Homecoming Incoming: October 25

Inside: Good Stuff at GPHS, Caveman Rumors, and Student Experiences
The
Scroll
Volume 82, Issue 1
A publication of Grants Pass High School
October 2014
Around Campus
Homecoming Incoming: October 25
October 15 Career Day
By Bailey Shean
Reporter
On Wednesday, October
15th, GPHS will be holding
Career Day. While Sophomores take the PSATs, all
other grades will be see presentations from colleges and
workers in various fields.
This is a useful day and
worthwhile use of time for
all students looking into
different careers, especially
seniors who want information about colleges.
Homecoming is approaching, are you going?
Homecoming is on October
25th, 2014 from 8:00 pm to
11:00 pm.
The dance is semi-formal
wear, and since there is no
specific theme, there will be
no specific dress requirements.
Prior to homecoming, on
October 19th, the hallways
will be decorated for spirit
week between the 20th and the
24th.
This year’s theme for hallway decoration will be board
games.
Anyone and everyone is
invited. Each grade will decorate their own hallway.
The day before homecoming, right after school on October 24th, we will be having a
Cavelcade, which is a parade
for homecoming.
Leadership will be putting
together floats for each grade,
and then students ride them
through downtown Grants
Pass.
All float decorators will be
meeting in the senior parking
lot behind the science/protec
building.
Following the parade, and
right before the football game
on Friday night, we will be
having a tailgate party in the
quad with a barbeque, games,
and more starting at 5:00 pm.
The homecoming football
game will start at 7:00 pm.
Come and cheer on your
Grants Pass Cavemen!
GPHS Thespian Troupe
- Josh Akins
Why This Book
This Way?
In what is potentially
the most tragic typo in AP
Textbook History, the subtitle introducing this year’s
AP US History textbook
reads, “Why This Book This
Way.”
This depressing and
gramatically incorrect mess
had AP students rolling with
laughter, at least providing
some amusement to relieve
the pressure of advanced
classes.
A letter has been written to the authors of the
textbook. APUSH students
eagerly await a response to
this question, which is of
great interest to the junior
block students.
- Joshua Akins
Hairspray to entertain audiences this fall
How many of you
can read Latin?
By Tyler Cardiel
Reporter
Unde et totum illud est
solum in Latina. Si ergo
vales scripturam legere,
ut de tua te ut probabiliter
applaudere academic excellentia, ad quam pertinet,
tum propter hoc numero
linguarum;
Anglicus, quae late,
Spanish, radix, ex qua plura
verba in lingua Latina, paucis etiam gallica, germanica,
atque Finnish (quod quidem
a cognitione linguae , non
ob aliam causam quam si
moveretur ad Finland).
The GPHS Thespian
Troupe from Grants Pass High
School gives the communities
two plays; one in the spring,
and one in the fall.
This fall, the theatre is presenting is the musical “Hairspray”.
The new theatre troupe
director, Mrs. Kennedy, is
not directing the play, but the
ever-popular Mrs. Skudstad is.
Skudstad was the theatre
director two years ago and
taught here at GPHS, and is
making a strong return...for
the season, at least.
Many people consider
“Hairspray” to be controversial in the elements of racism
and body image, but Mrs.
- Jos Cognitas
Hairspray rehearsals take place in the GPHS PAC. Performances begin in mid-November.
Skudstad argues, “Controversial is not always bad. Sometimes people need to think
about certain issues.”
People from the Grants
Pass community are helping
out as well. Susan Russel will
be building sets, Max Mattigan is casted in the show,
Emily Giesler is the stage
manager, and Molly Means,
a veteran of 8 years with the
troupe, will be returning.
Mrs. Skudstad challenges
all students to see “Hairspray.”
The shows for “Hairspray”
will be on the 14th, 15th, 21st,
and 22nd of November, but
more details will be released
later via posters, banners, and
radio ads. Spread the word
and come see the amazing musical, “Hairspray!”
Photo Credit:
Ben Widdison
Hairspray - Main Cast 2014
Tracy Turnblad:
Corny Collins:
Edna:
Penny Pingleton:
Velma Von Tussle:
Amber Von Tussle:
Link Larkin:
Seaweed J. Stubbs:
Little Inez:
Motormouth Maybelle:
Wilbur Turnblad:
Prudy Pingleton:
Mr. Pinky:
Gym Teacher:
Matron:
Gilbert:
Tammy:
Brad:
Brenda:
Gabi Smith
Jackson Burton
Ben Widdison
Sable Kimball
Morgan Suitor
Taylor Chapman
Tyler Cardiel
Ismael Pardo
Amanda Castle
Talmane Baasha
Parker Morrison
Lindsay Bouquet
Anthony Barei
Lyric Biggins
Megan Walters
Alec Carpenter
Alyssa Clark
Christian Kujawski
Brynlee Morrison
2
News & Features
Good Stuff at GPHS
By Tyler Cardiel
Reporter
A lot of people may think
that GPHS is a mediocre
school, but there are an enormous number of opportunities available to students that
make this school special, if
they are willing to explore.
