No – I’m no athlete, but I feel like I have the right to say this since I have very close friends that have family, and I myself, have family, that have lived because of blood donations, but telling the athletes in the school that they aren’t allowed to donate blood – is selfish.

One night of practice is not worth two people’s lives. I’m not saying that all of the athletes would donate, but every year, I hear some get upset because they really wish they could donate.

I can already hear the thoughts of people at this suggestion – they will be week, they will be tired, someone will pass out. Biologically, the human body rejuvenates itself within 24 hours of losing blood. If you donate at 9 a.m. on donation day and miss one practice that night, you will have a total of about 30 hours of recovery time under your belt before the next practice.

If giving up one night of practice is completely out of the question, I have another suggestion. Don’t hold the blood drive until buffer week. Buffer Week Blood Drive. That kind of even has a ring to it.

For those of you who don’t know what Buffer Week is – it is a week between the seasons where the gyms are closed and there are no practices. It serves as a break for athletes, and cheerleaders.

For the People who say “I still need to work out, I have to keep in shape.” – one night of not doing anything will actually be GOOD for you. It will give your body a chance to relax, and choosing to work out, over possibly saving someone’s life, is, like I said before, selfish.

The blood center needs all of the donations that they can get;  very few students at this school are not athletes, which cuts off the amount of donations drastically. Imagine how many more people could live with additional donations from Holton High School.

An athlete could be someone’s hero both on and off the field.

Never have outside dates been allowed at the mixer. The members of StuCo along with assistance from the sponsor are in charge of the coming back dance.

“The word “mixer” is used to show the need for HHS students only to mix and get to know each other- the goal of the dance,” Debbie Harshaw, teacher, said. “Outside dates would be a violation of that goal, so no, we won’t entertain the idea of including outside dates to the mixer.”

Many students this year have significant others in another school and believe that the policy should change.

“Not everyone is having the same experience at the dance because the person they want is not there, which makes it less enjoyable,” Morgan Kennedy, junior, said.

Having one night to yourself instead of with a boyfriend or girlfriend always isn’t such a tragedy.

“One thing that really grinds my gears is when people isolate themselves at home instead of having a perfectly good night with their friends,” Zach Porter, junior, said.

Spending time apart from a partner and hanging out with your classmates can give you a break and let you do your own thing for a change.

I know that going through my freshman and sophomore year with an outside date not being allowed to the mixer didn’t end up being the end of the world. Being able to come back from the summer let me have a chance to catch up with the people I hadn’t seen for months and to meet the incoming freshman and new students. Let’s keep this old tradition as we begin a new school year.

HHS Ag. Teacher, Mr. Larison is a member of B.A.C.A. (Bikers Against Child Abuse) and he is one person who feels very strongly about abuse.

“Child Abuse is a tragedy and a major epidemic,” says Larison, “The kids are harmless and an alarming amount of the abuse is sexual,” 88 percent of sexual abuse cases against children are never reported but B.A.C.A is working on bring a stop to that.

B.A.C.A. exists with the intent to create a safer environment for abused children and stand ready in any situation they are needed in. Mr. Larison joined for many reasons.

“I joined because my dad had gotten information about one in south east Kansas but I did some research and found one located in Topeka,” he said. “I just wanted to ride for a good cause.” Here are some ways that you can recognize child abuse: If the child shows symptoms like, changing their school behavior, doesn’t want to go home, or has problems concentrating.

Parental or guardian signs include: showing little concern for the child, demanding things of a child that him or her cannot achieve or, denies the existence of the child. These are just a few ways to determine if a child is being abused or not.

If you think a classmate or friend or anyone is being abused at home, tell someone immediately such as the counselors, teachers, or even your own parents. Child abuse is not something to take lightly.

Computer carts can be a pain. If one teacher doesn’t have one and needs it, they have to borrow from someone else. The teacher will have to hassle with lugging the heavy cart to and from their classroom. In transport, computers could get broken.

Every student having their own computer has many benefits. Students can work on projects whenever they want or need. If a student falls behind during school, they can take their computer home to work on things. Having computers also helps students learn a little bit of responsibility. If they lose or break the computer, they have to pay for it.

If students are breaking the computers and not turning it in is an issue, then once every week or couple of weeks have the AEP teachers do a look-over of them. They would be able to check the physical appearance of them. If the computer is broken they have to explain to the principal. If their reasoning isn’t good enough, they pay for it.

Another thing would be to raise the deductible. If you break your home computer you pay more than $100, you have to buy a whole new one. The school could raise it to $200 or even more.

Rather than do computer carts, give students the option to bring their own computer. If they choose not to, they can have one of the schools. If they bring their own computers, if they break it they buy it. If they choose to not bring one then things would stay the same as they are but pay a higher deductible.