Summer Times 2007

BY NATALIE CERABINO

Educators and legislators in Florida are going to school. With new guidelines outlining the physical education programs in Florida, school districts are being forced to rethink their long-forged practices. A little more than a month ago, Florida Governor Charlie Crist drafted the “Half-hour-a-day PE Law” requiring elementary school students in the state of Florida to participate in at least 30 minutes of physical education classes daily as opposed to the 30 minutes weekly as they have practiced previously.

Motivated by the growing trend of obesity in children and adolescents, Crist is pushing this bill in an attempt to solve poor health in American youth, according to an article in the Tampa Bay Tribune. “We’re trying to create a culture of activity in our elementary schools,” Republican Rep. Will Rutherford, the bill’s sponsor, was quoted as saying in an Associated Press article.

Statistics like those found on the Alliance for a Healthier Generation website show that one in four children do not participate in physical activities in their free time, supporting Crist’s initiative. Only 8 percent of elementary schools nationwide require daily physical education lessons. In recent years, it has also been found that kids are averaging four to five hours of screen time every day in front of the latest television shows, computers or video games.

The youth need to get moving, that much is certain. But at what cost to our education system? Although noble in intentions, Crist’s harnessing of the state’s governing power in order to accomplish this goal does not necessarily mean it will be accompanied with adequate funding, or funding at all. On the contrary, the responsibilities fall to individual counties to pull money out of their already tight budgets in order to pay for the number of gym teachers needed to accommodate the entire population of the school in daily gym classes.

“I’m not sure that anyone really understands what it means,” said Beth McHale, a kindergarten teacher at S.D. Spady Elementary in Palm Beach County. McHale has taken her class to recess for scheduled increments of 20 minutes a day for as long as she can remember. Not every Spady teacher does, though, and the upper grades only get 15 minutes on the playground. In addition to this daily playtime, McHale’s class visits Coach Nelson, Spady’s PE teacher, for physical education on a rotating cycle along with other specialty programs. Students alternate between art, music, media, computers, and PE on a six day time period. Nelson’s days under this system are already scheduled down to the second, seeing students from bell to bell during the school day.

The proposed law has not made a specification between recess time and PE class. McHale speculates that under the ambiguity of the directions from Tallahassee that the free time students get to participate in their choice of physical activity during recess will morph into a more structured class format to satisfy the ruling.

The question still remains about who would be teaching these classes? McHale expressed emphatically when asked about the possibility of hiring more gym teachers, “I truly doubt it.”

Being that schools are not able to support a expansion of their staff, schools have been looking within their own to allocate help. Guidance counselors, art and music teachers, and teacher’s aides are now receiving crash courses in PE curriculum. Cindy Banks, a teacher from Cypress Trails Elementary in Royal Palm Beach, is happy to encourage physical activity in her students but does not believe herself qualified to fill in for a fully trained PE teacher.

“I don’t want to be trained as a PE teacher,” she was quoted as saying in an article in the Palm Beach Post. “I never wanted to be a PE teacher just as they never wanted to be a reading teacher.”

Despite the lack of absolutes in the execution of this law, every educator and legislator can agree that students need physical stimulation in the face of the rising apathy of children toward their own health.

“They should be playing, they should be outside,” McHale said.

Crist, equipped with the ability to lead Florida’s governing power on to many solutions for the reasons attributing to the rise of childhood obesity, has chosen one that is near impossible to execute. The Alliance for a Healthier Generation cites both poor nutrition in school food and the lack of a variety of supermarkets and inexpensive meal options in poor neighborhoods as causes helping to inflate the statistics and our kids.

“I don’t know how they are going to do it,” McHale says in reference to the governor’s new plan. “No one really does.”

