Opinion

Kindness Among Peers, Where has it Gone?

Posted Wed, 05/30/2012 - 10:06 by breichert

-By Daina P.-

Walmart is Wal-smart

Posted Fri, 05/25/2012 - 10:58 by breichert

-By Daymon G.-

Wal-Mart? More like Mall-Wart

Posted Wed, 05/23/2012 - 09:57 by breichert

Tevan G.-By Tevan G.-

There are few things more depressing, soulless, and ugly than the sight of a Wal-Mart Supercenter on the side of a freeway. Newly-cleared land in the Warrenton heights has been designated for a yet-to-be-named retailer, but there is a distinct possibility the aforementioned sight could join the other monogamous boxes that have cropped up outside Warrenton on Highway 101. For the sake of the community, this is simply not acceptable.

The biggest arguments for a business like Wal-Mart being built center around job creation and affordable merchandise for lower-income demographics. However, 300 or so minimum wage jobs with few benefits are hardly community-supporting. What's more, the UC Berkeley Labor Center published a study that found retail workers lost $4.7 billion in wages nationally due to the opening of new Wal-Mart stores. All that cheap Wal-Mart merchandise drives local competitors out of business, which creates a retail monopoly. Although there are short-term savings for the consumer, the community suffers.

The Republican Assault on Women’s Rights

Posted Fri, 04/27/2012 - 11:07 by breichert

-By Tevan G.-

Tips on How to Be Yourself and to Enjoy What You Have

Posted Wed, 03/21/2012 - 11:02 by breichert

-By Kiera O.-

Why Waste Your Time Protesting On The Streets?

Posted Wed, 03/21/2012 - 10:37 by breichert

Daymon G. -By Daymon G.-

The “Occupy Portland” movement has now been going on for over a month.  Since October 6, protesters have gathered in various parks in Portland to express their anti-Wall Street opinions.  Some believe that the police made the right decision of breaking up the movement to assure the safety of the public.  Although the police have tried to keep the situation as safe as possible, there have been a few casualties from protesters showing resistance to the police.  It may also be said that all the protesters are really achieving is frustrating the police and endangering the safety of the community they are protesting in.  Protesting in marches and public camps to demonstrate opposition may not be the best use of time.

The Serious Problems with Kony 2012

Posted Mon, 03/19/2012 - 10:58 by breichert

Tevan G. -By Tevan G.-

“Kony 2012.” “Stop Joseph Kony.” “Make Kony Famous.” These and other phrases have been relentlessly circulated around the internet and media in a massive focused attempt at raising awareness of the crimes committed by Central African rebel leader Joseph Kony. The movement has occurred largely due to the efforts of the NGO (non-governmental organization) Invisible Children, a group that campaigns for military intervention in Uganda primarily to prevent children from becoming child soldiers, and to protect the region from Kony’s Lord’s Resistance Army. This message was packaged in a sharp-looking video produced by the NGO, and it has been making the rounds on Facebook, Twitter, and other social networks. But all of the eager and sudden activism has failed to recognize some inherent flaws in Invisible Children and the Kony 2012 movement, flaws that could potentially cause more damage than they prevent.

Washington Drivers shouldn't be allowed to drive Cars

Posted Mon, 03/19/2012 - 10:11 by breichert

Carson W. -By Carson W.-

Bad drivers are annoying and dangerous. They account for too many near death experiences in every-one’s lives, and add unneeded stress and anxiety into driving. For me, many of these unpleasant experiences have happened at the the hands of Washington drivers. These non-turn-signaling, non-speed-limit abiding drag-racers are a hazard and need to be banned from ever driving again in Oregon.

White lines bring out the worst in Washington drivers. I don’t know if someone told Washington drivers that merging is actually a race to prove your mettle, but these people truly speed up as if they are being chased by a monster. Speed limit be danged, these drivers will launch themselves from five car lengths behind someone to a nose ahead of him or her by the time they are supposed to have merged, making an awkward and somewhat scary situation for all. Even slow Washington drivers are coaxed into speeding by white lines in the middle of the roads, only in this case, in the passing lanes. It has happened to everybody at some point in their life: you’re stuck behind a frustratingly slow driver from Washington, finally get to a passing lane and shout, “Hallelujah!” before realizing that the driver now has sped up to an impassable speed. Worst of all, once the passing lane ends, the driver returns to his or her original speed. Or perhaps the worst, is when they pass and then proceed to slow down, making their pass pointless to begin with. When this happens, you have the urge to rear-end them just so you can say to their face what you’ve been screaming in your car.

Highlighting High School's Hardships

Posted Mon, 03/05/2012 - 12:09 by breichert

Emily D.-By Emily D.-

In January, to honor the school board members during the school board appreciation week in January, the Leadership students offered the members optional full day tours of the high school to show them what it’s really like to be an Astoria High School student and for them to experience the high school first hand since they make most decisions for the school from another location. A few volunteer ASB members from student council had a school board member spend the whole day with them--taking them to their classes and eating lunch with them. The school board members make a lot of important decisions for our school and are in charge of our school’s actions.

Last Spring, as Astoria School District had to cut back on the yearly budget, the cuts they made mostly came from the high school. However, students’ high school years are some of the most important years of their teenage lives. High school helps students to discover who they are, and what they want to do with their lives. With the budget cuts, class sizes are much larger, some classes aren’t offered anymore, such as the agriculture classes, MERTS at the college, and some honors classes, and many extra curricular activities have been cut. Some students who don’t exceed as well academically, previously have relied on extra curricular activities to keep them motivated to go to school. Without certain classes and extra curricular activities, some of those students have completely lost interest in school and have dropped out.

Kristen Goes Postal

Posted Mon, 03/05/2012 - 12:03 by breichert

Kristen P.-By Kristen P.-

On one of those rare occasions when a teenager receives mail, it’s probably content of the following: birthday money from Grandma Gertrude, thank-you letters from those friends with formal parents who are just so darn excited that you invited them to your birthday party, college junk, or maybe a letter from your pen pal in Zimbabwe. Compare this to how frequently a teenager checks their inbox or the notifications they’ve received on Facebook. The difference is significant. It isn’t hard to see that the postal service has taken a back seat when it comes to what it does best, but as much as we would like to blame the Internet, that isn’t the case.

Yes, writing letters to each other isn’t nearly as popular as it used to be. Times have changed, and communication has gone electronic. Even before e-mail, personal letters were long reduced to a minimum thanks to the futuristic telecommunication device known as the telephone. Setting aside personal letters, which actually only account for less than one percent of the 100 billion pieces of first-class mail distributed by the Postal Service. Consider businesses like Netflix, who send some two million Netflix envelopes through first-class mail daily, a huge asset to the postal service. Another example of how Internet is both helping and harming the Postal Service, would be when it comes to billing. Though this doesn’t apply to the average teenager,  many studies conclude that people are more and more willing to make payments online (boo), but people still prefer to receive the original bills on paper, with the help of the Postal Service (yay).