Prowler Staff Editorial

                Remember those “three R’s”? We’re talking about them – reduce, reuse, and recycle. Those are three tactics that are the basis for going green.

                Right now, Somerset is taking those words to heart as administrators are going towards environmentally friendly methods to help make the world – and our school – a better place.

Reduce

                Reducing the amount of waste we make (called reducing our carbon footprint) is probably the most important “R” to us. For example, reducing the amount of electricity we use can benefit Mother Earth and Somerset’s electricity bill. With the new Promethean boards, teachers are turning off their lights more often as they teach on the interactive screen.

                Using lamps with high-efficiency bulbs instead of turning on the fluorescent tube lights would also be beneficial. Somerset could also make another earth-friendly step by placing solar panels on the roof or even black piping to heat water. Solar panels may be a costly addition, but in the long run, the savings add up.

                Water consumption is also another thing that we could reduce. We need it every day, but we might be using more than necessary. We could use low-flow toilets and place low-flow parts on sinks. That way, they both use a smaller amount of water at a time.

                Other ways to reduce resources would be to maintain the temperature in classrooms, purchase more online textbooks instead of print editions (which would save money), and open windows more to conserve air when the temperature outside is pleasant.

Reuse

                This is relatively simple – you can reuse water bottles, pencils, boxes, and more. Somerset has begun to donate old backpacks and jackets to charities that can reuse the donations, and they ask former students to donate their uniforms for other students who need them.

Recycle

                Recycling is easy to do as long as you have recycling bins. More bins could be placed around school and in the cafeteria. White paper recycling bins could be placed in classrooms and offices to encourage everyone to recycle their white paper. These could be collected and placed with other recyclable materials to save landfill space.

Going green doesn’t have to cost a lot of money; in fact, going green can save money and the environment at the same time. Somerset is going in the right direction – green.

Staff Commentary

                The Ouija Board, also known as the “talking board” spurred urban legends and tales from the afterlife. It was created in the late 1800s and was originally used by mediums, or people who speak to spirits. It was very popular from its release date to the 1950s.

                The board has two rows containing letters, below are numbers 0 to 9. On the two top corners of the board are the words “yes” and “no.” At the bottom of the board it can greet you“Goodbye.”

                It’s played with two or more people sitting around the rectangular board, moving a planchette (movable indicator) across the board over the letters and numbers. When players begin to play, you see deep fear in their eyes and some even start to cry.

                There have been reports of lights flickering, haunting, strange sounds, and temperature dropping when people dare to play this game. It’s possible that they have gotten paranoid during the game and these occurances are only a part of their imagination.

                The board is essentially used to try to communicate with spirits who cannot communicate in any other way than by directing the planchette across the board to spell out their messages.

                Just the thought of potentially speaking to spirits and have them answer back is scary in itself.        So we suggest you don’t play this game if you get scared of things easily like “Paranormal Activity” and “The Uninvited.”                           You should think before playing it because you could be speaking to dangerous spirits, not just humble ones. You’ve been warned.

By Anthony O’Neil

Journalism Class Reporter

                The tall, gray, red-headed bird that goes by the name Kevin after the colorful, tropical bird from the movie “Up” seems to have become a resident here at Somerset Academy.

                Kevin is actually a Sandhill crane, which is a threatened species in Florida and endangered as a whole. It’s  appearance here has become quite the ubiquitous occurrence in recent times. Is this the right thing for it to do though? Well, we think not! There are several other places in which it could thrive, far away from this hazardous place.

                The obvious concern is that people could injure it, like getting hit by a car. Far more likely to happen here, however, is that it could get harmed from things thrown at it. In addition, power lines are yet another peril. If it were to fly into one, it could get shocked, tangled, and strangled. Flying into power lines could also lead to a minor power outage.

                Since it is impossible to have all the cranes out of residential areas, certain places in Nebraska have put reflectors on their power lines to keep the birds safe. Sandhill crane mortality rates dropped there, and we think it would be a great idea to implement here.

                If it is fed by people, it might forget how to find food for itself and depend on us for nourishment. After that, if it doesn’t get fed by us frequently enough or if it flies too far away from people, it will starve. The bird would be a wild, pulchritudinous bird, dependent on humans for his survival.

                Kevin’s well-being isn’t the only thing at stake here — your education is also. Let’s face it: Kevin tends to be a class disturbance when it makes one of his cacophonous, dramatic entrances, especially during Physical Education.

                What we need to do is relocate this bird to somewhere such as the Everglades where it would have plenty of food to find for itself. It would be a perfectly natural environment where it could live a long, fruitful life and maybe even start a family with  other crane comrades. The school life isn’t the best for this majestic bird. Kevinshould live wild and free — far away from residential areas and schools.

By Preethi Atluri

Journalism Class Reporter

Commentary

                You are sitting down at your desk, trying to listen to the teacher. You put your feet up on the basket of the desk in front of you, your knees touching underneath the desk. Suddenly there is a white, sticky, disgusting object on your pants – GUM.

                For all those people who keep on sticking gum underneath desks, STOP! It’s disgusting and dirty. No one claims to stick their wads under the desk, but someone has to be doing it over and over again; gum doesn’t magically disappear from your mouth and appear under the desk. If you are someone who smashes your gum on the desk, then get up and throw it in a trash instead. If you can’t do that, then you are just being lazy.

                Have you ever wondered about how many germs are lingering on that piece of gum? Scientists have found that about 10 million bacteria are thriving in a gram of spat-out gum. Nothing is more unsanitary than used gum, and the worst part is, aside from the bacteria, that you don’t know whose gum it was.

                In case you’re not sure, no one likes to touch someone else’s gum. If you don’t mind having gum stuck on your pants or shoes, then good for you, but everyone else thinks this is gross.

                So for you, the ones reading this who are sticking their gum under the desk (or anywhere else inappropriate), please stop for the sake of your classmates.