Fairview High School 1515 Greenbriar Blvd. Vol. 57 No. 3 March 2017
THE ROYAL BANNER 16-17 STAFF EDITORS-IN-CHIEF Laura Brack Ben Gelderloos Sara McCrea
SECTION EDITORS Student News Grace Hedlund Opinion Cameron Walsh Entertainment Anya Aidun Sports Sage Rose Humor Carter Hanson Design Director Noah Finer Managing Editor Patrick Stachniak Photo Editors Cormac Dowling, Guilherme Postigo, Sam Troller Webmaster Nate Bilbrey Social Media Director Molly Box Social Media Managers Arvand Aidun, Ryan Swerdlin
STAFF REPORTERS Arshan Aidun, Avery Monette, David Hirschhorn, Kate Jordan, Emma O’Leary, Drew Wolsey Cover Credit Noah Finer
BUSINESS Adviser Sarah M. Zerwin Business Managers Kate Jordan, Nate Bilbrey For Subscriptions: Send $25 to Royal Banner, Fairview High School, Room 339, 1515 Greenbriar Blvd, Boulder, CO 80305, or contact us at @fhsroyalbanner.com
ABOUT THE BANNER The Royal Banner is an 16-24 page news magazine. The Banner is written primarily for the over 2000 students attending Fairview High School and is distributed free of charge to all members of the school community. Accurate reporting of fact is the goal of the staff. Commentaries, opinion
MARCH 2017
THE PRO/CON ISSUE
3 LETTER FROM THE EDITORS 4 GMOS? 6 INCOME INEQUALITY 8 TO WAIVE OR NOT TO WAIVE 10 TEACHERS TALK GRADES 11 WHAT YOU SAID 12 FEMINISM 14 POLITICAL CORRECTNESS 16 DISNEY DISPUTE 18 CHEERING ON TEAMS 20 STUDENT ART 21 CAN YOU WALK A FISH? 22 SPOT THE DIFFERENCE 23 FEATURED PHOTO | WORD SEARCH 24 ADS
columns and letters to the editor are the expressed opinion of the author and not of The Royal Banner and its Editorial Board or its adviser. *Disclaimer: Under Colorado law, no expression made by students in the exercise of free speech or freedom of the press shall be deemed to be an expression of school policy. No school district, employee, legal guardian or official of such a district shall be held liable in any criminal action for any expression made or published by a student. The Royal Banner sells advertisements for publicity and to pay for printing costs. We reserve the right to refuse to run any advertisement deemed inappropriate to the Fairview community.
QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? Email us at staff@fhsroyalbanner.com
www.fhsroyalbanner.com
A NOTE ON THE COVER
by Noah Finer
Debates always have multiple sides, with each person believing that they are correct and that the opposing view is completely wrong. Though some debaters are well prepared and notice the points from the other argument, at times we can become carried away with our opinions and refuse to even acknowledge any points other than our own. With this cover, I hoped to illustrate a prevailing viewpoint peeling away to show an alternative one that is not normally acknowledged, similar to how this issue of the Royal Banner will highlight different sides of debates commonly argued around Fairview and allow for readers to become aware of arguments from opposing sides or to learn about debates they have never heard of before.
Check out the online edition of the Royal Banner for real time coverage of school events, additional coverage of print stories, photos, videos, and more.
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LETTER FROM THE EDITORS:
Sleep In vs. Go To Class, Due Tomorrow vs Do Tomorrow, Fairview vs Boulder; these are the debates that flow through the halls of Fairview. On a daily basis, we as students choose to challenge ourselves and our friends on the beliefs that we hold dear. In this Pro-Con issue of the Royal Banner we wanted to encapsulate these debates that allow us to grow and develop our understanding of the world. Nearly every question has two or more sides, but only one has one answer; Should you read this issue? Yes! It has been established that people often choose to surround themselves with people who share their beliefs and values. In doing this, we tend to extinguish the practice of polite debate and discussion. Though the topics in this issue range from the silly to the serious, our goal is to expose our readers to new ideas. We ask that you approach this issue with an open mind and read both the parts that you agree with as well as the parts you don’t, as this is the only way to ensure progress. Though the majority of the voices in this issue are guest writers, some of Royal Banner’s staff members chimed in on a few of the issues. However, it should be noted that their beliefs do not reflect the beliefs of the rest of the staff and they are speaking independently from the publication. While the individuals who chose to write for this issue are not necessarily the highest position of authority on the subject they wrote about, they are the voices that you can hear in the halls of Fairview. The opinions expressed by the writers represent what they believe in and what they want to share for you. We truly hope that you consider the viewpoints of all the writers respectfully and are able to evaluate our own positions. It is these debates that will matter in the coming years and it is these debates that will continue to filter through our conversations. Sincerely, Laura Brack, Ben Gelderloos, and Sara McCrea Co-Editors In Chief
GMO PRO CON // Story Editor: Emma O’Leary
The debate on GMOs has swept the country in recent years. GMO-labeling has appeared on ballots and cans of food, protests have occurred, and people have taken sides. Genetically modified organisms, abbreviated GMOs, are organisms whose DNA
has been altered for insect resistance, herbicide tolerance, or other new traits. Many people argue that GMOs are harmful to the environment, while others claim that they can help stop world hunger. The City of Boulder released a plan to “phase out” the planting of GMOs in
Boulder County’s open space properties. The plan states that genetically engineered (GE) corn will be not grown anymore by 2019, while GE sugar beets will be gone by 2021. However, the debate is still ongoing as to whether GMOs are healthy or harmful.
