Recently, Central York High School authorities captured the public's attention when they chose not to recognize their top two students as Valedictorian and Salutatorian. Naturally, many citizens wanted to know the purpose behind this injustice. One response was that competing for grades created an unhealthy environment for the students. Therefore, by ceasing to award specific students above their peers, there would be no tears and hard feelings.

Sadly, this creates a completely opposite atmosphere compared to the everyday work life. After high school and college are over, these students will be flung into the everyday workforce. There, competition is key in order to remain on top. If hard work is not acknowledged in school, how can our society expect it to be obtained in later years?

The time honored tradition of Valedictorian and Salutatorian not only promotes the idea of striving to achieve your best but also simulates a work environment. In closing, the leaders of our country were those who chose to strive for excellence and at some point or another were given credit for their success.

"Unhealthy competition," is what Central York Boards members have said in the past to describe the outcome of recognizing the top two graduating students, the valedictorian and salutatorian.
Since when did competition become unhealthy? Isn't competition what we strive on? Without competition there would be no need to excel. We wouldn't try harder.
Competition is what keeps car companies cranking out new models. Competition is what keeps artist writing top 100 songs.
Quite honestly I think it's ridiculous that multiple high schools in York country do not recognize the top two graduates. And this is coming from a student who probably isn't near the top two of her class. I want to be the best that I can be, so yeah, I push myself harder. There are nights I go to bed at like 12 a.m. and then wake up 5:30 a.m. doing homework and studying hard to make the grade. And you know why? I want to be the best I can be. And yeah sometimes I want to do better than the person sitting next to me. I get A's and B's and the occasional C, but I'm still pushing harder to do better, get a higher GPA.
Do you see something wrong with that? What do you see wrong with competition? Reaching your full potential. Wanting to be better.
Also, why should the top two graduates not be recognized? The have achieved excellence and done so good, why shouldn't they be recognized? Does it seem fair? I think it's ridiculous. Why? Because we are scared of hurting other students feelings. Oh please, if they really cared then they would have done better in the first place.
Do all students care about this issue the same way? No. I know that it may not be the most controversial issue but it is important.
Janet Cabbell,16, Class of 2010 senior at Red Lion Area Senior High School said, "I don think most care but if I was that person and I worked that hard I would like to be recognized."
Katherine Grimaldi, 16, Class of 2010 senior at Central York High School, said, "I think that the kids look forward to it (recognition), and work very hard and they should receive that award for all the effort and work put into it."
Both Red Lion and Central do not recognize the top two student's of the graduating class.
I am a senior at Central York High School. I may not be in the top of my class but I know the recognition of these students is important. I think that all schools should recognize a valedictorian and salutatorian. I don't think that naming these top two students creates a stressful and competitive environment in school because it's already there. Adding the recognition isn't going to change it or enhance it. Teens stress 24/7. We are always worried about stuff in school like if we are going to pass that test or have the same lunch as our best friend. And there is always competition around and competition is what makes us better. Most teens don't care about this issue as much as other teens but it doesn't mean this issue isn't important.

I guess it really is not that much fun to be in Canada for Independence Day. In Canada, they just call it day. When everyone in the United States waits for it to get dark to see fireworks and wave sparklers, Canadians just call it "night". What is even worse is when you are so close to the US border that you can actually see US land from where you are in Canada. On July 4th, you're so excited for the anniversary of your country's indepence: the food, family, swimming, playing games, using sparklers, and viewing fireworks. Unless you're in Canada. There really is no fun being an American on July 4th if you are in Canada.

Some Central York School District residents want the school board to vote on whether the district should honor its valedictorian and salutatorian (Read more). Right now, it is among a handful of districts in York and Adams counties that don't formally recognize students who have the top grade-point averages in their graduating class.

Some say the top students should be singled out. Others say that makes for unnecessary competition.

Members of our Teen Takeover staff weighed in on the issue:

I guess I should start with the normal blurb, my name is Morgen Snowadzky and I'm about to start my sophomore year this fall at Central York High School. Now that that lame stuff is out of the way I'll attempt to explain who Morgen is.
I spend my time laying in the grass writing in my black and white composition notebook, listening to random music, reading books about the early 1900's, being on the computer more than I should on facebook or Paint.NET, or running up and down a tennis court. My music taste ranges from neat acoustic stuff like Jason Mraz, Jack Johnson, and Eric Hutchinson to some weird stuff like Action Action and Motion City Soundtrack and then back to normal with the Beatles, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Eric Clapton. I love music and the people who make it, so of course my favorite band at the moment is The Tamboureens whom my talented friend plays bass for. My athletic participation involves my high school tennis team on which I hope to move up this year, I bike, and I run for fun. Yes, for fun. Computers are definitely a main source of entertainment for me. I am actually attempting to start a t-shirt design and printing business with my friend as silly as that may sound. To finish up, I have a deep love for art besides music including graphic design, paintings, and writing. I love to read and write. My favorite book so far is most likely The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls or The Reader by Bernhard Schlink. Creative writing pieces are my favorite but my writing can be a little dark, so I also like to write political editorial type stuff. I hope to be writer when I grow up and one day write a book, and live in a city like Philadelphia. I'll quit boring you so you can move on to my friend Kelsey's interesting entry.

