Volume 2 Issue 3 January 1998

By Sabrina Fiege

One look outside at the parking lot between classes will show you the extent of the smoking problem at USS. Earlier this year, Mr. Morris attempted to eliminate this "unofficial" smoking area by threatening suspensions and detentions for those caught smoking on school property.

In what may seem like a surprising change, Mr. Morris is attempting to get an official, designated smoking area for USS. He explains that this is not an about face, because "I’m still concerned with the same issues we talked about in September." He said. These issues include the bad image smokers portray of the school, in the eyes of the community; the bad role models the students at Joseph Gould see, and, of course, safety. He also adds that he is "certain that the neighbours across the street are not pleased with the situation."

Since the passing of the new rules, banning smoking on school property, smokers had begun spending more time in the middle of Planks Lane, annoying many drivers. Mr. Morris wants to find somewhere where students can smoke without risking being hit by a car.

Although Mr. Morris would rather not see teenagers smoking, he realizes that this is a fact of life. He hopes that if he were able to get a designated smoking area, there would be a safer, better-supervised place for the smokers. He said that the parking lot is "too open and accessible – I can’t watch it 6 hours a day." He worries about illegal drug use and drug deals, which are suspected to be taking place in the parking lot.

Getting a smoking area is not as easy as merely having Mr. Morris’s okay. "I’m just beginning." He warns. Many obstacles stand in the way of this becoming reality. The Durham Board of Education has a policy banning smoking on school property. The Town has a no smoking policy; the anti-tobacco bylaw prohibits smoking in public places. Basically, at every level, smoking on school property is illegal.

Mr. Morris has begun his fight by speaking with the School Community Council. Next he will take his plans to the school board and the town council. People at either of these points can veto the idea. Mr. Morris is still optimistic, "It is worth the effort," he said, "I’ll give it a good try."

Even if all levels of administration agree, and that’s a big if, don’t hold your CO filled breathe for an official smoking area this year.

News in Brief:

In case you missed it, a small beagle was seen running through the school on Thursday, January 15^th. The dog ran through the hallways and into the cafeteria. When most people were trying to pet the dog and asking, "Why is there a dog in here?" One smart person replied, "Maybe it is hungry."

Tiger’s Roar Staff:

Editor: Sabrina Fiege
Proof reader: Daniel Wigdor
Artist: Ben Gibson
Photographer: Garnet Pearson
Reporters: Rob Breault, Tara Hood, Katie Ovens, Wendy Rynard

So you thought that Uxbridge is a "nice, clean town." With "none of those problems like in the big cities." Hah! Guess again!

A recent survey conducted of the USS school population in grades 9, 10, 12 and OAC, shows some surprising results. Also frightening is the comparison of the answers given by Uxbridge students as compared to those given by students in the rest of the province.

In Uxbridge, as well as in the rest of Ontario, alcohol is the drug of choice. 76% of students at USS have used alcohol in the past year, compared to 60% of students in the province. Breaking this number down, in Uxbridge 83% of males and 69% of females have had alcohol in the past year. 58% of grade nines and 88% of OAC students answered this question with a yes.

When asked about drinking habits, a resounding 48% said that they drink occasionally. Surprisingly, more females drink occasionally, 50% to the male’s 46%, but more guys drink more than once a week. 21% of guys compared to 2% of girls circled that response. Other frightening trends are the rise in the frequency of drinking, only 4% of grade nines drink more than once a week, but that same category for OAC’s is 17%.

47% of students in Uxbridge have had a cigarette in the past year. 51% of guys and 43% of girls admitted to having a smoke. The lowest smoking results came from grade 10 students with only 32%, while the highest came from grade 12’s with 57% smoking a cigarette in the past year.

The majority of people, between 62% of grade nines and 46% for grade 12’s, say that they never smoke. Results range from 25% (grade 9’s) to 28% (grade 10’s) who said that they smoke occasionally. The lowest daily smokers are found in grade 10, (only 6%) and the highest statistic was the grade 12’s (18%).

37% of Uxbridge students smoke marijuana. The surprising split here is linked to gender, 44% of guys have smoke marijuana in the past year, but only 29% of girls have done the same. Grade nines have the lowest rate, with 21% not "saying No" and grade 12’s have the highest percentage with 54%. The highest daily cannabis smokers are OAC’s, with 10%. The highest occasional smokers are again OAC students with 30%, the lowest are grade 9’s with 13%.

