Category: Opinion

In the days leading up to Christmas, it is custom for people around the world to buy trees, send cards, and sell their souls for whatever mainstream gadget is on the market. Once all of the gifts are opened, the rest of the day is pretty anticlimactic. Are you a better person now that you have that designer purse? Does an eight year old really need an iPad? (Kids basically become zombies with weak social skills but that is a whole different conversation.) I am not saying that I am not a part of the consumer frenzy of the holidays, however, I think it is time to assess how Christmas has changed to become a national hallmark of materialism.

Christmas is the ultimate excuse to fill the materialistic void with all of the deals that flood our email inboxes. It is typically the “largest economic stimulus” as sales increase dramatically in almost all retail areas. According to a 2016 Statistica survey, 29 percent of respondents stated that they expected to spend over 500 U.S. dollars on gifts for the holiday season. This is disappointing because after the gifts are opened, they quickly lose their meaning as we run back to the mall for the New Years Deals. Then the cycle starts all over. As a society, we are in an endless loop of wanting more and more. I realize that I am generalizing, but our economy and people’s livelihoods depend, in part, on this insatiable cycle.

In general, Christmas has strayed away from its traditional Christian roots to represent a more secular holiday of celebration. But whether Christian or not, gifts are a staple of any household. We are set on the mentality that Christmas isn’t Christmas unless there are gifts under the tree. The little things like spending time with loved ones and watching sappy movies are overshadowed by the gifts.

With all of that said, I do not think that there is anything wrong with wanting to surprise family and friends. It is a great feeling to see everyone’s faces light up with excitement on Christmas morning. I am just hoping that people will reflect on what this special time of year is really all about: family, food, and Freeform’s “25 Days of Christmas.”

Being a sixteen year old girl, it is hard for me to go out at night and stay out past dark. During the summer, there is still light outside around 8 p.m. This whole time change does have major flaws and some advantages, although the advantages are more for some of us lazy peeps. Many of us, I know, struggle with getting out of bed in the morning. It’s harder to wake up when the mornings now seem so gloomy, and I wake up to a really depressing night sky after my evening nap. Apart from the one hour taken away from my glorious sleep schedule, I have less time to finish my daily chores.

For the majority of people, our schedules consist of waking up early going to school and after school attending various activities that depend on the sun’s rays of light. By the time that we get out of school, the sun seems to shine as if it were five in the afternoon in the summer. By the time you get home, there are chores that need to be done, other activities to accomplish and places to go. Some high school students do not drive yet, so we have to take other sorts of transportation and this makes it dangerous because you never know what you may encounter on this small “adventure.”

Long Beach isn’t the safest city, including this area in which Poly lives. Nowadays even going to a store on the corner is dangerous. This issue of violence changes many things and affects us all in many aspects. Parents now are not letting their children go out and honestly, I agree with this matter. When a parent tells you, “Don’t go out after 7,” or even, “ I want you home by 6,” it doesn’t mean that they don’t want you to be going out with friends or they don’t want you to be enjoying your life, but they are trying to prevent things that may happen.

At the end, yes we may not be able to change the time back, all we can do is wait. All there is left to say is be careful because we all know that we live in a pretty messed up world and no one knows what awaits for us outside our door.

Recycling has become a big issue in the 21st century. Americans produce an average of 4.4 pounds of trash per person every day while the rest of the world produces only 2.6 pounds of trash per person. Out of the 254 million tons of trash produced by Americans in 2013, only 87 million tons were recycled. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), 75% of the American waste stream is recyclable yet only 30% is thrown into a recycle bin. This has caused a need for increase in recycling programs at schools around the country.

However, I still continue to notice problems at Poly when it comes to recycling and campus cleanliness. It frustrates me that there are no recycling bins in the quad. Think of all the items that could be recycled but are thrown into garbage bins, contributing to the 254 million tons of trash that we Americans produce every year.

This is not Poly’s fault alone. LBUSD does not provide funding for the blue recycling bins in select classrooms, said Libby Huff, the PacRim business teacher. The National Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) paid for the blue bins and Huff said the cost was about $1,000.

LBUSD does not provide funding to its schools for recycling. Janitors are not paid to take care of school recycling. Recycling on campus is completely up to the students and the staff.

