The James Logan Courier

By Christine Surna Khayat, Courier Staff Writer

We hear it nearly everyday at school: “Respect Y.E.S.”; Respect yourself, everyone, and your school. Sadly, it seems as though people brush these words along and ignore them as they do a small annoyance. Have we become so self-centered that we, as human beings, cannot communicate with one another without having to pause to turn down our Mp3 players or to put someone on the phone on hold? Can we not make it through the day without the mass amounts of distractions keeping us from interacting with the world and those around us?

By Christine Surna Khayat, Courier Staff Writer

This time of year can seem extremely overwhelming to many of us. Winter Break is here, which means mass amounts of family get togethers and other plans we may find difficult to follow through with. Not to mention the fact that the semester is coming to an end, and the stresses of finals and other work may be building up. The realization that the school year is nearly half over shocks many of us, and relieves others.

Regardless, each and every one of us, during our lives, encounter obligations, from spending time with our families and friends, to being present at important functions in the lives of the people who we care for and who form our community. Often, these obligations are actually fun and fulfilling, and we want to be there. At the same time, we all sometimes experience resistance to meeting these obligations, especially when they pile up all at once and we begin to feel exhausted, longing for nothing so much as a quiet evening at home. At times like these, we may want to say no but feel too guilty at the idea of not being there. Still, our primary obligation is to take care of ourselves, and if saying no to someone else is what we have to do, then we do not need to feel bad about it.

By Rechie Cruz, Courier Staff Writer

As of this moment, there are 4036 students attending classes at Logan.

The result is crowding in the hallways and people bumping into one another.

There has been much controversy on whether James Logan should be the only high school in this area. Is it possible that Union City might need another high school? Can construction of another campus be a more effective way of making more room at Logan?

By David Collins, Courier Opinion Editor

Every year I’ve attended James Logan High and for a time before that, the Electronic Media Production program has provided James Logan students with an entertaining and informative morning television program called Logan Live. Its purpose? To give the daily announcements in a creative manner and to show students bits and pieces of the various functions at school.

Unfortunately, Logan Live has come to face a conflict between serving their audience and serving themselves. The result is a surplus of jokes and gags that divert attention from the news.

By David Collins, Courier Opinion Editor

On Thursday, Leadership hosted the first Student Senate meeting of the year. At this meeting, the discussion was directed toward the Homecoming dance and the inappropriate behavior the students were exhibiting there. Leadership Advisor Francis Rojas and Leadership had much to say about the misconduct, and the possibility of the cancellation of future dances was mentioned, but instead of having the next few dances banned, the students received a questionnaire and an eye-opening lecture on personal behavior, delivered by Rojas.

McClatchy-Tribune News Service (MCT)

The following editorial appeared in the Chicago Tribune on Monday, Dec. 3:

On the morning of Feb. 18, 2009, some Americans will awake, flip on the television, and find ... nothing. Not a single channel in the vast sumptuous television banquet. Just snow.

They will wonder what happened. We will tell you what happened.

On that day — more than a year from now — TV stations will stop broadcasting an analog signal. In English, that means the old way of beaming television to the set, the way that millions of televisions still depend on, will cease. Only digital signals will be beamed. People will be slapping the box, and adjusting the ears and scratching their heads and blaming their teenagers. But it won't help.

By David Collins, Courier Opinion Editor

Because of the various and conflicting ideals that surround the meaning of life, I must first announce my reasoning. This particular subject and all of the opinions that I hold on the
topic are purely that: opinion. I am not proclaiming it to be true for anyone other than myself and expressing the reasons behind that proclamation.

I believe that the meaning of life is simple. The meaning of life is so simple and obvious that the only reason that it isn’t acceptable to society is that it doesn’t fulfill their expectation. Most desire for the meaning of life to be the lighthouse, guiding them to their one true destiny and completing the emptiness they harbor within themselves.