I have come to the conclusion that there are two forms of favoritism: beneficial and social. While I feel neither is an extensive problem on campus, I do see that the latter is a defining symbol of the teacher-student relationship at our school.

In my mind, when a student is given advantages in terms of grading or class privileges, it is beneficial favoritism. It involves putting a student on a pedestal that is raised higher than his or her classmates.

From the teacher’s perspective, that person can do no wrong, and is thus deserving of the benefits that accompany that flawlessness. However, this is often simply the result of a teacher being so blinded by a student’s performance in some aspect of the class or by some attractive trait that the student possesses, that the teacher is unable to see past the perfect exterior.

The student then knows that he or she can manipulate the teacher to get that 86% in Aeries to show up as an A, and that the power has shifted into their hands. This form of complete idolizing a student is not common at LCC, and I will be the first to say that in my four years here, my encounters with beneficial favoritism have been far and few.

However, I see extensive examples of social favoritism taking place all over campus. While harmless and often disregarded, this form of favoritism takes place mainly in the development of the teacher-student relationship. Social favoritism includes the student who has personal conversations with the teacher in the middle of class or is the subject of any other display of fondness from the teacher.

But I have noticed that it’s a certain type of student that is often the subject of this favoritism, and generally it’s either the jocks, the intellectually superior, or the person with that profusely bubbly personality. While few students who are the subject of this favoritism will say that they dislike the attention they receive, it is undeniable that it takes place.

I must stress that social favoritism is not something to be angry about, for it often is just the result of a teacher having a particular interest in a student as a result of a similarity or unique trait. It is not any sort of preferential treatment, but more a teacher’s enjoyment in one student over another because that student goes in before school or does those recommended readings that only a few students actually do.

So comes the question, does favoritism of students by teachers take place at LCC? My first reaction would be to say yes, and immediately thoughts of teachers conspiring against me come to mind.

But when I really think about it, the answer is truly no. Many students feel victimized by a bias that isn’t there, blaming favoritism for their own mistakes. A teacher connecting with one student possibly more than another does not constitute favoritism. I see no problem with this kind of student-teacher bonding, but once the relationship leads to the teacher allowing the student to have more benefits than their classmates, it becomes unethical.

Thankfully, my experience at LCC has not shown any evidence of favoritism raging through campus, and for that I thank the teachers’ morality and desire for fair treatment of students.

“Your face is so red right now.” Ever since the fifth grade, friends, classmates, and even teachers have been pointing out this humiliating fact. Whenever I’m under pressure, in front of a larger audience, or embarrassed, I blush a deep red. While I often brush off others’ comments with a smile, I fight the sting of memories from when the teasing wasn’t quite so friendly.

I specifically recall the day in 8th grade, as I stood before the science class, when one girl rallied the entire class to chant “tomato face” and “cherry cheeks.” I barely got through my presentation before finally erupting into tears and running back to my seat.

I have even experienced teachers who intentionally embarrassed me just to see me blush. My insecurity began to affect my education as I used to avoid raising my hand in class simply to avoid extra attention to my rosy face.

In retrospect, I recognize people naturally make fun of what is out of the ordinary– usually out of discomfort. I’ve learned to love my cute quirk, accepting it is a genetic and inherited trait I cannot change. In fact, it is one of the things that makes me who I am. While I strongly oppose any form of bullying and its potential to create lasting insecurities, I fully believe each individual holds the capacity to rise above the demeaning words and actions of others.

Cameron Gurley

Middle school was where it began. I went to middle school coming from a different district so I didn’t know anyone at first. I had braces, acne, messy hair, and big feet that didn’t quite fit me yet. Middle school, for me, was sink or swim– either make fun or be made fun of. It bugged me that I couldn’t fit in no matter what I tried to do.

