History, Origins, Myths, and Superstitions of the Unlucky Day > PG 6
thewarriorbeat
Vol. 53, Issue 6 March 6, 2015 Oak Grove High School www.thewarriorbeat.com
INSIDE OGHS students earn top honors HALL OF FAME
Foreign Affairs:
Katie Bostick
Jonathan Brent
Drew Burnham
Yulianna Jimenez
Samantha Papp
Jennifer Sappington
Cole Sisson
Duncan Thomas
Anna Kate Karstens Elizabeth Lawhead
Should the U.S. get involved? > PG 5
On the diamond
Warrior baseball gets season started > PG 3
Disney Damsels
Are Disney princesses sending a feminist message? > PG 10
Jillian Walters
STAR STUDENTS
By: Lucy Pruitt Staff Reporter @LucyLu_Too
Each school year, Oak Grove High School, among other schools in the area, selects one or more students to be named Star Student or be inducted into the Oak Grove Elizabeth Lawhead Hall of Fame. The Star Student is the senior who has achieved the highest composite score on the ACT, and this award is perhaps the highest academic honor granted to high school students. Hall of Fame is a group of students who represent everything an Oak Grove Warrior should be. Adding such prestigious recognition and awards to these recipients’ already packed resumés can be very useful in the college application process and open up even more scholarship opportunities. Many colleges even have special scholarships for those who are awarded. The honorable inductees into the Oak Grove Hall of Fame in 2015 are as follows: Katie Bostick, Jonathan Brent, Drew Burnham, Yulianna Jimenez, Anna Kate Karstens, Elizabeth Lawhead, Samantha Papp, Jennifer Sappington, Cole Sisson, Duncan Thomas, Jessica Tran, and Jillian Walters. The recipient of the Golden Scepter is Evan Woods, who helped write and starred in the award-winning drama production Zhengtu. Astoundingly, the 2014-2015 senior class produced not one, but four Star Students: Nick Sciortino, Jake Roberts, Elizabeth Lawhead, and Cole Sisson. Oak Grove’s classes of 2014 and 2015 now hold
Jessica Tran
Jake Roberts
Nick Sciortino
Cole Sisson
GOLDEN SCEPTER
the record for the highest number of Star Students in the area. Once the students are named Star Students, each has an opportunity to choose a Star Teacher as well. The Star Teachers are chosen by Evan Woods their respective Star Students based on the contribution the Students believe the teachers made on students’ lives, education, and academic career. In a way, being named Star Teacher is a thank you from the students who believe those teachers made a direct impact on their becoming Star Students. Sciortino chose Calculus teacher Suzie Welch. Roberts chose Humanities and AP Language teacher Andrea Clark. Lawhead chose history teacher Elyse Rieder. Sisson chose former accelerated English teacher Ann Shoemake. Students all throughout the school anticipate both Hall of Fame and Star Student selections, and Oak Grove could not be prouder of the recipients.
OG welcomes new table top gaming club By: Christian Rapetti Staff Reporter @c_rapetti
When it comes to extracurricular activities, Oak Grove has them all. This year alone, a number of different students have approached Principal Helen Price to start their own clubs, from bass fishing to ultimate frisbee, but the most surprising out of the bunch is the new addition of a tabletop gaming club. According to the club’s sponsor, John Cowan, the club was originally started as an after school Dungeons and Dragons game. “I was approached by a number of students with the idea of an afternoon Dungeons and Dragons club. I suggested expanding it to tabletop gaming in general, but it was a student idea.” Not only will this club spend time on Dungeons and Dragons, but they will also be playing a number of other tabletop games. “A ton of different games fall into the genre of tabletop games. Most students now are interested in Dungeons and Dragons, but we will likely expand into other games in the future. Even classic board games like Settlers of Catan or Risk are welcome, See NEW CLUB > PG2
Beta travels to state convention March to military Senior accepted to West Point > PG 8
Does love have an age limit?
Beware of becoming jail bait > PG 4
in Division I Math; and Jason Guo, 2nd place in Division I Science. Cole Sisson is also a fiThis year, Oak Grove Beta nalist in receiving a $500 senior Club can boast multiple wins scholarship. in various academic categories. The overall goal of Beta Club OGHS travelled to Tupelo for is to strengthen the ideals of the annual state convention academics and help students where schools competed for branch out and participate in state recognition. The top three community service projects. winners from each division will With a large outreach that then advance to the National has helped an immeasurable Beta convention in Nashville amount of people over the years, where they will contend for Beta has become a positive asthe coveted first pect in students’ lives. “Beta has place title. This really helped Beta has really helped year OGHS has me reach out me reach out and five students eliget involved with the and get ingible to move on to the community, service, and volved with national convention: volunteer work.” the commuAna Chua, 2nd place - Erin Cox, 10 nity, service, in Division II Spelland voluning; Cole Sisson, 1st place in teer work,” Erin Cox, sophoDivision II Science; Matthew more Beta member, said. One Guillot, 2nd place in Division of the largest nonprofit youth II Math; Allen Huang, 1st place organizations in the country, By: Grace Wilkes Staff Reporter
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BETA BELIEVE IT Matthew Guillot, 12, Jason Guo, 10, Ana Chua, 12, Cole Sisson, 12, and Allen Huang, 10, show off their academic awards at the state Beta convention held in Tupelo, MS.
Beta invites students with high academics standards between 4th and 12th grade to become members. With clubs all over the nation, some even in other countries, Beta has actively helped thousands of people with the community outreach programs since 1934. Besides volunteer work opportunities,
Beta Club also offers over $300,000 in scholarships for high school seniors each year. While the scholarships indeed help seniors pay for college, they are not what the club is all about. The National Beta Club empowers students through achievement, character, leadership, and service.
