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News
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Written by Thea Kindschuh
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Tuesday, 11 May 2010 |
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Everyone knows seniors stress out about college. This American tradition of condensing your entire self into a few pages via application has been accepted as an angst inspiring, complicated, exasperating part of the high school senior’s life. But what happens after those applications, once the college responses start rolling in? This final part of the process often goes overlooked, if for no other reason than that by this time seniors have all faded out of the picture and are no longer available for questioning. So, as a final tribute to the school newspaper, this senior has committed herself to one last act of academic application — demystifying the last stages of the college process.
Receiving letters of acceptance in the mail is a truly blissful thing. You rip open the fat envelopes, pull out those big, glossy packets of information and read that first line, “We at X University are delighted to welcome you to our community.” That’s all you need. Just one line can send you squealing around the house, jumping up and down, and maybe even crying a bit. However you celebrate, you’ll be doing it then.
But all too often these acceptances can come with an aftershock of mixed feelings. You tried so hard to get into that school, and now that you have, does that mean they’re not actually as prestigious as you thought? Maybe that seemingly unattainable university is actually relatively mediocre. I mean, if you could get in, maybe they’re not so great after all. When you’re waiting for their letter, it’s easy to say, “They’re way too good for me. There’s no way I’m getting in.” And once you do, it makes you think you might have been wrong. But please, don’t let this self-deprecation overwhelm you — you got in. You’re worthy of that incredible institution, and they chose you specifically. Congratulations.
Of course, it's highly unlikely all those letters will be acceptances. With the number of applying students reaching an all-time high this year, rejections are inevitable. Those thin little envelopes, where again all you need is the first line — “We regret to inform you that due to an unsurpassed number of applicants this year…” can send you into a complete meltdown. There you are, a legal adult, well-established and mature, sobbing like a child over one little letter telling you you’re great but there’s not enough room. Maybe they have too many women, too many engineering majors, or too many people from Oregon, but all you can think is, “Wow, I’m an awful person.” You’re not. They’re just looking for something different. Yes, rejection sucks. It’s like a big fat slap in the face, a complete dismissal of your life’s accomplishments, some bureaucratic official giving your extensive list of achievements and struggles the finger. But you know what? You’re going to be rejected over and over again throughout your life, and learning to work with what you have is going to be skill that will serve you well for the rest of your years.
Our generation has it particularly rough. If the college acceptances were competitive, think what the job market will be like. We have to be able to take it. So pick yourself up off your bed, wipe the tears off your swollen cheeks, rip that letter into little bits and move on. You have options, you have opportunities, and you need to jump on that before they pass you by. College will be what you make it, and the vast majority of people are happy with their college experience no matter where they go. If you don’t go to college, you can travel; see the world. Only 30 percent of American jobs require college degrees anyway. Most of us are only 18 — far from the point where we get to call ourselves failures. So for all of you with college acceptances, congratulations. For all of you without, congratulations. For all of you who couldn’t care less about college, congratulations. You will all go far. |
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Written by Beatrix Zenger
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Tuesday, 11 May 2010 |
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Whether you’re heading off to college in five months or in a year and five months, you have probably started worrying, or at least thinking, about how you will finance your education. Here are some definitions and tips that I wish I had earlier this year to help you choose your best financial aid option.
Your Expected Family Contribution (EFC): The EFC is determined by the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). This form takes your parent's tax information for the past year, as well as other spending, and tallies them up into a tidy little sum. The schools which you’ve selected to receive your FASFA will decide what your family can comfortably pay out of pocket for your education based on the information in your FAFSA.
Your Financial Need: This is defined as the Cost of Attendance (COA) minus your EFC. This amount is what the college tries to provide for you in grants, scholarships, or loans.
Grants and Scholarships: This is the best kind of aid to receive from your schools. Grants and scholarships are what I like to call “free money”. This is aid that you won’t have to pay or pay back. Grants and scholarships can be awarded based on academic achievement, athletic achievement, leadership and many other qualities which the school finds admirable. While grants are usually added or subtracted on a year to year basis, scholarships awarded by the school are most often renewable for four years if you meet the academic criteria each year.
Outside Scholarships: While your college will provide much of the aid you need to make your education affordable, do not discount outside sources for aid. There are many foundations and organizations that put out scholarships each year for students. The application deadlines vary so start looking early and keep checking back because new ones pop up each day.
Loans: This is the form of financial aid that you do have to pay back, but pay attention to what you sign up for because some loans are more manageable than others.