My lunch was stolen from me almost every day at school by someone who brought their lunch but felt it would be funny to take mine. I was called “gay” or “faggot” on a regular basis. I’m more comfortable around girls than I am around guys, which would explain why people questioned my sexual orientation. I’m secure enough in my heterosexuality and looking back, I think I was called those names because I’m just an outgoing person. I support gay rights, but in high school, that makes me gay by default.

I admit it– I’m a dork, I’m outgoing, I openly make Star Wars references during class, and I’m a Boy Scout. Looking back on the teasing that I endured, I am proud that I have not allowed hurtful words be detrimental to my self-confidence.

Will Jones

As the new kid, my sixth grade self was a reserved child who spent recess sitting in solitude on a bench. My young mind was infused with a bitterness that would magnify the abuse I received. The burst of profanity sent in retaliation to my peers’ teasing merely made them laugh as I was sent to the Principal’s office. But this did not compare to the shame I felt when I saw the bruises upon my brother’s skull from when I beat him up for a mere rude remark.

Entering middle school, I undertook a non-violent approach. I focused on finding things that I could take pride in, soon discovering my aptitude for running and computers. I found that my new-found self respect was the greatest weapon of resistance. I kept silent during our physical fitness test as I heard the rude interjections between counts of push ups being served by the boy who dubbed me “tighty-whitey boy.” It was not easy, but I found that to be at peace with the world, I first needed to be at peace with myself.

You Are Not Alone

There are other people also struggling. You can get help.

USA National Suicide Hotline: Toll free, availible 24/7. Call 1-800-SUICIDE or 1-800-273-TALK

Teens Against Bullying: Visit www.teensagainstbullying.org for stories and advice.

Families for Depression Awareness: A national nonprofit organization helping families recognize and cope with depressive disorders to get people well and prevent suicides. Visit www.familiesaware.com or call 1-781-890-0220.

The Trevor Project: If you’re considering suicide, please call 866-4-U-TREVOR right now. There are pople standing by ready to talk to you. The Trevor Project’s website also has many great resources that allow students to learn from the experiences and connect with other LGBT teens.

If you have a story of your own, please feel free to tell us in a comment below. We would love to hear your stories.

The administration has decided the best way to increase academic achievement is to reward people accordingly to their GPA. In a high school where checking one’s grades on Aeries is a daily ritual, this grade-centric approach will only worsen an already intoxicating culture of GPA obsession.

The administration is seriously considering a system called Renaissance, in which rewards such as the current semi-annual honors roll breakfast will be extended to a GPA-based tier system, segregating students based on grades. Students who have a GPA above 4.0 will be put in the “Gold” level, with which one can get special discounts and honors. Subsequently, lower tiers will receive fewer privileges and discounts.

The objective of Renaissance is clear and simple: improve our school’s academic performance through a grade-based rewards system. However, the use of incentives will do little to change how students perform in the classroom.

These incentives are meant to encourage students to raise their grades. But it is incentives that students lack?

Many parents strongly emphasize good grades. Starting when kids arrive at school, students are ingrained with the weight of their grades on the future. Those students who want to go to a four year university study closely the grades that their dream college’s admissions department is looking for. With all of these influences, it’s hard to imagine the average kid dismissing good grades so easily.

For those who currently lack incentive to put more effort into school, how can any small amount of resources the school could offer as rewards succeed in encouraging better grades where currently present incentives have failed? Students have many obstacles to academic success, such as domestic conflicts and schedules busy with work. Often students who are failing academically also feel disconnected from the school. As a result, incentives like discounted dance tickets or meals with their peers are of little interest to them.

Beyond the problems with the methods of Renaissance lies a deeper problem: the goal itself is distorted. Grades are a measurement of a student’s performance in a class. Teachers do their best to make the grade an accurate reflection of this, combining various percentages of test grades, homework, and behavioral assessments. However, the true goal of school — the one that grades attempt to measure — is for students to learn.

