“You have two minutes, you get to take two photos, and you must be blindfolded.”
We never thought we’d see the day, but our mission of finally going to see the bomb shelter at Penn Manor was happening.
Our guide, who showed the area on the condition his name would be kept anonymous, had strict guidelines for us to follow if we were going to see this bomb shelter.
We were told by our guide that, once we got to the bomb shelter, we would be allowed to soak in the mysteriousness for only two minutes, only capture two photographs, and our anonymous guide was going to drive us there while we were blindfolded in the backseat.
We immediately agreed to these terms despite their stringency and we patiently waited for the day to come that suited our unidentified conductor to lead us to our destination.
Our anonymous subject finally set a date for us to meet so we could embark on our highly anticipated journey.
We anxiously arrived early to school on a day when seniors would normally sleep in due to the PSSA tests, but we would have come early on a regular day if it meant we could see the bomb shelter.
With our blindfolds and camera ready to go, we entered a school van that our guide would take us to the bomb shelter in.
Cody Erb is bomb-shelter ready.
“Keep your blindfolds on tight, and don’t peak!” said our guide who was timid for maybe the first time ever. Maybe it was because it was the first time he was taking two blindfolded students in a beat up van around the school.
The ride was jerky, uncomfortable and took a lot longer than we expected, and after a short run in with the cops, our guide finally got us to our objective.
Still blindfolded, our director guided us to the bomb shelter one at a time.
Dessie Jackson is prepared.
Once we were both sealed inside, we were granted the right to remove our blindfolds.
Low and behold, the place we were dying to get a glimpse of was right before our non-blindfolded eyes.
A huge empty room with nothing but pipes, tanks, wires spread all throughout the enclosed walls.
The room was large, dungeon-resembling, and the smell of wet leaves lingered in the air.
We didn’t know where to start, and we only had two minutes, so the questions started flying out of our mouths.
Where does this door lead? Where does that door lead? What does this do? Where does that pipe lead to? Where are we?!
Pacing, we spotted a door. A very dark, looming door.
“That’s it. That’s the shelter.” said our anonymous guide.
Unmarked door found at unknown location on Penn Manor grounds.
We were practically shaking.
For years we have been searching, and looking for answers. Finally, we found it. Our ultimate dream. Our ultimate goal.
“Alright, time is up. Time to go.”
We forgot about the time limit.
Luckily we took multiple pictures, but this mysterious door five feet in front of us now had our attention more than the room we were in.
Before we left we demanded to know what was behind this door.
Mysterious window leading toward the shelter. Location: Unknown
“There are stairs that lead down to the shelter,” said our guide. “Those pipes lead down to it and have a big supply of water.”
“That’s where I’d be heading if anything bad ever happens,” said our subject.
We begged. We pleaded.
But, a contract is a contract and we are not ones to go against our word. It was time to go.
With one last look, we gloomily put on our bandannas and packed our bags. We were led up the stairs and into the van once more. It was time to part with this magical land of shelters.
Did we make it? Sort of.
We proved that there is truth behind this ‘myth.’ There is a shelter here at Penn Manor. But it is our time to close the book on this investigation for we have made it one step closer then any other student in recent Penn Manor history. It is time to pass the torch to the next bomb shelter believers.
Also, it is time to move on to our next endeavor.
No, not college.
“So, did they show you the underground tunnels too?”
As public school employee pension costs and a weak economy strike school districts in the area, many wonder if Penn Manor is next to eliminate staff positions.
The Lampeter-Strasburg School District school board recently announced a plan to reduce the hours of eight teaching positions for next year, in part because of budget concerns.
The School District of Lancaster proposed a plan this week which will eliminate nearly 40 staff positions next year, and administrators there said they may not be done cutting.
Millersville University announced this week, possible layoffs of staff in an attempt to cut costs because they stand to lose more than $3 million in stimulus funds in the coming year.
One new teacher at Penn Manor, Lisa Mayo, said she didn’t like hearing that news from neighboring school districts.
“I’m the last person hired in my department, so if they went by seniority, I’d be cut first. So yes, I’m fearful of losing my job,” said Mayo, who was newly hired for Penn Manor High School’s English Department for the 2009-10 school year.
But Penn Manor’s Superintendent, Dr. Michael Leichliter, said his district plans to reduce spending through other means than putting current employees out of work.