One frustrating thing about the recycling on campus is that only paper, bottles, and aluminum cans can be placed in the bins. Think of the other items that could be recycled, such as plastic bags, styrofoam, milk cartons, and plastic containers. Long Beach takes all of these items through their recycling program. So why are we only allowed to recycle cans, bottles, and paper at school?

It is very disappointing to hear that the district does not provide recycling funds to schools. I understand that they have a lot of expenses, but the environment is more important than those fancy Chromebooks students, including myself, are using.

Instead of buying all those laptops, why not use the money to provide recycling bins and programs to all the schools in the district? Why are more teachers not interested in getting involved with recycling at school?

We have environmental science teachers who lecture about the environment, air pollutants, trash, and global warming, yet our school is still far from being a clean and environmentally friendly campus. Practice what you preach!

Last year, sophomore Cosmo Hebert and I tried to make a change in the school concerning the use of plastic straws in the student store. We wanted to replace them with paper straws.

I know what you are thinking, “How could the straw not get all soggy and gross.” The company Aardvark makes paper straws that are durable and are environmentally friendly. We went to the student store armed with straw samples and pricing. Unfortunately, the student store was uninterested and the idea of paper straws did not get started. The paper straws only sell for about 2 cents more than plastic straws. The drinks that are sold with a plastic straw retail for $1.

We also wanted to get styrofoam cups banned from the student store. The student store now uses paper cups, because of a district-wide ban. Although these paper cups are still not the most environmentally friendly it is a step in the right direction.

I want the students of Poly to speak up if this concerns them too and talk to the principals and teachers about this.

Many students here at Poly like to order food and have it delivered to the school for lunch. More of the freshmen and sophomores don’t know that students can’t order food. The fact is that students like to use Postmates, Uber eats, and Grubhub. I’ve noticed some things change since I’ve been here at Poly. When I was a freshman we were able to order food and have it delivered. Over the school years it stopped. Junior Anthony Castaneda said “It’s dumb they don’t let us order food, they swear they food good. Their food taste like dog food and they have no reason to not let us order because it ain’t even bothering them.” So he is not too happy with students not being able to order. Neither am I, I don’t see why we can’t order food. Some students don’t like school food and choose not to eat it. Some students have dietary restriction and can’t eat school food. That’s where Uber eats, Postmates, and Grubhub come into play.

There are good outcomes to allowing us to have food delivered at lunch. On one hand, students can enjoy eating good food with their friends. They’re also getting a meal of their choice and not starving themselves.

I, for one, believe we should still be allowed to order food because, just as Anthony Castaneda said, “It ain’t even bothering them.” All we want is to enjoy a good meal to fill us up at lunch. Most students oppose the restriction; they believe we should be able to order food at lunch. Some students have a lunch pass, which allows them leave campus at lunch to go somewhere to get food. Most students, however, can’t leave at lunch, so they should at least have the option to order food.

Another reason Long Beach Poly should let kids order is because, parents are always saying “Make sure you eat while you’re at school,” but if some students don’t have a PIN number to eat and doesn’t like school food they should have an alternative option.

Romantic comedies make men stupid. Picture your favorite rom-com. Guy meets girl, guy falls in love with girl, girl is either engaged, married, or just not interested. A normal, sane man would just accept this as a fact and move on, but a movie man won’t.

A movie man will go to great lengths for the girl to ditch her current love interest to be with him. He’ll play music really loud outside of her house early in the A.M. He’ll buy a nonrefundable plane ticket to catch her before her wedding to win her back with a song he wrote on the cab ride there. These men are creeps to the extreme and we root for them!

And they get the girl!

Films and TV shows like that have created a generation of men who just expect women to give into their perverted advances.

Women aren’t excluded from this either. Take Julia Robert’s character from My Best Friend’s Wedding. Her best friend, a man, was engaged and she does everything in her power to humiliate his fiance and ruin the wedding, and when that doesn’t work, she confesses her feelings the day before the wedding.

Hollywood has invented “the friend zone” where people pity themselves because the person they have feelings for only sees them as a friend. They actually get angry and degrade women for not being attracted to them. News flash, you are not entitled to anything from me and I am not stuck up for not wanting to hook up with a guy just because he’s been a good companion to me.