More proof that "Just Say No" doesn’t work, comes from answers to the question, "Do you believe that marijuana is a great health risk?" Only 54% of Uxbridge and Ontario students said yes. More females than males feel that marijuana is unhealthy, with 56% to 52% each. The biggest difference in this category came from 67% of grade 9’s and only 33% of grade 12’s saying that marijuana is dangerous.

15% of students in USS say that they have used drugs other than tobacco, alcohol or marijuana in the last year. 23% of males said yes to more drugs, while only 8% of females said the same.

Once again grade 9’s use the least other drugs (4%) and grade 12’s use the most (22%). As to what drugs they use, 7% of Uxbridgonians have used magic mushrooms, 3% have tried LSD, Ecstasy or Hash and 2% say they have used crystal, crack, cocaine or heroin.

Information from Ontario is courtesy of the Ontario Addiction Research Foundation.

You come into grade nine with your Health teacher’s imposed image of any-one-who-does-drugs on your brain. You think to yourself, I would never hang around scary people in long black trench coats with blood shot eyes who can’t string a simple sentence together.

Then the bomb drops. As you move through school you meet some nice people, who are definitely not scary. Then you realize that they are the dreaded dregs of society that you health teacher called "Drug Addicts." Your world is shaken.

Okay, so maybe that is a bit melodramatic, but it shows my problem with the "Just Say No to Drugs" message. It is so unrealistic.

Anti-drug commercials and classes always focus on how much of a loser you are if you do drugs. The only people it works on grade seven and eight kids who still worry about being cool.

Drug education programs need to get away from scare tactics and brainwashing and try to really educate people. All those years of wasting time making kids memorize "Just say No" won’t help when they are really trying to decide whether or not to do drugs. As one t-shirt I saw in the mall said: "I said no to drugs but they didn’t listen."

The easiest way to stop drug use is to tell students the real truth about drugs. Not myths with no backing, but facts with documented proof. Students need to see unbiased information that will allow them to make their own choices.

Take away the "glamour" of drugs. Take away the rebellion issue. Then teach people to think for themselves, and they can figure out how they want to run their own lives. If armed with the right information, chances are, students will make the right choices.

Letters to the Editor:

Dear Editor:

Why can’t we have more options? We are deciding too early what we want to have for courses next year. I think that school days should be shorter because than we wouldn’t be so busy and not have as much homework because I don’t think that we should be given so much that we have nothing to do but homework all night and all weekend!

Have a great day,

Sarah Gall

Dear Editor,

I am a grade nine student here at USS. In a few weeks I will be writing exams for the first time. I’m a bit worried about writing it because I’ve heard they are hard and long. I would just like some reassurance that exams aren’t that hard. Thanks,

Sincerely, Heather Harris

Dear Editor,

I have this fear about exams. I hope that the whole thing is just way overblown. If you need any ideas, an article on how the exams are not the hardest thing you’ll do. Thanks for your time.

Jennifer Hingston

Dear Editor,

I am very nervous about the upcoming exams. I believe that it would be extremely helpful if someone would come and talk to us about them. Thank you very much.

Annie Gailits

Dear Editor,

I am very nervous about the exams. I believe that they are going to be very hard. I don’t know what to do study wise. I hope that someone could talk to us about them.

Colin Emo

Dear Editor,

I am writing to complain about exams. They seem to make everyone filled with fear and they seem over done. They shouldn’t have them. They should just have tests for every unit and not make everyone panic and worry about remembering every little detail about our whole semester. It would also give us that extra week of learning time (minus exam week) I would also like to suggest that every classroom should get two spider plants. It seems to help them to grow better. And they don’t get lonely.

Sincerely, Jennifer Hinchliffe

Dear Editor,

I am worried about the exams, in three weeks. I have four hard subjects to study for. I think the exam days should be farther apart. I hope that someone can come to our class to talk about how exams work and what happens.

Thanks, Claire Georgevitch

Dear Editor,

I am just writing to congratulate you on a job well done on publishing the Tiger’s Roar. I am also writing to complain about my schedule. I think we should have Art and Gym all year long or at least Gym all year long. Thank you for listening to my opinion.

