Student Blogger
Over the past few weeks, in the old parking lot at Sonoma Valley High School, behind the little theater, a giant tree has shot up, a redwood they say. I remember my first encounter with this tree, long ago, way back in last semester when I still had two years of high school to finish; now I have only a year and a half. It was in French class. We were speaking French, or at least trying to speak French. The steady buzz of a jackhammer wafted through the room, tangling with our broken je suis fatigués and ou est les toilettes, s’il vous plaits. “What are they building back there?” someone asked. A swimming pool? A set of lockers? A warehouse to store old art projects? Madame Warin wasn’t sure. But she’d heard that it might be a cell phone tower. “A cell phone tower?” we said. A cell phone tower? Why didn’t anyone know? Why hadn’t we been informed? After school, I asked Mr. Moll what exactly it was that they were building. He verified. “It’s a cell phone tower,” he said. “But it’s going to be made to look like a redwood tree.” Wow. A real, live redwood tree at Sonoma Valley High School. Wait. It’s not live. It’s not real. It’s not even a tree. But it is made out of wood that’s red. That’s a plus. The giant redwood tree, as it’s called, has been met with mixed reviews. Some think it’s kind of cool, kind of cute, kind of endearing. “We might be known for it,” I overheard someone saying. Sonoma Valley High School: Home of the Fake Giant Redwood Tree That is A Cell Phone Tower As Well. Said Matt Versaggi, “The tree looks really fake and it’s kind of ironic that they’re putting up a cell phone tower, but they don’t want us to have cell phones at school.” I’d have to agree. They did their best, but all of the branches curve up at the exact same angle and are distributed evenly about the trunk. In fact, this fake redwood tree will be perfect for practicing one’s tree-climbing skills – kind of like fake rock climbing. “The fact that the school is putting up a cell phone tower for money, without regard to the students’ health is ridiculous,” said junior Luke Salmas. Health or money – which is more important in this economic downturn?
