BHS Student Involvement “I think the Juniors tend to be

more [involved] just because they

have to.” This year’s 2019 BHS
Students may be falling out of their want for Prom planning is an example of
one expectation which falls to the
extracurriculars, and it is unclear as to why junior class.
“Typically, your senior year, if
you are not going to be on Varsity
sports, you really do not go out”
for the sport in general, continued
Feller, “so it has to be the juniors”
who are the most involved. Ju-
niors and seniors, as upperclass-
men, tend to have a lot of weight
on their shoulders with academics
and higher education goals, so it
seems a bit backwards for them to
be the most involved.
“For me, coaching swim,” stated
English teacher and swim coach
Charlotte Ball, “a big problem
that I have heard time and time
again with students is the practice
time.…Especially with freshmen
and sophomores, if students are
taking Driver’s Ed, that cuts into
that time of day.”
This time dilemma causes a
‘Catch-22,’ or an endless cycle of
mutually exclusive and inclusive
results, that many students find
themselves trapped within. With-
Student Council advisor Josh Feller attempts to recruit sophomore Quin Nissen and senior
out the means of independent
James Kerr for student council seats. Student involvement in clubs such as student council is
transportation to arrive at practice
seeming to decrease.
on time, such as a driver’s license,
BY MAYA HARTIG them forget about other aspects student involvement is lower than students cannot participate in
they enjoy, such as the student
section and the pep band, both of
which seem to be fading away this
basketball season. Senior Hannah
Crutsinger commented that “we
could improve it by having the
band be more united and show-
ing more leadership by going to
the games and being present.”
The general consensus made by
Crutsinger, Ball, and Feller is that
students need to prioritize and
consider what they put into their
day. “I was in basketball,” says
Crutsinger about her freshman
year, “but I did not like playing
it…and then I started hearing that
‘oh, there is a swim team,’ and I
was like ‘okay, I will try for that.…’
So, if people were more aware of
the sports and activities going on,”
then student involvement, overall,
would increase.
Both Feller and Ball agree that
students should “learn to say no
to something,” says Ball, and “find
what fits,” according to Feller. So,
with all this in mind, maybe the
problem with student uninvolve-
ment does not lie in uninterest,
but in overachievement.
Either way, it is true that Bigfork
High School has a plethora of
talented individuals, and each
and every one has their own pas-
sions and interests which can be

B etween daily school and
home expectations, personal
goals, and basic human needs,
high school students seem to have
a lot on their plate. This constant
flow of work and achievement
can overwhelm students, making
of life, such as mental health, in- ever. Student Council, Interact this sport. However, to receive a pursued through the many clubs
terests, and extracurriculars—all Club, and countless other clubs license, some may find that they and sports teams the school has to
things which are important to a have next to no freshmen, sopho- must sacrifice that season of par- offer. It can be easy to want to do
developing mind. mores, or even juniors in mem- ticipation. everything, but it is important for
This lapse of memory in high bership, which could become a This could explain why stu- students to focus on what it is that
school students tends to come and problem in upcoming years. dents are becoming less and less they love the most and chase it to
go with each passing class, but Math teacher and Student invested in the extracurriculars the end of the world.
recently, it appears that the rate of Council advisor Josh Feller said,

