Voice your choice in Student Council

By Scott P.

Every year, nominees for Student Council President and Vice-President go up in front of the student body to discuss their campaign platforms. The student body votes accordingly. At the end of the year, however, many people complain. The candidates did not do what they said they would. But, on many issues, the President and Vice President need backing from the student body. If we want new and/or better vending machines, for example, we need to let the President and Vice-President know. Also, the students can pass around petitions (to a certain extent) for what they need or want.
Think about it. Put yourself in the shoes of the President and Vice-President. If you go to the vending machine company and tell them, "the student body of Peacock Middle want better vending machines," or "the student body of Peacock Middle want better vending machines, and here is a list of people who agree," the petition tactic (the last one) would probably work better. But petitions are not the only way to drive the point home. Just tell your representative in your advisor class and they can bring it up at a future Student Council meeting.
There are a lot of things you can do to try to change the school for the better. The late John F. Kennedy said it best when he said, "Don't ask what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country." We must use that same mentality, except on a school-wide basis. So if you don't voice your opinion on what should be done to make Peacock better, that's okay. Just don't complain about it.

Sexual Harassment

By Christina S.

Harassment, as stated in the dictionary, is to attack a person repeatedly. Our school has taken this one step too far. You and other students have probably witnessed, participated in, or have been a victim of sexual harassment within the last two school years. This is a major problem and has even been taken to court. We have to stop this abuse before it gets out of hand.
Sexual harassment can be either physical or verbal. So far our school has only had the problem with verbal abuse, time will only tell if it starts to turn physical. It is not a laughing matter and should be taken very seriously. In some cases kids dropped out of school due to the harassment they had received everyday. It puts a permanent scar on a person's life, and it is almost impossible to heal the pain it has left behind.
We want our school to have a good reputation about caring for and respecting others. I think that everyone also wants that reputation for himself or herself. So we have to work hard to achieve that. If you see your friend or classmate sexually harassing someone, politely go up to him/her and ask him to stop. This will not get you a reputation as a dork or "tattle-tale"; it will get you a reputation as a caring, helpful person. If we start getting rid of sexual harassment at our school, other schools will then see that this problem can be solved. They will then start trying to solve the problems within their own school. Soon, hopefully, the whole world will be rid of this sick, horrendous behavior.
We have been lucky enough to have people come in and talk to us about this harassment and what to do if it happens to you. If this does ever happen to you, talk to an adult. Friends are sometimes not always the right people to turn to. Adults are mature enough to know what to do in that situation. If you cannot go to a parent, then at least talk to your teacher. Our school has been very fortunate to have an advisory program to let students talk about their problems. Don't be afraid to talk to your teacher. Everything you say is between you and him/her and will never be shared with others.

Students and teachers at Peacock voice their opinions on sexual harassment.

By Nicole S. and Christina S.

I don't think sexual harassment is a big problem, but it should be recognized. We have a very good group of students this year. This year's eighth grade class is a once in a 20-year group. The seventh grade is also a very good group of students. We are lucky enough to have people come in and talk about this issue. We've had fewer problems than in other schools.
Mr. Peel

I believe it is more of an issue of harassment in general. That is, students' not thinking of other people's feelings first.
Mrs. Krisik

I don't think that sexual harassment is that bad. The kids that do it just want to be cool and get attention.
Patrick M.

I don't think it is that bad, but as the grades go up it gets worse. The older students in the school feel it makes them cool. Christina and I (as vice president and president) are planning to bring high school students to Peacock to talk about this issue. If students listen to them and act grown up, the sexual harassment problem will improve.
Janelle B.

It is not that big of a problem at Peacock. It is just a few obnoxious kids acting out. The only thing we can do about it is to not encourage it.
Kelly D.

The problem is not that bad, especially compared to other schools. Most of the time it's not a problem here.
Debra S.

Most of the time it's not a big issue. I think it is mostly the boys that do it, probably because they think they're cool.
Julie D.

Sexual harassment is not really a big issue. Mostly the guys do it, just because they think it's fun.
Amanda H.

It is kind of a medium problem here. Most of the people that do it don't mean to hurt other people's feelings, its just how each person takes it.
Jeff R.

Quite frankly, I think it is over-rated. People take it too seriously. It is not a problem. Nothing should be done about it.
Tristan B.