Talisman vol 50 iss 3 jan 23, 2015 web issue

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TALISMAN a student-edited newspaper

RIOTS AHEAD Failure of the school system Sheldon High School

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pages 3 & 4

First Dates

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vol. 50│iss. 3│Jan. 23, 2015

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Jan. 23, 2015

Opinions

the Talisman

American education system crumbling Ethan Hauck managing & photo editor The American education system is broken. Pushing students through twelve years of education, only to force them into an adulthood for which they’re woefully prepared is wrong. Student debt has drastically increased, as have dropout rates for high schoolers.

These are massive issues that are constantly put on the back burner, and we can’t afford to ignore this anymore.

According to a recent study by the University of Chicago titled Left Behind in America: the Nation’s Dropout Crisis, nearly 6.2 million students in the U.S. between the ages of 16 and 24 in 2007 dropped out of high school, which is more than 16 percent of all Americans in that age range. That is the frightening truth behind our education system. The education that we’re provided in high school is simply designed to prepare us for college, which is designed to educate us for a career beyond that of minimum wage.

Any system that forces its students and future work force into massive debt is broken. According to stanford.edu and infoplease.com, in 1970, the annual tuition for Yale was $2,550. In 2014-15, it is $45,800. Including inflation, this means that in 1970 students had to work around 4.8 hours a day on minimum wage (between $1.45 and $1.60) to afford to go to one of the most prestigious colleges in the world. Now, you would have to work around 17.3 hours a day on minimum wage (about $8.20) to afford the same education. This doesn’t take into effect the cost of living, transportation, or required school materials. We force our work force into debt before they are even able to work it off, and it needs to stop.

According to senior Jarod Bays, there are ways to fix the problem. “No part of our school system should die, just be altered. All things have their place, and while I don’t think poetry is something we should be teaching as standard fare, all power to those that want it as an elective.”

The issue with our system is that we aren’t prepared for real life; rather, we’re prepared for test taking and language analytics.

Don’t get me wrong, these things have their place. But they’re nowhere near as important as real life issues.

If you want a valuable work force, prepare them. It’s as simple as that. Rather than force us into debt in order to have an education that’s truly valuable, we should be sponsoring students and helping them, rather than raising a generation of test takers.

illustration by Gracie Thompson

Feminism needed at Sheldon Alex McEntarffer & Kaitlyn Schauer staff writers Feminism is defined as the support of women’s rights and interests and equality of the sexes on the basis of political, social, and economic matters. Many women feel that men and women are not treated equally.

When asked about whether or not they were educated on feminist matters, the majority of people asked said no. Sophomore Francesca Critelli said, “I honestly don’t think feminism exists at Sheldon. A lot of boys at this school enjoy slut shaming and making misogynistic comments.” Sophomore Baylee Eaton said, “I think that there is no feminism at Sheldon because many of the girls here aren’t educated on it.”

Do you think there is a dress code at Sheldon? Critelli said, “I feel like people enforce their own dress code at Sheldon. If a girl wears shorts in the summer that someone deems ‘too short’ then people feel the need to say derogatory things about her.” Sophomore Haley Belnap said, “It is not common for people to say anything directly to you, but a lot of people will talk behind your back and call you things such as ‘slut.’” Belnap said that she hears people - boys and girls - talk about what girls are wearing and often say negative things about them.

There is a need for feminism in schools. Females should feel safe and free of judgment no matter where they are, especially at school. Feminism is not as extreme as it is made out to be; feminism is just the want for equality.

3 Living life to the fullest

Opinions

the Talisman

Jan. 23, 2015

Racial tensions rise illustration by Gracie Thompson

Scott Choi & Jonah Jellesed staff writer & opinions editor

Bailea Nance & Faith Beckner staff writers

It’s all over the news these days. It is a topic that is discussed constantly

by Americans and is an issue that is becoming more and more apparent with every incident of racism. Racial tension is a rapidly growing issue and concern of the entire nation. With events such as the Ferguson incident, people are protesting more than ever, and these events only heighten racial tension that has always existed in America in some form. People want to know what they can do to change it, yet it is a very complex situation that we have yet to find a solution to.

The ensuing riots across the country following the Ferguson riots have brought the issue of racial tension to the surface once again in national discussions. In the last five years there have been a few incidents where white men have shot black men, which has been perceived by the public as targeted acts of racism, which is infuriating to many Americans.

