The Chronicle, 6.4

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News: Test scores indicate girls catching up to guys in sciences

Chronicle Sports: Low game attendance is affecting player morale

The William Mason High School

Volume 6

NEWS BRIEF

Union members reach agreement On December 17 the Mason City Schools Board of Education held a special meeting to vote on a proposal by the Ohio Association of Public School Employees (OAPSE) union for vacation policies, holiday pay and sick leave benefits. The organization represents custodians, groundskeepers and maintenance workers employed in the district. After a three year negotiation between the Board of Education and OAPSE, the two parties were able to come to a unanimous decision on policies for OAPSE union members. They will receive benefits equal to those of nonunion employees at Mason. Union members were not present for the vote by the board -- the agreement had already been approved by all union members at a separate meeting held on Saturday, December 13. According to the Dayton Daily News, the school district and OAPSE have never created a contract since the organization’s formation in 2006. Mason City School District Public Information Officer Tracey Carson said that the contract is still being constructed. “Our attorneys are still working with the OAPSE attorney to finalize the documents,” Carson said.

TODAY

Jam the Gym night against Hamilton The varsity boys basketball team will face Hamilton tonight at 7:30 p.m. in the Mason Middle School arena and is rallying support through Jam the Gym; a night where fans can pack the stands to cheer on the team. The first fans to arrive in the gym win a prize. Student admission for the game is one dollar. Take-home spirit prizes will be given out by the Mason High School Basketball Boosters (as known as the 2-Point Club). The varsity girls basketball team will continue the Jam the Gym event as they take on Oak Hills tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. in the MMS Auxiliary Gym.

The Chronicle William Mason High School 6100 S. Mason Montgomery Road Mason, Ohio 45040

January 16, 2009

Issue 4

Inauguration day scheduled as “district-wide initiative” Alyssa Howard | Editor in Chief Fifth bell will end early on inauguration day, January 20, to accommodate the broadcast of President-Elect Barack Obama’s entrance to office, according to Principal Dave Allen and Assistant Principal George Coates. Allen said that the entire district will allot time during the school day for students of all grades to incorporate age-appropriate activities pertaining to the inauguration. “District-wide, every building is going to take the opportunity to pause,” Coates said. Although Mason High School’s schedule has never been rearranged for a prior inauguration, Allen said that the administration is viewing this year’s inauguration as an opportunity for students and staff to be a part of a monumental occasion in history. “We are approaching it by seeing the inauguration as a significant historical event

in our lives -- both in our lives as adults and for our students, as well,” Allen said. “It’s something special. It’s something that we want to learn from as part of a social studies perspective.” Following Obama’s oration, high school students will be asked to articulate their thoughts in a free-write about the address, according to Allen. Despite some disrespectful comments made following the election, due to “emotions running high,” Allen said that the administration is not considering the upcoming inauguration as a source of school controversy. “We want to take some time to talk about it,” Allen said. “We’re not going to look at [Obama’s inauguration] as a controversial piece, but as an educational piece.” The scheduling change, which Coates said was devised by a collaboration of building curriculum leaders and administrators, is an effort of the district to reach outside of the typical areas of study to

highlight an event that will define a point in history. “At the high school level, we thought that the students would want to live in the moment, so to speak, and watch it live,” Coates said. The reaction prompt following Obama’s address will allow students to communicate in a secure, educational setting, according to Allen. “Our student body understands that [MHS] is a place where our students can be themselves and be free to speak, but yet not violate others’ rights to do the same,” Allen said. “Our teachers are capable of handling appropriate discussions in the classroom. That’s why we want to give our students an opportunity to discuss. We want to give some local control, if you will, where kids can ask appropriate questions, get appropriate answers, and say appropriate things in a controlled environment, where they feel safe to do that.”

Film club denied permission to view movie Administration won’t endorse message communicated by controversial film Cady Meece | Staff Writer

the references to drug use, sex, and

You can watch it, but not here; at least this is the message Mason High School is sending to students with the denial of Dazed and Confused for Film Club viewing. In the past, the club watched other controversial movies including Fight Club and The Exorcist, allowed due to the permission slips that were sent home, but according to Film Club advisor Thurman Allen, Dazed and Confused is the only movie that has been denied, even after students filled out permissions slips. “It was presented to me by the administration that they thought that [Dazed and Confused] would send a bad message to the student body, implying that we supported drug use,” Allen said. According to Allen, he is required to run the movie selection past Student Activities Director Lorri Fox-Allen so that she can give him feedback on the club’s choice. “Usually, she gives me a thumbs-up on the movie, or suggests that we should try to find a better alternative, which is what she suggested about this movie,” Allen said. According to Fox-Allen, the administration did not feel that the messages in Dazed and Confused were ones with which they agreed. “Many of our staff members agreed that [Dazed and Confused] is not a movie that should be shown on campus because of

hazing,” Fox-Allen said. “Our administration felt that it does not promote the type of lifestyle that we try to promote on campus.” Allen said that the club discussed why Dazed and Confused was rejected until everyone

reached an understanding. “When I discovered that the movie had been rejected, the next meeting was spent discussing why the administration felt the movie was inappropriate,” Allen said.

photo by Cady Meece


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