Offended for the Sake of Offense

By: Bryan Wallis

If you still hold hope in humanity, you might want to turn back here.

In this new age of relative peace, freedom, and wealth, people are looking for non-issues to be offended by, and I’m offended by that. They call themselves “Social Justice Warriors” and tend to communicate via a popular social blogging platform named Tumblr.

Despite being called Social Justice Warriors (SJW), I am constantly forced to wonder if they even know what social justice truly is. The “SJW” look for the slightest hints of sexism, racism, or anything else, and then blow it up to epic proportions. These crazy individuals seem to actively look to find something to be offended by.

Here we see Joss Whedon, writer and director of Firefly and The Avengers, giving “advice” on writing strong female roles. Jokingly, he says that a strong female role should be both: a. Strong, and b. Female. SJW promptly jump on his choice of words, saying that he is being trans-sexist by saying that a female shouldn’t have a “peeny/balls.” When I first saw this post, I was astonished. Surely they were kidding? How they saw the line as a statement on transsexuals is lost to me.

The ridiculousness doesn’t end there. If you do a quick search of “tumblr feminism” you’ll not only find blogs that go to extremes to support the typical SJW agenda, but you’ll find just as many that go to the same lengths to try to stop the SJW. If you look up “Male Rights Activists” you’ll find men who are trying to get equal treatment for everyone, men tearing down women, and women tearing down both parties of men.

“This is thin privilege” is a popular blog comprised of complaints about thin people being represented better, acting better, or gaining special privileges, purely due to their weight. This post is a personal favourite of mine. The blog complains that there were no overweight people in Les Miserables, ignoring the fact that the people of France at the time were starving. Many SJW will go out of their way to be offended, and some will even ignore historical accuracy.

I know that there are sexist, racist, and other-ist things that are everywhere, but the internet has become a giant cesspool of people being offended by everything from sexism to equality. Everything! It makes me sick, to be honest. We have this amazing technology, that can allow us to research anything from the comfort of our homes or that can be used to communicate with people around the globe, and we’re using it to… complain. Even I’m complaining, right now. I’ve felt the need to complain about others complaining, and I’m sure that someone else will see this and complain about my complaints.

Is this really what we’re spending our time on? Being offended? Why don’t we focus on getting along and love each other, rather than hating everything around us?

Overdose Training is Introduced to EDSS Students

By: Rachel Brubacher

Last April, Elmira suffered from a terrible tragedy of one of their students, Austin Padaric. Austin died from an avoidable drug overdose. In response to this, EDSS has decided to provide “Drug Strategy” to grade 9 and 12 students on March 3^rd, 4^th and 5^th, to prevent any future tragedies.       

A main strategy provided is an “Overdose Training” session. This act is very similar to the CPR training and First Aid training that is already provided through the school. It is a 75-minute session delivered to students currently registered in grade 9 Phys. Ed., and the grade 12 English classes. The program is provided by a registered nurse who works with the Waterloo Health Unit, and also a member of the Preventing Overdose Waterloo Wellington (POWW).

Mrs. Kolb, a vice principal at EDSS, said, that she believes the training will make a difference by making people more responsible in these situations.  

“We certainly hope [that] when you have knowledge  good decision making comes out of that”. Kolb said.

Paul Morgan, the principal of EDSS, stated, “We believe that this Overdose Training session could equip your son or daughter to save a life.”

The purpose of this program is to make students more aware that things like this can happen and it is good to be prepared for these situations.

Preparation for the New York Trip Has Begun

By: Megan Weishar

The EDSS Travel and Tourism class is heading to New York City on May 2 and is already preparing for the trip.

On Wednesday, March 5 Mr. Swatridge, the Travel and Tourism teacher, held a meeting for parents and students who wished to go on the trip to New York City. The meeting detailed the itinerary, permission forms and costs for the trip, packing lists, and additional information about the trip.

Before they leave for the trip, the students will learn about New York City and some of the places they will be visiting in their New York City unit as preparation.

Alana Thoman, a student in the Travel and Tourism class last year, said that going to New York City brought the course to life and that it was amazing to actually see and experience everything they had learned about.

Although the trip is not until May 2, 2014, many students are already getting excited for the trip. Both Michelle Wang and Amber MacPherson said that they were very excited for the New York trip and couldn’t wait to go.

“I’m excited to just go and experience everything, since I’ve never been there before. But, I’m most excited to see Times Square and the Broadway show,” said Amber.

