Texas possesses the dubious honor and distinction of having more inmates on death row than any other state. Now, the Legislature is considering the granting of further rights of execution in the form of the new legislation which bestows the right to kill in “presumption of self defense.”

Texans are universally identified with guns. More than once, I have had visitors from other parts of the country and the world remark on the number of pickup trucks with gun racks behind the seat: “With guns in them!”

There is a disturbing…]]> 2007-04-10T15:04:00-06:00 http://www.aikinarchives.org/index.php/academic/entries/the-mushroom-incident/ PJC Students By Jennifer LaRue

I’ve always been told that the average person doesn’t have the capability to recall memories before the age of three. However, this is not the case for me.

Maybe I can’t recall all the details of this memory, but I do remember something that stands out from my early childhood. My older sister (my only sister at the time) Andrea and I were playing outside in the backyard of our old house on Sycamore Street in Paris, Texas. My mother, Ella, was sitting on the back porch watching us play together when, for…]]> 2007-04-05T18:48:00-06:00 http://www.aikinarchives.org/index.php/academic/entries/memories-of-after-lunch-stories/ PJC Students By John A. Koehn

The earliest scene I can remember happened when I was approximately three years old (1989) at our home in Petty, Texas.

My mother, Catherine Leah Kanagy Koehn, quit working when her children were born so she could care for them. During my growing-up years, she would read stories to me, such as tales of Johnny Appleseed or Davy Crockett, almost every day after lunch, and I remember sitting beside her on the couch as she read to me.

While she read to me, she was feeding my sister, Melody, a…]]> 2007-04-05T18:41:00-06:00 http://www.aikinarchives.org/index.php/academic/entries/its-up-to-the-parents/ PJC Students By Samantha Robbecke

Like many other good things, especially on the Internet, MySpace does present certain dangers. It is hard not to find something these days that doesn’t pose some sort of threat to teens and young adults.

The word is out that millions of people, a majority being minor-aged teens, are using this Web site, so, of course, predators are predictably going to flock to MySpace. It has somewhat become the new carnival or city park, a place where teenagers and younger kids meet up, and older sexual predators take advantage of their “safe” surroundings.…]]> 2007-02-06T23:54:00-06:00 http://www.aikinarchives.org/index.php/academic/entries/be-careful-while-on-myspace/ PJC Students By Deborah Crowell

Although MySpace is a great time killer, I would have to agree with Tommy Felts (freelance columnist based in the Kansas City area) that it should be considered more a danger.

About two months ago, I started my own MySpace web page. I met lots of new people, got in touch with some old friends, and vented about my daily life. Every day I was eager to find out who had left me a comment or had messaged me.

It wasn’t too long before I started receiving messages that made me…]]> 2007-02-06T23:49:00-06:00 http://www.aikinarchives.org/index.php/academic/entries/stay-happy-stay-rural/ PJC Students By Sheryl Riley

I have spent all but eight years of my life outside the city limits of Paris, Texas, in the small community of Powderly. As a student, I couldn’t bring myself to leave this beautiful rural area. I figured that if I left and moved off to a busy city like Dallas, I would never be able to ponder, as I do, on the vast countryside.

When I ride along with someone going north on Highway 271, east or west on Highway 82, or hit the back roads, I always daydream and think about…]]> 2006-11-28T16:20:00-06:00 http://www.aikinarchives.org/index.php/academic/entries/the-cause-of-school-violence/ PJC Students By James Buchanan

An issue that really seems to bother me is where people put the blame for all the student violence in our schools. They want to point the finger at the media, popular music, and video games. These nationwide attacks haven’t been caused by these things. I believe that these attacks have been the aftermath of simple bad parenting.

Think about it. Thousands of children listen every day to “violent” music or watch “violent” movies, but only a handful of kids take guns to school. I’m a prime example. If this were true, I…]]> 2006-11-28T16:16:01-06:00 http://www.aikinarchives.org/index.php/academic/entries/home-where-theres-water/ PJC Students By Natasha Anderson

Something that I particularly like about my hometown in California is the water.

I like to surf because the water affects my emotions. Most of the time it’s calm with real radical waves, and this allows me to just let loose completely. Then, at other times, the water seems to be mad and gives me waves that are pretty dangerous to surf, but that’s the thrill of surfing.

I can’t really describe how that rush feels, but it feels so good sometimes until I’ve stayed out there all night, not even…]]> 2006-11-21T18:59:00-06:00 http://www.aikinarchives.org/index.php/academic/entries/skating-in-that-comfortable-place/ PJC Students By Winter Lockett

Have you ever had a place where you could go and just feel free from all the frustrating and stressful events that occur in life, and just get away from it all?

Maybe it’s a book in which you are absolutely engulfed and don’t want to put down because just maybe the characters’ lives seem a lot better than your own. Also, a simple walk down the road to clear your mind can make you feel as if you were free from it all. Or pick up a guitar and strum away a…]]> 2006-11-17T15:14:00-06:00 http://www.aikinarchives.org/index.php/academic/entries/of-bikes-and-inventions/ PJC Students By Jennifer Nelson

In the 1940s, when soldiers were stationed at Camp Maxey north of Paris, a man named John Alexander owned a building downtown in Paris. It was then known as Alexander’s Bicycle Shop, but is now known as the Texas Spud Shop.

Mr. Alexander worked on anything (but mostly bicycles). He was very talented when it came to bicycles. If you knew bicycles as well as my family does, you might know that he created one of the world’s most expensive bicycles - the Rocket bike. He built this bike and rented it out…]]> 2006-11-17T15:11:00-06:00 http://www.aikinarchives.org/index.php/academic/entries/global-warming-wont-disappear/ PJC Students By Justin Enox

Many organizations over the years have presented the idea of global warming, but almost all major political groups will either deny the problem or push it aside to deal with later. The few politicians that are complete supporters of all global warming acts presented for the EPA usually have their own motivation, and it is not the environment.