There are clubs for everybody’s talents, hobbies, and
interests, which is unique for
many schools simply because
of budget cuts, but they are
available specifically to our
high school.
There are currently 15 clubs,
19 annual sports teams, and 8
miscellaneous optional classes.
The subjects range from music
to sports, comedy to community
service, theatre to mock trial.
Clubs and activities are not
limited to already existing ones:
anybody can start a club if they
have scheduled meetings, an
administrator to preside over
meetings, a club constitution,
and students willing to join the
emerging club.
Mr. Rounsaville, the athletic
director, said, “Kids that get into
clubs outside of school tend to
Student Experience: Cambridge University
By Kitra Moeny
Reporter
For the month of July, junior
Kate Van Horne was part of a
unique experience at Cambridge
University.
The program- run through
Oxbridge Academic Programs,
founded by Grants Pass High
School alumni James Baskeroffers students in high school the
opportunity to take two classes
for the month.
Van Horne chose a major in
International Espionage, and a
minor in Art History.
She said her major covered
“Both the historical part and the
actual application of espionage,”
and did activities such as applying skills by following other
members of the program.
In Art History, Van Horne
found that location played a role in
the class, saying “Our classroom for
Art History was in a church in the
middle of Cambridge. Also, there
was an art museum about a five
minute walk from the church, so we
often got to go to the museum and
see some of the paintings that we
talked about up close.”
On the program itself, she found
the classes had a lot of flexibility,
being able to leave and do activities
together.
There was also a lot of freedom
for students. The city size allowed
students to walk anywhere they
wanted to go, and living in dorms
also allowed them to come and go
independently.
Van Horne enjoyed the experience, and thinks most others would
too. She encourages anyone interested in Oxbridge to talk to her for more
information.
Lit Mag Contest Prizes:
Cash and Gift Certificates
do better,” and part because, “In
all our clubs and activities, we
hold our kids to a higher standard.”
This means that once students
are involved with a club, they are
expected to abide by school policies and act with integrity.
The “mediocre” school of
GPHS is filled with an immense
amount of opportunities for
students of all ages. Getting
involved with extra-curricular
activities can help increase y
our extent of abilities, and can
benefit students in more ways
than they might think.
By Alyssia Lobotron
Off the Wall: Cave Creations, the
GPHS literary magazine is now accepting submissions for the first semester
edition. Student written poems, short
stories, essays, and cartoons – basically
any creative writing done either for a
school assignment or for anything but a
school assignment is eligible for consideration.
In addition, the first semester Poetry
and Short Story contest have begun. The
winning entries in each category receive
cash prizes and matching gift certificates
to Oregon Books.
Submissions should be typed, doublespaced, and taken to room 136.
Submissions can also be emailed to
[email protected].
Motivation with Superintendant John Higgins
By Kitra Moeny
Reporter
Once again, the school year is
starting off with the administration
setting goals for improvement.
This year, a focus has been
placed on motivating students in
order to improve their education and
their experience.
Superintendent John Higgins
says that motivating students is the
responsibility of “the entire Grants
Pass learning community,” although
he realizes that “it’s ultimately the
student’s responsibility.”
So, how does the school get
students to realize this and make the
most of their years here?
First, students must learn to use
the time in the day set aside for the
purpose of improving their learning and mastery of concepts and
information..
While, for many students, CAVE
time is to make up assignments
or tests and get help when they
are confused, Higgins encourages
those who are on track to use these
opportunities (Office Hours and
Cave period alike) to “enhance and
expand learning opportunities.”
For students to be motivated,
Higgins believes that the learning
has to be made more relevant, so
students understand why they are
doing something, and find their
work to be valuable -- how will it
apply to life outside of school?
For the district, this means working with teachers and students to
help everyone get the most out of
their day.
While Higgins says motivation is
only “one of a number of challenges,” it has a major impact on how
school is perceived by students, and
it is an important compnent that will
determine how the upcoming year
turns out.
Student Experience: A Series of Close Calls
By Mitch Wilkerson
Reporter
On the night of May sixteenth of this year, as I piously
kowtowed to the Google God in
search of some form of temporary entertainment, a sidebar ad
drew my eye.
Normally, I wouldn’t give the
ads I just so happened to accidentally see a second thought.
Yes, accidentally. No, I never
click on millionth visitor boxand-string traps. Shut up.
Anyhow, this particular ad
elicited more than a second
thought from myself.
After reading the limited amount
of info on the link itself, I pursued it
further.
As it turned out, a company called
LoJack was hosting what it called a
scavenger hunt. It was actually just a
romp around their website in order to
draw attention to their services.
Five empty boxes with questions
above them sat resolutely empty on
my monitor. Next to the boxes, within parentheticals, and in microscopic
font size, the word “hint” led me to a
page that, given some skimming, got
me the answer.
Following this process for the
rest of the questions led me to a
box slightly further down the page,
noticeably separated from the rest. At
this point, the lull of sleep seemed an
increasingly inviting prospect, and
my own bed was mere feet away.