Signed, Phil Thompson.

Dear Editor,

Exams should be less pressuring on kids. Sports should be more emphasized in more detail. More school spirit needs to be shown.

Bryon Kennedy

Dear Editor,

I think that we should choose our own courses and I think French should not be mandatory in grade nine.

Lea Collingwood  

Dear Editor:

I am a grade nine and have a few questions and ideas and statements. First off, I am nervous about exams. My sisters have told me that they are hard. Are they? Also I have a friend who lives in Scarborough and she does eight subjects all year, 4 per day than a different 4 the next day. It seems to work all right, and you can have two nights to do homework.

Brett Jackson

Dear Editor:

I have been in grade nine for less than a year and have already found some, I think which are problems, in our school system. Personally I don’t think it’s the best idea for semesters. I mean by the end of the year we will forget what we learned in the first semester. And we should also have more options on classes.

From: Jennifer Stent

Dear Editor:

I think we should have 8 courses all year long. I think we should have 4 on day one and 4 on day two. I think this would make high school a more enjoyable experience and then we will not forget our subjects as easily.

Jessie Ferguson

Dear Editor,

I think that some buses should come earlier because we want to talk to our friends. Some buses should come later because they get to the school too early at like, 8:20 and school starts at 9:15. So if you could listen that would be nice.

Sean McLaughlin

Dear Editor,

I feel that school should start at 9:00 a.m. Most busses are here before 8:45 a.m. and if they were earlier we could go home earlier, so we can do what we want to do.

Donna Baker

He started to chuckle. "You can’t try out! You’re a ..." his sentence withered under my best poison dart glare. I could tell that the coach silently agreed with Jason, but he tried not to let it show.

"You know, Jason, maybe she’s been sent down from above to teach us guys a few things," the coach smiled and winked at Jason, as if I weren’t even there. I started to feel kind of invisible, so I spoke up.

"Don’t you need my name or something?" The coach came to his senses and wrote my name down, as I spelled it slowly for him.

After what seemed like forever, the warm-ups were over. As Coach Robbins began to assign position to discover our strengths, I heard him talking to Jason.

"Let’s have some fun with this," he winked again. I knew he was talking about me because of the unsure look on Jason’s face.

"Sickening," I groaned to myself. Then I heard the coach call out my name.

"Samantha Sheridan: Quarterback!" I tried not to grin too widely, as I took my place mid-field.

The coach told us not to plan our strategies, just to let our receivers move around and see what happened. Our team had the ball first. I noticed that Jason was the quarterback for the other team. In this game, there weren’t two different people playing offence and defense for one team. The same people were on the field all the time. It depended on which team had the ball.

I bent my knees slightly, ready for the snap. The whistle blew, signaling the start of the play. The ball was tossed back to me. I backed up, fingering the ball, as my defense pushed forward and receivers moved around the field. I noticed Eric, one of my receivers far off, whose blocker was struggling to keep up. I quickly pulled back and threw. The ball spiraled perfectly to Eric and reached him before his blocker did. Eric was going strong, until Jason finally reached him and made the tag, about 35 yards from where I was. I sneaked a

look at the coach. He’d dropped his clipboard again. I ran upfield, laughing and hi-fived Eric.

Soon I was ready for the next play. Before it began, Id seen Jason whispering something to everyone on his team. After the whistle blew again, I guessed he must’ve been saying something like, "stick to your man like glue," because nobody was open for a pass. Fortunately two guys were now covering out "star receiver" Eric, leaving me wide open! As a gap down the middle grew larger and larger, I decided to go for it. Everyone else was so busy running around that they didn’t even notice until I’d gone about nine yards. Then, I just avoided a few people, outran a few others and reached the end zone. I whipped the ball to the ground and pumped my fist in the air. This time even Jason was speechless.

By the end of the practice, I’d scored two touchdowns, intercepted two of Jason’s passes and gotten a date with Eric.

As I was packing up my stuff on the field, the coach came over and asked me why I’d never tried out for the tackle football team, which had been prohibited after too many near-fatal injuries. I told him that I thought it was too violent and dangerous. I could tell that he had a smirk threatening to reveal itself. Disgusted I decided to destroy it.

