Current Events

Bailey announces new safety protocol following arson incident

Elise Brown
January 30, 2012

At the beginning of second period on Jan. 30, Lou Bailey, principal, announced to the school that new measures will be taken to find the person responsible for Friday’s bathroom fires.

“Let me be very clear,” Bailey said. “This is a major crime.”

From now on, to leave class during class time, students will be required to carry a bright pink hall pass and sign out with their teacher. Security personnel will be in the hallways and question students without a hall pass.

“I’m sorry that some of the responsibilities and freedoms you are used to will be restricted,” Bailey said, “but our first priority is safety.”

Bailey emphasized that Friday’s fire was arson in the first degree, and the perpetrator will face a mandatory minimum sentence of seven years in prison under Measure 11. He urged any students with knowledge of who caused the fire to come forward.

“If those in the know do not come forward, they could be charged with conspiracy or as an accomplice,” Bailey said. “If you have information, you have a civic responsibility to let us know.”

Bailey also recognized Bill Ray, head custodial engineer, and Claude Koch, custodian, for their efforts in keeping the fire from spreading. Koch was hospitalized on Friday after inhaling dangerous levels of smoke, but he has made a full recovery.

Bailey’s video message can be viewed on Media Cast.

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About the Contributor

Elise Brown, Co Editor-in-Chief

Elise Brown, senior, has always felt comfortable standing up and giving her opinion in front of everyone and for the most part, she enjoys it very much. That is one of the many reasons why she heads the debate team, and also why in June she earned a place in the National Speech and Debate Competition in Indianapolis.

Out of the 250 people entered in the competition, she finished 151st in the country. Before she earned her rightful place in Nationals, however, she needed to prove herself in Districts and State.

Her 10 minute long speech about socialism and its benefits took first and second in Districts and State, respectively.

“In the National competition the judges didn’t appreciate politics or controversy as much as they did in Districts and State,” Brown said. This was confirmed from one of the judges she conversed with in order to find out what she could do better.

Brown’s interest in current events started in the eighth grade. She then did the Amplifier, the high school newspaper to help communicate her ideas about the world with her fellow peers, she also did the debate team to better understand the problems throughout the world and learn how to solve them somewhat.

“Debate involves knowing what is going on in the world,” Brown said.

This year for upcoming competitions, she has a speech in the works that she feels will top her last one. This year’s speech is about interdependence inspired by the “you didn’t build that debate,” caused when President Barack Obama told business people that they did not create their businesses on their own.

Brown’s passion for debate has influenced what college she will go to, what she will study in college, and what she wants to do in her life. Brown’s goal is to graduate high school and then travel to Massachusetts and attend Wellesley College, a very well known and prestigious college, where Brown hopes to study political science.

To achieve this goal she has taken part in a number of rigorous courses and activities such as Speech and Debate, AP Government, AP Economics, Honors Law, AP English and journalism. Once Brown achieves her education goals, her next goal is to become a political commentator.

“I want to change people’s minds,” Brown said. Brown has chosen the path to become a political commentator because she believes political power lies with the media.

Brown has worked very hard throughout high school and continues to work hard through her senior year. She has taken many challenging courses to achieve her goal of going to Wellesley, and will need to continue down the very rigorous path to success to accomplish her goals.