The last “question” called for the
creation of a slogan based on the
recovery of a lost or stolen Alienware laptop.
Tired, bored, and less than confident in my chances of winning, I
typed the first thing that came to my
head: “Counter-Abduction Successful!”
If the reader has ever entered a
contest in which their chances of
winning seem realistically improbable, yet stubbornly retain some
kernel of hope that they’ll win, it
would benefit them to know that
such hope doesn’t necessarily jinx
their chances.
Days, weeks, and finally, a
month and a half passed before I
was called back to the night of May
sixteenth.
Scrolling through my email on
the morning of July first, I discovered I had been informed of my
winnings the previous day, and
may have forfeited them had I not
checked my email in time.
Thinking about that late May
night brought forth a few specific
details, specifically, the contest was
but a few minutes short of ending
before I managed to squeeze in my
entry.
Namaste, good people of GPHS,
and thanks for reading.
3
News & Features
Free Lunches
By Jonathan Williams
Reporter
This year, free meals are
available for all students at all
schools in District 7.
District 7 is implementing a new option available
to schools called the Community Eligibility Provision,
the Obama administration’s
Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids
Act, for the school year of
2014-2015.
District 7 adminstrators
believe every child should have
access to healthy, fresh foods
needed for optimal growth and
which help ensure academic
success and development.
All enrolled students in
District 7 are eligible to receive
a healthy breakfast and lunch
at school at no charge each day
this school year.
The new Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) allows
high poverty schools to offer
both breakfast and lunch at
no charge to all students while
eliminating the traditional
school meal application process.
CEP increases participation in
the school nutrition programs by
offering breakfast and lunch for
free to all. It increases participation by students in the school
meal programs, reduces labor
costs for schools, and increases
federal revenues.
In short, it allows for a healthier student body and a healthier
school meal budget.
There is no paperwork or application for parents to fill out,
and all 5,700 students in the city’s
10 public schools qualify regard-
less of their household income,
district officials said. Before the
start of this year’s CEP program,
some schools in the district already provided free breakfast.
Michael Morris, the supervisor
for the Grants Pass School District’s food and nutrition services,
said that this is the first year the
program has been available in
Oregon. It is expected to last for at
least five years.
The program’s effects on student healt and academic achievement help justify its implemntation in District 7.
slightly better than America’s second favorite, M&M’s.
Costumes, also a Halloween
tradition, have changed over the
years. This year costumes from
the movie “Frozen” seem to be
popular: they include Elsa, Anna’s
Coronation Day, and Olaf . Another favorite for kids/teens is the pink
lady costume from “Grease.”
One costume suggestion for
parents going trick-or-treating with
their kids would be to wear the Mr.
and Mrs. Potato Head costumes.
The top ten popular costumes
for 2014 are, in order Mad Hatter, Kool Kat, evil clown, Indian
costume, a banana costume, worker
bee, army ranger, Wisteria, a
Crayola crayon, and the astronaut
costume .
If those don’t sound appealing,
you might want to look around
stores, both locally and online,
either for ideas to use or for the right
components for your own imaginative choice. If all else fails, you can
make your own costume.
Another popular idea in years
gone by was to have a bonfire (or
bone-fire). Today it is more customary to have a costume party with
friends.
Whether you go trick or treating
or not, it is always fun to dress up
and have fun with your friends and
family.
If you feel that you’re too old to
go trick or treating, you could still get
together with your friends and plan
a sleepover. You could even watch
scary movies.
You could get a group together and
go trick or treating with your younger
siblings .You could even help pass
out candy at your own front door.
As always, it is good to also be
careful and look out for anything/anyone that might be suspicious.
Whatever you decide to do, have a
safe and happy halloween!
Halloween
By Bailey Shean
Reporter
With the start of both school
and the fall season, Halloween
quickly approaches, which can
mean to many people a time to
binge on unhealthy sweets.
The traditonal trick-or-treat
forays into the black night may be
well established.
Did you know that 72% of the
world’s chocolate is made just for
Halloween? Studies have shown
that Reeses candy is the number
one seller in the U.S., doing just
New Teachers join GPHS School Staff
By Pauleene Yokum
Reporter
The following teachers joined
the GPHS staff this fall:
Mr. Eric Cousineau takes
over the strings program, teaching concert, string, and chamber
orchestra classes here ta GPHS
and strings classes at Riverside
Elementary.
Mr. Cousineau taught private
violin lessons in Arizona the last
seven years, a job that also helped
pay for tuition throughout his
college education at Arizona State
University’s Herberger School of
Music.
The new orchestra teacher particularly enjoys the kindness of
people here in GP and the picturesque beauty of the valley.
“I love waking up every day,”
Cousineau said, “to find myself
in a lovely Bob Ross painting,
peaceful and serene with happy
little squirrels and trees everywhere.
“Coming from the desert,”
he concluded,” this is a big deal to
me.”