When the goal becomes the grade, students tend to cater their efforts to that goal. Copying homework becomes a riskier way to be successful in school. Begging a teacher for a one percent increase in one’s grade is a regular routine before the end of the semester. The automatic response when a teacher asks a student for a favor becomes “do I get extra credit?”

Grades and GPAs aren’t necessarily bad. They are invaluable data used to assess student performance. What is essentially wrong with Renaissance is that achieving high grades is set as the stated goal, which worsens already rampant problems with students’ academic integrity.

Measurements like GPA have their uses, but there is a point where they can be abused. Caloric intake is an important factor in analyzing one’s diet, but it would be unreasonable to use that as the standard for judging one’s diet. Three hundred calories of hamburger differs from three hundred calories of fresh vegetables, much in the same way that an A+ on an copied assignment differs from an A on an assignment completed independently.

If we really want a way to recognize students who truly deserve awards, teachers could give awards to students themselves. They know far better than any number or letter on a report card how well the student did in their class.

Awards wouldn’t necessarily have to be of material value either. A “strongest voice in writing” award, for example, would instill a greater pride in a student, and is more directly related to learning than GPA-based awards.

This distorted view of the school’s goals is not just something perpetuated by the school administration — it is embedded in the minds of students and parents. Realizing the goal of real academic success requires a change in perspective and a higher standard in moral thinking with regard to schoolwork from the entire LCC community.

Parents need to ask their kids, “what did you learn in school today?” not “did you raise your grade in math class yet?” Students need to think of the worth of their assignments in terms of insights achieved, not grade points earned. Teachers need to evaluate their students with detailed criticism, not just percentage points. And school administrators need to learn to lighten their infatuation with test scores and GPA, while finding more meaningful ways to recognize high achieving students.

I asked 40 students 8 quiz questions about the Constitution, and also asked them how important the Constitution was to their lives. Alarmingly, nearly 50% of students surveyed did poorly on the quiz, with 45% reporting they had good knowledge, 12.5% reported having average knowledge, 42.5% reported having poor knowledge regarding to the Constitution.

However, 50% of students believed the constitution was most important to their lives, 35% believed the constitution was moderately important to their lives, while 15% believed the Constitution wasn’t important to their lives. Even though it’s important to students, many of them lack basic knowledge of the document.

The Constitution is important to LCC because many students are close to adulthood and need to know their rights. We need to know this stuff in case these rights are taken away.

In our city full of expression, we take our rights for granted. When you take your rights for granted with out knowing what they are you are powerless to people who would want to take then away.

Imagine this,. If we were living in North Korea, we wouldn’t have any power. I thank God we live in this great country, but we need to be knowledgeable. nowledge is power-have it and you could lead a comfortable life. You are even exercising a constitutional right right now by reading this paper.

Another alarming trend was the lack of knowledge about the 2nd amendment. I have a theory. We have grown up with such a hate of guns that most students don’t know they can own them in this country. This is alarming because with just one amendment taken out of the Bill of Rights, the Constitution will fall apart.

Now what do we do? We teach the Constitution, we pay attention in history class and we get informed. Want to know how much you know? Here is a quick survey you can take and see how you do!

Have more questions? I would also suggest Hillsdale College’s Constitution class at hillsdale.edu. I Have taken it and found to be very informative, and I highly recommend it.

Lori Branson, the school supervisor, shed some light on the subject by revealing she can go months without a drug bust, or she could get 5 in a week. She also mentioned that there is no noticeable change in that tendency around Red Ribbon Week.

“Unfortunately, I don’t think the program has an impact on kids lives unless drugs or alcohol has a negative influence on their lives otherwise,” Branson said.

Others like Branson share the opinion that is is not effective to the high school demographic and is not necessary. They believe that it would only be effective on people uneducated and inexperienced with drugs. People that are exposed to drugs already know what they are doing, and a pep talk about drugs will not necessarily change their opinions.

“I think it’s effective for little children, who don’t really know about the side effect of drugs, but for adults and adolescents, I don’t think it’s as effective,” said Senior Brandon Burrow.

