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Granite Bay Gazette
GRANITE BAY HIGH SCHOOL w 1 GRIZZLY WAY w GRANITE BAY, CA w 95746 w VOLUME 22 w ISSUE 6 w FRIDAY, MARCH 8, 2019
COMMENTARY
RACISM
andrew yung
Recent events spark discussions about appropriate student behavior at school
ayung.gazette@gmail.com
We all need encouragement, not criticism
BY MAX SCHWARTZ
mschwartz.gazette@gmail.com
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nd the people in the houses All went to the university Where they were put in boxes And they came out all the same And there’s doctors and lawyers And business executives And they’re all made out of ticky tacky And they all look just the same.” These lyrics in Malvina Reynolds’ song, “Little Boxes” offer a perspective that, in some ways, parallels Granite Bay – a community characterized by its high socioeconomic status and the general affluence of both adults and their children. Granite Bay High School is a reflection of the community. Having a majority of students and faculty who are Caucasian has left some minority students struggling to stay afloat in a sea of white. Early last month, an email was sent to each GBHS parent and student by principal Jennifer Leighton.
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here’s this amazing feeling that I, and probably all people, get from receiving compliments, from words of affirmation, from encouragement. It’s this sense of, not necessarily validation – though it very well could be – but warm, hearty appreciation. And receiving these nice, small tokens of affirmation can invoke a new, small sense of confidence. Granted, it is not all the time we feel this, especially when we can tell the bequeather is not genuine (which is decidedly worse than not receiving a compliment at all), but when we do stumble across these increasingly rare treasures, there is really only positivity that can spread. But, oh, how quickly Have we all can insults, resorted to words of pointing out unwarranteverything we ed critifind wrong...? cism and discouragement tear all of this positivity away. We’ve all been in the position, no matter how secure and strong we are, where the words breathed out of another’s mouth have pained us in some sort of way. Why? Because no one wants to hear what people don’t like about them. Besides being just plain mean – and often for no reason at all – it is also often completely unsubstantiated and completely frivolous. Of course, constructive criticism has its place, but that is asked for, and I’m guessing 99.9 percent of the time, the things we say negatively about others are not warranted. Also, I’m guessing the majority of the time the things we say negatively about others happens behind their back. This development of criticism and gossip has risen substantially recently, I believe, because of the rise of social media and the anonymity the Internet offers. All over the web, you can find negative things about anyone and anything, as even the kindest, most stereotypical generous actions can, and almost always are, given additional negative narratives. But for what purpose? Have we all as a society been so insecure that we have to find faults in every single thing a person does? Have we all resorted to pointing out everything we find wrong with someone, just because they wore the same clothes two days in a row or talk with a weird accent? I would argue the answer to these are all, luckily, no of course not. I still have faith in us all, still have faith in humanity and still have faith that this is only a small phase we are going through as a society, and ultimately grow out of our crippling, debilitating ways. I’d challenge everyone, including myself, to think twice before saying something bad about someone. Consider why you are saying this. Is it because the other person deserves it? Because the answer is always no. Spread kindness, not negativity.
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The email was Leighton’s response to multiple cases of racism directed toward African-American students on social media, including incidences of blackface and the blatant use of racial slurs including the n-word. The notice came to the Granite Bay community without any warning – the same way Leighton found out about the situation. “It was all very overwhelming – , I thought in my head, ‘How could this be happening at our school?’ ” Leighton said. Although this was not the first instance of racism on campus or in the community, this case was into new territory for Leighton. “There have been isolated incidents in the five years I’ve been here (at GBHS), but very isolated that I was aware of – and all of a sudden it felt very overwhelming,” she said. “On top of it all, starting to hear from the community and to be on the news, it’s like, ‘Wow, this is
and its presence on campus something that we’ve got to deal with.’ ” Since these incidents happened, Leighton said she is trying to shift the focus of the staff from the immediate safety concerns of gun violence after the Parkland, Florida, shootings a year ago. “My most important job (as principal) is to make sure that our students feel safe, and last year with all the school shootings we focused on the campus being safe physically, but now we need to look at how we are treating each other,” Leighton said. Since the beginning of the year, administrators and teachers have been working together in meetings to further their understanding as it relates to the issues of race and culture. “We have been reading a book in our faculty meetings about culturally responsive teaching,” Leighton said. “We’ve been learning about how our teaching affects others and why as teachers we might even have an implicit bias.” With these most-recent incidents, Leighton noted the actual scenarios are being dealt with differently – and although she can’t disclose the punishments because of student confidentiality, she noted the goal.
