A C Huns mmi y wml LTD Sunion 342-6155 & I52 W S'* <> 344-41<>5 SCORPIO Will an old friend appear today? find out in the ODE Classifieds, every day! 25 Roses for $14" tfr/wg this coupon in and Save $1 off regular price 005871 Cb(&(&0($ ©r F©pp©(?©nl Extra toppings $1.15 Hot and ready to go all day, Willamette Location only 1711 Willamette 343-3330 © little Caesars Thurston Continued from Page 1A al headlines. Once “self-pity ori ented,” he now writes often for others and from an optimistic viewpoint. “I wrote a poem before the shootings called ‘Rejection Leg end’ that was about how every thing seemed to be going the wrong way for me,” he says. “Right after the shootings, I wrote a poem called ‘Memory Scrap book’ for my mom, describing all the things she remembers me do ing.” Despite a considerable age dif ference, I feel a need to defer to Chalan and Jenny during our dis cussion. After all, what are ap propriate questions to ask a cou ple of kids who endured such a traumatic event? “I can understand the confu sion, because adults want to know why [school shootings] are happening and where they’re coming from,” Jenny says. “It is n’t something that you wake up one day and it happens. It’s something that happens after years and years of building up in a person.” At one point, I make it clear that if a question seems insensi tive, it can go unanswered. Then, “Do either one of you know Kip?” escapes my lips. “Nope,” Chalan states, even more succinctly than his one word response looks. Jenny gives a muffled, mum bled “Uh-uh.” I feel stupid at my weak at tempt to perhaps solve the puz zle of “Who is Kip?” and why he is accused of committing such a r heinous act. Chalan eventually elaborates on the subject in more general terms. “Everyone is pointing out that it’s R-rated movies, or guns, or video games, and it’s just ridiculous,” he asserts. “The question that people need to answer to help solve school shootings is, ‘What makes stu dents or kids unable to depict what’s real and what’s not?’ It’s obviously something that hap pened to them in their lives that led them on a very emotional, unstable relationship with themselves.” Lines from Chalan’s poem “Aging Youth” offer further im ager}' to his concise opinion: “In nocence untouched soil of evil / Anger and danger the unknown devil / to their pure thought of recreation.” Both students admit that they unload a ton of frustration through their writing. “For me, poetry usually comes when I’m in a bad mood, because I can come up with so many more creative words,” Jenny laughs. “I can just turn to this pa per and write what I’m feeling. But my anger is not necessarily directed at anyone.” As The Paragon’s editor, though, Jenny sees a lot of mater ial that one year ago would not have seemed questionable in its purpose. Now, she seeks advice from her adviser, Saylor Smith, whenever doubts arise. “Normally, I would have just shrugged it off as someone being in a bad mood, but now, I think twice,” Jenny admits. “You see more kids in high school talking about ‘Can it happen here?’ or ‘Is there anyone here we need to be worried about?’” Overall, interactions between students at Thurston have im proved, Chalan says. Maybe it’s a “we’re all in this together” atti tude. Maybe it’s an “us against the world” stance. One aspect that definitely needs change, he figures, is the school’s curricu lum and preparation for society’s ills. “The only thing they’re wor ried about is filling us up with knowledge that isn’t going to be required in later life,” he says, voicing an awareness beyond his years. “I wish they would teach us some kind of morality class, and it should probably start in middle school.” As I leave Thurston’s campus, notes in hand, a story to write, re ality hits. No matter how far one goes professionally as a journal ist, never will he or she be able to capture in words the feelings and emotions of kids scarred by such tragic events as the one that took place on May 21,1998. Yes, we reporters are like vul tures, picking at remains, think ing that our intentions are pure. In truth, we should just stop and listen to the Jenny Hucks and Chalan Moons of society, the teenagers. “Mind games end the mad-' ness,” Jenny writes in “Twisted,” a poem she composed in Febru ary. “Washed away by the red / craziness dwells on sanity / and all the voices in my head.” Now the interview is over. Annual Swimsuit 3 week Based on a Value Pi,... ■ * California Colorado Hawaii Idaho Nebraska Nevada Oregon Washington "wyvofypttlotohon Pitch Recycle your copy of fhe ODE.