"Don’t you agree with the school’s decision Coach Robbins?" I asked sweetly. I knew that he couldn’t touch that one for fear of jeopardizing his job at the school. He mumbled something to himself and forced a smile, I smiled back and walked away.

That was when I woke up. I punched the pillow angrily. It had seemed so realistic! That’s when I thought, "Wouldn’t it be something if our school really did have a non-tackle football team?"

Gabbin’ with Rob:

Cafeteria food... Secrets revealed!

By Rob Bro

Sorry, I lied. There are no secrets here, just a short commentary. I’ve always noticed the way that people love to dis the cafeteria food, (others protest by not eating it...freaks) and I’m finally going to come out and defend the stuff.

My favorite two days are cheeseburger day and chicken burger day. The only complaint I have about cheeseburger day is that when you go to put ketchup on your burger, the damn lid won’t come off. All that cheese keeps the top bun stuck down and you usually end up ripping it! Ah well, it’s meat...I suppose we should have to fight for it. After you’ve downed a couple of those puppies, you’re so satisfied that you could never think of ever eating another bite of food again...ever.

Then there is chicken burger day, where they leave the lids off for you sometimes. When they don’t, it’s still easy to just lift the bun off and go crazy with the tartar sauce. Only problem is that the tartar sauce is almost impossible to spread, not to mention that you are supposed to do it with a spoon instead of a knife! That thick goopy... uh...oh ya, tartar sauce, is like trying to spread salsa or something. Ah well "tastes great, less filling"...Right?

Anyway, that’s my two cents. Incidentally, I thought that grill cheese and fries were just a little too boring to mention here, and I warn you to stay clear of chicken on a bun day (not to be confused with chicken burger day.) Oh ya... ignore me, it’s late.

Top 10 things to do in an exam!

These 10 ideas were taken from a list of 50 on the internet. The Tiger’s Roar accepts no responsibility for any consequences stemming from this list.

1. Upon receiving the exam, look it over while laughing loudly, saying, "you don’t really expect me to waste my time on this drivel? Days of our Lives is on!"
2. Fifteen minutes into the exam, stand up, rip up all the papers into very small pieces and throw them into the air yelling, "Merry Christmas!" If you are really daring ask for another copy of the exam. Say that you lost the first one. Repeat this process every 15 minutes.
3. Bring a musical instrument with you, play various tunes. If you are asked to stop say, "It helps me think." Bring a copy of the student handbook with you. Challenge the instructor to find the section on musical instruments in finals. Don’t forget to use the phrase, "Told you so."
4. Walk in, get the exam, sit down. About five minutes into it, loudly say to the instructor, " I don’t understand ANY of this. I’ve been to every class all semester long! What’s the deal? And who the hell are you? Where’s the regular guy?"
5. Every five minutes, stand up, collect all of your things and move to another seat. Continue with the exam.
6. Do the entire exam in another language. If you don’t know one, make one up. For math/science exams use roman numerals.
7. If it is a math/science exam answer in essay form. If it is long answer/essay form, answer with numbers and symbols.
8. Get a copy of the exam, run out screaming, "Andre, Andre, I’ve got the secret documents!"
9. Every now and then clap twice rapidly. If the instructor asks why tell him or her in a derogatory tone, "The light bulb that goes on above my head when I get an idea is hooked up to a clapper. DUH!"
10. Talk the entire way through the exam. Read questions aloud, debate your answers with yourself. If asked to stop, yell out ‘I’m sooo sure you can her me thinking." Then start talking about what a jerk the instructor is.

Happy Birthday to all Capricorns especially special ones with birthdays in the Christmas holidays... (I know how it feels to be over looked)

Capricorn: Please come out of that dirty depressive state soon or you’ll start looking like Wednesday from the Addams Family. A word of advice, the cold temperatures may make you talkative. Be careful what you say and to whom you say it. Later in the month your eyes are two large dollar signs when a smooth talkin’ hustler promises to thicken your anorexic wallet. Trust me, get a job instead.

Aquarius: This is when you realize that what you thought you knew you wanted to do and what you know you want to do are different things. See what happens. You’ll finally realize that person whose attention you can’t get is actually a skinny pale thing with amazingly large pimples on only their left cheek.

