Lizette Mouett WC Harbert - Pleasant Hill School District #1

DESIGNED BY JORDAN FISHER
Within the realm of
debate, there exists
a set of arguments
deemed fallacies, or
fl aws of logic. They
are many and varied,
from “post hoc
ergo propter hoc”
(believing that because
one event followed
another, the fi rst
event caused the second
event) to the “straw man” a r -
gument (twisting your opponent’s words
and intent in order to prove them false).
One of the most widely used and least
recognized fallacies is “reductio ad Hitlerum,”
which is guilt by association (if the
Nazis did it, it’s monstrous). And these
days, it’s being thrown around like sweat
in a mosh pit.
Ever since the summer town hall meetings
and especially since the rallies across
the country against health care reform in
mid September, the use of “reductio ad
With the recent school
merger Pleasant Hill
students have begun
to notice that some
changes have little
to do with the addition
of new students.
Lunch has
been cruelly and
drastically shortened
by more than 20
percent and everyone is a f -
fected! Upper classmen with off-campus
lunch have discovered that their trips to
Dairy Queen and Subway have been cut
short. No longer are students free to eat
lunch with leisure, instead it has become
a mad scramble to make up tests, see
friends and eat a nutritious lunch.
As of this year, Pleasant Hill lunch
has become the shortest in the Sky-Em
League, tied only with La Pine. Every
other school in the Sky-Em league has a
35 minute lunch and other local schools
such as South Eugene have a lengthy 45
minute lunch. Our shortened lunch seems
at fi rst glance just another casualty of the
recent school merger, a necessary evil --
but is it really?
After school we see another problem
with the new schedule; Students are waiting
as long as 10 minutes for the buses
to reach the school and “Heaven forbid”
Chewing tobacco, chew, chaw or dip,
stickers and chewing tobacco wads have
been found around school for years.
Many “Grizzly” chewing tobacco stickers
were found in the boy’s restrooms on
the toilet dispensers and wads of used
chewing tobacco were found around the
school in the restrooms, breezeways,
and at one time even in the library.
Jennifer Anderson, our librarian, has
found chew multiple times in the library.
She had to clean up the mess. “If I see it
I clean it. I don’t leave anything for the
janitors to pick up,” said Anderson.
Thus far the amount of chew in school
has dramatically declined since last year.
“There are people who obviously had an
Opinion/News 5
Use of term “Nazi” trivializes debate
Ten Minutes Too Short
KENDRA CHAMBERS
Columnist
Hitlerum” has skyrocketed. Signs proclaiming
“Obama = Hitler” or brandishing
pictures of Obama with Hitler’s comb
over and trademark moustache were all
too common at said events. And because
of it, no one is taking either the protestors
or their issues seriously.
First, I’m very conservative. I am
against socialized medicine. I actually
agreed with a lot of the things Sarah Palin
said this last election, which makes me a
member of the far right, I guess. So keep
in mind that this complaint is coming
from me.
Godwin’s law states “As an online discussion
continues, the probability of a
comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches
one.” I think that this can apply
to political discussions as well. As people
run out of negative things to say, they start
utilizing Nazi comparisons.
Comparisons to Hitler has been practiced
by members of both parties, unfor-
they are mingling!! Having attended the
School Board meetings open to the community,
I understand what a severe crisis
this mingling of grades truly is. Students
talking to one another from different
grades can lead to all sorts of dangers like
“friendships!”
In order to return Pleasant Hill’s lunch
to a more respectable length and to prevent
the dangerous mingling that occurs
after school I propose a solution by adding
10 minutes to the school day.
Adding an additional ten minutes to
lunch would be the perfect solution to
the grave dangers of mingling. With the
school day ending at 3:10 buses would be
able to arrive in time to pick up the students
the moment they are released. Students
would be able to enjoy their lunch
at a leisurely pace, which according to
health professionals contributes to a feeling
of fullness with less food. That’s right,
longer lunches are healthier lunches!
The benefi ts to the student body are
plentiful indeed. Teachers get a longer
time to prep for the afternoon classes and
provide a time to make up tests and fi nish
homework. For students without computer
or internet access at home it gives
them an opportunity to use printers and do
research. Extending lunch is critical to the
maintaining successful functioning of the
student body.
C h e w O n T h i s
JACOB SHADWICK
Reporter
addiction to tobacco. They’re no longer
going here. They’ve graduated” Anderson
said.
So who chews at school? “Gross
people do,” answered Jordan Wildish.
“People can do whatever they want, but
it’s kind of pathetic that they have to do
it in school. Like can’t you at least wait
till you’re home?” opined Justin Stormo.
