Presidents Don't Get a Day Off

            Growing up as kids we always enjoyed those three day weekends we’d get for special occasions like Martin Luther King Day or Good Friday, but as we grow older and move on with our education some of those holidays get bypassed.  Same for the President.

Honoring our state, nation and school by
raising out flags high.

            As the country enjoyed it’s national holiday with a day off, relaxing from the stresses off work, our nations leader was on the grind, passing bills and talking to legislators.  Many would think since it’s President’s’ Day the President should have the day off.  To many students here at Avila they think the same thing.  “The President doesn’t do anything on President’s Day because it a holiday meant to celebrate him, since he is a President,” Caleb Wells said.

1st grader Kolby explains what he would
do if he were President.
Photo taken by Emily Ryan

             Others say differently, according to Phil Gallagher in my interview with him, he said, “The President is never off work; he’s out there changing the world.”  And he is right, just because it is a national holiday celebrated for Presidents doesn’t mean President Obama gets a day off to run errands.  He might visit Mount Vernon where George Washington lived to honor him, but he still comes to work and conducts his business as usual.

            To some students they think the President doesn’t do anything, even if it is a national holiday.  When asked what she thought the President does on President’s Day, Emily Ryan answered, “Honestly nothing, I think he is a great delegator and a representative to out country, but being a president is all delegating.  His cabinet is full of people he pawns his work off to.”

             With many opinions out there about our President, there is still one solid answer.  Whatever day it might be, he is still in his office or around the world trying to make our country a safe, and enjoyable place to live.

My interview with Phil Gallagher

Paying it Forward

Everyone says your college experience will be one to remember, and they are right.  Being on your own, making your own decisions, and learning from them is what college is all about.  Don’t be left drawing a blank in the new year; instead, follow these tips on how to be successful.

            When starting the new semester, there are some things students should do to stay ahead of the game.  One important thing that will help you this year is to establish a study schedule.  Having a proper study schedule is the key to being successful in your classes.  Setting up a timeline to study each subject for at least a couple of hours per week will really pay off in the long run.  Set up certain nights to go to the library and work on your homework.  Even if it’s only 30 minutes, you are doing more than the kid that is staying in playing video games.  This will help you to become both a better and more responsible student. 

            In addition, having a yearly planner is very handy.  Writing down due dates for homework and readings at the end of each class will be helpful when you’re sitting in your room wondering what all was assigned. 

            Aim to get your studies finished early on, that way you can feel more relaxed and at ease.  All in all, your stress level will be lower.  When your friends call wanting to hang out, you will be thanking yourself for having gotten your work out of the way in advance.  Success is the result of thinking ahead and staying on top of things. 

Keeping your class work organized with binders and dividers can make life less stressful.

Freshman Rebekah Capeder checks out her planner to see what homework she needs to finish.  

Finding Your Full Potential through Creativity

A student intently working to make her blackout poem perfect.

            During an all day event on campus February 8, many of the art, theatre, and film and digital media majors were given the task to think outside the box, and be on the creative side.  The Creative Symposium was all about tapping into one’s full creative potential.

            During one of the many activities the students participated in.  The Interactive Stations really brought out the students creative potential with challenging and brain teasing activities.  Each station was five minutes long and full of brain busting creativeness.  Some of the stations were harder then others, while some only required your scribbling abilities. 

            Many of the student’s favorite station was, the Blackout Poem.  Each student at the table picked a random article from a pile and their task was to mark out all the words they didn’t find relevant and make a poem out of it.  The students really enjoyed this station because they found it to be the most challenging and noticed that once they started blacking out words the rest of their poem just flowed out like it was meant to be in the article.

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A student participating in the "Scribbling" station

            Another station was focused on being creative through coloring.  More like scribbling, each student had a piece of paper with random lines on it, and their job was to draw something from those lines.  It could be anywhere from a face to a bird, all that was required was that they used their minds to come up with their masterpiece.

            At the end of the day all the students left with a better understanding that creativity isn’t all that hard to come by, they just have to believe in it.  As art, theatre and film and digital media majors these students live off creativity.  From figuring out what voice level to speak in, to the camera angle of the shot, every student uses creativity because that’s what makes us unique.

Saving Our Youth's Education

Being a student in high school, kids should not be allowed to drop out.  Kids should not have the choice of skipping out on their education to stay at home and play video games.  Yes, school may be a drag for some high school students, but going to school and getting an education is what life is all about.

I agree with President Obamas decision to make every student who is enrolled in high school to graduate.  How do students who drop out expect to get a job?  If they drop out of high school there is a high chance they are not going to go to college?  In this economy, business owners are not looking to higher a drop out student from high school.

Getting your high school education really isn’t that hard.  Most high school students would say that high school was a breeze for them.  Getting up and going to class isn’t a hard thing to do, and you’re out of class in the early afternoon so you have the whole rest of the day to do what want.

President Obama’s plan should be enforced immediately to help save many kids lives that drop out of high school.  According to childtrendsdatabank.org the high school drop out rate has declined, but that doesn’t mean it won’t rise again.  Many young students who drop out of high school are unlikely to have minimum skills and credentials necessary to function in today’s society.

Photo Taken by: Doug Mills/New York Times

Photo Take by: Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images