Dear Editor,
I believe that the recent changes to some of the permissions on our Chromebooks that remove the ability to change our Google backgrounds, profile pictures and Gmail backgrounds are quite ridiculous. These simple customization options posed no harm to anyone and, in fact, made work on our Chromebooks more enjoyable. Many school districts around the country allow these things with no issue. I have done some research and many sources, such as The University of Alaska Fairbanks, report that things like profile pictures help students feel more comfortable in the online spaces we often use while learning, and when removed, it makes these platforms feel more cold and discourages a happy learning mindset. Not to mention that on websites, such as Gmail, having everybody’s profile picture be the same thing creates difficulty when searching for specific people. If two students happen to have the same name, you run the risk of sending it to the wrong one.

freshman Hyatt Reid

Dear Editor,
I am writing to express my concerns about paper usage at our school. Although students are provided with Chromebooks that allow us to complete nearly all our work digitally, many teachers disregard them and print excessive amounts of paper notes, even when the material is available online. I believe this is unnecessary, and it creates a significant amount of waste. As a school, we have a responsibility to show that we care for our environment. While I understand that some material must be completed on paper, reducing that amount would definitely make our school more eco-friendly and therefore considerate of the environment.

junior Anabela Camphuijsen

Dear Editor,
I am doing Edmentum right now in my Business Law class because my teacher left. The more I do Edmentum, the more it seems stupid and useless, plus all the slides that explain what’s in the mastery tests are very outdated. For example, back when I did Fundamentals of Computing, the slides were talking about VHS tapes like they were still around. How is teaching us about old things supposed to help us in the world, if they’re not even in it anymore? Even now, in the Business Law Edmentum course, it talks about laws that have been disregarded for years. Edmentum is a course that we should not be spending our funds on. We should stop using Edmentum as soon as possible.

freshman Brexton Oney

Dear Editor,
I have two opinions I would like to share. The first is the metal detectors we have to go through before school. Many students have complained about the amount of items we have to bring out when going through the metal detectors. We used to only have to take out our Chromebook and occasionally our chargers, but lately it seems like the metal detectors have gotten more sensitive. I’ve seen people have to take out jewellery, glasses cases, headphones, makeup mirrors and water bottles. I feel like we shouldn’t have to take out that many things all at once; it just makes going through the metal detectors annoying and time consuming.
I also want to talk about how students aren’t able to eat lunch outside because no teachers are willing to watch them. We have about four to five teachers in the cafeteria watching us, so why can’t one go outside or just have multiple teachers rotate between coming in and out? Lots of students are very uncomfortable eating in the cafeteria because of how cold it is and have expressed their desire to go outside to teachers. Personally, I have a medical condition that makes my hands turn purple, pale and stiff when I’m cold, so most of the time instead of eating, I’m too busy warming myself up.

freshman Arianna Durham

Dear Editor,
We live in an environment where it is too bright and bland; by this I’m referring to the classrooms. These classrooms have no life in them. I personally think in order for something to be comforting, you have to surround yourself with comforting items, of course. I tend to work better in dimmed light rooms and well decorated classroom; they help me focus better, and it kinda motivates me a bit more to do work and WANT to learn. Meanwhile, walking into a bright classroom at 8 in the morning just simply kills the mood. I experience headaches due to bright spaces. I am only speaking up on this because I asked a teacher why she had to remove some of her light covers; she said they made it a rule. I am not too educated on this, but I thought why not just bring it up to see what happens. Now, I am not talking about having classrooms so dimmed to where students start to fall asleep, but dimmed enough to where students can focus on what they’re doing and feel comfortable.

junior Stephanie Villa Palacios

Dear Editor,
I’m writing this letter today to talk about the Tech girls’ bathroom. I feel like the gaps around the stall doors in the girls’ Tech bathrooms are unnecessarily big, uncomfortable and need to be fixed. I don’t think that anyone should be able to look through the gap and see me or anyone else using the bathroom. I feel that this should have been changed and can be easily fixed.

senior Amya Singleton

Dear Editor,
I am writing to respectfully request that seniors at our school be given the opportunity to paint their assigned parking spots. Many schools across the country already allow this tradition, and it has proven to be a positive way to promote school spirit, student creativity and a sense of senior pride.
Painting a parking spot is not just about decoration. It allows seniors to leave their mark, celebrate their achievements and express their individuality during their final year of high school. Since students pay for their parking spots; being able to personalize them would give us a stronger sense of ownership and pride. It would also help create a more welcoming and vibrant atmosphere in our parking lot, rather than rows of plain asphalt.
This tradition could easily be done with guidelines in place to make sure designs are appropriate, respectful and within school standards. For example, designs could require prior approval from staff before painting begins. This ensures that the artwork reflects positively on our school while still giving students freedom to be creative. Allowing seniors to paint their parking spots would not only be a fun privilege but also a memorable tradition that future classes could look forward to. It’s a safe, positive way to celebrate senior year and build school spirit.

junior Jaycee Roberts

Dear Editor,
I believe that we should be able to paint our parking spaces as seniors. This can help students express artwork, personality, give the student imagination and give them something to look forward to when coming to school. Students should be able to get their parking pass a couple weeks before school starts, and then they can come paint during school hours when they’re open during the summer. However, at the end of the year, students should have to paint over the spot back to black, and if this doesn’t happen, they get fined, and they can’t graduate until it is paid – like with any other fines from their high school years. If the person decides to put something inappropriate on the spot, they are fined and have to paint over it immediately, and if that doesn’t happen, it should lead to more things in school like suspension. This is an amazing way for students to express themselves in artwork and use their very own imaginations.

junior Natalie West