Skyline View
The
May 21, 2009
Opinion
New Security Chief?!?! There is dissent among the staff members at The Skyline View. The track of discussion? Skyline’s new Chief of Public Safety, Officer Brian Tupper. We at the Skyline View feel that when you look at the district level, these changes are definitely for the best. Standard rules and procedures as well as additional training can only mean good things for the students. And most students may not even notice the difference in staff. However, many of us at the Skyline View feel that while the changes made at the district level can be transparent without issue, the fact that Skyline got a new Chief of Public Safety is a change that should be announced. Those of us who agree with this feel that this degree of change – promoting someone new to the head of a school’s department – is something the students should know about, especially if it’s a department like security. That is not to say, however, that we have anything against Officer Tupper personally – in fact, several of us have spoken with him, and we agree that he’s a genuinely likeable person who is definitely committed to his job. We simply feel that if someone in such a prominent position is replaced, the students should know. This, however, is where there are those of us that disagree. Some of us feel that the change had every right to be transparent, and that the students who would care would find out for themselves, and nobody else is probably going to care anyway. There are also those that feel that the change was, in fact, announced as well as it could have without being ludicrous. After all, anyone following the events at the district level, or who reads Skyline Shines, would have known about the change. Aside from putting fliers up around campus, there wasn’t much more they could have done. No matter how we feel about the way the change was handled, we can all agree that it’s shaping up to be a good thing. Those of us returning in the fall semester are looking forward to see how things are going to start shaping up.
Thumbs Up: Bruce Lee
“It’s not the daily increase but daily decrease. Hack away at the unessential.”
The Savage hypocrite Gui Oliveira Staff Writer
Michael Savage, the host of extremist right wing thought Savage Nation, has been banned in Great Britain on the account that his show advocates violence through support of his political and religious beliefs. With the legal guidance of attorney Richard Thompson, who says that the ban violates his “freedom of expression” based on a treaty between the United States and Great Britain. If necessary, Thompson will follow through with prosecuting the British Parliament. I don’t know what’s worse, Savage’s arrogant close minded views or the fact that this occasion proves his overwhelming hypocrisy. He is a guy who makes a living by condemning, with every lasting breath that he can muster from his foul mouth, immigrants and people alike who have given so much to
our nation. Now he’s upset because the British recognize his tyrant-like attitude and refuse with the proper authority in allowing him from entering their country. I am all for free speech. It’s a great and valuable thing to have as a privilege seeing as how the United States is a freedom friendly country, probably no other country allows/gives its citizens as many rights as our nation. And like many of us have heard, “with great power comes great responsibility,” (Spiderman fans) but Savage ceases to acknowledge his responsibility as a radio show host. Like all tyrants, dictators, and fascists, he abuses his power as a radio show host sitting behind the elite chair that connects him to the airwaves and ultimately the public. Ironically, he has asked the Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for help, who has been bom-
barded in the past by Savage. Clinton should uphold the ban set against Savage since it’s clearly obvious his show encourages violence through verbal abuse and conviction. Not to mention, the new Obama administration gives us a fresh start in conveying how the world will perceive our changes in the years to come. Persons who engage in mass media carry the power to influence others The face of hypocrisy in 2009. regardless of which side you choose to stand on, and it is exclude Savage in entering their rich reasonable, logical, and rightly that culturally affluent country. the British government chooses to
Slapdash
by Jesse Syse
And that’s it. Semester’s over. This is the last issue that’s hitting the stands until fall. That’s given us a lot of things to think about over here, and not just in terms of news. Interestingly, instead of not having enough, we ended up with way too many stories. Way too many for twelve pages, in fact. The plan was to end the semester with a sixteen-pager and go out with a bang. Of course, no plan survives contact with the enemy – in this case, the enemy being the plan itself – and we’re going out on twelve pages. I’m still happy with that, but the sixteen-pager would have been nice. Speaking of going out with a bang, a lot of our staff members are most likely moving on to bigger and better things after this. Yours truly will probably be back next semester, and there must be some masochistic side of me I don’t fully understand yet, because it’s looking like I’m going to be running for EIC again. Other than that, though, we’re going to be sorely missing a lot of our senior staff. It’s a shame, because I’ve had great fun this
semester, even through the stress, migraines, and layout. I started the semester with only a handful of people who’d had experience working in the newsroom. It seemed insurmountable at the time, but somehow we pulled together, and at the end of the semester we’ve turned ourselves into a solid newsroom team. Call me a control freak, but I have a firm belief in the saying “if you want something done right, do it yourself.” Part of me is always worried that the instant I let someone else do something, they’re going to screw it up. I’m glad, however, that I learned to let go of that over the course of the semester. It’s a great thing to have people I can rely on to get things done, and right now there’s a newsroom full of those kind of people. It’s going to be tough to let a lot of those people go and start all over next semester, but I guess that’s how it goes. With that in mind, I’ll simply say enjoy the hell out of your summer, and I’ll see you all next semester.
-Mitchell Martin
Thumbs Down: Doing Laundry
Admit it. Your life would be a lot better if laundry just washed, dried, and folded itself instead of you having to get up and do it.
-Andrew Lidwell
Thumbs Up: Gold and Silver on the DS
Two BIG thumbs up for the remakes of Pokémon Gold and Silver versions on the DS. Pokémon was my childhood; my very first video game was Pokémon: Blue version. I spent countless hours on that game. But then, Gold and Silver versions came out and completely changed the Pokémon universe forever, with features such as a 24-hour day/night cycle, a seven-day week, swarms of Pokémon, and the phone. In my opinion, Gold and Silver were and still are the epitome of the entire series, so it goes without saying that I am completely stoked for these remakes. - Kenny Martin
Thumbs Down: Slow Computers
Right when you are on a deadline and you need your computer to work properly, that is exactly when it decides to freeze! There is nothing you can do to make it work properly. In fact, anything you do will definitely make it worse. I hate slow computers when I’m trying to get things done! - Brenda Cancino