Many talk as if global warming will not produce severe environmental changes for many years. Sorry to burst their bubble, but the changes are already happening.

I have personally seen a very old…]]> 2006-11-17T14:51:00-06:00 http://www.aikinarchives.org/index.php/academic/entries/autumn-in-paris/ PJC Students By Chris Cutchie

Cold, miserable, and rainy. This is how I would describe Colchester, my hometown, to be like at this point on the calendar.

Yesterday, I played golf in shorts and a t-shirt. In comparison, my father said he wore a jumper, jacket, and waterproof trousers, along with a bobble hat.

I am definitely thinking about home a lot at the moment. I am still missing those home-cooked meals and just sleeping in my own bed.

The nights are starting to draw in now, and in all honesty, when it’s dark,…]]> 2006-11-02T14:29:00-06:00 http://www.aikinarchives.org/index.php/academic/entries/pjc-cheer/ PJC Students By Mandy Crawford

I’m a cheerleader at Paris Junior College. I’ve been cheering for Rivercrest ISD since the seventh grade, but I never really enjoyed it. I told myself that after high school, I would be done with cheerleading.

However, near the end of my senior year at Rivercrest, Patrick Waley, Corey David, Susy Bourland, and Matt Lambert, who all cheer at PJC, talked me into trying out for the 2006-2007 PJC squad. I figured why not? I’ll get a scholarship, and I’ll get to compete at nationals.

After tryouts, we had a short…]]> 2006-10-31T14:43:00-06:00 http://www.aikinarchives.org/index.php/academic/entries/casualty-on-the-home-front/ PJC Students By Joe Williams

Whether we can win the military war in Afghanistan and Iraq is still unclear. Our heroic soldiers are seemingly stuck in a dangerous and hostile environment amid a civil war that appears only to be getting worse.

Our inability to maintain control of the situation only emboldens our other enemies, like Iran and North Korea.

But one thing is for sure: We have lost our innocence and a level of our personal freedom. The attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon have left us all…]]> 2006-10-27T15:25:00-06:00 http://www.aikinarchives.org/index.php/academic/entries/my-military-career/ PJC Students By Shad Allen

I served in the U.S. Army from October 1994 to October 1998. I went to boot camp in Fort Lawton, Okla., where I trained for 13 weeks and finished on Feb. 16, 1995. Then I went to my duty station at Fort Campbell, Ky.

I was a cannon crew member and did maintenance on my tank, and we shot fire missions down field on targets over 10 to 15 miles that we could not see. Surveys told us how to adjust our next projectile to hit our targets.

I also did…]]> 2006-10-27T15:20:00-06:00 http://www.aikinarchives.org/index.php/academic/entries/the-challenge-of-the-races/ PJC Students By Jennifer Williams

Have you ever wondered why people think the way they do? Well, I have.

The show Survivor this year is based on racial groups. They took four different races and put them in challenges against one another. I think that is pretty cool, but on the other hand, people get upset about it.

Why do they get upset? It’s just a game. Are they scared that their race might not win? I am as white as white can get, and I am pretty sure that the white people will lose. I…]]> 2006-10-26T16:13:00-06:00 http://www.aikinarchives.org/index.php/academic/entries/still-picking-up-the-lingo/ PJC Students By Chris Cutchie

Waking up in a different bed is weird for a lot of people, but waking up in a bed 6,000 miles away from your real home is surreal for me, as I have not been away from home that often. I have been here nearly three weeks, and the feeling is still there. The accents are a lot more common to me now, but I am still asked regularly if I would just “talk” by a lot of people.

My accent must be a little strange to many people that I know in…]]> 2006-10-25T13:23:00-06:00 http://www.aikinarchives.org/index.php/academic/entries/justin-owens-set-an-example-for-bonham/ PJC Students By Casey Hill

The Justin Owens Scholarship is a big part of the Bonham High School. Justin (pictured) was a great-hearted kid with a loving family and a knack for playing football. In December of 2005 Justin died from leukemia, a blood cancer, and that day marks a time in the history of Bonham High School.

Justin was the type of person who has a big heart and thrives to achieve and make everything out of life he can. He was a hard-working kid and took school and sports very seriously. Every morning Justin would be…]]> 2006-09-29T14:34:00-06:00 http://www.aikinarchives.org/index.php/academic/entries/fortunate-to-be-a-texan/ PJC Students By Virginia Castillo

Ever stop to wonder how life in Texas is way different than life in Mexico? Well, there is a huge difference: Texas offers a lot of programs to help the needy. This is something Mexico does not offer, making life harder for the needy.

If you ever go to Mexico, you will be shocked to see how many men, women, and children are out in the middle of traffic, asking for some spare change. They have their reasons. They are either hungry or they need the money to feed their kids and pay…]]> 2006-09-28T16:26:00-06:00 http://www.aikinarchives.org/index.php/academic/entries/circus-city-usa/ PJC Students By Calett Morris

I was in a convenience store one day when an older lady came in and asked the clerk about the location of our town cemetery. She had heard from a source that Hugo, Oklahoma, was a place to stop and see unusual grave markings.

I thought it was odd, at first, as I had lived here for some time but just had not made it a point to see the cemetery. For some reason, the older generation, or so it seems to me, likes to do that kind of “stuff.”

I…]]> 2006-09-28T15:42:00-06:00