I Stand for the Silent - My High School Journalism
I Stand for the Silent - My High School Journalism
I Stand for the Silent - My High School Journalism
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September 2, 2011 The Stinger<br />
Stinger Stinger Stinger Stinger Stinger Stinger Stinger Stinger Stinger Stinger Stinger Stinger Stinger Stinger<br />
It Gets Better<br />
By Ulysses de la Rosa/gk<br />
Wednesday, August 24 th , Kirk Smalley<br />
came into KHS to tell us his son‟s story.<br />
Which is one of tragedy; he also explained<br />
how to put a stop to ten suicides related to<br />
bullying. This man‟s struggle reminded me<br />
of a project<br />
I heard about this summer thanks to a<br />
band called Rise Against, It Gets Better.<br />
IGB is an organization trying to put an end<br />
to bullying towards young homosexual men<br />
and women and encourages <strong>the</strong>m to look<br />
toward <strong>the</strong> future, promising that „it gets<br />
better‟.<br />
It Gets Better was started by author<br />
Dan Savage in September 2010, whom is<br />
currently editorial director <strong>for</strong> The Stranger<br />
in Seattle. Mr. Savage started this movement<br />
with one video he made with his partner<br />
after hearing about <strong>the</strong> suicides of Billy<br />
Lucas and Aaberg. They ended it with <strong>the</strong><br />
phrase, „It gets better‟, and a movement was<br />
born.<br />
„The project has received submissions from<br />
celebrities, organizations, activists, politicians<br />
and media personalities, including<br />
President Barack Obama, Secretary of State<br />
Hillary Clinton, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, Adam<br />
Lambert, Anne Hathaway, Colin Farrell,<br />
Mat<strong>the</strong>w Morrison of "Glee", Joe Jonas,<br />
Joel Madden, Ke$ha, Sarah Silverman, Tim<br />
Gunn, Ellen DeGeneres, Suze Orman, <strong>the</strong><br />
staffs of The Gap, Google, Facebook, Pixar,<br />
<strong>the</strong> Broadway community, and many more.<br />
Mr. Smalley‟s story reminded me of<br />
everything I‟ve heard about from this project.<br />
It Gets Better, highlights <strong>the</strong> struggles<br />
our gay and lesbian bro<strong>the</strong>rs and sisters go<br />
through daily just being <strong>the</strong>mselves. The<br />
music video “Make It Stop (September‟s<br />
Children)” by Rise Against displays a variety<br />
of different scenarios that could and do<br />
happen every day.<br />
I took a pledge, alongside <strong>the</strong> pledge I<br />
took <strong>for</strong> <strong>Stand</strong> For The <strong>Silent</strong>, to do my best<br />
to help spread this movement and work to<br />
spread tolerance <strong>for</strong> everyone‟s lifestyle. If<br />
your interested in watching any of <strong>the</strong>se<br />
videos, check out www.itgetsbetter.com or<br />
www.youtube.com/user/itgetsbetterproject.<br />
Stinger PDF Available<br />
Go to www.khsstinger.com<br />
New Voting ID Requirement<br />
By Grace Krepel/la<br />
As of July 1 of this year all voters must show proof<br />
of identity in order to cast <strong>the</strong>re ballet in any election.<br />
According Kingfisher County Election Board Secretary<br />
Sharon K. O‟Hern, <strong>the</strong> law is very specific about <strong>the</strong> kind<br />
of document that can be used. “It must be issued by <strong>the</strong><br />
federal, state, or recognized tribal government. Also it<br />
must have <strong>the</strong> name and photo of <strong>the</strong> person registered.”<br />
O‟Hern warned in a press release from <strong>the</strong> Election<br />
Board.<br />
If you are worried about acquiring such a document,<br />
which included a driver‟s license, a state ID, a passport,<br />
or a military ID, Never fear. You may request a voter ID card when you register. Speaking<br />
of registering to vote, if you will be eighteen be<strong>for</strong>e <strong>the</strong> next election you may register to<br />
vote now. Don‟t miss this opportunity to participate in our government. Voter Registration<br />
<strong>for</strong>ms maybe obtained from Dr. Johnson or <strong>the</strong> Kingfisher Country Court House. It is a<br />
simple <strong>for</strong>m and <strong>for</strong> <strong>the</strong> cost of a stamp you can make your voice heard!<br />
The O<strong>the</strong>r Sport<br />
By: Grace Krepel/la<br />
You may be alarmed to see somewhere between seventy to a hundred and fifty people<br />
dashing across a grass field following <strong>the</strong> sound of a gun.<br />
However, this isn‟t what it appears. These individuals in<br />
<strong>the</strong>ir short shorts are not running from something but ra<strong>the</strong>r<br />
towards <strong>the</strong> distant finish line, and <strong>for</strong> <strong>the</strong>se cross country<br />
runners <strong>the</strong> finish line is very distant.<br />
Let me make something clear. This is not fall track! We<br />
don‟t run in circles, sprint, hurdle, or throw anything. This<br />
sport involves grueling distances over hills and rough surfaces.<br />
By <strong>the</strong> end of <strong>the</strong> season <strong>the</strong> girls will be running two<br />
miles and <strong>the</strong> guys will be running upwards of three. It‟s<br />
also important to note, when following CC results that seventy<br />
people in a race is small so when you hear people excited<br />
about getting eighteenth or twentieth, <strong>the</strong>y aren‟t slow.<br />
They are simply pleased that <strong>the</strong>y beat fifty o<strong>the</strong>r people.<br />
Cross Country may not be a contact sport according<br />
to <strong>the</strong> rules, however when you put a hundred<br />
people a single line and fire a gun all bets are<br />
off. Elbows and shoulders seam to be everywhere<br />
making you seriously question <strong>the</strong> validity of such<br />
rules. Hold up, don‟t think this is <strong>the</strong> toughest part of<br />
<strong>the</strong> sport. Running long distance is a battle of sheer<br />
will power.<br />
Make sure to keep and eye out <strong>for</strong> <strong>the</strong> result of<br />
such battles as <strong>the</strong> season kicked off last Saturday at<br />
Chisholm. Pay special attention Shane Wright and<br />
Colin Stallcup who led <strong>the</strong> guy‟s team Saturday and<br />
also Grace Krepel who placed second over all. Don‟t<br />
<strong>for</strong>get Alan Murphy and Brook Boeckman our up<br />
and coming freshman.