Talisman vol 53 iss 3 Feb. 2, 2018 issue

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TALISMAN a student-edited newspaper

Memes page 4

Vegetarianism page 11 Sheldon High School

Social Media page 4 vol. 53│iss. 3│February 2, 2018

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February 2, 2018

Athletics

the Talisman

Student athletes Brady Schwarz staff writer Junior Madden Salisbury gave his thoughts on being a student athlete. He only plays one sport and that is football. For Salisbury, the hardest parts about being a student athlete was that he would be missing new material in class, and homework after practice was rough for him. His goal for sports would be that he could be the best athlete he could be, and to make it to the next level (collegiate).

His favorite part about being a student athlete was that he got to play the sport he loves and that his education will take him to the next level. He believes that school will always come before sports, but prefers to play football way more.

His favorite things about being on a team are that “it is a family, he has tons of friends on the team and loves going into battle on the field with them.” His favorite classes are anything that have to do with history, science, or business. His academic goal is to have all A’s because he wants to get into a good college.

Freshman Bailey Bardwell also gave his thoughts on being a student athlete.

He plays football, tennis, and golf. Bardwell said the hardest part about being a student athlete is that you have to be a “model student with high expectations.”

The goal for playing sports is just to have fun while playing, as it’s something he enjoys. His favorite sport is golf; he has a great drive for the game and he will

be able to play throughout his life. For him, the favorite part about being a student athlete is that he gets to travel around the state to areas he hasn’t been before, and he thinks that’s awesome. In his personal opinion, he likes sports over school. The favorite class he has right now is health with Mr. Gallo. His academic goal is to get his diploma.

Freshman Nash Kuykendall also gave his thoughts on being a student athlete. Nash plays only basketball. For Kuykendall, he finds the hardest part about being a student athlete is keeping up with all of your grades. His goal while playing sports is that he gets to be able to go to college for basketball, and get a free education. His favorite thing about being a student athlete is that you get to leave school early. For him, he prefers sports over school. His favorite part about being on a team here at Sheldon is that we are good at sports here and you don’t have to do all the work yourself. His favorite class currently is math with Mr. Martell. His academic goal is to be able to go to college.

Number 79 Madden Salisbury pictured with his team during the 2017 season

Picture by Hadley Jellesed

athletics

the Talisman

February 2, 2018

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Sheldon Colleens’ road to state Lauren Englet staff writer

photo courtesy Meghan McMahan

Diligent athletes, dedicated students, and iconic individuals: the Sheldon Colleens Dance Team are a passionate group of talented girls set on many goals. One of those goals includes becoming state champions for the fourth time, the previous championship years being 2008, 2009, and 2017. “Work hard, have fun,” said Coach Hillary McClintick of her coaching philosophy. She’s been dancing and coaching since 1999, and took the position of head coach for the Colleens in 2004. “Witnessing the athlete’s reaction right when they come off the floor after an outstanding performance is my favorite part of state, and the inspiration for our routine this year is coming from a desire to give people hope,” McClintick added of the upcoming competition the team spends all year preparing for.

Senior Hannah Nason is now approaching her final experience at State. “This is my third winter season on Varsity and every year has been super different. There’s a lot of pressure on us this year, since we won first place in 6a last year, but I’m super excited to see what this season brings.”

A key component that contributes to the success of the Colleens is their intense and consistent hours of practice, which often entail spending long hours in the gym after many other athletes have already gone home for the night, every single day. Hannah Nason said,“This season has already been super stressful because we completely changed our routine after spending almost twenty hours of practice on it. Our coach is very adamant about having a routine with a strong theme instead of just a pretty song with a pretty dress. This year, we’re dancing to The Greatest Show from the movie, The Greatest Showman.”

While it requires lots of patience and commitment to the process, dance team and more specifically, the State dance competition, provide lots of fun for the athletes involved. Junior Claire Greatwood said then joked, “My favorite part of state is performing the best possible routine for a huge audience! I also enjoy bringing a ton of food and criticizing the other teams.”