“Positions can be eliminated through attrition (natural reduction through retirement or resignation) or through furlough. If a district furloughs staff members then it must comply with certain regulations in the Pennsylvania School Code (State laws that govern public schools in PA.)” said Dr. Michael Leichliter, superintendent of Penn Manor School District.
Superintendent Dr. Leichliter
According to Leichliter, school property taxes will likely increase by 3.46% this year. The district, he said, is looking into ways they can keep taxes down in light of soaring pension costs in the coming years.
“In the next few years we will experience a large increase in our mandated pension costs along with other costs like normal price increases, rising utility costs, and other mandated personnel increases. The school will need to look at each and every expense and weigh what is truly essential,”said Leichliter.
“… We can borrow money for items like school construction through the financing of bonds. We cannot spend more than we have, though, for normal operating costs,” Leichliter said.
In order to prepare Penn Manor for the increase of tax, the school may offer advertisements and endorsements to the private sector, similar to Hempfield and Manheim Township.
“We’re willing to take sponsors and advertise,” said Leichliter. “Anything we can do to increase revenue.”
“Overall, the district is in excellent financial condition at the present time,” Leichliter stated in confidence.
Ah, getting reading for college… so many things to do in so little time.
The time to worry about getting into college is over but suddenly a new list of worries begins when students realize they need to furnish and organize their dorm room at school. Move-in day may be the biggest stress-filled day for a college freshman.
Two questions to ask before that day comes- how much stuff is going to fit in my room? What should be in it? If only there was a way to design your own dorm before you moved in…wait there is a way: DesignYourDorm.com!
The founders of "Design your Dorm."
Bryce Widelitz and Taylor Robinson first came up with the idea to design your own dorm during their sophomore year of college at the University of Arizona. The two since then have turned their idea into a fully Web 2.0-equipped site.
“Putting the posters on the wall and moving the items around, and just the flexible room layout are my favorite features,” said Widelitz.
The site is simple and forthright, first you select your room from a large list of participating colleges and universities. Next, choose the items you want in your dorm which ranges from everything from a Hannah Montana poster to a Tempur-Pedic mattress bed. Then connect with your future roomy to see what they have in mind. Next thing you know you’re tallying up your shopping cart and having the stuff shipped to your university.
The fact that you can select not just a poster, lamp or computer desk, but a specific item, is really what intrigues most people to the design aspect of the site. The collaboration between you and your roommate to see exactly what your dorm is going to look like before hand, is another factor to set this apart. But then to actually be able to buy and ship the items straight off the site, which uses Amazon.com, is a feature that will make move-in day go more smoothly for upcoming college freshman and their parents.
“To have high school seniors know what their dorm will be like is the key goal,” said Widelitz.
If this didn’t seem like enough, the two plan to expand their services to not only include dormitories, but to include apartment complexes, condominiums and office spaces.
The site is constantly being updated to keep up with the upcoming college bound students.
Texting. It happens under desks, behind computers, in the bathrooms.
Two-and-a-half billion texts are sent each day in America.
That’s an average of 28,935 texts sent every second.
But how many of those are yours?
“I use at least 1400 a month. I don’t think I’ve ever had under 1000 texts per month,” said sophomore Kelly Herr.
Students text the truth. Photo by Lindsey Ostrum
“[I send] like 520 or something a day. [I clear my inbox] like twice a day,” said sophomore Emily Sisson.
According to Nielsen Research, the average teen sends 3146 texts per month.
Boys average 30 texts per day while girls average 80. Boys are also proven to text with worse grammar and punctuation.
Some readers may remember when cell phones were used for calling.
But it’s not the eighteenth century anymore.
“I text for everything now. I don’t call people at all,” said Herr.
The addiction of texting has also begun to create long-lasting affects on teens.
Annie Levitz, a Chicago student, was recently diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome.
The cause? Texting.
After discovering shooting pains in her hands, Levitz went to the doctor, and now has to wear braces on both hands.
But the worst punishment: texting only 20-30 times per day.
Levitz sent ‘100 texts on a bad day.’
Annie Levitz texts with her braces to fix her carpal tunnel. Photo from ABC.com
“I definitely regret it,” Levitz said regarding her extensive texting. “It’s painful, first of all. It’s embarrassing wearing the braces, and having people know – it’s not the greatest.”
Dr. Sofia Aksentijevich says texting and other movements over time can cause the condition of carpal tunnel.
