Students want to be heard about concerns as high schools diverge

On Sept. 5 I entered the hallowed halls of Flathead High School with the understanding that this year I would be wrapping up my contribution to the more than 100 years of Flathead tradition and history. Upon arriving, however, it became fairly evident that the district split we had been easing into for an entire year had not happened.

Why take the time to focus on a school separation, when in reality all that has been created is an extension of the high school, an extra building to accommodate the excessive number of students?

As a matter of practicality, Glacier students use the fields Flathead uses, often share sports buses, and may perhaps share a prom. I understand that the budget is stretched as it is to build new schools and that sharing some things is the most pragmatic way to avoid unnecessary expenditures. Though every school needs things to call its own, without which there could be no school spirit, I recognize that we live in a close community, which makes it beneficial to promote collaboration in some arenas.

Nonetheless, there is one thing that I have qualms about sharing: Flathead°Os legacy. The new school brings an onslaught of firsts that have not been had in the Flathead Valley for a hundred years; every sporting event is guaranteed to set a school record, and every new success holds greater significance because it is the foundation of the school°Os history. We°Od be taking away a great source of pride for the Wolfpack by imposing our traditions upon them, except that they°Ore already taking this burden on for themselves.

As a Flathead debater I am perhaps most deeply affected by the now joint history of Flathead and Glacier Speech and Debate. GHS has an exceptional coaching staff, who I have no doubts will waste no time in finding great success for their school to pride itself on. I had the pleasure of working with some of the coaches last year and can°Ot thank them enough for the profound influence they°Ove had on me. I would never dream of denying them the right to claim their personal successes, of which they have many.

Still, I do not find it appropriate for the institution of Glacier High School to assert its claim to the long legacy that Flathead has built up across the decades. Years down the road, when the faculty has changed, there will be no legitimate ties between Flathead°Os nationally ranked team or its individual national champions and Glacier High School.

Still, I recognize that there is an appropriate forum for voicing the concerns of such blurred lines, which is why I attended the Sept. 11 school board meeting, along with other students from different sports, theater, music, and IB programs, a veritable cross-section of the high school population. During the allotted time for the student report, our president, Ian Twamley, and a dedicated student and fellow debater, Annika Heinle, tactfully presented their concerns about the double-standard of claiming separation on the surface while attempting unity within, thereby sending students a mixed message.

These students did not demand action or change of any sort, but merely wanted to be heard out. To their surprise, and that of the students who had come to support them, the board informed them that these matters had been brought up in the wrong arena and that various steps had to be taken before and issue was brought before the board. These students had already attended meetings with their administrators in which they had discussed appearing before the board.

Even with this miscommunication, however, the students were more than willing to set aside the topic and set up another date to speak with the board, but were again referred back to their administrators. Then, most surprisingly of all, the board asked for the student report. They wanted to know what was going on inside the school. I don°Ot think I°Om mistaken in assuming that the student opinion and mass interest qualifies as part of what is going on in the school.

Copies had been brought to the board of memberships to online discussion groups devoted to the topic, but the council passed these over in favor of hearing whether or not themes had been chosen for the homecoming spirit days. I understand the difficulty of accurately addressing a problem without any notice as to its nature, and I can only hope that in the future the District 5 school board will be willing to hear some student input on the issue because in the six days I have spent in school this year, the topic has only become more widely discussed.

Carinna Torgerson, of Bigfork, attends Flathead High School