Point-Counterpoint: Who Deserves More Funding?
In a time where college is no longer looked at as a necessity because of how expensive it is, sports are a way for student athletes who are underprivileged and cannot afford to pay for college out of pocket to get a higher-level education. The number of student-athletes participating in high school sports increased for the 25th consecutive year in 2014.
According to the 2013-2014 annual High School Athletics Participation Survey, an average of 7.8 million students participate in high school sports a year. That's 7.8 million athletes that are playing the sport they love to compete with their friends, potentially earning a scholarship to compete at the next level in college.
Taking away school funding from sports would prevent lots of athletes from being able to afford participating in school sports, leaving their only way to get through school is take out student loans, and struggle the rest of their life to pay them off. Having to take the “student loan” route of getting through college, can leave a student thinking if college is even worth attending.
Playing sports is supposed to be a fun, competitive experience for all involved with the team or club. Having parents pay more out of pocket for their son or daughter to play a sport, will have parents second guess if they should allow their child to continue to participate. Money should not restrict a young athlete from pursuing their goal of earning a scholarship.
Keeping kids active, keeps them out of trouble. With sports and school consuming all of a student-athlete's time, there will no time for them to get into trouble. The athlete will still be faced with adversity and problems, but playing sports will teach discipline and help with better decision making skills.
Playing sports will help to make friends that you will make memories with that you will remember for the rest of your life. Moving to Canton before starting my freshman year was the most terrifying thing i had encountered at that point in my life. Having to leave my old life behind, and start a new one with people who had already had friends they’d known forever. Playing football pushed me to interact with new people I’d never met before.
Taking away school funding in sports would force a lot of student-athletes without money to only use their talent on the playground, or to keep it bottled up. When they could be putting it to good use and getting their college paid for, and if they're lucky enough they will get the opportunity to make a profession out of it.
An education in the arts doesn’t just stay in the classroom; it encourages students to adopt multiple perspectives and to understand how the world functions and our place within it. Art is a part of our daily lives, whether we choose to actively participate in it or not. Advertisements, clothing designs, and the paint color of your kitchen are just a few examples of how art works to create the world we perceive daily.
In the Plymouth-Canton school district, the arts department only receives about half of the funding that sports teams receive on a high school level. Budget cuts for many art programs are still being proposed, including the Park’s concert programs.
“I’m not afraid of how it [the budget cut] is going to affect my life. I’m worried about how it’s going to affect the kids,” said Jon Thomann, Associate Director of P-CEP bands.
Underfunding art programs doesn’t fix problems, it creates them. According to Amanda Barberena, a member of P-CEP’s thespian troupe, looming budget cut considerations in the arts department also include eliminating the position of Paul Bird, co-director of the Park Players, a choice that would negatively affect hundreds of students at P-CEP.
“If Paul Bird’s position were to be cut, it would devastate the Park Players. Without him, opportunities for actors to be in a show would be cut in half. There are already so few parts at the Park for about 7000 students, but with one less show each semester, there would be even less opportunities,” said Barberena, adding that “The Board [of Education] believes that they could hire a paraprofessional to handle all of the equipment in the Salem auditorium, but Paul is the only one who knows how to use all of the equipment, and most of it is his personal equipment. Paul is a wonderful director who teaches the actors and technical crew so much that no one else could.”
The Arts Education Partnership released a report in the early 2000s stating that students exposed to the arts may show a higher comprehension in writing, reading, and math than those who solely focus on academics. Countries that place a strong emphasis on an arts education such as Japan, Hungary, and the Netherlands consistently have some of the highest rankings of math and science test scores.
The arts are not just isolated classes. Drama enhances an understanding of social relationships and story comprehension. Music improves academic achievement, both mathematically and verbally. Dance focuses on self-expression, flexibility, precision, and persistence. The visual arts work on organizational skills and sophisticated comprehension and reasoning. With funding for the arts being continuously reduced, we face the potential of a future of students with less capability to reap the benefits gained from being educated in the arts.