2 news
March 6, 2015
coming MSO advances to state competition
UP O By: Oliva Diaz Staff Reporter
Softball @ North Pike MARCH 6 Track @ USM MARCH 6 Varsity Baseball @ Home MARCH 6 Drama heads to SETC MARCH 6 JV Baseball @ Purvis MARCH 7 Baseball @ Sumrall MARCH 7 Spring Break MARCH 9-13 JV Baseball @ Sumrall MARCH 9 Baseball @ Sumrall vs. St. Stanislaus MARCH 9 Softball @ Petal Tournament MARCH 9-10 JV & Varsity Baseball @ FCAHS MARCH 13 JV & Varsity Baseball @ Gulfport MARCH 14 Track @ Hattiesburg MARCH 16 9th Grade Baseball @ West Jones MARCH 16 JV & Varsity Baseball @ Meridian MARCH 17 JV & Varsity Softball vs. South Pike MARCH 17 Golf @ Picayune Tourn. MARCH 19 Track @ Petal MARCH 19 JV Baseball vs. West Jones MARCH 19 JV, Varsity Baseball vs. Meridian MARCH 20 JV, Varsity Softball vs. North Pike MARCH 20 Varsity Fastpitch Softball vs. Petal MARCH 23 9th Grade Baseball vs. Petal MARCH 23 Varsity Baseball vs. Brandon MARCH 24 Track @ Petal MARCH 26 Football Cheer Tryouts MARCH 25-27 OGHS Prom MARCH 28 Varsity Baseball @ Brandon MARCH 27 9th Grade Baseball vs. Sumrall MARCH 30 JV Fastpitch Softball vs. South Pike MARCH 31
n Saturday, February 21, at Pearl River Community College, Oak Grove High School’s Mississippi Science Olympiad club won first place overall at the Gulf South Regionals Competition. They will advance to the State Competition on Friday, March 27, at the University of Southern Mississippi. OG’s MSO team consists of students from all grades. Chemistry teacher and MSO sponsor Mark Holcomb took several MSO members to the competition, and they placed in a number of categories. Sophomores Sumar Buti and Clara Ellis won first place in Geologic Mapping, and seniors Carina Chen and Kyle Moss won first place in Chemistry Lab. This competition had students compete in a series of events involving the five areas
of science: Earth and Space Science, Life Science, Physical Science and Chemistry, Inquiry and Nature of Science, and Technology and Engineering. Many of the events require students to take a written test, while some require students to test the devices they had to built ahead of time. The state competition will be similar to the regionals, but the state competition will have twice as many events for students to battle in that day. The competition threw some curveballs at the team. Holcomb reported that a plane of theirs broke the day before the competition, forcing the team to improvise, and some of the tests were off-topic from what they were told the tests would be like. Nevertheless, the curveballs’ attempts at slowing the team were all in vain. “Since this is our second year doing MSO,” Holcomb said, “we learned from our mistakes last year.” MSO members and other
OGHS students also performed exceptionally well in the Regional Science Fair on Thursday, February 12, at USM. Juniors Samantha Hawkins and Brianna Weiss won first place in eleventh and twelfth grade Engineering. All of the members involved in the science fair will move on to the state competition, which will be on Tuesday, March 24. Sophomore Allen Huang won first place in ninth and tenth grade Biochemistry and the United States Metric Award. Sophomore Jason Guo won first place in the ninth and tenth grade Medicine and Health and the Society for In Vitro Biology Award. Both of these participants are finalists for the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (Intel ISEF) National Science Fair in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. ISEF often chooses seniors to participate, so Holcomb considers this is a huge achievement.
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NEW CLUB Continued from PG1
but it will always be a student decision,” Cowan said. One of the students that approached Cowen was junior Jacob Austin. “Awesome games like Dungeons and Dragons should not be swept under the rug in the social world. It is meant to be shared with anyone who wants it. Also, I wanted an easy place to go to for Dungeons and Dragons, so why not pick the nerdiest teacher to help out,” Austin said. Another student helped to start the club was junior Tanner Arroyo. Arroyo’s purpose was not as much to play games, but more to bring students together to have a
beat’s bits
good time. “I wanted to have a club where all the nerds and social outcasts could get together and meet other nerds and social outcasts to make new friends and have a good time together.” Unlike simple board games, tabletop games like Dungeons and Dragons and Risk are harder to learn. They require time and patience to fully understand the complexities of the game. “Because we’re starting with Dungeons and Dragons, things
WINNER WINNER Members of OGHS”s MSO team placed first at their regional competition at Pearl River Community College on February 21. PICTURED: Row 1: Clara Ellis, 10 Row 2: Sumar Buti, 10; Kyra Johnson, 9; Nick Sciortino, 12; Samer Buti, 12; Tia Bullock, 12 Row 3: Jennie Nguyen, 11; Karissa Davis, 12; Julianna Hinton, 9 Row 4: Shay Jones, 12; Allen Huang, 10; Kyle Moss, 12; Andrew Sanford, 11
can be slow because players have to learn some of the basics of the game, so more experienced players have been helping new players so far,” Cowen said. According to Cowen, even he is a beginner to tabletop games. There are only about twenty members so far, but their numbers are growing. The club meets after school on Thursdays in Cowan’s room from 4:00 p.m. to 5:45 p.m.