At the end of the day, pushing past injury, adversity, and struggles with friends, school, and overall everyday life, the Colleens prove that it is possible to truly do it all. Spending all year preparing and accomplishing more and more in each

practice, becoming closer with one another, and collecting trophies at competitions throughout the season, the Colleens are able to reap the benefits of being one as a team, when it all comes down to State. While still a couple of months away, the dancers involved in the process of hopefully becoming State champions, always have their eyes on the prize.

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February 2, 2018

Social Media

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What memes do people like?

Hadley Jellesed editor

Many students at Sheldon look at memes daily. It seems as though every week there is a new meme to enjoy.

While parents think we’re doing bad things on our phones, most of us are really just looking at memes.

Not only do students enjoy looking at memes, but they also enjoy running meme accounts or making their own content. Junior Trevor Qualman doesn’t have a meme account, even though many students consider his finsta to be one. Qualman does enjoy making memes of his own: “I once made a shooting star meme of Parker Wiles. I also have made other random ones. They should have gone viral but I never dropped them on my main [Instagram].”

Other schools around the country have done a school spirit day called “Meme Day.” Sheldon has never done this, but many students think we should. Qualman said, “I think we should [do meme day]. It will reunite us, just like we were for the first week of Pokémon Go.” If we ever do a meme day you will see Qualman dressed as “Salt Bae,” for his “Elegance, precision, skill, and sexiness.”

Junior Parker Wiles defines memes as “depression.”

Wiles regularly looks at them and follows multiple meme accounts.

Doofinsmirtz Evil Inc. from the tv show Phineas and Ferb is Wiles’ ‘meme-spiration,’ but he prefers to get his content from “Jesus Christ himself. Bc original content.”

Many memes are stolen from different accounts without credit given, so finding original content on an account can be difficult.

The meme Qualman made of Wiles is one of the only times Wiles has been memed. It can only be found on Qualman’s finsta. The meme contains Wiles jumping off of a diving board, which cuts to him doing the same jumping motion continuously in outer space and other locations while “Shooting Stars” by Bag Raiders plays.

Sophomore Rylee Valentine isn’t a big fan of memes, but she looks at them occasionally. Valentine said, “I see them on Instagram and think they’re funny, but I don’t go looking for them.” Her favorite meme is the one of Whalley and Landis that ended up on Buzzfeed and Reddit.

Valentine also added that, “The meme that best describes my life is the one of petty Kermit sipping tea.”

This is a common meme that many high school students can relate to.

Memes bring our school together and make it so that almost every student has something in common with one another.

Made you look meme

Pros and cons of social media Emma Hawley staff writer Social media is everywhere. Freshman Grace Winetrout uses social media in a number of ways. She mainly uses it to keep up with her friends, see what people are up to, and to post all the activities she does. However, she does not like how people take advantage of social media to bully people. Winetrout claims that it is easier to type mean stuff about people than physically say it to their face. That is one of the flaws of social media, according to Winetrout. She also said, “The best way to prevent cyber bullying is to not listen to what others think or say; be confident in yourself and others will realize, and start to stand up for you, themselves and others.”

There are a lot of good things about social media.

Some people get social media because they like to show others what they are currently doing or even just to keep in contact with friends. However, some people get social media just to fit in. According to Winetrout, “You don’t need social media to fit in.” When getting social media you might feel pressured to post certain things that you don’t really want to. If you post a picture that other people don’t like or agree with, cyberbullying might occur.

Winetrout also said, “Be aware of what you are posting.”

If people start saying rude stuff about your picture, just stop caring what they think. People only use social media to gain more followers, get more likes, and just to be popular in general. According to Winetrout, people shouldn’t care about the number of likes, or the number of followers you have on social media.

There are many other opinions, but Freshman Britney Solomon agrees with Grace Winetrout about the topic of social media. She uses Snapchat to see what her friends are up to and communicate. She said, “You should only text people who you would actually hangout with or even just talk to them in person. People text people they never even talk to or even see in person.” Solomon said that the worst thing about social media is that it is a competition to post certain things. She claims that the biggest change in social media now versus a few years ago is that people just use it to post selfies and show off what they are doing. She said, “Some people only have social media so they fit in. Once they get it they follow random people so they have lots of followers. Basically the more followers you have, the cooler you are, even if it means to follow people you do not know.”