BY AHNA FOX

U ntil the health threats of

smoking cigarettes were
discovered, the practice was a
norm for high school students
and a great number of adults
of the late 1900s. Over the past
few years, e-cigarettes have been
promoted into a new role, replac-
ing cigarettes in the lifestyle of
teens today, which influences
individuals beyond the halls of
high school.
These recently developed nico-
tine devices—such as Juuls, vape
pens, and Suorins—continue to
gather attention and popular-
ity; meanwhile, teens become
the guinea pigs for the negative
health impacts from e-cigarettes
that have yet to be discovered. Al-
ready finding themselves labeled
by society, teens have yet now
another area in which they can
be categorized in light of develop-
ing e-cigarettes.
An anonymous Bigfork High
School student stated that, “the
use of nicotine is put into two
categories. First, if you are not
a user of nicotine then you are
considered a ‘good kid.’ And
second, if you do use it then you
are considered a ‘bad kid.’ I know
many kids that use nicotine that
are characterized as good and
bad students by the school itself.
The teachers, administration, and
the students do not realize that
what they are doing is labeling
everyone for their choices.”
The use of nicotine is looked
down upon by staff and school
administration, telling students
to stay away from substances that
are addictive and can become a
gateway drug. The production
of modern nicotine devices only
promotes violation of a school’s
Nicotine Use & the Labeling Involved
drug free zone by students who
find themselves addicted to the
buzz nicotine brings.
“Nicotine is absorbed into your
bloodstream and goes to your
adrenal glands just above your
kidneys. The glands release
adrenaline, which increases your
blood pressure, breathing, and
heart rate. Adrenaline also gives
you a lot of good feelings all at
once,” reported the National
Institute of Health. “You might
have heard people talking about
e-cigs, vapes, or vape pens. These
are names for electronic cigarettes
(e-cigarettes). E-cigarettes are bat-
tery-operated devices that people
use to inhale nicotine, flavoring,
or other chemicals. They can look
like cigarettes, pipes, pens, or USB
memory sticks.”
Bigfork High School principal, A USB (Universal Serial Bus) resembles the popular vape product: a Juul e-cigarette. Nicotine
Mark Hansen, expressed his dis- devices such as Juuls have grown immensely in popularity in the past few years, causing teens to
appointment in tobacco compa- often be labeled for their individual nicotine intake.
nies whom he feels have targeted
the younger generation with personal nicotine use and how is not a bad kid, and we do not do nicotine.
he believes the use of e-cigarettes the same for adult nicotine users,” “Kids who are labeled as bad
nicotine juices that ‘taste good.’
“I just feel like anytime that you does not directly impact a stu- says Jessop. “I think the devel- will live up to those expectations,”
dents performance at school. opment of nicotine products is says Jessop, and this is true in
get into something that you can
be addicted to, it is probably not “When I was in school there was generally bad for health, and wise light of individuals who will often
a smoking corner, and teachers for kids to stay away from them find their identity in their reputa-
a good thing to have at school,”
says Hansen. “If you just do your that smoked would join the kids because it creates a dependency tion. The impact of these devel-
at lunch in the smoking corner on a substance way too early on in oping e-cigarettes on the human
research you are not going to put
that stuff in your body.” of the parking lot. A lot of those life, but the substance can be bad body may be foolishly ignored,
kids did not deal with the stigma and the kid can be fine.” but the labeling of a person,
Lou Jessop, a freshman English,
English Outbound, Lit Mag, Cre- of being a bad kid because they Although the negative impact much less a young adult, should
were chewing tobacco or smoking of recently developed nicotine not be dependent upon a choice
ative Writing, and Battle School
instructor at Bigfork High School a cigarette, and I think that maybe devices cannot be ignored by the that teens across the world make
while those things are bad for youth of today, the categorizing of every day.
stated how students should not
necessarily be labeled for their you, we sometimes use those as students should not be dependent
labels to label the kid bad when it on a student’s dependence on

Just Down the Road homemade food.

The locally bowls as well as take-and-bake
pizzas.
owned busi- The Vessel’s previous location
ness Vessel has was 8089 MT Highway 35, in
between Harvest Foods and the
made a location Flathead Jackpot Casino.
Freshman Mackenzie Holton
such as Bigfork can be refreshing says, “being next to the gas station
and exciting, possibly bringing can bring [Vessel] more business
more attention to the beloved especially if people want more
Vessel. authentic food than what Stage
Vessel has been open for 3 years Stop might have to offer.” Holton
now and is widely enjoyed by the goes on to say that Vessel moving

change The small building that once community because of the lovable brings more diversity and health
was home to “Cravings,” will now staff. The inner workings of the conscious choices to that area.
house Vessel. The new location is new building has a warm and She also says that it could in-
BY ELAYNA HAGEN
connected to the Stage Stop gas cozy aesthetic that students are trigue visitors and new people to

W
station, right off Highway 35. beyond excited about. It makes the town, bringing Vessel a good
hen thinking of a good
This move will make it more ac- it easier to those students who amount of new business.
The new Vessel sign decadent- eatery, market, and good
cessible to community members do not have a driver’s license to Vessel is opened from 7am to
ly hangs in the heart of Bigfork. coffee many Bigfork folk may
and students, especially now that walk to in between school and 4pm, making it the perfect spot
The Vessel is now located in think of the Vessel. The Vessel has
it will be closer to the center of practice, it is also closer to school to grab breakfast before school or
the building connected to the a wide variety of menu items from
town. This change to a small town for students to access healthy, stop and get an after school snack.
Stage Stop gas station. sandwiches, salads, smoothie