“When you text, type or make other repetitive motions, irritated tendons or other swelling can squeeze the nerves inside the narrow carpal tunnel.”
Some may say it’s just the pain of staying connected.
Bobby’s dating Sally. You found out on Facebook before Bobby even knew.
You RSVP’d for your grandma’s funeral on Facebook.
Facebook has now moved above showering on your priority list.
You just might be addicted.
There are 400,000,000 users worldwide and 175,000,000 of them log in at least once a day.
But what is it about Facebook has you, middle schoolers and your mom rushing to their computers every day?
“I like that I don’t have to leave my house to talk to a friend and I like that if I need help on homework, it’s right there,” said sophomore Maranda Kurtz.
“I like that I can not only talk to my friends from school, but I can talk to my cousins and friends who are really far away and catch up with them,” said sophomore Karen Myers.
Both class reunions and preschool play dates are organized on Facebook.
“I try to remember what I did before Facebook, but I can’t remember,” said Kurtz.
The average person visits Facebook four times a day for an average of 30 minutes.
Just seeing this picture tempts Penn Manor Facebook users to log on. Photo from wikipedia.com
But that’s not always the truth.
“Sadly, I think I’m on Facebook for about two hours [a day]. It really goes from one extreme to another, like 10 minutes if I’m with friends for the day, or hours if I’m home alone,” said Brianna Rice.
“I spend around two hours on Facebook daily,” said Myers.
But to make sure they weren’t holding back, Kurtz was put to the test.
Kurtz tracked her hours for a weekend, including Friday.
Both Friday and Saturday were just under two hours each.
But Sunday, she made up for lost time.
First logging on at 10:52 in the morning, Kurtz spent a total of six hours and 56 minutes on Facebook that day.
“It was because of my CLA. I like to keep the tab open even if I’m doing something else,” said Kurtz, attempting to defend herself.
After logging off at midnight, Kurtz finished the weekend with a total of nine hours, 56 minutes, and one CLA.
“I actually thought it would be more than it was. I’m glad it wasn’t as much though,” said Kurtz.
Six billion minutes are spent on Facebook each day.
But everyone goes onto Penn Points more than Facebook anyway.
There are many mysteries among us here at Penn Manor High School.
What are teachers’ firsts names? What makes our popcorn chicken so delectable? Is Mr. Kaufhold the same man we all love and know after 2:45?
But the greatest perplexity of all…Where, and is there such a thing as a bomb shelter here under the campus of Penn Manor?
With our senior year rapidly coming to an end, we have made it our mission to tackle this myth and to unveil the biggest kept-secret of Penn Manor High School.
Our first step was to find out what the word on the street, or in the hallways, was concerning the existence of any possible bomb shelters among the staff and student body.
Kenny Tomaszefski looks and listens for shelters.
We wanted to see what the students’ take was on this legend.
“There is definitely one underneath the English wing,” said senior Dave Karabaich. “When the school was being created in the 1950s, the country was being threatened, [so we needed one].”
Senior, Kenny Tomaszefski, describes the supposed bomb shelters as,“not just secret hiding places, but a haven for magical and mythical events that the human mind cannot explain.”
“I think there is basically another underground school somewhere underneath [Penn Manor],” said Alysha Kreider who is a firm believer in the existence of the bomb shelter.
However, not all students are believers.
“I don’t think there is one to my knowledge. I think my mom would have told me if there was one,” said senior, Ryan O’Day, who is the son of long-time English teacher, Cece O’Day.
Ryan O'Day expresses his curiousity concerning the shelter.
Cory Delmonte, another senior, said, “There is just a generator – No bomb shelter.”
Overhearing the topic of conversation, curious senior, Henry Stewart said, “There is one under the science wing – You have to go outside to get to it.”
Throughout our search for more knowledge, we stumbled across another pupil who shared the same lust for unraveling this mind boggler.
“It’s in the math wing stocked with food,” said Sam Cornell who claimed to gain these facts from previous head principal, Dr. Jan Mindish. “If any serious event would have happened, [Dr. Mindish] would have taken the twenty brightest students and teachers [to the bomb shelter].”
With so much talk about the old math/science wing, we decided to further investigate.
“We are sitting on top of it right now,” said math teacher, Bruce Pierce.
“During the Three Mile Island scare (1979), they considered having students and faculty spend the night in the bomb shelter,” said Pierce.