Ms. Stefanie Carnini will help
teach Study Skills this year.
In 2004, Ms. Carnini got Arnold
Schwarzenegger’s autograph on
her diploma when she earned her
BA in History from Sonoma State
University.
In 2012, she earned her Master’s
degree in special education from
Western Governor’s University, but
no one famous signed it.
Last year, she taught at a group
home for boys in the Family Solutions program, and for six years before that, she worked at Clearlake
Community School in Lake Shasta
County with kids who had been
expelled from other schools.
Ms. Carninin said one thing
she notices most at GPHS is the
thoughtfulness of students and the
smiles on everyone’s faces.
“When I walk down the halls,”
she said, “if I make eye contact
with anyone, they smile or say
hello! It is so kind and pleasant to
experience, it often makes my day.”
Ms. Gretchen Owens, who is
in her first year of teaching, works
with students in Transitions, Work
Study, and Consumer Math classes.
Ms. Owens graduated from Linfield College and is presently working toward her Masters degree in
Special Education through Southern
Oregon University.
“I come from a tiny high school,”
Ms. Owens said, “so the most impressive aspect of Grants Pass High
is how well this school is run.
Everything seems to run very
smoothly, and for having so many
kids, that’s not something a person
would see everywhere.”
Ms. Rachaell Hilyer moved up
from AAA Eagle Point to join the
GPHS major league team teaching
freshmen. This is her seventh year
in the profession but only her third
as a traditional classroom teacher.
It’s possible one of her non-traditional classroom assignments was in
the weight room, because she claims
to be able to do fifty push-ups, and
she says she is willing to take bets
on that from
any student.
Ms. Hilyer earned her BA in
Philosophy and English from the
University of Hawaii while simulta-
neously collecting lava samples from
the ever-flowing volcanic pus on the
island and occasionally hunting down
the big surf for afternoon boarding, and she received her Masters
in Education from Southern Oregon
University.
Ms Hilyer said enthusiastically
endorses GPHS. “There are such
great programs for students that make
GPHS an excellent place for learning
and growing. The support systems
for students and the support staff are
amazing.”
“My favorite part,” she stated,
“is the wonderful personalities and
attitudes of students and co-workers.”
Then she quickly added, “Well, that
and the huge iron gates around the
campus that, at any point, could lock
us into the quad. And oh yeah,” she
said, completing her list, “the print
shop is pretty awesome, too. They
made a poster of a monkey for me.”
Ms. Hilyer can be seen and heard
in the upstairs of the core building,
frequently stroking her pet stuffed
lemur and hollering out inspirationally, “Let’s rock and roll!”
4
Upcoming Events:
Sports
Football
Cheer
The win against Sheldon was
important due to the fact they
By Chesley Lindsey
have always been one of the
Reporter
Cavers strongest competition.
The Varsity team is strong
Football season has so far
again with returning senior runbeen exceptional.
ning back Zachary Hannan who
The Cavers are ranked in
continuously proves he’s a strong
the top four in the state’s RPI. force on the field.
Even though the season is still
Other strong seniors include
early, having this advantage is Javan Appling, Ben Dean,
still important being that there Keegan Weiss, and Jared Hood.
are 32 teams in this league.
Juniors that should be making
The Cavers have won the
an impact on the field this year
four games they’ve played so are Easton Bents, Jake Stoffel,
far.
and Anthony Del Toro.
The games were against
Each and every player on the
Sherwood, Newberg, Shelteam this year is strong in every
don, and Thurston.
way and the overall status of the
The game against SherCavers team should be ranked
wood ended in an impressive pretty high.
field goal tie-breaker by seThe Cavers are 5-0 this year
nior kicker, Moges Dinkens.
and with the skills and potential
the team has makes for an exciting game, in which all students
should be more than enthused to
come to as many home games as
possible.
Roseburg is one of the Cavers
biggest competition and will be
playing them October 17th at
Roseburg High School.
The next home game is on
October 3rd against South Medford. That should be a thrilling
game that all students should
come to support Cavers Football!
By Chesley Lindsey
Reporter
The cheerleaders this year are very strong within
the aspect of acrobatics and overall team spirit.
They will be at football games making things as
lively and spirited as possible through interacting
with the crowd.
Cheer captains this year, Miranda Ownbey and
Ashley Hammond (both seniors), are very strong this
year with their gymnastic ability.
Also senior Lauren Theis is among the top on the
team when it comes to her gymnastic skills.
“I would really like to say that all of the varsity
team is a strong team and JV is outstanding as well
this year.” Coach Jodi Hood said.
She also said that the girls’ favorite event to cheer
at is at the football games because of the immense
student support.
“We love their support and spirit at the games and
assemblies.” Hood says. “These girls work very hard
and cheer is almost a year round sport.”
The Cavemen take the field to dominate their opponent
Photo Credit: James Taylor
Cross Country
By Chesley Lindsey
Reporter
Cross Country can be looked at
as other sports punishment, so why
would anyone have the state of mind to
willingly run more than 3 miles almost
every day? (At least this can be assumed this is the thought process of the
average American).