By: Christina Samaan

A nationally recognized contributor to her field in both journalism and law, Sandra Chance is also a professor, lawyer, board director of the First Amendment Foundation, member of many organizations, journalist and considered an expert at many of her jobs. Chance is a popular speaker at the University of Florida on her countless experiences within her profession, and that was the case with a group of high school journalists attending the University of Florida’s Summer Journalism Institute. At SJI, Chance’s speech, titled “Law is not a 4-letter word,” made many SJI students curious as to what it could be about, especially students interested in the field of law. Chance proved that law does not have to always be a bad thing because of its tendency to have a bad connotation. People generally try to stay as far away from law or lawyers as possible, Chance said, making it clear that thinking ‘oh crap’ whenever the law comes into the picture does not always have to be the case.

Chance began her presentation with a test. As soon as she asked everyone to take out a pad and pen, most students were taken aback. “I’m going to test your knowledge on the First Amendment,” she said. She had everyone jot down all the freedoms that the First Amendment protects. Only about 10% of the SJI students knew all five freedoms: religion, free speech, free press, assembly, and petition. More Americans know the names of all 5 “Simpsons” than the First Amendment Rights. “It’s important for us to know them and to exercise them to help others know them,” she said.

She stated that “the most important protection for journalists in the world” is the First Amendment. The law does protect the press, but especially in student run publications, the administration can usually interfere. “First Amendment rights are not unlimited. The government can put restrictions,” said Chance. “People don’t have the right to yell fire in a crowded theater.” However nowadays, “Students are getting punished for what’s on their webpage.”

This eventually led to the question, “How far is too far in the news?” In her speech, Professor Chance cited examples of the invasion of privacy, such as public disclosure of private and embarrassing facts, intrusion, false light, and misappropriation. “Be sensitive to those kinds of things,” she advised the high school students.

For many, Chance’s insight on media law really hit home for some of the aspiring journalists and lawyers. “I think it’s important for any journalist or any person [to know about media law] because our country is based upon laws, and especially as a journalist you need to know when not to cross the line,” said Jackie Kim, SJI writing student. Chance holds an important position as executive director of the
Brechner Center for Freedom of Information at the University of Florida. Chance’s job consists of presenting national seminars on governmental and First Amendment issues, according to the Brechner Center.

In 1985, Chance graduated from UF’s College of Law, earning her M.A with honors. Shortly thereafter, she practiced media law with the firm Holland & Knight in Tampa. Her clients included The Miami Herald, The Tampa Tribune, and the Gainesville Sun.

She is active in the National Freedom of Information Coalition, the American Bar Association and the Florida Association for Women Lawyers.

Chance is also a Professor at the College of Journalism and Communications. “Sandra Chance is a major reason why the college’s graduate program is recognized as one of the best in the nation,” according to the executive associate dean of the University of Florida.

By Adam Brock

The true definition of an idol is someone that you look up to or a person that possesses characteristics that are admired by many. Some of these characteristics include being able to belt the last note of a song, perform in front of a sold-out crowd, sacking an opposing quarterback or maybe even act ditzy on television just to entertain us.

But now, there has been a new addition to this long list – committing crimes. The so-called idols we have admired for years are not living up to what we set as the “standard.” Celebrities including Michael Jackson, Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan and even Diana Ross have committed crimes but are still idolized by many. One might think after one of them has been charged with assault and battery or stopped for numerous DUI’s that their fans might wean away and find someone else to idolize. That’s not how it works in the real world. If a student in your school goes through all of this, you’d think he or she was a freak. But people ignore the fact that these seven-figure salary-making “idols” are not getting the punishment that they deserve.

Paris Hilton was just released from jail after her 23-day sentence for violating her probation. Her original sentence was 45 days, but I guess the Los Angeles Superior Court felt that was too long for the heiress and didn’t want her next sex tape to be delayed any longer.

But wait, it gets even better. Within three days of her sentence, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department voted to send Hilton home due to an unidentified medical condition and to have her serve the rest of her term under house arrest for 40 days and to be hooked up by the ankle to a tracking device.

These days, law enforcement is a game and celebrities are the players in it, having a blast while changing the rules. Last time I checked this wasn’t Survivor: Celebrity Edition. You cannot be voted out of jail or be given a “Get Out of Jail Free” card. The law should not be enforced in a manner where the inmate has to bribe the cop and he or she gives in.

After Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Michael T. Sauer found out Hilton was released within three days of her sentence, he called her back in and enforced, once again, that the heiress needed to serve her term in the all-women, Century Regional Detention Facility in
Lynwood, California. Hilton was outraged and for some reason did not understand why violating her probation and driving while intoxicated deserved to go back into the slammer. It is quite “obv” (obvious) as Hilton might say: She broke the law.

For some odd reason, celebrities think they can undermine the law and break the rules that have been set in place for years. Some of these rules have ruined normal people lives, such as serve a life sentence in prison. Celebrities cannot think just because they entertain you on TV shows, in movies or in professional sports, that they have the right to go 80 mph in a 40 mph zone or have possession of illegal substances.

BY KSENIYA BELIK

A lot is expected of Americans in the upcoming 2008 election. For the first time in History, an African American candidate and a female candidate have a tangible chance of being elected president. The question that lingers is whether Americans are ready for a female or black president, but more important if Americans are ready for a major cultural change.

A recent Newsweek poll found 86 percent of Americans said they would vote for a female presidential candidate but only 55 percent said they believed America is ready for one. Even more – 93 percent – said they would vote for an African American presidential candidate, yet only 56 percent believed America is ready for one.

There are the raw figures, but then there are the people behind them. According to Newsweek’s polls, Obama would be in the lead, but other recent polls show that Clinton is leading among Democrats, which must mean Americans look intently past the statistics. Clinton has quite a history in politics so it’s hard to look past her experience and political background compared to Obama’s lack of expertise and untested, unknown persona.

Inevitably, Clinton and Obama both face challenges that previous white male presidential candidates have not faced, but it is their obstacles that make them capable of presidency. Both Clinton and Obama have personal stories, not just classical actions. For Clinton, she has her experience and readiness going for her, while Obama is favored for being new and a strong leader.

Whatever happens, Clinton and Obama have both gone far, for there is no doubt they have supporters who favor these nontraditional candidates over the favored white male contenders. So when it comes down to the question whether America is ready… the answer must be yes. Sometime, somewhere, many Americans have already chosen these two unexpected presidential candidates.

BY KAYLA HUMESTON

Before arriving at Beaty Towers at the University of Florida, I had no clue what I was in for. Many have told me that college dorms were repulsive. I had no idea how I was going to be able to survive.

While checking in I realized that college dorms were not as bad as I had pictured. On the first floor there is a recreational place where you can watch TV, hang out with friends and even shoot some pool.

Unlike the other dorms at UF such as Broward, dorms in Beaty Towers have individual bathrooms. Beaty dorms have showers and a common area, and every room is designed for 4 people. In the common area there is a sink, a stove, and a refrigerator- to make your freshman fifteen easier to gain. The dorm has two bedrooms each with two beds, closet area and a desk. One major advantage at Beaty is that it has air conditioning, unlike Thomas and Buckman. Beaty is the only high-rise housing residence on campus; this is a plus for students who are having trouble finding their way around campus.

Beaty West has 14 floors and Beaty East has 13 floors. “I enjoyed staying at Beaty last year, but the elevators break often, so you will definitely get your exercise walking up the stairs to the top floors,” says Kelley Nugent. It is located right across the street from a pool, the Broward beach, tennis courts and a skateboarding ramp.

At the University of Florida there are about twenty- four on- campus housing residences. There are a few residences, such as Lakeside, that are not located on the main campus, so you have to take a bus to campus.

Students are not required to live on campus, but it is highly recommended. Senior at UF, Laura Suarez- Murias says, “Living in the dorms my freshman year was the best decision that I made because I was easily able to make new friends.”

At the beginning of each semester there is a two week housing freeze. The housing freeze means you cannot move out of your dorm or get a roommate switch until after the first two weeks, so that you get to know your roommate and not judge them by first impressions.

By: Ashley Hemmy

The date on the eight-page issue of Deltona High’s Paw Print read October 27, 2006. However, the revised issue didn’t reach the hands of the students until Nov. 1. The issue that was released comprised four pages, including one with just ads, another with just cartoons. The newspaper staff was appalled as they faced an ongoing issue, student censorship.

