The CyChron

Author Archive

0 Total Comments

12 Total
Posts

Sara Knuth

Sara Knuth is a co-editor this year for the CyChron. This is her third year on the newspaper and she hopes to present Pueblo West High School with news that is relevant and unbiased.

Posts By This Author

America Needs to Pick a Side in Obesity Battle

It seems that every day the media overwhelms Americans with shocking statistics about the country’s obesity rate. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website, no state had an obesity rate below 20 percent in 2010.

At the same time, it also seems that positivity and the promotion of self confidence in this country has reached an all-time high. So that leaves me with two very conflicting conclusions:

Americans are fat because they are content.
Americans are depressed because they are fat.

This country cannot keep telling Americans how great they are and then immediately criticize them for being obese. Nothing will ever change.

Seventeen Magazine has a fitness section right next to their “Body Peace Pledge.” How are teenage girls supposed to have body peace if there is a headline two pages away promoting the “best butt ever”?

There is nothing wrong with either of Seventeen’s ideas. In fact, a fitness section really helps those who want to get in shape and being comfortable with one’s body is never a bad thing. These ideas simply contradict each other so much that girls are left in a confidence versus perfection enigma. A person cannot be confident and try to embody perfection at the same time, especially when it is impossible to be something you’re not.

There is also the idea that Americans can be confident and skinny at the same time, but that is completely unrealistic. Our society focuses so much on having an ideal body that there is no time for Americans to truly reflect and make changes that could actually improve their lives. People would rather starve themselves than take the healthy weight loss route and usually simply give up anyways. America needs to pick a side or nothing will ever change, and if it does we will end up facing a self-confidence battle instead of an obesity battle.

So in light of all this, what would you choose: confidence and obesity or diffidence and cookie-cutter perfection?

04/17/2012 | Sara Knuth | 0 Comments

Apple replaces Dell for the 2012-2013 school year

The school board recently decided to replace the current Dell laptops with Apple’s Macbook Airs for the 2012-2013 school year.

Much different than the Dell laptops, the Macbook Airs will give students a lighter load in the hallway. ER supervisor Matisha Shelman said “Macbooks are smaller in size, lighter, and thinner.” Also, the new computers have several more capabilities. “They have faster processors, more memory, bigger hard drives, and they are running Mac OS 10 Lion,” she says.

ER student Bryce Gray thinks the new computers will not have as many issues as the Dells. “We’re not going to have as many problems. I think the Macs are more user-friendly,” he says. His only concern is that “basically students don’t know how to use the new software.”

Shelman thinks the transition will change her duties in the ER, commenting, “It’s going to pose some new challenges.” She went on to say that they will not know if it will become easier or not until they are ready to handle the computers.

There has been concern that these Macbooks will not have the same capabilities as the current Dell computers and that Moodle will no longer be a tool for students and teachers. This is not true however and the ER seems unconcerned with the issue. “Moodle should work because it’s a web-based platform,” said Shelman.

Four years ago, the district issued laptops to all high school students, along with all teachers K-12. Student Ana Rios has come to appreciate the computers. “They make it easier to get things done for school. We have free sources to get information on our own.” Now that the district is transitioning to Macs, “I’m excited to get something else because our computers do not work too well. I hope they’re easy to handle, accessible and practical,” Rios said.

District 70 will face some major changes in terms of technology next year and only time will tell how students and teachers will be affected.

04/05/2012 | Sara Knuth | 0 Comments

Who wants to be Captain Cyclone?

For years, Pueblo West High has done exceptionally well in athletics with a considerably large fan base. Just about every game is filled with a roaring student section and teams can feel the boundless support while excelling in their game. However, there is someone missing.

The fans that motivate Pueblo West’s teams need someone who is willing to get rowdy and lead the student section. Pueblo West needs someone like Captain Cyclone to help get the student section going. After all, Pueblo West is one of the last schools in Pueblo to get a mascot. Both of our most competitive rivals—South and County—have their own mascots so why don’t we? Pueblo West is one of the best schools in the state and it is time that the Cyclones welcome their very own mascot.

Are you willing to be partially responsible for the best student section in town? Can you get the student section motivated to give teams the support they need? If so, sign up to be Pueblo West High’s hero! Fill out the application below and email it to saraknuth@pwhnews.net. Good luck, Captain!