This is why, because they have passion and it helps to have a strong team
running beside you.
The GPHS Cross Country boys
team this year is led by sophomore
Max Belnap, Junior Thomas Hayes and
sophomore Barrett Titus.
According to Coach St. Clair
Belnap has the best chance on making it to state as an individual.
On the girls team there are two
freshmen who have been achieving
impressive times this year including
freshmen Brooke Johnson and Mary
Backes.
Junior Abi Johson should also be
running a remarkable season.
Johnson, Backes and A Johnson all
have the potential to make it to individual state this year.
The biggest meet the team will be
looking forward to is the Northwest
Classic at Lane Community College.
At this particular meet there are
more than 35 team competing.
The most difficult meet they will
be running at is the Harrier Challenge in Cottage Grove where the
athletes have to run to the top of a
dam during the course of the race.
And the race that counts the most
for the team is the districts meet also
held at Lane Community College.
“We have a really hard working
team that is determined to get better. I’ve seen a lot of improvement
over the last year, and I’m looking
forward to seeing where we finish in
the district this year,” Coach Bobbi
St. Clair says about the overall team
improvement. “Schools have started
taking notice of the GP runners and
I’d like for that to continue as we get
better and better.”
The team is very well rounded
this year and will not disappoint.
Their next home meet is on October 8th at Dutcher Creek Golf Club
where all students are more than
welcome to attend.
5
Sports
Volleyball
By Chesley Lindsey
Reporter
The Volleyball tam has had a tough
year so far but the Lady Cavers are
determined to work hard and improve.
Led by seniors Halee Rose, Dani
Taylor, and Elley Woodhead. The team
is very strong defensively.
Offensively, seniors Dani Taylor, and
Amy Robinson, and sophomore Elliott
Cook provide a threat to the competition.
Setters Emily Gill (senior) and
McKenna Musser (sophomore) have
shown strong, impressive skills on the
court.
“Our biggest competition is between
our ears. We have a great skilled team
that needs help in confidence,” new
head coach Maria Kilborn said. “We always need to get better. With hard work
and some lessons in how to be nice
to your teammates, we have a good
chance of competing with the majority of teams in our league.”
The JV team should be impressive this year.
Stand out players include Molly
Torgerson, Jada Queener, Jordan
Kujawski, Darian Lopez, Halleigh
Noga, and Haley Dougherty.
On Jv2 Sarah Skokan, Aubrey
Esterline, and Alyssa Jesse will
have an impact on the court.
Overall the league is a challenging one this year, but Lady Caver
volleyball is dedicated to competing at the highest level they can
achieve.
Elizabeth Allison spikes the ball,
supported by Danielle Taylor.
Photo Credit: James Taylor
Drew VanDeldon moving the ball upfield
Photo Credit: James Taylor
Boys Soccer
Jonathan Williams dribbling though the
defense
Photo Credit: James Taylor
Girls Soccer
By Chesley Lindsey
Reporter
This year the Lady Cavers have
put on a greater fight on the field
than spectators have seen in past
years.
So far they defeated West Albany, Liberty and North Medford.
The lady cavers had a very
exciting tie with Ashland on the
September 16th ending with a
score of 0-0.
This is what Coach Bill Sarver
had to say about his varsity team
this year: “I have too many senior
players to mention at the varsity
level and some non-seniors who
are making significant contributions,
so I would say our Varsity team is
led by a core of senior players but as
always, we’ll need all 17 players to
do well.”
Bill Sarver is our newly appointed
Varsity coach and so far has done a
remarkable job.
The Lady Cavers also have an
impressive amount of underclassmen
this year on the varsity team, including a freshman Abby Togerson.
Sheldon and North Medford tend
to be our biggest competition, but
Sarver believes the girls will have a
good game coming for both of them.
Overall, the Lady Cavers soccer
should be looking forward to a thrilling season.
By Chesley Lindsey
Reporter
The GPHS boys soccer team has
always been strong, but this year the
Cavers have already proven with a
5-2 start that early in the season that
the tradition continues.
Defensive All Conference
players Drew VanDelden and Will
Nance, and mid-fielders Cameron
Marzi and Jonathon Williams (both
juniors) and senior Chris Roach are
definitely a threat on the field to
competition this year.
Despite losing all conference
goalie Kevin Luther to a season
ending injury, the cavemen are still
strong in the net as Senior Dustin
Harrah has taken over the keeping
responsibilities.
Senior Noah Heisser, the newly
appointed striker, has been strong all
season and continues to shine on the
field with his speed and agility.
Coach Lowell Anderson said, “I
have moved him [Heisser] from a
defender to a striker this year and the
results have been positive. Teams
will have a hard time matching his
speed and his work rate.”
Overall GPHS should be have an
excellent season. “Overall, I am very
pleased at where we are and how we
are playing up to this point,” said Anderson. “We have a very young team
as far as varsity experience goes and
so far the young players are stepping
up their game.