In the last few weeks, there have been incidents between policemen and unarmed African Americans. Rumain Brisbon is an example of a African American who was unarmed and shot by police forces. In early December, Rumain Brisbon, an unarmed man, ran from police and after a short chase, Phoenix police officer Crump struggled to subdue Rumain, and believing that Rumain had a gun, shot him twice (USA Today, Unarmed black man killed by cop).

Yet another recent incident between police and an unarmed African American occurred in July of 2014. Eric Garner, a 43 year old, asthmatic, 400 pound black man was choked to death by a cop while being arrested in Long Island, New York. “The cop stuck up his middle finger to all of us,” a witness said; “He thought it was a big joke. How does someone like that go free?” (nydailynews.com, The time for remorse was when my husband was yelling to breathe’: Eric Garner’s widow lashes out at NYPD cop who put her husband in fatal chokehold).

However, one individual takes another approach to the concept of racism. In the world today, acts of violence across different races have been identified as racist too often, and people are much too sensitive. Senior Shaun Poe said, “People should be more sensitive to other people’s feelings, but not as much to race.” However, he said that blacks have been the biggest victims of racial discrimination. We can take steps to prevent further discrimination.

Although racism in the past years has been mostly decimated, there are still remnants of it in society today. You may not be able to control discrimination as a whole, but you can control the discrimination that happens around you.

When you ask people how to live life to the fullest, you will often hear things such as these: Junior Jada Glass said, “I want to take risks.” Junior Katie Dixit said, “Don’t take no for an answer.” Some people will say that living life to the fullest means that they want to live in the now and not in the past. Other people might say that they want to do everything that they can before they have to leave this world. Living life to the fullest is a differnt concept for everyone. Not all people are going to have the same idea when it comes to living life to its greatest potential.

According to Sheldon staff member Pennie Cottrell, living life to the fullest means, “Doing what makes you happy, and taking responsibility.” People have often said that facing one of their fears a day also means that they are trying to live life to the fullest for themselves or for other people around them.

Living life to the fullest doesn’t have to mean taking risks - it could also mean going to school or joining the military.

Living life doesn’t just have to be one thing; it could be a number of things. Life as we know it won’t last forever so people want to go out and live the life that they want and that’s what they should do. People should go out and do what their heart tells them and to just live life as best as they can for themselves. As you see, people have different opinions on what they think living life to the fullest means.

Just because people have different opinions doesn’t mean yours don’t count. That’s what living life to the fullest should mean - doing what you love to do most and what you keep near your heart and in your dreams.

Staff spotlight: School Resource Officer Savage Alexander Shiroma staff writer Officer Savage began his career as a police officer with the intent to help his family. According to Savage, he had not applied himself in high school as much as he should have.

Relying on his sharp intellect to pass his entrance tests, he was lucky enough to become one of the maybe 5% of police officers without a post secondary degree. He greatly enjoys his career working here at Sheldon. Savage said, “I was motivated to take this job because of my newborn child and it was my goal to find the best option for my family.”

He entered the academy for 21 weeks of both physical and education training. This was fairly stressful for him but the most intense part of the career was being on duty for the first time. He found it very stressful that everyone expected him to know how to react in various situations. The worst part was the negative feedback from the coach or senior officer’s negative responses after problems were resolved.

Despite the difficulties, the purpose of this was most likely to toughen up officers and make them more prepared for future events. In the academy he was educated in fields such as scenario-based training, defense-tactic training, first aid certification, and education about laws and safety protocol.

The reason he chose to work specifically at Sheldon was due to the lack of sleep he was getting and because he was unable to see his family while working night shifts. He did patrol work for six years and there was lots of activity during the night which made the job very stressful. He only intended to work at Sheldon for a few years but he has been here for almost ten years now. Savage said, “I most enjoy being able to completely solve a problem from start to finish regardless of its importance.”

Officer Savage also mentioned a story of one of his most terrifying experiences. He said, “I was called to investigate a situation in which police were forced to make an arrest on a man.” In this incident, the man lifted an entire dryer by himself, and got pepper sprayed in his eyes and then simply wiped it away and left a hole in

the window of an SUV with his fist. Eventually another officer that the man had taken a class with in college recognized him and the man turned himself over to the officer and he was taken back to the police station.

Officer Savage was also awarded a plaque in 2010 for saving the life of a woman involved in an accident. Officer Savage feels fortunate that he is able to have this job and spend enough time with his family rather than having to work night shifts and never see them. Generally in the police department here in Eugene, there are seven shifts.

The shifts cover all times of the day and night especially due to drunk driving.

photo by Alexander Shiroma

Officer Savage said there are volunteer or community service programs for almost everyone.

