School Board Debate on New Saturday Detentions

PORTSMOUTH, NH- The School Board could not reach a decision on a new Saturday detention system this past Monday.
The proposal was brought to the council by School Board member Tim Steele. Steele proposed a new rule requiring students to serve detentions on Saturday instead of during the week.
The Saturday detentions would run from 8 a.m. until noon several weekends throughout the year. The new system would require about $3,000 per year for staffing.
Steele proposed the motion to help reduce the number of in-house suspensions. The new Saturday detentions would also mean that students would not miss any class time.
“I know this isn’t good news for parents,” said Steele. “I hope the threat of Saturday classes will make the students think twice before breaking the school rules.”
Peggy Bacon, a parent, did not like the new proposal. Bacon opposed the increase in finances and the fact that she would have to worry about her son getting to school an extra day of the week.
“I just don’t think it’s going to make any difference, and the parents are going to pay for it—in higher taxes as well as in ruined Saturdays,” said Bacon.
Five high school students attended the meeting. Senior Lisa Gallagher is against the new Saturday sessions.
“I don’t like this idea I think it’s just being done to make life easier for faculty,” said Gallagher.
Gallagher raised an important question on what the punishment would be for students who skipped the session.
Steele responded that students who do not go to their Saturday detention that they would not be allowed to return to school until it is served.
After 30 minutes of discussion, the board voted 5-3, with one member abstaining, to discuss the issue again on the following meeting on March 7.
In other business the School Board discussed a retreat for administrators in June and requests from teachers for leaves of absence.
A financial report was given detailing the impact of federal budget cuts on the school lunch program. There was also an approval of several school department and food service bills amounting to $13,568.

Is the New York Times Biased?

Is the New York Times too conservative or too liberal? In reading over the newspaper I have discovered that there are both articles that are right-winged, left-winged, and neutral.

The article A Onetime McCain Insider Is Now Offering Advice (Unwanted) From the Outside, discusses former Republican consultant Mike Murphy and his comments about John McCain's campaign. Murphy used to be the chief strategist for McCain’s 2000 presidential race. Murphy did not have positive comments about the McCain campaign, but Murphy has had a reputation for battling powerful people. Murphy’s comments are not criticizing McCain but his strategist. This article is very well-written and does not shine a negative light on McCain. The article mainly criticizes Murphy for the statements he has made towards McCain.

The article McCain and Obama Hurl Broadsides at Each Other Over Taxes and Jobs, is clearly pro-Obama. The article discusses how Barack Obama’s grandmother became ill and he left the campaign trail to visit her. During this trip McCain still hurled low-blow insults at Obama. This article creates sympathy within the reader for Obama, and makes McCain seem to be cruel and unsympathetic.

The article Candidates’ Views of U.S. Role Shift on Trail, Defying Labels, is a very neutral article. The article goes through all of McCain and Obama’s strategies and plans for certain areas if chosen the next President of the United States. The article states the facts evenly for both candidate, and would be very useful for a reader who wants to know where both candidates stand on an even scale.

Story Topic for Week 10/21

My story for this week is about a new food challenge that the University of New Hampshire is participating in. The challenge is the $3.13 a Day Food Challenge. This challenge is about the cost of food stamps, and it is asking students to see if they could survive on only $3.13 amount of food a day. This challenge will take place between November 15- 21 of this year. I learned about this challenge from going to a program that the school put on, The Real Food Forum. I have yet to talk to any of the people running this program yet. My main problem was getting people to respond to me in a timely fashion. A lot of the people running this program did not get back to me until the last minute, and are unable to talk in person due to their busy schedules. I also plan on talking to welfare programs to get more background information about food stamps, and also the university's dining department.