HIGH LIFE : How Would You Change School?

When adults look back at the time they spent in high school, they often do so with a great fondness for the “good old days.” Everything looks better than it really was.

Today’s teen-agers know better. While there are many great things happening, there is always room for improvement at even the best high schools.

Here are some of the responses to this week’s hot topic: “What would you most like to change about your high school?”

Connelly

“I would like to change all the cliques we have at school.”

--Midori Ferris, 15, sophomore

“We need a gym. People at the school don’t put any money/concern into extracurricular activities, especially sports.”

--Christa Tomacheski, 16, junior

Foothill

“No authorities, just kids, and Coke in the drinking fountains.”

--Ned Williamson, 17, senior

“Better-looking guys and no smoking in the bathrooms.”

--Mandy Keegan, 15, sophomore

Fountain Valley

“The amount of supervision should be loosened up a little to give us a chance. They’re always saying we’re doing something wrong even before we’ve done anything. Let us prove ourselves.”

--Bob Wilcox, 17, junior

“More pep assemblies for other sports besides football. There are other sports at this school.”

--Staci Gossard, 15, sophomore

Laguna Hills

“We need to stop censorship and editing by our school principal when dealing with the school newspaper.”

--Denis Faye, 17, senior

“We need counselors for guidance because our career center is not enough in helping students decide on an occupation.”

--Dawn Piscitelli, 17, junior

“We need to get rid of stereotypes, snobbiness and cliques. We should stop thinking something about a person before we get to know that person.”

--Sharmin Moten, 18, senior

Magnolia

“I would change class sizes. We need smaller classes so when we don’t understand something we could ask during class time. I would also change a little of the way ASB (student government) is run. I do not think it’s fair now because it is a big popularity contest; it does not matter whether you can do the job or not.”

--Carole Songer, 16, junior

“I would change closed campus. I believe that if students had a little more freedom to go off for lunch, many of the students would return to school so that they could pass their classes and graduate.”

--Kevin Poulin, 17, senior

“I would change all the discipline programs. This school needs to really go hard on students. It is too easy to get by with many things.”

--Liz Ibarra, 17, senior

Mater Dei

“I would most like to change the girls’ dress code because it’s not fair that the girls have a uniform and the guys really don’t.”

--Terra Belt, 16, junior

“Larger athletic facilities.”

--Sam George, 17, senior

“Better support of the soccer program.”

--Mike Ammann, 17, junior

St. Michael’s Prep

“If I were to change something in my boarding school at the base of Saddleback Mountain, I would put a barbed-wire fence all the way around to keep the cows from going on the basketball court.”

--Dan Browne, 16, junior

“We should soundproof our walls to cut out the high level of noise from jets and helicopters from El Toro Marine Base, which disturbs our studies.”

--Matt Perez, 17, junior

“The students should be able to give the teachers a progress report to let the teachers know how we feel they are teaching. This would close the communication gap between the students and the faculty.”

--Thomas Piner, 17, junior

Valencia

“Classes should be more interesting. For example, in science classes, you should enter the room to find prepared experiments. Afterwards, you would be able to do work. Teachers and materials need to be more up to date.”

--Robert Sypherd, 17, senior

Next Week’s Hot Topic: Do you find there is any racial tension on your high school campus?

Hot Topic responses gathered by Nikki Boramanand, Joanna Brooks, Kristin Hardeman, Maureen McFadden, Cynthia Dewell, Tanya Diaz, John Kern, Jason Pommier, Michele Crane and Lara Voloshin.