In the summertime there is a program called Safety Town, for kindergarteners, and there are kids’ camps which need high school student volunteers or counselors.

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Features

Is Sheldon politically aware? parents/guardians, teachers, and adults talk about, but how politically aware are Sheldon students?

Maya Dickinson staff writer

Politics is a broad subject that has sparked protests, ignited countless debates, and altered the lives of our country’s people. Politics is a subject commonly discussed at the dinner table, written about in the news, and mentioned about on social media. Politics is a subject we’ve likely heard our

People’s political beliefs are commonly inherited through their parents, or other close influential family members. However, when asked if her friends or family members’ political beliefs change her views, sophomore Madison Zemba said, “No, I think forming your own opinion is important; conformity is something people should avoid.” Junior Jada Glass also said, “It’s good to think for yourself.”

Other great influences on political opinions come

from the pressure of political parties. When asked if she only sides with one political party on national issues, sophomore McKyna Reed said, “No, I like to listen to different points of views because there’s not always just one right answer.” Zemba and Glass agreed by also saying they believe it’s important to listen to everyones’ opinions and ideas because most situations are not always black and white.

Despite confining and restricting influences, some Sheldon students believe in the importance of listening and keeping an open mind to all political ideas, shining a light on the political future of our country.

Protests & riots consume world a government policy, etc., in the streets.”

Ryan Enos staff writer

According to Sheldon social studies teacher Mr. Hahn, “There is a significant difference between rioting and protesting.” Many would agree. One has to wonder if the recent rioting events have put an economic strain on all the businesses that were destroyed and/or damaged.

Riots, bad or good, how do they work? Are they worth it? Some think that this destruction is worth the cause.

Sheldon senior Peter Stefano explained, “I think that some What is a riot? riots are necessary in some cases.”

Certain riots can be necessary for people to change The riot could be the 21st century protest, or it could something, to meet demands, to make something more fair, not.

Either way the American public will continue to etc. According to dictionary.com, a riot is defined as “a protest as our constitution allows. Protests, however, will noisy, violent public disorder caused by a group or crowd of persons, as by a crowd protesting against another group, be unpredictable.

Features

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College: the good, the bad & the ugly Ayla Bussel opinions editor College. To some teenagers the word can be nothing short of terrifying. For others, college is an exciting journey that many teens have longed to begin since their first day of high school. Junior Katie Lauck said of her plans after high school, “I plan to go to a four year college and study journalism. I look forward to college because I want to learn more about what I want to study and I want to have the opportunity to have a stable job when I get older so I can support myself in the future.”

The stress that can be put onto some kids regarding college, standardized testing, and their future can be extremely overwhelming. “They put too much pressure on you to do good; I think they overdo it a little bit. I do think it’s hard to get into most colleges but if you try your hardest and put in effort you can do it. And you can still go to a community college if you don’t have the grades or the money [to go to a university/college] and that’s just as good,” Lauck said.

Another very important issue that arises when it comes time to think about college is the factors that influence teens’ decisions on schools. Lauck said,“I look at the best schools for the major I want to go into. For example, the University of Oregon is in the top five in the U.S. for journalism and that’s what I want to study, so I’d definitely

apply there.” Lauck also said that she looks at acceptance rate, location, and where she thinks she would “best fit in.” Other important factors that can be major in terms of college decision making are academic requirements, class size, location, study abroad programs, scholarship, religious affiliation, and much more. All these choices that teens have to make can feel rather overwhelming.

Sheldon alumni and freshmen at Lane Community College (LCC) Jordan Dunteman and Chris Castro agreed in regards to the senior year of high school, “There were lots of tests but it didn’t seem that overwhelming.” The boys also stated that the senior class of 2014 had the most graduation requirements but they keep adding more so now the classes of 2015 and 2016 have even more requirements. Dunteman, who plans to finish up his prerequisites at LCC in order to study animal science at the University of Oregon, added, “I planned on going to community college for two reasons. 1: because it’s so much less money versus universities [Castro added in that students pay ten to twenty times more to learn the same thing] and 2: There is a closer sense of community at community colleges and I like that. At most public and private schools they are so big that students are considered just a number on a list.”

