Opinion

ABRAHAM LINCOLN SCHOOL LIBRARY DESERVES MORE RESPECT

By: Jonathan Chan

Librarian, Mr. Chan cleans up after students mess.  Photo By; Johnathan Chan

 

 

  The library is available to every student, but when large amounts of students visit the library daily, troublemakers always seem to show up. When I was a teacher’s assistant at the library, the librarian Gilbert Chan saw a student wearing a mask that covered their face. He went to politely ask the student to remove the mask because it violated the school’s rules. Instead of taking the mask off, the student immediately retaliated with a wave of profanity towards Chan. To make matters worse, the masked student was with their group of friends who completely disregarded the librarian and kept fooling around on the library’s computers. When Mr. Chan called in the security guards and had the group of students escorted out the library, one of them yelled out, “Yo, this library stinky!” Another student that was being escorted out yelled some profanity at Mr.Chan.

  Annoyances like this aren’t always this loud but are equally as disrespectful. Students treat the library like they own the place. They put their feet up on the couches, eat food when it is prohibited, and also damage school property. As a teacher’s assistant at the library, it was my job to help the librarian out by keeping the library clean. I remember seeing that students had a habit of wrecking school property in the library. For instance, there would be big neon letters that would spell out “manga” glued on the bookshelves and students would rip them off. I remember having to re-glue the letter blocks back onto the base only to have it ripped off again. These students, who are in their sophomore or junior year, behave so immaturely that they are like seventh graders.

  On the bright side, not all students are inconsiderate troublemakers. On some occasions, I would see students in the library studying or working on their projects quietly.

 If the troublemakers were more behaved, the atmosphere in the library would be a lot better. I find this very important because if the students don’t shape up and respect school property, then the library will be a mess. The school library is a place where students go when they have nowhere else to go during their free periods. Not only that, but substitute teachers use it for when they don’t have access to the classroom. Many students use the computers in the library to print out their papers.

 The library is an important and crucial part of our school and, to remain a safe and productive space for everyone, it needs to be treated with more respect.

APPLE PRODUCTS ARE NOT AS GLAMOROUS AS PEOPLE THINK

By: Scott Wu

A new iPhone X, as compared toAirpods.  Photo By: Scott Wu

 

 

   Look anywhere around Lincoln and you will find a majority of students having their iPhones and apple accessories out. I see people with their iPhone X’s, wearing Apple’s wireless earbuds, “Airpods”, which look ridiculous on people due to their size and overly-bright white color.
 The iPhone X costs about $800 dollars. The Airpods cost about $160 dollars and work no better than other wireless earbuds that cost $100 dollars. The phone and earbuds together cost around $1000. This brings up a question. Are Apple products really worth the money? I say no, and this is coming from a person who had an iPhone for three years.
 These products are overrated to the point where people will buy the new iPhones without taking a look into the phone and it’s changes, simply because it is from Apple. I am not bashing Apple, in fact I think they are a phenomenal company that has changed the world significantly. I’m just sick of people who “overhype” Apple and their products.

  My experience with the iPhone 5s was quite enjoyable during middle school, the performance was excellent and was almost as fast as a computer. The price was around $600-700 which was quite expensive at the time. Older iPhones kept getting irrelevant every time Apple brought out a new phone, which made me feel like money was wasted.  What I didn’t like about it was how fragile these products were, even with a proper case. Apple’s mobile operating system, “iOS” was quite a hassle to adapt to sometimes, and every update even today seems to get worse for the iPhone. Back then, my iPhone 5s seemed to drain more battery after multiple releases of iOS 7 updates.
  I made a switch to Android from Apple in my first year of high school. I thought I didn’t need an expensive phone to get through high school, so I bought a Samsung J3 that cost less than $200. It lasted me for three years without any problem, and after sophomore year, I didn’t see a reason to move to iPhone. The phone had almost identical actions and features that any iPhone would have, voice/face recognition as passwords, the same programs, and user interactions.

 However, as expected the performance and speed wasn’t up to par with the iPhones at the time, especially when it came to video games and other high battery usage programs. This didn’t bother me as I only used the phone for browsing the internet and watching videos at the time, but it definitely was not the same as iPhone.
 The only reasons I could see people getting these products nowadays is to simply show off wealth and prestige. Google has started making affordable products that are more user-friendly and fast like Apple, to the point where it’s performance and interactions are just as good and as Apple products, like the Google Pixel 3. At one point, iPhones were the only phones with face-to-face video chat, known as   “Facetime”, now people can download similar programs on both Android and iOS, making Facetime almost obsolete. In my eyes, Apple is struggling to have original realistic ideas for their products at the moment, due to other companies thinking of everything.

