Tag Archives: Protest March

March 22, 2015 · 9:05 pm

Seeking Re-election, Pheng Says Testing Should Be Minimized

SchoolBoardElection_LogoBy Alyssa Birkeland, Current Staff

Vinney Pheng is running for re-election for his seat on the school board. The election among three candidates for the two open seats will be held April 7.

Pheng was raised in California’s Bay Area and attended San Francisco State University for his bachelor’s degree in political science. After spending more than 10 years in the military, Pheng moved his family to Wisconsin for a job opportunity.  He currently works for a company in Cedarburg in the fulfillment department. Continue reading →

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March 22, 2015 · 9:04 pm

Challenger Schmiege Wants to Replace Common Core with Local Standards

SchoolBoardElection_LogoBy Alyssa Birkeland, Current Staff

Monte Schmiege is one of three candidates running for two seats in the April 7 school board election.

Schmiege has lived in West Bend for “quite a number of years” and has many ties across the city.  He originally attended Dr. Martin Luther College and received his bachelor’s degree in education, but after a few years of teaching became more interested in working with computers. He has been working for the West Bend Company and Regal Ware for 40 years, most of which has been spent in the IT department. He has also recently worked with Habitat for Humanity.

Continue reading →

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March 22, 2015 · 9:03 pm

Sizer Stresses Experience and Diverse Background in Re-election Bid

SchoolBoardElection_LogoBy Alyssa Birkeland, Current Staff

The election for two school board seats is on April 7, and Therese Sizer is in the race. Sizer has been on the board for three years and is up for re-election.

Sizer said she was approached to run three years ago because of her education, legal, and business background. She admires the board for its ability to discuss issues from all angles, find solutions, and not just argue each set point of view. Sizer said she is ready to continue tackling those matters, given her familiarity with the complexity of the board’s duties. Continue reading →

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March 22, 2015 · 8:59 pm

Full Transcripts: Board Candidates on Tension at WBHS

What do you see as a possible solution for the recent tension between high school students and administration?

SchoolBoardElection_LogoTherese Sizer

That’s kind of multi-faceted too, isn’t it? I don’t think from the standpoint of administrators, that there is any obstacle that cannot be overcome. And at the same time, I’ve lived awhile. Students became dissatisfied with things when I was a kid. Our responses were not dissimilar. I remember “protests” out in the parking lot. I remember those things happening. They become scarier to us now because of what happens in other communities. But those reactions of students to rebel against authority or against rules, that isn’t actually new. Our worries are very real to us about not wanting it to escalate to something that is just absolutely not acceptable. Continue reading →

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November 26, 2014 · 10:28 pm

Don’t Believe Everything You Hear

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The rumor mill was in full force following last week’s student-led protest march.  The Current staff writers Kara Conley, Miranda Paikowski, and Mike Smale separate fact from fiction.

Rumor: The march was a success, as it led to the school returning to seniors the right to create a wall mural and attend the Every 15 Minutes program in spring.

Fact: The riot did not result in these decisions. The official decision to once again make both juniors and seniors the attending classes for the Every 15 Minutes program was made prior to the hall pass uproar. “I had been thinking of changing the participating grades from juniors and seniors to juniors and sophomores. This was simply a proposal, and I was already leaning towards keeping it the way it has been,” said Ralph Schlass, assistant principal, in an interview with Miranda Paikowski. According to Schlass, he had decided a few days before the riot to have seniors participate once again. This announcement, although made on Thursday, was not related to the march whatsoever. Continue reading →

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November 25, 2014 · 10:50 pm

That’s Gonna Leave a Mark

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By Alex Kopish, Editor in Chief

On Saturday, a student wearing a West Bend East High sweatshirt walked into a restaurant in Menomonee Falls and was asked by a stranger, “Were you one of those arrested?”

News travels fast, and last week’s student-led protest march has caused many in West Bend to worry that the once-positive reputation of the high schools has been stained. Continue reading →

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November 21, 2014 · 7:19 pm

Stop Standing on the Sidelines

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

DSC00005I’ve spent all of my educational career teaching a subject that stresses actions have consequences. That you should always consider the costs and the benefits before making decisions in your life. The incident at school reminded me that we don’t always act rationally. One of my college professors gave me a piece of advice that I will always remember. It went something like… you should never get in a fight with a pig because everyone comes out covered in mud. Many students are learning that lesson. Their reputations have been muddied, many look foolish, and now they are left trying to wipe the mud off their faces. Continue reading →

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November 21, 2014 · 5:10 pm

Disaster Professional Weighs In

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Michael Faragher received his B.A. in Disaster and Emergency Management from the American Military University in 2012. He graduated from West High in 2001.

There’s been a lot of discussion about the incident in the West Bend High Schools in the past 24 hours. Having not been a student there for nearly 14 years, I heard about it indirectly, but I did get to see my fellow alumni voice their opinions, and immediately forget they did worse when they were in the same position. In 1999 or 2000, we attempted to organize a walk-out in solidarity with the teachers against the administration. I was hauled into the vice-principal’s office, and when I told him I hadn’t distributed the fliers I’d made yet, he visibly relaxed and said they were very well done. Apparently, if that happened yesterday I may have been arrested. But I’m not here to discuss the ways I think the school might be mishandling some things, I’m only discussing how they’re mishandling one thing: this situation. Continue reading →

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November 20, 2014 · 11:16 pm

It Wasn’t About Hall Passes

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VIEWPOINT

Thursday’s protest march was an embarrassment, but perhaps now the school can have the right conversations

By Lauren Sorensen, Current Staff

What happened at school on Thursday morning was simply wrong. A step towards a positive environment with the ability to have dialogue about student issues was twisted into a public spectacle of immaturity, and that’s too bad.

The actions taken by a percentage of the student body on Thursday were disgusting. Watching the news and seeing one’s school being disparaged as “the students who rioted over lavatory passes” should make any student cringe. Savagely running through the halls and displaying such a blatant disregard for the privilege of public education is simply sad. Students calling for mature treatment yet spiraling into rage only proved the district’s logic in restricting freedoms. Immaturity will never be met with mature privileges. Continue reading →

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November 20, 2014 · 6:01 pm

Why I Marched Today (And Lived To Regret It)

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LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Today’s first period meeting between principal Bill Greymont and students angry about new hall pass procedures ended with a protest march that disrupted second period classes.  West senior Andy Propper was there.

Andy_PropperWalking into the East cafeteria I felt a massive wave of tension and excitement. I could look around and tell that everyone knew that with how many people showed up something would probably happen and it wouldn’t end well, but that was okay for some people because they hoped for a destructive and chaotic meeting.

The meeting itself was filled with boisterous and dismissive teenagers. I could see many who had showed up with constructive intentions to change things were drowned out by the outcries and jeers from those who had come to watch the carnage they assumed would unfold. Continue reading →

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