fandomhigh | OPEN MIC STUDENT COUNCIL QUORUM

((OOC: let the games begin. GO! (edit: Bingo Cards are done! Yay! Now go play.)) (second edit: This will be open for discussion until 10pm US CST, Friday, 10/7. If you want to chime in, do it before then. After that time, comments will be locked.)

"Hello and welcome to the Open Mic Student Council Quorum. This is going to be a cross between a Crossfire event, a debate, and a party. We want you to get to know your Student Council candidates - all of them - better. A lot better. To that purpose, we've invited all of them here tonight. However, as this was not a mandatory event, we don't have a roster yet of who will show up. Feel free to write your questions in, we'll make sure they all get them whether they show tonight or not.

Here's how tonight is going to work:

1) Each Student Council Candidate will be asked 5 questions from the quorum directors (that's us), and they will have 1 minute to answer the question to the best of their ability. We'll be keeping score and awarding points for how accurately each question is answered, as well as style and delivery. At the end of the night, the representative with the most points will win a prize.

2) When the 5 questions have been answered, the floor will be opened to the audience for the Crossfire section - to ask the Candidates anything they want. HOWEVER, the questions must be on topic. Questions phrased with vulgar or offensive language, or questions about personal lifestyle choices or habits will be striken - and the asker will be asked to leave. So phrase your questions carefully. We're here to learn things and have fun.

3) The Candidates may ask each other questions in the Crossfire section. Feel free to go head to head over your issues. Well, verbally, anyway.

4) I mentioned fun, and to that effect, we have Buzzword Bingo going. Each of you was handed a set of Buzzword Bingo Cards and a pencil as you entered. Here's how it works: Each card has the name of a Candidate on it, and many, many buzzwords pulled directly from the debate last night. When you note any Candidate using a buzzword in any of their answers, tick it off on their Bingo Card. The first player to declare a Bingo wins a doorprize. The first player to get Bingos on more than five cards gets the grand prize.

The Prizes:
Single Card Bingo: First 12 people will each win 1lb boxes of chocolates from Wonka's Sweet Shop
Two Card Bingo: First person to get one wins a $15 gift certificate to Deb's Diner and Retro Store
Three Card Bingo: First person to get one wins a $30 gift certificate to Deb's Diner and Retro Store
Four Card Bingo: First person to get one wins a $50 gift certificate to The Emporium
Grand Prize: a $100 gift certificate to Red's Tattoos

((OOC NOTE: For the sake of our sanity, here's how it's going to run.

The "(Candidate name) Questions" threads will be locked to only the Candidates - please, no ooc comments or non-Candidate posting in them.

The "(Candidate name) Crossfire" section will be open to any IC comments. Please direct your questions to the Candidates in their threads.

Please keep all OOC comments in the "OOC" thread" - we ask because we'll be cutting and pasting from the other threads as the night goes on.

This post will remain the same - a secondary post will be linked for people who want to catch up without scanning a billion comments.

If you have questions for the moderator - and for right now, that's me - there will be a seperate post in my non-comm journal and you can ask them there. I am turning email notification for this thread off.))

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

3. Half of life at Fandom High is dealing with its capricious nature. Parties can be cancelled for zombie attacks, quiet hours can be broken for gremlin infestation, and classes can be missed by traveling too closely to locker 327. Do you think such capriciousness should continue to be carried into the way punishments (one week's detention is 24 hours of psychological torture, the next week's is bug experiments) are decided and implemented at school?

Given the diverse nature of the student body, I can't think of any punishment that would be fair all the way across the board. As it stands, the eclectic nature of punishment here at Fandom High is nothing more than a reflection of standard operating procedure among the students as well as school policy. Also considering the wildly varied nature of the offenses, I don't think that the punishment of unusual detention is at all unfair.

