Millard West Green Light

WILDCAT PROMISES - Millard West New Year's resolutions

COLIN DUCKWORTH

As the year wraps up, people make a few small promises to themselves to help better their lives. Lose a few pounds, watch less TV, quit smoking--there’s always something to improve upon. And so, why not apply this same method of improvement upon an institution? Such was the idea I came up with, and so I bring you Millard West’s New Year’s Resolutions.

It’s a typical resolution to get fit, to start a diet or work out more. Millard West had this agenda starting this school year, but much like many of our personal diet plans, it was shortsighted and filled with holes. As the Hostess Snack Cakes and Lunchables made their way out of the Cat’s Den, filth of equal or lesser value filled the void.

The first thing I noticed upon entering school this year was the addition of Fun Dip to our vending machine variety, replacing the apparently less nutritional peanut butter crackers that once occupied its spot. If you aren’t familiar with this incredible source of nutrition, Fun Dip is a hardened sugar stick and packet of colored sugar for the stick to be dipped into. Though the fun of such an activity cannot be denied, the nutritional value is markedly less than anything Lunchables offered, which at least attempted to emulate the tastes and textures of real food. Last I heard, there isn’t a naturally occurring “RazzApple” that can turn blue upon contact with saliva, like the flavor of half of the Fun Dip packets offered here.

And the pseudo-fruits invasion that is permeating our school’s food service doesn’t seem to be slowing down. I recently saw signs posted throughout the cafeteria that “cherry” pies available in the cafeteria are now the nutritional equivalent of a cup of applesauce or a trough of mashed potatoes. Read the ingredient list; I’ll let you figure this out for yourself.

Another declaration that’s common among resolution makers is the solemn oath to quit smoking cold turkey, to end it instantly, without a simple denouement. And I propose such an idea to Millard West, but for cell phones rather than for cigarettes. Let’s break away from this addiction; this cancer that has afflicted our academic body has drained us of motivation and prosperity, solely because we don’t have the patience to wait until passing period to exorcize the “lols” and “omgs” bottled within. The solution lies with both teachers and students, and our tools are discipline and foresight. Few social matters are so paramount that they require instant notification, so please have the courtesy of waiting an hour to tell all your friends.

New Year’s resolutions are almost as famous for failing as they are for being made, so I won’t fall into a state of colossal depression if these plans don’t play out. But it is still important to know that everywhere we go, there’s always room for improvement.

STAPH PREVENTION

STAFF EDITORIAL

The announcement came near the end of fourth block. Some students had already heard about the Staph going around at some schools and some had not. Millard West activties director Steve Joekel’s voice told the tale to all: some athletes at Millard North had become infected with Staphylococcus Aureus, and certain measures were being taken to ensure that Millard West athletes and students did not become the newest victims of the dangerous bacteria.

“Staph is a bacteria that is found on the skin,” said school nurse Jamie Madsen. “It can cause skin infections, respiratory infections, infections of the vital organs, and other infections.”

There are two questions that we must ask ourselves now: was our response sufficient and did Millard Public Schools do enough to prevent a Staph outbreak?

The Millard West Green Light believes that under the circumstances, the school did the best that could be expected in handling the situation. School nurse Madsen and medical doctors around the world say that there is no real way to prevent outbreaks of Staph infections but to have good hygiene, and Millard had announcements, phone calls, and a webpost saying just this. In addition, the school has always sprayed the school down with cleaner during the seasonal breaks, and since the outbreak at Millard North, Millard West has been spraying down the locker room every weekend.

Staph is on almost everyone’s skin. The bacterium does no damage when it is just dwelling on the skin’s surface. Madsen said that the real danger is present when an individual has open cuts or scrapes that come into contact with areas prone to Staph.

“The big problem is when kids aren’t washing their cuts. They are sharing athletic equipment or aren’t cleaning it,” said Madsen. “Wash your hands, take a shower after a workout.”

If blaming anyone is really necessary, students should really be blaming themselves. If students washed their hands, cleaned their cuts, stopped sharing their personal items, and kept their hands to themselves, most students would avoid contracting staph.

SERENITY NOW: BRING PEACE TO HOLIDAY STRIFE - Be a conscientious objector to this battle of the season

DAVID KIRK

It is a time of conflict. During this Christmas season which calls for unity and thanksgiving, there is fierce debate as to how to celebrate the holiday. Some religious and conservative groups have taken the offensive against what they consider to be the secularization of Christmas, as businesses and schools have adopted terms like “holiday” and “winter” as opposed to the traditional “Christmas” or other religiously-affiliated terms to describe events related to the holiday 96% of Americans celebrate.

On the other side of the debate are those who believe the secularization of Christmas is an attempt to make the holiday more accessible to the modern and diverse world. Through an examination of Christmas’s history, and a realization of Christmas’s economic purpose in this society, the views of both groups will be called into question.

