Champion All Star? How about a Champion Some Star

They can do it all. Sports, academics, social appearance, all in the grace of near perfection. You know of whom I speak, these robots, oiled with ambition and fueled with an unknown drive to do everything fill our school and dance through our halls. We stand out of their way, staring on with a look of incredulity, as our logical thinking fails to answer our questions of "how they do it" and gives way to our imagination to fill the holes of ignorance. "They must be born with it" is a reason oft used to describe these student's amazing disease. These students who work so hard in their college-level classes only to attend sports practice afterward are the question of everyone as no one understands why they do it and when they have time to have "fun." To begin with, let's clarify a few items of discussion.
What is fun? It's the sense of pleasure and excitement one feels while participating in an activity that produces these feelings, right? If fun is so varying to each individual's personality, then who are we to judge what fun is and who should be having it? Your right, we shouldn't be passing such judgement on those workaholics we observe from a distance. It could be by chance that they are the ones who enjoy school and learning, not to mention hardwork and practice. Or perhaps they are a part of the select few who thrive under huge amounts of pressure, quite like a fire hydrant. Without structure to their lives they burst forth in a fountain of chaotic mess, accomplishing nothing and getting nowhere, but when that power is harnessed and focused in a certain direction, it can be used to save the day, as a fire hydrant can be used to save a burning building. This theory goes hand in hand with the next, stating that by chance these students have extroardinary foresight and give forth a herculean effort to fasten their long term goals into that of tangible safety and reward.
All I know is that me and people like me will never be able to join these people in their pilgrimage for perfection, although I head in the same direction they have chosen the higher road and frankly, I'm afraid of heights. We'll never be able to join the "fire hydrants" of our school who keep our school's reputation as the greatest gathering of child-prodigy in the state, because compared to them I and others like me are only garden sprinklers, who only enjoy sporadic moments of acheivement in order to keep our lives green and growing.
Must we be good at everything? Is there not a time where we can lay at ease and revel in our accomplishments, or must we always be progressing, striving to be the best at everything? This question you must ask yourself individually, are you willing to bear the burden of perfection? Or will you stop at the crossroads of ambition and insanity, to stand your ground and state your name, who you are and what you are, not who you will be and who you could be. Will you be among those eager to impress, continually feeling the need for beating those around you and declaring your dominance, or will you relax and come to know yourself?I now speak of another type of person, those who build their lives on the opinions of their peers. These people, weak and confused on the inside, yet strong dominant on the outside, will always appear in your life, these people feel no comfort in outward excellence, yet that is what they are defined by. It is strange that people like this, who are so strong-willed and anxious to succeed only to satisfy their ego, rely so much on the opinions of their peers, which at some times can be worth less than the air it takes to state it.
Once again, will you take this path of fragility as succeed only in the eyes of those around you, or will you relax and stop to come to know yourself? When you do this-come to know yourself and pause for reflection-you will be able to further your strengths and fortify your weaknesses, in retrospect to those who always try to be better than others, who use their ambition as a vehicle to keep them running from who they really are. You will be able to stand independant of the thoughts of others and rise through the judgemental misgivings, like the sun parting the clouds you will shine forth and others will follow, convinced of your confidence and sure of your ability. And that my friends, is when you become numbered among the greatest of great and the strongest of strong. When you know who you are and where you stand the whole world will fall into place around you.

A direct definition from the Dictionary of HolmSlice

Referendum 1. (Re-fer-end-um)
1. A blatant disregard for the progession of education of middle class students as they continually put forth a growing amount of effort to counteract the lack of educational funding in the state of Utah.
2. The result of excessive lobbying from the higher class families who can afford to send their children to private school, yet proclaim a "need" for additional reimbursement for their participation in this nation's government taxation program, which in turn provides an education for this generation who is soon to be in leading this nation in tomorrow's world.
3. an ill-conceived joke