NEWS
Show choir takes third at Petal Invitational By: Grace Wilkes Staff Reporter
Though not their highest placing this season, the Oak Grove CenterStage show choir’s third place spot in the Petal Show Choir Invitational was debatably their best placing of the season. “Show Choir is strange in that you compete against totally different groups every week,” said sophomore Hadley Fortenberry. “The Petal competition was definitely our toughest competition yet, and we beat some really good groups.” Among the top three were Wheaton Warronville High School from Wheaton, Illinois, and Homewood High School from Homewood, Alabama. Wheaton Warronville’s Classics are two-time Fame National Champions, and Oak Grove was honored to have scored higher in the choreography section of the competition, winning overall best visuals. “This is the strongest group of guys we have had,” boys dance captain Cameron Cloud said. “They’ve worked hard to get where they are.” The girls were no exception to this year’s ongoing hard work. “We have had our ups and downs, but I am so proud of how far this group has come. To beat a group like Wheaton in choreography is incredible,” girls dance captain Taylor Parsons said. Members of the Classics joined in the shock. Senior Patrick Anderson said, “I thought [Oak Grove] was going to beat us, but their taking best visuals was a surprise for us. We were proud for them, though.” Many of the Oak Grove members pride themselves more on the Best Visuals award than the 3rd place overall. CenterStage will compete two more times. They will compete in Enterprise, Alabama, this weekend and later in Orlando, Florida, at the Hard Rock Live in Universal Studios. “We are excited to end this season with a bang,” senior Karlyn Purvis said. “Our hard work is finally paying off, and we hope it continues to do so.”
By: Emily Burnett | Staff Reporter | @emily_a_burnett
JUSTICE FOR SNIPER CHRIS KYLE
ISIS BRUTALITY CONTINUES
ARE NO STATE TESTS A GOOD THING?
The former Navy SEAL and the most deadly American sniper in history Chris Kyle and friend Chad Littlefield were shot and killed by Eddie Ray Routh on a shooting range in Fort Worth on February 2, 2013. Routh is an Iraq war veteran and struggles with Post-Traumatic stress disorder. Despite his mental instability, Routh has been found guilty of capital murder after his trial. Jerry Richardson, Littlefield’s stepbrother, has released a statement directed towards Routh, “Because of you and your irresponsible choices, we have lost a great son, brother, father, and uncle. Your inhumanity and disregard for life have put you in a world from which you will never escape.” Routh will live the rest of his life in prison without parole.
ISIS continues to take more Christians hostage. Since the beheadings of fourteen Christian men, ISIS militants have kidnapped approximately 150 Christian women, elderly, and children. “The Islamic State is losing in several areas, so they want to keep waging attacks on new areas,” Jordanian general Fayez Dwiri said. As of now, many of these Christians are fleeing their villages and seeking safety from the ISIS soldiers. The Syrian Kurdish militia has launched two offensives in Syria, partnered with U.S. air strikes and Iraqi peshmerga. The northeast region of Iraq is controlled by the Islamic State.
Many Mississippi students have taken a sigh of relief after learning that the previous requirement to pass all standardized tests to graduate has been lifted. However, students are still required to take the four subject area tests in Algebra I, Biology, English II, and U.S. History. Many have advocated for juniors to solely rely on the ACT for college readiness since colleges generally base students’ success through ACT scores. However, some are concerned that the ACT does not cover important subjects such as history and previous knowledge of biology like subject area tests do.
March 6, 2015
Strong pitching gets Warrior baseball season off to good start By: Jonathan Brent Staff Reporter @JonathanLeBrent
Fresh off their 11th State Championship in school history, the Oak Grove Warrior baseball team kicked off its 2015 season in victorious fashion this past weekend in Purvis, giving up zero runs in the process. The Warriors opened the season Friday night against crosstown rival PCS. The game was scoreless going into the third inning, where the Warriors got one on the board thanks in large part to walks. Then in the top of the fifth, senior JC Keys brought two runners home with a single to make the score 3-0 in favor of the black and gold. Then in the top of the seventh, junior Austin O’Flynn brought home two more with a double to the left field gap to make it 5-0. The score stayed just that for the final because Warrior pitching was lights-out. Keys and fellow senior Ryan Cullop combined for a no hitter against the Bobcats. “Everything was working for me. I was hitting my spots. My fastball was electric, and my curveball was bending right. Defensively, we were “A1” (perfect),” Keys said. Keys is committed to play baseball at Pearl River Community College next year. Pitching and defense was
the same story Saturday as the Warriors took on Columbia. The Warriors started off the game hot with two runs in the first inning from a JC Keys double and a Drew Boyd sacrifice fly. The score stayed the same all the way until the sixth inning when Reed Simon added a pinch-hit RBI single to make it 3-0. Drew Boyd and Cullop combined to throw a 5-hit shutout. Boyd threw 6-plus innings while Cullop came in to close out the seventh. The two combined for 7 strikeouts. “Two games and two wins is a good start, but we need to be more solid at the plate as a team. I feel like it will all come together in time. It’s a long season,” junior centerfielder Daniel Moore said after the opening weekend of games. The Warriors will play in a tournament in Seminary this week before hosting their first home game tonight against MRA. First pitch is set for a 6:00 p.m. start at Harry Breland field. The black and gold will then conclude the weekend with a big rivalry game in Sumrall on Saturday. That first pitch is slated for 7:00 p.m. at Larry Knight Field.
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GET IT STARTED TOP: Senior second baseman Lakon Wilson dives to catch a popped-bunt against Seminary. Wilson recorded the out and the Warriors recorded the victory 8-2.BOTTOM: Junior center fielder Daniel Moore takes a swing at a ball against Seminary this past Tuesday.