I don't think that the vastly different nature of detention from week to week is acceptable- some students even got to leave the bug detention early, which is insane- it's a punishment because you did something wrong.
Coming from the education system in my world, I honestly don't see why detention can't be a simple 'sit in a room and waste your free time' deal. If you really want to be fair, there should be time limits for different offences- blowing up something is worse than, say, cursing in the hallway.

"I must sadly admit that I spent an afternoon in detention a great while ago. I found the experience to be quite educational, and I have yet to make a repeat trip. Force the student to face their crime and the root from which that crime comes, and you will free them from the internal shackles of anger and hatred."

"I don't think that our current system forces the student being punished to confront what they did wrong. So I think we should instigate a program in which the detention better fits the crime. For instance, if you skip class, the teacher whose class was missed gets to determine what happens to you in detention - whether that means that you suffer a nightmare at the hand of Professor Dream or are forced to become Professor Beeblerox's latest model," she grimaces, "it's more fair."

The punishment should fit the crime, and the inconsistency in administering detention is unsettling. There should be stricter guidelines in how detention is handed out. I understand that teachers have their own preferred methods, but a serious violation of the rules should garner a more serious punishment than a lesser prank.

I think the punishment should fit the crime. I mean, you shouldn't have to live out your nightmares for 24 hours if all you did was chew gum when you weren't supposed to. And I think whoever assigns the detention should decide the punishment. They know you the best and it was them who caught you in the first place. Detention can still be monitored by one teacher on Saturdays but the student has to the punishment that was given to them.

"I do think there is a problem with punishment at this school. At home, our punishments were typically extra work or physical labor. I think both of those are effective ways to get students to behave, no matter who or what the student is or what they did. A few hours of trying to clean out the stables, and any student will find themselves more docile by the end. And a few extra hours of homework help teach a good lesson as well."

I think punishments ought to be more consistent. We shouldn't be punished differently from week to week for the same offenses. And punishments ought to be tailored to the offense. Minor offenses ought to have lesser consequences than major ones. And I think that we, as students, ought to know the consequences of any perceived misbehaviors.

I've heard complaints about detention -- you know, how some people have had to live through their worst nightmares but others say they have other plans and get to skip out until they feel like they want to serve their time, so to speak. There should be guidelines for the teachers so that detention is more fair.

Marty laughs.

"Having been at both detentions, I can tell you right now that both were a deterrent in their own way. Dr. Grissom's detention was more than just bugs. It was also dealing with blood experiments and a couple of other gruesome things that I'd rather not share. As for the dreams... yeah that was a little intense. But both were effective in their own way. As long as the punishment serves as a deterrent for bad behavior I see no reason why it should change. Let's face it folks... this isn't a normal high school and going to detention isn't going to be like a Molly Ringwald movie."

"No. I do not. Detention is more effective as a deterrent if the punishment is a known quantity. There should be a clear statement of the penalties for specific offenses and those should be delivered without respect to the offender or the teacher holding the detention. I vehemently disapprove of physical or psychological punishments of any kind. If the Administration wants to protect us and teach us, and if they want us not to be afraid, then they cannot turn violence against us."

"I know punishment and I really have to tell you that those who have had to spend time in dention have had it easy in comparison."

"I don't think there is a way to make detention fair all across the board because of the wide range of natures of the student body. We are attending a unique school and as such some things are not going to work the same way here. Thus, some detentions will be a cakewalk to some people, while others are terrorized. I would like to see if there is a way to come up with a non-torturous type of punishment. I don't know if it could really be done, but it's a nice idea and one I would love to look into."

Punishment is necessary to remain control and order in any society; however, the discrepancies noted in detention indicate a lack of... *pauses, winces and continues anyway* cohesion and communication at the top levels of the school. The punishments do not necessarily have to be the same week in, week out, but a constant standard is needed.

In order to fix what is wrong, one must come to terms with the error. I do not believe that such methods of "cruel and unusual punishment" (as I believe one universe's government puts it) will correct any problems.

OPEN MIC STUDENT COUNCIL QUORUM

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