GMOs? MORE LIKE GMNOs! // by Ashley Tseng, senior
We are currently living in an era of change that has seen the rapid change and rise of innovations beyond what anyone thought possible. With the explosion of human population, we have sought ways to alter the environment to support our basic needs. Agriculturally, we have been able to increase Earth’s carrying capacity with the creation of genetically modified organisms, or as most people know them as, GMOs. By targeting specific genes and altering them, plants have been changed to fit our growing needs. Our crops are now more resistant to pests and pesticides, can now handle the fickle nature of weather, and can increase their yield by multitudes. Yet I still remain unsure of the promises GMOs offer. Our food is not the only thing that can grow resistant. Pests that consume our food also adapt and with it, so do we. But how? With stronger pesticides. That, frankly, is perhaps one of my biggest concerns about the insidiously
attractive nature of GMOs. Pesticides already pose a problem towards our health and GMOs only serve to exacerbate the issues. However, the problems are not limited to our own species. Ecosystems are built around certain crops and the increase of pesticides imposes serious threats to biodiversity due to the nature of trophic cascades and food webs. Our retaliation could hold unforeseen repercussions we’re not prepared to handle.
“Yet I still remain unsure of the promises GMOs offer.” Genetics and the effects of altering them still hold a degree of uncertainty. The lack of government regulation to account for these uncertainties jeopardizes consumers as well. Taking into our hands and altering what nature has provided for us is a choice that many are hard pressed to make. That is to say, we would not have 4/16
come as far as we have today if we’d only played it safe. However, I would think that it be wise to dig a little deeper, search for more, and understand the true breadth of GMOs and our choices to play god.
“However, the problems are not limited to our own species.”
GMOs? MORE LIKE GMPROs!
// by Paul Strode, Science Department The resistance by the anti-GMO lobby to genetically modified organisms (GMOs) is driven more by emotion, misinformation, motivated reasoning, and confirmation bias than by credible scientific evidence and consensus. A short essay is not enough to unpack it all, but here are a few facts about GMOs. The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) defines a GMO as any organism whose genetic material has been modified to produce a new trait. By this definition, we have been genetically modifying organisms since the 1950s using a process called mutagenesis. Mutagenesis uses ionizing gamma radiation to generate random mutations in seeds and desirable traits in plants. Most of the foods in the produce department in your grocery store, including the organic section, have been modified by this process. Indeed, your organic sweet potatoes, bananas, and even Ruby Red grapefruit are just old mutagens.
since 1982 E. coli bacteria have been modified with the human insulin gene and today drug companies use E. coli to produce over 17,000 kg/yr of insulin, which keeps tens of millions of diabetics around the world alive. In 1996 a transgenic corn variety was introduced to farmers that resists damage by insects. Called Bt-Corn, the plant works by producing a protein insecticide from the soil bacterium, Bacillus thuringiensis. Bt-Corn has resulted in a 35% reduction in the use of insecticides worldwide and saves farmers over $1 billion annually in crop losses and insecticide costs.
Transgenic organisms like Bt-Corn are found in 80% of all processed foods in the US, and the NAS has found no consistent evidence of harm like cancer or allergic reactions in humans or nonhuman animals from eating transgenics. My advice is not to worry about transgenic technology and eating food made with transgenic organisms, but instead focus on what is possible with transgenics. For example, transgenics can help us carefully produce new plant varieties that can grow efficiently in an unpredictable future climate with a surging human population.
