame (or infamy) starts to drift starts trying to hold on to it? Let’s take a look out at George Zimmerman - the man who killed Trayvon Martin has recently started a series of ‘celebrity boxing matches’, challenging famed rappers such Kanye West to box in order to come out of a series of unfortunate events he claims are plaguing his life. Zimmerman told Univision television show "Aquí y Ahora" that he is “homeless, battling post-traumatic stress disorder, more than $2 million in debt and lives in fear for his life.” Despite what Zimmerman is saying, it’s clear that this is just another publicity stunt on his part. While he didn’t manage to get Kanye West in the ring, he and promoter Damon Feldman did announce that they had Zimmerman pitched against rapper DMX in a future boxing match. However, Domenick Nati (public relations for DMX) announced that DMX never agreed to this boxing match and would NOT be boxing George Zimmerman. As of February 10th, “the boxing match that never was” has been cancelled. This spawns the question - why would George Zimmerman go through all the effort of creating a fake boxing match with a fake opponent? The honest truth is that he gains nothing of value. He gains publicity. He gains news attention. Which for most famous people, that would be a good thing. More publicity means more promotional deals, more available work, etc. However, when you’re famous for a reason such as the alleged murder of a 17 year old male, those kinds of opportunities don’t come up no matter how much attention you get. This leaves us with the conclusion that George Zimmerman needs to simply stop trying. FIFA in QatarBy Cesar Sosa
The 2022 World Cup will be held in Qatar, but the organization committee has been using foreign laborers from poor countries, paying them little to nothing. In short, these people are slaves to Qatar, forced to sign contracts in languages they do not understand, resulting in horrible working and living conditions. To date, 184 workers have died in Qatar. FIFA, the Federation International Football Association, an organization that oversees world soccer, should stand up for these laborers. FIFA, as a world organization, has a responsibility to maintain basic human rights. However, FIFA is attempting to pass the buck, claiming that they have no power to control the construction companies that are building these million dollar stadiums. While they can't overtly control these companies, they can pressure Qatar, who controls these companies, into creating a humane working environment. The most effective and most obvious thing that FIFA has to do is threaten Qatar in changing the venue. Other countries like Spain, Germany, South Korea/Japan and the United States are already World Cup ready, so one of these could get the bid. In fact, experts expected that the US would get the 2022 bid when it surprisingly went to Qatar. FIFA is powerful enough to change the venue in a heartbeat. For example, in 2003, the Women’s World Cup was scheduled to take place in China. Yet on May 3, 2003, FIFA abruptly moved the venue to the US due to the SARS outbreak in China. FIFA believed that the US, hosting the previous World Cup in 1999, was the only country capable of organizing the event before the kick-off in October. Clearly, with the World Cup scheduled in Qatar for 2022, there is enough time to change the venue. Although receiving harsh criticism from people all over the world, FIFA has insisted on keeping the World Cup in Qatar, explaining that if they change the venue nothing will change in Qatar and the country will still be mistreating workers. Others claim that it is important to continue to spotlight the abuses. But how many workers must die or suffer before international attention is raised and the situation is improved? In short, the human rights organizations of the world can only influence so much. FIFA has to stop turning its head and do something about this outrage. FIFA should threaten Qatar in changing the venue, consequently forcing the country to stop treating these workers in such an inhumane manner. Surely Qatar wouldn't want to get the venue taken away as this would be a huge blow to their economy and to the status of their country in its attempt to emerge on the world stage. |
woody allan allegationsWoody Allen’s daughter, Dylan Farrow, has recently came to the public about being sexually assaulted at the age of seven by her well known father, famous for directing movies such as “Midnight in Paris”, “To Rome with Love”, and “Manhattan”. Farrow hasn’t been hurt or affected by questions from the questions and pressure from the community, but rather is hurt every time she sees her fathers face receiving award after award in the media. After all the damage he has created in her life, nothing hurts more but seeing him celebrated. Frequently when situations like this occur, the majority of people don’t believe the child due to their parent’s celebrity status.
