2011
Core reasons provided for core class requirements
E mily A rt ________________ _
Mary dreams of
becoming a pediatrician
while patching up her
favorite teddy bear with a
band aid and gauze wrap.
A plastic stethoscope
turns into a real one as
she realizes her dream of
becoming a pediatrician
is turning into reality We
imagine the possibilities of
what we want to be when
we grow up. As we grow,
we narrow the options.
High school and college
give the opportunity to
explore different electives
and find subjects they excel
in or have a passion for.
Many times, teachers of
core classes hear the same
questions like, "why do
we have to learn this? I'm
not going to use this in
real life." No matter what
required subject a teacher
teaches, some students
question the reason why
they are learning what
they are. For students who
plan to major in select
subjects, many of them
do not see the necessity of
learning other subjects if
they don’t plan to use them
in their career. Knowing
why we learn what we
do is important. Maybe
teachers should explain the
importance of what they
teach. Knowing how we
can apply what we learn in
school to the outside world
gives students a better
understanding.
Andy West, English
teacher, has similar
questioning come up in his
English 12 class. A group of
his students who planned
to become engineers did not
find the story of "Macbeth"
relevant to engineering.
West responded to this
question by e-mailing five
engineering and business
professors asking for their
thoughts on the question.
A professor from Oregon
State University responded
with the explanation that
engineers must understand
other languages, such as
C E iC
It’s amazing how far
we have come as a nation.
Less than 40 years ago, the
American Psychological
Association removed
homosexuality from its list of
mental disorders. Seven years
ago, Massachusetts became
the first state to legalize
gay marriages. On Dec. 22,
President Barack Obama
signed a law which repealed
"Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell." This
marks one more victory in
the civil rights struggle of
our generation: granting
equal rights to homosexual
Americans.
DADT began with good
intentions, but grew into a
major roadblock for LGBT
soldiers. At the time, it was
a considerable step forward.
Before it, a soldier could be
investigated to see if they
were homosexual, and if they
were, they were dishonorably
discharged. When President
Bill Clinton signed DADT in
1993, investigating a soldier’s
sexual orientation was
prohibited ("don’t ask"), but
a gay or lesbian soldier could
not say or do anything that
proved their homosexuality
("don’t tell"). Otherwise, they
would be discharged.
At the time, the argument
West Linn High School, 5464 West A Street, West Linn, OR 97068
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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.
Business Manager:
Jack Lammers
Section Editors:
News: Alison Fieldhouse,
Jennifer Sitton
Forum: Elise Brown, Emily
McDonald
Features: Mary Earp
Sports: Ty Clarke, Sean Pebler
Entertainment: Chrisann Kim
Photo Editor: Alex Houston
Teddi Watson and Emily Steele, freshmen, incorporate elements and
scenes from "The Odyssey" such as the cyclops, into a board game.
Butch Self, English teacher, suggests ideas to enhance their game.
In addition to "The Odyssey," freshman English students also read
works such as "Romeo and Juliet" and "To Kill a Mockingbird."
Shakespearean language
and have exposure to
other subjects. He also
added that critical thinking
and problem solving are
involved while reading
"Macbeth."
"Four years of English are
required because it applies
to every field and in life,"
West said. He believes the
experience in core classes
can broaden horizons for
students and introduces
continued on page 4
Ê A ADDA1I
■ m
Editors-in-Chief:
Alison Fieldhouse,
Jennifer Sitton
Photo by Rachael Woolley
them to new people, ideas
and thoughts. As a teacher,
West looks to educate
his students by bringing
various elements from other
subjects into his teaching
and by entertaining them.
"You cannot fully
experience life here and
now without experiencing
the opposite of what you
know," West said. Being
open to new and different
subjects will give more
understanding to subjects
already known.
High school provides the
opportunity to experience
a variety of classes such
as English, math, social
studies and science on a
daily basis. Colleges do not
look for student expertise in
one class subject, but prefer
well-rounded students who
do well in all core subjects.
For those who want to take
advanced math or literature
classes, grades in other
classes must be high also.
life I l i i i i i _________________
Photo Essay: Clara Altemus
Staff Reporters:
Clara Altemus, Emily Art, Mi
chele Bondy, Elise Brown, Charlie
Craft, Carolyn Cruze, Austin
Cummins, Patrick Douglas, Der
ek Fieldhouse, Joshua Kim, Jack
Lammers, Madison Leek, Laurel
Massaro, Danny McGarry, Emily
Reed, Eta Santoro, Alex Sisca
Photographers:
Mary Earp, Alex Houston, Em
ily McDonald, Emily McNabb,
Patrick Sluiter,
Rachael Woolley
Adviser: Ann Breyne
that homosexuality disturbed
unit cohesion and morale was
somewhat valid. It had been
20 years since the American
gay rights movement began
and not everybody was on
board with the idea of sexual
equality. Not everyone is
comfortable with it today,
either, but according to Gallup
the percentage of respondents
who believe homosexuality
is morally acceptable shot up
between 2001 and 2010 from
40 percent to 50 percent.
But the policy caused many
problems for the military. Over
14,000 soldiers were fired since
DADT was implemented.
Among these were Lieutenant
Dan Choi, an Arabic linguist
and Iraq veteran who was
discharged after coming out
on "The Rachel Maddow
Show." Since his firing, he’s
become a very prominent gay
rights activist. Several soldiers
like him, who performed their
patriotic duties just like any
other soldier, were unfairly
fired because of their sexuality.
Many more have had to lie
to themselves and to their
fellow soldiers to avoid being
discharged.
The loss of so many
crucial military personnel
should have been Congress's
first wake-up call to repeal
DADT. Their second should
have been the spike in the
number of people who don't
think of LGBT citizens as
abominations. Instead, they
needed the Pentagon to
tell them that a majority of
servicemembers—70 percent—
have little or no qualms about
serving and training alongside
openly gay, lesbian or bisexual
soldiers.
When the Pentagon study
was made public in November
of 2010, Congress and the
Obama White House heard
the memo: DADT had to be
repealed.
Once the repeal is
implemented, LGBT soldiers
will no longer have to lie
about who they are. They
will no longer be discharged
because they were born a
certain way. Since our society
has evolved significantly in
the past 17 years, soldiers
should not have to be afraid
of coming out. We've gotten
to the point where we are
reducing the marginalization
of the gay citizen in our
society. Just like African-
Americans overcame
segregation, the gay man
and lesbian woman are
overcoming intolerance.
In the past few decades,
gays and lesbians have
received an empowering
message from society that has
translated well into our laws.
You are not mentally ill. You
can marry each other. You can
serve in the military without
having to hide your identity.
You are American citizens,
which entitles you to having
the rights of all American
citizens. And anyone who says
otherwise is living in the past.
As Americans, we should
be incredibly grateful to our
government and our military
for taking that important
step in moving our country
forward.
Courtesy of Flickr Creative Commons
A protestor marches in opposition to "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," the law
which dishonorably discharged openly gay military service members.
The man on the sign is Lt. Dan Choi, an ousted solider turned vocal
gay rights activist. The policy was repealed on Dec. 22.