Pisces: Steer clear of people who want to suck you down to their slimy pit of misery, like that knuckle rapping science teacher who never recognizes your talent. Buy a jet-black Morticia wig this month to show of your dormant gothic side. Wear it to the school during exams, your head will sweat off your dumb weak brain cells.

Aires: Be sure to talk about any intimacy problems you might have even if you are not ready yet. (You know who you are) Challenge yourself this month because you’ve been slacking off lately, and you know it my friend. Stop day dreaming before you wreak your mama’s station wagon.

Taurus: During exams you may feel like a balmy piece of lint because the winter weather is making you cranky and lazy. With this laziness you feel like you are experiencing mental constipation. Go see Lindsay at the library and get a meditation tape to help this problem.

Gemini: This week you’ll feel like you want to battle some white water rapids. Maybe you should just finish Calculus, the rapids are probably still frozen, or do they ever freeze? There is something to think about instead of trying to fabricate a plan to shave your brother’s legs while he sleeps. He and you should sleep with only one eye closed this month!

Cancer: This month you’ll feel like you’re in solitary confinement, but you’ll actually be enjoying it. You’ll want to stay alone in your room and you may even opt for the stale bread and water menu. Don’t fret, by the end of the month you’ll be ready to join the social scene with a new enlightened feel for the world.

Leo: You feel like a vacuum cleaner has come and sucked your personality out of you. Maybe it has created a new and improved you. You might just feel torn between farting in public and wearing pearls and sensible shoes. This is one of the big dilemmas in life you’ll just have to face yourself.

Virgo: The rest of the month you won’t want to lift a finger, you’ll stay in bed and focus on being pretty or handsome and might even dust the cobwebs off the curling iron or bottle of gel. Start looking for that prom date now as you may need that extra time… but don’t we all.

Libra: Listen carefully and don’t space out to your friends this week. There will be a definite breakdown in communication, so why not go ahead and be distant and sulky, (just like how guys act.) After exams you’ll feel nicer and hey, you might even smile once or twice.

Scorpio: You might start feeling deep this month. Why not file all of your pencils under p and all of your schoolbooks under s. Try to forgive your family for prying into your private world for they know not what kind of jerks they are. But definitely start locking your bedroom door.

Sagittarius: Be a bad dude this month and if anyone hassles you, turn your head and yell, "Freeze, sugar." And give them a karate chop where it hurts. You’ll have many inexplicable urges to kick up your heels and dance. So do it, but only in the privacy of your own home.

Happy Birthday Wishes:

Happy Belated B-day to Wendy Rynard and Sonja Wesholowski. Happy B-day to Sabrina Fiege.

SAC News:

Recently people have been heard to complain that the bulletin board hasn’t been changed in a long time. News flash: It has. If people continue to steal the signs off the bulletin board it won’t get updated.

If you walk through the cafeteria hallway lately you’ve probably noticed that the SAC will pay you $1 for any old CD’s that are not scratched, not homemade and in their original cases. Recycle your CD’s and get ready to go on a used CD shopping spree after exams. The CD’s will be VERY cheap, bring your change.

Once again Euchre has taken over the school. Ahhh…

If you still owe the SAC money for chocolate, Give It Back!

Battle of the Homerooms:

The numbers are in, almost every homeroom has participated, and it is almost time to pick the final winning homeroom for this year. Check out these impressive winnings:

Mr. Cranmer’s, Ms. More’s, Ms. Sansom’s and Mr. Watson’s classes are received 5,000 points for their winning doors.

Mr. Tennant’s class got 7,200 points for the food drive, beating out Ms. Sansom’s 3,700 points easily. Third place went to Mrs. Martin’s class with 3,500 points.

The final scores now leave Mr. Tennant’s class in the lead with 13,400 points. In close second is Mr. Cranmer’s class with 10,600, followed by Ms. Sansom’s class with 9,900.

The results from Euchre will determine this year’s champion

Complaints Corner:

• No paper towels in the washrooms. This item has been on the list for a LONG time.
• Guidance canceling EWC OA1
• Exams. Especially 3 exams in the same day.
• Mechanical pencils that run out of lead. Especially in the middle of the exam.
• No pixel board
• Muffins that only have the chocolate chips on top, not inside as well
• Ice storms- but not snow days
• Computers which crash in the middle of your project, losing everything. Especially when it’s 2:30 a.m. and the project is due in seven hours.