Security Cameras Added to the High School

Thomas Detlefsen

Staff Writer

At the back to school meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 1, Mr. Seier announced that a number of security cameras would be installed this coming year during renovations.

 In an interview, Mr. Seier confirmed that twenty-four cameras are to be installed, but there may be more.

 When asked why we needed these cameras, Mr. Seier responded with three main reasons: most other schools have them, they enhance the safety of the students and staff, and they are a mischief deterrent. On the cameras stopping mischief, Seier stated: “Cameras are a deterrent...people know there’s video evidence...if someone was planning something...either something serious or just mischief, they tend to not do it if they know it’s going to be on film.”

 Mr. Seier also stated the additional benefit of security cameras in conflict resolution, “If something does happen, maybe just accidental...the cameras always can give you a reference point to truth: people’s opinions, their memories, recollections can all...be different even though they lived through the same thing.”

 Mr. Seier further supported the addition of cameras, with a story from another school district.  At his old school, there was a car accident in the parking lot during a football game. The two drivers had different stories on what had happened and so the police used the security footage to determine what had happened.

 Mr. Seier seemed confident in the benefit of the installation of security cameras in the school, but the true mark of their ability will be proven later this year during the senior prank.

I did it because

I didn’t say go away because I didn’t want to see your face

I did it because seeing you is still the thing that makes my day

I didn’t stop talking to you because it put me in a bad mood

I did it because I’m still stuck in our little honeymoon

I couldn’t face the truth that I wasn’t good for you

Because I was still in love with you

Every second that passes by I wonder why I said what I did to you

And I also wonder how you could hurt me the way that you do

How you could pretend everything was nothing or act like nothing was real?

I didn’t hurt you because I hate you

I did it because I was afraid to lose someone as wonderfully incredible as you

This fear became a reality as I watched you disappear

Disappear from a life that we made that I believed was equally treasured

I didn’t move on because I wanted to

I did it because I had to

Because the decision you made was depressing and rash

And I don’t think I’ll ever be able to forgive you for something as brutal as that

But I’m happy to see you’ve found what you need, even though that something wasn’t me

-Kayla Paul-Koch

Student sociologists take a look at student life

Sociologists Thomas Detlefsen and Steven Elser, graduates from UFDDQ (TheUniversityofFreeDegreesDoneQuick.com) recently conducted a survey that found the correlation between workload and outlook on life for high school students.

 Both agreed that stress was a problem in the lives of the high school students and hypothesized that the most likely contributory factor is the amount of homework and how much time it takes them to complete it.

 With this in mind the two decided to create a survey in which students answered questions concerning stress, workload, and happiness. From this they gathered that oddly enough that most of the students were both high on the scale of 1-10 on stress as well as happiness regardless of how much homework they had.

 Although the results were not very exciting or profound. The two were still happy with the process that had been done. Thomas stated that “Although we could have edited the questions so that they were more descriptive and yielded better results, the whole process was pleasing.” (Detlefson, 2017) Performing a full experiment and interpreting the results so that it could contribute to the greater knowledge of the field of sociology.

Sources:

Detlefson, T. (2017, April 15). Personal Interview.

Netflix influences teenage relationships

Brooke Black and Skylar Sherman

Staff Writers

As we have grown up in a world of technology and social media, students and young adults have gradually changed their mindset on relationships which could be influencing pop-culture nostalgia because of Netflix. Our parents grew up watching shows in the 80’s and maybe even the early 90’s and as a result they have shared with their children how influential all of them were. Netflix became insanely popular over the past five years so they have expanded their variety of shows especially after hearing what was popular. They have added Friends, Vampire Diaries, The Carrie Diaries, Gossip Girl, Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Beverly Hills 90210, That 70’s Show, and more. As a result, we believe that teenagers and young adults have started longing for the relationships portrayed in those type of shows which is old fashioned dating rather than snapchatting and “hanging out.”

 Almost every single college and high school student has an account with Netflix and admits to binge watching shows and movies over the weekend and even during the school week. And since people believe that pop-culture nostalgia comes in 20-year cycles it makes perfect sense that the 90’s would be so in right now because so many teenagers think that they missed out on that decade. We decided to create an experiment for our hypothesis that states “If you regularly watch Netflix Shows from the 1990’s to the 2000’s, then you are longing for the relationships portrayed in those shows.” Our survey consisted of questions referring to the volunteer’s age, gender, amount of netflix watched per week, what shows they watched the most, and what their ideal date was. Our results weren’t exactly what we expected to get since most of the volunteer’s were not avid Netflix watchers but we were able to take that information and still made a solid argument about how when you don’t watch a lot of netflix or show from the 1990’s-2000’s then you think that the present day dating is the “best.”