Seven articles were cut from the issue. These articles included a page of articles on untraditional religions such as Atheism and Satanism and an opinion piece questioning the purchases of the administration, specifically the $700 flat-screen TV hanging on the main office wall. The staff had to send a four-page issue to print to satisfy advertisers.

The incident resulted in a whirlwind of chaos. The Daytona Beach News-Journal wrote various articles and published senior Eric Ritter’s article about the TV. Teachers and newspaper advisers all over the U.S. shared an angry view and sided with the student staff. The administration came up with unconvincing reasons for censoring the Paw Print. Only one article, about Atheists and Agnostics, was eventually published in the Paw Print. The others were released on the newspaper’s online edition. However, the persistent writers gained a new respect from not only the administration but from professional newspapers.

It is surprising to discover what little today’s administrator’s know about student censorship. The administration thinks that they have the ability to cut out articles that are controversial or offensive. This is not true; freedom of speech does apply to minors as well as adults.

“[The First Amendment] is what the country is based on,” said UF Journalism professor Mike Foley. “Without it there is no U.S.”

Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District (1969) opened doors for students. The result of this case, involving students wearing black armbands symbolizing an opposition to the Vietnam War, was that the only reason the administration can stop students is if their [the students] actions may result in a public disruption.

A later case, Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier (1988), closed the door for student newspapers. The administration now has the ability to censor a piece for educational purposes. This result is the current guideline for schools everywhere. But, is it fair to limit students from choices and opinions. Should students be denied of full first amendment right?

“It is a school, not a jail,”said Ritter. “No crimes have been committed, thus, no amendment guaranteed freedom should be sacrificed.”

It is understandable to deny students full freedom of speech; some are just not mature enough for certain content. However, the only reason students should be stopped while exercising their speech rights is when what they say might cause a public disruption.

Other than that, no reason is plausible. The real reasons behind the administration’s censoring are ridiculous.

“Image, it was all about public relations and the school’s image,’ said Ritter. ‘They don’t want to directly tell us what to write, but they will control their image.”

The reasons of the administration are vain and scared.

“The administration fears their reputation,” said 17 year old SJI student Sarah Taylor. “They believe that students are inferior.”

There are solutions to most of these reasons, without the complication of court.

“A lot of the time both the principal and the adviser don’t understand journalism,” said Foley. “A workshop should take place over the summer. That way they don’t take things out but find a way to keep them in.”

Students don’t realize what they are capable of when they write for their school newspaper. The power of the press is strong.

“We can write about what we want,” said 17 year old SJI student Nicole Schoen. “As long as we take the right angle.”

Ritter’s TV article turned heads. It made differences in both the school and the administration.

“One of the problems that story pointed out was how disgusting the bathrooms were. Weeks later the bathrooms are painted, and by the end of the year, automatic flushers had been installed,” said Ritter. “The lunch patio was painted as well. The administration would never admit that a story they censored made those changes, but it did.”

Writing is powerful. It has the power to change minds, to change the world. To take that power away from future generations is damaging.

“Minors are going to grow up thinking that they have to keep their mouths shut,” said Schoen.

To limit the rights of the students is both biased and ignorant on the administration’s part. Most students don’t understand how crucial the First Amendment is the the U.S. The First Amendment is the blueprint to society, it is what the U.S. has built itself on. If today’s teenagers are too immature to grasp controversial issues, then they need to learn how. Discussing all issues, no matter how shocking, builds mature, well-rounded individuals.

“With all the recent incidents stepping on student press rights in the United States, I think that it’s a matter of time before Hazelwood is challenged,” said former Paw Print adviser Joe Malley. “It’s been nearly 20 years since the U.S. Supreme Court narrowed student press rights in Hazelwood. Times have changed. It’s time to overturn Hazelwood and allow students the freedom to pursue provacative stories that make people twitch.”

By Emmi Weiner

Being a dancer, walking around the University of Florida’s 2,000-acre campus should have been no sweat. I’ve spent countless hours running, jumping to music and sweating my butt off. Walking the half mile from my dorm to class, which takes less then 20 minutes, should have been no big deal.

