The Mustang Express » Reason with ME

Snowy Days Staff Ed

Kate Limebrook — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 18:12:12 +0000

We don’t want a lot for Christmas. There’s just one thing we need. We don’t care about the presents underneath the Christmas tree. We just want a snow day this year, more than you could ever know. Is that too much to ask? We don’t think so and we all believe the students at Ponderosa would back us up on this one.
Snow day’s come and go every winter here in Parker. It’s a tradition for all Ponderosa students to continually check what the weather is going to be like by calling 303.887.SNOW bright and early when the forecast from the night before said it’s supposed to snow; but usually, more often that not, students and teachers are trapped inside the hot school buildings because there isn’t four feet of snow on the ground, even though the ground is usually covered with a thin sheet of ice that could easily make us spin out of control in our vehicles. Every year many students get into car crashes because of the icy road conditions, so if the district would let us stay home on those miserable and dangerous days we could all avoid those ridiculous, time consuming, stupid little crashes that completely ruin someone’s day.
Also, if we had a snow day every once in a blue moon we could all spend time with our family and friends, by staying home and drinking hot chocolate with the mini marshmallows floating on top or going sledding on top of the neighborhood’s monstrous hill. Maybe squeeze in a snow ball fight. Snow days are good for the soul. They give everyone a chance to catch up on their sleep and just relax for the day. Possibly, give them more time to study for a big test and/or complete another homework assignment.
So we ask ourselves, why don’t we ever get a Snow Day? Not just late starts, but an actual, full out, SNOW DAY. Now I understand that the district doesn’t want to lose any money and if the school busses are capable of making it to school safely that school shouldn’t be cancelled, but the district should forget about their rules and let us enjoy ourselves just this once. Again, is that too much to ask? We don’t think so.
Will you make our wish come true? We’re hoping and wishing on a falling snowflake.

Nuclear Nonsense

Kit Pfeiffer — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 16:14:15 +0000

Why Iran needs to be stopped now
“They have invented a myth that Jews were massacred and place this above God, religions and the prophets… Israel is a rotten, dried tree that will be annihilated in one storm… Israel is a tyrannical regime that will one day will be destroyed.” The leader of over 70 million Iranian people said all that. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is, in the greatest meaning of the word, a complete tool.
In late September the Obama administration released information of a newly disclosed underground uranium enrichment plant in Iran, which the president had known about for several months. This plant has been identified to be both illegal according to international law, and most likely being used for weapons development.
Don’t get me wrong. There is nothing faulty with wanting nuclear energy to produce cheap and efficient electricity, but there is something wrong with Iran doing it. Nations that have fair, balanced, and sane leaders are more than able to develop nuclear power, but once a leader claims that another nation should be wiped off the face of the earth they have forfeited their right to have nuclear power.
Estimates are that Iran could have weapons of mass destruction in a matter of months. It would seem clear that the world’s lone superpower must act to stop a nuclear war between Iran and Israel.
However, some are saying that these are the exact same worries that drove us to the war in Iraq. They’d be correct. Saddam Hussein would not allow investigators into his country to prove whether or not he had WMDs. As a result of this stubbornness he is now lying six feet deep. The key here is that his death was his fault. Ahmadinejad could learn a thing or two from his former tyrannical neighbor.
Imagine parenting a four year old who throws rocks at cars. As a parent you talk to him and say that throwing rocks is bad. Perhaps, you even put him in timeout for a little bit, but sometimes, unless you give that kid a good spanking, he’ll keep throwing rocks. Then one day this kid grows up and instead of throwing rocks at cars he steals cars.
For the past couple years Ahmadinejad has acted like the four year old of International politics, and apparently, the time has come when sanctions apparently no longer hinder the destructive development of an election-stealing, holocaust denying fool. Ahmadinejad has defied laws, standards, and sanction for too long and it’s time he was punished. America cannot sit back and simply Proxy-Connection: keep-alive
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t Ahmadinejad in timeout and watch his nuclear dreams grow into a worldwide nightmare. This four year old is about to get access to the biggest rocks known to man.
As Americans we cannot allow him to be the representative of an entire country of people. We cannot let him condemn Iranians to bombings and obliterations from defensive nations. We cannot wait for World War III.