Imagine being a 16/17 year old teen and having big dreams of attending a college like Michigan State University. Your GPA and ACT scores meet the requirements, your application is submitted but, your family cannot afford to send you to a 4-year college without scholarships. You would like to help pay for college but you aren’t making enough money at your part-time job. Fortunately, my family can afford to send me to college. I work at KFC and I make $8.15/hr and I average 10-20 hours per week. One time this summer I worked 48 hours over two weeks, I was so excited and anxious for my paycheck but it wasn’t what I expected.
I feel like the minimum wage should be raised to $12/hr because for example: I get a 150$ check, $25 Goes towards gas, $20 for a haircut, this means I have only $105 to last me two weeks. Now, imagine being a single parent with a child; living paycheck-to-paycheck and your daughter wants to go to Michigan State. You’re working 12 hour shifts and you can’t even make enough to send her to a community college. This is absurd, most people assume that fast-food employees are uneducated, that's not always the case, some people’s plans did not work out when they were younger. Higher wages= more privileges.
Letter to the Editor: Minimum Wage Should be Raised
By: Ryan Liggons
Every year, the holiday season seems to start earlier and earlier. The radio stations play music sooner, store commercials start airing their deals for the holidays, and now Black Friday isn't necessary on the Friday after Thanksgiving anymore.
Black Friday wouldn't be the same without the YouTube videos of the raging customers and lengthy story lines, as well as the tremendous deals the stores offer. But with the rise of the internet in the past decade, customers have an alternative to waking up early to get the first spot in line or not getting something they wanted by participating in Cyber Monday.
With free shipping, huge discounts, and more options than in stores, more companies are now making the switch to sell their products online with huge sales identical with the discounts in stores. Stores like Target, Best Buy, Macy’s, JCPenney, and Walmart have all branched out to let their customers buy items online so they don't have to join the frenzy of people.
With Black Friday shopping now extending to the Wednesday before thanksgiving and thanksgiving day it may be better to wait until the follow Monday to start buying items. Thanksgiving is one of the few holidays throughout the year where entire families come together, but now Thanksgiving time with family is being cut short or completely cancelled because of people’s desire to get the absolute best deals.
Canton Junior Morgan Stephens voiced her approval of Cyber Monday by saying, “I’m a huge fan of Cyber Monday because it’s a lot less stressful than actually being in the stores,” Stephens continues, “I disagree with the deals starting so early on Thanksgiving day because it takes employees and shoppers away from their families.”
With Cyber Monday as an option families will no longer be separated because of the urge to shop. Because Cyber Monday offers the same deals as Black Friday it would be in the better interest to avoid the lines, mayhem, and products selling out by ordering them online and making sure that they can be delivered before the holidays.
Canton Senior Emerald Epelman expressed her love for being able to not go out and shop in stores saying, “I would rather participate in Cyber Monday because I can still shop and buy clothes at a lower price and with free shipping all without getting out of my bed. Also, I can cuddle with my puppies while shopping and not going out to the stores.”
This holiday season has more options than any years past. With the rise in popularity of Cyber Monday, many people will be leaving the mayhem of Black Friday behind in exchange for the identical deals that Cyber Monday offers.
We’ve all had to deal with standardized tests: early hours, bubbling endless sheets, the constant stress and pressure and sitting in the same hard plastic seats doing nothing for hours on end. The district prior years used the ACT to torture the juniors but now it has changed.
This year is the first time the juniors will start testing with the SAT. The SAT is generally seen as being much more difficult than the previously used ACT. During early October, Plymouth and Salem juniors sat in their respective cafeterias and did the preliminary SAT, also known as the PSAT.
Ryan Matey, a Salem junior said, “It was a waste of time. It just didn’t feel like it was showing what the actual test is going to be like. It was a big bummer for me when I did learn that the SAT is going to be harder than the ACT.”
Nicky Qwon, a Plymouth junior, on the other hand felt that “in regards to the whole SAT being harder than the ACT, I just feel that people shouldn’t complain about it and should instead just roll with it.”
