2010
3
Bring back the tap, but give us a bottle to fill
schools. This applies to all
I drink a lot of water.
Maybe this is because I am
an athlete, or maybe it is the
result of the dehydration
that comes from drinking
coffee, but either way, I drink
about five full bottles of
water during the school day
One day a few weeks back,
I forgot my water bottle at
home. I made it through my
morning classes by taking
quick swigs at the drinking
fountains, but by the time
lunch time rolled around, my
throat was screaming for a
great, big bottle of water.
To my horror, I discovered
that our school does no
longer sells bottled water.
The only option I had was to
buy a bottled sports drink,
drink it, and then re-fill the
plastic bottle with water from
the water-filling station.
Last spring, the district
took the initiative to have
water-filling stations installed
in the high school. At that
time, they discontinued all
sales of bottled water in all
Services Manager, said. "No
)y Austin
Scott Senkel, senior, uses one of the recently
installed water bottle filling stations to fill up his
water bottle. While the filling stations have helped
the school become more eco-friendly, they don't
help students if students don't have bottles to fill.
incorporated
into the
concoctions.
Why would
the district be
willing to offer
us sugary sports drinks in
plastic bottles but not water?
According to Abel,
because the district still offers
other beverages for students,
plastic will continue to be
the main packaging for
sports drinks and juice. Glass
bottles are not considered a
safe option in schools and not
all beverages are offered in
cans. While this is acceptable,
if we are going to use plastic
bottles for anything, I would
rather it be for water.
I would suggest that
the district re-think its
priorities as far as student
health and protecting the
environment are concerned.
District officials have taken
a great leap into being more
eco-friendly by suggesting
that students use their own
refillable water bottles in
school, but what about those
of us who forget our bottles?
Should we have to chug a
Powerade before we can
have a refreshing drink of
water?
The district should
consider replacing the sports
drinks with bottled water.
If this is not possible, how
about selling non-disposable
water bottles at schools
during lunch and break time?
They would not only help the
district move forward with
their promotion of reusable
water bottles, but they could
be designed in a way to help
school spirit and the funds
raised could even be used
for special projects at each
individual school.
The district is making
headway in ensuring our
sustainability and again, I
applaud them for that, but
that day when all I wanted
was a bottle of water, I
wasn't thinking of how I
was keeping plastic out of
landfills, all I could think of
was how thirsty I was. This
article isn't a condemnation,
this is a plea. I haven't
forgotten my water bottle
again this year, but if I do,
I don't want to sit in my
classes all day thinking of
nothing but how thirsty I am.
JSfcL TAX CUTS DIB
It may not seem relevant
to complain about George
W. Bush after his presidency
has been over for two years,
but one of his so-called
"achievements" is in the news
again, and this needs to be
said.
The American public was
told in 2001 that tax cuts for
earners making over a quarter
million in income every
year would be wonderful. It
would spark the economy
and create lots of jobs and
everything would be peachy.
It was a foolproof plan
according to its supporters.
The argument went
something like this: if the
top earners and corporations
have more money, they
will invest in more jobs. If
businesses are successful,
America's successful, they
insisted. As they say in the
sitcoms, what could possibly
go wrong?
Since then, a lot has gone
wrong. The stock market
dropped 777 points in late
2008. Banks that were "too big
to fail" failed. The national
debt skyrocketed, along with
unemployment rates. The
nation entered the "Great
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not necessarily the opinions of West Linn High School, its administration,
faculty, staff, or student body.
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Editors-in-Chief:
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Recession."
One huge reason the
"Great Recession" started
was the huge deregulation
that the Bush administration
approved for huge
corporations. Institutions
like CitiBank, Fannie Mae,
Freddie Mac and Lehman
Brothers were convinced that
thanks to fewer rules and less
taxes, they were home free.
They could grow forever, and
growth was good, they said.
Ultimately, the banks
imploded. Goodbye, big
lenders.
Let's not forget the
national debt. Two wars
in the Middle East put an
enormous burden on the
federal budget, as well as
the increased defense and
homeland security spending
that came with it. The Bush
tax cuts did not help one bit.
Common sense dictates
that tax cuts need to be paid
for by cutting spending in
other places in the budget.
But government spending,
especially on defense, went
through the roof under
President Bush. This added
fuel to the fire that would
burn down the economy.
Despite all the trouble the
tax cuts have caused, there
are voices in the current
national government calling
for their extension.
The House will officially
have a Republican majority
soon, and party leaders
have been pushing to extend
Art by Elise Brown
the Bush tax cuts. Their
argument is the exact same;
if the biggest corporations do
well, America does well. So
what if the tax cuts helped
spark a recession and build
the deficit? These people are
crying foul about the deficit's
rise under President Obama,
but not under Bush.
Obama has said that he’s
ok with keeping the tax cuts
in place, too. His justification
is more reasonable, though,
and it only applies to a few
of the cuts Bush authorized.
He promised not to raise
taxes on the middle class, and
some of the tax cuts passed
in 2001 were for them, too. If
the tax cuts expired as the law
stated, he would break his
promise.
Progress has been made to
solve this particular dilemma.
President Obama and
congressional leaders recently
reached a compromise that
will keep all the Bush tax
cuts in place for another two
years. This is good news for
the middle class, who will
keep the cuts intended for
them. However, the massive
tax cuts for the wealthy,
which helped spark a massive
economic tumble, will stay in
place too. It's a particularly
frustrating continuation of
the tax status quo.
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