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OPINIONS
Appleton, Wisconsin June 2016 Volume XXI Issue III
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 read-
ers and its community. Its goal is
to maintain high ethical standards
and provide a designated public
forum for free and responsible ex-
pression of views.
The newspaper and website wel-
come 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
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
Brennan Arnold
Kate Bennett
Maddie Clark
Adison Cole
Sarah Fleming
Rachel Flom
AJ Floodstrand
Olivia Molter
Elise Painton
Nora Ptacek
Maddy Schilling
Rachel Sina
Morgan Stuedemann
Megha Uberoi
Sofia Voet
Jacob Zajkowski
More sleep is key to a student’s success
Prom at Lambeau was a welcome change
By Elise Painton
In the mayhem and stress
that consumes the vast ma-
jority of second semester
senior year, Prom provides
a venue for students to have
what Hollywood and west-
ern culture have portrayed
as, “The Best Night Of Your
Teenage Years.”
So naturally, when things
switched up a little bit this
year, people scrambled to
find something to fret over.
Prom was taking place at
Lambeau Field this year,
and everyone was worked up
about this not being the ideal
location for “The Best Night
Of Your Teenage Years”.
At first, I was on this
bandwagon. I wondered why
we would have to take buses
to an event so glamorous as
Prom, and I was pretty dis-
turbed by the whole idea of a
twenty minute drive.
That is, until I realized I
should probably lower my
standards. Prom would be at
a $911 million dollar venue,
the last thing I should really
be worried about is what I
pull up to the scene in.
My point is, even though a
lot of us thought the bus was
the end of the world, most of
us had fun. I even heard a lot
of kids mentioning how they
preferred the buses to paying
for a limo or other mode of
transportation when it was all
said and done.
Something about riding
a school bus back to North
after Prom was nostalgic.
Those same vinyl seats had
carried us to and from nature
preserves and plays when we
were wide-eyed elementary
schoolers.
The last thing we cared
about was how we got any-
where. As long as the destina-
tion was pretty cool, we were
satisfied.
Sometimes we just need to
lower our expectations a little
bit. My prom night wasn’t all
that conventional-- my date
was my best friend, and we
got fried chicken dinner at a
soul food restaurant down-
town. Others took groups of
forty out to fancy bistros. At
the end of the night, it is all
about those you are surround-
ed with, and if they make you
happy.
Lambeau ended up look-
ing wonderful, as did all of
my classmates. I do not be-
lieve I was the only girl there
who spent her time split be-
Having school start later
in the morning would be
beneficial for all AASD stu-
dents due to the increase in
academic performance and
overall happiness cited by
many studies when they are
allowed to sleep more. Re-
cently, the topic of starting
school later in the day has be-
come a hotly discussed topic
with most evidence stating
that starting school later is
really a wonderful idea for
everyone.
The fact students need more
sleep is not even a new topic,
but the Centers for Disease
Control released a statement
last year recommending that
schools consider starting
school at 8:30 a.m. in order
for students to get the nec-
essary 8-10 hours of sleep a
night they need.
Studies from the CDC show
that lack of sleep can lead to
higher rates of obesity and
depression, and higher auto-
mobile accident rates. In fact
a study at the University of
Minnesota proved that stu-
dents who started school later
had better attendance, test
scores, and grades in the core
subjects. These same students
saw a decrease in tardiness,
and symptoms of depression.
The main argument for start-
ing school later in the day is so
that students get more sleep.
Of course there are people
who say that if teenagers want
more sleep they should go to
bed earlier.
This is easier said than done.
First of all most high school-
ers are involved in many ac-
tivities such as sports, theatre,
and other things that all take
place after school. For many
students it can be awhile be-
fore they get home each eve-
ning.
After getting home, sleep is
probably the first thing they
want to do, but there is also
lots of homework waiting
for them. Asking high school
students to sleep earlier is im-
practical if they want to finish
everything in their busy lives.
Science also backs up the
fact that for many teenagers it
“At the end of the
night, it is all about
those you are sur-
rounded with.”
By Megha Uberoi
is hard to sleep early.
According to the National
Sleep Foundation Changes
to circadian rhythms during
adolescence causes them to
be more awake later at night,
so sleeping before 11 p.m. is
usually not possible.
The only solution is to have
school start later so students
can sleep in a bit. It is clear
that the benefits of starting
school later in the day out-
weigh the technical problems
associated with having to start
school later.
tween the dance floor and tell-
ing her peers, “You look SO
beautiful,” because it was the
truth, they did look beautiful.
The DJ was great, in my
opinion, because they played
Tipsy by J-Kwon, and that is
all you need for my approval.
After bash was lovely. My
only complaint is that the egg
rolls did not have sauce with
them.
Job well done, AASD. I
found myself wishing the
night could repeat itself Sun-
day morning. Was it the best
night of my teenage years?
Hopefully not. Was it fun?
Yes, and that is all that mat-
ters.
Students falling asleep at their computers is a com-
mon sight at North.
Photo by Kate Bennett
Buses lined up outside North to take students from all three schools to Lambeau
Field.
Photo by Alexandria Floodstrand