These convincing words, from a seemingly reliable source, almost guaranteed us that there was, in fact, a bomb shelter here at Penn Manor High School.
The bomb shelter had to be big if it was going to fit Penn Manor’s student and faculty 30 years ago.
We still wanted to see it for ourselves.
“If I showed you, I’d have to kill you,” said custodian Janitor John who admitted it was possible to access Penn Manor’s bomb shelter.
“This is top secret stuff,” said John. “This is like Watergate.”
With the devoted secret-keeping custodians, we hoped the administration would be an easier nut to crack.
We were wrong.
Soon after, we approached the principals with high hopes, our ambitions were crushed, as they belittled us for even requesting to see such a mystical place.
Although we were denied access right off the bat from the bomb shelter, we weren’t going to throw in the towel just yet.
We decided to approach the custodians and administration with a willingness to abide by whatever terms were needed to catch a glimpse of this shelter.
After days of consulting and agreeing to a binding contract, a figure, who wanted to be kept anonymous, decided to allow us access to the all-mighty bomb shelter of Penn Manor High School.
Although excited, we would later find out that this wasn’t going to be a light stroll through the school.
Stay tuned for the actual trip to the bomb shelter…
This story marks the beginning of a series of different addictions that highschoolers have in their life.
Methylxanthine. 85 percent of you drink it every day.
But what is it?
Caffeine: the most widely used, physically addictive drug.
Every piece of chocolate that’s inhaled through the mouth of kids.
Every can of Pepsi or Monster that’s opened up at a sporting event.
Every Nonfat Soy Caramel Frappucino with whip cream and an extra pump of chocolate that teachers buy at Starbucks and bring to school.
All have caffeine.
“I started drinking it when I became a teacher,” said teacher Holly Astheimer, a well-known coffee addict from Penn Manor, “One cup in the morning and one cup in the evening.”
According to Brynmawr University, nearly 80 percent of Americans rely on caffeine each morning in order to get them started.
In fact, more than 450,000,000 cups of coffee alone are consumed every day in the United States.
Students and Teachers at Penn Manor appear to be addicted to caffeine. Photo by Mike Nitroy
About half of them seem to be at Penn Manor.
“I started drinking [coffee] in middle school. I drink one cup every morning. If I don’t, I get a headache because I’m so used to it,” said senior Kaity Deisley.
“I’m not as alert and I’m off my game all day [if I don’t drink coffee],” said Astheimer.
Caffeine is also popular with high school and college students who are forced to pull all-nighters to study or prepare for tests.
“I drink coffee every day, sometimes multiple times a day,” said senior Shannon Nitroy, “I have [gone a day without before] because I try not to get dependent on it.”
And sometimes, drinking it for other reasons.
“I like drinking it because it tastes good, and then I feel good,” said Nitroy.
So how hard is it to break a caffeine addiction?
After asking both Astheimer and Deisley to go a day without coffee, the results were bleak.
Both failed.
“I couldn’t do it. I failed at my task. I figured I was setting myself and my students up for a bad day,” said Astheimer, while holding her coffee mug.
This isn’t shocking, as Astheimer begged to not participate in the test when approached.
Deisley wasn’t much more successful.
“I’m sorry, it’s a habit. I wake up and think ‘I need coffee’. I need caffeine!” said Deisley.
The results show that the addiction to caffeine is stronger than some think.
After the story How Much Do You Know About Sex received attention because the statistics showed some teens at Penn Manor High School are having unprotected sex, it seemed logical to follow that story with another, exploring why students are not using contraceptives.
Penn Manor freshmen students in Shawn Maxwell and Stephen Weidner’s health classes agreed to talk with Penn Points and give their personal opinions on why some students participate in the high-risk behavior of unprotected sex.
Shawn Maxwell's health class. Photo by Kendal Phillips on why some teens are engaging in sex while in high school, yet aren’t using protection.
The students agreed to speak on the condition of anonymity, therefore the names of many students are not used in this article.
The most common answer to the question why some sexually active teens do not use contraception was, “They don’t think it will happen to them.”
The other repeated issue was access to contraception.
“People are bashful about [contraceptives] and would rather have unprotected sex,” said junior Leah Freeman.
“I know teens who don’t have jobs or money and their parents don’t give them money, so they don’t know what to do or how to get [contraceptives],” said one Penn Manor freshman.
Several teens who were interviewed said they don’t use or try to buy contraceptives because they don’t care, they don’t have transportation to purchase it or they are scared their parents will find out and they don’t want to talk to them about sex.
