Mission Statement: Sharing Our Passion for Knowledge
. Vol 2
Serving Pikes Peak Community College students

Out With the Lockers
Katherine Stempson

Recently one school board talked about a new idea that has caught my attention. District 20 is considering the idea of a school that is K-12th grade. No book bags? The first thing that came to mind was How could you go to school without carrying any books?

This could stop the complaint of parents and students, noting how bad it is for students to have to carry all those heavy bags.

Administrators are fighting for a supply of books so each student would have a book at home and at school. What a great idea that is. Also they think it will be good because now that you have books at home and at school, you won't have to worry about lockers.

I strongly believe that this will also help lower the rate of drugs and weapons carried into schools because the students won't have a bag to hide anything in. They can carry their books in their hands.

Money is an issue when it comes to building new lockers, and now they may not have to worry about spending thousands of dollars on something they won't need.

I think this is an important issue that we should learn a little more about.
(top)

Consider Who and Where You Bash
Megan Gadberry

Many of the students in this school are over the age of eighteen, meaning that we can all vote, and many did. We all have our own opinions and love to talk about them with our friends. But has it ever occurred to some that what they say out loud can offend many people standing around?

One topic specifically in this town is a major debate. Either you are for the war in Iraq or you are against it. If you are against the war, I advise you to be very careful about what you say and who you say it to. I for one, find it very offensive when I hear people bad mouthing the war in Iraq and our troops. It is one thing to bad mouth our government and our involvement in the Middle East. We are the United States after all, and we do have freedom of speech.

Everyone is entitled to their opinions, but don’t take it out on our fighting men and women. They many not necessarily agree with the war either, but they do have a job and a duty to our country. Have a little compassion for the families who lost a loved one, or had a loved one wounded.

So, next time the conversation comes up. Choose your stance. Are you unhappy with the government or are you unhappy with our troops themselves?
(top)

Drinking Teen-agers, a Dangerous Mix
Brittany Munger

An 18-year-old girl jumps over the chained metal gate to an apartment pool in the middle of night. She stumbles and falls, but she is fine. Dozens of other drunken kids are up in the apartment blasting music, and having sex with multiple people.

There is a reason for a law stating that no one under 21 years of age is allowed to drink, and it is not because "the man" is trying to bring people down. It is because teenagers are not responsible enough to handle being drunk. Not only are they not responsible or mature, but they lack fear of what they can do to themselves.

It is our duty, along with the help of law enforcements, to keep these younger adults from drinking. Not only can we do more than just not buy the liquor for them, but we can step up and break up their drinking parties. The police need to start cracking down and breaking up the parties while they are happening, too. Think about it. If these kids have such little disregard for themselves, then why would they care about someone else and not drive drunk? (top)

Textbook Costs, the Most Annoying Part of School
Amanda Van Wingerden

One of the most annoying things about school (besides classes, professors and fellow students) is the absurd cost of textbooks. This semester, I spent around $970 on actual classes and around $320 on textbooks.

This is cheaper than usual considering one of my classes didn't require books. With tuition costs on the rise, students shouldn't have to take out loans for textbooks.

This semester I bought my books at the campus bookstore because I procrastinated, but I usually get all my books online. Some of these sites provide new and used textbooks at a fraction of the price. I did some comparison shopping after classes had started and found that I could have purchased all my books new on one site for $264, and used for $209. You do have to pay the shipping costs, but that is only around $4 per book.

Reselling your books back to the school is another disappointing way to try and save money. Consider that textbook you paid $90 for. It's now worth $20 if you're lucky, but next semester the Bookstore will be displaying your used copy priced at $70. Or worse, the school has updated to a new edition and your "old" edition isn't worth anything. (How many times can history re-write itself?)

Oh yeah, and what's with reaching their "buy-back" limit? That happened with my algebra book; apparently the Bookstore reaches a limited number of used books they are allowed/want to buy back. Anyone need a MAT 090 textbook? The one good thing I will say about the Bookstore is the helpful staff, which is probably because most are students. I wonder if they get an employee discount on books. Work-study anyone? (top)

Toilet Paper Racks Missing
Andi Nehring

I am writing in regard to the missing (stolen?) Toilet Paper racks at the PPCC campuses. The Toilet Paper, a local paper distributed at various locations throughout the state of Colorado, has finally made its way to the college circuit. Although it has received positive feedback from students and faculty alike, it only took a few people who are adamant in their attempts to remove anything that hints liberalism to ruin it for everyone. C'mon, thieves, you guys already claimed anything good Colorado Springs has to offer. You got the cool movie theater located next to Gunther Toody's for a church. You got the Big Green Slide of Death for one of your institutions. And hey-you got the wicked Indian burial ground for your Nat'l Prayer Center (or was that D.I.A.?). The point is, The Toilet Paper racks are only to be removed if the owner of the location decides that the paper isn't appropriate for his or her business. (top)

Sensible Driving at Slower Speeds
Jennifer Cain

The speed limit on I-25 from Monument to Colorado Springs is absurd. My suggestion for the speed limit on I-25 is to change it from 75 miles per hour to 65 miles per hour.

Recently, Colorado has implemented a "Left Lane Law" that is intended to keep drivers in the left lane for passing purposes only. Ideally, this is a wonderful idea. However, the majority of drivers drive 5 miles to 10 miles per hour above the posted speed limit causing there to be a drastic difference of speed between the two lanes. For those in the right lane, the "slow lane" is used primarily by trucks, trailers and grandmas going significantly under the posted speed limit.

For those drivers who wish to actually drive the posted speed limit, 75 miles per hour, this makes for an annoying dilemma as you attempt to abide by the law but not cause further traffic jams. As soon as you get into the fast lane, you see in your rear-view mirror the car creeping up on you, and you politely get over respecting the law and respecting the driver.

In order to reduce the amount of traffic accidents and annoyances on the Interstate, reducing the speed limit to 65 miles per hour would cause all of traffic in both lanes to drive at a more consistent speed.
 
Design by Design Photography The Pikes Peak News is a student-run newspaper sponsored by the Journalism department of Pikes Peak Community College. The opinions expressed in this newspaper are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of Pikes Community College nor the Colorado Community College System.