The Chronicle, 7.5

Page 1

News: Homelessness in Cincinnati area continues to grow

Chronicle Sports: Castner begins construction of his football program

The William Mason High School

Volume 7

NEWS BRIEF

Lecture series to commemorate Black History Month Mason African-American Students for Change (MAASC) is hosting a lecture series throughout the month of February in honor of National Black History Month. The lectures will take place every Thursday from 6:00 to 7:00 pm. February 18, Carolyn Jenkins will speak; Jenkins has a PhD from Xavier University and specializes in diversity, among other areas. Nicholas Jackson, school coordinator and public speaker for UGive.org (a website that connects high school students to volunteer opportunities), will lecture on February 25 on the importance of community and brotherhood, citing an excerpt from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s I Have a Dream. Senior Brianna Terrell of MAASC said that during meetings, the club “[has] discussions, [and] usually there’s . . . an expert about race who comes in and talks to everybody.” The goal of the lecture series, Terrell said, is “to inform people about black history [and] hopefully change any stereotypes or misconceived perceptions [people] might have.”

February 12, 2010

Issue 5

Students seeking ‘Safe Space’ can look for door stickers Alyssa Howard | Editor in Chief There are now ten Safe Spaces for lesbian, bisexual, gay and transgender (LBGT) students at Mason High School. According to the Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network (GLSEN) “Safe Space Kit,” a Safe Space “is a welcoming, supportive and safe environment for [LBGT] students.” Multicultural Literature teacher Meg McKinnon said that the program has been initiated by staff members to fulfill an often-overlooked student need. “It is meant to assure students that there is a place where they are free to be who they are,” McKinnon said. “[The program] comes

from the fact that homosexuality is the number one cause of teen suicide. So, if we can, as educators, provide a safe environment -not that we’re counseling people; that’s not our job -- but, it’s just to give kids a no-bully zone.” Math teacher Katie Holmes said that 10 teachers, including herself and McKinnon, have received the training session from GLSEN to facilitate Safe Spaces in their respective classrooms. While Holmes said that they plan to continue to hold training sessions for additional staff members, Safe Space certification will occur only on a voluntary basis. According to the “Safe Space

Kit,” the training to becoming an ally for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students is rooted in the four subcategories of knowledge of the issues, support, education and advocation. McKinnon said that the training reversed her traditional role as a teacher. “A lot of it was really just training us to listen,” McKinnon said. “As teachers, I think we’re used to being the ones to impart knowledge, and that’s not what you’re doing in Safe Space. You’re really just listening.” As a result, the program primarily informs teachers as to where they could direct students who seek further help, McKinnon said.

“It’s easy when you’re in a position of authority, I think, to impose your own values or beliefs onto students, with good intention to try to direct them in a way you think is going to be beneficial to them,” McKinnon said. “But, as teachers, we’re not counselors. Even if we’re trained in counseling, as Ms. Holmes is and a number of other teachers are, we don’t operate as counselors here. So, this would give us a model of dialogue that we have to refer to them to appropriate sources after that, to the counselors or to the social workers.”

Sharing our good fortune with those in need

TODAY

Comets at Fairfield tonight

Performance of The Crucible this evening Mason High School’s Drama Club is performing The Crucible tonight from 8:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. The show will take place in the studio lab room, D212, of Mason High School. Tickets are $7 for students and senior citizens, $10 for adults and will be sold before the show. Another performance is tomorrow from 8:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. Those who have purchased tickets for one of the previous showtimes may exchange them for tonight or tomorrow.

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

photo by Rachel Schowalter

The varsity boys basketball team will be playing Fairfield tonight at Fairfield High School. The game starts at 7:30 p.m. Mason is currently ranked two places above Fairfield in the GMC standings. Student presale tickets are $4.

Collection bins overflow in Mason High School’s lobby after a week of supply donations made for those affected by the earthquake in Haiti. The bins were present from January 19 to January 29. Collected items, such as canned food, toiletries, water bottles and cleaning supplies were taken to Matthew: 25 Ministries following the collection. From there, the items will be shipped to Haiti, where they will be dispersed.

Haiti crisis prompts high school community to give Rachel Schowalter | Staff Writer With various means of world aid pouring into Haiti since the earthquake, many have been left wondering not only how they can help, but which method will help Haitians the most. Monetary donations, supply donations and on-the-ground service have been the most prominent methods, with each varying in effectiveness of contributing to relief efforts. Mason High School has attempted to help Haiti relief with both a fundraiser and supply collection. According to H.O.P.E. Club advisor Nicole Paxton, $4,231 was raised by International Club and H.O.P.E. Club to give to the

American Red Cross for Haiti. Paxton said that H.O.P.E. Club opted to raise money instead of collect supplies after looking online for the Red Cross’ main needs. “We researched [whether] we should we collect items or collect money, and the news was really encouraging everyone to collect money,” Paxton said. “We felt like just by getting the word out [about donating] we could make a pretty sizable contribution to the Red Cross.” Paxton said the ease and speed of monetary transactions also influenced the club’s decision to hold a fundraiser. According to Paxton, donated items would have taken a longer time to reach the country than monetary donations

would. Transportation problems in Haiti have arisen due to lack of funding, fuel and stable roads. “Right now the immediate response is to give all of the clothing you can and all of the food you can, but if you can’t get it there, it’s just not going to help,” Paxton said. “Having [the Red Cross] already there on the ground, I just think it’s going to be easier for them to have the resources [on the ground] and [to be] able to buy what they need versus waiting for that donation to come in.” see HAITI on page 2


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