Other Penn Manor students said they do not receive enough sex education. They said they are taught about STDs and the male and female parts, but not enough about contraceptives or the consequences of sex and unprotected sex.
“They teach about sex but only in one lesson,” said one Penn Manor student, “they talk about getting pregnant and STD’s, but only briefly on birth control.”
“They just talk about having a baby,” said freshman Nick Young.
“You can tell they don’t teach enough because of all the pregnancies and kids not using protection,” said junior Katie Coons.
Pregnancy rates among high school teens are on the rise again after years of decline. According to Time Magazine, in 2006 there were 21 births for every 500 U.S teens from 15-19 years of age, which is a rate more than three times the number in Canada. That may be why the federal government is reauthorizing two programs aimed at decreasing teen pregnancy and the rate of STD’s.
President Barack Obama recently signed a five-year, $250 million re-authorization of sex education funding. At the same time, the newly passed health care law provides $375 million over the same five years to promote more comprehensive approaches to sex education. This money will be available to public schools for funding Personal Responsibility Education and Abstinence Programs.
While some students are saying they don’t get enough sex education, Maxwell, the ninth grade health teacher, explained he does go into detail, as much as the curriculum allows.
“We talk about sexual anatomy to birth but not about parenting, and we also
Shawn Maxwell’s health class. Photo by Sarah Garner
talk about relationships, STD’s and birth control, but in a family-planning forum,” said Maxwell.
Recent statistics have pointed to the success of sex education in schools when it is combined with abstinence education.
In 1988, South Carolina passed the Comprehensive Health Education Act, which requires sexuality education from elementary school through high school, including at least 12.5 hours of “reproductive health and pregnancy prevention education” at some point during a student’s high school years.
Although their birthrates are high, South Carolinas comprehensive approach to sex education is credited with slowing that rate. It fell 27% from 1991 to 2006. In 2008, one school in South Carolina, using the comprehensive approach to sex education, had only two births to teen moms.
The study was widely used to show the effectiveness of sex education and abstinence education together.
It is not clear whether Penn Manor School District would take the federal funds for these types of sex education classes.
“Currently the state tells us what we must teach via the PA State Standards,” said Penn Manor Assistant Superintendent Ellen Pollock. “PA does not require an abstinence-only sex education curriculum.
“I would not be interested in applying for any grant funding until we know the specifics of what the Personal Responsibility Education Program must look like,” added Pollock. “Grants, especially federal and state grants, come with a lot of string and red tape and massive amounts of paperwork so I am extremely hesitant to deal with them.”
However, Maxwell said Penn Manor may want to consider the newly authorized programs for the students’ education.
“The only time kids talk about [sex] is in ninth grade,” said Maxwell about the school’s formal program, “after that they can only hear about it in electives such as child development.”
Within the five year re-authorization signed by Obama, the Abstinence Education Program will have as its exclusive purpose teaching social, psychological and health gains to abstain from sexual activity. It teaches that abstinence from sexual activity outside marriage is the expected standard for all students, and that abstaining from sexual activity outside of marriage is the only way to avoid pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases and other health issues.
The program spotlights mutually faithful and monogamous relationships.
The Personal Responsibility Education Program encourages delaying sexual activity, increasing condom or contraceptive use for sexually active teens and reducing pregnancy among teens. It puts an emphasis on both abstinence and contraceptive use for the prevention of pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases among teens. Activities are included to educate sexually active teens regarding responsible behavior.
Some Penn Manor students feel that more sex and abstinence education, such as these programs that could be available, will help them think about the consequences and options of protection when it comes to sex.
“I think we should try to take advantage of the money but no one will listen,” said a Penn Manor student, “hopefully it will make them realize that having sex doesn’t make you cool.”
“We should look into it so more people know what’s happening and what could happen,” said a Penn Manor freshman.
But not everyone is an advocate for more sex education at the high school level.
“I guess, but I wouldn’t take it,” said Young of the possibility of a sex education class being offered.
“I personally don’t wanna learn more about [sex or abstinence] because I feel like I know what I need to know,” said a Penn Manor student.
“I don’t think it’ll make a difference if they bring the programs to our school because everyone already thinks they know everything there is to know so they won’t care or want to listen,” said another Penn Manor student.