History teacher Mr. Hahn stated in regards to the graduation requirements for high schoolers, “It seems to be all about competition… however, America ironically is founded on competition; whoever can get the best grades, the best SAT scores, and so on. I question the people behind the tests.” Mr. Hahn added that he doesn’t think someone should become wealthy due to the test score of

a student. When questioned about how well standardized tests like the SAT and ACT measure a student’s knowledge Mr. Hahn said, “To some degree they do. That’s real black and white, though.” On the idea of public versus private schools Mr. Hahn added, “If you’re smart enough you do the research and you find out the requirements of the schools you want to go to. Private schools look for the right fit and have real specific criteria, after all they’re charging you a lot of money to go to their school. When I was in high school we knew we were supposed to prepare for college. It was all laid out for you. After all we were the baby boomers so there were expectations. We had the SATs back then too and I think the requirements haven’t changed so much.” Mr. Hahn graduated with an undergraduate degree from Cal Poly Pomona, a Masters in history from UC Riverside, and a Masters In Teaching (MAT) from Willamette University.

Some students feel that college is a predetermined part of their life. They grew up with the notion that they would go to elementary school, middle school, high school, then college. However, some high school students are coming to the shocking realization of just how hard it is to get into colleges. The requirements for each specific school, the financial burden, the test scores – all of it contributes to a fairly overwhelming position for high schoolers. The term college can be pretty scary but the most important thing to remember is to start preparing early and always put in 100% because an education, some may say, is the greatest gift in the world, a gift which here in America I think we should feel incredibly lucky to have such easy access to.

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Sports & Entertainment

the Talisman

Basketball comes back from a successful year Can this year’s boys basketball team out do last year’s?

Jack Forrest & Solomon Faulkner

sports and entertainment editor & staff writer

This year’s varsity basketball team has big shoes to fill.

With their predecessors making it all the way to the 6A state championship, it will be a challenge to repeat this same feat. Graduating six varsity players, most of whom were starters, will change the team exponentially. However, many players and coaches are still optimistic, some of whom include the teams senior leaders, its younger players, and even its head coach of two years.

Although, many seniors left the basketball team last year, there will still be some level of experience on the team. Senior Brian Brancato brings a certain level of leadership and experience on to this previously success-

ful team. When asked about the pressure he feels being a senior, Brancato said, “There’s a little more pressure, you can’t goof off as much, and you have to do everything right.” Being a leader on this Sheldon team is no small feat but players like Brancato seem to take it in stride. He leads through his play and by setting good examples for the younger players. When asked if Brancato has confidence in the younger players, he said, “Yeah I do; I think they are just as skilled as everyone else.” This shows how other players are confident in their teammates, and how the younger players earned the respect from the senior players on this Sheldon basketball team.

There is only one underclassman on this team and there is definitely a reason. This skilled player, Will Swank, has high expectations for himself, although he still feels the pressure of any varsity player: “It’s kind of freaky, I don’t have any varsity experience, but my teammates do and I feel like they help me out a ton.” This shows the true atmosphere of a team, all players working together and having each other’s backs. After all, this is the Irish way, and this is what could lead them back to the state championship. This is the expectation of Swank and the rest of the Irish basketball program.

However young this Sheldon basketball team may be, they seem to have the tools and leadership they need to be successful for the rest of the season.

Pop culture highlights: 2k14 A review of the biggest trends from 2014 Rachel Barnhart & Gracie Thompson staff writer & graphics editor This last year was filled with many newsworthy events. The gossip of pop culture is constantly circling throughout the Sheldon hallways. The year’s biggest trends are determined by the amount of publicity around them, so what were the most popular events of 2014 here? What do students feel are the most newsworthy, year-defining trends from the last twelve months?

Sophomore Samantha Lawson shared her favorite moments of 2014. “My favorite pop culture event would have to be when Mockingjay came out;” she then added, “The best

movies were probably Mockingjay and Guardians of the Galaxy.” According to Box Office Mojo, Guardians of the Galaxy was the top grossing U.S. film of 2014, followed by Mockingjay. And Jennifer Lawrence was the top searched person of the year on Google.

One of the biggest trends of 2014 was the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) ice bucket challenge. Sophomore Samantha Mundorff said, “I did partake in the ice bucket challenge because I thought it was a good cause and I donated ten dollars.” Lawson said, “I did not partake in the ice bucket challenge since it got really annoying.” Lawson added, “The ice bucket challenge was a trend that I didn’t like.” Sophomore Ellie Yamamoto said, “Yes [I did the ice bucket challenge], unfortunately!” According to the New York Times, the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge was the second most talked about trend on Facebook this year following ebola.

On the topic of Taylor Swift, Mundorff said, “She seemed especially popular this year but I’m not much of a fan.” Lawson said, “The biggest song of the year would have to be ‘Shake it Off ’!” Swift was also the first recipient of the Dick Clark Award of Excellence at the AMAs. Her album 1989 was the only album to go platinum this year, according to the Washington Post.