“Transgenic GMO technology is extremely important for human health and for food production.” The radiation that creates mutagens, however, produces many other unpredictable and hidden mutations we don’t know about. Thus, plants produced by mutagenesis are just sloppy GMOs. You’ve grown up eating them, and Whole Foods is full of them. The GMO definition used in nonGMO food labeling is different. It includes only organisms that carry and express a gene from another organism. The process for producing this kind of GMO is called transgenics. Transgenics is more precise than mutagenesis and produces significantly fewer, if any, unknown mutations. Transgenic GMO technology is extremely important for human health and for food production. For example,
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The arguments regarding the redistribution of wealth stem principally from the differences between equality of opportunity and equality of outcome. The latter suggests that each person is entitled to the same rewards. Equality of opportunity, instead, is based on the profoundly American notion that “all men are created equal,” and that our destiny is the product of our own independent aspirations and contributions.
by Joseph Stein, Senior
“The society that puts equality before freedom will end up with neither. The society that puts freedom before equality will end up with a great measure of both.” -Milton Freeman
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There is nothing in a functioning society so critical as competition. Without it, economies seize and nations crumble under a mass of inefficiency, corruption, and suffering. The benefits of competition are assured by the pretense that all members of an economy will not be equally rewarded. A separation in wealth is not a social or moral bankruptcy, but rather the driving force of any worthwhile meritocracy. History and experience have proven that socialist regulatory intervention cannot possibly be the friend of egalitarianism, but is alternatively the enemy of liberty. Revered conservative President Ronald Reagan perhaps summed up this notion most simply in saying: “government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem.” America is not great thanks to controls and restrictions placed upon the people, but because of the checks and balances placed upon the government. The American dream itself relies on our preference for the equality of opportunity. As economist Milton Friedman artfully noted, “the society that puts equality before freedom will end up with neither. The society that puts freedom before equality will end up with a great measure of both.” We should strive, not for a nation where the government is empowered to punitively give and take personal wealth, but for a nation that provides equitable opportunity for all.
CON “The world runs on individuals pursuing their self interests. The great achievements of civilization have not come from government bureaus.” -Milton Friedman
by Xavier Brenza, Senior
I firmly believe that a just society’s first priority must be the protection of its most vulnerable, and that its organizing principle must be the inherent dignity and worth of every human being. Excessive levels of income inequality directly harm the most vulnerable in the form of increased poverty and deny the inherent worth of every person by entrenching inequality of opportunity. For this reason, a just government has a moral duty to reduce income inequality. I readily acknowledge that some level of material inequality is necessary to maintain a healthy economy. But the current level of inequality is hardly healthy. Millions lack access to clean drinking water, nutritious food, adequate shelter, quality healthcare, or sufficient education. This destitution persists despite the fact that the United States is one of the wealthiest nations on Earth. It is a moral travesty that a person can freeze to death on the streets when the citizenry are perfectly capable of providing that person with a warm bed and a healthy meal, or from preventing them from ending up on the streets in the first place. Moreover, there are sound economic reasons to be concerned about income inequality: as inequality continues to grow, social mobility falls. Countless individuals fail to contribute to research, art, and innovation because their economic station prevents them from doing so, which hampers long-term economic growth.
We know that governments can effectively reduce inequality: the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development concluded in 2012 that a carefully elevated minimum wage, a progressive income tax, and an egalitarian education system substantially reduce inequality with minimal economic harms. Education reform is crucial: the Government Accountability Office recently found that schools are becoming ever more segregated by income, hurting the chances of working class students. As this is largely because schools are mostly funded by property taxes, a major reform to the structure of school funding would likely go a long way to reducing inequality to acceptable levels. Ultimately, because the government is capable of combating income inequality—and therefore of reducing poverty and increasing social mobility—it has a moral obligation to do so: anything less amounts to complicity in harming our society’s most vulnerable members. 7/24
TO WAIVE OR NOT TO WAIVE Story Editor: Kate Jordan //@katejordanRB
As of right now, the school district’s policy is that each season of a CHSAA approved sport a student participates in can be two physical education credits waived, but students still have to complete them as elective credits. Activities outside the school’s programs may be worth one credit waived after review. A maximum of ten out of the fifteen physical education credits can be waived. Each student needs at least fifteen gym credits to graduate and should already have five from required ninth grade gym. Students can earn the remaining credits by taking two semesters of any physical education class offered at Fairview.
Since the beginning of the semester, there have been rumors traveling around the school that sports during underclassmen years are no longer waived. This is not completely true. However, counselor Ashley Houston confirmed that the policy is currently under review. “On the issue of sports, PE waivers, and district graduation requirements for P.E.,” said Houston, “administration at Fairview is in conversation with the district to review those requirements, so the outcome of which, we just don’t know yet.”
BENEFITS BEYOND THE CLASS
by Odette Edbrooke // Director of Physical Education at BVSD
There is a distinction between Physical Education and physical activity. In PE, the goal of the programming is to learn skills that are a part of PE, including goal setting and wellness components in addition to the activity - For instance, taking Yoga teaches students mindfulness in addition to body mechanics. PE is unique in that we do allow waivers, intended for a minority of students. The intent was not for students to replace PE with outside activities.
