What Dropping Out Really Means

The stigma surrounding dropping out needs to disappear, and here’s why
BY MAYA HARTIG out…if I got to that point, it have a plan. An observational
would be because something study done in 2013 showed that

T he halls of high school—in

Bigfork’s case, anyway—are
drab, uninviting, and cold in
comparison to the open arms
of home. Teachers can be tough
and demanding, standardized
tests tedious and boring, and
when it comes to other students,
well, they can be just mean. The
environment of school is not
always a desired one, causing
many students to ‘drop out’ and
seek other opportunities in their
life.
By definition, a ‘dropout’ is
“one who drops out of school,”
according to Merriam Webster. It
is also “a momentary defect on a
magnetic tape or disk caused by a
temporary loss of signal,” but that
is not the point. The point is that
the stigma surrounding dropouts
has become so much more than
the definition; to many, dropping
out means being lazy and making
excuses, but this viewpoint
often comes from a community
member or outsider.
“Dropping out could have
benefits for some people
depending on your situation,”
said junior Shea Meisner. “I
do not see myself dropping
traumatic happened in my life
outside of school,” such as a car
accident or the death of a close
family member. While Meisner
believes that dropping out means
“quitting, because you give
up on…the most basic level of
education,” it is clear that she can
still empathize with someone who
might.
“I think [students] drop out
because either situations at home
are hard, or they are not putting
in effort. Generally, the kids who
drop out do not drop out because
it was difficult just at school.
They drop out because things are
difficult everywhere in their life,”
says Meisner.   that benefit them other than in
To educator and principal Mark
Hansen, however, dropping out
means that “the student does not
have a plan after they leave high
school.” Hansen’s opinion, based
on years of experience, is factual
and unbiased, which is a strange
occurrence for opinions.
“I do not think you are dropping
out because high school is not
your thing,” commented Hansen.
“To me, a dropout is leaving
school without a plan.”
But in most cases, dropouts do
87% of dropouts completed the
General Education Development
Test (GED), and 41% of dropouts
were able to find employment
without any form of diploma
whatsoever.
Though these numbers may
seem optimistic, there are still
other options for those at risk
to seek out. Meisner suggests
students “do extracurricular
activities, and I know this sounds
way easier than it actually is,
but find friends who are good,
because kids who drop out are
friends with kids who are at risk
of dropping out or drop out…
they should get involved in things
Office skills teacher Cindy Landers stand disapprovingly,
school.” holding a form for a dropout to sign and return. When students
Additionally, Hansen is willing choose to drop out, many of their teachers and peers feel
to work with such BHS students disappointed.
who feel they cannot complete
high school. “I try to intervene in Meisner admits that she jokes who drops out of school” and
it quite early, just so I can get a about dropping out “all the time. nothing more, then there is no
feel for what the kids are doing. I am not serious about it though, need for any more bias towards
We talk about hopes and dreams and I feel like that is a dangerous dropouts. In many cases, there
and what they want to do and see thing to joke about.” She hopes are underlying situations that
how they feel.” that students, and herself, will jokesters and critics are not aware
Both Hansen and Meisner see find the seriousness in these of; this stigma is not helping
dropping out as a serious issue, terms before their high school anyone, especially not the kids in
yet many students joke about the years are over. need of support.
concept as if it were just a term. If a dropout is truly “one

would carry” states Elizabeth any other crew launch system,

The Modern Space Race
Falcon 9 in the hangar after flight. (Picture Credit to SpaceX
Rocket Laboratory).
BY CHANCELOR OLSEN
include Boeing, Elon Musk’s
Spacex, Blue Origin,
and the United Launch
Alliance are all compet-
ing for the chance to re-
supply the Internation-
al Space Station (ISS)
and reaching missions
that stretch further
than Earth’s influence
including the construction of the
Mercury capsule for NASA in
the 1960s, along with revolution-
izing commercial flight for the
Federal Aeronautics Association
(FAA). Boeing has currently been
developing a brand-new crew
Howell, a writer for space.com.
Unlike previous crew modules,
Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner will
use air cushions to softly “land
on [the] expansive desert plains
in New Mexico or Utah,” says
Stephen Clark of the Associated
Press, unlike previous American
modules which were forced to
land in the Pacific Ocean. Starlin-
er will hitch a ride on the rocket
called Atlas V.
“Some of the Atlas V’s past mis-
sions include the New Horizons
probe that flew past Pluto, the
Mars Curiosity rover and the
mysterious X-37B military space
plane,” states Howell.
Elon Musk’s SpaceX has partici-
pated in 32 successful landings
Starship will not need parachutes
to land; instead it will belly flop
through the atmosphere to bleed
off velocity, then rotate tail down,
burn in the opposite direction of
to burn off the rest of its velocity,
then land on its three multipur-
pose tail fins.
Last but not least, there is Jeff
Bezos’ secretive Blue Origin,
which has been slowly and
carefully engineering their New
Shepard, a spaceship that has
completed 10 successful flights.
“New Shepard is the company’s
reusable suborbital flight system,
designed to carry both humans
and robotic payloads, and it
makes its journey in 11 minutes,”
says Meghan Bartels of the As-