For most people, the point of friendship is to be friends, not to eventually get into someone’s pants – that is so messed up.

I’m sick of it. I don’t care what the situation is, if they are taken, or do not want you in any way, give up. Romantic films make zero sense in the reality of dating.

There is a scene in the Empire Strikes Back where Han Solo and Princess Leia have a moment, and he goes in to kiss her. She tells him three times to stop. Does he? No, he grabs her arm, which she said hurt, and he forced a kiss. They go on to have a long and loving relationship after that for some reason. If that were to happen today, in the real world, things would have ended very differently. Young people look up to these characters and consider everything they do to be golden, which isn’t the case in these so called classics. We may think we’ve improved over time, but we haven’t.

The fault in our Stars tells the same story, just sadder. Hazel Grace repeatedly tells Gus that he is just her friend, and he still continuously flirts with her, takes her on picnics, and to freaking Amsterdam! In the beginning, she is obviously uncomfortable with these advances, even if it all worked out in the end.

Do not under any circumstances take a person you’ve only known for a few months to a foreign country just to get laid! I should not have to say this.

Jessica Garcia’s article “Watch Yo Profamity” from the October 5 High Life school newspaper was horrible. Not just her erroneous insight on the subject of “profanity”, but the overall wording of her article. When did it become ok to use profanity at any K-12 public school? When did it become “fashionable” to consider cursing a part of a teen’s “normal” everyday vernacular? Not all things that are done outside of school are acceptable inside of school. Also, sorry Jessica, but many of our students DO NOT CURSE. Try cursing on a job interview. Many career jobs do not allow cursing while at work – such as education, i.e. Poly High School. Not to mention self-respect should factor in somewhere. Jessica, you stated in our article that “… because I cuss in front of my friends doesn’t mean I’m gonna do it to an adult.” Sorry Jessica, you blew that one with your article. Lasly, Article 1, Section 48900, Item (i) of the California Education Code allows for a student to be expelled or suspended for habitual cursing. Ray Porter, CSO

Just being a high school junior and having two long years still ahead of me makes me want to cry and throw my backpack in the trash and just saying “Forget this!” I am so sure that I am not the only one, but I am one of the few that at least try to get through it with a smile, not to judge anyone. Depression, anxiety, stress and etc. are very common conditions in many students at Poly and yet again it is not taken seriously. Me: *has an anxiety attack* Other people: “Don’t exaggerate you will be fine.” No I will not! If you have gone through this you will understand. I know, what does this have to do with positive vibes? Actually it has a lot to do with this. These are all some of the first things a person whines about when they get into this topic. Getting that out of the way, what are we even doing whining about these things? Life is so long and amazing, looking at it from another perspective. I won’t tell you to fake it in life either, but you do not have to see it the way you probably do. This obviously does not apply to everyone, but for those to whom it does, trust that you are not alone. I won’t tell you life’s easy because it’s surely is not; the one thing we can do is deal with it and keep going because how happy or depressing life is depends only on yourself. High school, relationships, friendships, etc.; these things are stressful, but think of the many good time you have with the people you interact with and the things you enjoy doing with them. This is your life and let me say that I know you will get through all these things, because a year from now you won’t care, and even a year from then you won’t care about the things you once cared about. I know I am not the most positive person, not even close, but I do hope this gives many of you the chance to rethink and analyze things.

Have you ever had those days when you’ve been a little bit off schedule? Maybe your alarm was a little off, or you thought it was an even day when it’s actually an odd. Whatever the case may be, sometimes things don’t go according to plan. We’ve all had a bad day, it’s a part of being a teenager. But what about when you come to school, and have to wait in the tardy pass line with 50 other students? Then you have to deal with cutters, the staff member trying to print out a pass, and some freshman who’s taking ten minutes to put in his ID number because he forgot it. Then you finally get to the front of the line, ready to have your ID scanned to go to the class you were so elated to, just to be told they’re not writing anymore passes. I think we can all agree, that’s pretty sucky. Half the students don’t want to have to go to school in the first place, but if they actually go through the effort to stand in line to show up to class, you should at least give them a pass. What if they have a big quiz or test that they need to get to? Or maybe they’re missing important notes. Whatever the case may be, there is no justification for denying a student access to their education; whether they’re in class for twenty minutes, thirty minutes, or fifty minutes. I’m sure if it was up to the students, they would rather be at home sleeping than on Jackrabbit Lane waiting for the period to be over so they can get in. It goes both ways; it saves the teachers time so they don’t have to reteach a whole lesson. It would be beneficial on both sides, but I guess things are the way they are for a reason.