“It’s a great experience and I feel it will benefit the future and hopefully will help us improve our thinking skills and will provide a good academic foundation,“ said Plymouth junior Gregory Baginski.
What seems to get a lot of people irritated is the schools’, or rather the district’s, insistence on changing the standardized test for the high schools. Last year was the ACT plus the MME. Most people put up with the ACT but they really didn’t like wasting more time with taking the MME. While the district is only doing what they think is best for us, many students are peeved that they don’t get much of a voice in the matter.
Many feel that the juniors are almost being used as test subjects in finding the best standardized test to give. The juniors just have to roll with it and the teachers have to alter not only their schedule for the week and their lesson plans, but some are kicked out of their classrooms to make room for the tests.
It seems that everyone suffers some kind of problem during the standardized testing time. The juniors obviously are testing, the teachers are moving their lesson plans around and the freshmen, sophomores and seniors have to figure out where this obscure section of the school is where their classroom was forced to move to.
But not much is going to change, regardless of how much we gripe about it. We can only hope that the freshmen and sophomores take heed and prepare for the oncoming ordeal that will hit them soon. All the while, the seniors can give their sympathies out to the juniors and all the bountiful cases of carpal tunnel and sore bottoms that are sure to spring up when the actual test arrives.
Juniors of P-CEP:Struggles of the SAT
By: Jonathan DeClaire
Staff Writer
Rush performs at The Palace of Auburn Hills this summer on the 40th Anniversery tour. Photo by Michael Adzima.
Black Friday, Not Worth the Deals
By:Maddy Hanton
Staff Writer
With the holidays quickly approaching and many people trying to find time to go shopping for gifts, it is once again time to weigh the pros and cons of going Black Friday shopping. Black Friday ads boasting of the greatest deals of the year are more than tempting. Who could resist the promise of an iPhone 5s for only $300? Sales like this can seem impossible to pass up. However, before deciding to miss Thanksgiving dinner to camp outside Target in 25 degree weather, consider the negative aspects of the popular shopping day.
The fact that Black Friday falls the day after Thanksgiving is ironic in itself. A day spent being thankful is directly followed and even taken over by a day dedicated to getting new things. As Black Friday sales get moved earlier and earlier in the morning, shoppers and retail employees alike are being pulled away from their families and Thanksgiving dinners for the sake of good deals.
Many retail workers, like Shreya Kraft, a Salem senior who works at Old Navy, have learned to dislike Black Friday. Employees are forced to work long hours where they are bombarded by sleep-deprived, deal-crazy customers. Kraft describes working on Black Friday as intense and chaotic; the shoppers are only interested in getting in and out of the store with the things they want as fast as possible, leaving the store in ruins after it is all over.
The mass-consumerism encouraged on Black Friday is wasteful and used by massive retailers to increase their already astonishing annual profits. These businesses lure in shoppers with a few low-priced high-ticket items, but make big money off of the other things these customers purchase. Plymouth senior Nithika Sivashankar admits to spending much more than she intended while Black Friday shopping last year.
Black Friday brings out the worst in people, as shoppers’ quests for discounts often result in shoving and frustration. Instead of a sense of community amongst shoppers, the experience is more like a battle for the best deals. Sivashankar even remembers seeing two women physically fighting over the last blouse in JC Penney. This competitive environment can actually become dangerous. According to US News, in 2008 a mob of shoppers in Valley Stream, N.Y. broke down the doors of a Walmart and trampled a worker and two other customers to death. Though this may be an extreme case of Black Friday violence, fighting over products or spots in line is a common occurrence.
Surprisingly, Black Friday doesn’t even offer the best markdowns. Most of the time, similar deals can be found during ongoing sales that occur throughout the whole season or on Cyber Monday. The difference is that these deals can be accessed from the comfort and safety of your home at any time of the day, instead of a crowded shopping mall at 3:00am.
