Last Day!!

Today is the last day of journalism class. I can't wait until the summer. This summer I'm going to be celebrating my 17th birthday on june 8. I can't wait.Then later in the summer I'm going to a concert with my two sisters. This summer is going to be fun but I'm going to miss my friends. I'll hope to see all of my friends next year.

When the music's over...

Today is my last real school day here at WHS. I find it unbelievable that this trip is truly over. I had a plan for this, as most people do, but of course it fell through. I'm continuing my education at EMCC my first two years and work on a journalism degree. If that doesn't work then I'm going to take a class in Special Effects Makeup, which is the one thing I really want to do with my life. It's just hard to make money with it. That's honestly what my life has been reduced to. College in Arizona, majoring in something I'm not sure I want to do anymore, dead tired, and working my butt off to be average.

They tell you these are the best days of your life. These are the times you'll always look back on and miss. Sure, there are somethings about this place that I'll miss, plenty on things actually, but if this is as good as it gets... why do people even try to go on?

I have never been under more stress in my entire life. My insomnia is back because of all the things I've been going through. My best friend has my back against the wall, telling me if I don't move with her then I must not love her. My heart has been broken, but this time by a guy so sweet I can't even hate him even though I want to with every fiber of my being. Papers are due and so are the bills. I have to find my own place by the end of the summer and without my best friend living with me, I have no idea how I'm going to afford it... For the first time in a long time I am feeling the ground beneath my feet begging to crumble. I am feeling myself break.

The only thing I can count on is graduation. Maybe hitting that milestone will somehow slow down my life. If only for a second so I can breathe or a night so I can finally sleep. So, Mr. Burd, that is my final. That is what I'm doing with my life. Panicking, not sleeping, barely eating, and trying to figure out where to go and what to do. I suppose I'm just doing what any stressed out senior is doing, but for the first time in my life I have realized, from now on life is not going to be easy. It's all up hill from here. And that scares the hell out of me. So there you go. Take it or leave it. Give me an A or an F, either way I did what you said. I wrote you something.

Janaye Campbell
WHS
Wickenburg, Ariz.

Apparently...

My account hasn't necessarily been cut off and yeah even though I may not be in Journalism anymore (or even in the district anymore), I hope it doesn't strike bad things for at least saying hi and being updated from you guys. Wow, WHS . . . feels like a long time ago I was there. I miss it there. I miss the people, the teachers, the classmates, the views (those were highlights of my days!), and, can you believe it, the work?
Everything is so different from where I'm at now.
I mean, the school is like a LOT BIGGER and the way the teachers are is just strange. Don't get me wrong, everyone is great there! It's just not the same.
Anyway, if any of you guys are reading this, I wish for two favors:

1. Keep me updated on anything interesting. You guys probably still have my Gmail account. If not, here it is: dmalleo.07@gmail.com
2. Tell the following people I said hi:

• Alex Camacho
• Mr. Burd
• Ashlyn Hopper
• Emily Prevost
• Lucy Randazzo
• Shayna Innocenti Nathaniel Evans
• Kelci Lopez
• Amber Melot
• Chessnie Cline
• Josie Guazzo
• John Allen-Winchester (Don't know him? Talk to Ashlyn.)
• Amanda Aliser

And that's all for now you guys. GO WRANGLERS! Miss you!

Dannie Malleo
Former WHS student

the end.

So i was looking over the senior schedule for the rest of the year and it was a little weird. Wednesday is my last day of school and after that my school year will be filled only with graduation practices. It's a little sad that I'm not coming back to this school... Even if my whole reason for graduating early was to get away. I don't regret graduating early but I feel like my high school career was very short (which it was). Time went by so fast and by now it's only getting faster. I hope graduation is awesome. I hope I don't trip and fall as I'm walking up the steps to get my diploma, and I hope it doesn't rain so we can still have the ceremony outside. For the seniors: I hope that we all accomplish everything that what we dream of in life. Go class of 2010 :)

Capital Punishment

I'm doing a paper for government on the death penalty and I was just wondering: what is your opinion on capital punishment? I personally think it is hypocritical and wrong. I believe strongly in "an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind." I don't think anyone has the right to murder, whether it be a single person or a government institution.

Give me your opinions. I'd like another insight to put into my paper to give it contrast. Thank you!

