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Does the high price of
prom keep students
from enjoying
this time-honored
tradition?
Exploring our
differences: what makes
us each unique?
— page 5
— page 8
Three-peat at State? It's
possible after Sharon
Shin, sophomore,
beats the field and
takes the State golf
championship.
— page 15
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ccitement, drama,
and a little
tgic are coming:
out the new
releases.
ior Insert, page 1
Official Student Publication of West Linn High School
Published Since 1921
May 2009 - Volume 97, Issue 7
Budget cuts require School Board to create last minute solutions
u
L exi W elp & H aley E pperly
Staff Reporters
Since most of the district
budget has been used for
the year, the only option left
for the School Board was to
cut school days, effectively
lowering staff members'
salaries. One teacher work
day has been cut, as well as a
student contact day, making
the official last day of school
for students, not including
seniors, Tuesday, June 16.
Because the budget is
unsure for next year, Dr.
Roger Woehl, superintendant,
and the School Board are
attempting to appropriate
funds without overestimating
what the district will receive.
Cuts in teachers will most
likely be necessary, but
extracurricular activities will
not be affected.
"Eighty-three percent of
our budget is designated for
staff members," Woehl said.
There are many expenses in
keeping the schools open
for even a single day such as
those related to natural gas
and electricity bills. This is
what about 17 percent of the
Mock Trial takes 18th at Nationals
J ennifer S itton
■— —
SjaH R;< ;■ •' ■
"The Georgia team's witness
for Ln ior MH:iu»h w.i- \ urv
flamboyant." YlbxanJVa Mink,
junior, said. \ ie destroyed his
own credibility due to his over-
the-top performance.”
The team receiv ed one win
ning ballot in every round they
competed*— the judging is in
three judge panels, each inde-
The junior Mock I nal Team
traveled to Atlanta, Ga. May
4-10 to compete against teams
from all ov er the country. They
placed 18th out of 41 teams in
four rounds of competition,
each one consisting of a sepa ra te
trial of the
same case.
In the first
round, the
VVL team
b e a t the
team from
Louisiana:
Jesuit High
School.
" B e -
cause they
w e r e an Zack Mueller, Nathaniel Earp, Colleen Douglas and
all b o v s Kelsey Bradshaw, juniors, prepare for one of the four
s c h o o 1 , trials in which they participated at the National Mock
their wit- Trial Competition. The junior team finished in 18th
nesses were place out of 41 teams.
Photo submitted by John Mueller
h a r d e r to
pendently scoring and giving
control because they were more
0 u t g o i n g ," C o 11 e e n D o 11 g 1 a s, a win or loss.
Don glas recei v ed two a wa rds
junior, said.
for being outstanding attorney
In the second round, West
1 .inn took the side of the prose d u ring the com petition
The junior team qualified
cution and lost to the team from
for Nationals when it won first
Ohio. According to Nathaniel
place at the Oregon State Com
Earp, the team used objections
petition in April. The team has
not found in the Mock Trial
been practicing non-stop, four
rules, but it did not lose any
days a week since October.
points for doing so.
Composed of jiiniorsenrolled in
Thev scored an easy win
Honors Law A taught bv Matt
in the third round against the
Kellogg, social studies teacher,
Nebraska team. Thev faced a
tough Georgia team that gave Mne ream included Hannah
Bradford, kelsev Bradshaw,
a sti\>ng opening statement aiui
Douglas, Earp, Neelou Etesami,
was able to c a m that strength
through theentiretrial. This led -Rachel HeiMerkomp. Mink,
to the fourth round and a final
/lack Mueller. I ucv Walker and
loss for the Lion team.
Va lorie Wa .
M :
general fund is allotted to,
but there are also categories
within the fund for special
education, construction
and technology. Most of
the fund has been used
in its designated area by
now, which is why the staff
voted to sacrifice two days of
pay to make up the deficit.
"It is hard, financially, to
give up two days of pay, but I
am grateful
to at least
still have
Michael Gage, sophomore, reads the ROAR on one of the flat screens
during break. Although some students wonder why they can't be sold,
to help make up the current shortfall, funding comes from dedicated
accounts and cannot be used for other types of expenditures.
Photo by Patrick D'Arcy
a job. If we don't all sacrifice
some days of pay then some
teachers would be laid off,
so I think that it is a good
compromise to save jobs,"
Gabe Flynn, Spanish teacher,
said.
There will be about
$640,000 in reductions
to classified staff (about
34,000 hours) for next year
according to Woehl. This
will be the start of reducing
the deficit for next year. To
continue making up the
budget deficit, the district
will also need to cut 28
teachers.
Budget Cuts •
_____________ a
continued on page 7
Honors Humanities Night demonstrates deep thinking
u S ean F ebler ______________
Staff Reporter
Honors Humanities offers
an opportunity for select
seniors to think deeply about
philosophy. The class chooses
one philosophical question
to answer during the year,
and then creates some sort of
visual representation which
supports each individual's
answer. The question this
year was: What is the
significance of beauty to the
human experience?
On May 11, the students
had one night to present the
projects on which they had
been working since early
November. Guests were
invited to share "An evening
of Artistic Expression" as
individualized by each of the
23 students.
"I felt like it was a great
celebration of all we had
accomplished. I was kind of
surprised about how well the
public liked them," Andra
Sturtevant, senior, said.
Projects included different
types of art, writing, music,
photography and film. Some
of the sertiors wrote stories
about the significance of
beauty, while others created
3-dimensional pieces of art to
depict their answer.
"The projects that are
most impressive to me are
by the people who throw
themselves into the project,
and when the process itself
is as important to them as
the product," Barb Murray,
Honors Humanities teacher,
said.
The evening began with
a small assembly in the
Auxiliary gym, where the
students explained what they
had been doing for the past
six months and how they
answered their philosophical
question. After that, they
each showcased their
presentations. Murray has
invested a lot into the class of
question.
"My piece of art was in
the gallery. I had a book of
photos and text, and I also
wrote a piece of music to
accompany it," Sturtevant
said.
-
Murray encouraged the
students to question and
struggle while creating
their projects. She expected
Tyler Harmon, senior, displays his piece of art answering the question
"Why is beauty significant to the human experience." Students in Barb
Murray's Honors Humanity class presented their answers on Honors
Humanity Night which was held on the evening of May 11.
Photo by Zack Mueller
23 students and was excited
to see their final outcomes.
"I want them (the students)
to do two things. I want
them to really understand
the themes and connections
among great thinkers in
Western philosophy. And I
want them to know their own
answers to these questions,"
Murray said. "Although I care
more about the second, they
need to understand the first."
Each student had a
unique and different way of
presenting their answer to the
them to put everything they
had into their projects and
ponder the true significance
of beauty. Murray hopes
students not only take this
class for a grade, but also
enroll in it to look deeper into
human experiences.
"I hope that this is the kind
of class where kids say it was
the best class they've ever
taken. It's not because I think
it's the best class specifically,
but because kids can really
gain something personal
from it," Murray said.