The intent was not for students to replace PE with outside activities. Imagine if you could be an avid reader and use the books you read on your own
to replace Language Arts credit. Many of our tremendous athletes are very competitive within their sport, but there is a lot of research to show that sport specificity, particularly at younger ages, is not beneficial to athletes and in some studies has shown that it could be mentally or physically harmful. Many students waive PE not because they are “against” PE but because they feel the need to fill their schedules with more academic classes. There is plenty of room in the schedule to take the 15 credits of PE in-house and still meet graduation requirements. They are intended to be more holistic through the four years. Making Caring Common, an initiative out of the Harvard School of Education, is seeing an increase in academic courses taken by 8/24
their applicants but is not seeing students becoming more prepared for college. In fact, the research suggests that the lack of engagement in electives, the arts, and PE and Health has been negatively impacting the quality of the applications. Finally, taking PE during the day allows the brain to rest while still feeding the brain. For example, the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity conducted a study and found that “Physical activity was associated with numerous health benefits.” It also helps our students who might engage competitively in a sport but could take a PE class just for fun and learning and to relieve some of the pressure that exists at other points in the day.
Phoro of Brian Enright, senior
SUPPORT FOR SPORTS
We are sophomores on the Fairview Girls’ varsity swim team and we believe that students should receive PE credits for sports. The girls on the swim team practice between two and three hours a day and attend up to eleven meets during the four month season. The commitment to other sports is very similar to this. Being a part of a sport is a big commitment and we feel as though PE is not an efficient use of our time. Sports should be counted towards our PE credits because there is more physical activity involved, important lessons are learned, and sports are a better use of our time. Being forced to take a PE class does not inspire the same motivation as taking part in a sport. While students are able to choose what sport to participate in, PE is
Being a part of a sport teaches [...] goal setting, sportsmanship , and communication.
by Lillian Berets and Julianna Haensly // student athletes
mandatory and is not beneficial to everyone. Frankly, PE is not enjoyable and people are not driven to work hard. Being a part of a sport teaches valuable life lessons including goal setting, sportsmanship, and communication, especially with parents, teachers and coaches. Goal setting plays an important part in pushing yourself to improve. Sports teach you the importance of team spirit and interacting kindly with others. Being a part of a sport forces you to communicate in a way that PE doesn’t. These skills are important to learn and sports allow students to practice them.
get more exercise from participating in a sport than in PE, making PE an unnecessary way to spend our time. We think we speak on behalf of all the athletes at Fairview when we say that sports should be counted towards our PE credits.
For athletes, time is valuwable.
Being a part of a sport forces you to communicate in a way that PE doesn’t. For athletes time is valuable. We need the time off during the day to get our schoolwork done and PE takes time out of our day that could be used for homework. We 9/24
Photo of Lillian Berets and Julianna Haesly
TEACHERS TALK GRADES We’ve all faced that conversation... “Can you just round up my grade?’ These conversations drive teachers nuts and often we put the blame on students. “Why can’t they just accept the grade they earned?.” Discussions around grades often overlook a fundamental question: how do they serve student learning? Grades are data, nothing more, nothing less. But this doesn’t help us understand the effect of grades on education. Grades are also a commodity: exchangeable for meaningful value as college admissions and work opportunities. There is pressure to obtain good grades because they can be exchanged for things you want that have nothing to do with learning. While adults tell students, ‘stop worrying about the grade, just focus on the learning,’ I can’t blame students for wanting the grade- it IS valuable. And like many things of value, often we stop caring how we get it, we just want it. Further, if you get an A in chemistry or LA class, what does that actually mean? Can you do chemistry? How good a writer are you? Can I tell that from the grade? It turns out that it is difficult to measure learning. Often grades have more to do with how good you are at school than how good you are at the subject being graded. At best, a grade is a very limited snapshot, not a clear assessment of skills and capabilities. Then there is the psychology of moti-
vation: both intrinsic (your own motivators--desire, ambition, interest) and extrinsic (motivators of the outside world--rewards and punishments). We want rewards and we avoid punishments. Grades are fundamentally extrinsic. Good grades equal value, which equals reward. Less good grades equals getting less of what you want. We have a whole system built on extrinsic motivators even though research shows they result in less learning. How often do students take tests or write papers and immediately forget what they knew? We really want students to be curious and take risks, but research shows that extrinsic motivators decrease these things too. Given that all 21st Century learning goals focus on the kind of challenging cognitive skills that students are a) unlikely to grapple with when extrinsically motivated, and b) impossible to represent accurately with letter and number grades, I think we have to ask are grades advancing student learning?