The origins of the celebration of Christmas can be traced to the ancient Greeks and Romans. Those civilizations would mark the arrival of the winter solstice with festivities and gift-giving to thank the gods for warding off the forces of darkness (signified by the shortening of days leading up to the solstice). By the 4th century, Christianity came to recognize Christ’s birth as a religious holiday. And as Christianity spread to northern Europe, it blended with local pagan traditions, adding holly, ivy, mistletoe, and evergreen trees to the holiday vernacular.

The original war on Christmas began as early as the 3rd century, when Church leaders deemed the practice of celebrating Christ’s birth “heathenish.” In fact, until recently, Christians in general were opposed to Christmas on the grounds that celebrating Jesus’s death and resurrection was more important than honoring his birth. Within the past 200 years, though, Christmas came to take on a new meaning, an economic meaning, which undoubtedly led to its rise to prominence.

In the latter part of the 19th century, with the rise of capitalism and industry in the Western Hemisphere, retailers emphasized the tradition of giving presents at Christmas. They manufactured Christmas-related items such as religious statues in addition to more secular products like Santa Claus, Yule logs, and ornaments. The economic impact of Christmas became apparent by FDR’s tenure, when he moved the date of Thanksgiving from the fourth week of November to the third, giving retailers more time to sell Christmas products. Ironically, it was the secularization of Christmas, the hijacking of the holiday by retailers to make a profit, that made the holiday as popular as it is today.

What does this mean to the current War on Christmas? Much to the chagrin of the Christmas purists, their beloved holiday fell victim to secular forces long ago, which is the reason why Christmas is so popular. Furthermore, Christians themselves generally viewed the celebration of Jesus’s birth with animosity until Christmas became an economic holiday. By the same token, the “politically correct” are tarnishing whatever sanctity remained in the corporate-saturated holiday by ensuring that the winter cessation of routine work/school practices be termed by whatever is deemed acceptable to all peoples, usually represented by a handful of touchy groups enamored with litigation.

Therefore, both sides miss the boat when it comes to what the meaning of Christmas ought to be. The entire purpose of Christmas, at least according to many a seasonal program, ought to be togetherness and thanksgiving for the blessings of the past year. It doesn’t matter what the holiday is called, or the origins of it. What matters is that Americans keep the essence of good will intact by giving and receiving generously and lovingly, or at least putting up with one another instead of bickering and trying to outdo each other.

A DOLLAR'S WORTH- What the devaluation of the dollar means to us

KEVIN ZHENG

Although the United States of America is defined as one of the most powerful nations in the world, there is a critical issue that needs to be addressed concerning the nation’s currency. What used to be the leading currency in a congregation of powerful nations is now sinking to the bottom of the heap. The US dollar, one of the most common currencies used, is falling in value so fast that many sovereign nations have considered abandoning the use of it altogether. Some of these countries include members of OPEC, which provide a vital source of oil for the US and much of the world.

The world leaders most outspoken concerning the dollar crisis include Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez and Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who both tried unsuccessfully to reject the greenback as an adequate form of trade. Though their proposition was voted down, it posed a consequential threat to the US and its allies. The inability to pay for oil in US dollars could be devastating, as it could force this country to convert US dollars to currency that is more expensive, thus putting the country further in debt.

Though the US dollar has still not fallen as low as the Japanese or Chinese yen, it has already become lower in value than the Canadian dollar and the Euro, as well. The British pound has always been worth more than the dollar, but now it is worth two times as much. This decline in value did not hold much impact until the Bush era, when it started on a downward slope, inching closer and closer to an abandonment of the dollar altogether.

This cannot all be accredited to Bush’s misjudgments, however. The collapse of the dollar is sourced directly from the indiscretion of the people. The trade deficit of the United States has reached $5 trillion since the creation of the World Trade Organization in 1994, a shortage of money that is astronomically larger than many countries with living conditions worse than those in the US. And living conditions could be the source of it all, as America borrows an average of $2 billion a day from foreign countries, just so the level of comfort for many Americans is well above adequacy.

So what does this all mean for U.S. citizens, the residents of a transcendent nation with a sinking currency? Since the entire situation is almost the ultimate oxymoron, it does not immediately affect the average American. Generally, some prices will be higher due to imported goods with preferences towards the Euro, but nothing will be too different in terms of living in the US. Outside of this country, however, it is a whole different story. Tourists will find that the money they saved to splurge on foreign countries will not get them as much as they wanted. Soldiers, students, diplomats, and typically anybody who lives overseas will discover that the daily cost of living will take bigger bites out of their paychecks. The end of the dollar is imminent; people will need to think twice about how they spend their pennies.