Homecoming Assembly

melissadenman — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 16:11:22 +0000

I’m all about senior year being the peak of high school. The senior lockers, the paved parking lot, off-campus lunch, senior option, prom…bring it on.
But we’ve gotten to the point where something like homecoming, when the student body is supposed to come together as a whole to show school spirit, is now just reserved for the seniors as well.
As a member of Varsity Poms, I was extremely proud of the Haunted extravaganza put on by the spirit teams and man poms. I got texts from my fellow students all weekend saying how much they loved it. We worked late night and early morning practices the week of homecoming so we could be nothing but the best for the school.
Wait. Scratch that. The show was for the seniors. The whole assembly was directed towards the seniors. We faced the seniors. The sets faced the seniors. The MCs faced the seniors. The MCs WERE seniors. And every time one of them dare said the word “freshmen,” a chorus of “BOOs” echoed throughout the gym.
And no one—no teacher, no MC, no student council member, no principal—tried to stop it.
Without such a voice, the silence sent the message that boo-ing each other is okay. That’s what we do at Ponderosa.
Well, that’s not what they do at Chaparral.
A senior from Chap came to our assembly with her boyfriend, a senior here at Ponderosa, and couldn’t help but compare the two rival schools’ homecoming assemblies.
According to her, Chaparral’s was louder, more spirited, and overall more fun. Each fall sports team performed a dance, and the whole school was engaged, as opposed to Ponderosa’s 100 students in the extravaganza and the 450 seniors interacting within the assembly.
Sure, they were having fun, but what about the rest of the 1,000 kids? What about the freshmen, who, in case you forgot, are Mustangs too, desperately trying to drown out the “BOOs” directed towards them?
It’s not what they do at Legend either.
The week of their homecoming, Legend raised over $3,000 for the Make-A-Wish Foundation for a 5-year-old boy who had a heart transplant. Legend’s Homecoming assembly opened with Principal Corey Wise introducing the boy to the school, and the entire student body gave him a standing ovation.
It set the tone of the whole assembly. The students were kind, welcoming, and made a difference in this young boy’s life. It symbolized the student body coming together as a whole to do something great.
Too bad Ponderosa’s tone waProxy-Connection: keep-alive
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set with the students boo-ing each other.
We may learn about irony in English class, but we actually saw it the day of the assembly.
The link crew leaders made signs for Freshmen Orientation that are still hanging above the junior and senior sections in the gym and say “WE LOVE FRESHMEN.” Yes, very ironic indeed.
Now, I did not write this to criticize the administration, the seniors, student government, or the staff. We are all at fault.
I wrote this to say that as a Link Crew leader myself, as well as a member of Varsity Poms, a writer on the newspaper staff, and a future senior, we need a change.
Maybe next year we can bring the freshmen down next to the sophomores so they are not as isolated. Maybe next year we can have an MC from every class so we can represent Ponderosa as a whole, instead of just as seniors.
Maybe next year we can nix the big sets for the extravaganza that block the underclassmen’s view. Maybe next year the link crew students could be a part of the assembly; helping the freshmen get pumped up about Homecoming.
Maybe next year the seniors can start a new tradition…and leave a legacy.

Tri-Pfeif-Advice

Kit Pfeiffer — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 16:13:33 +0000

The Problem: “I really want to make this homecoming memorable. What should I do?”

Kit: Well be sure you don’t come and throw up on the floor. It’s probably also not a good idea to pull the fire alarm. You could go all out for spirit wear, but that might end in tights, which isn’t a good thing for anybody. Whatever you do just be sure you take it as far as you can. You don’t want to be just another face in the crowd.

Nate: Memorable??? Wait hold on, stop worrying about making it memorable, or your greatest high school experience ever. Just have fun!!!! Chant as loud as you can at the homecoming game, and then at the game dance it up! If you a lady then you have it easy just dance it up, and it will look good. If you’re a guy then get your confidence up and find a lady to dance with! It will be a solid time then, as long as you stop worrying.

Riley: Well it will be memorable with whatever you do so try to have fun, and make the most of homecoming. Find a guy at the dance and starting dancing with and don’t worry about anything else. What ever you do you must go full out for every spirit day and show some real school pride. The more creative the costume the better.

