Detention not Suspension
Editorial Martez McDonald McClain- Staff Reporter For the 2013-2014 school year, the Southfield Board of Education wanted to try something new, the implementation of Saturday detentions. Due to behavioral disruptions and/or offenses to the district wide tardy policy. The detentions are held every Saturday at University High School Academy. They start at approximately 8:00 and last until 11:30. I personally feel that this experiment is good in which it will prevent a lot of suspensions and loss of credit for the card-marking. Therefore I am all for the idea of Saturday detention. With the installation of Saturday detention a lot of student suspensions will be prevented. Instead of suspending the students, the administration will simply assign the student a Saturday detention which consists of two Saturday detentions. This will eliminate the aspect of students missing school due to suspension but essentially giving up their time on a Saturday morning to suffer the consequence for their actions. But if the students choose to skip out on this alternative punishment, the student then will be suspended from school and still have to attend the detention upon their return to school. Throughout the duration of my research on the Saturday Detentions, I was able to interview a current student who has attended one. I asked the student about her opinions on the length of the detention. "The detention is sure a punishment! Sitting there for that long is like death!" The next question I asked was pertaining to what takes place during the detention." We do nothing at all! You’re forced to sit there and do nothing". Lastly, I questioned the effectiveness of the detention. “The detention is quite the punishment, I'd rather be suspended". I also had a question for an adult administrator who helped worked the Saturday Detention. The question was dealing with the "why" of the situation. Why were Saturday Detentions established? "We want to try to keep the students in school as much as possible. Instead of taking away their education we take away their freedom." Stated by the administrator at the Saturday Detention. The implementation of the Saturday detention is quite effective in most instances. It's a new form of discipline and its here to stay. I'm all for Saturday Detentions. |
Zonta
School Club Tyler Villirosa After meeting for an interview with Dean Williams, the leader and creator of University High School Academy’s Zonta Club, there is much to tell. Zonta is a junior version of a professional women’s business association which deals with women’s problems around the world, similar to NSBE (National Society of Black Engineers). Zonta Club’s goals are to “advance the status of women worldwide”. Scholarships are often awarded after graduation of high school. The club also offers a myriad of community service opportunities. The Zonta club movement is district wide in Southfield Public Schools. Each high school has an “officer” and there are school and city wide activities available within the club. There are 10 members in the club at UHSA, but there are hopes of member expansion next year. This is the first school year in which Zonta has been at University. The Induction ceremony was held at Michigan First Credit Union on February 10, 2014. Even though there has not been much hustle and bustle at the U for Zonta, at the end of this month there will be a meeting to schedule fundraisers and activities for the 2014-2015 school year. |