There are multiple ways to make sure your account is secure. The biggest one is not to tell anyone your password. The other ones Solomon said are to make it a password that none of your friends would know and change your password frequently. If someone gets into

Photo by Hadley Jellesed

your account, make a new password and make sure they did not text anyone or post anything from your account.

Solomon said, “If someone hacks into your account, they might have texted other people some rude stuff, and the person who got texted might think it was from you. So, just make sure you clear that up.” Be aware if someone gets into your account. Overall, just post what you want to, do not brag and showoff what you are doing.

Freshman Zoelle Ranstad, disagrees with Solomon and Winetrout about how posting pictures is a competition. She said that you should be able to post what you want when you want, no matter what others think. She uses Snapchat, Instagram, and YouTube. Like Solomon and Winetrout, she also uses social media to keep in touch with her friends.

Ranstad said, “The one thing that I don’t like about social media is how in order to be cool, you have to have all the social media apps.” If you don’t have Instagram or Snapchat, you are not considered “cool.” Another factor Ranstad does not like about social media is cyberbullying, like Winetrout and Solomon. Ranstad said that people bully others because they are jealous of that person in some way.

A way to avoid cyberbullying is just to not listen to what others say and they will notice that you do not care. She said, “When I post a picture on social media, I do not care about the amount of likes I get or what others think about it.” She is saying that you do not need to care if people do not like your post.

equity

the Talisman

February 2, 2018

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Funding for traditionally-female sports Hannah Nason and Alyssa Elledge staff writers Sports have been a long running tradition within high schools, yet some sports and activities seem to consistently receive more attention, and as a result more funding. The larger amounts of money tend to be received by male-dominated sports like football and basketball. Female dominated sports like dance and cheer are left with inadequate funding for basic aspects of their competitions like overnight housing. The reasoning for the inequality is unclear, yet the effects are evident.

Senior Natalie White is on the Sheldon dance team.

She said that the team should be funded more because they work just as hard, practice and compete as often, and require just as much money as other sports. School requirements state that each athlete must have his or her own bed for overnight trips, so the team’s costs increase.

White said that sports like dance and cheer are as athletic as football and basketball, but are not nearly as socially respected because of the strong foundation that classic and predominantly-male sports hold in society.

“I do believe that the cultural obsession with classic sports contributes to the lack of funding for dance and cheer. Many people tend to blindly follow traditions by favoring sports like basketball and football, despite other sports being treated unequally,” White explained.

White said that football, basketball, baseball, track and field, and cross country are the most advertised sports at Sheldon. She also said that socially, female sports receive blatant disrespect. She recalls the dance team winning the 6A state championship last March and several people voiced their opinions to teammates and herself that the win means less because “it’s just dance,” and “football is different.” White believes that Sheldon has a responsibility to advertise and appreciate all sports equally, and every sport should receive the same promotion by the school. She thinks all team members should have the same kinds of opportunities.

Senior Lily Syphers is an ASB member who has been trying to give more attention to performing arts sports.

She thinks the sports discrimination stems from the fact that dance and cheer are female dominated. They are not promoted much by boosters, yet there is very little justification

am for the lack of funding. Syphers also thinks that if these sports were promoted as a social event the way that male sports are then people might be more inclined to go support them. “If all the boys did a dance team they would be applauded and paraded,” Syphers said.

She sees more inequality among the sports in aspects like zero periods that give athletes more training time.

Although efforts have been made to give other sports equal attention through ASB, there is sometimes little follow through with promotion.

Senior Ryan Polter dances, but he is not on the Sheldon dance team. He thinks the sports funding should be more evenly distributed to all sports including dance, but does not think it is going to change any time soon.

He said the difficulties and skills required to dance are underestimated. Polter also said that the dance team gets a bad reputation for things that are not relevant to the sport. He believes that the money that goes purely to football equipment would be enough to support the necessities of the dance team. Polter said that he does not think that more advertisement or exposure would help rally spectators, although he does not understand why dance is less popular as a casual recreational sport.