With Penn Manor students saying abstinence is not what teens are thinking about or care to think about, Bristol Palin, daughter of former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, once agreed with these Penn Manor students. She now says that abstinence is realistic for her personally. At age 19, she gave birth to her son in Dec of 2008.
“I don’t think anyone realizes how difficult it really is until you actually have a screaming baby in your arms and you’re up all night,” said Palin in a recent Associated Press interview, “I wasn’t prepared at all.”
Maxwell said he’d be willing to talk to students when they are not comfortable talking with anyone else.
“I’d be willing to talk to them about knowledge, not advice,” said Maxwell, “but I’ll always encourage them to talk to mom and dad for advice.”
They did it. Not only did Penn Points qualify for the honor of being finalists in the national Pacemaker award, they were one of seven who actually won this recognition.
The two seniors from Penn Manor who attended the conference, Abby Wilson and Alex Geiger, had the privilege to walk in front of the three thousand people in the main convention hall and receive two different awards. The first was a plaque stating that they were finalists in the Pacemaker award, honor enough for the Penn Points’ first year online.
Accepting the NSPA national award is, left to right, Alex Geiger, Rob Henry, Abby Wilson, adviser Susan Baldrige and Lyta Ringo. Photo by Lisa Mayo
To complete their achievements their name was called as one of the winners, which brought their adviser, Susan Baldrige, truly to tears.
The awards aren’t the only remarkable things that the staff is bringing back to Penn Manor. They are taking with them an abundance of fascinating information and brand new ideas to further improve their website and their journalism course.
“Journalism is the Twenty-First Century English” curriculum,” Paul Kandell, adviser from the Palo Alto Paly Voice in California.
By taking this trip across the country, the Penn Points staff is working toward making this statement a fact at Penn Manor.
Chosen as one of four students to be a member of a national panel on student journalism, I was deeply honored and just as nervous as the other three editors sitting by my side.
About 3,000 students from across the nation are attending the National Scholastic Press Association annual convention held in Portland, Ore. Penn Points is represented by four students and two advisers who are at the convention this week.
Penn Points editor, Rob Henry, served on a panelists of Pacemaker finalists at the NSPA convention. Photo by Alex Geiger
The panel was selected from among the highest-placing school newspapers, named online Pacemaker finalists, by the NSPA.
Those in attendance were there to glean information from the Pacemaker finalists. In other words I was supposed to be the expert answering questions from student journalists and their advisers how they could someday be where I was.
“These are the students who are on the cutting edge for journalism, these are the Pacemakers, these are the experts,” and that was our introduction from moderator Paul Kandell, nationally recognized adviser of the Palo Alto’s The Paly Voice and Verde Magazine.
One of the question that Kandell asked the panel was: “Why/ How do we think we’ve gotten to point we’re at in becoming one of the finalists?”
“The reason for our success is cooperation,” I told the audience. “We have a staff of more than 40 students and we all went out of our way to make this work in such a small amount of time.”
Penn Points journalism students working on deadline at the national convention. Photo by Alex Geiger
Also on the panel, were David Ryan, a Co-Editor-in-Chief of Wayland Student Press Network, David Zhengn a Sports Editor from Hilite Online and Suzanna Quiring, Editor-in-Chief of The Feather Online.
Mr. Kandell opened the discussion to the audience who asked everything from “how do you handle your advertising” to “do you think using WordPress is cheating” to “who has the final say in publishing a story?”
Some questions came as a surprise and some were expected.
With so many eyes on you, coming up with an answer on the spot can be unbelievably nerve-wracking.
About 3,000 journalism students are attending the NSPA in Portland, Ore. this week. Photo by Alex Geiger
My heart was beating a thousand beats per minute and I was sure everybody could see that, yet I kept my composure.
The other editors seemed calm, cool and collected.
I thought to myself, I’m the only one up here who has never even been on the newspaper before this year, do I really know what I’m talking about.
But if you know me, that question was quickly kicked aside with a “of course I do, I’m Rob Henry.”
A sea of hands rose to ask questions in the final minutes of our panel discussion.
After an hour of discussion, Kandell had to bring the session to an end, with many audience questions still unanswered.
The audience clapped and many rushed forward to ask additional questions. I’m not going to lie, a feeling of achievement overwhelmed me.
Next year I plan to remain an active editor-in-chief. But even when I graduate, I will continue to believe Penn Points can be the greatest online high school newspaper in the country and by extension of the web, the world.
