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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
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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
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Staff Reporters
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Nick Amtz; Isaac Callagan,
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rop, Kira Matsuoka, Kaitlyn
Ragan, ,Lexi Welp, Mary Wood
Business Editors:
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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:
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Adviser
Ann Breyne
wmmm
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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_____________ _
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