“It’s a lot easier to get a dance going than getting a football game organized,” Polter said. Polter has seen that professional football players in the NFL are paid more than professional dancers, so it is not surprising to him that high school is a reflection of that. He hopes that dance will be more widely normalized and accepted in the future.

The culture surrounding high school sports is deeply

Cheer team performs at the winter recognition assembly.

imbedded in public school life. Going to football games or basketball games is a common experience for many students, but there are other sports that receive less recognition for their accomplishments. Performance-based sports such as dance and cheer include hard working athletes who are not receiving the same amount of funding. There is little balance between sports when it comes to money for simple things like equipment.

There have not been many reasons for the inequalities given to the participants in the less-funded sports, and there does not seem to be signs that this will change any time soon. New regulations and rules are causing even more need for funds, but the money still favors the most prominent, traditionally-male sports.

Photos by Jasmyn Jensen

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February 2, 2018

Sheldon

Why is Oregon’s education inferior?

Madelyne Gibson staff editor It’s no secret that Oregon’s education system is behind the curve. According to U.S. News & World Report Oregon is ranked 47th for high school graduation rates and 26th for Pre-K-12 education overall. These statistics leave many students and parents alike wondering why and what we can do to ensure we are getting the best education possible.

One possible solution to this issue is simply adding more classes and creating a more broad and diverse curriculum.

Since the recession, funding for education has been cut, resulting in classes like home-ec and auto classes being cut from the curriculum. Senior Jack Gibson says, “I like working on cars and stuff, and I took a class at Lane, but it really sucked and we didn’t do anything cool. There’s no classes like that at Sheldon or I would take one. I think that would be pretty nice.” Perhaps in bringing back these classes, we can once again fuel the fire of education.

If the classes aren’t the problem, then perhaps the entire structure of the school schedule is. Recently, 4j and many

other school districts have switched to a “3 x 5” schedule that incorporates 5 classes a day over 3 trimesters. While this is supposed to ensure more all over seat time in class, many teachers and students are indifferent towards it. Senior Nikkie Wagoner is one of those students. She says, “Trimesters are terrible. I think we should go back to semesters”, and she is not alone. Looking on a broader scale, some also believe that year-round school could help.

Wagoner says, “I mean, I obviously don’t want to be in school all year, but I think it would probably help students remember what they learned better and not forget over summer break.” Of course these are not the only possible solutions, but it is a start.

Perhaps the most popular belief is that the Oregon education system is not receiving enough money. With the recent recession every sector has taken a huge hit financially, but since then measures have been taken to improve funding to one of the most important areas.

Specifically measure 91 was designed to not only make recreational marijuana legal, but also to place a sales tax on it with 40% of the profits going towards general education funding. Senior Jared Godin says, “I feel they’re a step in the right direction, but haven’t really taken full effect yet”,

and he is not alone. Many will pinpoint lack of funding as the cause of a multitude of problems including overcrowded classes, in some cases deteriorating buildings, and an overall drop in educational standards.

There may be many causes, but it’s safe to say Oregon is falling behind, and we need to catch up.

4j

Relevant classes for our Future Jasmyn Jensen and Keshia Sanders staff editor and staff writer

Sophomore Lindsey Putnam said if there were different classes available for her to take she would take Home Ec. or some cool baking classes. She does not believe classes like that should be a state requirement. Putnam commented, “I think they should be an elective because it is not preparing you for a career, just life.” Putnam said that the classes were cut because of stereotypes seeing that we are a developing country so we focus more on technological advances rather than lifestyle advances.

One of the most frequently used questions of high school students is: “When are we ever going to use this?”

Many students believe they know what they want to do for their career so they put in minimal effort when they think they do not need to take that class. Most students question or feel as though the classes we are required to take are irrelevant to what they need to succeed for their future. Putnam said, “In high school you are still trying to figure out your future so it benefits everyone instead of one group.” Basic math and English classes are something everyone should be required to take.

