4 / 12
AREYOUAWARE?
Appleton, Wisconsin February 2016 Volume XXI Issue I
Page 4
Noctiluca
Mission
Statement
The Noctiluca and northnoct.com
are the student-run news sources
of Appleton North High School.
Noctiluca and northnoct.com are
designated public forums for stu-
dent expression. Student editors
make all content decisions.
Noctiluca’s mission is to publish
information relevant to its readers
and its community. Its goal is to
maintain high ethical standards
and provide a designated public
forum for free and responsible
expression of views.
The newspaper and website
welcome diversity of scope, depth
and breadth of coverage in order
to heighten mutual understanding
and awareness through our entire
community.
Appleton North High School
5000 N. Ballard Road
Appleton, WI 54913
Phone: (920) 832-4300
Mr. Ramponi, staff advisor,
at: ramponiaaron@aasd.k12.
wi.us.
Editorial Staff
Senior Editor-In-Chief
Megha Uberoi
Co-Junior Editor-In-Chief
Nora Ptacek
Erik Bakken
Managing Editor
Elise Painton
News Editor
Katharine Hackney
Opinions Editor
Kate Bennett
Features Editor
Rachel Flom
Co-Centerspread Editor
Fatima Ali
Leah Dreyer
Culture Editor
Maddy Schilling
Sports Editor
AJ Floodstrand
Photography Editor
Sofia Voet
Copy Editor
Abby Davies
Advertising/Social Media
Rachel Brosman
Graphics Editor
Morgan Stuedemann
Online Editor
Abby Plankey
Advisor
Mr. Ramponi
Contributors
Salma Abdel-Azim
Fatima Ali
Benji Backer
Erik Bakken
Kate Bennett
Rachel Brosman
Maddie Clark
Rachel Flom
AJ Floodstrand
Katharine Hackney
Olivia Molter
Elise Painton
Ally Price
Nora Ptacek
Jack Russell
Maeve Salm
Maddy Schilling
Morgan Stuedemann
Sonia Tallorth
Megha Uberoi
Sofia Voet
Jacob Zajkowski
Creating a public bus line that serves all students equally
America’s growing obesity problem
By Salma Abdel-Azim
Are you aware that obesity
is plaguing America and soci-
eties all over the world? It is
a big issue around the world
and is discussed widely. Ac-
cording to PublicHealth.org,
currently, one in every three
adults is obese and so are one
in every four children in the
U.S., making our country one
of the world’s most obese na-
tions. Studies have shown that
by the year 2030, over half
of Americans will be obese,
which will add 6 million cas-
es of diabetes, 5 million cases
of heart disease and stroke,
and over 4 hundred thousand
cases of cancer. This issue is
so serious that our generation
will be the first generation
with a life expectancy that is
lower than our parents.
Forty years ago, this was
not an issue, so what has
changed? Americans are
consuming about 25 percent
more calories. In comparison
to 1970, the percentage of the
caloric intake of sugary drinks
has almost tripled. 50 percent
of Americans consume fast
food weekly and 75 percent of
them, monthly.
Only one-third of adults ex-
ercise the recommended daily
amount and children spend
about 7.5 hours of screen
time per day. All of these fac-
tors contribute to the fact that
Americans burn 130 calo-
ries less daily in comparison
to 1970, which compounds
into 31,000 calories annually.
In addition, the financial sta-
tus of the families is an added
factor to obesity. In communi-
ties whose families earn under
$15,000, ⅓ are obese. In com-
munities whose families earn
over $50,000, ¼ of them are
obese. This is in part because
poorer neighborhoods tend to
have many more fast food res-
taurants than grocery stores.
This means that fresh, healthy
food is limited. In fact, about
23.5 million Americans do not
have access to a supermarket
within a mile of their homes.
TV, video games, and other
electronic devices contrib-
ute greatly to the obesity of
America. While parents feel
at ease when their children
are at home, this does have a
cost. Many children engage
in “mindless eating” while
watching TV or playing video
games for lack of anything
else to do.
So what needs to change?
