Doctor- Teen Juul Use Epidemic

    After the Chief of the FDA blamed the company, Juul, for the epidemic of teens using e-cigarettes, the vape company and four other brands must send a plan that discourages teens from buying their products within the next sixty days.

    Students all over the country have been using these products at home, at school, and other public places without parents or other adult figures knowing.

    According to CNBC, “Their products, available in sweet flavors, are popular with young people who can hide the sleek devices from parents and teachers.”

    Everyday students witness other students vaping in the hallways, classrooms, or outside of schools. Junior Emily Kuntz believes students should not be allowed to vape while they are at school.

    “They should not be used by teens because I think vaping ruins a students drive to try and do their best when they are in school,” Kuntz said.

    Although students who vape might all do it for different reasons, junior Andrew Radigan believes other students vape because they think it might make them cool.

    “Students probably vape to be cool or to fit in, but I don’t think they should be allowed to because it will get them addicted to Nicotine at a young age,” Radigan said.

    Some students might think our generation’s vaping problem is no different than previous generations’ smoking problem; however, it is much different.

    According to Business Insider, “The devices also pack a more powerful nicotine punch than traditional cigarettes: the Juul contains roughly twice the concentration as cigarettes and other vape pens.”

    Another concern with the amount of Nicotine that is in a Juul is how it affects a students brain. Kids’ brains are still developing in high school, and they can be altered negatively with the use of Nicotine.

    According to Business Insider, “The crux of the problem centers on what nicotine does to the teen brain — especially in an area called the prefrontal cortex, which plays a key role in emotional control, decision making, and impulse regulation.”

    Although the vaping products are fairly easy to purchase and hide, people are wondering how parents and other adults do not see their children taking part in the addictive habit. Radigan believes parents should be more aware of what their children are doing.

    “Parents should know what is going on with their kids and what they are doing in their spare time. Parents shouldn’t be okay with their child vaping either,” Radigan said.

    So what needs to be done to fix the vaping problem? Kuntz believes adults should start putting punishments in place for when students are caught vaping.

    “Adults need to start punishing kids for vaping. They should start banning Juuls. Teachers should start giving out detentions at school, and parents should starting grounding their children,” Kuntz said.

    Vaping has become a nationwide issue for teens, and more needs to be done to prevent anymore teens from trying the new product. Both parents and companies of the product need to take part in changing the norm for teens.

    To find CNBS or Business Insider’s side of the story, visit the links for more information: https://www.cnbc.com/2018/09/13/fda-chief-targets-juul-for-epidemic-of-teens-using-e-cigarettes.html

https://www.businessinsider.com/vaping-brain-effects-juul-2018-4

Abby Kuhns- Fan Bus

    Stow’s football team played a game against Hilliard Bradley at Ashland university on August 31. Due the fact the game was an hour and a half away, Stow booster club took a fan bus down to Ashland.

    This was not the first event we have taken a fan bus to; however, it was my first fan bus experience.

    There were two fan busses with about 40 people on each one. I think taking a bus to cheer on our team was a really smart idea. It kept many teens from driving late at night and encouraged even more of the student section to attend.

    Unfortunately, this game was considered a home game so being a huge fan of the Friday night games, I would have been very disappointed not going because of the distance.

    The bus was not very crowded and Mrs. Myers and Mrs. Newseum, our chaperones, allowed everyone to choose which bus they wanted to be on, so they could sit with their friends.

    The ride down was exciting; everyone was pumped for the game. I personally fell asleep, but when I woke up someone had thrown up. Everyone felt bad for her but was also grossed out, especially people who throw up when they see puke.

    One girl was thrown up on, so she had to find a change of clothes. To add to it, someone came up with a rumor and spreading it, saying she crapped her pants even though she was actually thrown up on.

   When we got to the game, after going to Ashland high school instead of the university, we had to walk to another parking lot. At the parking lot we were supposed to get pizza and water, but the water was left on the bus, leaving a lot of us parched.

    There was pizza provided by boosters and the seniors were painting in the parking lot; however, as we arrived the game was about four minutes so a bunch of people just wanted to go in.