The older players are being
patient, and as long as we focus on
getting better each practice and each
game, we should make the playoffs.”
Despite the now established winning tradition for GPHS boys soccer,
the stands, as a rule, are generally
only slightly populated.
However, because students get
into games for free, attendance
should increase.
The team appreciates more support and it is a pleasant way to spend
a few hours.
6
Opinion/Commentary
The Fault is Not In Our Stars
By Bryce Thompson
Reporter
Recently, a member of the
“4chan” website was able
to gain access to the private
iCloud accounts of various
female celebrities and extract
personal nude and lewd photos
of each.
Some of the more prominent names of those exploited
include Jennifer Lawrence,
Victoria Justice, Kate Upton,
and Ariana Grande (though she
denies the legitimacy of these
photos), along with up to 423
other celebrities- although at
this time only 101 names have
been posted to the “master list.”
While it can be agreed upon
that- as Ms. Lawrence’s agent said“This is a flagrant violation of privacy,” the root of this problem seems
to stem from the dehumanization of
celebrities itself.
These musicians, actors, or
athletes who walk amongst the mere
mortals of the general population are
themselves still only human, a fact
often forgotten.
Yet, people have come to idolize
stars through their roles in film, music, or sports. Celebrities, who many
have never actually met, become
routine in daily lives and become desired over all other things: desired to
write their name on a scrap of paper
to be made into prized relics; desired
to visit the deathbeds of strangers
and comfort them as they prepare to
depart from this world, though they
have never met before; desired to be
exposed to the world in their most
private of moments.
The lives of these people are invaded, prostituted, and disrespected
for the personal pleasure of any so
lucky as to have an internet connection. These “stars” have become so
far removed from people’s basic human compassion that people desire
to see them brought down to a more
ordinary level and dominated in the
most primal way possible - through
vulnerability.
This is vulnerability that they
demonstrated in their rightful
privacy, a privacy that no one else
(though it appears others believe
differently) is entitled to.
While some may argue that it
was the irresponsibility of these celebrities, who know they are under
constant scrutiny, that caused this
“scandal,” it should be noted that, to
paraphrase Shakespeare, “The fault,
dear victim-shamer, is not in our
stars, but in ourselves...”
There is no other place to blame
the cause of these photos being leaked
than that of the general populous who
have raised these people to a god-like
status and worshipped them as such.
These women have been victimized and are the direct result of a sickness in today’s society. It is a sickness
whose cure is not the exploitation of
private images that attempt to remove
these people from the pedestal they
have been placed upon.
Instead, the cure is a simple
reminder: everyone on this planet is
just a person, no more, no less, and
deserves to be treated with dignity.
Caveman Rumors - Cave and Office Hours
By Joshua Akins
Reporter
For nearly a year, now,
students have continued learning through Cave and Office
Hours. However, many rumors
have been spread about how the
tutoring system works.
Assistant PrincipalTommy
Blanchard explained how precisely the system works, hoping
to dispel some of the rumors.
First off, some clarification:
The Cave System was not built
by a bunch of distant administrators who weren’t aware of
design flaws.
Instead, it was an effort by
many teachers, parents, and
school officials to work out the
Scroll Staff
Reporters: Bryce Thompson,
Chesley Lindsey, Lorrie Rilvera,
Catherine Van Horne, Kitra Moeny, Jonathan Williams, Ariella
Dahlin, Krissa Shoesmith, Dannelas Simon, Mitch Wilkerson
Layout Editors: Bryanna
Moore, Josh Akins, Cameron
Marzi, Ben Widdison
Scroll Cartoonist: Jessenia
Rudd
Advisor: Marty Zottola
best possible system for everyone
involved. The original goal was to
create a system that allowed students
to get help from teachers and make
up missed assessments. This goal has
not been lost.
This “council” of decision-makers
is actively working to improve the
system, which is by no means perfect.
If you have a suggestion, or have
had a bad experience with the system, you should contact an administrator to talk about improving the
system.
Cave and Office Hours, which take
up roughly 120 hours of class time
each year, work through a system
where teachers request students that
may need help in their classes.
These requests are prioritized in
two ways. First, each day of the week
has a set of periods that have top
Email:
[email protected]
Letters to the Editor Policy:
The Scroll encourages letters to the
editors from students, faculty, administration, and the community. Letters must
be signed, but the writer’s name may be
withheld upon request. Letters should
not be longer than 250 words and may
be edited to avoid libelous materials,
obscenities, and personal attacks on any
person(s). Letters will also be edited to
correct grammer and conform to AP style
guidelines.
Editorial Policy
Editorials are written on behalf of
the Scroll staff and do not represent the
opinions of Grants Pass High School as
a whole.
priority.
The priority days are: 1st and 6th
period on Mondays; 2nd and 7th
period on Tuesdays; 3rd and 5th
period on Thursdays; and4th period
on Fridays.
However, there may be conflicts.
Students might be requestedin both
1st and 6th period on Monday.
