4 Blueprint
OPINIONS
April 13, 2017
What’s more important, a day off or the First Amendment? By Gisselle Cervantes, Copy Editor As someone who loves sleeping in until noon and going to lunch with my friends, I’ll take a day off school anytime. Until it violates the first amendment. The Friday before Easter is known as Good Friday, the day Jesus was crucified. This holiday is celebrated by Christians all over the country, and forced upon many other citizens in America. I am a Christian but even I can recognize that this is unjust. The First Amendment states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion” which has been upheld because there is no federal law forcing every state to celebrate Good Friday. However, state governments should be following that same rule because the establishment of a religious holiday violates the separation between the church and state. The separation between the church and the state is essential to our United States government because we value freedom for all to practice whatever religion they’d like, not just the majority religion. This concept is implied in the First Amendment, and was a key part of the reason why America decided to separate from England. The Church of England was enforcing religious persecution, which our
founding fathers did not approve of, therefore causing them to enforce the separation between the church
punished for not following whatever religion is established. This upholds the purpose of the Constitution, which is to protect the people from the government. Having Good Friday off shows preference towards the Christian religion and excludes all other religions. It automatically gives Christians the day off to celebrate their religion while people of other religious faiths, need to request their holidays off. This is clearly unjust because we call ourselves a nation of all people of all faiths yet we give advantages toward people of a certain faith. According to a poll on Gallup.org, 75% of Americans are Christian. That may seem like a lot, but in retrospect the government observance of Good Friday still doesn’t apply to 81 million people. In some states, post offices and public offices are closed in observance of Good Friday. This is surely irritating and unjust to people who don’t celebrate Good Friday and just want to go about their normal life. No matter what percentage of people are Christian, the government should never be establishing a national religion. Unless the U.S. government decides to give everyone the day off to celebrate every religious holiday, we should not close Illustration by Marisa Kasher schools on Good Friday. and state. It’s not a “good” Friday if it isn’t It protects citizens from being good for everybody.
Jibbitz on Crocs while worn with socks-- oh my By Maddie Arceo, Online Photo Editor Spring is right around the corner, and you know what that means: time to pull out the Crocs. No, that’s not sarcasm, nor is it a joke. Along with your Birkenstocks, sandals and flip flops, Crocs are some of the most essential shoes to own, and definitely a style people should invest in. The majority of our generation think of Crocs as the style of elementary school, and are very sensitive to the idea that they’re coming back. Crocs have formed the reputation of the “worst and ugliest” shoe to own, and wearing them around in public will guarantee you some expressive comments. However, as a proud owner of Crocs, I am here to explain why my purchase of Crocs was the best decision of my life-as were the next two purchases after that. First of all, the controversy of Crocs as a whole is something that doesn’t make much sense to me. Why are people so personally offended by a pair of shoes, and why waste your time and energy complaining? I can guarantee that the more you tell me you hate Crocs, the more I am going to wear them. That being said, I do wear these shoes on a daily basis. Crocs are easily the most comfortable and accessible shoes to own, and are nice just to slip on and off whenever you need to run out. Despite the looks I get in school, the comfort I experience throughout the day is well worth it. And are they really that ugly? If
worn with the right outfit Crocs definitely have the ability of looking fashionable, and even by themselves I don’t see how they are so repulsive. Trust me, there are some very ugly shoe styles happening currently; Crocs are not what we need to worry about. Crocs come in almost every color, pattern and style imaginable. While the classic Crocs are most popular, if you want to branch out even more and brave the comments of Croc wedges or fuzzy Crocs, you can do so. The company gives the opportunity to pick and chose from a variety of different shoes, and even lets you search for a color off of a color wheel. In terms of personalization, why stop there? Those holes in the top of the shoe of course aren’t there just for show, they’re there for you to get to decorate your Crocs with Jibbitz. Jibbitz are rubber charms in the shapes of animals, characters and objects, and give you the option of making your already good-looking shoes look even better. Although more weather accessible in the spring and summer, don’t let that stop you; Crocs can easily be worn year round. Just add socks and you can rock these shoes in the middle of winter. And don’t even worry about getting them dirty, all you have to do is rinse them off really quick and they will be good as new.
So next time you see someone wearing Crocs in the hallway or out in public and you consider saying something under your breath, stop yourself and think: why do I hate these so much? What is the big deal, and why all the controversy? Take the time to run
Photo Illustration by Maddie Arceo
through all of these positives in your head and next thing you know you’ll be in the checkout line at your nearest Croc outlet - and don’t be surprised if you see me there, too.