Is the “OK” Gesture OK?

Jolie Phan

A few days ago, Marine Le Pen took a selfie, posing with the “OK” gesture and didn’t know that it had a dark meaning. “I’d never heard of the second meaning of this trivial gesture,” she said.

The sign can mean “troll the media”, OK, or ruffle feathers from many murderers. But it’s known as the white power symbol to many (WP). The three fingers – middle, ring, and pinkie – represents the letter “W” and the thumb, index finger, and the palm under the thumb stands for “P”. It got its name when a suspect of the Christchurch killings gestured with it and attracted many people’s attention afterward the suspect’s arrest.

Many people in the world take it offensive or racist. This is the reason why some people are accused of being racist when using the gesture just to say “OK.” There were many people who were banned or suspended from their jobs due to the white power symbol. A US coast guard suspended a member for forming the alleged symbol. Four police were also suspended for posing the sign in a photo.

May the Fourth be With You

Mia Grasse

May 4th will be an exciting day here at Stacey Middle School. Come dressed up in your Star Wars attire. There are so many Star Wars movies, it will be hard to pick a character from just one of them.

You could dress up as:

• Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader
• Luke Skywalker
• Yoda
• Han Solo
• Leia Organa
• Boba Fett
• Obi-Wan Kenobi
• Sheev Palpatine
• Chewbacca
• Lando Calrissian
• C-3PO
• R2-D2

Stacey Students Fighting?!?

Kevin Luu

Wait, what? Stacey students are fighting?  Why are students fighting? There could be lots of reasons such as revenge, or just a simple argument gone wrong. According to the National Education Association, “Occasionally, arguments between students escalate and erupt into fights.”

According to Business Insider, there are many psychological reasons people fight. One reason that people fight is “You’re rational — to a fault,” Business Insider says. “Research suggests that humans are actually at their most reasonable when they’re arguing, picking positions that are easier to defend from criticism and thinking over each choice and word more carefully.”

Another reason is self-involvement. We know that is hard to avoid for teenagers, but “Being self-involved improves the odds that after a conflict and its compromise, you find yourself feeling terrible. “

Cyberbullying is Sad

Madelyn Fracassa

Cyberbullying is an issue that happens almost everywhere. In fact, 43% of teenagers say they have been cyberbullied and 70% of teenagers say that they have seen cyberbullying more than once. As for Stacey Middle School, “There have probably been about five instances this year with Stacey students,” stated Mrs.DeBritton.

People resort to cyberbullying rather than bullying in real-life because, “You aren’t looking at the person in the face, so you don’t get a sense on how they are taking your words,” explained Mrs. DeBritton. When one person is not face to face with the person they are bullying they do not realize how much or maybe how little of an impact they are making. If the impact is not seen, then the bully will not know when to stop and will just keep going.

Kill Them With Kindness!

Mia Grasse

As most of you already know, the week of January 22 through the 26 is Kindness Week, but that doesn’t mean we should only be nice one week of the year. Kindness Week is about reminding us to be kind to everyone every day. So, here’s the real question, how can we be more kind?

   Have you ever teased someone because they are different?

   Have you ever spread mean rumors or gossiped about another person?

   Have you ever posted something mean on social media about another person?

Well, this might shock you, but those examples are not considered nice. So during Kindness Week, make sure to remind yourself of the real meaning of kindness.

Boy Scouts are Allowing Girls to Join, and Many are Against (Poll)

Avalyn Walton

Over the years, Boy Scouts has been a place where little boys get introduced to nature and how to survive in it. It gives rowdy young boys a place to test their courage and strength. However more recently, girls have wanted the opportunity to join too. And believe it or not, everyone is not completely open to allowing girls to join.

Most people are aware that typically, boys join Boy Scouts and girls join Girl Scouts. The boys and girls are separated and stay separate. To some, it might not even make sense as to why a girl would want to be a Boy Scout when Girl Scouts are already available.

But Girls Scouts is completely different from Boy Scouts. Girl Scouts focuses more on crafts and being a good citizen. They do typically girly things, and though many girls find that appealing, some do not.  Whereas Boy Scouts are all about being outdoors and in nature while getting dirty and having rough and tumble fun. Some girls simply think they would prefer the Boy Scout experience.

The Mandela Effect

Ashley Wolf

The Mandela Effect is one of the many conspiracy theories of 2017. It has been around for awhile, and it has been causing people confusion ever since.

How this all started.

In 2013 when Nelson Mandela died, a lot of people were really confused because they remember him dying in jail; in 1980. How is that possible? Theories about why so many people have the same false memory have been invented. This phenomenon was named The Mandela Effect by a girl named Fiona Bloome.