Overall, Black Friday sales just aren’t worth the hype. Instead of bundling up to wait in a mile-long line outside your local Best Buy in hopes of saving some cash, this year after your Thanksgiving dinner, stay home and rest assured that you aren’t missing much.
What if I told you there’s a band out there that has 24 gold records, 14 platinum records, four consecutive decades with at least one gold album released, and still sells out arenas around the world? This band is out there, and with all of their accomplishments, you might say you’ve heard of them, which some of you likely have. The name of the band is Rush, a Canadian rock trio that has been going strong for over forty years.
Rush began in 1971 in the suburbs of Toronto with the original lineup of singer and bassist Geddy Lee, guitarist Alex Lifeson, and drummer John Rutsey. Their first album, the self-titled Rush, received little attention until a radio station in Cleveland popularized the track “Working Man,” which helped the band gain their first glimpse of recognition. In the summer of 1974, Rutsey left the band and was replaced by current drummer Neil Peart, forming the Rush lineup that has remained strong through four decades.
The addition of Peart was what propelled Rush to the next level. He took over the role of the band’s main lyricist, and began forming the style of Rush that fans would come to love. Peart began writing epic music journeys such as “By-Tor and the Snow Dog” and “The Necromancer.” These musical epics included fantastical lyrics and shifting musical styles that helped cement Rush as pioneers of the progressive rock movement in the 1970s.
Moving into the ‘80s, Rush modified its sound to fit the times. They continued with philosophical and complex lyrics, but began to include the use of synthesizers, sequencers, and forms of electronic percussion. The band was able to find success by transforming their style to fit the mainstream at the time. 1981’s Moving Pictures, Rush’s most commercially successful album, showcased progressive rock moving into the new decade. Signals in 1982 mixed the progressive style with mainstream 80s new wave.
This mixture and changing of styles is one of the main criticisms that face Rush. Through the decades, the band has seen themselves be the subject of poor critique from various music journalists. Despite all of this, Rush was able to move on into the 1990s and beyond, still making music for their very loyal fan base.
Rush fans can be some of the most passionate fans in rock music. I’ve had the pleasure of seeing the band live twice and I listen to some Rush songs every day. Another Rush fan at P-CEP, Canton senior Emma Clark, said, “Rush is a phenomenal band and not enough of our generation knows about them. I have seen them live countless times ever since I was seven, and it amazes me that what I hear comes from only three people.”
The masses of Rush fans were pleased in 2013 to see the band inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame despite those (Rolling Stone Magazine) who thought that musical talent could not get the band in alone because of a lack of commercial success. Not many of the younger generations rejoiced at this occasion because, like Clark said, not enough of our generation is aware of Rush. Their musical talent, lyrical style, and prolonged success show how they truly are one of the greatest rock bands ever in the face of all of the criticism. So for all of you who are unfamiliar with Rush, believe in the freedom of music and use your freewill to make the choice and listen to Rush.
Rush: The Most Underrated Band of All Time
By: Michael Adzima
Sports Editor
Like most of the chronic health problems, childhood obesity is caused by a complex interaction between many underlying factors. The main cause of obesity lies in the type of diet a child is consuming on a daily basis. These days children are living on highly processed, high -fat, high-sodium fast foods, and sugar-laden candy, baked goods and soft drinks. Processed foods generally contain few nutrients and many calories. This energy gap, which is the difference between the energy needed and the energy actually consumed, coupled by the poor diet, is the root cause of the current child obesity epidemic.
Children’s activity level has a direct correlation with their weight as well. Instead of getting adequate exercise, children today are leading increasingly sedentary lives. Family and environment also has a bearing on today’s childhood obesity. The tough economic times, have made parents of all incomes and backgrounds busier than ever, constantly pressed for time, and struggling to meet the demands of work and family life. Harried parents often are unavailable, too tired, or simply lack interest to prepare healthy meals and play actively with their children. For them fast-food take out or ‘heat and eat’ packaged meals are cheap and easy alternatives, that prove irresistible. In addition to that, huge portion sizes are a norm at the restaurants and at home. At school the lunch menu is loaded with food that is high in both calorie and fat content, while the recess and physical education time is becoming scarce in the daily schedule. To make matters worse, on the media, in the grocery aisles, and at almost every turn, the marketplace, hawks junk- food products, and extols movement saving devices.