Subsidized loans: These loans are the good kind of loans, if there is such a thing. The government pays the interest on these loans while you’re in school and you have a six month grace period after you graduate or cease to be at least a half-time student. The interest rates of subsidized loans are lower than that of unsubsidized; however, the rate changes each year, so check what your interest rate is.
Unsubsidized loans: These loans gather interest while you are attending school, and the government unfortunately does not pay it off for you like they do with subsidized loans. If you must take out loans, attempt to get the maximum amount of subsidized loans per year before accepting unsubsidized loans from your future college. If you are stuck with these loans, it’s best to pay off the interest as it’s added
by Thea Kindschuh
Grantonian reporter
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Everyone knows seniors stress out about college. This American tradition of condensing your entire self into a few pages via application has been accepted as an angst inspiring, complicated, exasperating part of the high school senior’s life. But what happens after those applications, once the college responses start rolling in? This final part of the process often goes overlooked, if for no other reason than that by this time seniors have all faded out of the picture and are no longer available for questioning. So, as a final tribute to the school newspaper, this senior has committed herself to one last act of academic application — demystifying the last stages of the college process.
Receiving letters of acceptance in the mail is a truly blissful thing. You rip open the fat envelopes, pull out those big, glossy packets of information and read that first line, “We at X University are delighted to welcome you to our community.” That’s all you need. Just one line can send you squealing around the house, jumping up and down, and maybe even crying a bit. However you celebrate, you’ll be doing it then.
But all too often these acceptances can come with an aftershock of mixed feelings. You tried so hard to get into that school, and now that you have, does that mean they’re not actually as prestigious as you thought? Maybe that seemingly unattainable university is actually relatively mediocre. I mean, if you could get in, maybe they’re not so great after all. When you’re waiting for their letter, it’s easy to say, “They’re way too good for me. There’s no way I’m getting in.” And once you do, it makes you think you might have been wrong. But please, don’t let this self-deprecation overwhelm you — you got in. You’re worthy of that incredible institution, and they chose you specifically. Congratulations.
Of course, it's highly unlikely all those letters will be acceptances. With the number of applying students reaching an all-time high this year, rejections are inevitable. Those thin little envelopes, where again all you need is the first line — “We regret to inform you that due to an unsurpassed number of applicants this year…” can send you into a complete meltdown. There you are, a legal adult, well-established and mature, sobbing like a child over one little letter telling you you’re great but there’s not enough room. Maybe they have too many women, too many engineering majors, or too many people from Oregon, but all you can think is, “Wow, I’m an awful person.” You’re not. They’re just looking for something different. Yes, rejection sucks. It’s like a big fat slap in the face, a complete dismissal of your life’s accomplishments, some bureaucratic official giving your extensive list of achievements and struggles the finger. But you know what? You’re going to be rejected over and over again throughout your life, and learning to work with what you have is going to be skill that will serve you well for the rest of your years.
Our generation has it particularly rough. If the college acceptances were competitive, think what the job market will be like. We have to be able to take it. So pick yourself up off your bed, wipe the tears off your swollen cheeks, rip that letter into little bits and move on. You have options, you have opportunities, and you need to jump on that before they pass you by. College will be what you make it, and the vast majority of people are happy with their college experience no matter where they go. If you don’t go to college, you can travel; see the world. Only 30 percent of American jobs require college degrees anyway. Most of us are only 18 — far from the point where we get to call ourselves failures. So for all of you with college acceptances, congratulations. For all of you without, congratulations. For all of you who couldn’t care less about college, congratulations. You will all go far.
Acceptance or Rejection: what happens to seniors after applicationsbecause as the amount of the loan grows with interest, the amount of the interest added goes up as well, leaving you with a larger debt when you graduate.
Other loans:
If you’re still left with a gap between your EFC and financial aid (like so many of us are) there are other loans that you can take out. Many schools offer a parent PLUS loan which is taken out in the student’s name, but both the parents and the student can make the payments. When you’re looking for an extra loan be sure to investigate all sources to be sure you find the lowest interest rate. You’ll thank yourself in the long run for having that much less debt.
Good luck! |
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Written by Ally Bray
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Tuesday, 11 May 2010 |
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Dressed head-to-toe in a sugar snap pea costume, world-renowned “Naked Chef” Jamie Oliver races through a playground and across a field. A gaggle of screaming children is in hot pursuit. “Eat your vegetables!” Oliver yells over his shoulder, and the children’s screams grow louder.