S
SpaceX, and Jeff Bezos’ Blue module called CST-100 Starliner, of their Falcon 9 booster, 17 of sociated Press. Blue Origin’s goal
ince 2002, multiple private
Origin. a modern take on a “crew module which have been re-used for mis- is orbital flight with their New
space agencies have been
Boeing is an aircraft manu- that is designed to fit up to seven sions. Musk’s all time goal for his Glenn concept, although it “is
working tirelessly on their own
facturer with technological astronauts, although the configu- company is for humans to become unlikely to fly before 2020” states
advanced aerospace technology
breakthroughs throughout the ration could change depending a “multi-planetary species,” he Bartels. New Glenn’s first stage
to compete in the modern space
history of space exploration, on how much cargo the spacecraft states in a press conference about will be very similar to SpaceX’s
race. These private companies
the Big Falcon Rocket (BFR), Falcon 9 rocket, which bleeds

Suck it Up and Snip Snip later dubbed the “Starship” and

Boys across the U.S. High School, Greensburg India-
napolis), said that he enforced this
are having to cut rule because it promotes team
unity and projects a wholesome,
their hair to clean-cut image for athletes. Pat-
compete in sports rick and Melissa Hayden stated in
a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court
that their son was kicked off the
BY ELAYNA HAGEN
Greensburg High School basket-
a professional look for that school
or specific team is baffling to par-
ents and students. If students wish
to play a sport while maintaing
their own style of hair, whether it
be long or short, they should be
allowed to do so as they please.
Keeping a unified and well put
together look for a team does not
“Super Heavy” booster. In early
January, SpaceX completed the
construction of the test vehicle for
the Starship in Boca Chica, Texas.
This prototype appropriately
named Starhopper, has a similar
purpose to SpaceX’s Grasshopper,
which “was a reusable vertical-
takeoff-and-landing (VTOL) rock-
et prototype,” explains Howell.
Starship is designed to be a
two-stage crewed rocket, with the
off its velocity by burning in the
opposite direction of its trajectory,
then carefully lands either on a
landing pad or a ship at sea.
The future of space will be led
by multiple commercial indus-
tries, all possessing their own
advanced technologies to make
space flight cheaper and more
accessible to the common citizen.
Who knows, maybe the first hu-
man footsteps on Mars will be in
late 2020; by means of spacecraft.

B eing an adolescent navigat-
ing their way through high
school is a struggle in itself.
Imagine being a teen trying
out for a sports team and being
told that your hair needs to be
cut in order to play.
This is a reality in
high schools across
the nation. Boys on
athletic teams all over
the country are being
required to cut their
hair as a regulation to
play sports. Deny-
ing young men this
uniqueness is now
deemed unconstitu-
tional, due to a ruling
by a three-judge panel of the U.S.
7th Circuit Court of Appeals.
In Nathan L. Essex’s book The
200 Most Frequently Asked Legal
Question for Educators, it quotes
“because students enjoy a level of
constitutional freedom in schools,
they should expect, for example,
fairness and equality of treat-
ment” along with “protection
against unreasonable invasion of
privacy, a right to be themselves
within reasonable limits.” Despite
this, discrimination is still hap-
pening.
Coach Stacy Meyer (Greensburg
ball team after he refused to cut seem to be as much of an issue for capability to send 100 passengers
his hair and comply with team the female sports teams as in the to the moon and Mars. Unlike
rules, which require that players’ case of male teams? Thus giving
hair be above their eyebrows, col- the males a harder time in keep-
lars, and ears. ing their own identity. Being part
The Indianapolis Star reported of a sports team is an wholesome
opportunity to contribute
factors that one uniquely
contains.
Nathan L Essex states
that “teachers can de-
velop rules for student
conduct in their class-
room if such rules are
considered reasonable
and necessary to main-
tain order and proper de-
corum and do not unduly
infringe upon students
that the Haydens want court to rights and freedoms.” This means
rule that the policy is unconsti- that administrators, teachers, and
tutional, force the school district coaches cannot make students cut
to stop enforcing the policy, and their hair legally. It is infringing
award any necessary damage re- upon their constitutional rights of
funds to the family. Tuck Hopkins, self expression.
the attorney representing Greens- The last step to take in this
burg Community Schools, said debacle is ensuring that students
the boy was not denied an educa- are able to express their consti-
tion or kicked out of school. tutional rights. A solution to this
“It’s two different standards,” he topic can be reached while a level
said, “there is no right to engage of respect is obtained.
in extracurricular activities.” How
students are supposed to maintain
individuality if adults continuous-
ly tell them to change to maintain