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Warrior basketball comes to an end By: Drew Herring Staff Reporter @drew_herring2
In the first round of the 6A district basketball tournament in the middle of February, the Lady Warriors were defeated by the Petal Panthers. The Warriors fought hard but came up just short. This was a rebuilding year for the Lady Warriors. After the game, Coach Mark Swindle said, “I’m very proud of how this team fought this year. They played hard and never gave up. I just wish we could’ve had a better outcome.” The team plans
to come back stronger and better next year to make a run for the state championship. In the first round of the boys 6A district tournament, however, the boys Warrior team experienced something special and unforgettable. The Warriors played to the best of their abilities against the very talented Biloxi team, but they found themselves losing by nine points in the 3rd quarter. The Warriors were determined not to give up, a value that Coach LaRon Brumfield has instilled in their minds. After well-coordinated teamwork, the Warriors found them-
selves in a tied ballgame with only a few seconds left (55-55) in the 4th quarter. The Warriors drew up their final play of the game, deciding to shoot one last time. Senior Ashton Pierce shot a 3-pointer with only 3.9 seconds left, which went in and carried the Warriors over Biloxi by a score of 58-55. After the game, Brumfield said, “I’m still in shock! I can’t believe that actually just happened. I’m one proud coach.” Ashton Pierce was ecstatic and proud of his teammates for their determination and attitude. In the second round of the tournament, the Warriors faced
their crosstown rivals, the Hattiesburg High Tigers. The stage was set for a great game, and both teams were aware of the stakes. Neither team was ready to give up its hopes of being champions. The Warriors unfortunately could not find a way to pull out a win, but they left everything that they had out on the court. The final score was 69-66. After the game, Coach Brumfield said, “I’m so proud of these guys. They never gave up. I’m thankful for these seniors, and I’m sad to see them go. Now I know what the Duke versus North Carolina games feel like. That was the best basketball atmosphere I have ever been in. My team fought hard this entire season, and I’m looking forward to our future. It’s a bright one.” While leading his team to a regular season record of 16-9, Brumfield made it very clear to his team that he had certain expectations for them. He wanted them to play to the very best of their abilities each and every game, and he wanted them to play hard each and every minute. He attributes a large portion of the success that the Warriors experienced this year to senior leadership. This was Brumfield’s first season as head coach for the Warriors, and it has been made evident that he will bring success to the basketball program at OGHS. WARRIORS IN THE PAINT
MARY MORGAN GRATWICK PHOTO
MARY MORGAN GRATWICK PHOTO
LEFT: Senior Damian Husband fights for the rebound against two Hattiesburg defenders. RIGHT: Senior Ashton Pierce goes up for a lay up as he gets fouled by a Hattiesburg defender. The Warriors fell to the Tigers 69-66 in the second round of the MHSAA 6A state playoffs.
sports 3
Bleacher Report
By: Jonathan Brent | SPORTS EDITOR
This is the time of year in the professional sports world that I like to call the dead period, except for basketball. Now I love college basketball as much as the next guy, but there has to be some baseball or football thrown in with it to fully enjoy it. NBA? Not so much. March is finally here, and that means March Madness is about to kick into full gear. As unpredictable as the month of March is in the college basketball world, one thing has been constant this season: Kentucky victories. Much to my dismay, the Wildcats from Lexington have started off the year with an unbelievable 29-0 record. They are led in scoring by Moss Point native Devin Booker, a true freshman. My Duke Blue Devils are currently ranked #3 in the polls and are fresh off an overtime victory over arch-rival North Carolina. The February 18 game was an instant classic, best rivalry in college sports by far. Hopefully Duke will get the best of Kentucky in the National Championship in April, but teams like Virginia, Villanova, Wisconsin and Wichita State all could change that. Until then, I’ll be doing research preparing to fill out my bracket this year to win the million. LOL. In the NBA world, the Atlanta Hawks and Golden State Warriors are running away with the Eastern and Western Conferences respectively. This is interesting because these two teams are not regulars atop the standings year in and year out. One of the big reasons for the Warrior’s success this year is Stephen Curry’s MVP-worthy season thus far. The Hawks keep winning games with solid defense and spreading the ball around. They have five guys averaging double figures in scoring; I repeat, five. In fact, they didn’t lose a game in the month of January, winning 19 straight, a season high. Two of the hot debates in the NBA right now are the best shooter and the best overall player in the league. On Valentine’s Day, one of these debates was almost directly resolved. The three-point competition held in Brooklyn had as stacked of field of competitors as I’ve ever seen. Guys like Steph Curry, James Harden, Kyle Korver, Klay Thompson, Kyrie Irving, and Marco Belinelli all took the stage to try to end the debate. In the end it was none other but Steph Curry edging out Kyrie Irving and fellow “Splash-Bro” and teammate Klay Thompson for the victory. Curry now brings us to the next debate, the one for MVP. He, Lebron, and James Harden are the three who are up for consideration right now. This past Sunday, Harden edged out Lebron in an overtime shootout 105-103. Harden earned my vote for MVP after that game, with Curry a close second. I personally think Lebron’s getting old and he’s hitting the homestretch of his prime. Gosh I can just hear Stephen A. Smith’s distinct voice just thinking about this, as much as he loves the NBA, and arguing for that matter. Players just reported for MLB Spring Training, so hopefully I can talk about America’s Pastime more in next issue. Until then, March Madness will reign supreme. Deuces.
