zaaaAP Lit Blog 2

School Spirit

So, clearly, this week is 'Spirit Week,' and a chance for everyone to show off their school spirit with themed dress up days and Homecoming this weekend.

So my question is, how many of you have school spirit?

I know that I don't. And I don't mean to sound angsty or bitter, this is just an objective statement of how I feel. I don't have any sort of enthusiastic loyalty to this school, and nor do I have any desire to advertise the fact that I go to school here. I don't agree with many of the values that this school encourages, and I am not a fan of the general atmosphere that it promotes.

Now, I want to make one thing clear. I am extremely grateful for the opportunities and experiences that I have gained from attending this institution. I fully realize that I would likely not have the same well rounded experience at most other schools. I want to stress that I am grateful for this.

So, what does that make me? I don't feel school spirit. I don't agree with a lot of the ideals of this school. But I am grateful for what it has given me. Should I wear orange and blue tomorrow? Who does that really support? The school, the teachers, or just the athletic teams?

I am anxious to hear others' opinions on this topic.

A New School Newspaper

I want to preface this post, so that no one gets offended when they shouldn't, with an acknowledgment of how much respect I have for the writers on Trapeze. I realize that they are all extremely talented, will all go far and have a lot of potential.

My qualm was not with the writers, but with the stories that they wrote. Now, a school newspaper is supposed to cover facts objectively. From since I started reading Trapeze, I realized that they did half of the job of a newspaper. They did cover the events. But did they do so objectively?

Surely, complete objectivity is impossible. But I'm troubled by articles I've read and what I've heard. Here's where I'm trying not to be offensive but might fail: I don't think Trapeze covers stories with the pure intent of informing readers. I believe that many of the articles in Trapeze are written for the school administrators, and not the students. There have been several opportunities for daring criticisms and intriguing stories, and Trapeze hasn't followed through on them out of fear that the administration will disapprove.

Which is why I decided there needed to be an alternative. Though logistics still need to be figured out, nine seniors, including myself,  have agreed to be part of a semi-underground newspaper whose primary intentions are to level the criticism where it belongs. The Trampoline, or Tramp, as we will call it unless a better name comes up, will be written for students. It will cover the important social issues at OPRF which aren't covered anywhere else and will raise the tough questions and make the harsh comments that need to be made.

If anyone is interested, you can post here or talk to me in person and I'll tell you more about logistics and other parts of the actual writing. Like I said, a lot still has to be figured out, but I'm optimistic based on the response I've heard from the few students I've talked to directly.