Image provided by: West Linn High School; West Linn, OR
About The amplifier. (West Linn, Oregon) 1921-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 1, 2007)
t 2 Forum Does right to protect yourself extend to classroom? C alley L athrop Staff Reporter A teacher in Medford, Ore., wants to carry a concealed weapon to her high school classroom to protect herself from a violent ex-husband. The weapon? A semi automatic pistol. The 44-year-old high school teacher does have a license to carry a concealed weapon, and the law guarantees her the right^ carry it in public builj The law, however,, specify w hethe^rfosehbol district can keep her from storing it in Jjjc la ssro o m . The thought of a tea fearing for her safety a high school classr a little absurd, even school shootings headline newspapers all thebtipe. Yes, a person has the right to protect herself, but does she have the right to bring a deadly weapon somewhere that is supposedly safe already? There are mari^ factors that come into play here. In the end, the law is really all tKat m atters, 1ou.t irv th is case, the law is foggy. Yes, she has the right to carry a concealed weapon in a public building, and yes, a high school is technically a public building. The question is whether or not the school district can prohibit it, and whether its policy supersedes state law. A school is supposed to be a safe haven for students as well as staff. School safety is becoming a more prevalent issue due to the fact that school shootings have become annual occurrences. Virginia Tech, Henry Foss High (Wash.,) and Weston High (Wis.,) are some of the more recent shootings, all occurring in the last year. Maybe if there had been a teacher with, a gun inside, lives would have been spared. T h iy j could impact all hit because if one t e ^ g p p n e s a gun, why s h ^ j^ p p m e y all?. Do wejsm wiWmit our te a c h e r ^ lim M guns on the oilfifonce someone will •/in this case, that an might enter the tool for the sole purpose of assaulting his former wife? fools need to be d iljfent in how they handle fety. Every year, WLHS administrators and staff go over the new safety procedure for that year. There are always people patrolling the halls, like Officer Allister Bunch or Brian Bailey, dean of students. Teachers are asked to keep a sharp eye during breaks and prep periods, but awareness can't protect us from everything. "We may not like it, but a dangerous situation could take place. We do the best we can, but you can never have one-hundred p e rce n t secu rity," K im N o a h , principal, said. Another issue with an armed teacher is how the parents of the students would feel. I know I would be uncomfortable knowing my teacher carries a loaded gun, and that a violent man could attack at any time. What if a shoot-out did take place and students were caught in the crossfire? There are two sides to this story, and both have very legitimate arguments. The teacher's ex-husband does have a history of violence, has threatened to kill her, she has the right to protect herself, and maybe a gun is West Linn High School, 5464 West A Street, West Linn, OR 97068 (503) 673-7843 «fax: (503)657-8710 • wlhs-amplifier@wlhs.wlwv.kl2.or.us The Amplifier is published approximately every four weeks by the West Linn High School Advanced Journalism class. Opinions expressed in commentaries and editorials represent only those of the writer, and are not necessarily the opinions of West Linn High School, its administration, faculty, staff, or student body. Editors-in-Chief Sarah Chicoine Jon Helmkamp Entertainment: Kelsey Schrader Staff Reporters Malia Chong Nick Amtz; Isaac Callagan, Emmalie Cox, Adam Holmes Dalton Kuepker, Calley Lath rop, Kira Matsuoka, Kaitlyn Ragan, ,Lexi Welp, Mary Wood Business Editors: Contributing Writer Christopher Erbin Kelsey Schrader Ike McGinnis Section Editors News: Hilli Ciavarello Forum: Sarah Chicoine Features: Christopher Erbin S p orts: Jon Helmkamp Jon Helmkamp, Adam Hol mes, Kira Matsuoka Copy Editor: Nick Amtz Photo Editor: Photographers Adviser Ann Breyne wmmm I § § | ■ H WÊ M i the only way. The possible issues that would come dth carrying a gun vastly ^outweigh the benefit. We live in a society where a gun gives the holder security, power and often pride. This teacher may be fighting for more than the right for protection, she has become a crusader for support of the Second Amendment: the right to bear arms. Do we need more guns? People kill people, but often times a bullet deals the deadly blow. "I believe arming society to the teeth will just result in more violence overall," Matt Kellogg, history teacher, said. If a teacher feels that threatened, maybe she should take a leave of absence, especially when doing so endangers students and faculty. "This issue goes beyond her safety, it's about a community that could be affected. We are a family at school, and if a teachers presence put others in danger, we would try and create a plan that would keep everyone safe. That might include the teacher not being at school for a period of time. We care about everyone's safety," Noah said. To the anonymous teacher from Medford, leave your gun at home. Violence has no place at school, and we all need to work to keep it that way. Field trips provide fresh experiences M ary W ood Staff Reporter I was allowed the privilege of hands-on learning for a variety of topics, making the information I learned stick with me for a longer time than anything I learned while sitting in class. Bigger field trips make an even more notable experience. I'll never forget an eighth trips so beneficial: originality. If not just for the purposes of learning, field trips are great for a student's mood and state of mind. School can get extremely boring, and field trips add variety and fun to a normally mundane place. A fun trip could even introduce students to a new hobby, making it worthwhile not only in class, but in their everyday^ During the last school year, I didn't go on any field trips. The only thing that came close was a short trip to Camassia or wilderness spots in the area during biology. In my English class, we were almost fortunate enough to go see a play, but sadly, the trip didn't happen. The lack of field trips made it quite a disappointing. and boring year. Field trips are important opportunities for students to see things in a different way than Ethan Connolly, McKenna Miller, Laura Huck, seniors, and Geoff Bingham, they normally science teacher, meaure the stream flow at the salmon hatchery on Eagle would while ^reek during an AP Environmental Science field trip. The students lives. The school needs to find a way to mix things up if they want students to enjoy going to class, and field trips are a great way to do that. participated in orange races, measuring the speed of the oranges to help Whether it's inside the visualize stream flow. Photo by Maiia Chong going into classroom. the woods They provide grade field trip to the beach for a science class, seeing a a fresh environment with that taught me many things play for English or drama, or many new opportunities for science class that year. It going to a museum for art, for learning class material was different and exciting, things need to happen. To in a way that is likely to be which left a long lasting make school truly educational, remembered. impression. Unconventional students need to experience Even the small trips to methods of learning can also their subjects beyond the the woods in my biology be the most practical. That's classroom. class made a big difference. the key factor that makes field Link Crew directed toward wrong crowd S arah C hicoine co-Editor-in-Chief With the new school year com m encing, the Class of 2011 is roam ing the halls, or perhaps w hat can be better explained as crowding the m iddle of the halls. Freshm an year, in general, can adequately be described in one word: awkward. The transition from m iddle to high school can be daunting, and it's alm ost essential to have som e aid. Thus, Link Crew w as created. Link Crew is supposed to give the new freshm an at least one upperclass buddy that they can com e to for assistance, but let's get serious, how often does that happen? The idea of Link Crew is great and the people w ho adm inistrate it are som e of the nicest in the school. However, the activities seemed to be aimed at a com pletely different audience. These kids are com ing into high school, not elementary. The activities seem to insult their intelligence rather than boost their confidence. The orientation day is uncom fortable in the first place, and m aking the freshm an play hand gam es only adds to this awkwardness. I have talked to num erous freshmen w ho feel patronized by the activités that were proposed. However, the day of orientation is really im portant; I think it could be better focused on educating the freshm en about the high school's facilities. Personally, I am a senior, and still don't know how to look for a library book, m uch less actually check one out. Uiii Grew_____________ _ continued on p