Hi everyone, my name is Kelsey Kierce and I am a new member of the Teen Takeover staff. I'm fifteen years old and I am going to be a sophomore at Central York High School.

I guess I'll start with talking about my pet peeves, well actually my pet peeve. I only have one, and it's the obsession with the Twilight saga by Stephanie Meyer. I just don't understand it. I read all four books so I can honestly tell people that Twilight is stupid. I won't go into too much detail here about why I hate it; that can be saved for another blog post. Let me give you some more information about me.

I was born in Boston, MA and lived there until I was nine years old. So being from Boston, I am a big Red Sox fan. I like baseball because it's one of the few sports I can understand. Sports are not my thing. I can swim and play recreational basketball (not that well) but that's it. I don't have enough coordination to play any other sports. So instead of having amazing athletic skills, I have school skills. School is definitely where my strengths are. I am a straight A student and work hard to maintain that. I'm one of those people who likes school. I am concerned about my future and I want to get into a good college. So, I keep my grades up.

Outside of school, I am involved with my youth group. I play recreational basketball, like I mentioned. I love to babysit. I enjoy working with kids and hope to continue to do so. I love to read. My favorite series is Harry Potter, and I have met J.K. Rowling. Like most girls, I enjoy shopping and sappy chick flicks. I love chocolate and Starbucks probably more then I should. I also love to write. That's what got me interested in Teen Takeover. That, and the fact that I hope to pusue a career in journalism when I grow up. I am so excited for this oppurtunity and can't wait to get to know everyone!

The person writing this blog just happens to be Megan Snyder... one of the new members of the Teen Takeover Staff. I am 16 years old and am going to be a junior at Eastern York High School.

I play soccer and volleyball, my two favorite sports. I love singing and performing. I have taken dance lessons for 12 or 13 years (I lost count) which has included jazz, different types of ballet, modern, broadway, and acrobatics. I spend a lot of time volunteering and babysitting. I worked with the Kreutz Creek Valley Library's summer kids crafts since I did my bronze award for Girl Scouts a number of years ago and fell in love with it. In school, I am part of the yearbook staff, student council, science olympiad team, broadway knights, chorus, concert choir, and varsity club. School and my future are two things that are very important to me.

I personally think I am a lazy person, but other people disagree with me. You should know I am NOT a morning person. My friends now know not to text me before 7 a.m. during the school year because I will not answer them with anything other than "zZzZzZz sleeping!" I belong to Barbizon's Acting and Modeling Agency because acting and taking pictures is a passion of mine. I really love writing as well which is why I am so excited to be a part of the staff. I have been able to join activities for performing and sports but not writing, and now I am finally getting the opportunity. I am so excited for this new experience and meeting everyone.

Hi, my name is Scott Mokris and I am a new member of the Teen Takeover staff. I first learned about the Teen Takeover from my older brother, Jake, who used to be a member of the staff. I was born in California in 1992. In addition to my older brother Jake, I have a younger brother named Al, who is nine years old.

I am home-schooled and am a junior in high school. My favorite subjects are Chemistry and History. I collect coins and enjoy knowing what they are made of and how old they are. I also like studying old battles and the tactics used to win them.

My favorite pastime is reading. I have read many books, both good and bad. At one point in time, I was reading five books at once and was waiting for a sixth. My favorite author is Alexandre Dumas. I have read five of his books and find his characters are very imaginative and entertaining. Porthos, from The Three Musketeers books, is my favorite character. However, even though Dumas is my favorite author, my favorite book is Bartlett's Familiar Quotations.

Hey there. Melissa Colon here, a recent addition to the York Daily Record's Teen Takeover Staff, and I am ecstatic. I am 16 and I'll be 17 August 5. This coming school year I will be a senior at Central York High School and I am so anxious, good and bad anxiety. I am so ready for what the future has in store for me. I live everyday as if it's my last but not as if I can't plan for the future. Not to be clichéd but I am a very unique person. I have my own style, talk, and walk. I don't let others influence me and I stand firm on what I believe. Faith is important to me and faltering is something that I don't do. Well, I think that's enough for now. I'll be back again to fill you in some more.....