My answer: nope.
by Jay Stott // LA Department I still remember the C that Dr. Lewis gave me in my Analysis class in college. His class worked me hard, and I was very proud of my grade, which represented my best at the time. Nearly 30 years later, I still think about that C. I made plenty of A’s and B’s, but that C is one of my best grades (and one of the few that I clearly 10/24
remember). So what is the value in grades? Grades are evaluations that have been made about you, and as you grow into an adult, there will be many more evaluations to come. Think of grades as one possible way to make an early, favorable impression that just might increase your opportunities in the future. A transcript of grades is a collection of evaluations of you, done over a long period of time, in a wide range of subjects by a diverse group of people. What could be more holistic than that? Grades are meant to provide feedback and evoke questions such as: What subjects should I work harder at? What do I have aptitude for? What do I really like to do? These are questions worth asking for anyone trying to determine their own path in life. Many Fairview students wish to continue their education after high school. Not many colleges have the resources or desire to evaluate something “more holistic” such as a portfolio of work. How will colleges compare students with different backgrounds, graduating from different high schools in different states? If we eliminate grades, how do our students get accepted into college? I believe the big mistake with grades occurs when we start to believe that we are our grades. We’re not, and good grades are not a guarantee of success.
by Brad White // Math Department
YES
What YOU Said
Is there equal oppurtunity for everyone at FHS?
NO
Is high school love real?
“High school love is real- to a certain extent. I think in the moment, subjectively, of course love can exist in teenagers. It hasn’t been tested by more adult (and maybe more complex) issues, so many may not consider it ‘real’ love from their own lens of reality.” Michelle Lin, 12th Should club sports count as PE credits? “I do think club sports should count for PE credits. I know so many people who are involved in outside sports and devote most of their time to them. All club sports give people more exercise than a PE class (especially online PE) will ever give.” Lauren Mckenna, 11th
Should the use of cell phones by students be banned?
Is standardized testing necessary?
Is President Trump good for America? “America is a great country but has an incredibly smug view of itself. In fact, we lag behind many countries in important issues such as healthcare and education. Trump is not going to make things any better.” Juliana Birkenkamp, 11th
Is Racism alive at Fairview? “Yes, racism is an issue at FHS because it is a controversial issue around the world. I believe we (humans) need to be discussing race issues freely and often.” Dot Kellner, Administrative Staff
Are students given too much homework at FHS?
Information comes from an online poll of 379 students and staff 11/24
feminism
Story Editor Sara McCrea // @sara_mcrea
Feminist and Proud By Kim Berg, Senior
I am a feminist; and I do not hate men. I am not always angry. I even like flowers and dresses. In our culture today, feminism is given a negative connotation. However, feminism is not designed to view women as superior to men. We are simply fighting for the time when all sexes will achieve political, economic, and social equality. By rejecting to support feminism, you are taking for granted all of the advocates who have fought for your rights throughout history. You are not entitled to disregard the hunger strikes, force feeding, imprisonment, and assaults that women like Alice Paul, Elizabeth Stanton, and Margaret Sanger endured to give you the right to vote, work, and have legal birth control. Yes, I recognize that as a white, cis-gendered, heterosexual female living in the United States I have more rights than most people throughout the world. However, this does not mean that I can idly enjoy these privileges. Feminists are not just fighting for our own rights, we are fighting for the rights of all people across the gender spectrum in all countries across the world. Here is the reality. Women complete college and graduate school at higher rates than men, yet almost all of the occupations with the
largest wage gaps require a college or professional degree. In 2014, the FBI found that women earn less than men in every profession except stock clerks and order fillers. Tampons are still taxed as a luxury good. According to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, 1 of every 6 American women has been the victim of an attempted or completed rape in her lifetime. Among university undergraduates, 23.1% of females and 5.4% of males experience rape or sexual assault through physical force, violence, or incapacitation. Human sex trafficking is the fastest-growing business of organized crime in the world. In 2014, abuse porn websites averaged more hits than nfl.com or nbcnews.com. I don’t care if you refuse to use the word “feminist.” It’s just a word. However, you can not invalidate the entire movement due to a couple of extremists you have seen on the internet. Ultimately, feminism is a cause which benefits every individual: fighting for the rights of women to be strong, men to be emotive, and the opportunity to choose.