Junior Noah Hatfield would take classes such as workshop or rock band if they were available. He said our curriculum teaches us things that one might think is irrelevant to what we need to know for the future because they don’t know what people are interested in. There are a broad span of careers that people are looking to

pursue when they’re older and the classes we are taking now prepare us for the workforce but they don’t teach us life skills that we also need. Hatfield said that Home Ec. or classes similar to that should be a state standard, “It teaches us important life skills that we need.”

Many people think of sewing or baking when they hear Home Ec. but some classes teach basic home repair skills, child care, family interactions, and even community service. Home Ec. classes can prepare people for their future careers and life. High school students need skills in practices such as nutrition, financial responsibility, and home management when transitioning from childhood to adulthood.

Sophomore Gabby Baker said that Home Ec. class would be really fun and a useful class to take. Like stated before, most people question the things we are required to learn. Baker commented, “Basic knowledge (even if not needed for your career) is important to have to understand the things that go on in the real world.” Home Ec. classes would be very useful to take because they teach us basic skills that we need to know. What classes would you take?

Would you take Home Ec. classes ?

17%

83% Yes

No Pie Chart by Jasmyn Jensen

Sheldon

February 2, 2018

Changes in high school over the years

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Ellie Reynolds and Elizabeth Reitz staff writers Technology has come a long way since our parents’ time in high school. When our parents were our age, they didn’t have cell phones; they used payphones around the school instead. “Our music came on disks,” said Willow Reitz, a former Sheldon student; “I didn’t have a computer until I was a senior, so I learned to type on a type writer.” Parents had to spend hundreds of dollars on graphing calculators because that was the technology that was available to them. Teacher-parent communication was much harder back then than it is now. Parents could only contact teachers through phone messages they left at the office.

Now, parents can communicate with teachers in multiple ways. There were also no rules regarding smart phones, as they didn’t exist.

The school rules at Sheldon were very similar to the way they are now, but with slight differences. Everyone was allowed off campus, but campus security was always checking on you to make sure you were where you were supposed to be. Security was a larger concern back then; the glass doors facing the parking lot in the courtyard weren’t there.

Virtually anyone could walk in or out of the school as they pleased.

The dress code hasn’t changed much; students still can’t wear clothes that show too much skin or that have offensive words or pictures on them. “We didn’t have transgender bathrooms, just strictly boys and girls bathrooms,” said Sarah Jenson, Sheldon class of ’92. Sheldon is much more accepting of everyone’s personal style now; in the 90s, you were made fun of for not wearing the “right” or “popular” brand of jeans. Class sizes have increased greatly from about 25 students in every class, to about 40. Eugene’s population has grown since the 90s, increasing our student population significantly. Plus there are fewer teachers than there used to be for budget reasons.

Sheldon sports haven’t significantly changed over the years. Championship football games were usually played at Autzen Stadium and Sheldon sports teams only played other local teams. Now, there are more away games and sports such as lacrosse that were not available to play. “Sheldon was great for the athlete,” said Maureen Kungys, Sheldon class of ‘97. Sheldon, still great for athletes, has a different variety of classes such as art, drama, writing and other technology based classes. Unfortunately, there aren’t as many hands-on classes like auto shop and home economics. These classes were most likely removed for budget reasons and to make room for technology based classes.

Photo by Jasmyn Jensen

Teachers taking over student parking Cade Higgins and Efren Perez staff writers Junior, Daniel Harms, was interviewed on if it is alright for staff to park in student parking he said “Teachers are paid staff who need to get to work on time and be proficient, so if they need to park in students parking than they should be able to”.

Harms said “Harms Sheldon should make their parking spaces bigger to keep up with more and more students getting bigger cars”. Harms thinks that Sheldon should start having free parking and no parking permits required. Harms believes that Sheldon should re-construct their exits and entrance plans for the school to create a better flow of traffic and save time. Daniel wants there to be cameras in the parking lot for ‘hit and run’ situations so if something happens to your car and you can’t find the person that did it you could always check the cameras. Harms also wants to expand the parking lot of Sheldon so more people can drive to school.