“The most important thing is to repair the damage because, while there is a consequence, it is about how we fix the problem,” she said. The solution will be about understanding what people of color go through as minorities. “People of the predominant race don’t understand what it is like (to experience discrimination) because they can’t relate to being one of the 30 students that are different at this school,” Leighton said. These incidents of racism, however, are not reported every time. The struggle of being a minority at GBHS is full of incidents unknown to the broader community. Whether it is blatant racial slurs or being treated differently because of their skin color, for persons of color, Granite Bay is not always the most comfortable place to be. “In Granite Bay, I guess you could say I’m different,” said senior Lamont Mason, who is African American. “I am viewed as one of the black people instead of an individual.” Mason attributes occurrences of prejudice to him being different. See RACISM, page A5
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*** Andrew Yung, a senior, is a Gazette co-editor-in-chief.
Gazette illustration | Sidney Zabell
Frosh numbers declining Class of 2023 could end up being smallest ever at GBHS BY ANDREW YUNG
ayung.gazette@gmail.com
I
n recent years, the Sacramento area has expanded due in no small part to the migration of many from the overcrowded Bay Area. However, as many people have moved to the region and more schools have been built in the area, an almost counterintuitive development has been happening. Granite Bay High School’s population has been decreasing, ever so slowly. Every year, the Roseville Joint Union High School District conducts an estimate of the incoming class of freshmen in order to plan for staffing.
Meghan Cole CP English 9 teacher discusses the consequences of a smaller class size
Although the predicted number of freshmen for GBHS has historically been lower than the number who actually show up – in part because the number does not account for inter and intradistrict transfers – the number of predicted freshmen for next year is at an all time low: just 385 students. The decrease in students has been evident not just at GBHS, but also at its primary feeder schools – Olympus Junior High in West Roseville and Cavitt Junior High in Granite Bay. “We have been experiencing declining enrollment at Olympus for the past few years,” Olympus principal Sean Healy said. “We’re sending fewer and fewer eighth graders (to the high school). I believe Cavitt is experiencing the same decline in enrollment.” at Olympus for the See ENROLLMENT, page A4
Seniors get college letters Students prepare to embark on the next four years BY ABBIE GOULD
agould2.gazette@gmail.com
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s May 1 approaches, the decision that has been looming over most seniors’ heads for the past four years is closer than ever. In two months, these young adults will have to decide where they will spend their next four years as they pursue a college degree.
After having finished the application process in the fall, college acceptances have begun to trickle in. “I applied to 15 different colleges and am just beginning to hear back from a few,” senior Cate Wolfe said. Many seniors applied to numerous schools and are not quite sure how they are going to make their final decision. “Every student is different in regards to where they see themselves after high school,” said counselor Navjot Singh. “When deciding on a college, we have students looks at multiple different things. For
See DECISIONS, page A6
Senior conduct policy changes
Traditional discipline is used as suspension alternative BY ASHLEY LUCIA
alucia.gazette@gmail.com
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enior conduct has been used to ensure that students remain in good standing since Granite Bay High School opened. However, more recently, there have been some major changes to the disciplinary program. The consequence eliminates students’ opportunities to attend senior-based events. Students have the ability to land on the list for multiple offenses including behav-
inside this section news Elective enrollment in a downward spiral
Class selection process
Students opt for weighted courses instead of electives.
Returning students choose classes at a later date than ever before.
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example, do you see yourself at a large campus or a small campus? Do you want to stay in California or go out of state? Do you want to play sports? What majors do they offer?” Justin Mazzola said he is going to consider a few major aspects of the colleges he applied to, to help with his final decision. “I am going to consider location, the reputation of the school, ranking of the business program and the community and feel of it,” Mazzola said.
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ior, attendance and grades. “It started long before my time,” assistant principal Brian McNulty said. “The school board was trying to adopt a policy to help seniors realize if they give up their rights by fighting against the establishment, they (would) not be walking (across) the stage.” Attendance is a main cause of many students finding themselves on senior conduct. The state mandates that See CONDUCT, page A5
voices Mental illness isn’t just having a bad day Depression is serious, yet many undermine its importance
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