WWCC Tour for Seniors - Coming Soon!

by DARBY FRESKE

Attention, seniors! If you are thinking about going to Walla Walla Community College, then you’re in luck. Mac-Hi has decided to take all seniors on a tour to WWCC, most likely on a Wednesday. Administration is planning to break the tour into two trips so that there will only be 60 kids at a time. It will be during school, and you will go with your advisory class and teachers. This trip will only be for seniors; on the bright side, the school might also be having a trip for juniors in the spring.

However, please keep in mind that this is still being talked about, and that the dates aren’t set in stone, so keep an eye out for more information.

Mac-Hi Needs More Language Classes

by CASEY HALE

Students have no choice when it comes to learning a language, they only have the option of Spanish. Many of the students at Mac-Hi are of Mexican heritage and can fluently speak Spanish.  Mexican students learning Spanish is like English students learning British; redundant.

Besides the fact that students need to be learning while at school, another reason we need more than one class is because students deserve a choice, many students want to learn German, French, Latin, Greek, Japanese, Chinese, Russian, or any of the other 1,000’s of languages in the world. If a student is not allowed the power to choose which language they learn, they may despise the language they have to learn. Because of their possible lack of passion for the language, the student might not do as well as they might had they chosen the language.

It is true that Spanish is a very important language; it is the second most commonly spoken language and it has significant historical value. However, it is illogical to limit students to only one language, no matter how important it is, because one language can not accommodate for the needs of all the students at Mac-Hi, such as the Mexican students.

The gap in education can be filled with new language classes. A good example is Mandarin Chinese, the most frequently spoken language. Chinese also opens many opportunities because it is the most spoken language in international business.

Another language we can consider might be Sign Language (called ASL by those in the know),  it helps solve the problems of miscommunication between deaf and hearing people. Personally, I long for a German class because of my future career path and simply because it is interesting and useful.

A decision needs to be made on whether or not we will have more language classes and, if so, which ones. This decision, however, is not mine to make, it is the school’s decision. I can only suggest that we should have more language classes.

Inez Pulido Has a Way With Words

by SAMUEL MILLER

Inez Pulido is a sophomore that many people don’t know about, but even though she is somewhat unknown, she is one of the most interesting people you will meet. Her favorite dish is a nice hot and savory spaghetti with a side of garlic bread. Her favorite restaurant in Milton is the Golden Village. When asked what she plans on doing after high school, she replied that she plans on going to college and getting a job to help out her family.

When asked What she truly enjoyed doing, she replied, “I love to write or read. When I write, it gives me a sense of serenity.” She feels that writing is essential to finding out who one is. To Inez, writing has opened the doors to how she sees the world today. This year, she decided to join poetry club. Since then, she has enjoyed adding poetry into her writing. To write her stories she uses an app called “WattPad”.

“I am writing a fantasy story write now. I just started, but I hope to make it a series,” Pulido says. She hopes that she can finish the first book of the story by her junior year.

Where Have They Gone?

by DIMITRI IVIE

         Bananas are amazingly delicious, but the school has not had bananas in a long time. I vote the opportunity is now to find out what happened to this beloved fruit that seems to be escaping the clutches of students in the school. I will get to the bottom of this potentially catastrophic occurrence.

      As I ask around journalism class, and the students as well as the teacher seem to not have eaten bananas in a long time, and those who have recently eaten bananas they were their own. Traveling to my next class, I asked around and most students had either not remembered the last time they ate one or have had an outside source of bananas. Continuing my investigation, these facts worry me greatly.

       The next day, interviews with fellow classmates of mine have proven one thing: anyone who had eaten bananas recently ate them outside of school. I then spoke to the cafeteria lady, Pam Hawley, who had her last day on the 8th of December, and I asked her when the last time she saw bananas served at the school and she said,”Well, not since last year.” Hawley stated that our food supplier would not get any for us students because they were to expensive. Not even for Thanksgiving did they provide one banana for the fruit salad (I just knew something was off!).

        I have also recently learned that due to a fungi infesting banana plants, they are dying off. Therefore, this makes the price of bananas rise, but is it so much that the food providers can't afford to buy them? Not even for Thanksgiving? How high will the price go to?

           Now those of you who think that this is a ridiculous story and have a “Who cares attitude” what if the last source of bananas were gone and we never saw a banana again? The minions would not be able to sing the banana song or any song with bananas in it, poof! Also, any lotion, makeup, and medicines would be a dream. So show forth some care for this beautiful yellow fruit!

Wrestle Your Heart Out

by ANAHI CASTILLO & DIMITRI IVIE

Coach Chad Kilburg is impressed by how the wrestlers have done in their first two tournaments. Being able to have three of his wrestlers as Champions at the Muilenburg Tournament was something that hasn’t been done in a while. When asked what has been the biggest sacrifice he has had becoming the head coach, he answered, “This is the first year being head coach with all of the added responsibility, but that has made it challenging and fun.” Jerry Ewing, Chad’s high school wrestling coach, inspired him to become a wrestling coach. Chad Kilburg doesn’t regret becoming a coach, but he sure doesn’t like when one of his wrestlers gets hurt during a match they worked so hard for.

