opinion3
wingspan • february 25, 2011
• Staff Editorial
Katie Did
Graduation should not ride on standardized tests
Americans need to take part in global changes
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Art by Emily Miller
n just a few years, high school juniors in North Carolina’s public high schools may be as focused on preparing for the ACT, a standardized test that some colleges accept as a substitute for the SAT, as they are on preparing for the prom. Their graduation from high school could depend on their scores. The N.C. State Board of Education is currently discussing a proposal that would turn the ACT into an exit exam. A satisfactory score on the ACT would become a graduation requirement. The ACT assessment measures general educational dvelopment and the capability of high school students to complete college-level work. It includes sections for math, reading, science and writing. The ACT is designed to determine the readiness of a student to attend a four-year university. Seems fair, right? For good test takers, the ACT would be a one-time prerequisite to prove to colleges just how ready they are. But for anxiety-ridden students, this test could become a reoccurring nightmare. If a student did not pass the ACT the first time, it could become a requirement that he or she take it until they do pass. Assistant Superintendent Kathy Revis told the Wingspan staff that under the proposal students would know well before their junior year if they were in jeopardy of not passing. ACT, Inc. offers an “Explore” test for eighth graders and an “Access” test for ninth or 10th graders. It the state’s current budget crisis, one might wonder where all the money would come from to pay for students to take the ACT (and its Explore and Access pretests) multiple times. In addition, the ACT proposal does not appear to
take into consideration the fact that some students do not plan to go directly to college after high school. Some plan to pursue a two-year technical degree or join the military. Would they still be required to pass the ACT in order to graduate? Although the idea behind implementing this test is for students to prove that they have learned what they
“No, I don’t think it should be required. I think it should be an option for them. So it should be whether they want to do it or not so they can prepare for the right college that they want to go to.”
“I would say it shouldn’t be required unless you want to go ahead and take it because some people would be uncomfortable with it if they haven’t taken the higher math classes.”
Should juniors be required to take the ACT in order to graduate?
were supposed to learn in high school, it seems somewhat pointless since many colleges in North Carolina prefer SAT scores over ACT scores. Graduation should not be based on students’ performance on a single test. Their performance in the 28 classes they are required to pass in high school really should be good enough.
“Yes, because it would help those students with the SAT when they want to get into college. It would also help them to better prepare for the test. I think that they should probably take it.” Connor Courtney freshman
Katherine Owens sophomore
“I don’t think they should be required to meet exit standards. The SAT is most important because every college requires that in order to attend. To me the ACT is just pointless, though.” Elizabeth Hartle junior
Hoon Lee senior
• Viewpoint
Do video games contribute to violence?
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ressing R1, L1 and control X, he murdered another innocent bystander and robbed a nearby convenient store in order to reach Level Seven. Playing video games had become his life. Reaching a new level became his only goal, but soon he ran out of levels in his virtual world. Today’s video games are filled with violence. While many argue they are just harmless fun, increasing evidence proves these games to be more dangerous. Making these games available to minors can cause them to beAmy Taylor come more violent themselves. Asst. News Editor In California, legislation was recently passed forbidding the sale of violent video games to minors, but the law never had a chance to take effect after a court decision declared the law unconstitutional. Recent controversy over the ban of violent video games has caused disputes over whether or not these aggressive games should be on the shelves because of their graphic nature. An Alabama lawsuit was recently filed against the creators of the popular game “Grand Theft Auto” after three men, two of them police officers, were gunned down by 18-year-old Devin Moore, who reported playing the game incessantly for months. Jack Thompson, the attorney who filed the suit, claims that without the video game “training” the incident would not have occurred. Violent video games like “Grand Theft Auto” center around brutality and murder. They were found to be more harmful in intensifying aggression than violent television shows or movies because of the games’ captivating and engrossing nature in a study by doctors Karen E. Dill and Craig A. Anderson. Many of these games focus heavily on (based on a survey violence toward police officers and other law officials of 335 students) and feature the killing of people and animals, the abuse of drugs and alcohol, sexual exploitation and criminal behavior. Many experts believe these gruesome games contribute to hostile behavior even after players become adults. “Violent video games provide a forum for learning and practicing aggressive solutions to conflict situations,” Anderson said. “In the short run, playing a violent video game appears to affect aggression by priming aggressive thoughts.” Nearly a third of children in their early teens play video games on a daily basis, and 7 percent play for 30 hours a week or more. Habits in these violent games can transfer into real life.
