ZE PH
YR US NE W S
Z
www.edinazephyrus.com
In-Depth p. 6-7
Culture p. 10
edinazephyrus.com
Turning Over a New Leaf: All about where everyone’s favorite seniors will be next fall!
The Art of Taking Selfies: How to snap the perfect picture of yourself
Find out a bout t he recent AP Statistics cheating scandal..
Volume 33 Issue 7
May 17, 2013
6754 Valley View Rd. Edina, MN 55439
TEN EDINA TECHNOLOGY STAFF MEMBERS PINKSLIPPED art by Elizabeth Jarvey
Edina High School is completely restructuring its technology department. Recently, ten people, all of them members of one of two specific jobs in district technology, were terminated. The technology department is redefining the way it categorizes its employees. “We had some pretty generic job descriptions,” said Director of Media and Technology Services Steve Buettner. “Technology has changed from general to more specific work needs, so we looked at the roles and responsibilities that we need. Wireless wasn’t around when these job descriptions were written. So we created specific job descriptions that discuss the needs of the organization.” The ten people all had a similar job, but
North Korea
versus
the world
their responsibilities, according to the district, really should have differed. Because of this, nine new positions were created. The district encouraged the staff that were terminated to re-apply for one of the new positions. According to Buettner, “six were rehired, two retired, and two are not returning.” Though it seems this change could be economically based, the district states that it wasn’t. Buettner said, “This is cost-neutral, which means that we hope to have no reduction of staff or anything like that.” The only financial aspect is wage changes. The responsibilities of the new positions will vary when they are put into action next year. Naturally, some of these positions will have a higher salary than others, but the amount of
In order to understand the present, we must understand the past. Beginning in World War II, Korea was controlled by an empire, one that shaped the lives of the people for the good and the bad. After the Pacific war ended in 1945 and the Japanese Empire retreated, Korea was divided in half at the 38th parallel. The United States transformed South Korea into a rightwing democratic government, while the Soviet Union who received North Korea, introduced communism. What began as mere illegal border crossings and raids turned into full warfare, as North Korea invaded South Korea June 25, 1950. Soon, the People’s Republic of China allied with the Soviet Union and North Korean forces advanced into South Korea, pushing their forces behind the 38th parallel. An armistice was signed on July 27, 1953. Since then, soldiers belonging to the North and South have been stationed along the 38th parallel and tensions have remained fairly minimal. On March 8, the North Korean government put its military into a combat-ready state and declared that missiles were being pointed at various places that it found threatening. US officials predict that the missiles have been set to go to either large cities in Japan,
money going into the technology department shouldn’t be changing, and the decision should only help the department. Buettner claimed, “We may see some jobs making a little bit more salary, and other jobs making a little bit less salary.” Nonetheless, this situation isn’t entirely ideal. “This has a huge impact on these people’s lives,” says Buettner. “Though we’re talking about job descriptions and job responsibilities, there are humans behind that, and they are definitely people being impacted. Most of them have come to work [and] work tirelessly every day, even though this has happened to them,” he added. These people have responsibilities and lives, and these changes truly hurt them.
South Korea, or the US Pacific military base in Guam. A day prior to the announcement, on March 7, North Korea even stated that they deemed the United States as the “sworn enemy of the Korean People.” A majority of US officials, including the US National Intelligence Director James Clapper, predicted that the actions are being globally shared in order to vie an intimidating and authoritative atmosphere to the newly appointed Kim Jong-un. North Korea continued cutting former relations, for instance on March 13, when they ended the 1953 armistice which ended the Korean War. They declared that, “Under the situation where a war may break out any moment, there is no need to keep up North-South military communications.” Finally, on March 30, they declared that they were at a state of war with South Korea and that missiles were at the ready to be launched at US naval bases in the Pacific. Further, US satellites have found that North Korea is beginning to rebuild a cooling building at an abandoned nuclear reactor site. The KCNA, the North Korean media, further increased tension by claiming that, “The
art by Emma Westbrook
The official newspaper of Edina High School
“It is hard to answer the phone and have to tell people that my former co-workers no longer work here,” shared one of the ten people laid off. The source also said that there isn’t much trust in the technology department anymore. But does this have anything to do with the high school’s recent technological problems? Buettner says no. “Most of these folks have worked with integrity, and have come to work to keep it going.” More likely, these problems just happen to have gotten worse now, and were more a cause of the changes than the effect of them. Jackson Van Dyke, opinion editor
moment of explosion is approaching fast. No one can say a war will break out in Korea or not and whether it will break out today or tomorrow.” Yet, why? Why, suddenly, has North Korea taken such affirmative action against the United States and rearing itself into a state where, if they truly were to launch missiles or develop a nuclear bomb, would be its final act? Perhaps we need to look at George Bush’s comments of North Korea in 2001, where he publicly called North Korea, “an axis of evil” and “outpost of tyranny.” And while this army be true, perhaps it should not be such a surprise that tensions are building. As our globally connected world becomes more complex and vicious, and we attend the last legs of our school year, drive down the highway blasting summer tunes, maybe the best thing to do is to be appreciative for what you have. And perhaps the answer to the question of what we can do, what we can obtain during our wait, is demonstrate exactly what North Korea leaders do not have: patience. Sloane Nilsen, outgoing senior