Woody Allen is living proof of how society fails to take action for young men and women who are being sexually abused. This isn’t the first time or second time that celebrities have got away with abuse or molestation. Chris Brown, who wrote world-reknown records, famously assaulted his then-time girlfriend Rihanna. Sean Penn did the same to his ex-wife Madonna. Even after being charged with 12 counts of possession of child pornography, R. Kelly is still appearing in songs with Justin Bieber, Phoenix, Lady Gaga, and many more. To me, this is unfair and absurd, ordinary people who molest and abuse young people need to be brought to justice. It seems like celebrities get praised for what the work they’ve made instead of being punished for the crime they have committed. Why is it that we, as a society, allow things like this to happen? If my child were ever to come up and tell me that they might have been molested, I would take action immediately, not let my childs abuser get any closer to my child. Dylan Farrow sits and watches The Oscars where her molester is being nominated for a film, while every night she lays in her bed and goes back to that moment when her father first assaulted her. It’s sad to see when a movie or money is more important than the well being of a child, or worse even yet, their childhood. Fake donationsBy Allison Livermore
As each donator clicks a ‘submit’ button on their candidates website, their intentions are being used. By purchasing an amount of domain names relating to democratic candidates, Republicans hatched a plan to use voters for their donation money. As both political parties use tactical warfare to reach their goals, it isn’t a surprise that each lunge for the opportunity. However, in big black letters, the true point of these websites can be found. It would have to take either an extremely poor sighted person, or an incredibly naive person, to not notice the true intentions of these websites. For instance, a fake Anne Kirkpatrick website clearly capacitates the words, “Fed up with Anne Kirkpatrick? – Sign up Today”, in big huge black letters that can be found under an even bigger blue donation sign. The website even states reasons for why Kirkpatrick is a terrible candidate for Arizona. In fact, all of the websites state that they are against the particular candidate. How could anyone really miss those letters? Scheming, manipulating, and two-faced actions have become the norm when involved in the political world. Scandals such as President Obama's recycled speech, the mocking of republican comments, and the current Syrian chemical weapon incident are examples of other issues circulating the political network. With all of these lies in the political world, it is the responsibility of voters to stay informed and make educated decisions. Even though there are more important issues to be worried about in our nation, America chooses to care more about a petty topic such as the fake websites. It isn't uncommon for campaigners to be unfair, regardless of the action. Not being able to read between the lines is no excuse to make a commotion out of someones faltered decisions. Whatever these delegations may represent, it is understandable that there is no room for failure. In the political world, you either succeed at the big board game called campaigning, or you fail miserably. Winners want to win, despite the lengths they have to undergo to obtain it. lego movie reviewThe Lego Movie was released in the U.S. on February 7th of 2014 and was an instant success. However, some see this film for more than the hilarious children’s film it really is. Fox Business has made claims that the film is trying to spread an “anti-capitalist” message to kids. In reality, conservatives are simply looking for something new to complain about. Movie villains being obsessed with money and power are as old as time itself, but since the antagonist of the Lego Movie happens to bare a resemblance to Mitt Romney, doesn’t mean that the film is “promoting an anti-business agenda” as Fox put it.
Quite the contrary actually. Aaron Shill of Desert News says that “for an anti-business production, The Lego Movie sure does an effective job of moving product.” Sales of Lego products have increased dramatically ever since the movie’s release. Not only appealing to children, but also some adults and rather effectively. That hardly sounds anti-capitalist. Not to mention the fact that the movie itself has already made $276.7 million, a number that’s still rising. It seems this whole “controversy” is nothing but overreaction by so-called journalists who have absolutely nothing better to do with their time. It seems Fox will attack anything blindly and without any viable reason to do so. Whether it be the issue of President Obama’s birthplace, the “hacktivist” organization Anonymous and even the video game series Mass Effect. And, surprise surprise, these accusations were all made using groundless, fabricated information. Often making these things out to be evil. Sound familiar? It should. This occasion is reminiscent of people making “rock n’ roll” music out to be evil during the 1950’s and again during the punk movement of the 70’s and 80’s. More recently, Conservatives have turned their attention towards the film industry, accusing not only the Lego Movie, but also Hollywood as a whole of having an anti-business agenda. Once again, this is rather hard to believe considering film is a multi-billion dollar industry. The United States’ capitalist system isn’t exactly perfect. In fact, it’s downright terrible and constantly being manipulated by money-grubbing politicians and stock brokers. Corrupt people like this are the reason that the economy crashed under it’s own weight virtually overnight back in 2008. However, if you want to hear about that, the Lego Movie certainly isn’t the place to go to. It’s simply a film, a rather good one at that, based upon the long-time beloved toys. Nothing more, nothing less. What Fox Business, or most people for that matter, fail to realize is how deep the Lego Movie actually is. The reason this film has gotten so popular is because it’s bigger than itself, touching upon issues that a lot of people can empathize with. Someone should really tell Fox Business this, as well as all like-minded people. Because, all they see the film as is “liberal hippy un-American propaganda.” If you came out of the Lego Movie and honestly believed that the film was part of a plot against capitalism and are willing to live and die by this, then there’s really no use getting help, because you probably weren’t all that smart to begin with. |