Yet there is something about that half a mile walk that causes me an annoying pain. When walking excessively, my injured ankle acts up and bothers me. Not a stabbing pain but a dull aching that is just plain annoying.

Nevertheless I endure this walk numerous times a day since driving that same half mile would be ridiculous. It would only contribute to the growing epidemic of pollution leading to global warming and the death of poor innocent penguins.

What appears to be the most common form of transportation on campus is either walking or biking. I base this on the fact that I see about 25 bikes in one of the smaller bike racks during a summer break and the 20 people I pass on the way back to my dorm.

Don’t get me wrong, I have enjoyed walking around. It has allowed me to take in UF’s campus on a whole different level, yet I want to experiment with other modes of transportation. I’ve seen numerous buses, those only taking passengers to off-campus destinations for a measly dollar for adults. Cars can also be seen frequenting the streets alongside the buses. But for trips around campus, it seems not only foolish to waste gas on a trip that is less than a mile away, it also seems extremely lazy.

Maybe the perfect experimental transportation would be riding a unicycle. How crazy would that be? If you could unicycle without falling, it would definitely draw looks and be very entertaining. I would love to see a whole group unicyclists wearing matching jerseys wiz past me on the sidewalk. Also, riding one might provide me with a fresh look at everything especially as I would tumble towards the ground.

Even though all the walking causes my ankle to hurt, I am actually glad that we have to walk. Especially since all the food is grossly greasy and probably has about 5 million calories that I probably other wise wouldn’t burn off if not for the extreme amount of walking.

By Kristen Jugs

It’s the one word that’s exciting for some, scary for others: college.

Picture your perfect college. For some, images of ivy-covered walls and huge brick buildings surrounded by crowds of students come to mind. Others see themselves in a smaller setting, finding big universities too overwhelming.

There are so many variables for high schoolers to take into consideration when it comes to college planning. From Greek life to location, the choices are seemingly endless.

One of the biggest factors in the decision-making process is the size of the school and its student body. There are obvious advantages of each, as well as drawbacks.

Traditionally, bigger schools are known for their sports programs, as well as variety of options in seemingly every aspect of life, from classes to housing. Larger schools also offer research facilities to assist undecided students, and are usually full of excellent professors who have had a wide-range of experience in their field.

On the other hand, smaller schools offer smaller classes; in this way, students receive more one-on-one attention and are offered more specific majors. According to CollegeBoard.com, ” … smaller schools encourage students to explore areas outside their field of study.”

Both a student at UF and a graduate of Lehigh University (only about 4,000 undergraduates), Ted Geltner has seen advantages “to a degree” of each type of institution.

“To me, the biggest advantage (of a smaller school) is getting to know a good portion of the community… it seems like you’re less of a ‘number in the crowd’,” said Geltner. Nevertheless, he strongly believes that bigger schools are full of opportunities, possibly even more so than those of smaller ones ,“now that I’ve seen both.”

CollegeBoard.com says a student who wants to attend larger schools “need[s] to be a go-getter, who is not afraid to speak up, and take[s] advantages of the opportunities a big school has to offer.” Students can feel overshadowed at larger universities where every seat in the classroom is filled.

“My brother went to a big public state school and he ended up having to take online courses because he couldn’t get into the classes he had signed up for,” said Emily Ostrom, a 17-year-old prospective college student. “For me, being in a classroom with professors who can help on a personal level is really important.”

Even so, smaller schools have a more limited course selection available. Schools with smaller social scenes also tend to have cliques, which makes it difficult for students to meet people outside of their designated group.

All in all, the ultimate decision comes down to the university itself. College visits are the best way to get a feel for the school and all it offers. Though size is a major consideration, whether or not the school fits you personally is perhaps an ever bigger one.

BY NICOLE SCHOEN

Many high school students push themselves to the limits as they pile AP class on top of AP class to boost their GPA’s and impress college admissions. The only positive outcome from the stress of AP classes is the rise in students GPA and maybe some knowledge of new material, but at what cost?

