Word of Beak: Winter Homecoming will be ‘Kickin' It Up a Notch'

By Michaela Biggs

Willows Journal

Winter Homecoming is right around the corner, set for Friday, Feb. 1.

Four home basketball games will be played against Esparto, as well as a home soccer game against Orland.

Trying something a little bit different this homecoming: The overall spirit day on Friday will be "Kickin' It Up a Notch," which requires students to dress in as much WHS or purple and gold clothing to support our teams as possible. A rally will be held that day during school with the coronation that evening.

The seniors will be putting themselves up for auction at the closed campus lunch to raise money for their class. The person who bids the highest wins the senior one day, which will be determined later.

These seniors must do, wear, and say whatever their "owners" want them to. Many times this includes crazy costumes, lunch, and a performance when taking the owners to class.

The last event I mentioned was, and still is, commonly called Senior Slave Day, though it is officially entitled Indentured Servant Day. I can only guess why the name was officially changed. My thoughts are that the term "slave" was deemed too insensitive in a world that is now focused on being politically correct.

There have been no serious complaints by the students selling themselves or the students purchasing seniors about the previous title. It was simply a catchy name for unique fundraiser.

Considering slavery has been abolished for generations, I do not see a problem with the term Senior Slave Day, and will continue to refer to it as such as it is my right to do so. Though the issue of racism is still being debated, slavery, as it was years ago, is in fact gone.

Senior Slave Day continues to bring in money to the senior classes of WHS and smiles to the faces of all students when the day to serve the owner finally arrives.

I am sure many will notice that I continue to use the word "owners" because that is the best word to describe the position of the students who purchase the seniors for the day. The seniors choose to let students bid on whom gets to tell them what to do, say, and wear. However, the students do purchase the seniors and therefore own them for one day.

This is not an insensitive term, but an accurate description of the relationship between senior and buyer for that day.

Our country has become so tied down in trying to not offend anyone that people are becoming less accurate in description and presenting their feelings as we have a right to do, within the confines of the law.

"The truth hurts" is a well-known saying that speaks volumes, though people are ignoring it. If we continue to cover the truth with films of lies to avoid hurting someone's feelings, we will be unable to determine fact from fiction and truth from falsities.

Instead of trying to be politically correct, perhaps we should instead try kindness. As Mary Poppins says, "a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down," but a cupfull of sugar-water makes the medicine useless.