I recall where I was on October 1, 2017. It was another casual Sunday, the birds were chirping, and the sun’s rays sluggishly made their way over my bed. I had a headache from the night before (I had stayed up catching up on the new season of How to Get Away with Murder). I stayed in bed till around 11:00ish when the sun was directly over my covers, got up, and took a lengthy shower serenaded by the Jungle Rules album by French Montana. I had made my way downstairs into the kitchen to prepare a quick brunch for a friend who I hadn’t seen in over a year. We had become friends early on through our equal interest in ending poverty, becoming political actors, and changing the world. Our eternal optimism drew us together. We both spoke about our lives reviewing the year we had been apart while we indulged in the best coffee a seasoned keurig owner can prepare. We both laughed and smiled as he discussed the several sweethearts he had made during his freshman year at college on the East Coast. Later, in keeping with our old habits, we discussed the news and the various topics that had occurred in the last year. However, the topic of conversation found its way to be the Orlando night club shooting that had taken place a year earlier. We had both been personally affected as members of the LGBTQ community, and when we spoke of that night we were just grateful that it had been a year and that the occurrence was just an occurrence. It was naive to think so. October 2, 2017 was a day that I realize now is part of a horrifying pattern which seems to define the legacy of this generation. I woke up that Monday morning and saw the horrifying images being revolved on the news. Hundreds of terrfied people running in herds across the familiar streets of Las Vegas. We as a generation have become so numb to the violence which so consistently has plagued our society and hence our news and media. We may say we sympathize with the victims of countless crimes of gun violence but in addition to posting a photo on social media we may consider actually calling out our representatives for their actions. We the people have the power to impact the direction our representatives vote along both sides. And we need to realize what impact we would have if we are to create real action. There were 464,033 total gun deaths between 1999 and 2013: 270,237 suicides (58.2% of total deaths); 174,773 homicides (37.7%); and 9,983 unintentional deaths (2.2%). Guns were the leading cause of death by homicide (66.6% of all homicides) and by suicide (52.2% of all suicides). Firearms were the 12th leading cause of all deaths, representing 1.3% of total deaths topping liver disease, hypertension, and Parkinson’s disease, as well as deaths from fires, drowning, and machinery accidents. I believe both parties and the president should use the same ferocity that they have shown to condemn the terror attack in Manhattan to condemn the Las Vegas shooting and change America’s gun laws, but it is also up to us to call upon our representatives to follow through with the words of their constituents. And I understand, guns are a means of defense, however, of the 29,618,300 violent crimes committed between 2007 and 2011, 0.79% of victims (235,700) protected themselves with a threat of use or use of a firearm, the least-employed protective behavior. In 2010 there were 230 “justifiable homicides” in which a private citizen used a firearm to kill a felon, compared to 8,275 criminal gun homicides (or, 36 criminal homicides for every “justifiable homicide”). This is most likely because in several cases legally owned guns are frequently stolen by criminals, and repurposed for negligent purposes. I understand in times of great distress such as now we see new cases of violence taken by one person against another causes us to want to have the option to defend our families with the use of weapons, but the greatest strength is our democratic process. If we are to truly take it in hand our communities have the chance to become safer. We must not become numb to the fact that the world is ever changing, and now after all the carnage we must change for it.