The main underlying factors that lead to obesity are both the child’s eating style and activity level. Obesity is not just a cosmetic problem, it is a health hazard and it is very important to be supportive of our loved ones that are on a transition to living a healthier life. Below is a list of eight things to never say to anyone overweight.
1. You’d be so attractive if you just lose some weight.
2. If you weren’t so lazy, you wouldn’t be so fat.
3. No dessert for you, you’ve already had enough.
4. If you lose some weight, other kid’s wouldn’t tease you so much.
5. You probably wouldn’t have hurt your leg if you weren’t overweight.
6. I don’t think light colors are a good choice for you- what about this dark colored dress?
7. Only thin kid’s can do Gymnastics. Why don’t you sign up for the piano lessons instead?
8. If you want to lose weight, you will have to eat very little food and simply have to stay hungry most of the time.
The Problem With the Way People Handle Obesity
By: Maha Zahid
Staff Writer
Many people have been to big cities. Whether that is Detroit, New York, Los Angeles, or some of the others, many have either seen or have indulged ourselves in the commodities sold at food trucks. For those who have no idea what a food truck is; the concept is very easy to understand. It is a large truck with a kitchen inside that sells food for on-the-go, which can include many different types of food from the simple American Hamburger to more strange and exotic meals.
People at the Park love to complain about the school lunches: there is little to no cooking involved, lots of the lunches don’t taste especially good, and they don’t ever change. With the introduction of food trucks, it could solve all three of those complaints. They cook all of their food in the truck with fresh ingredients, all of them usually have something that fancies you taste buds, and they usually change their menu with new items.
When asked if she would like food trucks on campus, Plymouth senior Allie Fedak said, “Yeah I would like to support that. I would love to get a good taco for lunch than what they offer at the Park.”
“It sounds like a great idea. They could put them in the bus loop or the parking lot between Canton and Salem and would offer a much appreciated change in food choices,” said Blake Lewis, Canton junior.
Tyler Moore, Salem senior, said, “Yeah I don’t think it would be a bad thing; it would promote local businesses and would give students more options for lunch.”
As to when and where they should be, it should be easy answer. They would be allowed to set up shop in the bus loop and would be open from beginning of A lunch to the end of C lunch. You could also allow them to be open much earlier for people walking in earlier hours of the day. They also could stay after the school day ends to cater to those who are in after-school sports, clubs, or other various activities.
Food trucks do have one down side when compared to the school lunches. While most school lunches cost around $3.50 to $4, on average most food truck meals cost around $7.00. With the significantly longer wait for the food to be made it would make the lines to buy the food much longer, if no one had a problem with the prices.
As to how the school could get something out of it, they could ask for 10 percent of the total profits from the trucks they allow onto campus. However, the food trucks would probably go down in business and profits when winter rolls around; unless everyone is willing to wait around for the food outside.
While food trucks on campus may be a great idea, it still would have problems being carried out. In the end, the school district would have the last say in the matter, and we all know how they love to crush our dreams of snow days. Plus, the other schools in the district might not think it’s entirely fair that only the Park is getting the food trucks and will want to get some too. One day, we can hopefully enjoy a nice gourmet designable lunch bowl, a big gyro sandwich, or a nice fresh doughnut and a cup of hot chocolate in winter.
Food Trucks Could Improve the Park
By: Jonathan DeClaire
Staff Writer
Why Cyber Monday Might be Better this Holdiay Season
By: Alec Middleton
Staff Writer
Photo by Michael Adzima
SPORTS
By: Jared Stephens
Staff Writer
ART
By: Caitlin Flora & Natasha Pietruschka
Head Copy Editor & Art Director