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March 6 2015
opinion
OPINION
age ISN’T but a number
By: Alyssa Bass Staff Reporter @sassyaly_
thewarriorbeat The views and opinions expressed on this page are of an editorial nature and do not necessarily represent the views of The Warrior Beat staff, advisers, school faculty, or administrators of Oak Grove High School or the Lamar County School District. Oak Grove High School 5198 Old Highway 11 Hattiesburg, MS 39402 601.264.7232
In the wake of Amber Rose’s interview on the Breakfast Club 105.1 radio station in which she explicitly stated her dislike of 25 year-old rapper Tyga’a and 17year old Kardashian sister Kylie Jenner’s relationship, the conversation of age appropriate dating has been everywhere. While it has been said that Kylie’s mother Kris Jenner has given Kylie consent, the relationship brings an outsider discomfort and rightfully so. The reasons why a 25-year-old man with a child would desire to date a girl who hasn’t even finished high school yet don’t add up. I suppose Kylie and Tyga’s relationship falls more easily into place than the average “little people” relationship. For starters, they both have acquired the same level of social status, and if Kylie didn’t have that status, social services would probably be keeping up with the Kardashians. They’re both affluent, and therefore can afford to go on a date at the swipe of a credit card. But then one must also take into consideration the biggest factor of all: that the adult in the relationship,Tyga, didn’t make the responsible decision to opt out. The potential of going to jail can be so hard to resist when dating jail bait, so older partners are quick to find reasons to justify their “love.” Those who choose
TAYLOR PARSONS ARTWORK
to engage in underage relationships tend to use levels of maturity as their defense for dating someone who could easily be mistaken for their child. However, the obsession with maturity is not only shared by adult offenders but also by teens. It’s a common theory you can find in any high school hallway that teens, specifically teenage girls, strongly believe older partners are not only more mature, but also smarter and more attractive than their peers. It’s partially understandable. The only other option seems to be to date that obnoxious, “ball is life” guy from math class. The college guy who actually seems to know how to wash his face and talk intelli-
gently seems to be the obvious choice. Right? It’s a no brainer. Being interested in someone older is not weird; it is human. However, no matter the supposed high maturity level, underage dating is not acceptable. As teens, we easily adopt a carefree attitude and believe we can take on the world when we’re just beginning to develop reasoning skills. It’s too easy for teens to be taken advantage of while dating an older partner even when it might be unintentional. Older partners often have expectations that teens more often than not aren’t ready to meet, which can lead to the unthinkable (a quick Google search of underage dating statistics will lead you to
numerous teen dating violence and sexual abuse websites). The constant internal struggle of validating having maturity and intelligence equal or greater than that of the partner is sure to be overwhelming. In an article entitled “Dating Older Guys: Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Them and Weren’t At All Afraid to Ask” by Huffington Post writer Amy Rose Spiegel, Spiegel tells readers her about 15-year-old romance with a 28-year-old. Spiegel said, “I was so thrilled to be able to talk to my boyfriend about literature ’n’ stuff that I didn’t really notice that he wasn’t talking to me so much as he was talking down to me. This strikes me now as enormously pathetic some dude almost in his 30s needing to prove how smart and learned he was to someone who wasn’t old enough to drive.” During teenage years, the dating age range should be fairly small. There is plenty of time to date older people in adulthood. While peers may seem unworthy to even be breathing the same air, it is better to experience those totally cliche teenage romance moments for the first time with someone who is trying to figure out the beautiful complicated mess of teenage love right.
pgrade or dow grade? By: Grace Wilkes | Staff Reporter
Last summer, Oak Grove started work on the larger-than-life idea of a multipurpose center that outdoes even Oak Grove Primary auditorium’s daunting size. Now in the final stages of completion, the outside of OGHS’s campus looks as though it’s doubled in size. The excitement of finally getting to use the new building paired with finally getting rid of that giant mud puddle makes the unveiling of the new half of the high school all the better.
Construction: One year later and we’re almost done upgrade
downgrade Cat memes Okay, people, Grumpy Cat was funny for maybe three seconds, and that’s pushing it. For some reason though, pictures of cats that are supposedly “funny” still seem to keep coming. The Internet has been drowning in cat memes for a long time, and you’d think the fad would eventually die down, but instead, I think it’s gotten worse. I get it; they’re cute, but it’s been close to three years now, and the whole cheesy-cat-joke just is not working. But that make me wonder: did it ever?
www.oakgrovehighschool.org EDITORS Taylor Parsons, Katie Williams STAFF REPORTERS Samantha Papp Casey Ford Christian Rapetti Lucy Pruitt Abby Nguyen Alyssa Bass Mary Morgan Gratwick Olivia Diaz Emily Burnett Hannah Lee Grace Wilkes Mozingo Jonathan Brent Jenna Clair Lee Drew Herring DESIGNERS Tia Bullock Andrew Rigel PHOTOGRAPHERS Mary Morgan Gratwick Mycah Kennedy ADVISER Joy Davis
This year Oak Grove offered juniors the opportunity to take the ACT test at the school on March 3. The usually $38 test will be free for all students in the 11th grade. It’s a great opportunity for students who often can not afford the standardized test. While this is the first year Oak Grove is offering this, upcoming juniors hope to have the same opportunity.
Juniors get free ACT upgrade
downgrade Selfie Stick
Selfies are great; don’t get me wrong. We all struggle to find that perfect angle, too. Still, a selfie stick? Guys, that’s just lazy. Instead of going out and paying for a stick, can we all just try stretching out our arms a little farther? Or we can even get creative by setting the camera on a table and backing up, but please don’t pay money for a stick. That’s just wrong.
March 6, 2015
opinion 5
Should the U.S. get involved in foreign affairs?
TAYLOR PARSONS ARTWORK
S
Land of the free, home of our own problems
The world according to High School Musical
By: Katie Williams Editor @Katiewilliams97
By: Abby Nguyen Staff Reporter @2BusyBeingAbby
ince President Theodore Roosevelt’s “Big Stick” speech in 1901, the United States has always taken on the role of being a world police officer. Is the Roosevelt Corollary really the best policy though? Should the United States get involved in issues that are not our own? I believe that the United States should not intervene in all foreign affairs. We need to get rid of Teddy Roosevelt’s “Big Stick” Diplomacy and work on the many issues we face domestically. The U.S. should only get involved when the issues directly compromise the welfare of the U.S., like the issue of many Americans being captured and killed by the extremists of the ISIS terrorist group. At its peak, the “Big Stick” ideology was used to prevent the spread of communism in eastern Asia and in the USSR’s satellite nations. Our nation’s supposed need to police the world is what caused our involvement in the Korean and Vietnam wars. During the Cold War, communism struck fear in every American and for good reason. The communist regimes were something to be feared, just like the Middle Eastern terrorist groups are today. But one must ask the question, why is it the United States’s responsibility to risk the land
of the free for another country’s sake? I do not believe that America should resort to intervention in other countries when there is no need. I’m not saying that America should resort to a policy of isolationism, but those in charge of our foreign policy should at least have more reservations when getting involved in foreign affairs. Our policing the world will not prevent any future wars from happening. In fact, it may just cause more issues. Look at the “Banana Wars.” This time period began after the end of the Spanish-American War and ended in 1934, and these wars included the interventions and occupations of Central American and Caribbean countries. These wars weren’t actually about bananas, but rather trade and other economic issues. Perhaps the worst outcome was in occupation of Guatemala, which was also the first of these occupations. The slightly socialist leader Arbenez wanted to distribute land among the native peoples, but the United States did not approve because this would cause the fruit importing monopolies to lose business because they were losing land to farm the bananas. The U.S. only intervened in Guatemala to support the monopolies and capitalism. The end result was basically the ugliness known as imperialism, and when the U.S. pulled out of Guatemala, we also left the Guatemalan government in shambles. It is now time to say, “Rest in peace, Roosevelt Corollary.”