Janaye Campbell
WHS
Wickenburg, Ariz.

Writer's block

Usually I have no issue coming up with a story and getting it down in type within a few days (sometimes even less), but lately I cannot get my words to flow right. My story about Justin Bergman is in the works and it's pretty good so far. The Annie, Jr. story is a toughie, but it's coming along slowly but surely.

I just really hope I can pull it together before this week is over. I never have writer's block, so this is a very strange occurrence to me. Don't worry editors; they'll be done and they'll be good, but they'll be pretty last-minute.

Don't rush me, I have a strict time schedule to work with. Studying for my government final and doing extra-credit is running my life. It's terrible. But like I said before, I always do what I need to do. (Even though last time I spent weeks writing really good stories only one of the four I wrote was published; which is frustrating, to say the least.) I'll have everything in by the end of this week. No worries.

Janaye Campbell
WHS
Wickenburg, Ariz.

More politics

Hmm agree or disagree? Very interesting.

(From an e-mail forwarded to me):


Everyone concentrates on the problems we're having in this country lately: illegal immigration, hurricane recovery, alligators attacking people in Florida...


Not me. I concentrate on solutions for the problems. It's a win-win situation.

• Dig a moat the length of the Mexican border


• Send the dirt to New Orleans to raise the level of the levies


• Put the Florida alligators in the moat along the Mexican border

Any other problems you would like me to solve for today? Think about these:

• Cows


• The Constitution


• The Ten Commandments

Cows:

Is it just me, or does anyone else find it amazing that during the mad cow epidemic our government could track a single cow, born in Canada almost three years ago, right to the stall where she slept in the state of Washington? And, they tracked her calves to their stalls. But they are unable to locate 11 million illegal aliens wandering around our country. Maybe we should give each of them a cow.

The Constitution:

They keep talking about drafting a Constitution for Iraq... Why don't we just give them ours? It was written by a lot of really smart guys, it has worked for over 200 years, and we're not using anymore.

The Ten Commandments:

The real reason that we can't have the Ten Commandments posted in a courthouse is this: You cannot put "Thou shalt not steal", "Thou shalt not commit adultery" and "Thou shalt not lie" in a building full of lawyers, judges and politicians. It creates a hostile work environment.

What are your thoughts on all of this?

Emily Prevost

WHS

Wickenburg, Ariz.

Interesting political cartoon

I hope this little blurb will get you thinking about our politics... and make you laugh.

Emily Prevost

WHS

Wickenburg, Ariz.

budget cuts cut rolemodels, and defies wrangler excellence

Budget cuts are seriously killing our school. It makes me super angry that our school can just cut teachers. When I spoke with Mr. Burd last week about not renewing his contract, the mannerism in which they went about telling him completely repulsed me. What happened to Wrangler excellence? When someone does a favor for you, you wouldn't normally chastise them for it, correct? Well apparently with our school that's incorrect. It is seriously wrong that the school has to cut teachers and I understand that it's not their (the school board's) fault, but seriously. Well I guess the whole point of this angry post was to say: Cutting teachers is like cutting student potential.

Amanda Aliser
WHS
Wickenburg, Ariz.

Guess where

OK, students. There are two free cookies for the investigative reporter who can tell me exactly where this silhouette is located. 


R.Burd
WHS
Wickenburg, Ariz.

Mercury spill

Adviser's note: Lucy Randazzo's post has been removed as per a Wickenburg High School administrator's order.

R.Burd
WHS
Wickenburg, Ariz.

Photo help

Tips on taking better pictures? Check this out. Click here. 
Quiz Thursday.

R.Burd
WHS
Wickenburg, Ariz.

Checking in

Greetings, marvelous staff. I'll be off again on Thursday. Cathy broke her wrist and I have to take her to  the doctor's. She'll need a cast; we're hoping she won't need surgery.

If someone could slip out of class between 1:00 and 2:30, it would be great to get some pictures of Annie. There's a matinee in the Webb center for the kids at VP or Hassayampa.

If nobody can make it, perhaps someone is going to the show Thursday night. Take a camera.

Did anyone see the article in the Sun about a WHS girl who had her iPod stolen at school? The story was in the Police Report. The school's response was that "the school has a rule that students are not to bring iPods to school." Wow. That's a compassionate posture. I guess we can be thankful the girl didn't get a referral for breaking the rules.

