Minh Nguyễn
October 16^th, 2003
Blueprint
#105

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In advance

I received an advance copy of the Blueprint this afternoon on the bus, thanks to Kevin Olerdissie. Here’s my critique:

• Last year, as you may recall, the Blueprint featured an article, by two then-freshmen and one then-senior, strongly criticizing the then-sophomore Class of 2005 for dragging down the total collection, thus selfishly taking away the school’s day off in the Spring.

  This year, the Blueprint features an article, by a junior, that criticizes the seniors (then-juniors) for dragging down the collection total, thus impairing our chances of a day off in the Spring. You do the math.

  If anything, this serves as a good example of class partisan politics. It is true, though, that the senior class came over $13,000 below their goal, while the junior class missed by only $4,000.

  Of course, I didn’t contribute all too much, now did I?

• I don’t know why I didn’t write about this after news about a Brookings Institute study broke.

  On the front page this issue, “Students Burdened by Workload” examines the St. X side of the story.

  Maybe I should sum up with an example. This is my quiz / quest / test / exam / standardized test schedule for the two-week period beginning 12 October:

  Wednesday, 15 October

  Spanish Ⅲ: Listening Quiz Due

  Spanish Ⅲ: Pop Notebook Test

  Thursday, 16 October

  Spanish Ⅲ: Grammar Test

  English Ⅲ: Reading Quiz

  American History: Two-Section Quiz

  Thursday, 17 October

  American History: Unit Test

  English Ⅲ: Vocabulary Unit Quiz

  Pre-Calculus AB: Chapter Test

  AP Biology: Two-Chapter Test

  Saturday, 18 October

  Driving Exam

  Monday, 20 October

  English Ⅲ: Reading Quiz

  Tuesday, 21 October

  PSAT/NMSQT

  Wednesday, 22 October

  Pre-Calculus AB: Cumulative Exam

  Morality & Justice: Exam

  Thursday, 23 October

  American History: Cumulative Exam

  Spanish Ⅲ: Cumulative Exam

  AP Computer Science A: Cumulative Exam

  Friday, 24 October

  AP Biology: Cumulative Exam

  English Ⅲ: Semi-Cumulative Exam

  And then report cards come out the following week. So, as you can clearly see, my school gives much more work than the national average. This also shows that my schedule is so packed that I shouldn’t be blogging right now. Go ahead, repremand me. Use the Comment link below.

• I usually don’t point out typos, but this one was all too blatant: front page, right under the fold: “Gaggle revolutionionizes email at St. X.” I really didn’t know our school’s student e-mail service liked white, round, tear-inducing vegetables, but hey, I like ’em.

  Also, restricted e-mail systems do not prevent popup ads from being displayed. Using Mozilla Firebird for web browsing does.

• I’ll express my views on the rest of the (very good) Blueprint issue tomorrow, once it has been disseminated among our student body.

And please, if you’re a Blueprint member or fan, please don’t criticize or bring legal action against me for publishing this the night before distribution of the issue; no one from our school, I assure you, will have read this entry until then.

Later (Friday):

• This year’s Blueprint staff seems intent on covering important issues, as evident in “Administration Makes New Policies, Poor Decisions.” I like that.

  …Juniors … are are faced with an incredibly unfair system in which students at the beginning of the alphabet are in the main student lot, while those at the end of the alphabet are behind the baseball field across the street …. Now these same students, apparently too irresponsible in the eyes of the administration to choose parents with good last names, must wait an extra ten minutes to leave school under the new dismissal policy.

  In other news, a Tri-State lawyer firm is regularly stopping in front of the school to offer name-changing services, at rock-bottom prices. Don’t forget to contact the AP Office before the change, to see if you — and consequently another few hundred students — will be shifted. Such lawyers have, in the past, suggested starting new names with numbers or exclamation marks, to ensure an ideal parking spot. [/joke]

  …The administration needs to realize that not everyone lives where Mr. Odioso does. Accidents do happen on the North and East Sides. Moreover, upon examination of the St. X Student Directory, at least 30% of the student body lives in areas where I-75 South, the route most often ignored by the administration, is the main route to school. Students have as much control over where they live as they do over their last names, but apparently the administration feels we should be held accountable for both…

  Trust bus drivers. They know how to get around almost any mess.

• I think calling our school “St. Sell-Out High School’ is a little harsh, but I generally agree with Pete Wenstrup’s assertion that the school may have considered someone other than the students when making many of this year’s decisions.

• “Where are the true fans?” Well, they’re not at Paul Brown Stadium either, if you get my drift. But I haven’t even attended a football game since freshman year, so what can I say?

• While the “Variety of Clubs at St. X Broadens” with the addition of the Ping-Pong and Juggling Clubs, I still remember hearing about an attempt to start a JUG-ing Club. It never went too far — Mr. Odioso probably had enough students to administer JUGs to.

• “Peter Pan Politics”? I don’t jump to identify with a particular political party, but I can say that I tend to agree with Democratic and Green policies, such as those on surplus spending and environmental issues. Then again, I agree with the Republican stance on abortion. So, you could call me an Independent. I wonder if there’s an Independent Club at school, akin to the GOP and Liberals for America Clubs.

• ”Totally Fake Headlines”: “Latest umbers on lives saved by new dismissal policy: 0 and counting.” In surprising turn of events, Fr. Deye receives thrid highest number of votes in California recall.”

• At 11:05am yesterday in downtown Bethesda hospital Mr. Mike Marchal was pronounced dead. Evidently tragedy struck when Marchal, in a lawless revolt against inane rules went down an “up only” stairwell shortly after homeroom.

  The preceding quote was from the Backside, the humor section of the Blueprint.

  I saw Marchal today in the hallway. I’m scared — he’s got some unfinished business, like, perhaps, making me stand up straight, once and for all…

I’m beginning to