The Falls Church News-Press has partnered with George Mason High School’s award-winning newspaper, The Lasso, to bring its readers some of the top articles appearing in the student-run digital paper. This regular feature will appear monthly in the News-Press during the school year. The Lasso can be found online at https://50.63.137.245/~web/fccps/lasso/.
Procrastination: One of a Student’s Many Struggles
By Laura Whitaker
You finally finish seven exhausting hours of school. You’re ready to kick back and relax, but you have to go to your sport’s practice. Two to three hours later, you get home and are ready to collapse but, wait, there’s more. You have one to four more hours of homework to finish for tomorrow. That’s already about 13 hours of your day right there. Never mind the lack of sleep here, but how do you pile on your homework and more importantly, actually focus on it?
As a George Mason student, I think it is safe to say that time management is definitely one of the most challenging parts of high school for me. But, instead of simply taking my word, I’ve proven it by surveying the entire student body of George Mason.
We compared how many people procrastinate per grade, which activities have most procrastinators, and reasons for putting off work. It was formed according to the survey 169 George Mason students took in early November of 2014. The answers are in and here are the results.
We found that freshmen did the most pracrastinating (surprising) and that participation in sports (either at Mason or through a club) leads to a high degree of procrastination in school.
Seen by identified distractions in the infographic, students were asked the reasons for their procrastinations. Some anonymously commented, explaining their reasons for procrastinating or not completing homework.
Below are some unique comments as well as some representative of many students:
“The main part of ‘Distractions by phones or social media’ is mostly because of the laptops – we have to be on them all the time in order to complete homework and it’s really hard not to be distracted by them.”
“I am beginning to suffer from ‘senioritis’.”
“I get home late and simply am tired. It’s hard for me to concentrate when I’m tired.”
“Ain’t a fan of homework.”
“[I put off work because I get] extreme anxiety due to homework quantity.”
“Sleep is too important to give up.”
It’s unsurprising that the reason for procrastination was lack of motivation. Especially with the growth of technology, the 62% of students who said they were distracted by phones/social media was no shock to me. While the reasons of pracastination are faily common, their solution is a whole other story.
71st in Office, 1st in Prison
By Kate Karstens
As a student reporter for The Lasso, I realized there was something amiss in our news coverage: world news analysis. Although The Lasso’s prime goal and focus is to report on school news, there’s other information that students need to know. I have created this new column, or “kolumn,” to give Mason students an easier breakdown of weekly politics and world news. Enjoy my sass and take on the 21st century world news each week. Or don’t enjoy it, either way, I’ll still write.
On January 6, former governor Bob McDonnell was sentenced to two years, a surprising drop from the expected 10-12 years. Charged with 14 counts in his federal trial, along with his wife, for accepting more than $165,000 in gifts and loans. These illegal financial contributions came from Jonnie Williams Sr., who was the prosecution’s star witness, giving money in exchange for federal backing on his untested nutritional product.
The indictment was almost a year ago, January 21. Following the indictment was the trial where McDonnell was guilty of all charges and his wife guilty of a majority of hers.
The surprising factor was that 1/6th of the recommended sentence by the probation office was given to McDonnell.
So what happens when you get over 400 letters about how great you are sent to the judge and you highlight that you’re a religious veteran to a religious veteran in a robe? You get a miniscule sentence because even though you’re not above the law as a public official, its easier for you to find your way around it.
Am I slightly angry? No, I’m very angry. Aren’t our officials supposed to be just as accountable for their actions as any regular citizen? Where is the Constitution? Those letters came from constituents, his supporters from his time in office, all gubernatorial advantages to override the just prison sentence of 10-12 years.
This entire trial is just a reminder that the system continues to be flawed, and what’s worse is that the media simply agrees with the shortened sentence because he didn’t do anything terrible while in office. Have we forgotten this took place while he was in office? In my eyes, Bob McDonnell will be a criminal for 12 years and seven months, as it was meant to be..
These articles plus more from The Lasso available at www.fcpps.org/lasso.