Captain Cyclone Application

Name:

Grade:

1. What is your favorite part of Pueblo West High School?

2. Do you attend school sporting events regularly?

3. What improvements do you think you could make in PWH’s student section?

4. Are you involved in PWH athletics?

5. Why do you think you deserve to be Captain Cyclone?

03/07/2012 | Sara Knuth | 0 Comments

School officials respond to Facebook accusations

Within the past few weeks, five new Facebook accounts were created under the aliases of Allison Harnett, Luke McCall, Sophie Harnett, Kate Crawford, and Jake Crawford. Some students have accused assistant principals Sandy Gibbs, Cody Kuhlman, and Gary McCown of being behind these Facebook accounts.

Throughout the week students were skeptical. “An anonymous source told me to watch out for these certain fake profiles on Facebook ,” said Aaron Jamnik. “The profiles were kind of fishy. . . ”

Among the more implausible information listed on the accounts include the fact that all of the people have degrees from Yale and seemed to “like” all of the same things. Also, the pictures behind the false accounts belong to the cast of a popular show in Buenos Aires called Casi Angeles.

Rumors circulating among the students theorized that the Assistant Principals had created the profiles in order to gain information about students inappropriate behaviors outside of school.

Both sides of this controversy have spoken to the CyChron about the issue. When asked if they were behind the Facebook accounts Gibbs simply replied, “No,” and McCown added, “I’m not on Facebook. I’ll never be on Facebook.” Many students seem to think differently.

The story seems to have originated last Thursday when student Braydon Barry had detention during his first hour PA and claimed to overhear the APs talking about a specific student’s Facebook account. When he walked by Gibbs’s computer he claims to have seen the profile of Allison Hartnett displayed on it.

Barry says “[then] I knew for sure it was Ms. Gibbs.”

The rumor spread suddenly and rapidly on Tuesday, November 15th and become the most discussed topic in hallway and lunchroom conversation.

Gibbs said she had no knowledge of the situation until Kulhman called her at home last night. “At first I thought it was kind of comical. . . That’s hilarious they would ever think we have the time to do that . . . It’s more offensive the more I think about it.”

All of the APs seem to think these claims are ridiculous. Gibbs said, “Why would I ever go out there searching for that garbage when I get enough brought to my office that I don’t even want to see to begin with?” Kulhman added, “Facebook is not our friend.” Gibbs went on to say, “And Facebook is not most of the kids in this building’s friend either.”

McCown stated that there was no reason for them to create such accounts, since district policy doesn’t cover behavior outside of school. “I can’t suspend you for drinking over the weekend. Why pursue it?”

Both Gibbs and Kuhlman expressed concern over the possible loss of trust between themselves and students, worrying that students might be reluctant to come to them for assistance.

Still, the source of the rumors and the identity of the page owners remains unclear.

“The moral of the story is don’t add people you don’t know,” said Barry.

11/17/2011 | Sara Knuth | 3 Comments

Suspicious Facebook requests circulating through PWHS

In the past two weeks, many Pueblo West High students have been receiving friend requests from Allison Hartnett, Luke McCall, Sophie Hartnett, Kate Crawford and Jake Crawford. While it is not certain who is behind these Facebook pages, it has been speculated that these are false accounts.

Luke McCall’s birthday is listed as May 25, 1990. That leaves him at twenty years old and with a degree from Yale University. Furthermore, every person’s high school is listed as Yale High School and each of them happen to have degrees from Yale. While this could be a possibility, the chances of legitimacy are slim.

They all claim to work at “Mark Hartnett’s Office.” His law firm does in fact exist but it does seem to be a coincidence that all five of these people work there.

Luke and Allison Hartnett got married two weeks ago on October 31, 2011 which is near the time students began to receive these requests and profile pictures from each of the accounts were posted within one week of the account’s existence. Also, most of their “likes” are the same. Some of these include Two and a Half Men, Pirates of the Caribbean, Twilight, and other vampire-related shows.

The most suspicious thing remains that most of their friends are students at Pueblo West High School along with the fact that they all take up residency in Los Angeles. Also, they are all somehow related.

The CyChron will be conducting research about these suspicious Facebook accounts and will be updating as more information is revealed. Email saraknuth@pwhnews.net or krothrock@pwhnews.net if you find anything else you would like us to uncover.

11/15/2011 | Sara Knuth | 2 Comments