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Volume 65
Issue Eight
What’s Inside?
German To State Page 3
The
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Plano Senior High School
y l e Lon
M
arijuana, pot, weed, reefer, ganja, bud; it’s everywhere. With graduation just a few months away, students are wondering what’s next and must quickly learn that bad decisions now can have a severe negative impact for years to come. “Between most students that end up in either the alternative education programs or students that are drop outs the correlation would be that they’re either using at the time or they have been using,” Substance Abuse Prevention Specialist Daniel Ramirez said. “At some point in their life that’s played a factor in why they are the way they are and where they’re at now.” Marijuana plays a significant role in the nation’s youth culture and can be easily seen in TV, movies, music and more. Ramirez believes that the way the media portrays drug usage has a negative impact on
students because it leads to students being misinformed, which can have severe ramifications. “You can turn on TV and see Seth Rogan smoking a joint in Pineapple Express,” junior Ian Harmon said. “It’s not really that big of a deal. There are, of course, people who frown upon it, also, which makes sense; but for the most part I think a lot of people just don’t care.” Harmon said that most people at our school are aware of what’s out there, but because it is so strongly present in music and movies, marijuana and other illegal drugs are far less taboo than once believed. “I wouldn’t consider it a problem, but it’s pretty obvious it’s there,” Harmon said. “You can walk down the hall and just overhear people talking about drugs and stuff. But it’s more common than a lot of adults
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Prom Dress Review
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Hearing a news anchor ramble off a new list of facts and figures every night, listing the latest ‘horrendous’ gasoline prices like baseball scores, can somewhat lose the significance of being a serious problem. However, for many teens whose income is minimal at best, even a 10 cent increase in gas prices can really hit them hard. “My whole paycheck goes to paying for gas,” junior Becca Rigby said. “It’s a necessity, it’s something you have to do, and you deal with it, but it is really annoying.” Another student struggling to make ends meet with gas money is junior Brian Schattle. “I am dreading filling up now,” Schattle said. “My parents don’t just give me money, I have to work for it. I have a lot of friends who have to pay for their own gas, and I know what a toll it takes when they can’t do some of the things they want to do because they have no transportation.” Especially for students who have hand me down cars, sometimes their options are limited when that car is not fuel efficient. “I have a 1970 GMC truck and it gets about eight miles to the gallon,” Schattle said. “The truck has been in my family for years, so when it came my turn to get it, I didn’t really have a choice as to what car I wanted.” Even for those who do get to choose their car, at this rate they may not be able to go anywhere either.
think it is.” However, many students do not accept marijuana usage so easily. In fact, many students at our school reject marijuana’s place in modern culture altogether. “I view marijuana as an unnecessary drug which shouldn’t be within a society,” junior Amy McMahan said. “There really is no reason for students, or anyone to use it.” This idea is consistent with many students at our school, that drug usage is a dangerous and unnecessary part of life. “I don’t know why kids at our school do drugs in the first place, but I know they do them,” junior Joel Sands said. “I don’t really understand because it is only hurting their life, or at least I don’t know how it is making their lives any better.” Students’ opinions on marijuana vary greatly, while some look down upon smoking pot and believe its effects on people to be unfortunate; others endorse the act. “I can see no problem with it,” junior Samantha Martineau** said.
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Sale Gallons
By Eilie Strecker
Adele Review
2200 Independence Pkwy Plano, Tx 75075
By Michael Nicholson
A Dedication to Ms. Kolb Page 5
Spring Break
March 10, 2011
“I have a hummer and it gets about 16 miles to the gallon, so it is really expensive,” junior Haley Wilson said. “I spend about $55 every time I fill up and that lasts me about a week and a half, so that takes out a lot of my money. It’s not good when I am already paying so much, knowing that it is getting up to almost four dollars a gallon. It makes me want to not drive anywhere.” Though teens are worried about just getting to and from school as well as weekend plans, students are still concerned about the bigger picture. “I see how it affects students,” Schattle said. “However, this rise is really going to affect the United States economy on a much larger scale. Of course the increase affects the average person, but that’s nothing compared to how it will affect the nation as a whole if we cannot find a way to lower prices or become more self dependent.” Though gas will continue to come in regardless of the cost, the reliability of the countries the gasoline is coming from may be unstable. “The gas prices are only as stable as the countries who export gas,” junior Katherine Friesen said. “It’s inevitable that the prices will jump around. This is just another reason why the United States should not rely on foreign OPEC oil. If we didn’t rely on it, we would not have this problem.” So how does a country as big as the United States go about taking steps to become more self reliant?
“I think we need to look at more alternative resources,” Rigby said. “Eventually fossil fuels are going to run out.” At this point, based on our lack of control over gas prices people, students especially, are doing everything they can to save a few dollars, whether that’s finding other forms of transportation or going the distance to find cheaper gas. “I drive the extra mile and a half to get to the gas station that is cheaper. It may be counter active because I am probably wasting just as much gas by driving further, but sometimes it is hard justifying even an extra 10 cents,” Schattle said. “I even use my parents Kroger membership so I can get an extra two cents off a gallon.” Although it is tough at the moment, some still have an optimistic outlook on the gas prices possibly turning around. “I think the gas prices will start to go back down,” Wilson said. “They will have to when people start buying less gas because the can no longer afford the high prices.” Rising gas prices has developed into a huge struggle that has become more and more intrusive on students wallets. Unfortunately, without serious government action, it is unlikely that we will see a definite decrease in prices any time soon. But as Rigby said, “It’s something you just have to deal with.”