Senior Cass Egbert was interviewed on Sheldon’s parking; he wants there to be free parking, he thinks “it would help people who have to pay for their own stuff or if their family doesn’t have enough money”. Cass thinks that if they are going to charge for parking at least they should assign a parking space for the specific parking tag. Egbert

doesn’t think it’s a good idea to have cameras in the parking lot because it would cost too much and they would always be doing maintenance on the cameras and that would cause even more traffic.

Cass feels that the Swim center should let Students Park in the back of their parking lot.

Senior Gabe Roman was interviewed on Sheldon’s parking lot and he had some thoughts on how to improve the parking lot. Roman thinks that every parking pass should come with an assigned parking space so everyone has a specific place to park every day. Roman said “Staff should park in the back, and students should park in the front”. Gabe wants Sheldon should only sell parking passes to juniors and seniors, because sophomores are too “Rowdy” and “don’t pay enough attention”. Roman wants to divide the parking lot so that trucks have designated parking as well.

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February 2, 2018

around campus

the Talisman

Early release vs. late start Alexander Halpren staff writer

Have you ever wanted an early release schedule instead of our current late start schedule? This question has pros and cons to it as many questions of this nature do. With an earlier release, you could have more time to do homework, more time to hang out with friends, play videogames for a longer period of time, and more. With our current late start schedule, you have a potential extra hour of sleep, more time to get ready, more time to finish or do homework, and more. Now that we’ve talked about the good things of both schedules, what about the bad things?

Sophomore Macey Hyder says, “I think the teachers’ schedules wouldn’t be changed as dramatically, their weekly meetings would just be moved to the end of the day instead of the beginning, and their plans would be essentially the same.” The downsides of a Wednesday late start is that the extra hour of sleep doesn’t really matter, especially if the previous night you stay up an hour later or if your sleep schedule is sporadic, and since you’ll be tired and groggy in the morning, you wouldn’t be able to do as much as what you could do in the afternoon.

what he does on late start Wednesdays and what he’d do on early release Wednesdays, he replied with, “I sleep in on late start days and I’d probably do my homework after school like I usually do, so early release wouldn’t really affect that.”

There’s people who are indifferent about the subject and don’t really care about either or, but what about someone who is opposed to early release? What about someone who doesn’t like the idea of the Wednesday schedule being changed?

Sophomore Ivan Biskis was posed the question of which one he’d rather have and he replied with “I’d rather have late start Wednesday than early release, because I actually like to sleep in and spend less time at school and I think it’s overall better for other kids.”

After reading this article, would you be more willing to have an early release schedules or keep the late start schedule on Wednesdays?

The downsides of a Wednesday early release would be that kids who have to go home might have to wait longer for the bus and/or parents to come pick them up, and it could make lunch a much earlier time.

What about someone who’s indifferent to either schedule? Sophomore Nathan Yeh was asked about

When people cross the street during lunch Perla Zavalza and Marissa Rinen staff writer

There are many opinions about students crossing the street without waiting for the crosswalk sign. Perspectives from students Dj Seguin and Jose Zavalza, both juniors from Sheldon High school said that they don’t really have an opinion on students who cross the street without waiting, because they don’t wait for the cross walk sign.

Seguin said “I don’t wait for the cross walk sign to cross, because it’s faster for me during lunch.” Zavalza and Seguin don’t think there shouldn’t be any consequences for the students who don’t wait, because it’s faster and they are one of the students who do it so they don’t want to get in trouble. Seguin and Zavalza think that if the school made an effort to try to stop the students from not waiting to cross, the students wouldn’t stop crossing without waiting.

Spanish teacher Ms. Delgado claims that she had no idea that the students were doing that, because she never leaves the building for lunch. Delgado said, “I think that students should definitely wait for the crosswalk sign because it is very dangerous. And you never know what the drivers are going to be doing while driving.” She thinks that a way that students could wait for crossing the street is by having a conversation with the students about why this behavior is happening and what we can do to stop that behavior, but it would also be a good idea to explain to them why it’s unsafe and why we need to do something about it.

we need more time, but I don’t know.” Delgado said that along with having another conversation with the students, another solution can be getting a crossing guard to help keep the students safe while crossing the street.