It is very clear that since elementary school kids do not know much about drugs, these speakers and programs for red ribbon week provide them with a fear of drugs. This fear cannot be reached with high school students, after years of already being exposed.

Many people do not agree that the program should be done away with all together, but comment that they wish it could improve its influence and effectiveness in the future in order to achieve its potential.

“I hope [Red Ribbon Week] will be more influential this year than ever before,” said freshman Austin Casto.

Others, that have no affiliation with drugs, disagree completely and remain confident that it is a valuable and effective program for the students that it applies to.

“I stay away from drugs and people that are associated with them, but for people that are involved with drugs, I believe [Red Ribbon Week] is effective and necessary,” said Senior Anya Tugucheva. However, those with more exposure to drugs keep the opinion that it isn’t effective to the students to which it applies.

Most students seem to agree that the Week at least needs to be improved to be useful. Since the program only works if its audience actively includes themselves in it, students evidently need to decide for themselves whether they benefit from the it or not, and for most, especially those actually affected by drugs, that is a tough decision to make.

It’s common knowledge that AP classes help a student prepare for college, but the question is, what sort of role do they really play? Do they serve as a golden ticket into the college of your choice, or is there more to it?

“Colleges are going to prefer you take AP and Honors classes, but if a student is getting Cs they are not properly placed,” said counselor Danielle Martinez. However, “colleges look for rigor and they want to know that students are challenging themselves. It makes a difference,” added Martinez.

When choosing an AP or Honors course, it is critically important to not just look at whether or not you can handle the class academically, but also if it can realistically be part of your day-to-day life. While some students choose to take multiple or even all AP classes, this decision can sometimes be made on top of other activities.

“Students need to realize they can’t do it all. They need to know how to balance their time, have a social life, play a sport,” Martinez said. “It is important to take a good long look at what you are capable of and what you can reasonably commit yourself to.”

Advanced classes require a greater sense of dedication, so students should carefully consider whether or not the extra work load and more strenuous testing would be an effective use of time if they are not planning in pursuing a career in that particular subject.

In fact, when listing the three main reasons to take a AP class, the College Board places “finding your passion” ahead of preparing for college and earning college credit.

“The bar is raised higher and students are expected to have a more detailed understanding of the material we are going over,” said sophomore Ashlin Eddington, who is enrolled in AP World History and Honors English 10.

Multiple influences bombard a student trying to choose between AP and College Prep classes. While earning college credit and proper course placement are incredibly important, the learning environment is also a key component for some students.

“In AP classes everyone wants to be there because they signed up for it , which makes learning easier,” said junior Alex Lindsay, who is currently taking five AP classes.

Friends are such a vital aspect of a student’s life, given that people are more comfortable and enjoy themselves more around peers they know. But choosing a class just because the members of your social group are taking it is not a good idea, given that each student is unique and has different strengths and passions.

“Sometimes I feel like I may want to take a class because my friends are taking it. But then I feel if its not something you’re interested in or want to pursue, than you shouldn’t take on the extra work,” junior Kamalia Freying said.

Advanced classes give students a unique opportunity to pursue their passions, providing them with a refined learning environment to explore subjects that will lay a foundation for a college major or career.

In order to make the most of every resource and experience, students should focus on their passions, examine their ability, and strategically choose classes to fit their individual lifestyles.

After multiple incidents of violence and classroom disruption, it became clear that the original spirit of the game had been lost. The purpose of Senior Tag Out is to celebrate the senior class and create a tighter community.

Bonding, without a doubt, did not occur. Simple competition managed to create a monster due to a few seniors who took the game to the extreme. MavLife feels that the price ultimately paid for this game wasn’t worth it.

It is clear that the real incentive for some students was not only the first place prize — a $20 bill, $20 to Yogurt Shack, and $10 to Urban Outfitters– but rather the desire to be acknowledged as The Winner.