Michelle agreed saying, “Times Square will be amazing, and I’m excited for all the shopping!”

Sam Rideout, a student who went on the trip last year said, “it was probably one of the best trips I’ve ever been on, just being able to experience the city and sites was incredible! I’ll never forget it.”

“Mr. Swatridge has been to New York City countless times on trips with the school and outside the school, but he never tires of going.

“I’m always excited about going to New York,” he said. But, he said his favourite part about going is seeing everyone’s faces drop as they enter Times Square.

Swatridge said the trip would be pretty much the same as last year, going to Times Square, the 9/11 Memorial, a Broadway show, Central Park, the Empire State Building and many more amazing sites. However, the only difference is that this year they are going to the National History Museum.

He hopes that this year will be just as memorable as the last.

The Travel and Tourism Class of 2013 in Central Park

Former EDSS Students speak out on the 75th Reunion.

By: Jenessa Babcock

Within Elmira, the talk and hype of the 75th Elmira District Secondary School Reunion is an increasing topic discussed by former students of the school. These former students spread the word on how successful and whether or not they will be attending the big event, some speaking out on the high prices they’ve heard about.

Mr. Conlon a former principal of EDSS was one of the many people helping to get the word out and created the event website with only a package price for the weekend long event. People were shocked and some very uninterested in pay the whopping 75$ bill. Although just in the recent months he released individual tickets for single events that will be for sale, but some people have remained uninterested.

Brad Brown, a former EDSS student and current parent, says that the weekend event is too much for his busy schedule especially because of how pricey it is.

“I don’t have 75 bucks to give out and I’m too busy, by then I’ll be golfin’,” he said just recently.

Mrs. Austin, a former student and current teacher at EDSS is involved in the Reunion committee and responded to the ticket price discussion. She stated that she understands the price is a lot, but says you actually save money getting the package deal. As well, now that individual tickets are out, people can pick and choose more of what they want to do instead of purchasing the whole package.

“I do agree that when you first see the $75 you may think it’s pretty pricey, but when you see the breakdown [of events], if you actually are going to participate all weekend you do save money by getting the package. If you’re not going to be here all weekend then obviously you’re not going to want to pay $75,” Austin says.

Mr. Reid, also a current teacher at EDSS who was a former student and a part of the Reunion committee, shows his confidence in the event when asked if he believes that the reunion will be a success, “of course, a brilliant success,” he said smiling.

The members of the EDSS Reunion committee remain positive about the success of the event, however former students say that they are simply not interested and just don’t have the time or money. The committee will remain confident and keep spreading the word.

Mrs. Austin and Mr. Reid part of the 75th Reunion Committee

Smile Bomb Coming to EDSS

By Chelsea Wilson

The EDSS student council are bringing smile bombs to EDSS this coming June in hopes of creating a day where everyone in the school is included and complemented.

The making of the smile bombs began late September and will continue being worked on throughout this semester. Students can look forward to finding their names on a sticky note with a message just for them posted somewhere around the school.

Student body co-president, Emily Orr, said that Matt Lalonde had came up with the idea to expand on the compliment post-it-notes by personalizing them to each individual student.

Lalonde took charge and put his idea into action, recruiting student council to help him with this enormous task. The goal: give everyone a chance to smile about themselves.

Ms. Austin, student activities supervisor and teacher at EDSS, said, “I think it’s a really unique idea that will make everyone feel like they belong,” and that she is, “looking forward to just getting everyone involved in something.”

According to Ms. Austin there was some difficulties in the process and that ideas had changed multiple times since taking the task on in September. Decisions are being made about how they plan on distributing the post-it-notes;treasure hunt style, or in a specific location.

Mr. Munroe, another student activities supervisor and teacher at EDSS, said that this, “definitely could be a successful.”

Student council continues to work hard to ensure every student in the school, no matter their grade, can feel involved in the school.

Robotics Team Holds Community Information Night

By Gwyneth Findlay

The EDSS FIRST Robotics team held a community information night on Tuesday at Perks Coffee House.

Nearly 60 members of the community came to the event. The team presented their mission, goals, and accomplishments before demonstrating the robot’s throwing and catching abilities.

“The night was extremely successful. We saw a lot of representation from the community,” said Heather Litwiller, business co-manager for the team.

Although there had been some apprehension in the days leading up to the event, Kyle Wilton, team co-captain, was also very pleased with how it turned out. He said that people seemed impressed by the team’s accomplishments so far, and several showed interest in the team’s future.

