Forum
4
March
Survivor grabs interest but shows room for improvement
P atrick D ouglas
Dimly lit torches, a
dark mysterious room and
challenges around every
corner pitted senior against
senior as ten contestants
fought for the ultimate
prize: an iPad. Survivor
became a fun part of the
daily routine in West
Linn High School for one
week in February For
many students it might
have been glamorous and
entertaining, but for others,
it was not.
I want to acknowledge
that ASB did a really
great job putting the
event together. It was
well organized and well
executed. ASB planned
the event with the goal of
raising school spirit and
it seemed to be one of the
most popular events held
this year.
"It was pretty risky
to do this because it
hasn't been done before,"
Gracie Myers, senior ASB
president, said. "But it
ended up going really well.
A lot more work went into
it than we expected. We
started planning it in June
and all of the different
aspects such as food or
challenges were headed by
realistic and entertaining.
I'm sure it was fun for the
contestants, but it wasn't
a play, or hosting a public
debate. There could also be
challenges which focus on
people would have
more than one chance to
participate, making the
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Photo by Julie Olson
Taylor Rose, Sharon Shin, Baxter Wilhelmi, Rachel Nelson and Natalie Smith, seniors, line up to throw
darts for a Survivor challenge while onlooking students anticipate the action. Students camped out in
the school while completing challenges to win an iPad over the course of one week in February.
knowledge and education,
such as a scavenger hunt
leading to historical books
in the library, or a riddle
that leads to something
having to do with school
history.
Survivor teaches us
values, but maybe not
th e rig h t k in d of v a lu e s.
really fun watching," Katee
Gillham, sophomore, said.
Only seniors could be
contestants. Students from
every grade need to have
an equal opportunity to
participate in something
like this. No grade is
superior to another, so why
event a little bit more
equitable.
I'll admit that some
of the younger students
might not be mature
enough to stay in school
for a week. However, it's
fair to say that there are a
number of freshmen who
a d ifferen t p e rs o n o n A SB ."
H o w e v e r, Survivor only
sh o u ld n 't th e o th e r g ra d e s
h a v e a n eq u a l o p p o rtu n ity
d o n 't fit in to th a t g ro u p .
I m ig h t s u g g e s t th a t th e
involved ten contestants,
while other students
were unable to directly
participate. People like
me, who didn't know the
participants or didn't really
have a vested interest in
the event, were kind of left
out of the equation.
"I thought it could have
been a lot better. They
could have made it more
at participation?
At the very least, juniors
should be given the
opportunity to participate
as contestants. Some
students felt unequally
represented or left out.
If we need to have some
fun, there needs to be a
more inclusive way to
accomplish it. If Survivor
was open to other grades,
interviewing process be
a means of determining
whether or not someone
is mature enough to
participate.
As a school event, it
would be nice if it had
something to do with
education or gave students
an opportunity to share
their skills with their
school such as staging
T h e co n te s ta n ts h a d an
incentive to undermine
and team up on other
contestants. Is "survival
of the fittest" the kind
of message we should
embrace as a school?
What can the school do to involve
more students in school activities?
think that we should
make school activities more
group oriented. Older
students should have the
advantage so the younger
students have something to
look forward to."
"l
—Maria Myre,
freshman
"There should be
more activities at
lunch and more
awareness of the
activities that are of
fered here."
—Katherine
Stubblefield,
sophomore
"Provide incentives for
kids to participate in
school activities and
give the impressions that
more students can be
involved."
—Nour Alharithi,
junior
"I thought it was the
best week of school in my
life," Baxter Wilhelmi, a
contestant, said. According
to Wilhelmi, there weren't
hard feelings at the end of
the week.
Although the event
was fun for some, we
have the opportunity to
make Survivor better, or
go in a different direction
all together. Survivor
had some fan support,
and some benefits, and
if Survivor is to return, it
should come back with
some improvements.
ASB is discussing
possible changes to the
event for next year to
involve more students.
One idea they discussed is
to assign groups of people
to root for a contestant
or implement a system
where students could text
in to vote for an MVP of
the day. They have also
thought about more ways
to incorporate students
into daytime challenges
or inviting them to attend
challenges after school.
They are open to any
suggestions any students
are willing to offer.
Survivor was something
new. Experimenting with
new kinds of events is
good, but it needs to
be looked at carefully,
opening it up to discussion
and student input. Sending
a poll to students, asking
them specific questions
about what they thought
of it and how it might be
improved would be a
good start.
out
"They should have
more interesting
school-run activities
other than sporting
events."
—Christopher
Jonsson,
senior