H
igh School Musical’s Sharpay Evans gave her young and impressionable audience a crash course in the effects of globalization when singing about, “iced tea imported from England, lifeguards imported from Spain, towels imported from Turkey, and turkey imported from Maine.” Yes, Ms. Evans, globalization, or the tendency to transfer anything from philosophy to, yes, handsome lifeguards, has indeed served you well. In fact, most citizens of first world countries greatly benefit from the effects of worldwide globalization. Without it, sushi would be a foreign oddity and looking sophisticated while sipping green tea with a beignet would be nearly impossible. Without globalization, pizza would never have been a thing, but you get the point. It goes without saying that a worldwide transfer of cultures has benefited us all. The detriments of globalization though, are innumerable and impossible to separate from the advantages of it. The interconnected world that we live in today is riddled with complexities that make everything just a little bit of everyone’s business, and rightly so. For example, if something
happens to an archduke named Ferdinand in Eastern Europe, it could end up getting larger and larger with more and more of an impact, and then suddenly, the first World War breaks out. In Saudi Arabia just weeks ago, King Abdullah, a rather Westward leaning ruler, died, and from an American standpoint, that’s no big deal, right? Unfortunately, our era’s new found interconnectedness makes this very much a problem. A ruler dying unexpectedly in any country, let alone a Middle Eastern one, creates instability in a best case scenario and a power vacuum in its worse case scenario, and so the United States must be involved, at least somewhat, in hand overs of power if we want to maintain a strong hold in countries like Saudi Arabia. Opponents of government interference advocate for an almost Swiss like state of political neutrality, isolationism to a certain extent, but how attainable is that dream for a country that has always been anything but politically neutral? The United States attempted to stay neutral in the early days of WW2, but was dragged into the fighting eventually, and this is merely a burden that the U.S. must bear. Being powerful, of course, has its burdens, and so political neutrality and the desire to be left alone in international affairs, while a valiant dream is, simply put, impossible.
DEFINE IT: What do these foreign policy terms mean? Roosevelt Corollary: An addition to the Monroe Doctrine in 1904 that said the United States may intervene in a European country if that country does something that could affect the United States.
Big Stick Diplomacy: Negotiations with threats of forceful action behind it.
The Banana Wars: A time period in which the United States occupied areas South America and the Caribbean in between the Spanish-American War and the Good Neighbor Policy.
Globalization: The process of international integration due to exchanges of ideas.
Archduke Franz Ferdinand: An Archduke of Austria and Royal Prince of Hungary and Bohemia. His assassination in Sarajevo caused Hungary to declare war against Serbia.
By: Abby Nguyen
King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia: Former king that made slow but steady progressive changes in his conservative country.
The Dashboard
w
alyssa bass: @alyssatrechelle
When will the glory be ours? Leonardo DiCaprio and actors of color, along with female directors and writers, have something in common: they don’t have Oscars. This year, the Oscars appeared to have an ironic social justice theme, considering that it was the worst year in diversity for the Oscars with no actors of color or female directors and writers nominated for an Oscar. Writers at the Huffington Post, proclaimed the 2015 Oscars to be “the whitest Oscars since 1998.” Common and John Legend’s win for Best Original Song “Glory” marked only the 32nd time in 87 years that a black person has won an Oscar. If you take a look at who is in the Academy, it is predominantly made up of white males with 94% being white and 77% being male according to the Huffington Post. This sends a message, intentional or not, that some voices are more valued than others in the Academy. During the ceremony, winners took advantage of their platform to speak on social issues. Best Original Song winners Common and John Legend spoke about racial struggles. Best Picture winner Alejandro Gonzalez Iñarritu asked for sympathy for Mexican immigrants. Best Supporting Actress Patricia Arquette called for equal pay for women. I agreed with Arquette’s feminist message until she made a particular comment about wage equality backstage: “It’s time for all the women in America, and all the men that love women and all the gay people and all the people of color that we’ve all fought for to fight for us now.” While I’m glad feminist ideas are becoming more prevalent, Arquette’s comment excluded women of color and gays from the fight for wage equality, which is a warning sign of mainstream feminism. This is a problem considering that people of color earn less than white women. According to Think Progress, white women earn $0.77 to every dollar men make while African American women earn $0.64 and Hispanic women earn $0.54. By no means is the fight for wage equality a competition for the most oppressed, but mainstream feminists need to remember that struggles for women can go deeper than gender. Race plays a factor as well, so it’s crucial that we don’t exclude our fellow feminists of color. Perhaps next year the Oscars will do a better job of supplying diverse nominees and Academy members, and feminists ideas will be delivered with more political correctness.
6 insider
March 6, 2015 7
Don’t walk under that By: Taylor Parsons | Editor | @partay97
The superstition of walking under a ladder bringing bad luck dates back to medieval times, in which the ladder was a symbol of the gallows on which people were hanged. A person’s walking under a ladder indicated his own hanging soon. Another possible origin dates back to the same period but incorporates Christian beliefs. When a ladder leaned against a wall, it created a triangle. That triangle symbolized the Holy Trinity, and walking through the triangle invited the devil into the Trinity. Supposedly, the only way to undo the damage of walking under the ladder is to walk back through the ladder or to keep fingers crossed until running into a dog. If the superstition is not enough to prevent walking under ladders, the actual danger of the ladder falling should keep a person from walking under a ladder.