And the spit? “IT’S DISGUSTING’
Nathan Boys put it simply.
Hopefully this year we’ll have less
chewing tobacco on school grounds
and a cleaner library. Anderson said
it best when she said “The library is a
NO CHEW zone” and with any luck the
school will be too.
NATHAN BOYS
Columnist
tunately. During Bush’s presidency, the
comparison was thrown all over the place
(though not quite to the current degree).
I didn’t like it when Bush got smacked
with it, and I don’t like it when Obama
gets smacked with it.
The main problem with Nazi references
in political arguments is it cheapens your
argument. It can be diffi cult sometimes to
rebut your opponent, but connect his policies
to Nazism and the tide easily turns.
It’s an easy form of mudslinging because
there’s no thought involved. Nearly every
American thinks that Hitler was evil. It’s
one the few readily available examples of
evil left in our culture. Few Americans
will take the time to realize that just because
the Nazis did it, it’s not necessarily
evil. Hitler was a vegetarian. Does that
make vegetarianism bad? The Nazis supported
animal rights. Should we automatically
vilify animal rights groups because
of that fact?
People feel differently about the 7 th and
8 th graders being here. Some are frustrated,
some are confused, and others are
excited.
Vivian Kim, a sophomore, thought it
was fun to have them at the high school
because she has friends who are 7 th and
8 th graders
“It’s exciting. More loud and crazy. I
would rather have loudness than silence”
she said.
Emily Cooper, a freshman, described
the arrival of the 7 th and 8 th graders as
“weird but we don’t really see them anyways.”
Most students see little of the 7 th and
8 th graders. The transition team worked
In the past fi ve months, a new strain
of infl uenza has gripped the world. The
origins of H1N1, commonly known as the
swine fl u, began in either Mexico or California.
It has since spread throughout the
world. Swine fl u, in recent months, has
been found to not be the catastrophe that
scientists feared.
Swine fl u was given its name because
the genes that it contained were similar to
those of pigs. In further studies, H1N1 is
similar to the genes of birds and humans.
Swine fl u is not possible to contract when
eating pork however.
The symptoms of swine fl u range from
mild to severe. In severe cases, hospitalization
occurs and sometimes deaths results.
People in good health can usually
become well by themselves. Testing is not
recommended or needed usually.
People at high risk include young
children, pregnant women and anyone
There’s really only one good way to use
a Nazi comparison. According to Benford’s
law of controversy, “Passion is inversely
proportional to the amount of real
information available.” To effectively call
someone out as similar to Nazis, you need
to calmly and practically link the person’s
policies to Hitler’s, then give an outcome
of those policies, or in other words, a consequence.
You can’t just say “The Nazis
did that!” and expect to get anywhere.
And you defi nitely can’t wave signs with
“_______ = Hitler” and expect sane people
to listen to you.
There is a good, effective way to do
things and get your point across. And
there are a lot of bad ways of doing that.
Let’s move past this and make an effort to
civilly disapprove of the actions of politicians
from now on. Demonstrations are
necessary and we have a protected right
to assemble, but there is a world of difference
between rallying and making fools
of yourselves.
7th, 8th graders find mixed reaction
SIDNEY DAVIE
Reporter
hard to maintain seperation.
Tyler Spooner, a senior, said he rarely
sees any of the younger kids except when
he saw a 7 th or 8 th grader in the bathroom.
“Awkward!” was his reaction.
Other than that, the high schoolers
have seen 7 th and 8 th graders only rarely.
New rules have been set at the high
school. Students may not enter the 7 th
and 8 th and Freshman hall at lunch time.
Also students may not leave campus
without a note from the parent.
Lauren Bowman, a junior, said it
doesn’t really make a difference to her.
She likes to keep to the rules.
“ I don’t think its OK to break the
rules” she said.
H1N1: new flu not as fierce as feared
CAROLINE STREK
Reporter
with a chronic medical condition. These
people are already at risk for the regular
fl u. Emergency signs include diffi culty
breathing, bluish skin, vomiting, lethargy,
irritability, dizziness, pain in the chest or
fl u-like symptoms that improve but are
accompanied by a fever and a high cough.
One difference between swine fl u and
the normal fl u is that older people do not
seem to be at risk, as it is with the regular
fl u. One third of people over the age of 60
seem to have antibodies against the virus.
Prevention is key to avoid contracting
the illness. Getting a fl u shot could help
prevent it as well. There will be a H1N1
vaccine shortly, but it will be a separate
vaccine.
Covering your mouth when you sneeze,
washing hands frequently, avoiding sick
people and not touching your eyes or
mouth can all help prevent spreading disease.
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