The Forum asked the Environmental Club for their responses to several questions concerning conservation and the club’s current and past efforts to promote environmental preservation. Those interviewed were Alex Siega, Lara Parvinsmith, Saloni Mehta, Madeleine O’Neill, Marissa Wiegel, Martin Mohlin, Dan Hubbell, Tory Kittleson, and Geoff Tam.

What are some of your recent projects? What has the club accomplished? What is the club working on right now?

By Sophie Griswald

Lincoln Sudbury Regional High School’s 13th annual Celebrate Art exhibition located in the A-B connector displayed a dazzling array of student artwork giving L-S students the opportunity to showcase their creativity.
Beginning at the end of March and ending in April, Celebrate Art featured an impressive array of two dimensional and three dimensional art created both independently and in the many art courses offered at L-S.

By Maryn Carlson

After enduring two terms of Republican folly, America is in need of change. I, and a majority of Americans, are frankly quite fed up with, among many things, the prominence of special interests in politics, the misguided war effort, and infringement of our civil liberties.
Barack Obama offers the greatest contrast to the current administration in his promise for reform across the board. He is a candidate who we can respect and someone we can admire. He has the ability to restore America’s prestige in the international arena, and to reclaim the faith of its people.

By Jason Mariasis

Right now we are living in a critical period in history where our next president will greatly influence the future direction of the world. While I respect both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton is the best candidate to lead us into that future.
One of Clinton’s greatest strengths is that she is a leader with exstensive experience. I’m sure you’ve been hearing a great deal about Clinton and her experience, maybe even more than you care to hear, but the fact is ‘experience’ is a key factor in this presidential race.

By Scott Ehrmann

John McCain stands as a clear frontrunner in this year’s election. Unlike other candidates, McCain does not sacrifice his views on national issues to fit in with his party; he is infamous among Conservatives for not being a stereotypical Republican. Boasting over 30 years of legislative experience, McCain thoroughly understands the United States political system. He is an honest leader who values America’s best interest above all else.

BY BRIANNA MILLER

If you walk into a first block classroom, you will often see a class of students who are practically unresponsive, either chugging down coffee, or staring into space.
Actually, if you walk into a classroom during any block you are likely to witness the same phenomenon only on a smaller scale. Teachers need not be offended, because the catalyst for this phenomenon is sleep deprivation.

Over the past three years, major newspapers and news stations have reported on scientific studies showing that teenagers need more sleep than other age groups –at least nine hours– and are biologically inclined to go to bed later and rise later. According to these studies, when teenager sleep patterns are disrupted, or teens get insufficient sleep, health and performance in school can be adversely affected.
In October, the New York Times science section featured an article showing the health benefits that teens receive from an increase in average hours of sleep per night.

- 9.25 hours of sleep per night are recommended for adolescents, but most only receive 7-8 hours a night.

- Only 15% of teens reported getting 8.5 hours of sleep on school
nights.

- 15 million children are affected by a lack of sleep according to a
report.

- Depression, mood swings, and poor grades have been linked to sleep
deprivation.

- Studies show that the sleep hormone, melatonin, is released late at night. This makes it difficult for teens to go to sleep before 11 p.m. Melatonin is also why

The average starting time for high schools in the United States is 7:15. Recently, many schools though have pushed starting times forward, some as far as 9:30. The University of Minnesota conducted a study in which they delayed the starting times of two local high schools to 8:30.

INTERVIEW BY SHANYA CHAPEL

The Forum interviewed Lincoln-Sudbury nurses Joan Gaumnitz and Jane Cavallo to learn about the health risks of not getting enough sleep. Here is a summary of what they had to say:

Q: How do you think sleeping affects teenagers?

A: Often kids who do not get enough sleep will not be able to concentrate or focus in classes.

Q: What is a normal or healthy amount of sleep for a teenager?