Student Declaration of Independence

We the students of Grosse Pointe South High School find it necessary to band together in order to create a common stronghold, that united shall allow for the dissolution of silly rules and regulations imposed upon us by King Provenzano and the Grosse Pointe School District. It is with all due respect that we bring forth our opinions. It is in doing so that we hope to engage in a quicker absolution of the past and current administrations’ mistakes. Only then can we look to our future within this institution and see that it is bright and beautiful.

Let it be known that we are entitled to certain rights as high school students. Namely, we have the Right to Sanity, Happiness, Physical Well-Being, Expression and Proper Accommodations.  We have been held prisoners in this school for too long. It is as if we are hardened criminals that must do homework or blog until our hands are calloused or fall off.  We are chained to our rooms and not allowed to wander the halls, nor leave a social event for fear we may commit some crime.  Our happiness and physical well-being have been ignored. These administrators should realize that we, as teenagers require more sleep, adequate nutrition and longer lunch hours.  Let’s not forget about our much-needed happiness in order not to commit suicide or deal with depression.  Also, we suffer from inadequate facilities with no air conditioning, ventilation, and no free parking lot that is sufficient enough to accommodate all students. It is our right and duty to provide for all students the necessary elements in order to succeed at this institution of higher education. We must rid this place of old ideals usurped with pain, agony, and suffering which they have inflicted. Hence, we must abolish this fiefdom. We hereby submit as proof of our allegations the following testimony that we do solemnly swear to be the whole truth

       I.           I.  More Holiday Breaks

When someone who does not know the school walks it, they see hard work, but with that hard work, sleep deprived students and teachers. Sleep can fix many of the things the teachers have issues with the students. If the school introduces more regular holiday breaks, instead of longer holiday breaks. This would give the student body more time to understand the difficult concepts of life, say school has all of Friday Saturday Sunday off. More time to do homework would permit more time to actually understand those lessons. More breaks would permit a healthier school in general.

    II.           II.  Harmless Pranks Should be Allowed

During spirit week all staff is on the hunt for pranks. Such things as, writing 'senior' on underclassmen's arms. This does not inhibit their class performance in any way. The students are still able to get their books, get to class, and be able to pay attention. The same with Glitter-Bombing; it affects no actual school notion. All that does is make the underclassmen shine a little more. Those are just simple pranks to make the day a little more light hearted; everyone needs a little laughter.

 III.            III. Less Strict Tardy Policies

The planner states that after seven unexcused tardies you fail the class. Instead of the concrete rule the rule should be circumstantial. There are situations that one cannot help, they were bound to happen anyway, there was just bad timing. The rules also permit teachers marking you down because you are tardy. That is not fair; the grade in any class should be based on homework, participation, and book smarts. The proof is in the pudding.

 IV.  S   IV. School Dance Restrictions

Dances are meant to be fun. However, even the simple task of buying a ticket for a dance is complicated by forms and ticket numbers and showing your school I.D. Although they are school run, dances should not be treated like a normal day at school. Those attending should not have to abide by the same strict dress code and above all else should not be forced to stay once they arrive. If you want to leave a dance you should be able to do so at any point during the night.

    V.           V.  Admission Fees

When attending school sporting events such as football games, students should not have to pay to get in. More students would attend games if admission were free. School teams need encouragement and this would get them a lot more support from the student body. Money would still be made from the cost of tickets for people who are not students or faculty. No admission fee would increase school spirit make games more enjoyable.

 VI.            VI. Attendance

Signing out in the attendance office before leaving school serves no purpose. If a parent must already call the student out there is no reason for that student to also have to go to the attendance office to sign out. This is an unnecessary step that does nothing but complicate a process that should be very simple. An absence should not be marked unexcused if the student did not sign out. Signing out is easy to forget and makes it easy for students to be punished unjustly.   

VII.            VII. Respect From Teachers

If students must respect their teachers then teachers must also respect their students. Teachers should not be allowed to abuse their authority by mistreating their students. If a student were to disrespect a teacher it would not go unnoticed. However, it is commonly overlooked when a teacher is rude to a student or class. If respect is demanded of us, it should also be demanded of faculty.   

VIII.          VIII.   Dress Code  

We believe that the dress code is too Puritan at our school. Females should not be forced to wear clothes of a certain length to school. This is a hassle for the parents because they now have to take the student shopping. All this excess shopping can cause money problems for the family. Students should be allowed to wear what they wear outside of school to school.

IX.   Start and Dismissal Times                                                                                                                                         The time that school starts at Grosse Pointe South High School is too early. Also, the time school ends is too late. Most students attend extracurricular activities after school and must spend the remainder of their day completing their homework. This results in a late bedtime for students. Since school starts so early, the kids come to school sleep-deprived and they are not ready to learn. 

    X.            X.  Parking

Parking spaces at this school are very limited. With such a large student body, we are in need of many more parking spots than we currently have. There are only two free lots at the school which can be far from classes and lockers and they can fill up very easily. The only convenient lot is only available for seniors and costs money. This is extremely inconvenient and causes students to be late for their classes.