Is it all in your head? By: Taylor Parsons | Editor | @partay97
According to www.urbanlegend.com, Friday the 13th is a day of bad luck for the entire world. A 1993 study published by British Medical Journal entitled “Is Friday the 13th Bad for Your Health?” compared a number of automobile accidents on Friday the 6th and Friday the 13th over a period of years. Though fewer people were on the roads on the 6th, automobile accidents were largely more common on Friday the 13th. The study shows the risk of hospitalization due to an automobile accident is increased by 52 percent on Friday the 13th. Coincidences? Possibly. The intense fear of this daunting day has brought on several phobias. Triskaidekaphobia, fear of the number 13, is a belief that sufferers pass to their children, according to National Geographic. The fear of the number 13 possibly finds its roots in religious beliefs focused on the Last Supper. The 13th guest at the Last Supper--Judas, the apostle said to have
betrayed Jesus--combined with the uneasiness of the day of Christ’s crucifixion to create a fear of the the 13th of anything. Paraskevidekatriaphobia, irrational fear of Friday the 13th, takes the most widespread superstition in the world to a new level. Those afflicted by this phobia search for reasons to fear the 13th and any unholy or evil terrors to come along with it. According to Dr. Donald Dossey, phobia specialist, as many as 21 million Americans suffer from this phobia, leaving only 80 percent of Americans with clear heads on Friday the 13th. The paranoia alone could explain the previously mentioned automobile accidents. Though the precaution needed to tackle Friday the 13th is a matter of opinion, the only way to rid oneself of fear of the dreaded day is to step out of the comfort zone and take superstitions head on.
Be careful in that By: Taylor Parsons Editor @partay97
Almost universally, breaking a mirror is a sign of seven years of bad luck. The superstition can be traced all the way back to ancient Rome, where Romans believed a mirror had the ability to entrap its user’s soul. Therefore, a distorted mirror could corrupt a soul. Obviously, throughout time, the legend has shifted to a milder form of terror. The back luck is reversible. The two most common reversal techniques are grinding the entire mirror to shreds and burying the mirror and its remaining pieces. Whether the risk of bad luck is worth the reversal effort is all up to the breaker’s superstitious beliefs.
Don’t spill the By: Samantha Papp | Staff Reporter | @samantha_papp
BACK TO BACK Did you know that once in every 11 years there are two Friday the 13ths in a row?
Black By: Samantha Papp | Staff Reporter | @samantha_papp
Many people believe that a black cat crossing their path will result in bad luck. Why, though, is the sight of this furry feline such a cause for fright? In the 1500s, the hysteria of witches practicing black magic was widespread. People began to associate witches with their usual pet, a cat; therefore, people became highly suspicious of all types of cats. In the 1560s, a folklore involving a man and son in Lincolnshire, England, heightened the frenzy around cats. According to the tale, the father and son were traveling when a black cat flew across their path and into a crawl space. The two threw rocks at the cat until it ran out of its hiding place and into a woman’s house. When the woman came out of her house the next day covered in bruises, the pair believed that the cat had transformed itself into a woman. This tale became a central belief in America during the Salem witch trials, leading to the superstition of black cats. In order to reverse the bad luck from having a black cat cross his or her path, it is believed that a person must walk in a circle, walk backward across the place where where the cat crossed his or her path, and count to thirteen. There are also some websites that sell candles that will supposedly reverse the bad luck from a black cat.
The common superstition that spilling salt is bad luck is believed to have originated from when Judas spilled the Last Supper. This superstition is also thought to have originated from the Middle Ages when salt was very expensive and valuable. In this time period, wasting something so precious was thought to bring someone bad luck. According to an old English belief, each spilled grain of salt represents not only bad luck but also future tears that will be spilled In order to remedy spilling salt, people will throw a pinch of salt over their left shoulder. People must throw the salt over their left shoulder, not their right, because the seat of the devil, the fallen angel, was to the left hand of God. The intent of throwing the salt was to throw salt into the Devil’s eye to blind him and prevent him from bringing bad luck. Norwegians believed that a person must spill enough tears to dissolve the spilled salt in order to prevent bad luck. In some parts of the United States, people believe they must crawl under a table to alleviate the bad luck of spilling salt.
March 6, 2015
8 features
Oak Grove senior appointed to prestigious U.S. Military Academy By: Katie Williaims Editor @katiewilliams97
S
enior Duncan Thomas will be going to New York for college, but his future alma mater is not what one may expect. It is not NYU or Columbia. Thomas will be attending the United States MiliDuncan Thomas tary Academy (USMA) in West Point, New York. West Point and the other service academies are perhaps the most selective institutes of higher education in the United States with only 1,200 applicants admitted annually. To attend West Point, potential cadets must complete a rigorous application process. Thomas started the initial application process in the middle of his junior year. After he made it past the preliminary application round, Thomas was accepted to West Point’s Summer Leadership Experience (SLE). He passed the required Candidate Fitness Exam at SLE. Throughout the spring semester, Thomas
gathered many essays and teacher recommendations. He also had to undergo interviews to get a congressional nomination. Thomas got his nomination from Senator Roger Wicker. He finished his application in late December and was notified of his appointment at the beginning of February. “I really didn’t know how to react when I received word of my appointment. Senator Wicker told his service academy director that he was really surprised that I was that calm. There wasn’t any jumping up and down, but deep down, I am thrilled. I guess it is hard to be super excited over having little to no freedom over the next four years,” Thomas said. Thomas’s next four years will be filled with many early mornings and being yelled at by superiors, so, as Thomas said, it is kind of difficult to be excited about that. After the required 47 months at West Point, cadets will enter the Army as officers. They do not have to work through rankings like those who enter as civilians. But, these cadets work tirelessly toward these officer positions.