Photo by Cormac Dowling 12/24
Photo by Cormac Dowling
Not the Same by Claire Rice, Senior After a recent friendly debate between a close friend and me over the topic of feminism, she persisted that since I believe that men and women should have the same rights, I am a feminist. In accordance to the dictionary definition, I do in fact believe men and women should get the same rights as one another. But, men and women aren’t equals which shouldn’t be looked at as a deficit. Keeping in mind that different does not equal wrong or better than the other, men and women are significantly different. Women are physically and emotionally built to be nurturers. Men were built to be hunters and gatherers, being both physically and emotionally able to be superior at things in which they were biologically made up to do. While this does not mean one gender can’t do something better than the other, in general and for hundreds of years our society has been supporting these roles. Over the past several decades women have been taking a strong role in the workforce. Some out of necessity and others for desire. If a woman can do the same job as well as a man, then great. Their pay should indeed be equal, but saying we’re comparing apples to apples is incorrect. The ability to have children is probably the single most gender de-
fining thing a women can do. As cute and lovable as babies are, they take away every perceivable notion of man/woman equality. Men simply can’t do what women can when it comes to childbirth, yet both genders play an equally important role in the whole process. Obviously men and women should have the same rights as one another, and if that was actually what the everyday feminist believed, feminism wouldn’t even be a concept. Unfortunately, the basis of what every feminist movement is rooted in is the belief that men and women are one in the same which is simply and obviously untrue. The most-used poster at the 2017 Women’s March had the phrase, “It is simple science and truth.” Although the phrase seems catchy, it is completely incorrect. Men and women are not the same, which is the actual science based truth. We can fight, argue, and march all we want, but we can’t fight the biological differences between men and women. Believing that men and women aren’t equally valued and important is obviously wrong, but they aren’t the same in any way and it is important to recognize that.
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Political Correctness Is Respect
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“What many call political correctness, I prefer to call respect.”
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us when we walk out the door. After all, it’s just politics. But for some, it’s not just politics-- it’s life. They’re the token minority brought up in debates, the butt of the joke, the derogatory term used for shock value, and the punchline that really isn’t all that funny. It’s tempting to assume that our personal brand of reality carries over to all who surround us, especially when we see no evidence to the contrary in our dayto-day. But what might seem trivial, inoffensive, or simply semantic to us may be a deeply personal matter to others, not just some nit-picky phrasing we decry as “oversensitive.” The truth is, we are not omniscient. And when we dismiss what doesn’t fit our own narrative, the conversation stops. Neither side is given the opportunity to understand. What many call political correctness, I prefer to call respect. It’s about listening, engaging in a dialogue, and understanding the unintended weight our words might carry. It’s an ongoing process, full of slip ups and utterings of “Is that the right word?” But respect fosters respect in kind, and when we hold each other to an even standard, we speak to the future we aim to create.
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I don’t like the term politically correct, if we’re being honest. The fact in of itself that we call it political correctness is what bothers me, and it says a lot about how we tend to treat injustice when coming from a position of advantage. When someone is called “politically incorrect,” it sounds nit-picky, semantic, and annoying. The connotation reminds me of those people everyone knows who ceaselessly correct your grammar during conversations, or of arbitrary rules of etiquette you might learn at cotillion. Sure, it’s “correct,” but “Ceal and me” gets the point across just fine, and we’re not attending a gala here. It appears to be the case that matters of the political persuasion are frequently victim to the same practices. All in all, the consensus seems to state that political correctness is an act of severe tone policing that aims to make something out of nothing-- nothing meaning, “Nothing we should be concerned with.” Yet, when we frame our discussions in this context, we inadvertently state that our language surrounding social issues is nothing we should be concerned with. Especially as teenagers--especially at Fairview-- these issues can appear as abstract and removed from our daily lives as the practice of proper grammar. Despite our intentions or lack thereof, it’s easy to dismiss them as trivial. More often than not, prejudice and oppression are concepts we discuss casually with our friends or classmates and ultimately leave behind
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PC Police Brutality
by Arvand Aidun, Social Media Manager
Political correctness, often shortened to PC, is a watered down manner of speaking in which people avoid important words so they don’t offend others. Politically correct extremists can ruin dialogue or most any subject they get “triggered” about. PC people lash out when someone uses a word like ‘gay’ or ‘retarded’ in substitution for another word such as stupid. While some may take offence to this, the first amendment protects one’s right to say these things. The same thing applies to the situation where someone gets scolded for assuming someone’s gender. It can be an innocent mistake for a stranger to call someone who identifies as a woman “sir,” but to lash out against someone almost seems contradictory to being PC. This can be difficult for people who were taught that men and women are differentiated by the type of hormones and genitalia they posses. Only recently have more people become exposed to the concept of identifying as something other than “male” or “female,” and it is insensitive for PC police to so harshly enforce this. PC police are riding on the backs of innocent people causing a form of censorship that prevents people from expressing themselves in a manner that isn’t approved by some. This has gone so far out of hand that students from Berkeley actually petitioned and rioted to stop comedian, Milo Yiannopoulos from coming to their college due to his jokes. The riots were violent, as protestors were armed with bricks and other weapons. The riot was so violent that Yiannopoulos had to leave the Berkeley campus due to the concern for his safety. According to the ‘New York Times,’ the entire school went into lockdown and 15/24
students were urged to stay inside due to how violent the demonstrations were. The New York Times also reported this statement Yiannopoulos posted to Facebook, “One thing we do know for sure: The Left is absolutely terrified of free speech and will do literally anything to shut it down.” and the Berkeley riot seems to validate this statement. Yiannopoulos has his first amendment right, and it is unconstitutional for PC police to try to censor him. Honestly PC police need to learn how to take a joke. PC police are the self proclaimed judges of what is insensitive and what is not. Since when have we, as humans, succumb to caring so much about what someone has said that we need to go carry on the blame to somebody else. I have nothing wrong with anybody who is politically correct, only the idea itself. The concept of standing up for someone who is being attacked due to their disadvantage is admirable, but shifting the blame and attacking ordinary people simply re-directs the attack.