As an addition to this dictionary we also provide a break down and interpretation of the root words in the word previously mentioned. Here is a closer look at the meaning of the word "Referendum 1" beginning with the root word "refer"
(Refer)-- To refer is to give reference or allude to a source of information related to the given subject. An example of this would be me referring to the "no child left behind" proclaimation give by our president, which will prevent students from falling behind in school thus giving everyone equal opportunity to learn and grow to be successful individuals later in life. This would be exponentially difficult with less funds in the public education system, seeing as Utah is already the number one state with the least amount of money in the schools and educational system.
(End)--The word end describes the closure of anything, simply the end. A great example of this would be the end of support for our local government from the majority of Utah's population." "This could end the careers of many of our beloved politicians in their place of civil office," is a great example of the word end used in a sentence.
(Um)--The word um is used to describe confusion and/or frustration. a great example of the word um can be seen in the following sentence. "Um, why is referendum 1 even up for debate, um, I don't see the point in taking money from our already monetarily malnutritioned public schools, and um, this is just plain ridiculous!"

Referendum 1 used in a sentence: "I'm glad our local government has a sense of humor, but Referendum 1 is about as useful as....it's not even worth using as a joke anymore, let's just pretend that it never happened."

This concludes today's definition from the Dictionary of HolmSlice.

You have freedom of speech...As long as you stay quiet

In the first amendment in the United States Constitution, all American citizens are given the right of freedom of speech and press, and every student is taught of the enormity of sacrifice our forefathers put forth just to give us that right. Freedom of speech is as valuable to Americans any other unalienable right, and is viewed as the last right to be taken away by an unjust government before rebellion ensues and among the first to be retaken as the unjustly governed take control. As previously mentioned, we are all taught about our rights and how to use them, but why is it that in various activities and classes over at Davis High we are discouraged to voice our opinion? Even our prized school newspaper is censored to an extent, which, when thought about, gravitates an air of incredulity. The sole purpose of the Davis Dart is to inform and entertain the readers on current issues that affects the students. To censor our paper would be to omit a portion of information on the issue, which in other words is omitting the truth, which in other words is lying. The newspaper isn't the only one suffering from this hypocritical backlash, the Davis High Marching band has entered into a recent conflict of heated debate. This conflict is a highly sensitive issue to both arguing parties, so without further ado I send my opinion and bias hurling through the air into this agitated minefield.


The Colorguard. An all female section of the marching band which just so happens to include some of the most attractive girls from Davis High School, is restricted by the Colorguard advisor to an all girl bus for all bus trips to competitions and so forth. This injustice infuriated the male portion of the marching band, which just so happened to be on good relations with the Colorguard, a few of us anyway (I know I'm on really good terms). To counter this horrible decision, the few of us who really cared about this situation designed a petition, to use simple civil disobediance to respectfully disagree and present our opinion to the advisor. The Colorguard agreed with our petition wholeheartedly, but were cautious to sign. As the number of signatures grew, the power behind our cause gained momentum and we were sure to sway the Advisor and show her the error of her ways. Unfortunately she caught word of the petition before we could present it to her and she announced that if there was anyone on Guard who had signed it they would be removed from the Colorguard. Fortunately none of the Colorguard had signed it, but that does not justify the harsh ultimatum thrown at the Guard like that. I don't know if you can see the same injustice I see everytime I hear that, or feel the anger that I do everytime someone is denied their rights to freedom of speech and freedom of press. Oh don't worry, it gets worse. Being a group not easily discouraged, this band of kids and I went to the top-Dr. Homer. We described our situation and presented him with our petition bearing the signatures of over a hundred people, the voices of over a hundred people screamed from those papers, demanding justice from our underserving oppressors. Our mentors are here for us, we are not here for them! No longer will I slave away under the cracking whip of these "advisor's" forked tongues as they continue force their will upon those unwilling to receive it. These people, whose power hangs in the hearts of their pupils, depend on respect which is expected to be given without prerequisite nor trial run. We hold the power! We can turn this around with the slightest of ease, and make things how we want them! This band talks of synergy, well let's see some unification. Our director is there to direct us, not to dominate us. We are the band, we march on the field, we win the awards! Why not run rehearsals, set up are own system of legislation? Now is the time to take control, and govern over ourselves instead of take orders from a distant director. Like the colonies of an infant America, we must grow and fight for independance, for our right to do things our way. This is the call, final and desperate, we must cry out against it now or cry because of it later. The choice is up to you, whether we live for life or live to live, this is your time.