Thank you all,

R.Burd
WHS
Wickenburg, Ariz

A place to fall apart...

All this talk about suicide is really hard. I have had two of my great friends kill themselves within the same month. It something that sticks with you and it's something you will never forget. I went back through every conversation I had ever had with them and thought about everything. Their favorite songs, colors, what they wore, their tattoos. I remembered the good times but mainly, after they did what they did, all I can remember is the bad. I close my eyes and instead of seeing good ol' goofy Bobby smiling and laughing, I just see him lying there. Instead of Charlie all tatted up and crazy eyed like he always was, giving me a hard time for being the only girl chilling with the boys, I picture him under a white sheet.

The hardest part of everything is knowing I could have helped one of them. Charlie was at my house the weekend before he did it. He asked if he could stay and I told him he could for as long as he wanted. He came up to me and my mom and said "I need to get out of my house. I'm going insane." I could tell he was sad but just figured he was having problems with his girlfriend... God I was wrong. The worst part, the gun he used to kill himself with, he tried selling to my step dad. And he was going to buy it but said, "Nah I don't know what I'd do with it." And when Charlie told him just to take it anyway, he said no. I don't mean to but I'll always hate him for not taking that gun away from him...

Everything around you shatters when someone takes their own life. It seems wrong and unnatural. None of us make it out of this world alive. We all have expiration dates, but we usually don't control them. In a way I understand it. At least from Charlie. He was always the type to play by his rules. He ran everything in his life and nothing could stop him. I see how he would choose to do the same thing with his death. People see suicide as a cowards way out, but never in a million years will I ever call them cowards. They looked at their life and didn't like what they saw. They didn't see how it could get better. I'm not condoning suicide in any way, all I'm saying is I love these men and I will never look down on them because of the way they died. People judge people who have committed suicide. They call them weak and selfish, but it take courage to look down the barrel of your own gun and it takes courage to hold a handful of pills in your hand and KNOW without a shadow of a doubt that this is the end. It's not what's right and it's not what's accepted but I will never judge them.

I may cry and I may fall apart into a million little pieces, I may look through pictures and listen to old songs that remind me of you, I may lay in bed some days and not want to get up, I may look at your house every time I pass it and, just for a moment, see you sitting on the couch with your daughter on your lap. I may forget you. I may forgive you, but I can tell you both right now, I'll always see you as what you each are. Intense, crazy, funny, sometimes dumb, sweet, loving, beautiful, tough men.

Rest in peace Bobby Sanders & Charlie White.

Janaye Campbell
WHS
Wickenburg, Ariz.

...

Yesterday Mr. Burd showed us the story on the girl from Queen Creek who committed suicide.

I couldn't help but think about how bad the girl's problems could have been that lead her to this.

Even though we all know this is a very touchy subject.. I can't help but have some thoughts on it.

My question is: how do the people who are closest to you NOT notice that something is wrong?

I don't mean any disrespect to anyone, but why do the victims have to actually "state" what their plans are before anyone sees something is going on?

I think we all need to pay attention to our friends and loved ones because we never know the effect that one small conversation or action could have.

I had a cousin who also decided to end his own life and his death always seemed sort of unnecessary.

I felt like someone should have paid more attention and helped him out before he chose to go this way.

In the article, the girl's dad said that once someone decided to commit suicide, they will find their way to do it...

I don't know if I have the same opinion on this.

Maybe if the person considering it has someone to talk to and guide them towards an alternative, their minds COULD be changed..

I kept asking myself how closed up my cousin must have been from everyone that he thought suicide was his only option.

I have bad days, as does everyone else, and sometimes even bad weeks..

But I don't think anything is bad enough to make you end your own life..

There are many ways to fix your problems and if you can't fix them, at least try and make them better.

Fair warning

I've been having nightmares about this week ever since Dracula ended. This week's going to test everyone mentally and prove if you can handle the stress.

It's Tech Week and, oh Lord, am I dreading it! But not only is this Tech Week, this is also the week of a Government test that Mr. Stehr himself said was terribly hard. Freshman orientation is this week at EMCC, and the last week to get registered. So tomorrow at around 5 am, I'm waking up, going to EMCC to take two placement tests, get registered, come back here, go to school all day, then stay in the theater until 9 p.m.. Then on Friday, after the first show and strike, I have to go work a shift at the bar. Egads Batman! This is going to be exciting.

