Features14 May 4, 2010Valor Dictus

BY ALYSSA HARDStaff Writer

Senior gifts leave a legacy The school is filled with an array of odd trinkets, decorations and plaques, most of which gradually classes bestowed as class gifts. Some students blame the school for their poor choice in spend-ing, but the class gift is ultimately chosen by the senior class officers. “Our sponsor told us that Mr. Meier was going to pick the gift and that we would just pay for it, but we are behind [in buying the class gift] because it’s actually our decision,” senior class coun-cil member Pheobe Anim-Yankah said. The class gift for 2010 has not been decided yet, although the gift is usually chosen by around this time each year. Usually the gift will cost be-tween $5,000 and $10,000, but if the gift is over $10,000 the school will help pay for the gift. Some-times what they choose depends on a recommendation by the prin-cipal, but ultimately the choice is up to the class council according to Principal Dan Meier. The senior class council mem-bers have gathered information about what students would want them to purchase.

“I’ve heard some people want an LCD screen in the front welcom-ing everyone, or a welcome sign in the back of the school,” Anim-Yankah said. “They might even do cafeteria booths for the seniors,” senior class council member Becky Le said. The rising seniors have their opinions about what they want for next year. “I think that it would be a good idea if they covered the back wall of the cafeteria where the seniors sit with a giant booth-style bench. [The bench] would be for seniors and [the bench] would be better than booths because they only seat small groups,” junior Mad-isen McDade said. The fundraising begins fresh-man year and last up until during senior year. The money that they raise is to pay for prom and the class gift, which is a tradition for our school. “I don’t know if [the class gift] is mandatory, but it’s assumed be-cause every class gives [a gift],” Le said. Examples of past senior gifts are the clock in the front of the school from 2006 and the Coffey Stadium gate and sign from 200

and the stadium’s sound system from 2004. “They usually like gifts that people can see and remember the class that gave it to the school,” Le said. The gift is a way to re-member past classes and to im-prove our school with money that students raised for four years. Our class gifts inspire oth-er schools to ask for the same things from their seniors. “Other schools drive by our school and say, oh hey where did you get that, and then I tell them that our seniors gave it to us as a gift,” Principal Dan Meier said, “Then they go and ask their seniors for the same thing because they like how it looks here at Robinson.”

Sun DialClass of 1997

Coffey Stadiumclass of 2007

Tile in main entrance

class of 1981, restored by class of 1971

Flag poles class of 1984

Robinson sign

Class of 1990

Ram statue

class of 2001

Main entrance clock Class of 2006

Animals leave an imprintBY MICHELLE BEDKERProduction Editor “Yes,it is good to

have a companion when no one else is

around.”—Will Grooms, 9

Do you think it is important to have pets?

“No, you don’t need pets. I’m not an ani-

mal person.”—Lizzy Sirney, 10

“Yes, [they are] good for families. ”

—Scott Dykes, 11

“Yes, a dog is a girl’s best friend.”

—Harleen Sangha, 12

compiled by Mica DeAsis and Hailey Metzger

what theare sayingkids in the hall

“Yes, it is important. [They] make you

responsible.”—Nahin Campos, 12

Freshman Samantha Scott’s father is in the military, and often spends time overseas in Iraq. She said she most appreciates her pets when he is away. “[They’re] always just there,” Scott said about her pets, which include three dogs and three guinea pigs. She said she feels most connected to her black lab/border collie mix, Pepper. She said she loves Pepper because he loves her unconditionally and never gets mad at her. She grew up with her dogs and guinea pigs, much like her parents grew up with pets of their own. Cindy Ehlers, founder and president of the National Animal Assisted Crisis Re-sponse acknowledges the ability of dogs to provide comfort to hu-mans. AACR provides emo-tional rescue and on-going support to those in need through pet therapy. Ehlers explains the positive responses to her association to the psychological elements of body memory. When people see a dog, people are taken back to a place where they felt safe, and their stress level drops instantly. Ehlers founded HOPE AACR after a shooting at Thurston High School in Ehlers’ community. After stepping down as President of HOPE AACR, she founded the National Organization for AACR.

She was part of a therapy dog team when the Oregon high school administration called her team in to help. The students responded positively to the dogs and the “counselors were amazed at the response,” Ehlers said. One of the high school students, who was initially unresponsive because of a traumatic experience, wrote a poem about how one of the dogs had helped her. “The dog did all the work,” Ehlers said. “[I] realized that dogs could help people on a deeper level.” AACR is now a non-profit organization that is composed of 85 registered dog ther-apy teams across the nation. When the shooting crisis at Virginia Tech occurred on April 16, 2007, AACR

had difficulty getting invited to the univer-sity to provide support, but once they came, the response from the stu-dents was “overwhelm-ing,” Ehlers said. According to Ehlers, the police first-re-sponders were ex-tremely relieved be-cause they could talk to them about what had

happened and were able to relax about the situation. Veterinarian and owner of Companion Animal Clinic Susan Christopher was a member of a pet therapy team when she was in veterinary school, with the Delta society. She said one golden retriever that was a part of the team helped a blind diabetic who had lost her legs as a result of diabetes.

“[The dog] was literally a reason to live [for the pa-tient],” Christo-pher said. In general, she said pets teach people how to inter-act with animals as well as people. Junior Michael Hickey has two Sheltie Sheep-dogs. His parents had pets when they were grow- ing up and got them for him as well. He said he would plan to get pets for his own kids when he grows up as well, because they will probably like pets too. He said he most appreciates his dogs when he comes home from vacation or school be-cause they get excited to welcome him home. Christopher said there are many responsi-bilities that come with owning a pet. She said a few key components are the fi-nancial and medical responsibilities, as well as the daily exercise, grooming and feeding needed to provide proper care for pets. Despite the negative burdens and unavoid-able responsibilities taken on by having pets, animals provide a sense of comfort on a daily basis to families, as well as play a significant role in helping people cope throughout dif-ficult and often traumatizing experiences. Christopher has one cat and two dogs that she said have positively influenced her two daughters, who are five and eight years old. Concerning having animals in her life, Christopher said she “can’t imagine life without them.”

”SusanChristopher

“I realized that dogs could help people on a deeper level.

AACR Founder & President