Our complaints are very simple and clear.  They are what we require and what needs to change.  We need to be able to dress how we want and be able to leave a school dance when we want.  If we are always told to be independent and to embrace being different then it’s impossible when we have so many restrictions.  When we come home with hours of homework and have to do it all in one night then wake up and do it all over again with not enough time in the day to get our assignments done it get a little hard to do.  We spend hours and hours at our school, but when we go to see a two hour long sporting event we suddenly have to pay to see our peers play.  If you are a student, then you should not have to.  If you are sick and need to go home, but cannot get a hold of your parents you cannot leave.  The fact that you have to get called in is ridiculous; we are in high school, not kindergarten.  A day does not go by when we all feel disrespected by teachers.  If we are not supposed to be sassy to you, then you cannot be sassy to us.  Being yelled at and told what to do and when to do it if when we say one thing back we are simply again yelled at.  Going to school is like working with more pressure so when a holiday is present we should get it off.  This gives us more time to do homework and catch up on sleep that is lost because of school starting to soon.  When we do not turn in an assignment on time, our grade goes down.  When teachers do not grade a paper on time, we deal with it.  When we do not get to class on time, our grade goes down.  When teachers are late, we deal with it. The balance in this school is not fair for one class to be treated over the other.  During spirit week, we want to show our spirit and seniority.  But when we are told that doing this could cause suspension, it changes our harmless game.  If we want to feel like we are actually people and have real rights, then we should be able to do what we want.  We should not have other people bossing us around like salves and having these restrictions makes us become less than what we are.  

Crucible Epilogue Movie

Crucible Epilogue Movie

Crucible Essay

            The play, The Crucible, by Arthur Miller depicts actual events that occurred in 1692 in Salem, Massachusetts. The Salem witch trials were a very important part of American history. This play is a great example of how powerful lies are and how fast they can multiply. In the play there are many contributing forces to the witch trials, but none more prominent then Abigail Williams, John Proctor, and Reverend Hale.

Arguably the most influential person involved in causing the Salem witch trials was Abigail Williams. In her attempt to win over John Proctor she became power hungry and cost many people their lives. “Now look you.  All of you.  We danced.  And Tituba conjured Ruth Putnam’s dead sisters.  Let you breathe a word, or the edge of a word, and I will come to you in the black of some terrible night and I will bring a pointy reckoning that will shutter you,” (Miller 20). Without Abigail holding the rains the other girls would have confessed immediately and the entire ordeal could have been avoided. Abigail knew that there was no witchcraft going on in Salem, but she confessed to a massive lie to save herself and in doing so she condemned many other citizens of Salem. She was blinded by her affection towards John Proctor and that in turn made her determined to get Elizabeth Proctor out of the way so that she could have John. At one point Abigail stabs herself and then frames Elizabeth proving that she is willing to do just about anything to get Elizabeth out of the picture.

Without realizing it John Proctor gave Abigail the hope of being with him. “She thinks to dance with me on my wife's grave! And well she might, for I thought of her softly.  God help me, I lusted, and there is a promise in such sweat,” (110). The fact that Proctor was sending Abigail mixed signals was all she needed to be convinced that he wanted to be with her. John Proctor was Abigail’s main motivation for lying and for accusing Elizabeth Proctor of witchcraft. The affair did not mean much to John, but to Abigail it meant that John loved her and no longer wanted to be with his wife. Although he tried to set Abigail straight she was already in too deep. In their second encounter that we saw Proctor made it clear to Abigail that he never loved her and never wanted to be with her again. At this point even if she had wanted to, Abigail would not have been able to walk away scot-free.      

            “Reverend Hale of Berkley”, as he was known, was a prominent member of society. His word held a lot of weight and when he thought that there was witchcraft afoot in Salem it convinced many other people as well. He was viewed as an expert on the subject and the town valued his opinion. Hale says, “‘We cannot look to superstition in this. The Devil is precise; the marks of his presence are definite as stone, and I must tell you all that I shall not proceed unless you are prepared to believe me if I should find no bruise of Hell upon her,’” (38). It is made clear that he did genuinely believe that what he was doing was just. However, he put people on the spot and tested them with things like; did they know all on their commandments? This seemed, both to Hale and the rest of the town, like a reasonable test to see if one was a good Christian. However, the results of this test and others like it were used as proof when these people went on trial. They became the only proof that was needed to seal the fates of all of those accused.   

             The actions of Abigail Williams, John Proctor, and Reverend Hale all greatly contributed to the start and the continuation of the Salem witch trials. Abigail Williams started the lie by confessing to something that she had not done in order to have power. Had John Proctor not had an affair with Abigail she would not have had the same motivation to carry on lying. Lastly if Reverend Hale had not come into Salem and provided “proof” for people’s guilt, not nearly as many people would have suffered such an awful fate. Ultimately the Salem witch trials occurred due to lies and misconceptions.  

Crucible Post 2

In the “The Crucible” John Proctor is forced to say that he believes in witches when he really does not. John knew that if he were to tell the truth he would be admitting to not believing in something that is in the Bible. At the time this was an offense that was punishable by death. When the situation is a matter of life and death there is no question that I would lie to save myself. However, in today’s society standing up for what you believe in is rarely a death sentence. If bullying were the only penalty for telling the truth then I would like to believe that I would stand up for what I believe in, but it is not always that simple. Sometimes it’s easier to lie or say nothing at all than to voice your opinion. When it comes to drugs and whatnot I am not embarrassed to say that I do not do anything of that nature. However, there are certain things that I do not want to admit to and if need be I would lie about.