Students as young as sophomores have more AP classes available to them then they know what to do with. Sophomore students are too young to even begin to think about learning college level studies. They are too busy learning the basics taught in high school. Junior and senior students are more mature and have had time to decide what career they want to pursue so they can decide for themselves if they are ready to handle the load of college work, not be pressured into AP classes by their guidance counselors, teachers or even parents.

The other factor students need to consider before signing up for a year of rigorous college level work is that if they do not make a 3 or higher on their end of the year college board exam, then students AP credits will not count toward college, especially if they are spreading themselves too thin between multiple AP classes. Basically they will have to retake the same class in college and just wasted a whole year when they could have been taking something easier and received the same points to add to their GPA.

Especially now that many schools are changing from block scheduling, AP teachers have to squeeze more information into smaller time frames. This doesn’t give much allowance for slow learners. Students have to be able to catch on fast, or else they will be lost. Next year is the first year many teachers will have to get used to changing from block scheduling, therefore their techniques may not be effective since they are basically experimenting with what works and what doesn’t the whole first year. Students taking AP classes next year are going to have an unfair experience compared to past students AP teacher have taught since they are being used as guinea pigs, students may not learn all the information or not learn it well enough to pass the College Board exam.

Of course there are the few genius kids who can take all AP classes every year in high school and pass with flying colors, but for the majority of kids they need to balance out their schedule and only take AP classes in subjects they excel in and only take them when they feel prepared for the challenge. The sad truth is that students who aren’t ready for AP will take them anyways to boost their GPA and to be more competitive for college admissions. Regular kids want to go to college as bad as the genius kids do so they have to work extra hard and struggle through AP so they can even be considered for college admission. They have to have something to make them competitive.

In college admissions not everything rides on GPA and AP classes, but a good majority does. If students don’t have the extracurriculars and grades to go with their AP classes then they are wasting their efforts struggling through AP, their C in AP won’t help them that much if they aren’t a part of any club in their school and have never helped the community in any way.

Basically students need to find a medium of AP classes and a combination of extracurriculars and decent grades to make college admissions look twice at their application. There is no need to stress unconditionally over five AP classes work loads, just keep a good balance of activities, be well rounded and college admissions will be no problem.

By Emily Ostrom

Prospective college students may initially feel happy about Governor Charlie Crist’s decision to maintain Florida’s low tuition prices–yet they may find themselves coping with the repercussions once they enter the classroom.

Both students and faculty worry about the future of public college education in Florida after Crist’s controversial veto of a 5 percent tuition increase for Florida’s largest public schools. With this current decision in place, the universities are struggling to keep everyone happy.

The University of Florida, for example, may encounter hiring freezes and overcrowded classes–particularly in its College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Already one of the most selective colleges in the state, the University of Florida may soon need to lower its acceptance rate even further to solve this problem.

These tighter admissions standards add to the ongoing pressure that high school students feel from heavy course loads and standardized tests.

Besides the University of Florida, other schools such as Florida State University are also experiencing similar budgetary restrictions. “When Florida State froze admissions, it scared a lot of high school students, ” said Sarah Taylor, a 17-year-old from Tallahassee. “If they do this now, what will happen later when I’m applying?”

Rather than cutting out even more applicants, Mike Foley, a Hugh Cunningham Professor in Journalism Excellence at UF, favors an increase in tuition. Foley explained that the majority of the student body also approves of the tuition increase, according to a recent vote by the student government. After all, “Most students don’t care about tuition,” Foley said, noting that many of them have the aid of their parents’ credit card.

For those UF aspirants who do worry about costs, Foley affirms that Crist’s decision does guarantee “a cheap ride through a great college.”

Other options for raising the greatly needed revenue include eliminating the popular Bright Futures program, according to the Florida Prepaid College Plan website. “Bright Futures would definitely affect my decision of whether or not to attend a Florida state school,” said Kristen Jugs, 17, a rising senior at Cardinal Gibbons High School.

As the debate continues over Crist’s veto of a tuition increase, Florida students must decide what is more important for them and their families in terms of cost and education.