Got a problem you want us to solve? Email us your question to us at Theeditor@themustangexpress.net

Staff Editorial- The Piglets

Staff Writers — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 16:11:33 +0000

Parker police. To a ponderosa student they seem like they just sit outside our high school in undercover cars waiting for teenagers to screw up driving. Why is it that they radar in front of our school constantly? Is it really necessary for them to target high school students?
Discrimination against age shouldn’t be allowed. Adults and senior citizens make the same mistakes as teenagers. We’re sure that some 80 year olds make worse driving mistakes than highschoolers, but I bet there’s not a line of police scouting them out.
When police shoot radar around Ponderosa it just makes us mad. We know it’s the police’s job to enforce laws, but they shouldn’t target a certain group of people. It’s hard to find a highschooler that hasn’t sped in their car before. Obviously a cop could find one easily sitting by Ponderosa, but they shouldn’t target highschoolers as a group. Their favorite radar spots seem to be on Bayou Gulch Road and Parker Road by Ponderosa.
It’s irritable that they seem to prey on students at our high school. It’s also depressing when you see more than one out on their speed patrol. Seemingly it’s like they know our bell schedules, where to hide, and when to be there. From 7:30 to 7:45, A and B lunches, and from 3:00 to 3:15 there’s bound to be a cop around. A cop’s job is to serve and protect right? So thank you coppers for those expensive tickets and those 2 or 3 points docked off our licenses. Sorry about the 5 to 10 miles per hour over the speed limit, or that stop that wasn’t quite complete (but didn’t seem to matter because you have your own lane anyway). Obviously no one is perfect at driving. Everyone makes mistakes driving, not just teenagers!

Legalize it?

clairekruljac — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 16:09:59 +0000

One of the largest controversies over the years has been whether or not we should legalize marijuana. Nearly 5.9 million Americans have been arrested annually for marijuana charges. But when comparing the number of deaths caused by several other drugs, tobacco has killed 400,000 people annually, alcohol 100,000, and marijuana has killed 0.
While marijuana is a drug that puts people under the influence, there are no known long-term affects that effect health. There are tons of different facts like these out there, proving the pros and cons if Marijuana was to be legalized. Would legalizing really be good for the economy? Or will it open doors for all sorts of other illegal drugs to be smuggled in and used?
“I don’t think marijuana should be legalized because it’s possible that I would result in people using other drugs,” says Rachel Hood, 10. “I don’t think it would have a good effect on the country.”
Although there are large possibilities such as this, there is also the large idea that legalizing will greatly help the economy. “Yeah, I think marijuana should be legalized because it would decrease inflation and stabilize the economy,” says Adam Alcantara, 11.
So while there are good points that contribute to the legalization, marijuana remains illegal in almost every state.

Freeing the Man Boobies; A Whale of a Tale

Kit Pfeiffer — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 16:08:26 +0000

I hold this truth to be self evident, that all men are endowed by their creator with unalienable rights, such as food, fat, and the pursuit of blubber. These diving rights have come under attack by members of the Douglas County board of education. Their sole purpose: To extinguish the hopes of all men and women seeking love handles, spare tires, and comfort food.
These members have inflicted seemingly harmless laws on our humble school. Their obsession with preventing child obesity has gone so far, that Ponderosa students are no longer seen fit to decide what shall be put in their bodies. Case and point: Carbonated beverages have been outlawed by the “Wellness Policy”. Yes, it is true. High school students are not regarded as responsible enough to control their satanic urge to chug… a coke.
Their solution is to revoke the basic right of all humanity to control their own bodies so as to avoid child obesity. Hmm, that sounds about right. Deny us all the right to buy a sprite because it could add pounds to our body.
Let’s ignore the fact that a publicly elected EDUCATIONAL body has given up on nutritional education and reversed to nutritional enforcement for a moment, and look at the motives behind this action. It is clear that Ponderosa students, ages 13 to 18, are being blatantly disgraced. To the Douglas County School Board we don’t possess enough intellectual ability to control the amount of soda we drink. It does not matter to them that we drive, have jobs, compete in sports, and take part in every extracurricular activity imaginable. I guess we’re just too immature to handle pop. I think we lost that somewhere between Peace Jam and National Honor Society, but hey that’s just me.
It may seem trivial to make such a fuss over some fizz, but the whole situation boils down to this: If the School Board is not afraid to take away your right of buying a Mountain Dew, what are they afraid to take away? If a Fresca is no longer safe, are candy canes out? What about rave beads or the Young Republicans Club? The School Board continues to get away with such obvious violations of student rights with no arousal from Ponderosa students and staff. We are all free to have the bodies we want, and I for one encourage those who dare to reach to the high spectacle this is the man boobies. Keep reaching, and never let anybody pull your happy chubbyProxy-Connection: keep-alive
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ingers down.