One of our top wrestlers this year is Riley Chester, Champion at the Muilenburg Wrestling Tournament. He was nervous but confident before the match to take the wrestlers on! His favorite moment was when he won his last match. One of the biggest sacrifices for Riley was giving up his free time and having to cut weight. His ambition for wrestling this year is the State Title. He wants to go big this year.

 Cole Skramstad, another Champion at the Muilenburg Wrestling Tournament, felt great and confident during the tournaments. The best feeling Cole got was when he pinned his opponent during the match. He has had to sacrifice drinking soda because of the strict diet the wrestlers need to have to stay at a certain amount of weight. “My dad, has been an inspiration since I was young and I have always wanted to surpass him in his accomplishments.”

Our third Champion, Alyx Shaw, in the Muilenburg Wrestling Tournament said, “I was nervous but I had a lot of people back me up.” He felt great after he won and everyone was excited for him. Alyx has gave up most of his free time because of the practices during weekdays and tournaments on weekends. He also says that it’s hard for wrestlers to lose or gain weight in such a short period of time.

Spencer Wells is one of the most improved wrestlers from last year. He was in as a 250 pound freshman and throughout managed to lose 50 pounds. His current weight is 202 pounds. Coach Chad Kilburg said, “I’m really proud of the improvement Spencer has had since the beginning of his freshman year to now.” Spencer himself is proud of the extreme weight loss he has had. The hard work that he puts in and what he gets out of it is his favorite part of being in wrestling.

Another greatly improved person on the Mac-Hi wrestling team is Zach Crismon. At the beginning of his freshman year he started at 85 pounds and then at the end of the season he weighed 95 pounds, but this year he is weighing 115 pounds. When it comes to tournaments he is a very nervous yet confident wrestler. Winning his first match and placing on the top four made Zach feel really good about himself. His inspiration to be a better wrestler would be Cole Skramstad, because he is a hard worker and usually places in state.

  

T.S.A. Vanquishes The Competition

by CASEY HALE

Mac-Hi’s T.S.A team traveled to the college in Pendleton on the tenth of December to trounce their opponents. They built twenty wood toy trains, and they were judged as being better than all the other toys built by the other T.S.A teams. The proof of the victory hangs on the wall in Mr.Nelson’s classroom.

The competition in Pendleton also featured a very stressful bridge building competition, which asked students to build a model bridge in 2½ hours. They were given some very unintelligible instructions, and, because most of the teams didn’t understand some of the instructions, many were disqualified. After the bridges were built, their efficiency was tested by crushing them until they broke. Unfortunately, Mac-Hi did not win because all but one of our teams were disqualified. The competition continued with the flight endurance test, but, because some of the team members forgot to bring the plane, we did not compete in that one. Although we lost both the bridge building and the flight endurance tests, we came in first place in the manufacturing prototype (toy building).

The T.S.A. Club is where you build things, and Mr. Nelson is the boss. The club meets on Thursdays after school, and they are still accepting new club members. For the last couple of months, the T.S.A. members have been building 20 wooden toy trains to give to children. Because they were understaffed, they were behind schedule on the train construction and the dedicated members have had to spend many long Thursdays in the woodshop, sometimes staying until 7 o’clock to accommodate for the lack of manpower. Sometimes, Mr. Nelson has graciously provided Papa Murphy's pizza, but, due to the ravenous appetite of the students, Nelson didn’t get to eat many slices before it was gone. Now, every Thursday, the T.S.A. members are hard at work for their next competition in February next year.

GSA Begins “Choose Another Word” Campaign

by ALEX HUNTER & SAMUEL MILLER

The Gay-Straight Alliance is a club that creates a safe place for everyone to come regardless of gender identity or sexual orientation. This is a safe place for people who have questions or answers about gender or sexual identity to go ask questions and answer some that other students might have.

The GSA is beginning a campaign, called “choose another word.” They want to help students use language that is less offensive and more positive. For example, if a student is assigned a book to read in class and begins reading it, and says, “This book is gay,” that could offend a portion of the other students. “I know sometimes people aren’t trying to be offensive, but it’s a problem when they use words that associate being gay with something they dislike or think is stupid,” says club advisor Mr. Lynn. Because, as we all know, a book cannot actually be homosexual.

How are they going to do it?

They have cards. They will pass it out if someone says gay or the n-word, or something along those lines.

They are trying to suggest that they use different words. “We are trying to make people a bit more knowledgeable and a bit less offensive at the same time. Without shoving it down their throats,” added Collin Green, an active GSA member.