In this case, the studentis sent to
whichever period they haven’t been
sent to for longer.
So, if they haven’t been requested by their 1st period teacher
in over a month, but they saw their
6th period teacher less than a week
ago, they would be sent to their 1st
period.
This system of priorities encourages students to balance their classes. If every class requested someone
daily, they would see every teacher
over a period of two weeks.
Some students may have heard
about or seen the option teachers
have when entering in requests:
Low, Medium, and High priority.
The question is, then, what do these
do?
According to Blanchard, these
don’t do anything yet. This is because, while one would hope that
teachers coordinate well, they aren’t
perfect.
Different teachers have a different idea of what is “High Priority,”
and may feel that their subject is a
higher priority than another. This
can cause issues, so the system is
currently not used in deciding where
a student goes.
It may still be used in the future,
if the district can figure out how
to standardize the “Low-MediumHigh” priority requests.
Obviously, this is by no means a
perfect system. As it stands, the Cave
system in particular has some restrictions that, for the moment, seem sort
of ridiculous.
For example, once a student has
entered a classroom during Cave,
they are technically required to stay
there.
This means that if a student needs
help for only five minutes, they need
to be prepared for a 25-minute commitment.
However, this is likely to change
soon, thanks to the actions of the
teachers, parents, and school officials
involved in managing the tutoring
system.
All in all, the system is more
thought-out than students give it
credit for. It encourages balancing
classes, and allows for equal access
to all teachers, in hopes of encouraging students to focus on all aspects of
their education.
Some people may have reservations when it comes to how much
freedom students really have, but
ultimately, the system is not to blame
for these flaws. For Cave, teachers
are responsible for making sure that
requests are issued, in order to guide
students into doing their work and
studying for the subject. This doesn’t
mean that students have no control,
though.
If a student really works with their
teachers, they can make sure that they
get called in when they need to, but
that requires responsibility on the part
of the student.
Office Hours are a similar story,
except that students are just as responsible as the teacher for making
sure that this time is used wisely.
7
Opinion/Commentary
Controversial Books Are Worth Reading
By Ariella Dahlin
Reporter
In 2007 Sherman Alexie
published the novel The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time
Indian. The controversial novel
attracted a lot of young readers.
Some school districts banned
the book based on its sexual
references and its use of vulgar
language, even though the language is about what one hears
in the hallway on a daily basis.
The book is about a Native
American teenage boy, Arnold,
and his hard life on the reservation near Spokane, Washington.
Dress Code
By Dannelas Simon and
Bailey Shean
Reporters
Have you ever thought the
Grants Pass High School dress
code is unfair?
Most of the time we do too;
however, it is understood that
people should have respect for
their bodies, yet still be comfortable in the clothing they
decide to wear for the day.
Although temperatures do
get to extremes, ladies should
still stay classy. “Bigger girls
Arnold struggles with bullying and
living with poverty and alcoholism.
After realizing that the reservation’s school only had textbooks
from when his mother was in school,
Arnold decides to leave the reservation and go to public school, where
he is the only colored student.
Even though the book is controversial, Mrs. Lorshbough and others
believe it needs to be used in the
curriculum because it contains relatable situations, such as bullying and
being brave when making decisions,
and has great themes about hopes,
dreams, and how to deal with cultural
diversity.
The novel is also perfect to use in
the curriculum because of its themes
tend to get dress coded more
often than girls who are a bit
smaller,” said Courtney Waggoner. This is often found to be
true by both a good portion of
the student body and staff to a
certain extent.
Camille Ward states, “If there
is going to be a restriction on
shorts lengths, it should be set
to wrist lengths due to girls who
have long arms.” Just because
you are bigger does not permit
you to wear more provocative
clothing, but you should still be
able to express yourself and still
stay cooled off.
I, Dannelas Simon, think the
and its high interest level – it gets
students excited to read and discuss
the topics mentioned in the book.
When students get passionate
about reading and start participating
in class, they learn more and will
later in life remember the knowledge they obtained.
After District 7 board members
read the novel, finding that the
story was not as bad as they had
originally thought, they approved
it. Students can now look forward
to reading and discussing Alexie’s
novel in sophomore English class.
Mrs. Lorshbough is, “really happy
they approved it, and excited to see
how the year goes.”
The district also approved Speak
by Laurie Halse Anderson, another
book being censored in some school
districts, because some believe it glorifies drinking, cursing, and sex.
Although that novel is ranked
60th on the American Library Association’s list of Top 100 Banned/
Challenged Books for 2000-2009, it
was approved without trouble. The
Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time
Indian did not make that list, and it
struggled to be approved.
This begs the question: why did
a more controversial book that some
think should, “be classified as soft
pornography” get approved with ease
while a book about a struggling Native American teen has to go through
a series of trials?
dress code should be followed,
but everyone needs to have
respect for their bodies.
Similarly, I, Bailey Shean,
feel the same, that the dress
code should be addressed as
written, but we should have
a little bit more leisurely way
with our clothing.