For five days, our campus witnessed seniors latching onto underclassmen in a state of complete paranoia.  Some students feared going home from school alone. Others plotted against their targets in hopes of accumulating blue paper cards. The senior class was possessed by the game’s intensity. In fact, few students talked about anything other than Tag Out for the entire week.

Perhaps the most unfortunate outcome was that some allowed students to tackle their own friends. Others made threats. And when the game got out of hand and staff members and some students expressed concern to the administration, some students blamed their tackled classmates for “ruining” Senior Tag Out. As students caught news of this bullying, some began to fear that they too would be violently attacked by the senior assigned to tag them.

But students who expressed concern, long after staff members had raised the issue, are not to blame for the canceling of the game.  The game had already been suspended due to teacher complaints as well as an entire community who found the activity disruptive and dangerous.

There is no justifying the personal attacks that occurred during the week of Tag Out.   At this point, all seniors should be aware that violence is never acceptable on or off school grounds. The point of the game was to allow students to be strategic and brainstorm creative ways in order tag opponents. The behavior during tag out, instead of sparking creativity, exposed the disappointing immaturity of the senior class.

The champion of Senior Tag Out, Chris Novak, proved that the game did not require aggressive physical contact to succeed.  Novak won through patience and strategy, catching people when they were unsuspecting and vulnerable.  In an interview with MavLife, he shared that he did not resort to violence

While senior tag out may not be allowed next semester, the senior class and all other LCC students should step back and realize that the actions of the majority resulted in its cancellation.  It is the responsibility of all LCC students to realize that such behavior will end in consequences.  No single individual was to blame for the final and rather unfortunate outcome reached before the week of Tag Out had even concluded.

Seniors have many more critical tasks to worry about like college applications, school assignments, part-time jobs, and athletic activities. The additional stress of Senior Tag Out was simply unnecessary.

At the end of the day, we do not feel that a few cups of yogurt and a pair of socks from Urban Outfitters was worth such a disappointing display of poor sportsmanship. Seniors need to live up to their motto, “Save the best for last,” through a shift in attitude and behavior.  Let’s prove how outstanding we truly are in order to maintain senior privileges and reunite the class of 2012.

The death of Steve Jobs on October 5 from pancreatic cancer sent the world of Apple into shock. Shrines have been formed in front of Apple stores across the world to remember the iconic man. Post-it notes with short remembrances and apples with one bite taken out of them surround the entrance.

To speak for all of Apple, the website released a statement made by CEO Tim Cook, which read, “Apple has lost a visionary and creative genius, and the world has lost an amazing human being.”

Jobs had a fresh way of looking at inventions; he thought about everything in advance, and took into consideration how appropriate the product would be for its time. Jobs told the world in June 2010 at a press conference that he initially came up with the iPad before the iPhone. However, he was bright enough to realize that the iPad would be too large of a leap from the current technology of the time, therefore causing it to be unsuccessful. Jobs decided to premier the iPhone first, leading the way to the iPad. This proved to be an extremely successful move.

Steve Jobs has had a huge impact on our generation with his insight on life, as well as his inventions that forever changed technology. He was the co-founder and CEO of Apple, started NeXT Computer, and was part of Disney Pixar. Jobs was the mind behind the invention of the Mac, iPod, iPhone, iPad, and more.

According to the U.S. Government Patent Database and the U.S. Government Patent Application Database, Jobs is listed as either the primary inventor or the co-inventor of 342 United States patents and patent applications. Jobs influenced the whole world and Apple products are being used all in many countries for various purposes.

Many memorials have been held since Jobs’ death, and even President Barack Obama made a statement of commemoration.

Jobs is known for his 2005 Stanford commencement speech, where he famously said, “Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life’s change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new.”

These dramatic but touching words influenced the graduating class who were watching, and many others who have watched the speech since. Jobs made a difference in our lives, forever. He will always be remembered.