We need to start at the root
of the problem. According to
Michael Rosenbaum, author
of a CNN episode discussing
obesity, “One way is to focus
on obesity prevention, which
starts in the home, school and
community.” Children need to
be taught better habits, such
as eating vegetables and eat-
ing healthy meals, that will
stay with them as adults. Also,
school lunches need to be
healthier, without sacrificing
taste and amounts. Students
should feel satisfied, both by
taste and amount, at the end of
a lunch hour. Parks should be
built in more neighborhoods to
encourage children to exercise
more. Screen time should be
lowered and fun, engaging ac-
tivities should be encouraged.
Exercise should be looked at
as fun and not as a form of
torture. In addition, healthy
food everywhere should be in-
creased. More grocery stores
should be built, so people have
access to healthy food.
If we rectify the mistakes
our society has made, we can
become a more healthy soci-
ety and reduce the disease rav-
aging our nation. Encouraging
exercise and healthy eating
will ensure a better society.
Are you aware that there is
no hourly bus line to North?
For many students, when the
final bell rings, the real day
begins. Teenagers all through-
out the school rush to soccer
practice or theater rehearsal,
not a thought in the world
about how they’ll be getting
home afterward. However, for
students who can’t afford the
luxury of a personal vehicle
or whose parents are unable to
pick them up, this thought is
everything.
The city of Appleton is for-
tunate enough to be endowed
with a public bus system.
Running Monday through
Saturday, this invaluable re-
source provides a method of
transportation throughout the
Fox Cities, making hourly
trips to all of its seventeen
established routes. Of these
seventeen, there are two sepa-
rate routes that carry passen-
gers directly in front of both
Appleton East and Appleton
West high schools. Appleton
North, on the other hand, is
scheduled on a “peak hour”
route, providing busing only
twice a day, before and after
school. For students who use
the Valley Transit, this means
that there’s no way of getting
home past 3:05.
At North, there has been an
attempt to get an established
public bus route in the works
for the past year. This proj-
ect, lead by various members
of staff and administration, is
aimed to serve those at North
without the financial means or
capability of taking a school
bus or providing their own
transportation. Mrs. Strick,
the school’s social worker,
has been one of the main staff
members involved in the proj-
ect. “This route will serve stu-
dents who are living in pov-
erty, and those whose health
issues make it difficult to get to
school right away in the morn-
ing, allowing them to at least
make it for part of the school
day,” she said.
This new bus line will also
allow many students the abil-
ity to participate in after school
activities that before were un-
available to them. Kids who
normally avoid going out for
sports and theater would no
longer be held back by the lack
of available night time trans-
portation.
“The bus will increase student
involvement at school. Every-
one will be able to cheer on the
football team or see the musi-
cal, regardless of their eco-
nomic status,” said Mrs. Strick.
Students who take classes at
alternative schools also suffer
from the lack of public trans-
port.
Those learning at the Valley
New School who wish to be
involved are required to par-
ticipate in extracurriculars at
North, as their school does not
contain the necessary facilities
or student population. Howev-
er, there is no method of move-
ment between the schools; the
bus only stops at North once
in the afternoon, and the VNS
kids get out too late to catch it.
This creates a barrier for many
economically challenged kids,
whose parents are unable to
drive them or may not even
own a car themselves.
This lack of accessibility hurts
not only students, but their par-
ents as well. If parents have no
way of getting to the school,
how can they be expected to
meet with administration, fill
out paperwork, and attend con-
ferences? Things that most of
us take for granted would be
unavailable to those whose
Noctiluca
Editorial
economic situation doesn’t af-
ford them the luxury of a per-
sonal vehicle.
Fortunately, there may be a
line on the way. Assistant Su-
perintendent Ben Vogel has
had ongoing conversations
with Fox Valley Transit in an
attempt to create additional bus
lines. The goal of this project
is to have a bus run to North
several times a day and into the
evening.
The establishment of a steady
bus route to Appleton North is
crucial to our school’s acces-
sibility and sense of equality.
Without this reliable form of
transportation, many students
will miss out on many invalu-
able opportunities that high
school can offer, robbing them
of countless social and educa-
tional experiences.
Many North students take the Valley Transit bus home
from school every day.
Photo by Rachel Flom
“Encouraging
exercise and healthy
eating will ensure a
better society.”