Class of 2007 - My High School Journalism

2
Commentary
Atmosphere here can stifle self-expression
High school years
are ending, and of
course I have
mixed emotions.
Not long ago Hoban
was just a big white word to
me. In retrospect, as I think
of the differences between
this school and the public schools I attended, the
first word that comes to mind is money.
From T-shirts to jeans days and special
events, they all cost money. I find I am paying
for simple liberties I would enjoy in the outside
world, the one outside Hoban. I accepted the
uniforms adopted sophomore year with a sigh of
relief. It had become a hassle dodging the
administration whenever my shirt needed to be
tucked in or I was wearing too many
wristbands. Even with their conveniences, the
school shirts stifle self-expression in an already
personality-stunting atmosphere.
From checking to see if T-shirts are properly
tucked in and faces are shaved to having to
approve student-proposed activities, the
administration is not soft. It is a surprise the
school has such traditions as Mum Day and
by Dwayne
Yates
Don’t join activites just to impress colleges
When Eisenhower
left office, he left
the country a
stern warning on the
growing military-industrial
complex. I leave Hoban
with a similar warning on a
very different complex—the
high school-college complex.
Nearly every day I hear, “It looks good on a
college application,” and I want to slam my head
in a locker. We know little about what colleges
look for in prospective students. You know what?
We shouldn’t. None of us will ever know why we
were turned down from a college or why we got
in, and that is fine by me. I can tell you I didn’t
get into every college I applied to, but I did get into
the one I wanted. That was enough for me.
Most things we are told look good on college
applications don’t matter at all. Signing up for
dozens of clubs and working yourself until you
pass out at your desk will not get you into a top
college. In my experience, most of what colleges
are interested in are things you can’t change.
If you did poorly on your SAT, either you are a
Rent-a-Junior. Student
council and individual
students have limited
freedom to voice their
ideas. A group of girls who
wanted to start their own
gospel choir had their
dream crushed because
they could not find a faculty supporter.
I have personal examples of trying to bring
something different to the table and being shot
down. A few days before Gwen Stefani’s album
The Sweet Escape was released, I got a copy of the
album, posters and memorabilia in hopes of
holding a listening party in Showers Activity
Center. I even had a faculty member to supervise.
My dreams were shot down when I was told that
Gwen Stefani wasn’t the kind of artist Hoban
students should be exposed to at school.
I don’t come to school to be babied, I come to
learn. I would encourage the administration to be
more open-minded when it comes to life in
general. Students would have more fun, and
student council members will be more enthusiastic
instead of afraid if their ideas fit into an imaginary
box the size of their administration’s head.
by Andrew
Bluebond
bad test taker or you
probably aren’t qualified to
get into one of the most
exclusive schools. Natural
intelligence is more valuable
than learned intelligence,
because many schools are
looking for students with the
greatest potential, even those who have come
nowhere near reaching theirs.
During the half dozen interviews I had while
applying, no one asked how busy I was or what
activities I had. They asked about the three things
I said I was most passionate about: mock trial,
newspaper and volunteering at the juvenile court.
If you do anything just to get into a top
college, you should quit; you probably won’t get in
anyway. If you are involved at school so you can
become a more learned person with a variety of
experiences, you will benefit from them whether
you get into the college of your choice or not.
If you feel like you used high school to be
become a better person and not just a better
résumé, you don’t need to worry if you didn’t get
into Cornell. I didn’t either.
Copyright © 2007
• CSPA Gold Medalist
• NSPA All-American
• Quill & Scroll Int’l First Place
• NOSPA Golden Flash
• GLIPA Buckeye
Online: www.my.highschool
journalism.org/oh/akron/hoban
e-mail: hobanvisor@yahoo.com
Voice: 330-773-6658 ext. 249
Fax: 330-773-9100
School site: www.hoban.org
The Visor subscribes to the ASNE/
MCT Campus high school news
service and to APStylebook.com.
Signed letters for publication are
welcome. Mailbox is in the main
office. Unsigned editorials represent
the consensus of the editorial
board. Signed opinion represents
the views of the writer only.
Editor-in-chief
Dwayne Yates
News Editor
Andrew Bluebond
Sports Editor
Pat Justice
Features Editor
Maureen Bulgrin
Activities Editor
Nicole Beck
Exchange Editor
Brian Krinsky
Cartoonist
Kevin Contrera
Staff Reporters
Katie Alto, Kathleen Davey, Zrinka
Dzeba, Adam Gale, Matt Green, Matt
Jordan, Jennifer Joseph, Josephine
Landenberger, Andrew Licking, Mike
Rohrbach, Ben Spoonster-Wessel
Adviser
Brother Joseph LeBon
ON THE COVER:
! Members of the Class of
2007 elected Caitlin Gaffney
queen and John Boston king of
their senior prom, held at Guy’s
Party Centre May 4.
THE VISOR MAY 22, 2007