A campus supervisor Cammi said that crossing the street without waiting is definitely a safety issue for the students. She said that she doesn’t stop any of the students who cross the street without waiting because she isn’t out watching the students. Cammi said, “From what I’ve seen during lunch, I think that students should be monitored during lunch.” She thinks that by educating the students, they would get an idea of why it’s a safety issue. Cammi Delgado doesn’t know if we should have consequences for the students who cross the street without waiting, but the doesn’t think that students should have consequences for question is if we were to have consequences, how would we crossing the street without waiting because she thinks it do that? Delgado said, “My guess is that the students don’t would be a little extreme. wait for the crosswalk sign because they are trying to get to their lunch in time. That’s the only reason I could think why the students are doing this. If that’s the case then maybe

the Talisman

home life

T.V?

How much is too much

Araceli Vega and Lilly Hinde staff writers

Television is the new drug in 2018, or maybe it’s not. Sophomore Noah Davis watches TV for three hours each day. During this time, he watches Friends or The Office. Davis enjoys watching television in the car, while eating, in bed, and on his phone. Davis claims he gets “a bit” distracted by his phone. His favorite thing to watch television is Netflix but he prefers movies instead of TV shows. Overall, he states that watching makes you happy, and improves your health.

Who said watching television is a bad thing for your health? Sophomore Lindsey Putnam said that it doesn’t affect your health. Putnam states that when watching TV she’s thriving but doesn’t watch it with friends because she said “I don’t have any friends.”

While watching television all alone she prefers using the Netflix app. Putnam said “I binged watched Criminal Minds and it took me a week to watch all twelve seasons.” For her to finish watching Criminal Minds in just a week is impressive because there is so

many episodes.

Who doesn’t like watching television? Sophomore Jackson Lewis really enjoys watching TV. He only watches an hour per day but he savors every minute of it. When Lewis gets the chance to watch his shows he’ll either do it in his car or at his house. Lewis said, “TV doesn’t affect time with friends because I don’t know what friends are.” It’s not having any friends that have let him binge watch both seasons of Stranger Things, which only took him a day!

February 2, 2018

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school programs

February 2, 2018

the Talisman

Benefits of hosting an exchange student Meghan McMahan page editor For some, it can be really boring sitting in a classroom learning about other cultures or learning a different language.

Hosting an exchange student isn’t only fun, but it can also be educational if your student chooses to tell you about their life at home or teach you some words in their language. An exchange student is really exciting and interesting because the American culture is much different from other cultures in this world.

Karysa McMahan, an eighth grader at Monroe said, “I learned a lot about the differences between the American and the French culture. I could tell by the expression on our exchange student’s face when she was surprised about something like a new food or a different way someone does something. It was really a unique way to learn about the culture difference.” Exchange students aren’t just about learning, they can become one of your best friends too.

French students really like the experience of coming to America. Louise Gobetti, a seventeen year old student in France, was an exchange student who came to America. She explained that she really likes the environment here compared to Paris. Everything is much bigger. The streets, the stores, and the houses are very small where Gobetti lives. “I really liked my trip in the United States. I loved how kind the people were and the big buildings and streets. For somebody living in Paris, the architecture is very big in America. I also love the language.

It was a pleasure speaking English during my visit and I have improved very much,” said Gobetti. She plans on coming back

to America the next chance she gets to improve her English speaking and to learn more about our culture.

Having an exchange student can really change lives and it is definitely not regretted. Rebecca McMahan, an employee for the exchange program American Discovery, has hosted many exchange students before and encourages others to host one. She is also a mother of two children and she said that exchange students can bring her family together for quality bonding time. “While Louise [her first exchange student] was here, we were able to take her a lot of places we wouldn’t normally go to during the summer. We tried to make her feel welcome; by doing this my family was able to spend time together,” McMahan said.