In March 2010, British chef Jamie Oliver set out to start a revolution in the kitchens of America. Starting out in Huntington, West Virginia, where almost half of the adults are overweight, Oliver attempted to change not only what the town’s inhabitants consumed, but the way they felt about food as well. To his surprise, however, many of the people he encountered were less than enthusiastic about his project.
America is famous for its fast food culture. As a nation, we live a fast-paced lifestyle that often leaves little time for laborious—albeit nutritious—home-cooked meals. Instead, we turn to quick fixes in the form of microwave meals, restaurant take-out, and, most commonly, fast food. According to various sources, the average American consumes about three hamburgers and four orders of fries each week. In fact, most Americans eat out around four to five times a week.
Of course, this has all been said before. Movies like “Super Size Me” and “Fast Food Inc.” have disgusted millions with their brutal depictions of monstrous corporations feeding the masses bits of cow and cardboard labeled as chicken nuggets. Laws have been made, amended, and repealed. By a recent mandate included in the new healthcare bill, chain restaurants will soon be required to display calorie counts on their menus. No matter which way we look, there is something new attacking the fast food industry.
But how much of an impact do these measures have on the average consumer? Sure, we might cringe as we order a 440-calorie double cheeseburger, but at the end of the day, fast food provides an easy, cheap, and quick alternative to a home-cooked meal. And to be completely honest, although we might scoff from a distance, up close, fast food tastes good.
Jamie Oliver’s show “Food Revolution” is all about proving that a delicious, nutritious homemade dinner doesn’t have to take all day. In the fourth episode of his series, he teaches 1,000 people how to make a simple stirfry in around 20 minutes — perhaps as much time as it takes to hop in the car and drive to Burger King and back. He also emphasizes the fact that while fresh, organic options may be ideal, for those who can’t afford them every day of the week, there are substitutes which are often just as nutritious, if not more.
Oliver is also attempting to dispel a common kitchen myth—that cooking is a time-consuming bore. In order to motivate Huntington’s residents and up attendance at his kitchen, Oliver organized a flash mob at the local Marshall University, in which over one hundred students participated, doing a choreographed dance revolving around the stirfry recipe he aimed to spread around town.
For those dubious about Oliver’s efforts, he has a number of stories behind his work. Perhaps the most touching is Britney’s, a teenager in Huntington who has suffered from weight problems her entire life. “I’ve tried everything, you know, I’ve tried all of the different diets that came out, I’ve tried exercising, I just never had the motivation to do anything. I just felt so hopeless,” she confesses in the fourth episode of “Food Revolution.” Recently, she was told by the doctor that liver damage resulting from her obesity may mean she has only five to seven years to live. “Once I found out that Jamie was coming I felt finally that this was my chance, my open door to finally get my life under control.”
There is no telling whether Oliver’s “Food Revolution” will become just that—a revolution. There is, however, considerable evidence that America is in desperate need of a nutritional makeover. America is known to many as “The Fattest Country,” and we are certainly living up to our reputation. Oliver can teach us how to cook healthy meals until he’s blue in the face, but nothing will change until we, as a nation, agree to take the leap. There are plenty of people and cultures to learn from. According to WebMD, “[Because of] the relatively healthier Japanese diet and lifestyle, Japanese women and men live longer and healthier than everyone else on Earth.” Japanese life expectancy for women averages 86 years, whereas American women average 80 years (for men, it is 79 to 75 years respectively).
Asking a country to change its eating patterns is a tall order. With the recent passing of Obama’s health care bill, however, there is a chance for America to take the preliminary steps toward a total "Food Revolution." |
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Written by Kaili Kasparek and Emma Forslund
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Tuesday, 11 May 2010 |
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It's no secret that Grant High School's cafeteria is unpopular amongst most students. After exploring four schools, both public and private, it became clear that the level of quality as well as the facilities vary from school to school, and more importantly, between school districts.
The differences between the Grant and Jesuit cafeterias are clear as you enter the latter's clean and organized lunchroom. Natural light streams in through a wall of windows, as parent volunteers, known as the "lunch moms," get ready to serve hot meals to the students. The lunch bell rings and the cafeteria is instantly flooded with teenagers. A group of students explains that four out of five students eat in the cafeteria every day.
There are many discrepencies between public and private schools. The cafeterias appear to be no exception. Jesuit students explain that they actually like the food, it's pretty good, even though it's relatively expensive. They get their hot lunches on a point system where every point is equivalent to 25 cents. Parents add points every month or whenever needed by the student.