 After about 15 surveys were sent out and 12 were returned, even though the information we received wasn’t exactly what we wanted, it did still prove our hypothesis, but in the opposite way we were planning. Of the 12 people whose survey’s we received back, eight of them stated they watched little to no Netflix per week and preferred today’s dating to the dating in the 1990s- early 2000s. While this wasn’t exactly the responses we were searching for, it still proved our theory as true. The students we surveyed didn’t watch very much Netflix, so they preferred today’s dating life. These students may have not necessarily ever witnessed or watched any shows that were portrayed or created in the earlier time period, so they only know of the dating that goes on in today’s society.

 In the perfect reality, we would have received surveys from a mixture of students who do and don’t watch Netflix and proved our theory completely right; however, with the information we collected, we can still state that our theory holds true. The more shows you consume from the early 1990s to late 2000s, the more you will long for the dating lifestyle portrayed in that time period and shows. If you don’t watch Netflix or don’t watch those shows, you will prefer the dating lifestyle of current time.

Israel decriminalizes marijuana

Riley Brennan

Features and A&E editor

Israel, a country leading the world in medical marijuana research, has decriminalized the recreational use of marijuana. Rather than continue to arrest and prosecute individuals caught with the drug, they are going to fine people. However, those caught growing or selling the drug will be arrested.

 Israel already legalized medical marijuana, and according to the Prime Minister Ayelet Shaked,  "Israel cannot shut its eyes to the changes being made across the world in respect to marijuana consumption and its effects.”

 There are a recorded 25,000 people who have a license to use medical marijuana, with more to come, and only 188 arrests for the use of it recreationally this past year, which is a 56 percent drop from 2010. The goal is to reduce the number of prosecutions for recreational drug use, which decriminalizing would hopefully do. The policy would apply to those carrying up to 15 grams of the drug, and first time offenders would receive a fine of $265, but would not appear on their criminal record. With the second and third offenses the punishment would increase, the second time resulting in a doubling of their first fine, and the third offense being a punishment determined by the police.

 The Israelis believe this process will ultimately reduce the number of drug-related arrests in the country, and positively affect the country as a whole.

Mystery surrounds teh Kim Jong-nam Assassination

Deven Smith

Staff Writer

 The half-brother of Kim Jong-un, the “President” of North Korea, was mysteriously murdered on Feb. 13. There was no punctured points on his body so it is believed that he was poisoned. Two females that fled the airport in a taxi  are the leading suspects of the murder. Using many fake passports to avoid recognition he was travelling frequently to avoid detection. However he was tracke down and was murdered in Malaysia.  He had lost the respect of his family when he tried to enter Japan using a Dominican Republic passport.  He had little faith in Kim Jong Un saying he won’t last long because of his young age.  Although he has been in exile for years he is the eldest son of their shared father so it could be possible that he would’ve been able to replace Kim Jong Un as leader of North Korea.  Kim Jong Un took care of that though, it has been leaked by South Korean intelligence that Kim Jong Un did in fact order the assassination.  This is scary timing since Kim Jong Un had tested a ballistic missile just two days prior to the murder.  

 According to CNN the murder was carried out by two assassin groups, the first group was composed of North Korean state security department member Ri Jae Nam and foreign ministry worker Ri Ji Hyon, they had recruited a Vietnamese suspect, Doan Thi Huong.  The second group also consisted a state security member, O Jong Gil, and a foreign ministry member, Hong Song Hac, they had brought on board Indonesian suspect Siti Aisyah.  These groups rubbed VX Nerve agent in Nam’s face killing him in twenty minutes.  If given in a high dose it can cause convulsions, loss of consciousness, paralysis, and death because of respiratory failure.  

Dr. Yanni shares a moment with the Lion’s Tale

Marc Verwiel & Katie Tangradi

Opinions and A&E Editors

We recently had the opportunity to sit down with Superintendent Dr. Yanni to ask about how he felt the year was going and what he had planned for the future.

 The interview immediately started with positive remarks from Dr. Yanni expressing his love for the students and families of New Hope, attributing his success to them. So far, he said that getting the renovation project underway was the highpoint of his tenure. (We asked about the hallway smell, he had no clue what it was.) As for the future, Dr. Yanni believes more great things will happen in the coming months and years. He is looking forward to the APEX project, graduation, and opportunities to continue improving the school.

 However, the thing Dr. Yanni was still the most concerned about was the bullying issues that are still present within the district. He is confident that the "No Place for Hate" initiative--the culmination of the district issues last December--will bring positive change while also showing how close the community is. The goal is not to suppress what people can and cannot say, but to have resources available for those that become uncomfortable and spread a message of unconditional respect. He hopes that the students and community will take to these ideals, allowing people to feel safe while still being able to speak their minds.

 The conversation ended with Dr. Yanni giving advice to us and the rest of the senior class. He says we shouldn't rush time. You'll have four years to be in college so enjoy this while it lasts. You are surrounded by people who care about you, so don't try to rush along to the next phase of your life. Enjoy now.