“It is way too hot to be
wearing sweatpants, or pants
in this kind of heat,” Stacy
Morgan explains. “When
it is pointed out it is dealt
with.” Morgan means, when
the dress code is violated, it
is addressed with the student
and the person is be asked to
change or alter the offending attire.
What I, Bailey Shean mean by
being allowed leisurely clothing is
that we should able to wear shorts,
and tank tops just as long as we
respect our bodies and completely
cover up what needs to be covered,
and to not have body parts that are
being over exposed.
There are a lot of opinions on
this matter.
If you hav ean opinion on this
matter -- and who doesn’t -- we
invite you to send your thoughts
and suggestions to The Scroll in a
letter to the editor.
Self Harm: An Insight into Emotional Distress
By Krissa Shoesmith
Reporter
One in five women (and
one in seven men) have reported harming themselves.
Ninety percent of people
who harmed themselves
reported starting in their
adolescence.
These statistics were
collected by Henry Croft
in a recent study about self
harm. Now, the main question is why self harm has
been on the rise for the past
few years, and what causes
people to choose to do this.
In Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, they say that self harm
is a borderline personality
disorder, but even more recently, it has been connected
to depression and anxiety
disorders.
This is why self-harm has
been growing in strength the
past few years.
More and more people have
been diagnosed with depression
and anxiety disorders, and they
choose to self harm because it is
something that they have control over when the rest of their
lives are in disorder.
Types of self harm include
but are not limited to- cutting,
burning, pinching and scratching, pulling hair out, not eating
for an extended period of time,
not keeping food down. Interfering with the healing process
has been added to this list.
So, what can you as a student
do to help someone who selfharms?
There is actually a lot that can
be done. But remaining calm
and caring about their situation
is the biggest thing someoone
can do the moment that they
find out someone that they
know is self harming.
Don’t panic, don’t threaten
them to stop the behavior. Just
stop and listen. Don’t judge.
If someone you care about
is self-harming, there are factors in their life that you don’t
know about, and there are
factors that they won’t tell you
about.
Support is the biggest thing
that people who self-harm
need.
It may come from you,
from a teacher, from a parent,
or from someone that they
haven’t ever met before. That
doesn’t matter, as long as they
get the help they need.
If you are scared for someone, or you don’t know what
to do, ask for help.
There are people around
you who know what to do,
who to contact for help, and
know how to talk to someone about self harm without
sounding judgemental.
This has become a growing entity in our lives, and in
order to help solve it, people
need to be educated about the
problem.
Student
Poetry in the
Scroll
The Scroll will be publishing poems submitted by readers,
starting in next month’s issue.
Students who have a love for
writing poetry can submit their
poems to be displayed in The
Scroll for others to enjoy.
It can take a lot of courage to
publish poems, with a possible
fear of judgment, so poems can be
submitted anonymously.
Students should turn their
poems in to Zottola’s room (room
136) or to Darien Brown. The
Scroll will be accepting poetry at
all times, and will try to publish
all of them, but may be limited
due to space issues.
Entertainment
Jokes of the
month
Scroll Comic #1
Q: What does a radioactive duck say?
A: Quark, quark!
Q: Why did the scarecrow get a promotion?
A: He was outstanding in his field.
Q: What’s brown and sticky?
A: A stick.
Q: What do wooden whales eat for dinner?
A: Plankton!
Q: What do you call a cow with no legs?
A: Ground beef.
Short Joke: A bartender says, we don’t serve time travelers here. A time traveler walks into a bar.
Q: What did 0 say to 8?
A: Nice belt.
Q: Why can’t you hear pterodactyls use the restroom?
A: The “P” is silent.
Q: What’s red, and bad for your teeth?
A: A brick.
Q: What do nosy peppers do?
A: They get jalepeno business.
Q: What do you call a boomerang that doesn’t work?
A: Another stick.
Q: Where do the best otters come from?
A: Otter space.
Q: What do you call a flying bagel?
A: A plain bagel
Q: How do you keep a philosopher inside a box?
A: Locke it.
Q: What do you call a doe born without eyes?
A: No idear
Q: What do you call a fake noodle?
A: An impasta
Short Joke: Two whales walk into a bar. The first one
says, “OOooooEEEEEoooEEEAAAAAIIIIIYYYYEEEEEOOOOO. OOOOOOOOOooooEEEEYYA”
The second one says, “Shut up Steve, you’re drunk.”
Short Joke: It’s always hard to explain a pun to a kleptomanianc, because they always take things literally.
Short Joke: A magical tractor drives down the road,
speeds up, and turns into a field.
This month’s jokes courtesy by Comedy Club
Think you can do better? Submit your jokes to:
[email protected]
Untitled Poem
by Darian Brown
It doesn’t feel right
as my fingertips push down the letters of the keyboard
and it grieves me to think of you
opening a piece of writing
strung with words that took me
less than five minutes time to type to you.
but with the letters I write, you will know the love.
my ink stained hands just show you
how much more beauty there is in handwritten letters.
emails will never quite suffice.
8