Exchange students are also beneficial for kids too. Most students really enjoy sharing their culture with other kids their age. A lot can be learned by interacting with a person from another country with a different culture. Zoey Ranstad, a freshman at Sheldon, said, “Hosting an exchange student was really fun. My student taught me a lot of French and I got to learn about how different our cultures are. This spring break, we’re planning a trip for me to come and visit my student in France and learn more about the culture.” This is a great experience that Ranstad is excited about. She was able to learn more than what any class could offer by doing this exchange.

Photo courtesy Zoey Ranstad

Exchange student Louise Gobetti (left) and freshman Zoey Ranstad (right)

Private versus public school Regan LaCoste staff writer There has been a lot of speculation over private vs. public school. People who are struggling with liking the school they are at, are starting to wonder if they should transfer to public or private school. There are many pros and cons to either, according to many students. One of those students is sophomore, Ian Gilchrist. He has attended public school his whole life. “I think that private school is more pros than cons. The teachers are better, the classes are smaller and the classes in general are more interesting”. Dress is also an important factor to many as well. Ian mentioned that dress code at private school is unreasonable because he that feels students should be able to dress the way they want, and the way they dress is their personality.

Coming from Marist catholic high school, sophomore James Cross has no idea what public school is like, he’s gone to private school his whole life. He has friends that go to public school he has just never experienced it for himself. James thinks that public school is “the same as private just less rules”. He doesn’t

think that students are any different, except maybe more exposed to things at public school. He believes that private school enforces students to do better at school and in general at life.

In sophomore Lauren Englet’s opinion, “Honestly, students can be problematic in either setting. I feel like private school kids however have a very onetrack mind with things and that they aren’t exposed to as much so early on. In public school, were always in a rush to seen older, but we still remain more “easy

going” in a sense. You have different kinds of friends for different reasons in public school. At the end of the day, you have to find what works for you for me, that’s Sheldon”.

Public and private schools may be different in their values, academics, and overall student life, it’s important to remember that what matters most is what works for each student.

Lifestyle

the Talisman

February 2, 2018

11

Thoughts on vegetarianism Kenneth Mitchell and Austin Yancey page editors Have you ever thought about excluding meat from your daily diet? This is called vegetarianism, and has many pros and cons.

Sophomore Taylor Parker’s favorite vegetables are potatoes, and he eats meat every day of his life. His family, living a rural lifestyle, are all omnivores as well, as they have raised piglets from birth, slaughtered them ruthlessly and put them up for breakfast as bacon. Taylor can’t live without meat, as he “love[s] meat, especially hamburgers.

[He] love[s] to think about the cows that went into this scrumptious meal, similar to the cows outside [his] living room window.”

He even named one Bertha! Parker said that while vegetarianism is right for some people, as it helps them lose weight, lower risk of heart disease, lower their blood pressure, and provide them with more vitamin C and E, he just doesn’t prefer it for himself (as his life is based around livestock).

Sophomore Lindsey Putnam’s favorite vegetables are carrots and brussel sprouts, and was vegetarian until last summer, as maintaining her diet became too difficult while volunteering at a summer camp.

She went vegetarian at first because of her family’s marathon training, which shifted the whole family’s diet. She believes some pros of vegetarianism are “definitely how cutting certain foods out makes your body feel better,

and healthier all over,” while some cons “would probably be when you go to a friend’s house and the smell and sight of meat makes you feel nauseous.”

Sophomore Lennon Donley’s favorite vegetable is cauliflower, and has been vegetarian for six years. She’s vegetarian because she “loves animals and [she doesn’t] want to eat their dead bodies.” Donley believes that a pro of going vegetarian is a lower risk of animal-borne diseases, and saving lives.

Donley believes the only con is having difficulty finding food at restaurants.

She noticed that after going vegetarian, she felt a decline in energy throughout the day, and as a consequence, drinks 2-5 cups of coffee a day. However, Donley hopes more people will try vegetarianism out.

Vegetarianism can be used as a way to lose weight and cut down on how much fat you eat, but you miss out on some essential nutrients that come from meats, such as Vitamin B. If somebody decides to go vegetarian, they should take a few precautions, like making sure they get a healthy amount of protein, calcium, iron and zinc.

Govinda’s Vegetarian Buffet on River Road.

Photo by Greg Cantwell

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