But, on the plus side, all my friends also help with the play, so I get a week with them. I'm writing this mainly to let all of you non-theater folks know that the people who are involved might be a bit testy. Oh, and if you have Modz, for the love of all things holy, be a good kid this week. You don't want him to unleash his theatrical anger upon you; let me tell you it's not pleasant. Well, best of luck. Cheers.

Janaye Campbell
WHS
Wickenburg, Ariz.

Racism is a touchy issue

People always seem to tip-toe around the subject of race, and with good reason. Racism has been the root of many historical problems. Generally, the term has come to describe white peoples' discrimination against people of color. White people are always the racists, the haters, the ones to blame. Although this may have some historical validity, this definition of racism has become obsolete in today's world. Racism is not only for Caucasians. Why is it that African-Americans and Hispanics can say almost anything discriminatory against white people and everybody looks the other way, but white people are immediately attacked if they are even suspected of hinting at racism? Of course, I definitely do not mean to say that people of color talk down about whites, but it happens, just as there are white racists.

Today, I read this article in Yahoo! News. It brings up a valid point on this subject: white players in basketball are often regarded as highly inferior to black players. People say that basketball is a black sport, and African-Americans are far more athletic than whites. So that's the argument they're using to defend their stereotypes? That's just as ridiculous as saying that the majority of our government is composed of white men because they're smarter and more respected than black politicians.

I believe that people of different ethnicities have grown an overly-defensive attitude toward suspected racism because of the abuse their race has sustained over the years. That time, however, has past. Colored people are fully accepted in our society, and all (or most) people are sensitive to racism. So why do some people still feel the need to attack whites? We cannot be responsible for the actions of our ancestors. To me, it seems that people of different races feel they have a free card to be discriminatory towards white people because most of us are too wary of the "racism" issue to confront them about it.

Yes, it annoys me when other schools laugh at our basketball team because all the players are white, or when a white kid wants to join the soccer team and is looked upon as an inferior player, or when I hear people refer to me or my friends as "crackers" and we have no room to retaliate. I think the whole race issue is blown way out of proportions, and we all need to forget about it and move on with our lives. Everybody loses with racism.

Emily Prevost
WHS
Wickenburg, Ariz.

Join wrestling club

Hey everybody! I just wanted to make a small announcement: Club wrestling has started up for anybody who wants to learn how to wrestle, or even if you just want to get a good workout, lift weights, etc. Guys and girls of all ages are encouraged to join on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 5:00-7:00 pm at the Hassayampa Round Gym! The cost of the club is $35, which covers full use of all the equipment, personal training, and even a personalized weight-lifting program from now until August 1st! Snacks and water are offered to all participants. Besides being a fun, intensive program in itself, it's great cross-training for other sports. Come and join anytime! No full-time participation is necessary!

Emily Prevost
WHS
Wickenburg, Ariz.

Spring holiday

We get Friday off; awesome! I'm glad for this break (everyone needs it), but there is a catch. This is the last break we are getting before summer vacation. Which bites.

I would have liked to have this a little farther from spring break, but it can't be done. The "spring holiday" that we are getting off Friday for is to be referred to as such, though it really is for Good Friday, a religious holiday. So we can't change the break day. Which is terrible.

But right now, I'm not complaining.

Lucy Randazzo
WHS
Wickenburg, Ariz.

Can't Wait...

I'm thinking that in about 65

days, we're officially out on

SUMMER VACATION! Yay :)

I'm not sure what I'm going to be

doing that whole time, but i know

for a fact that I'm going to have

to get a job...

Ugh. Just kidding!

I'm actually looking forward to

working because that would only

be my second time being employed,

and that's always sort of: Interesting.

I was looking forward to the parties,

and all of the other things

that come with the summer...

Oh well.

I know I'm older now and

that this is the way it's going to be

from now on.

We can't magically go back

in time to when we were younger;

Back to all of our water balloon fights and

having sleepovers that only lasted till 11 p.m.

We have to take responsibility and

change our routines a little..

I'm okay with it though because

I know that it's required in everyone's lives.