(December 16, 2005)

Re: "The Next Generation of games is here: Xbox 360" (Nov. 22, 2005) I have come to the conclusion that this article is based somewhat on opinion and is biased towards Microsoft.  It does not provide a fair comparison of video game consoles; instead it gives plain facts and makes the Xbox 360 look like the game console of the century.  I understand that this article was written to inform students about the new game console, so I am neither trying to say that this game console was not worth buying nor am I trying to criticize Richard Alvarenga, the author of the Xbox article.  Instead I am writing to let gamers know that there will be a system as good as Xbox and maybe even better: the Playstation 3, which will be in stores spring 2006.  Rumors have been spreading that about 10 percent of the first Xbox consoles shipped to the US were defective, having major flaws.  Microsoft might have improved the image of the new Xbox compared to the old one, but next to the PS3 it has many factors to improve upon.  For example, one unique function that the PS3 will have that the Xbox does not have is that it will be able to burn both music CDs and DVDs.  From a memory standpoint, both systems are roughly equal.  The PS3 comes equipped with Bluetooth technology controllers while Xbox controllers come with basic 2.4 GHz Wireless controllers.  The biggest difference between the two is the games the systems offer.  Both gaming systems serve the same purpose, which is to provide entertainment and tons of fun to people of all ages.

Tigran Minasyan

sophomore

Re: "Whoa whoa whoa: a heartfelt plea" (Nov. 22, 2005) As our certified apathy monitor, Salman Farooq, noticed recently the trend in student behavior towards cold and uncaring acts.  But what Salman saw as the issue, students using the newspaper as kindling, or to top of the trashcan, is only the top of the ice cube. I don't know if anyone else has noticed this, but it seems that every year there are more and more strange accuracies at our school, now I'm not suggesting mass conspiracy theories or anything, but lets take a look, shall we?

Last year we had a run of incidents with some very creative spellers on the campus, whether this was the result of a weak English classes the past, or just a cry for attention these peoples left traces of their handy dandy  sharpies among the likes of walls, trash cans, and my personal favorite, the bathroom.  I mean there's nothing like some bonafide tagging to set the atmosphere for the restroom.  Also there was some issue with some  Macintoshes magically not having any RAM to speak of.  Also already this year we had some guys crack the school system open like a book.  It's not that I'm the naysayer of all fun and joy (and yes I do understand that cracking the network is the fastest and best way to learn about the system), but fun is only fun in moderation, and I do believe there is a line that is crossed between malicious acts and just having fun.

So what is Clark to do?  Oh, sure we could go down the whole blame society shindig, or even say, "Look at Hoover, or GHS compared to them we're almost spotless!" Unfortunately it seems that Clark has started preventive measures like locking up the towers, and locking down the laptops, tightening the networking security and such, but were does that lead?  Where will that end?  If we muse over the situation at CVHS where the possession of your standard, friendly, Sharpie Marker is in violation of school rules, what does that solve?  I mean it's not as is if the fact that defacing school property was already a punishable act stopped these people in the first place.  The rules only affect those who want to be affected or those who wouldn't commit malice acts in the first place.  Also, what do we know about these happenings?  Only the hearsay of a friend of afraid, a "he said she said" of a matter.  As it tumbles through the grapevine, the story snowballing out of proportion and focus, it becomes the stuff of legends. The "stick-it to the man" mentality emerges from this faculty habit.

So you may ask, "How is this solved?"  Well for one, all major infractions that affect the school should be public record, accessible to the students.  Also our school is a "Magnet School" and students have the choice to come here, and the school district has the choice to let them be there.  Most of the shenanigans at our school come from the fact the students themselves do not want to be there, but rather their parents want them there.  How do we currently monitor this?  Mainly grades, but what would it take for the counselors to meet every first year students twice a year.  I'm will to bet that the simple question of, "So how are you doing at Clark so far?" would yield some surprising results for the faculty.  Also, another thought to ponder on, why not just boot the repeat offenders?  So,  as I leave you these thoughts to mull over, ask what solutions can be found for our issues.

Ryan Hancock
sophomore