Opinion/A&E
Waverly High School And Its Excuses
Ellie Blake
Excuses are what almost every student uses to get out of not
doing their homework. The question is, do they always work?
Whenever a student doesn’t get an assignment done on time,
the first thing that pops into their mind is what they are going to
say to their teacher about how they didn’t get it done. Maybe
they really didn’t have time, or they were just too lazy to even
get their folder out of their backpack. Either way, excuses are
just a way to get out of not doing homework.
Many teachers have been noticing the increase in excusemaking in their recent years of teaching.
“Sometimes I think students work harder on making their excuses than they do on their actual work,” freshmen science and
chemistry teacher Joel Fritz said.
One of the most common excuses is, “I didn’t get it!”
If there is a problem understanding something, it’s so easy
to stay after class or come after school for a few minutes to go
over the topic again or ask about a certain question. They are
called teachers for a reason, they are there to teach and help
you. If questions aren’t asked, the confusion will not go away
and the excuses will start to pile up. Some teachers stay after
school for hours on end helping kids get their grades up or to
help them catch up. Coming in to ask about homework is not
that hard to do. It doesn’t take up much time and it’s so easy.
“I stay after school every day or I’m here early. Most of the
time it only takes five to ten minutes to go over what someone is
not understanding then it’s done,” Fritz said.
Most teachers will not accept students’ excuses. There have
been many posters put up around classroom walls saying that
excuses will not be tolerated in that classroom. Even with these
posters and reminders put up, the excuses just keep coming
daily.
Why make an excuse and get in trouble for something that
could have easily been done in free time at home? Almost
every student complains about how they have nothing to do at
home or how they are bored. There’s an easy remedy for boredom or not having anything to do: homework. Then excuses will
not even be needed when going to hand in an assignment.
Excuses are something that need to be cut from every students brain. Whether there wasn’t time to do it, or it was hard to
understand, making an excuse will not help.
“Gravity”: A Zero-G Success Story
Connor Strange
“Gravity” was astounding, for lack of a better word. Some
of the most stunning visual effects to date and a convincing
plot kept the edge-of-your-seat thriller fresh throughout its 91
minute runtime.
The film details the fictional events of the space shuttle
Explorer in a routine tune-up on the Hubble Space Telescope
gone awry. Mission Specialist Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) is
on her first foray into the void, but veteran Matthew Kowalski
(George Clooney) and engineer Shariff (Paul Sharma) accompany her. As they do their astronaut thing, they learn of
a Soviet missile strike on a satellite no longer functioning. Only
minutes later, shards of debris begin hurtling at the Explorer
crew, and they are sent floating from the severely damaged
shuttle.
Although the acting within the movie is exceptional, it plays
a rather insignificant role in the overall experience. More important are the breathtaking visuals brandished consistently
during the movie. “Gravity” is a movie to see in 3D if there
ever was one, as it uses the technology in a more immersive
way than any other film this reviewer has watched. Bullock
and Clooney’s performances were both very good, admittedly. They managed to maintain an interesting storyline, but
they were secondary to the awe-inspiring effects.
This movie is grim for the genre of science fiction, and it isn’t
Page Layout By: Connor Strange
futuristic whatsoever. The events take place in the next couple
of years or so, resulting in a lack of pointy-eared and emotionless aliens or an asthmatic half-robot guy in a black dress.
Symbolism isn’t heavy within the film, but one scene displays
the most glaringly obvious allusion to the womb in the entire
history of film making. After finding a safe place within the
Russian ISS, Bullock curls into a fetal position (floating in zero-g,
as well) and cords hang from the ceiling as if they were the
umbilical cord.
It’s a technical masterpiece, not a grand feat of storytelling. “Gravity” makes for an effective way to kill an hour and a
half, especially for fans of science fiction or any other space
stuff. The problem with the story comes up in the duration.
That’s not to say the shorter length is bad; the movie would’ve
dragged on otherwise. It’s just that the plot line wasn’t impactful. It’s still worth a watch, but seeing it in 3D is highly
recommended because the enjoyment stems from special
effects.
Enjoyable? Certainly. Lifechanging? Not in the slightest. It’s
not that “Gravity” dropped the ball or anything like that; it did
the best job possible with the given setting. Space and only
space gets boring after too long, and this movie did a great
job of remaining entertaining for 91 minutes of vacuum.
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