“Lots of people came out. Lots of people were very interested in what we’re doing,” he said.

One of the purposes of FIRST, the team said at the event, is to encourage interest in science, technology, engineering, and math among their community. The team has volunteered at local FIRST competitions and presented the robot to grade 8s at Park Manor School.

Elmira’s FIRST Robotics team is in its rookie season and has just completed their first robot for competition. The build season began January 4 and ended February 18. The team also built an identical second robot, which they use for practice and community demonstrations.

Dan Gallina, teacher sponsor for the team, is very excited about their accomplishments. “These guys have exceeded my expectations in every way possible,” he said. “This is the best darn machine on six wheels.”

The competitions are March 20-22 at the University of Waterloo and April 3-5 at the University of Windsor.

Outstanding Season for Elmira Girls’ Hockey Team

By Alana Thoman

Throughout the hockey season which commenced in December, the EDSS girls’ hockey team has had outstanding results, finishing the season with a record of 16 wins, 1 tie and 2 loses. Mr. Swatridge, the coach of the EDSS lancers has coached girls’ hockey since it started about 14 years ago, stated that this was the best record ever recorded by an EDSS girl’s hockey team.

Along with an amazing record, the girls ended the season as WCSAA champions defeating the Preston Panthers 3-1 in the final game. They also battled hard for Gold in the CWOSSA finals but came up short losing 1-0 against the Guelph Centennial Spartans.

Emily Willms, a grade 10 forward on the EDSS lancers, commented that the season was a great experience.

“Due to the hard work of my teammates, we made it farther than most past teams,” says Willms.

Although the team was made up of mostly grade 9’s and 10’s, this didn’t stop the team from being very successful. Mr. Swatridge expressed that the new girls in grade 9 improved tremendously over the season and that usually teams with a lot of grade 9’s and 10’s struggle but they showed tremendous effort leaving no weak spots on the team.

“We were successful because we had balance throughout the team. We had three solid lines that could all score, and we had the best defence in the league with a good goalie and no weaknesses.”

One of the leading goal scorers and a senior on the team, Emma Davidson commented about the team’s success and that it was reached because “we all came out and gave it our all every day. No time off.”

The EDSS girls’ hockey team has shown tremendous effort throughout the 2013-2014 season. They have reached success that has never been shown by any lancers girls’ hockey team. The question is can next year’s team live up to the challenge?

The girls’ hockey team after winning WCSAA.

 

Song Review: “Death for my Birthday”

by Noah Zenker

“Death for my birthday” by Say Anything is an intriguing song. At first glance, it seems like just another band trying to see who can get the most “angry” or explicit message out to sell in “shock rock”, but this song definitely defies your first impression. The band is well known for witty and thoughtful messages hidden behind a stereotypical “rebellious punk band” mask, and this song stays true to that.

Say anything is a band that generally, their songs tend to appear unimaginative and just be chasing after the “angry teenager” market as far as the first impression of the lyrics from most of the songs, but their music style is generally very upbeat and surprisingly motivational. The lyrics also tend to be much more meaningful with an interesting style, as they strategically place small lines inside verses that change the entire meaning of the song around.

EDSS BADMINTON BACK FOR ANOTHER SEASON

by Tiffany Lachance

After months of cancelled extracurricular activities at EDSS, Mrs. Austin and Mr. Carlin were excited to begin the Badminton season. Try-outs started last week, with a surprising number of students coming out. This year, the coaches are joined by Mr. Mcleod’s student teacher; Mr. Saric.

Mrs. Austin is this season’s Badminton assistant coach. She is thrilled that the Badminton season has started and is excited to see how the season plays out. “We’re pumped!” She said, as she took a break from playing football with her Grade 10 gym class.

Mr. Saric has been joining Mr. Mcleod in his band classes. He also has started helping out on the Badminton team.  He enjoys playing Badminton and said “I’ve been playing for years”.

LATE REPORT CARDS RAISE MIXED FEELINGS

The EDSS second semester started in February, and the report cards don’t come out until May.  This may in turn effect the students who are waiting on these marks to be sent out to universities.

The feelings are mixed about late report cards. A variety of people at EDSS had no idea that the May 1^st report card day was even an issue. Some students are worried that this might affect their post-secondary acceptances. And some simply aren’t concerned at all.

Mr. Forler says, “I never noticed they came out late.” Another grade 12 student who has already been accepted to school has no comprehension of such topic either.