Shen Senate

by Alyssa Fodera

When clubs at Shenedehowa need money, they often go to the SFA Senate for help.  Shenendehowa High School Senate president, Bridget Scanlon, said, “It is the traditional job of the Senate to provide these clubs with the money they need to help them hold as successful events as possible.”

The Senate consists of 8 senators and 8 alternates per grade, along with teachers and administrators. In order for other clubs to ask for money from the Senate, a bill is proposed to the Finance Committee. Then the Finance Committee gives a recommendation and gives the bill to the Treasurer, Mike Gao. He then introduces the bill to the Senate, as a whole, at the upcoming meeting.

At the following meeting, the bill is discussed and the Senate votes on it. Each senator recieves 1 vote, and in the case that any senator is absent an alternate fills in for them. Also, each teacher that is at the meeting counts for 4 votes and administrators are worth 8 votes each.

Open for business

by Aaron Crowell

The Shen store is open for business at High School East.  The school store is open Tuesday thru Friday during Eighth period on A days and period Nine everyday.  The school store sells everything from basic school supplies to Shen apparel, such as sweat pants, sweat shirts, and T-Shirts.  The school store is located in the south hallway right behind the courtyard.  The school store has been open since the second week of school and is run and operated by Mrs. Kelly in the Upstairs CEIP office.

Sarah Nealon is a school store employee.

The iPad

by Robert Hughes, Jay Cobb, Meghan Phoenix, Haylie Sullivan and Eric Tracy

Apple has now come out with two more products dominating the technology industry, the new iPod Touch and the iPad. Of the new iPad, Consumers Reports said, “It’s the best combination of versatility and portability.”

According to USA Today, the iPad became a hit starting the first week it came out with an astonishing 500,000 sales and over 1 million sales over a 3 week period. Also, the iPad sold 1 million apps on the first day as well. However, some reoccurring problems with the iPad are the weak wi-fi, problems with charging, crashing apps, slow syncing and also, according to Douglas Albagli, the flash player is not allowed on the new iPad. Even though there are a few minor problems with the iPad, Albagli said that, “it is perfect”. He said that he decided to buy it because it can surf the web, access email, and the large screen makes it really easy. He also like how he can us his finger to use it, which makes it much easier, unlike the mouse on a computer.

The newly released iPod Touch 4 is Apple’s latest and greatest model. Sporting both a front and rear facing camera with HD recording, people could not wait to get their hands on one. Steve Dering, a junior at Shenendehowa High School said he liked the camera and the display is brighter and sharper. Some things he would change about it would be to change the back so it is not scratched easily. Mike Gikas, an internet blogger also expressed his opinions on his newly purchased iPod Touch 4. He said the colors on the new Retina display screen appeared brighter and the graphics have an almost 3D look to them. Some things he did not like about it was the 1 megapixel camera, the short battery life, keyboard typing issues and the unresponsive home button sometimes.

Apple is constantly coming out with new and improved products such as the brand new 4^th generation iPod Touch which was the most successful model yet, according to Consumer Reports.

Money influences schools

by Kateylyn E

Money doesn’t buy happiness, but it can buy power. This is seen not only in business, but also in school now more than ever. In public schools many students seem to have more money than others, by their clothes or supplies, while in private schools, money is an influential trait to have.

Molly Meehan, a former Shenendehowa teacher, says, “Having taught at private and public schools, I see distinct differences between the two. In the private school, students with family that donate money to the school can get away with a lot more.”

There are many different opinions on how private schools are depicted compared to public, and if connections really do matter. Associations might just be an important factor in all aspects of life.

“I feel like the people who are obviously richer get treated with more respect by other students than someone who isn’t,” says Katie Orr, a Shenendehowa sophomore. “No matter where you look, money is powerful.”

Private schools are known to be more elite, with better academics and sometimes even sports. This does come at a price, a higher education for a higher expense. These funds may make students work harder, or they might see it as a chance to slack off.

New Facebook privacy settings

by Christine Liao

Facebook’s new privacy policy notifications have been popping up on Facebook home pages for Facebook users lately. Preaching more customizable privacy settings, Facebook is listening to users who complain about privacy measures. However, some users are finding the new policies rather confusing, causing them to reevaluate the technology behind Facebook.

John Salls, a journalism teacher at Shenendehowa High School, says that he works hard to keep students separated from his Facebook page. He hasn’t had any issues concerning personal information being spread, however he finds the constantly changing Facebook layouts and policies rather fishy, debating whether or not to delete his account permanently.

Describing himself as a “casual user” he predicts that other casual users may he dismayed, however loyal users won’t,   and they will continue rolling with the punches of technology.

Younger and more loyal users like Shenendehowa high schoolers Jacklyn Bonk and Jessica Deyoe take a different view. Bonk says “There is no such thing as privacy on Facebook.”  Bonk’s friend Deyoe was hacked early 2009 in which her hacker sent out mass advertisements. She changed her Facebook password and hasn’t had a problem since, however she does believe that since Facebook is a public forum, anything posted is considered fair game for everyone to see. 

For those more protective of their personal information, Deyoe views the new settings as potentially helpful. However all three Facebook users view the new policy as confusing, leading them to skip over the directions and instead continue with their current settings. If many others respond the same way, the question arised about whether the new policy is even helping.

Student feedback on electronic policy

by Cassidy W

The use of cell phones at Shenendehowa has always been prohibited, however beginning on May 17, 2010, a new electronics policy was put in place at High School East. Students are now allowed to use cell phones and iPods prior to 7:40 am as well as during lunch periods in both cafeterias and the courtyard.  The policy clearly states that use of these electronics outside of the designated areas or between periods will result in immediate confiscation and a loss of these privileges.  This policy will stay in affect until June 11, 2010, the last day of high school classes.