It's no surprise that the Jesuit cafeteria is popular. The students have sandwich bars, smoothie machines, fresh cookies, hot lunches served by parents, as well as a full wall of vending machines supplying kids with snacks, sodas, juices, and other foods.
Cafeteria service varies significantly from school district to school district. The differences between the Beaverton and Portland school districts are evident the moment you walk into a school, but even more so within the lunchroom.
Southridge High School in Beaverton is one of the newest and largest public high schools in Oregon. Along both sides of the main hall are food kiosks, eight in all, serving different types of food for hungry students. In the center of the school is a round opening, known as the fishbowl, which is equipped with skylights and flat screen TVs. This is where Southridge students eat and socialize every day at lunchtime.
The 13 cafeteria workers prepare all types of food ranging from bento to salad bars, with the price of $3.25 for anything on the menu.
With a lunch room as massive as Southridge's, you would think that all the students could find something they enjoy eating, but students explain that even with all the options, around half still pack a sack lunch.
With over 1700 students in the school and no off campus lunch, nearly everyone spends some amount of money a week on food at school. So a major question is how does Southridge, a public high school, get enough money to pay for all of this?
It comes from a self-supporting school district that survives off of a high-income level and a lot of donations from the district. The Beaverton school district organizes frequent fundraisers in order to bring healthier food into the cafeterias.
Southridge's food program does seem to be rare, as far as public high schools are concerned. When looking at other public high schools, Lincoln shows that, like Grant, not all public schools are lucky enough to have the funding that other public schools like Southridge have. However, there have been some changes over the past five years that are steps in the right direction.
Lincoln High School's cafeteria is eerily similar to Grant's. It is in the basement, and is only used by a small percent of the students. Senior Megan Perra says, "Most people eat out or eat in senior hall." Those who do eat in the cafeteria say that they usually see the same people every day. Another senior says that eating in the cafeteria is not only uncommon but unheard of.
Beaverton and Portland school districts have their differences—most of which are affected by wealth of the surrounding neighborhoods, how many schools are included, and how much can be donated. A journey into different school districts showed that La Salle High School, though independent, follows similar standards to Southridge.
B.J., the head cafeteria worker, has been working at La Salle for nine years. While explaining the types of foods she makes every morning, she washes fresh romaine lettuce and lays it out to dry. "These are for the salads I make fresh everyday as well as for the sub sandwiches," she explains.
"Everything we serve is under 200 calories. We portion everything out so that it is healthiest for the kids," explains B.J. La Salle follows the guidelines set out by the 2006 Wellness Policy law. When it passed, public schools around the nation were required to change to healthier options for students. These changes included removing sodas and candy from vending machines, portioning foods, and providing healthier options for students.
As far as cost goes, students find it very sensible. The choices are great and the prices are very reasonable. "We think the food rocks," says one student.
Those attending La Salle on partial or full scholarships have special options for lunch. Students on partial scholarship receive a reduced lunch price, and students on full scholarship receive a free lunch provided by the school.
Private schools certainly have more money to spend on fresher and healthier food. However, some public high schools are fortunate enough to be located within a wealthier neighborhood, such as Southridge.
The high schools in the Portland Public School District struggle to measure up to the qualitiy of the food offered by schools such as Jesuit and La Salle. Nonetheless, changes are being made to improve the nutrition value of foods served in school cafeterias, starting with the 2006 Wellness Policy. This is one of the first steps to healthier cafeterias in Portland Public Schools. Even more recently, in October of this year, the Institute of Medicine commissioned new standards for the USDA to improve food quality in schools. These changes would include salad bars for all public schools, the use of whole grains, and low fat options for students.
Whether or not the district will meet the healthy food levels of private schools is unknown, but there are definitely steps being taken to improve the quality of food for students around the district. |
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Written by Kristine Vail and Rosa Smith
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Tuesday, 11 May 2010 |
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Local food
“PPS has always been ahead of the game as far as cafeteria food goes,” says Nutrition Services program manager Melissa Martin. Lately, being “ahead of the game” has taken the form of buying locally grown food, an effort, according to the company website, to benefit students and support the local economy. Martin estimates that 32 percent of the food served in PPS cafeterias is purchased or grown within the local “food shed”: southern Washington to northern California. The “Harvest of the Month” program promotes a different locally grown fruit or vegetable each month: rutabagas in January and frozen blueberries in April. Meanwhile, the “Local Flavors” logo on various products, including Roadrunner Pizza and Three Bean Vegetarian Chili, identifies foods produced by local businesses. However, Martin admits that the company still has a ways to go. Meat, for example, is probably the most challenging ingredient for Nutrition Services to obtain locally. It’s an ironic distinction, given that commodity-processed meat tends to be one of food-safety activists’ highest concerns; yet the company’s budgeting challenges make it hardly surprising. Local, naturally grown, or hormone-free meat products cost 2-3 times more than those produced by major corporations using traditional factory-farm methods—an economic equation that makes it a special event when, as on April 14, cafeterias serve entrees like Zenner’s All-Beef Hot Dogs. “We would love to buy more meat locally,” Martin says. “But because of our budget, we can only do that on special occasions.”
