September 29, 2006 -Vol. 35 Issue 2
Editorial:Bloggers should be responsible
By Katie Hauser, sr.
For the Editorial Board
Personal blogs have gained popularity among high school students.
After all, where else are they able to vent about a bad day, write about a
major accomplishment, keep in touch with old friends, and find others who
share similar interests and experiences?
Yet as positive as these things may seem to a teenager, we have noticed that
blogs are only good for a cautious user. Positive outlets can quickly become
problems if a blogger is not careful.
Students need to find a place to let off steam, and a blog is a great place
to do so. However, when writing about a person that upset them, they need
to remember an important point: Blogs are on the Internet.
Many blogs are usually set to be read by anyone who went to that site, and
information on the Internet can easily be printed off. This means that whomever
the student was mad at could find out and make the situation worse.
Cartoon by Haley Huffman
Another point of concern that we have is the ease that a predator
can find out personal information from a blog. Many of us have seen the news
of how sexual predators found victims through blogging websites.
We do not think it is wrong or necessarily bad for students to make friends
through their blogs, but we do believe that students need to be careful about
how much personal information a person can get from a blog.
All in all, we feel that students need to be aware that the Internet is not
a private space, and remember that every time they make an entry on their
blog.
Others can access almost anything that is posted in a blog. Teenagers have
the feeling that nothing bad will ever happen to them, but in reality, if
they are not being responsible online it could be them.
Nobody is trying to discourage people from using blogs, we simply want to
remind them that safety is important, especially on public Internet sites.
Blogs in public domain (Pro)
By Deron Owens, so.
Reporter/Photographer
Despite protests, I believe it is permissible for businesses
or school officials to check blogs. How else are they going to get a sense
of who someone really is?
Many people go to interviews pretending to be someone they are not. They might
say they get along well with others in the interview, but it could be false;
they might be saying what they think the school or business wants to hear.
Checking blogs is a good way to learn about someone’s
personality or their true colors. People sometimes post things they have done,
both good and bad. I see nothing wrong with checking blogs because blogs are
on the Internet for public viewing, and if a person does not want a school
or business knowing about something he or she has done then that person should
not write it in a blog.
People should not complain if negative things in their blogs are viewed, even
if that causes them not to get into their desired position, because they wrote
it. If a blog causes people to not get accepted at the school of their choice,
then it is no one’s fault but their own; they should not blame the school
or business for snooping. People should accept whatever consequences that
come from what they put on a public site.
Many people browse blogs and sometimes randomly click on a blog to read it;
that is no different than when a stranger reads it or when a school official
or business member reads it. If people do not want their blogs read, they
should use some of the privacy options that are offered, that way only the
person posting and their friends can see the blogs.
Privacy should be respected (Con)
By Michelle Sollars,
jr.
Business Manager
Checking blogs is completely wrong. Schools and businesses
that check blogs to decide whether or not to accept someone are sneaky and
deceitful. These are not qualities that most schools and businesses would
want to be known for.
The fact of the matter is, people could go into a job interview acting extremely
fake just to make a good impression; however, they could also act in the
same manner on their blogs to impress others publicly.
Not everyone has a blog so it is impossible and unfair for
school officials and businesses to depend totally on blogs and other public
sites to gain information about the person at hand. Those who do not have
blogs may automatically have an advantage, so it is not fair to judge a
person by a blog. When it comes down to it, officials should use all measures
possible to get to know the person in question personally.
These blogs and public sites that are being checked are mostly a collection
of someone’s personal thoughts and feelings, but some people joke
around and do not mean half of the things that they say in them. A lot of
things put in public territory are inside jokes and conversations with their
friends.
So how do the businesses and colleges know who is serious and who is not?
That is exactly the point of this conflict, those in charge do not. The
fact that many make false accusations could cause someone to get the wrong
idea about the person in question.
Yes, people do put personal information on the computer for public viewing,
but think about it, hardly anyone would actually think that the college
that they were applying to would actually be checking their blogs.
Schools and businesses should realize that blogs are personal. While they
may be able to get onto a blog, they should refrain from doing so because
it is invading that person’s privacy. They should be judging a person
by references, education, and prior experience or involvement, not a blog.
Review: New MTV show accurately depicts high school life
By Michaela Myer, sr.
Sports Editor
At the start of the fall season, MTV came out with a new reality
show called Two-A-Days.
It is a documentary over the football team from Hoover High School in Hoover,
Alabama.
The main characters consist of safety Max, safety Alex, lineman Repete, quarterback
Ross, cheerleader Kristin, cheerleader Blair, and head coach Rush Propst.
Viewers follow these people through their life during school, practice, relationships,
and everything in between.
All of the interactions between these people and the settings are completely
unscripted.
This is a great show because most teenagers going through high school can
relate to the characters. It shows what these students go through on a daily
basis and how they would handle the same situations we students face every
day.
Even if one is not on a football team or a cheerleading squad, there will
be something they can relate to in the show.
Two-A-Days shows how the Hoover High School students handle situations such
as struggling in a class, not getting along with their peers, and much more.
I have also found that one can learn a lot of lessons from this show. When
one watches the team practicing, it shows discipline.
Coach Rush Propst is very hard on the players and pushes them to be their
best.
If one is a football player, he can learn from that storyline by pushing himself
on the field more to be the best he can be.
If one does not play football, he or she can still relate to the show by understanding
that when the players push themselves they score and win games. If people
push themselves in life they will get what the want.
I also really enjoy this movie because it relates to my life. Being a high
school cheerleader, I really like to watch how Kristin and Blair handle everyday
life.
As everyone knows, cheerleaders are full of drama. This is true as well with
the cheerleaders from Hoover. I enjoy to watch how they handle it all and
deal with it.
Overall Two-A-Days is a great show to watch and follow every week. One can
watch it for pure entertainment or to learn a lesson and see how other students
are handling the same situations.
Cub Voices
Do you think teenagers are responsible bloggers?
 |
 |
Angie Whitaker, sr., “I suppose
so, but I am pretty sure that there are better things to do with your
time than telling your personal business online.” |
Staci Collins, jr., “Yes,
whatever a teenager puts on a blog entry, whether it is good or bad,
they should be able to be held responsible for it and take the consequences
which may occur.” |
 |
 |
Kristin Castle, so., “Somewhat,
yes. Some teenagers are very cautious of hackers and people are threats
to the Internet. Some really don’t pay attention to their surroundings.” |
Cody Wright, fr.,
“No because teenagers have tendency to say things about others
that they may not mean.” |
 |
|
Briana Wilkerson , Resource Teacher, “I think high school students should be responsible enough to blog. However, parents should still keep a close eye on what is going on in their kids lives.” |
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