Based on the results and information that is gathered during the trial period, administrators will decide if it is appropriate to modify the policy for the upcoming 2010-2011 school year.  Although administrators thought the student body would appreciate the new rules, many students have mixed feelings.

Sophomore Dan Cavosie does not like the new policy.  Cavosie said, “I think it was easier to go around the halls with an iPod before the policy and if we got caught texting or using our phones in class the punishments weren’t as severe as they are going to be now.”  He went on to say, “Even though we are allowed to use our phones in the cafeterias during lunch periods, I don’t think it makes that much of a different because we got away with it before even though it was against the rule.”

Junior Scott Taglione said, “Before teachers didn’t really care they just told us to put it away but now they’ll actually take it from you and that’s what I don’t like about it.”  Taglione continued, “But the good thing about it is that in lunch the monitors aren’t on our case about having our phones out.”

While some students don’t like the policy, others support it.

Junior Will Orlowski said, “The new policy is good because it basically allows us to do what we already did anyway.”

Senior Matt Appel, had a similar reaction to the new policy.  He said, “I think it’s good that the administration has opened up to the idea of allowing us to use this stuff when we’re not in class because so many kids do it anyway.  It’s a good step forward toward bringing students and administrators closer together.”

High school to try new electronics policy

By Sara M

Beginning May 17^th and continuing through June 11^th, a new electronic policy will be given a trial period in order to test the usage of cell phones and iPods during the school day.

Students attending High School East will be given the opportunity to use such devices during designated times and places during the day; before 7:40, after 2:40 and during lunch periods.  Before homeroom and after ninth period students may use their phones and iPods in hallways. During lunch students will be allowed to use cell phones and iPods in the cafeterias and the courtyard. Phones must be set on vibrate and iPods can be used with only one ear bud in place.  Ipods will also be allowed in study halls if the monitor gives permission. If students are caught using them during any other part of the day, they will be taken away and the student will lose the privilege for the rest of the trial period.

The freshmen at West will still have to continue following the traditional policy restricting the use of such devices. The trial period will be used to determine the final electronic policy that will begin during the 2010-2011 school year.

The iPad

by Thomas K

The iPad is the long rumored and recently released new product from Apple Computers.  This is the company’s first piece of major new hardware since the original iPhone and iPod Touch.  This new hardware is a tablet computer, which is basically a computer without a keyboard, where the interface is handled on the screen by way of a stylus pen (similar to the Nintendo DS) or, the user’s fingers (in exactly the same way as the iPhone).  And when I say exactly, I mean note-for-note the same.  Looking at the device, even the tech-savvy could be forgiven in thinking this is just an up-scaled iPod Touch.  And for the most part this is true.  The iPad has the same tech specs, operating system, and interface as the iPod Touch.  The only difference here is the iPad’s huge screen that has superior resolution to the iPod Touch.  And with that screen, the iPad truly starts to shine.

The iPad is being sold as a superior device for media consumption.  It can still listen to music, but that feature is pretty much the same as previous devices.  With the huge screen though, videos can be displayed in HD and videos streaming off the internet also come in looking crisp.  But since this is the same OS as the iPhone, that means you can’t view flash videos or use special website functions that use Flash (Flash, by the way, runs the majority of content on the internet). 

Some other things that are getting upgrades with the new screen are the reading capabilities.  The iPhone and iPod Touch have always been great platforms for literary materials, but with the new high resolution screen, the text can be displayed in a more crisp and clean way, with less squinting.  This same improvement also improves the ability to read other things, such as newspapers, comic books, and anything of that variety.  One of the biggest things Apple is pushing, are the iPad gaming capabilities.  On paper, it sounds awful; the device doesn’t lend itself well to extended play time, as it really doesn’t have a good way to grip it for games, and the screen adds a lot more extraneous real estate to account for.  But in practice it works out pretty well; if redesigned intelligently, the games can bypass bothersome controls and deliver a superior experience thanks to the HD screen, even though with the same tech specs as the iPod Touch, not much has changed graphically, it just has better resolution.

One major thing that can deter a lot of people from the iPad is the price.  The different models range from $500 to $800, and the redesigned apps and game are also getting an increase in price, some costing up to $15.  That’s twice as much as modern netbooks for a device with fewer features.  It’s a tough sell for sure, but not an impossible one.  If you’ve got a mountain of spare change lining your pocket, I can definitely see the appeal, but it most certainly won’t appeal to everyone.

Space missions to be funded by private sector

by Spencer Posson

Recently, there has been speculation that NASA’s budget may be in jeopardy. Last week it was revealed that canceling NASA’s moon missions and diverting some of their funding to the private sector had been one of the options the Obama Administration had been considering. Even though the rumor had been circulating, many were still angered by Obama’s budget request for 2011, which did indeed cancel moon missions and called for reallocating some of NASA’s funding to the private sector. Approximately $6 billion will go towards funding “space taxis,” which will be developed by the private sector. Since the current space fleet will be retired at the end of the year, America would have to rely on Russia to transport them to the International Space Station if they do not have “space taxis.” Critics say that by removing NASA’s funding and moving funds to the private sector America will be taking a backseat in space exploration and lose much of their scientific prestige. Supporters argue that it will create thousands of jobs in America, and prevent taxpayer money from going oversees to Russia.

For more information and sources, look at:

Obamas 2011 Budget Kills Any Hopes of NASA Returning to the Moon by 2020

and

Obama to unveil budget for spaceflight