The New Pioneer Mercantile

by ANAHI CASTILLO & JENNIFER RAMOS

What is the Mercantile about? This program helps Mac-Hi students with disabilities find job training in and out of school.  

They make and sell goods such as cookies, candy, and coffee, which you can find in the cafeteria every morning before school. The price for the cookies is .50, and the coffee is one dollar for plain, $1.25 with flavoring for small, $1.75 for a large plain, and $2.00 with flavoring for large.

Some of the students who help in this program are Alex, Ana, Francisco, Angie, Kayley, and Josh. These students have been working really hard to make this program successful.  Some of the jobs they do are go to the preschool and help in the cafeteria at Central Middle School and McLoughlin High School.

Students also get paid for the time they work once every two weeks. The money that they make goes towards buying new supplies and saving up for the field trip to Portland for students that provides an opportunity for these hardworking students to be included.

Thanks to Mrs. Greer and Lisa. This program has been a great opportunity for these students.

Mac-Hi Bullying Down But Not Erased

by JENNIFER RAMOS 

Bullying in schools is a worldwide problem that can have negative consequences to a student's right to learn without fear in a safe environment. Bullying is unwanted, aggressive behavior among school aged children that involves a real or perceived power imbalance, as per its definition. Here at Mac-Hi bullying has reduced greatly. A survey was recently sent out and about 6% of the students here get picked on, but not physically but verbally. The behavior is repeated, or has the potential to be repeated, over time. Bullying includes actions such as making threats, spreading rumors, attacking someone physically or verbally, and excluding someone from a group on purpose. That is why anti-bullying laws and school policies have been enacted. These anti-bullying laws cover attacks based on race, religion, gender, sexuality, and national origin.

There may be many behaviors that look like bullying but require different approaches. It is important to determine whether the situation is actually bullying or something else. One student may bully another student because they feel the need to have control over another to make them feel better about themselves.

There are 4 types of common bullying: verbal, physical, relational and cyber bullying. Some bullying behaviors start as a simple teasing, but escalate to threats, taunts, hitting, and even stealing or hiding the victim’s belongings. Verbal bullying is characterized  by the cruel words one student says to another student.

“When my friends tease me and say things in a playful way,  I feel like they actually mean it, and it hurts,” said one interviewed Mac-Hi student, whose name has been left out. "But it always feels good to talk things out and let them know how you feel. Always stand up for yourself and let them know words hurt sometimes. After that day, things feel much better."

Physical bullying is an act of aggressive intimidation, and many get scared to even leave their homes. As young adults, you should always teach all children to be respectful. If you suspect a student is getting bullied, try making a casual conversation to try and see if the child brings anything up. If you’re ever a bystander, make sure to either stand up for a person who is getting bullied or go tell an adult. Never let a student get bullied, so stand up and speak out.