Issue #2
Students to Students and Freshman Skills Day Groups Present
by Kimia Pakdaman
Editor-in-Chief
It is a new year for Nancy Offer’s two groups, Students to Students and Freshman Skills Day. As everyone becomes accustomed to their classes and new schedule, these two groups are preparing for presentations.
The Students to Students group’s first project is giving presentations to the sophomores. The four teams of Students to Students have split into two groups to start their presentations. The Be Respectful and Be Aware teams are working together to present the history elective classes different skits and games to educate them about respecting each other. “We are showing the classes different scenarios where respect is needed,” said senior Matt Knecht. The presentation includes...(read more)
EDITORIAL:
Students Should Present Themselves Properly Through Their Words
by Ben West and Abbie Carson
News Editors
“Watch your thoughts, for they become words.
Watch your words for they become actions.
Watch your actions, for they become habits.
Watch your habits, for they become character.
Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.”
-Anonymous.
This quote presents some valuable advice with regards to accurately presenting yourself through the words you chose. Every day students at LGHS act or say things that could undermine the way they present themselves to the outside world. The carelessness that these students show in their interactions reflects badly upon themselves and, ultimately, on their reputations. This sentiment embodies the phenomenon that teenagers are becoming increasingly lackadaisical about what they are saying, regardless of who is listening...(read more)
OPINION:
Blood Donation Should Not Be Based on Sexual Orientation
by Mercedes Beach
Graphic Designer
Recently, my friend from Arizona told me about a blood drive at his public high school. His friend, a young man, was turned away from donating blood in front of his peers after admitting that yes, he was gay, and no, he was not a virgin. The teenager, not yet open about his sexuality, was told that, despite being healthy and willing to donate blood, he was at high risk for contracting or having contracted HIV/AIDS, and he was therefore not eligible to give blood. The boy was devastated. Later that night, he sat with his family at the dinner table and was asked by his parents to explain why he didn't end up giving blood that day.
Of course, I am understanding of the risks the American Red Cross is attempting to avoid in blood donations and the way in which the nurses publicly handled the boy's situation is not the issue at hand. Even so, I was confused by what happened to my friend's peer. I was under the impression that blood was automatically screened before given to any patient, even if...(read more)
WORLD:
2016 Olympics Will Be Held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
by Kaitlin Highstreet
News Editor
Every four years the best of the best athletes meet in one location to compete for fame, glory, and a bit of gold. After a heated race between four cities, the International Olympic Committee selected Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, as the site of the 2016 Summer Olympic Games. The final vote was taken and announced on Oct. 2, after years of preparation and campaigning for the vote.
Other cities included in the finals were Chicago, Tokyo, and Madrid. The competition for hosting the Olympics is a solid indicator of the competition faced in the Games themselves. The heads-of-state for each competing country went to Copenhagen, where the venue was picked. Chicago and Tokyo were eliminated in the first and second rounds of voting, respectively. President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama lobbied unsuccessfully for Chicago. Madrid competed against Rio de Janeiro in the final round of voting but ultimately lost with...(read more)
PEOPLE:
Delaine DeBeer Experiences it All
by Kylie Webb
Center Editor
“I remember one time we visited, our family went to the Kreuger National Park and we were driving down the road when my grandpa accidently honked the horn, and a full-sized elephant started chasing us down the little road. It was probably the scariest moment of my childhood.” Not many other LGHS can say they have experienced anything like this in their past, but senior Delaine DeBeer, who was born in Pretoria, South Africa, can.
Although she cannot remember much from the first two years of living there, DeBeer has visited four times since and loves the tropical area and big waves. She says that the scenery, “basically looks like it's straight out of a national geographic magazine, and the bugs are two or three times the size of the bugs here, but no one is freaked out by them.” One observation DeBeer made during her multiple visits to South Africa was the general down-to-Earth and warm-hearted attitude of the people, which are both qualities quite reflective of her...(read more)