“PC police are the self proclaimed judges of what is insensitive and what is not.”
Disney Dispute
CH- Disney movies have devolved into franchises where their sole purpose is to make executives loads of money. This began when Disney characters slowly became increasingly dull and generic. This has resulted in a loss of plot in their stories, the expansion of historical misrepresentations, and almost racist elements that have made their stories even more bland.
AA- You are missing the point of the movies. Disney is a company, yes, and needs to make money, but the experience of watching a disney movie is so much more than its $88.18 billion assets according to Forbes 2014. They instill important morals of kindness, compassion, andgenerosity. The priority is not to highlight historical misrepresentation and “almost” racist elements, even though these things sometimes come about.
Carter Hanson. Humor Editor
CH - Disney states that, yes, you can achieve your dreams but only if: A. you live in a rich family, B. you marry someone in a rich family, or C. you are a princess. These lessons aren’t very good things to teach children.
Anya Aidun, Entertainment Editor
AA - Perhaps they say that all of these things happen when you are a princess, but they also give the incentive that everyone is a princess. Rapunzel, Mulan, Moana, and Tiana are all examples of strong yet unexcpected princesses. They give everyone especially young girls the belief that they are special. For example, Tiana from “The Princess and the Frog” showcases he hard work in the song “Almost There.” She doesn’t come from money or wealth and isn’t a stereotypical princess because she is a normal girl.
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CH - They don’t say everyone is a princess, they say that only the protagonists are princesses. This belief that everyone is special is giving people false hope for their futures. If we teach brutal realism from a young age, people are more likely to good people and not ignorant people who live in desolate isolation.
CH - Kindness in the form of villainizing certain creeds or cultures, such as the huns in Mulan. By showing 2d characters that are either all good or bad like Scar and Mufasa in the Lion King. By making characters incapable of not being successful without love like Ariel in the Little Mermaid. That is not how you learn to be kind.
CH - In conclusion, Disney has fallen to the same destiny that Star Wars and Harry Potter have: money machines. Their bland plots, one-sided characters, and historically inaccurate experiences have turned Disney into a pure franchise-making corporation. It is sad that Disney has fallen to this while some of their first films were actually a little less bland.
AA- But everyone is special. Believing in yourself is the most liberating thing you can do for yourself, for your future. That is the only difference between people who change the world and people don’t. The mere fact that they think they can or can’t. Disney is a bit unrealistic yes, but it showcases kindness. Kindness that is more important to learn from a young age, not brutal realism.
AA- It’s the principal of the thing. Disney is sometimes dependent on the girl finding love, but take Mulan for example. Yes she falls in love but after she disguises herself as a man to fight for her country when her father can’t. The takeaway isn’t ‘oh look she needs a man and now she finds one’ because the emphasis is that as a women can do what men can do. When training she as a women does what the rest of the men can’t. It’s empowering and up lifting.
AA- Disney is classic, timeless entertainment. It has lasted 65 years, has impacted the youth of over three generations of kids, produced over 450 movies, has employed 180,00 people, and has influenced the lives of millions of people. Its legacy says it all. You can’t have that big of an impact on culture and media if people don’t like it. I rest my case.
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In past sporting events students used chants to support one’s team or to make fun of the other team. These chants can be controversial if they exhibit suggestive or offensive language. CHSAA (Colorado High School Activities Association) states, “Remember that you are at a contest to support and yell for your team and to enjoy the skill and competition; not to intimidate or ridicule the other team and its fans...A ticket is a privilege to observe the contest, not a license to verbally assault others and be generally obnoxious.” Many students don’t see the problem and think that people are overreacting to their fun.
Cha n at G tin am g es
edited by Drew Wolsey, Staff Reporter
The issue is that the chants contain material that is not appropriate for all ages. CON
PRO
“I don’t think they are appropriate… But I can’t control it what other people do or say,” said Charlie Kim, sophomore.
“If you refrain from like cursing and you just make kinda like jokes that aren’t like super hurtful then you’re alright,” said Jeremy Limber, sophomore.