2014 brought us many popular crazes and celebrities. Trends like ebola and the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge dominated social media. This year brought us Pharrell’s cartoonish ‘Smokey the Bear’ hat at the Grammy’s, the first ever People’s Choice Awards, viral videos of giant spider dogs, and the wedding of famous bachelor George Clooney.

Who knows what 2015 will bring?

Basketball player Jacob Willimas

photo by Devin Bunch

Variety

the Talisman

Jan. 23, 2015

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First dates: awkward yet adorable off the wall and crashed to the ground along with her. Her date began to wonder what was taking her so long so he went down stairs only to find her lying on the ground unconscious in a puddle of pee and broken sink. Although this situation must have been bad at the time they eventually got married, and they got a great story out of it.

Haley Knapp & Kylee Paul copy editor & staff writer

Dates can be stressful, confusing, awkward and sometimes even painful, but we can get some great stories out of them.

A new age of social media Bailey Prusz staff writer

First dates can often be nerve racking. Going out with somebody for the first time can be a difficult and new experience. First dates are stereotypically awkward and strange. Stereotypes include being late, having bad breath or losing your wallet - these incidents contribute to the fear of first dates. However, they are not always so bad. First dates can sometimes be a good experience and are important parts of relationships. They also make for great, and sometimes funny, stories to tell people in the future.

Thinking about first dates can sometimes be stressful, but it doesn’t need to be. Junior Rachel Bang said, “Do something chill…don’t go to a fancy restaurant or anything ‘cause then it’s just scarier.” The most important thing is that both of you just have fun and there’s no need to over think what you’re going to do or what you look like. When Bang was asked what she did to get ready she replied, “Honestly, I just threw on sweats and a sweatshirt.”

Sometimes, however, dates can take a turn for the bad, but even those ones make for great stories. Junior Annika Skaja said, “Once, I was getting out of the car and he slammed the door on my finger; I didn’t start crying but it hurt really bad and he felt bad.”

illustration by Emily Ely

An extreme case of a date gone wrong started with Eastern Arizona College student Annalyn Sanders. A friend of hers went over to eat dinner with her date and his family.

She had to pee, but was too embarrassed to ask where the restroom was, so she asked if there was a place she could wash her hands. They directed her downstairs where she expected to find a bathroom but found only a big washtub sink.

So to make the best of the situation she got up on the side of the sink and started to pee. Just to her luck the sink broke

Most people have some form of a social media account, whether it’s on their phone in the form of an app, or on their computer as a website. There are, of course, the outliers who are either not allowed to have an account or just choose not to have one for some reason. However, social media has become a part of life for most people. Usually there is no escape from the online world that has become such a large part of life.

A person virtually anywhere in the world can put offensive and derogatory things on any website. Apps such as Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, Facebook, etc. can connect friends and family who live far away, but these apps can also be used to attack people. People can be targeted by others and attacked almost daily. Since hurting other people has become so much more accessible through the internet, bullying has taken the face of cyberbullying. Most people have no idea how to deal with this because it is a relatively new concept. There are currently more and more laws being made to protect people from cyberbullying, but there is still much more progress that needs to be made.

According to freshmen Corbin Krecklow, “I like social media, but I don’t like it because I get too sucked into it and don’t do homework.” This is an important point that most people with a social media account can relate to. People with social media will also agree with Jovanna Blum’s statement, “It’s good in small doses.” Blum later added that she likes social media depending on the day. Social media has become very integrated into daily life for many people which can affect many things.

According to freshmen Kai’li Matiaco, in order for a person to have a social media account, “they should be thirteen because most of the stuff found on social media can be found in PG-13 movies.” People need to understand that there are younger children on these sites who will be exposed to anything that is posted, and people who post have the responsibility to be smart about what they’re posting.

Run by students. For students.

Editor-in-chief & Features editor Ben Ely Managing editor Ethan Hauck Opinions pg. 2 editor Jonah Jellesed Opinions pg. 3 Ayla Bussel Sports & Entertainment editor Jack Forrest Variety editor & social media editor Sam Fox Copy editor Haley Knapp Graphics editor Gracie Thompson Staff adviser Greg Cantwell Staff writers Aidan Acord Rachel Barnhart Faith Beckner Scott Choi Maya Dickinson Ryan Enos Solomon Faulkner Kaetlyn Gibson Delaney Hetrick Alex McEntarffer Bailea Nance Kylee Paul Bailey Prusz Sabrena Saggaf Kaitlyn Schauer Alexander Shiroma

cover photo illustration by Ben Ely back cover photo by Wasseem Al-Qudah

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