Talia Zadeh and Andrea Conover

Assistant Editor-in-Chief and Copy Editor
After Spring Break, students came back to OHS and noticed some new additions such as new tables in the cafeteria, carpet in the entryways, and flat-screen monitors in the hallways. While the reasons for the first two additions are relatively self-explanatory, many Orono students have been questioning the purpose for the flat-screens. The answer is a simple need for more efficent communication between students and the office.
The Bulletenizer is a digital monitor that serves its main purpose as reducing the amount of kids getting called to the office on a daily basis.
“Minimizing the use of the PA system is one of the school’s main priorities right now. We realize the disturbance caused to classes,” stated Principal David Benson. Benson added that he hopes students will adapt to it fast, and that the strategic placement of the screens will make them easily seen by students.
“We’ve added two in the cafeteria, two on the main floor, one on both the second and third floor, and one in each office,” stated Benson.

Benson said the idea was adopted from another high school that used this method. Orono has been looking for some sort of system for the past few years, but could not put it in because the high school did not have the correct wiring for it.
After the school’s remodel that took place over the summer, the Bulletenizer plan could finally be put in place. Benson stated that the total cost for all the monitors, program, and the new server came to be about $18,000 from donated money.
Benson also stated that the system will “create efficiencies with its ability to give different people the access necessary to submit bulletins from their own computer that will appear on the display.” Teachers and coaches will be able to create a digital announcement relating to their class or activity, and send it to the screens nearly instantaneously.
Students have mixed feelings about the new system. “People have their habits of walking down the hall, looking wherever they normally do, and adding the announcement TVs isn’t part of their routine. I know I haven’t looked at them at all, ” Sophomore Josh Surver stated
Junior Kelsie Quast is undecided, saying, “I think it’s a good idea because no one listens to the announcements and for the students who actually do listen, it’s hard for them to hear, but I think there’s a problem because it’s awkward to stand in the middle of the hallway to read them.”

Sophomore Sean Boyle agreed, “I don’t like that everyone’s going to have to crowd around a TV everyday to see if a practice is cancelled or something like that.” The reality is, there are potential problems with both systems, but the TVs have not been put into full use yet, so no one quite knows how they will like the new approach.  Sophomore, Emily Johnson says, “I guess we’ll see if it’s better. Who knows?”
For students who are worried about missing Benson’s fun and funny anouncemnets at the end of the day, have no fear. Benson stated, he will continue his announcements in addition because he “likes to give the morning and end of the day announcements.”
Many students have noticed that after winter break, that there was no more school Wi-Fi to use. “I bring my computer to school a lot and because many of my classes use Google docs, I’d like to be able to go on there again,” stated Mackenzie Carslon. Benson shed some light on why Internet is now locked.
“We would ideally love to have to students be able to use the Wi-Fi, but after winter break, people came back with all there new gadgets, and the Wi-Fi became so slow it crashed.

If we could buy enough bandwidth to support the whole school we would, but we can’t right now. We are hoping that when Old Crystal Bay Road is redone, they will put in fiber optic cables allowing us to get the bandwidth, but we will just have to wait and see what happens,” explained Benson.