    Inside and throughout the game was like any other typical away game in the student section. We did tons of chants and different parts of the band came and did their songs for us to dance to.

    Everyone who rode the fan bus was having a good time despite losing by one point. Personally, I was disappointed because it was so close but no one let it bring them down.

    We got back on the bus after the game and recieved our much needed water in 85 degrees. I slept most of the way home as did many people after the upset.

    Overall, I would recommend the fan bus for high schoolers who can not drive or have restrictions and anyone in the student section who wanted to attend the game.  

Uridel- School Lunches

     Some Stow students choose to buy a lunch rather than to pack them. While many students prefer to pack a lunch or buy from the vending machines, a numerous amount are satisfied with the lunches served by the school.

    Junior Sara Day buys a lunch whenever she forgets to pack, and she is happy with the content of the lunches.

    “It is easier to buy a lunch. I don’t have to carry around a lunch I packed most of the day, and in my opinion they have healthier options than the food in the vending machines,” Day said.

    Sophomore Nathan Craft buys a lunch most days of the week, since he doesn’t have time to pack a lunch.

    “The food they have is normally good, but sometimes the food they have isn’t as fresh, and they run out of some foods by ninth period lunch,” said Craft.

    Some popular choices of students are the salads, pizza, and the cheese breadsticks. Most students are happy with the selections provided, but Craft has different thoughts.

    “I wish there were more options to choose from, but most days I am satisfied with what they serve. It would also be cool if students had more of a say or could vote on certain foods to go into the menu; however, I can see how that might be unreasonable,” Craft said.

    Central Kitchen Manager, Michele, says she does everything she can to make the lunches taste good while following all the regulations provided to her.

    “I follow the many guidelines everyday to ensure students lunches are healthy and nutritious,” Michele said.

    Michele’s favorite part about her job is seeing the students happy and serving them lunch. The lunch staff puts a lot of effort into what they are providing the students and enjoy doing so. By choosing a school lunch, many students will find more time and less hassle compared to packing a lunch.

    Overall, most students are happy with the lunches they buy and some even prefer it over packing a lunch (whether their reasons are convenience or freshness, they can rely on school lunches to provide an easier and healthier way to eat lunch). These lunches contain healthier choices for students, and are a good choice if they are looking to try something new.

Sullivan – Joshua’s

    A new school year beginning means more cooking at Joshua’s, the high school’s signature restaurant.

    Joshua’s opened in the last week of August, but only serving coffee and treats like pumpkin chocolate bread and muffins.

    Since last year, the price for a small cup of coffee has raised to $1.50 and a large has increased to $2.00, but that will not stop students and staff from supporting the high school business.

    Coffee prices have gone up since the restaurant sources the drink from Bent Tree Coffee in Kent, which has become more expensive.

    Most things will remain the same from last year, such as only being open on Thursdays and Fridays and the ordering system.

    “We still need to train all of our students how to prepare the food, so we will not be serving lunch until around Halloween,” Theresa Ursetti said.

    Many forget that Joshua’s is also a career program, and most of the food made is produced by high school students from Stow and other schools in the district compact.

    Since Joshua’s is only open twice a week, most students who enjoy the restaurant try to take advantage of the better quality food as much as possible.

    “I really like to eat at Joshua’s because I think it is a lot better than school food,” Junior Esther Jin said.

    With the short time that they are open through the week, Joshua’s tries to make the most out of the hours they can welcome students and staff.

    Every Friday is “AC/DC Friday” which is simply just a Friday where the band’s music is played throughout the restaurant.

    “We just like to have AC/DC Fridays because it is just a fun twist to make the day a little better,” Ursetti said.

    Although Joshua’s is not serving food until late October, the restaurant has already been used to host an array of staff meetings this year.

    A perk to having a restaurant in the high school is that it makes a favorable place to host banquets, meetings and other events even if it is not yet serving food.

    Late October is approaching and Joshua’s staff looks forward to cooking for the school and making it an excellent year.