The rivalry between Boulder and Fairview draws out the offensive chants. PRO CON “I would say if the other team starts it we have every right to be offensive back,” said Zach Ellis, sophomore.
“Some of them take it too far… But like both teams do it, and if we stopped and the other team wouldn’t stop,” said Emily Ambory, sophomore.
The Fairview football games and entertainment are not just for the students but also families and people with young children. PRO “I’m sure they don’t like it but it’s like they probably did the same thing in high school,” said Ambory.
CON
“Families of Fairview students might think this is inappropriate for children due to some students behavior,” said Connor Parkes, sophomore.
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Overall, students think that chants are a good way to show support for their team, the athletics director mentioned that the administrative team works hard to make sure that the kids are appropriate and when the kids are appropriate he doesn’t see the chants as a problem. “When students can unite in support of other students and they’re doing the right thing it can be a very positive experience,“ Athletics Director Terrin Kelly said.
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Student Art Spotlight
Painting by Junior Sofija Andrew
“I like to do things with big and crazy colors and I wanted to challenge myself with realism... I enjoy the idea of creating something with my own hands. My teacher asked, ‘what makes people buy extraordinary, extravagant, and expensive paintings to put in their houses when they could just download a photo from online?’ I think it’s something people created themselves, and you can’t find that very often.” —Sofija Andrew
20/24
CAN YOU WALK A FISH?
For years, this question has been a major point of argumentation among my friends. Countless friendships have been ruined, and many more tainted for eternity. So, Fairview, I bring this question to you; it is your curse now. It’s time for the trial of the century. Hold onto your hats, kids, because some serious argumentation is coming! The one question, the ultimate question, the question that has plagued humanity since the dawn of time! Can you walk a fish?
// Photo by Patrick Stachniak
Yes Way!
By Patrick Stachniak, Managing Editor
Allow me to roll my sleeves up and stomp this kid Perry so far into the ground he can order some egg rolls all the way in China. You can totally walk a fish, and I can prove it. First of all, let us all remember that some fish HAVE LEGS and can
No Way!
By Perry Wilson, junior
Listen up everyone, it’s time I beat this moron once and for all. Let me use the example of the phrase “I’m going to walk my dog.” The word ‘walk’ in this sentence is applied to the dog - in other words you’re making your dog walk. You wouldn’t say “I’m going to go walk myself with my dog.” When you say “I’m going to walk my dog,” then you’re applying the verb of walking to your dog. Just think about it: If the act of walking is applied to you instead (e.g. I’m going for a
“So, if you wanna walk a fish, all you have to do is put a leash around one of these fish and BAM, you’re walking a fish.” “When you say ‘I’m going to walk my dog,’ actually use them to move across the floor, which is called walking. then you’re applying the verb of walking to So, if you wanna walk a fish, all you have to do is put a leash around one of these fish and BAM, you’re walking a fish. your dog.” But even assuming that the fish doen’t have legs, you can still walk it. The phrase “walk your dog” doesn’t mean the parties involved must have legs. Think about what you would say if you were going for a walk with a legless dog. You wouldn’t say you’re going to roll your dog, like some sorta of anti-PC monster. This is because the action of walking something is more about leading the thing in question. Walking an animal means that you are walking WITH the animal, guiding it. Simply the act of carrying your fish in the fishbowl could be considered walking it, as long as your criteria for defining “walking” an animal are the leading of the animal and the animal itself. To summarize, the “walk” in “walk my dog” doesn’t mean that you are forcing your dog to walk. Instead, it means you are the person walking and are leading the animal in some sort of manner. Now please, go and enjoy walking the fish of your dreams.
walk), then what’s the purpose of mentioning the dog in the sentence at all? There is none! For this reason, putting a fish in a fishbowl, on a skateboard, and then rolling it along behind you on a leash wouldn’t be walking your fish, you would be walking WITH your fish. The ‘with’ is very important, because it distinguishes the act of you making your dog/cat/mouse/whatever walk, as opposed to you walking WITH said animal. Similarly, you could tie your fish to a leash and drag it along behind you, but then you would be DRAGGING your fish, NOT walking it. Aside from the arguments stated above, there’s another simple reason that you can’t walk a fish. Imagine for a moment that you’re going to go take your wheelchaired neighbor for a walk. While you could take them FOR a walk, you could not WALK them. You could ROLL them, but you couldn’t walk them, because they can’t walk. This proves that saying “Walking a ____” is applying the walking in the sentence to whatever you are walking, not yourself.
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SPOT THE DIFFERENCE by Carter Hanson // @rbcarterhanson
Can you find the 15 differences between the two images?
See the anwers on fhsroyal banner.com
PHOTO BY CORMAC DOWLING
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FEATURED PHOTO | WORD SEARCH
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photo by Amelia Boon
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