March 14 (3/14) is Pi Day, a celebration of the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter — one of the most beautiful and confounding numbers in mathematics. It’s technically written as 3.14159, or 3.14 for short, but Pi is an “irrational and transcendental number” whose decimals “continue infinitely without repetition or pattern,” according to PiDay.org, the holiday’s official website.
Remember way back in the day when we were kids- We used to cut hearts out of construction paper, write silly little love notes and give out Valentine cards and candies to all our friends classmates? The good old days, when no one was left out or lonely on Valentine’s Day. Things have changed since then.
“When we were little it was about friends, but now it’s more about relationships,” says HHS senior Yelena Guseva.
Candy and hearts used to be the only thing that mattered. It wasn’t about boyfriends or girlfriends, or relationships and romance. Boys and girls had “cooties,” but candy was candy and friendship was reason enough to celebrate.
Now what used to be cute and thoughtful is considered “cheesy.” We grow out of our innocence the older we get. Candy gives way to bigger and better gifts: Heart-shaped boxes of chocolates, red roses, jewelry, stuffed animals, balloons, cards, fancy dinners—Now handmade stuff is “cheap.”
The expectations get bigger the older we get. “We become more romantic and put our feelings into it. Some people aren’t as satisfied with just candy as we used to when we were little,” says HHS’s Zhanna Antosenka. The stakes get high for this one particular day we’ve chosen to celebrate love.
V-day grows up with us—it means more the older we get.
No more cooties.
Up here in the Northwest, particularly in the winter months, sun is hard to come by. It rains for days, it gets cold and the dark hours of the day get longer and longer and it’s preferable to stay cooped up in the house. Some might enjoy the rain, but others flourish in the sun. Local resident Deanna Bixby hates the winter because of the fact that she can’t go out and enjoy things and is depressed because the lack of sunlight, and she’s not the only one. These dark days mean less sunlight, and less sunlight means the potential for getting necessary and vital amounts of vitamin D plummets—just like a lot of people’s moods and energy levels around this time.
Images and Editing by Daniel Ostapenko Writing by Jeremy Hess
This general mood-plummet can in part be explained by Seasonal Affective Disorder, also appropriately known as SAD, festers around this chilly time of year. Energy levels go through the floor, and gloomy symptoms of depression come about. Teachers see it all the time, and it sure doesn’t help around finals time when you’re trying to finish a test and just want to curl up and sleep under a fog of sunshine-less gloom. The only cure: lots and lots of vitamin D-filled sunshine.
As well as being a good cure for the Winter Blues, vitamin D has a host of other health benefits. It can help with healthy weight loss, assists in the natural absorption of calcium in bones, reduces the risk of colon cancer, and helps maintain a healthy immune system. Here in Vancouver we get deprived of this beautiful vitamin for months and months out of the year, so any chance you get, make sure that when the sun is out, go out there and soak up some good old vitamin D.
One Heritage High School junior takes her city’s heritage to heart.
Zoe Hall, 17, recently “adopted” Vancouver’s Old City Cemetery in the Central Park neighborhood after her father read an Aug. 15 article in The Columbian that neglect had enabled dandelions and weeds to outshine the headstones of the city’s founders buried there.
One thing is for sure, the world would be perfectly fine without snow. We don’t need snow here in America and we certainly do not need it in Vancouver. Consider the possibilities without it; we would have no black outs, no ice, no frozen cars and no cold, wet, feet. As you can tell, I absolutely hate snow. Bah-humbug! Even as a kid I didn’t particularly like the idea of being ice cold in the snow. Not to say I don’t like colder weather, because I very much do (living in Washington obviously), but when it drops below thirty-two degrees and the snow sticks to my feet, I can do without it. Snow causes all sorts of problems and you don’t always hear good things about snow.
The only positive thing I can think of is snow days, but too many snow days add up and then we have to push back summer for each day we miss. I would much rather have summer vacation days than miss a few days in the winter stuck indoors. Snow can have a profound effect on the world outside of school. For example, we all are in danger of hazardous road conditions. As teenagers and new drivers, that can lead to fatal accidents on the road. The ice creates less friction on our tires, giving us a worse chance at staying on the road and off the median. Black ice is very dangerous and it is smart to just stay at home when it’s present. People can lose electricity and heat because of the icy little devil.
Washington is not the warmest state in the country and we can get some pretty serious snow in the right conditions. Even though it doesn’t happen every year in Vancouver, I could go without it in general. With all these dangers, we can be in some trouble when we try and confront it. Why would we want to put ourselves in any sort of danger when it comes to simple tasks like going to get the mail, going to work, going to school, or staying home in a snow storm. No good comes from snow. I could live a happy life knowing that snow is far away from me and away from Vancouver. At the very least, it can stay up in the mountains so the snowboarders can have their fun but down in the city or even the suburbs, it can stay away for good. I would say, snow-stay out of Vancouver and go somewhere else. I want to stay warm and dry inside and be able to enjoy my summer on time without your hormonal tendencies messing around with the school schedule. To anyone who ‘loves’ snow, I heard Canada’s a good place for people like you.
-Jay
Image by Sierra Lake
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I’m just going to start this off by saying that I completely and utterly love snow. There’s something about it that’s so welcoming. I love lying on the couch, snuggled up in a cozy blanket, reading a novel, sipping on my coffee, and looking out my window at the white flakes falling gracefully from the sky. It brings a whole new definition of peace for me. I, being a complete and total lover of cold, wet, rainy, windy weather, mean that it’s pretty much only natural for me to adore the snow. I guess everything about it pulls me in. My favorite memories from early childhood somehow have snow incorporated somewhere in them. Snow brings me immense joy. When it snows, it seems as if the entire community just slows down and for the most part, there’s peace.
