the wayland high press - My High School Journalism

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Former WHS student, teacher
Bylined Opinion
Alex Jenkins
As the class was having a
discussion on things they dislike,
a student sat and listened to
everyone speak and blew them
off as being petty and naïve. That
is until one student mentioned
how they hated President Bush.
The students were curious
to hear the reasoning for this very
profound outspokenness. They
expected to hear something along
the lines, of how they felt about him,
but it was nothing knowledgeable,
it was quite the opposite. It was
then realized how uninformed the
teenagers of today’s society are.
The teenagers of today are
too infatuated with how popular they
are, and how everyone thinks of them,
to care about what is happening in
their own country. It’s not to complex
to take the initiative to get involved.
The government affects every
person that lives in this country, so
why shouldn’t we be knowledgeable
about politics? It may not affect
the latest fad or the next sporting
event, but whether one realizes it
or not it affects our lives everyday.
The 2008 elections are
coming up very quickly; they are
scheduled to be held on November
4, 2008. The opportunity to choose
our next leader is in the hands of
the voters and even the people who
won’t be able to vote because of age.
Many candidates for the 2008
presidential elections are reaching
out to the younger generations by
going through the websites that attract
teenagers such as Myspace, and
Facebook. Candidates get a lot of
Voices
Clayton Jackson inducted into WUS Hall of Fame
As its newest member, Mr. Clayton Jackson will be inducted
into the WUS Alumni Hall of Fame on January 22 during half
time at the home basketball game against East Grand Rapids.
Clayton is the eighth inductee since the program began in 2001.
For those of us who never had a chance to know Mr. Jackson, he was
an inspiration and very creative. He has lived in Wayland all his life, graduating
from high school in 1966, he then went on to teach auto shop in an old gas station
here in town. He is credited for designing the auto shop in the current high school
where he and his students serviced Michigan State Police cars in the 1980’s.
Out of all his accomplishments, he has permanently changed Wayland schools.
Mr. Jackson started CAD programs, taught math, auto tech, power tech, wood
shop, and drafting. He contributed for 35 years up until his retirement in 2006.
A very active and respected member of the community, Mr. Jackson
served in the Michigan National Guard and played Santa Claus for children at the
Pine Rest Hospital. He also is a lifetime member of the 3 rd /126 th Infantry Alumni
Ignorance takes over enlightenment
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exposure through these sites, making
teenagers more aware of who is
running. All of the major candidates for
the 2008 Presidential Election have
support on Facebook and Myspace.
Politicians are suppose to be
working for what is best for the people,
a democracy, but most of the issues
that pertain to our generation usually
slip on through unnoticed because our
generation doesn’t do enough to get
our voices out there to be heard.
The government knows that
we have the power, but they also know
that we won’t do anything with that
power because we are all unaware
of the happenings of this country.
We let generalizations
Staff Editoral
Association, is vice president of the Upper Rabbit River Associating where he has
been a member for 25 years, traveled to Kenya on a mission trip, been a volunteer-H
leader, is a member of the Michigan Polled Hereford Association, helped as a youth
leader and head usher for Leighton United Methodist Church, and was also a leader
for Boy Scouts in Wayland. All in all, there isn’t much that this great man hasn’t done.
Still, after giving back so much to our community, Mr. Jackson still continues
to give back through his “Gift of Life” organ donation program. Shortly after he
retired Mr. Jackson was given news that he was in serious need of a liver transplant
and was told he didn’t have long to live. Mr. Jackson got a transplant in June of
2007 and, with his wife Elda, now spreads the word about the importance of giving.
Truly a man to be proud of, we recognize Mr. Jackson for his many
appreciated achievements as a teacher and community member. We are honored
to have had him as a teacher, a friend, and now a member of the Hall of Fame.
take place, taking no action
whatsoever to change them.
Not many teenagers are
politically conscious and that
is something that needs to be
dramatically changed for the better.
What will happen to the future of
America if this generation keeps
ignoring politics all together?
How will we know what
candidates we are voting in as
our leaders if we aren’t informed?
Our rights and civil liberties
that we are entitled to as Americans
are dwindling each and every day
whether we realize it or not. Ignorance
is like a plague and it’s quickly taking
over more and more citizens. The
the PAW PRINT STAFF
press
Allison Totten
Editor-in-chief
Macy Merchant
Assistant editor
Jackie Bernard
Lifestyles editor
Eddie Seymour
Lifestyles reporter
Alex Jenkins
Columnist
The PawPrint Press
January 2008
Page Editor:
Alex Jenkins
government wants us all to be ignorant
citizens, oblivious to what they decide
to do, so they can do whatever they
wish to do without our approval.
Making petitions and protesting
things that you believe are corrupt and
unconstitutional will get your point
across and hopefully, it will soon change
depending on the efforts put forth. It
doesn’t take that much to get informed.
It is hard to watch your basic
civil liberties and rights crumbling
away each and every day. It is even
harder to know that we the people
have a chance to do something about
this, but we choose not to because
of ignorance and unwillingness.
Jeff Salisbury
Adviser
Media Credit: MCT-Campus
Emily Hodel
Indepth reporter
Lindsay Hedgecock
News reporter
Cory Jamieson
Sports reporter
Kyle Farmer
Sports reporter
Katie Dykhouse
Photographer