the
staff editorial
Students unaware of privacy policies on social networking sites, posting personal information As teenagers, it is our job to communicate, and in this “New Age” of technology, the ways we communicate have made some drastic changes. Email has replaced the Post Office and texting has taken over phone calls. Communication is no longer as personal as it use to be and almost everything is online, making it quicker and more readily accessible. But how about the disadvantages of having almost everything online? All of your personal information is now just a click away from someone you barely know. When you click accept to someone’s friend request on Facebook, you are accepting that they now have access to your personal information. Sure, there is not much someone
can do with your favorite books and the kind of music you listen to. But how about your phone number, the school you go to and where you work? What if someone named Suzy Harriston sent you a friend request? You check out her profile and see that she is friends with many of the people you go to school with, so you accept. But what you dont know could hurt you. Suzy Harriston is a fake profile allegedly created by Clayton High School Principal, Dr. Louise Losos. Losos is accused of creating the fake profile so that she could spy on her students. We are not saying that you should watch out for Assistant Principal Matt
Dieckhaus creating a fake profile in order to spy on you, but rather, we mean to warn you that anyone, even those you don't expect, can use the internet and social networking sites in order to find out your personal information. And even if you do, pay close attention to who you accept as your friend on Facebook. Your personal information can still be easily accessible to complete strangers and you may not even know it. New Facebook apps such as Viddy and Socialcam allow you to watch videos on Facebook. But if you are not careful and check the privacy settings, every video you watch is shown to everyone you are friends with.
More and more employers are searching through social networking sites just for these reasons. And now, the privacy settings on Facebook are changing constantly. In fact, from March 2010 to August 2011, Facebook made eight different changes that affect privacy settings. In March 2010, a change was made allowing third party access to any profile data. And, in January 2011, third-party applications were given access to public addresses and phone numbers. If you are not careful with what you make accessible online, you could find yourself in trouble. So remember, keep your personal information personal, and if someone named Suzy Harriston ever sends you a friend request, DO NOT accept.
Graduation leads to personal reflection on accomplishments, missed opportunities
Unfiltered Sarah Greenlee
Most columnists desire to be original and unique when coming up with a column idea. They want their audience to have an epiphany while reading the column, or feel like the column's main idea is a brilliant and insightful one. But, looking back on the past four years here, I don’t have a whole lot more insight than anyone else would. I don’t have some great revelation to spit out. What I do know, though, is that I wish I had appreciated my time more in high school. Yes, I’m excited to be graduating, but I can’t help feeling as though there’s a lot I’ve missed out on. There are so many things I
never did while I was in school. I didn’t join any art clubs or even take any art classes for that matter. I never got into any community service projects and I never tutored anyone even though I was more than capable of it. Instead, I joined Marching Band and that took up so much time that I didn’t have time for really anything else. I spent about 15 hours every week either at rehearsal or performing at events with the band. And as much fun as it was, I didn’t have time to enrich my high school career with diverse experiences. By choosing to become totally involved in such a demanding program, I, in turn,
gave up so much. If that had been my only interest, I’d have no regrets, but I enjoy doing so many different things that I feel as if I mismanaged how I filled my free time. Not only did I miss out on in-school activities, but there are a lot of typical high school experiences I’ve just never been able to experience. And at some point, you have to accept that once you’re done with high school, you’re just too old to still have those experiences. Being a teenager is a chance for us to screw up and make stupid decisions and still have a chance to fix them. Our parents are here to help us and guide us now, whereas
in a few years, we’ll have to be fully responsible for our own actions. High school is the best time to take leaps and experiment with trying all kinds of things. I realized I’d have much rather tried new things and failed at them than not done anything at all. So, while you’re in high school, realize that you only have these short four years to do what you want while still having a safety net. These four years go by in an instant, so don’t hesitate to do as many things as you can while you’re here. When you look back, feel like you couldn’t have had a better high school experience.
opinions
opinions 13
image