As Miss Ulrich has pointed out snow can have its dangers, “Why would we want to put ourselves in any sort of danger when it comes to simple tasks like going to get the mail, going to work or school, or staying home in a snow storm.” But who are we kidding? There’s danger everywhere. You could get hit by a car while walking out to check the mail, get in as serious car crash on your way to the grocery store, school, or work. Pretty much you are in danger at all times, you can’t live in a safety bubble. Life’s dangerous and the thrill of life is experiencing life to your highest potential, how are you allowing yourself to do that when you stay cooped up in your house for fear of the snow? You can’t.
Snow is beautiful, it’s one of the few things nature provides that makes me take a break from reality and gives me a sense of euphoria. There’s something about lying in a field covered with snow in complete solitude and creating snow angels or walking down the streets of Downtown Portland and watching as the snow lightly falls to the ground. When I think snow I think snow angels, snow men, and snow ball fights. Who doesn’t love those three things? Crazy people, that’s who!
It gives everyone the excuse to be a child again. I’ll always remember my first snowman, first snow ball fight, and first snow angel. I completely and wholly love the snow and everything it has to offer the world. I think that people need to take a step back and see snow for its beauty opposed to the negative it can bring. Pessimism is never beneficial, nor is negativity. Snow’s great, and I believe that everyone should just admit it.
-Cassidy
Dancing with the Teachers got started when Heritage High School asked the award-winning dance team if they would like to set up a program that would split the money earned between themselves with Speech and Debate. Just from this last year, they made $1200 combined, thanks to the enormous support from Heritage students.
The winner last year was Mr. Messer and he is coming back this year to defend his title. One year ago, Mr. Hamann was the main teacher and he will also be back this year to have a close rivalry with Mr. Messer for the title. I know a lot of people know him from AP Language and Composition, Junior Lit., and also from Junior English.
Here is the list of teachers dancing this year:
We have Mr. Crane, Miss Robinson, Mr. Messer, Mr.Hamann, Miss Cayton, Miss.Walenborn, Mr. Blake, Mr. Ross, Mr. Suksdorf, and Miss Suksdorf.
Currently, Paige Allen will be the MC, James Huges and Jeremy Hess will be at the door, with Savannah Briley doing behind-the-scenes filming of the competition. Come support our award-winning dance team and the amazing speech and debate team on November 29th at 7pm. Admission is $5 per person.
I know all of you who know Mr. Hamman, or even another teacher in the event, would like to come see them dance with the dance team. The first year most of them did hip hop, so come down to see what they are doing this year!
HOWLS’s own Ruben Otero reports from Washington D.C.
“Pshhhhhh….We got him, Santiago is down. We have slain the head of the dragon we’ve been fighting for years. Over and out…pshhhhh.”
I was one of the 370 people who went to Washington DC, last week for a National Security Leadership Conference. The people who ran the conference are an organization name National Youth Leadership Forum (NYLF). I went there with the other 369 high school students, not really knowing what to expect.
The conference turned out to be really focused around national security and the War on Drugs. They spent a lot of time talking about the border between America and Mexico. They did this, because it is a very dangerous situation. The drug cartels are ruthless unlike most American citizens. They kidnap, kill, and torture anyone that they feel like is a threat or associated with someone they feel is a threat.
I believe that Mexicans should be able to cross the border, but once they get a felony or are charged with something, then they should be deported. They should get a chance before we just assume something, but should still monitor them. I feel the government has kept them out for the better of the nation, but they should still give them a chance.
Students at the leadership conference moving to another D.C. field location.We were split up into classroom size groups and went to a class like experience called National Security Action Meetings (NSAM). We ended up having a simulation based in 2016 and all the kids participated. Within each NSAM group we had a position for everybody. I was the Ambassador to Mexico and I ended up getting kidnapped by the “Cartels”. It was a fun and exciting experience for me.
The simulation made you realize how hard it is to hold a certain position in the hierarchy of National Security, especially when you have to make a decision to go to war or not…and a million different people start talking to you at once. It was very stressful and a hard job to have. I would never think about being the President, because there would be too much weight on my shoulders. I would crumble.
They should be teaching this to everybody our age. We are the future of national security, and we must learn how to protect our country. This information is very vital to our young minds and I think that is why we were chosen to be taught this. This is what our future is going to consist of.
But anyways, the feeling of the real life experience was just an exhilarating one. It put me in a situation where you have to look at all sides before you make a move…like one big, dangerous game of chess. In the end, we killed the head of the cartels, Santiago, I was never found, and we legalized marijuana and kept cocaine banned.
March 14 (3/14) is Pi Day, a celebration of the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter — one of the most beautiful and confounding numbers in mathematics. It’s technically written as 3.14159, or 3.14 for short, but Pi is an “irrational and transcendental number” whose decimals “continue infinitely without repetition or pattern,” according to PiDay.org, the holiday’s official website.
I was one of the 370 people who went to Washington DC, last week for a National Security Leadership Conference. The people who ran the conference are an organization name National Youth Leadership Forum (NYLF). I went there with the other 369 high school students, not really knowing what to expect.