New school year, new everything. They say change is good, but that does not apply to everything people! So far this school year has started off on okay terms, as for the weather, not so much. Actually no, nothing has been as good as I thought it would be this year. Particularly this whole new bell schedule. It’s been driving so many students crazy, myself included. I know most people don’t like to be rushed, but this whole seven minutes we’re getting compared to the ten minutes we had last year is a joke. The average person’s attention span is at most forty-seven minutes. Yup, that’s the most. These ninety minute classes are too much for my worn-out soul to bear. Just writing this article took me around an hour because I can’t even dedicate fifteen minutes without going off task. So many students can relate to this whole struggle to keep track on what is going on in class. Unscheduled periods are the best, apart from the fact that I have to wait in line and not being let in right away or being let out on time. What is up with the whole line things? I just think it is very unnecessary because I would just like to walk to school and not have to wait for a line and loose the little time I have to do what I have to do during nutrition. Unscheduled eighth is as much a mess as first and second unscheduled periods, because students have to wait in a line to get out. Why? I don’t really know why; I mean if we’re already in the school why do our IDs and schedules need to be checked for us to get out? With this is also the issue that the gate on 15th Street isn’t open, only the gate on Jackrabbit Lane is. How much does it hurt to open both gates? This causes a lot of us some more extra stress. Like, can’t people see that I can barely come to school without having an anxiety attack and when it’s time to leave I want to leave ASAP?

New school year, new lost freshman, new staff members and I am stuck in one of the largest high schools in the district without knowing the locations of all my classes. Poly is a sizeable campus with 5 additional parking lots and over 4,400 students. Above is a picture of a map of the Poly campus. The map sits on the side of the big gym facing the Jackrabbit Lane entrance. With Poly being such a large school, a map of the campus is great for new students, or at least it would be if it were accurate. Since the campus is so large and confusing and the only map available isn’t even an accurate map, allow me to help by telling you where everything is. First, all the even room numbers are located on the second floor of all buildings, leaving the odd room numbers on the bottom floors with the science building being the exception to this unusual pattern. Every building except the 200’s, 400’s, 550’s, 800’s, and 900’s, have student restrooms, and the boys restrooms seem to follow a pattern of constant closure and reopening. The 100 building holds all the offices except for the attendance office, which is located in the main entrance off of Jackrabbit Lane. The 250 science building juts away from the “clockwork design” and is found further East than the 150. The science building also shares its area with the south gym, better known as the small gym and staff parking. I might also wonder why an English class in placed in the science building, but all I can say is the world may never know. Even though the point of having a Science building is to be able to access the science department and its resources not copies of Mythology by Edith Hamilton. The upper south corner of the 300 follows where building becomes to a dead end, and out of my own experience I warn you to not go past the clear doors because you will get locked out. Then the 500 building follows with the 600 on its end at which point we face West looking away from the 100. The library is located at the front of the 600 building which. The 700 sits with the 800 building behind the 600, closer to Jackrabbit Lane. The student store is pretty obvious since it’s always overpopulated with loud, obnoxious children. The three locations of the vending machines include the language building, behind and around the library, and the blacktop but your best bet is to use the vending machine closest to the language building which has a history of providing two for one. Next,the P bungalows are located in the very end corner next to the tennis courts. The Tony Gwynn baseball field may seem like it’s hiding, once you reach the 900 bungalows you have a full view of the field. The JROTC shooting range is under the bleachers. Yes, we have a nurse office located to the left of the pool. Don’t forget that being lost is normal, until you walk into the wrong classroom and all 35 pairs of eyes look in your direction. Also, good luck trying to find the entrance of the hidden locker rooms, especially the girls’ one.

What is up Poly? Halloween is twenty-six days away and the burglars – I mean dirty zebras – I mean referees – are already up to no good. And don’t even say it; “But John, a lot of those penalties on Poly actually are their fault.” As a true fan with my class of 2018 rose tinted glasses, I see two things; referees making bad calls and referees missing good calls. But fear not jackrabbit lovers, for I have a solution to our pandas with whistles problem -I mean referees. Man I got to work on that. Being a football fanatic, and also a scholar in my Government class, I have been doing some reading. Article 2 section 4 of the referee’s handbook states clearly that “You, the fan, have the right to question any and everything the officials call during the football game.” I know what you’re thinking; “John, why are you telling me this?” Great question, random person reading this! I’m telling you this so you know that at every game, you can yell as loud as you want. Like really make some noise. Anything that makes sound is appreciated. The referees actually like it. It makes them seem important. Clapping and stomping, rain dances, smoke signals, organized chants, almost anything works. Don’t worry, the law is on your side. So the next time one of those monochrome bumble bees – I mean referees – throws his dirty laundry on the field, let them know how you really feel.