Costs and funding
Funding tends to be the biggest obstacle to changing and improving cafeteria food systems. Though Nutrition Services is a part of PPS, it is also a self-supporting organization; it doesn’t receive any money from the district. Rather, Nutrition Services depends on its own sales profits and on federal reimbursement for free and reduced-price lunch purchases. With a reimbursement of only $2.70 per meal to cover food, supplies, labor, health benefits, and other operating costs, Nutrition Services can only afford to spend between 80 cents and $1 on food, and Martin stresses that any new programs or efforts must fit within the budget. “We would be able to do a lot more,” she says, “if we had a higher reimbursement level.” With Congress currently working on a reauthorization of the Child Nutrition funding may be on its way. Although the need to keep costs low can result in somewhat lower food quality, student is sympathetic to Nutrition Services’ budgeting struggles. In her words, “If they could afford better, they’d get better, well for what they have.” Any further change, it seems, must come out of students’ or taxpayers’ pockets.
Student Responses
The cafeteria is a place at Grant that is widely avoided by most of the student body, only a 160 students out of the rough 1,600 that attend actually eats there. It has been expressed by many students, that the quality is less to be desired. Cafeterias have always had a lingering reputation for providing food to students who find it hard to stomach. When asked about the quality of food, the common responses uttered by Aria Shannon and Kristine Liang were, “ It’s horrible” and “It sucks.” We have been lead to believe that cafeteria food is the same food they serve to prisoners or that it’s pre packaged, genetically modified, flash frozen, and then transported across the country to be served at lunch and breakfast in our own cafeterias. After being lead to believe such things students still don’t find it easier to try it. From the students we talked to we found that they were actually more concerned with the quality of the food rather than just what they thought would taste good. Students want a balanced meal and they want a healthy one at that. The opinions of the cafeteria food vary, much like the wide variety of people that the cafeterias see. Some people actually enjoy the food, and others despite the fact that they think the food is horrible, still eat there instead of bringing a lunch from home or traveling to some of the surrounding eateries.
Health and nutrition
As for accusations like those leveled in the recent documentary “Food Inc.” that cafeteria food tends to be of a lower quality than that served in fast-food restaurants, Martin is emphatic in her denial. “We have more food safety policies and procedures than restaurants,” she explains, asserting that “PPS is providing a high-quality and nutritious meal.” A registered dietician writes the district-wide menu; the Nutrition Services leadership team includes five dieticians, a trained chef, and a master of public health as well as a marketing expert. Martin even refers to nationwide studies which, she says, have shown that students who eat school lunches are healthier than those who eat lunches brought from home. Yet this vision of cafeteria food contrasts markedly with that presented by students—who, while their opinions vary on the taste and appeal of cafeteria food, seem generally to agree that it can’t be healthy. “Do you see the amount of grease they put in this s--t?” John Morton exclaims. Kristine Liang agrees: “They add too much oil to their food.” The cafeteria does do business with larger corporations such as Tyson, Foster Farms, Pierre, JTM foods, Kings Delight, and others. Many of the larger companies put the immediate health of the consumer on the back burner to make room for more profit. There have been alleged happenings at the Tyson, where things like the mistreatment of chickens and insufficient policies govern their selfish productions.
The Grant cafeteria: a big basement room with 19-year-old grey paint on the walls, fluorescent bank lighting and a ceiling covered in perforated tiles. There's a view of water-stained cement through the windows spaced out along one wall; if you crane back your head you might catch walking feet and a few scraps of grass and sky. The food is the same served at every public high school in Portland, processed and packaged and reheated every morning on big stainless-steel trays. Meawhile, PPS maintains that its food is healthy, delicious and ever more local. But the image in Grant students' minds is anything but. With the documentary "Food Inc." in the national spotlight and slow-food movements sweeping the country, with Chicago public schools changing their food system to reflect student feedback, it's time to take a look in our own basement. |
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