  In conclusion, Apple products are not worth the money and are simply overrated. I'm sure many people would like to buy iPhones or iPads if they’re cost are as affordable as Android’s, but Apple has mastered the marketing tactics and won’t ever change their prices. Stop being reckless with your money, this isn’t 2010 anymore, make a change for the better. Choose Android if you want to be conservative with money and still get through your life efficiently.

UNCOVERING THE INEQUALITY IN SCHOOL SYSTEMS

By: Alexis Gomez

Artwork By: Gabriela AlemánThrough her artworkAlemán shows what marginal-ized students go through forthe same opportunities thatcome so easy for wealthy elitestudents.

 

 

  We have heard something similar like this in all our lives: “Hard work will give you great success and everything you ever dreamed for.” This has been told to us time and time again. We hear and see this narrative of rags to riches everywhere, so we all strive to be as successful and work towards the future we want. For some, this means getting into the college of their dreams and getting a higher education. A crucial factor of college applications is your SAT score. It can set you apart from hundreds of other applicants with just a score.

 

  In recent news, a scam has been uncovered that wealthy parents like Lori Loughlin have been paying a college admissions consultant millions of dollars so their children can have a guaranteed spot in prestigious universities like UCLA or Yale University. One of the details of the case was that the college consultant hired by the parents would go as far as to pay SAT proctors to give them extra time. Parents would take it to the extreme by letting someone else take the SAT for their children, therefore guaranteeing a high score for these students.

 

  This isn’t news to many students. Applying to college is a “pay to play” game. Not all students can pay for a quality SAT help or tutoring, or even be able to afford to take the exam more than 2 times. This means students who don’t come from a wealthy and academic family already have to work 10 times harder to even come close to what their wealthier peers do.

 

  Many high school students spend months studying for the SAT, with a tutor with some self studying. A lot of time and money goes into these studying sessions. For most, the test is taken more than one time to get a score good enough to submit to universities. But how can students be expected to go the extra mile and spend almost every second trying to prepare themselves for high education when the SAT has proven to favor students who can afford to have one on one tutoring, or 6 weeks of an elite prep class. Students without these resources don’t have the same chances of getting a high score on the test because of circumstances that affluent students and their families just don’t have to deal with. For example, a high school student who lives in a single parent household and has a job part time will most likely not be able to afford a tutor that charges $50 an hour for SAT prep.

  Some might say that everyone has the same chance on getting a great score on the SAT if we all just try hard enough.

  The SAT just measures a students test taking ability, but so much relies on it that it can't be taken lightly by anyone trying to get into a competitive college. Some solutions to trying to dismantle the unfair bias of college admissions might be communicating better with high school students. Letting them know of every resource possible frequently and explaining their options thoroughly in order to make the best decision. Schools should also push students to apply to elite universities and give them all the tools to do so.

INSTEAD OF DISMISSING IT’S PROBLEMS, ALHS’S COMMUNICATION NEEDS TO IMPROVE

By: The Lincoln Log

 

 

  Dismissing problems isn’t the way to solve them. In order for change to occur, we have to be willing to talk about issues that are affecting us instead of leaving each other in the dark. Without being informed of why changes on campus are made, students are left to speculate about what caused them. When there is a withholding of information from staff to students and parents, and staff to admin, Lincoln becomes a place of unfairness. Many incidents have transpired that have caused widespread rumors and concerns from students and teachers, and this concern deserves to be addressed.

 

  Students are often left wondering about why certain decisions are made for the school without consulting or notifying the Lincoln community. Recently, these decisions have included restrooms being closed at random. School threats and drug findings on campus are other examples of major events on campus that go unspoken about after they occur. Many students are left with only hearsay and rumors to build an idea about why we have certain rules, drills, and changes.

  There is no point of punishment if no one involved learned why what they did was wrong, and if people that weren’t involved, who are still affected by the decisions and punishments that are handed out, aren’t informed. In the end, it’ll feel like an unjust punishment to the innocent people affected who weren’t informed about the incident. Instead of carrying on like “business as usual” or acting like everything is fine, we need to acknowledge what is happening on campus, and be more transparent. To address a problem there must be clear lines of communication or else there is no reason to expect change

  As Martin Luther King Jr. said, “There comes a time when silence becomes a betrayal.” Now it is time for the Lincoln community as a whole to stop our silence and start talking openly about our challenges and goals. It is time for us, as students, to stand up and make our voices heard when we have goals that need to be met, or problems that need to be addressed. Student voices are important because they reflect the true nature of the school environment. Shouldn’t Lincoln want to foster a community of empowerment and positive change?