While sitting in the crowd cheering on any sport, whether it be soccer, football, volleyball, lacrosse, water polo, track or baseball, I have always been solely focused on the player in the water, on the field or running the track. It wasn’t until we began interviewing students and trainers that i realized that there was more to sporting events than simply the players performing. The idea that I had never recognized the people working hard behind the field and lights made me assume that most other audience members were also under this same false pretense of the hard work that happens both on and off the field. I find this truth unfortunate because all of the people who are putting their time forward for our school, should be recognized by the cheering audience as well.

New this year, student broadcasters are announcing in the press box with what started at soccer games and has now led them to also become the official lacrosse game announcers. Not until recently did I know that there are multiple student participants helping to present the sporting events, but this new perspective of the games is a positive opportunity for the students. Allowing students to run their school’s sporting events, is giving more of the school community who doesn’t play a sport an opportunity to still be involved with creating the lively environment at sporting events on campus without having the interest for the athletics itself.

I think students taking these steps to involve themselves is an extensive opportunity that more students should take advantage of and become involved more in on campus. There are so many options for students to explore in this community, both academically and non-academically, such as being a sports broadcaster, covering the games for MavTV, being apart of sports journalism or even going to the games to support your fellow students is playing a huge part in the final picture of a sporting event.

With all of the games that happen each sports season, there is so much to cover and I see these new openings that students have taken advantage of as a whole new aspect on the direction our school should go with their sporting events. I think that the more students who are involved in presenting the games, the more spirit and recognition our school will gain. Student’s attend games and events because they know people who are performing- imagine the attendance of games if our sporting events consisted of even more student’s working on and off the field.

A common misconception of students is that their rights are infringed upon when they can’t access YouTube, Facebook, or many of the other blocked social websites on campus. The purpose of these blocks, however, prove to be more beneficial than counterproductive. The sites are blocked to not only diminish time wasted on non-educational activities, but to create a barrier between the school life and potentially dangerous statements or images that could cause disruptive or fraudulent behavior on campus.

For example, a student could pull up a profane video on YouTube and show it to a person that might be offended by its content. With the block on YouTube, the school system manages to block any offense caused by any video. During school hours, administrators basically act as parents, monitoring you and keeping a peace between all students. They attempt to take the opportunities for offense and disruption off campus.

Administration doesn’t infringe on first amendment rights based solely on the fact that the Bill Of Rights grants these rights under the condition that one man’s rights allow anyone else to continue their lives without disruption. With the block of potentially abusive websites, this defense actually supports the first amendment and the students’ right for protection from danger.

The simple blocks set up by the school system are meant to be set as a protection and eliminate dangers. Of course, in this system, there are flaws. On occasion, certain potentially helpful websites used for research are also blocked and can leave students without bits of information that they may need. While this can happen, any sensible student will realize that they can find much of the information they need for school assignments on a variety of accessible websites.

Another issue with the censorship, similar to the previous point, is that sometimes results for image searches on Google Images or any other photo site are unreachable. Different from information, sometimes a specific photo is needed for a presentation. In these cases, the blocks can be a hassle but generally, a replacement or a self-taken image suffices. Many teachers understand the difficulty of finding images on campus and will accept a similar image or replacement.

Proxies are a popular way to get around these so-called unfair blocks but proxies create a worse insecurity than unblocked Internet services. A proxy is technically a virus in itself. Our school uses Dell computers with Windows Vista which is one of the operating systems that are most vulnerable to viruses and proxies create a gateway for these viruses to hack into the school system, leaving thousands of files of private information vulnerable to any hacker anywhere.

School Internet blocks are built to protect the students, not infringe upon them. With these blocks, the internet hypothetically becomes limited to the most educational and useful source for any project. What censors don’t realize is that these blocks con also conflict with some necessary sources for students. The belief that these censors are infringements on First Amendment rights is a complete misconception. In the way that students abuse their free range on the internet, censorship became a necessity to keep a balance for education on campus.