• PRO 40%
EDITORS-IN-CHIEF Katie King Brandi Martin MANAGING EDITOR Kim Randall SENIOR EDITOR Kiersten Ellsworth (News) ASSISTANT MANANGING EDITOR Alisha Carland WEB EDITOR Josh Wentzel
JUNIOR EDITOR Natalie Rice ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR Amy Taylor OPINION EDITOR Kayla Sciupider ASSISTANT OPINION EDITOR Hailey Johns ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR Hailey Robinson
ASSISTANT ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR Diane Gromelski SPORTS EDITORS Kevin Robinson Camen Royse ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR Michael Turlington FEATURE EDITORS Meredith Cole Whitney Howell ASSISTANT FEATURE EDITOR Ashley Heywood
FEATURE WRITERS Collin Armstrong Zac Cole Rachel Shoemaker Aury St. Germain Marissa Treible STAFF WRITERS Katie Miller Austin Downing Patrick Martin Blake Hill Lauren Stepp Sierra Fender Kelli Bishop Shannon Miller
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fter seven hours of playing, he was still the perfectly healthy, stable teenager he had been before violent video games became his favorite form of entertainment. A video game — violent, non-violent, disturbing, typical, amusing — in the end is still “just a game.” Some people have come to the conclusion that video games with violent content may be one of the central causes of Hailey Johns aggressive behavior of Asst. Opinion Editor young people. Recently, California attempted to ban violent video games with intentions to reduce the number of violent crimes in society. The ban later faced a lawsuit in which the Supreme Court declared the act unconstitutional as a violation of the First Amendment. The banning of violent video games is not only an infringement on the First Amendment, but it is also unnecessary. While these violent video games have recently quadrupled in popularity among teenagers, the arrest rate for juvenile murders has declined by 49.3 percent. Obviously, there is no definite correlation between the two. In 2004, the Secret Service reviewed violent student attacks and harassment at school and discovered that only one-eighth of the attackers appeared to be interested in playing video games. The student attackers showed more interest in movies and books with violent content. Violent video games should actually be viewed as a positive aspect of society because they provide an outlet for stress and anger, which may have built up to potential violence. While the hostility in video games doesn’t cause violence, it can help relieve the urge to commit violent acts by doing it through a gaming system. At most, the game will cause short-term excitement and agitation. Rating systems and policies that most video gaming stores already participate in are the rational option to reduce teens’ exposure to violence. The basic video game rating system is “E” for everyone, “T” for teens and “M” for mature. Teens who choose to purchase and play these violent video games while following the proper rating system are in most cases able to distinguish between reality and fantasy. The rating system in place provides the necessary safeguards.
CON
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wingspan
Talons & Feathers Feather to all the faculty that helped to make the faculty presentation of the “Night Before Christmas” a fun success Talon to the snow storm that pushed exams back a week and forced a make-up school day on Saturday, Feb. 6 Feather to a successful start to the new semester Feather to school officials for seeking public opinion on whether snow days should be made up on Saturdays or during spring break
f you were to ask every student in the school if they knew what was going on in Egypt, how many could tell you? Many students spend so much time studying for tests, participating in extracurricular activities and being with friends and family that they don’t pay attention to the bigger picture. The lack of Katie King knowledge about current events in America is sad. The world is becoming more interdependent, and for American citizens to not take part in that change is shameful. Americans have always been viewed by other countries as self-absorbed and conceited, and in part, this is true. While other countries require students to learn an additional two or more languages, many Americans think they can compete in the work world while only knowing English. With a more globally organized world, Americans can’t afford to throw away valuable information that will give them a leg up in the work world. Who knows when you might need to speak Russian, Chinese or Arabic to snag that job? With so much focus on graduating and getting into a good college, most students don’t have time to watch the evening news or read the newspaper. I have never been more informed than when I was taking civics and economics. My eyes were opened to the things that concern our country and others around the world. Apart from that, however, there aren’t too many classes (with the exception of journalism classes) where current events are discussed. Students are oblivious to the pressing matters that may one day have a huge effect on them. Schools should offer additional courses that inform students of current events, or at least incorporate them into existing courses. Of course, this can be difficult with a block schedule and certain course requirements. There isn’t really any way for current events to be incorporated into foods class. Since students cannot rely on school to tell them about what is happening in the world, they need to take it into their own hands. Whether it’s turning on the local news as you get ready in the morning or taking the time to read the daily newspaper, current events cannot be ignored. American citizens should be informed in order to keep the United States at the forefront of this global revolution. Americans do have the ability to shape the world. That’s why we vote. We have choices, and if we choose to pay attention to the world as it changes, our decisions will be based on something real, not just going blindly into the polls. History is still being written. You may not care now, but what happens today will impact generations to come. Instead of looking back on the events of today 20 years from now, pay attention to them now. Form your own opinions about what is going on in the world. Who knows? You might find something you are passionate about.
The student forum of West Henderson High School is published seven times each year by the newspaper journalism class. The purpose of Wingspan is to convey school and community news to the students, faculty, administration and community. Wingspan content is determined by an editorial board of student editors. Wingspan is a Southern Interscholastic Press Association All-Southern, National Scholastic Press Association Pacemaker and All-American, Columbia Scholastic Press Association Gold Medalist and N.C. Scholastic Media Association AllNorth Carolina and Tar Heel Award publication. Staff editorials express the opinion of the editorial board. Columns reflect the opinions of the writer. Circulation is 1,200. Printed by The Mountaineer of Waynesville, NC 28786. Contact the staff at wingspan@henderson.k12.nc.us.