National Honors Society

BY BRADLEY WARNER
Amanda Steffen, advisor of the National Honor Society, sat down and answered some questions on the subject of the organ-ization and how one may be able to partici-pate in the National Honor Society.

"The National Honor Society is a group of students who can strive to obtain scholar-ships, gain leadership roles, create strong characteristics, and help the community," said Steffen.

For a student to join NHS, he or she has to fill out an application form. "The criteria that a student needs are a certain amount of voluntary community service, a display of leadership qualities, and an excellent GPA range. A sophomore’s GPA must be 3.0 or higher, and juniors, as well as seniors, must have a GPA of 3.3 or higher. Once the form is filled out, a group of teachers review the documents and pick the most impressive applications," explained Stef-fen.

Students may ask themselves what the beneficial factor is for joining NHS and how this will provoke them to be better leaders. "Students are involved with differ-ent activities, and one of the most known is the Candy Grams. Students take control of the activities and must have responsibility for leadership; they must know whom to send the product to after receiving the money, and take part in community service outside of school," said Steffen.

The students are also expected to have the following attitude: "Representing good characteristics, doing well academically, [and]having good leadership skills. [I]f a grade falls, the student will be put on pro-bation from National Honor Society, and if they do not raise it back up to the GPA they must have, the student will then be removed from NHS," explained Steffen.

When asked why someone would want to run such an exclusive club, Steffen replied, "When I was in high school, the National Honor Society had a major impact on my personality and characteristics. NHS gives students the chance to branch off into lead-ership roles, and I am inspired by what the students can do for the community."

Forms for National Honor Society will be available in the beginning of February. Students will be informed of the specific date in the daily announcements.

The Mock Trial Teaches Students About the Court System

BY REBECCA WEBER
Juniors and seniors of Ms. Rogers’ sociology class have arranged a fictitious trial called "Mock Trial" to help them learn about the Defense and Crime Unit. The Mock Trial helps the students bring the unit to life. This helps them grasp the concept of what a trial entails instead of reading about it in a textbook.

The Mock Trial has three main key points: to have a crime take place, to investigate, and to have the trial. Most crimes are murders that are acted out between teachers and students. Later, as the students investigate, everyone has their own role. Some of these roles include: a lawyer, an FBI agent, a CSI investigator, a judge, a forensic scientist and even a po-lice officer. A number of these roles help students later find a career option in the study of sociology. Members of the stu-dent body make up the jury of the trial. Testimonies are made at the trail and explain the suspect’s involvement in the crime. After the trial, the jury decides whether or not the sus-pect is guilty.

Ms. Rogers says, "The Mock Trial is one of the students’ favorite activities in the class because it is spectacular, fun and includes other students."