For budgetary reasons, Roosevelt High School is forced to cut some of its extracurricular activities. The school’s staff has decided to cut the bowling team, the model rocket club, the French club, and the math league. The school’s newspaper, the Roosevelt Register, ran two student-written editorials about this decision.

Editorial 1

Roosevelt has had a problem funding all of its extracurricular activities for years. My parents are always complaining about sky-high tax hikes to pay for all of the school’s activities, yet the sports and clubs keep getting their budgets cut! Part of the problem is that students constantly petition the school to add clubs and sports teams that are either unpopular or do not do well in competitions. The school gives them money that could go toward other clubs and sports that are much more important. I think it was a good idea for the school to cut these activities. The bowling team has never won a state title, and there are only five kids in the model rocketry club. Also, the French club takes expensive trips to Europe, and the math league came in last in its most recent competition. Why should Roosevelt take money away from things like football and baseball and give it to activities that are wasting it?

Editorial 2

I was really disappointed to find out that Roosevelt is cutting back on its extracurricular activities. The French club and the math league were the only two clubs I was a member of, and now they are gone. I think it is pretty unfair for the school to pick on just four activities. Why does the school have the right to tell the students which clubs and sports have value and which ones do not have value? Just because some activities have fewer students does not mean that they are not important. I joined the French club so I could improve my grades in French class, and my grades went from C’s to A’s. Math league is a lot of fun and, other than this past school year, we have always done well in state competitions. I am sure these clubs would have looked good on my high school transcript when I start applying to colleges, but now I will not have any current activities to put down on my applications. I understand that the school has a difficult time paying for its sports and clubs, but there must be another way to save money without making students suffer.
3
Select the correct answer.
Which issue seems more important in Editorial 1 than in Editorial 2?
A.
how students and parents can help save the activities
B.
finding an alternative solution to fix the problem
C.
how club involvement impacts college applications
D.
saving money to give to the school's sports teams