Before Thomas even begins his plebe year (known as freshman year to civilians), he will have to endure plebe summer. Plebe summer consists of intense training throughout the eight weeks, and cadets would consider it tougher than what soldiers who enter from the civilian sector must endure. Plebe summer, or BEAST, begins on R-Day, and Thomas will have just a month after graduation to prepare for basic training. “I know each day of the 47-month journey will be extremely difficult, but I have a feeling that the rush and ut-
ter confusion of the first day will be the toughest part,” Thomas said. New cadets report to West Point and are faced w i t h medical exams, and male cadets are subject to almost-bald buzzcuts. “Aside from the overall opportunity West Point will give me, I am most excited about the Kanye West inspired buzzcut,” Thomas added sarcastically. BEAST ends with a rigorous 13-mile march back to West Point’s campus. To physically prepare himself for the rigors of cadet life, Thomas runs three to four miles several days a week and completes P90X workouts daily. “I’m doing my best to prepare for physical rigors of life as a cadet, but I know that no matter what, I will be challenged,” Thomas said. Thomas will also be challenged academically because the service academies are home to some of the most advanced engineering programs, and Thomas is aiming to complete a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering.
Thomas’s long time teacher Andrea Clark believes he is well-prepared. “I may have taught Duncan a few things along the way, and I believe that he will succeed in whatever he decides to do,” Clark said.
What does it take to get in to West Point? §§ Must be a U.S. citizen §§ Must be unmarried with no legal obligation to support dependents §§ Must be under 23 years of age prior to July 1 §§ Must be a high school graduate or have a GED §§ Will be judged on academic performance, demonstrated leadership potential, and physical aptitude. §§ Must be of high moral character §§ Preferably score above 20 on the ACT or 1000 on the SAT §§ Must be nominated by a U.S. Congressman or Senator
ALL LIVES MATTER SILENCE IS DEAD
By: Hannah Lee Staff Reporter @hannahblanklee (Instagram)
NO BREATHING ROOM
Choke hold victim Eric Garner’s last words were “I can’t breathe.” These words became the slogan of protests after Garner died.
On August 9, 2014, Michael Brown, an 18-year-old black teenager, was shot and killed in Ferguson, Missouri, by a Ferguson police officer. On July 17, 2014, Eric Garner, a 43-year-old black man, was put in a chokehold and killed in Staten Island, New York, by an NYPD officer. On February 10, 2015, Deah Shaddy Barakat, Yusor Mohammad Abu-Salha, and Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha were shot and killed in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, by their next door neighbor. They were aspiring college students, newlyweds, fathers and sons and daughters. They will not be forgotten. These deaths have incited an undying uproar across the nation. Since Michael Brown’s death, thousands have posted pictures, videos, and passionate rants with the following hashtags: #handsupdontshoot and #alllivesmatter. Eric Garner’s death sparked even more controversy in what was seemingly a fading outcry against misuse of proper police enforcement and even added to the trending hashtags: #icantbreathe. Most recently, the deaths of Barakat and the Abu-Salha sisters have struck
an ongoing debate over whether or not the incident was a hate crime, or as many media sources portray, “a dispute over a parking space.” Neither Darren Wilson nor Daniel Pantaleo, the officers responsible for the deaths of Brown and Garner, were indicted by the Grand Jury. And though the Chapel Hill suspect, Craig Stephen Hicks, was indicted for three counts of first-degree murder, he was not charged for hate crimes, which many believed was an injustice to the victims of the Chapel Hill shooting. Muslims across the nation fear that the crime may in fact be racially and religiously motivated, and Muslim women who wear the required hijab are afraid that they may be targeted next. However, hate crimes are almost always difficult to prove in cases such as Brown’s, Garner’s, and the Chapel Hill victims’. Phyllis Gerstenfeld, a professor at California State University, stated, “Hate crime prosecutions are pretty rare, and the reason is you have to prove motive beyond a reasonable doubt.” In other words, the suspect in question must confess that the crime was racially and/or religiously motivated or there must be solid evidence (through the suspect’s social media or personal files) that he/she is undeniably against a specific race or religion. Although Hicks’ Face-
book indicated that he was antireligious, there was nothing to indicate that he was specifically against Muslims; rather, he was against all religion. As for Brown and Garner, there was simply not enough evidence to prove that their deaths were racially motivated; however, after several documents from the grand jury were released to the public from Brown’s case, the Ferguson police department was heavily criticized. Duke University imam Abdullah Antepli said, “It’s not about taking revenge on the killer. It’s pointing out a much larger, much more dangerous reality in our society, our social fabric. Our commitment and our ideals of plurality are at danger.” Unfortunately, most media sources are biased and unreliable at best, and the definition of a “hate crime” has become muddled through skewed versions of the same stories. As Malcolm X once said, “If you’re not careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressed and loving the people who are doing the oppressing.” The events occurring in today’s society are not new. They are not over. History is still being written today. It is ultimately up to the people to decide if the United States, if the world, should be seen in color or not.
EVERYONE MATTERS
Protestors line the streets after the verdict is given for the police officer who shot and killed Michael Brown. The police officer was not indicted.
features 9
March 6, 2015
Life’s major issues:
Why students shouldn’t have it figured out by graduation By: Casey Ford Staff Reporter @caseym_ford
“
So. What will you major in?” is easily one of the most frequently asked questions to high school seniors or soonto-be seniors, thrown at them upon arrival at family gatherings, at church events, or on any given day at school from fellow students and teachers. Along with college choice, students’ intended career suddenly becomes the hottest topic around, particularly to older and wiser adults who may very well have students’ best interest in mind when giving bits of impassioned life advice which said students do not remember asking for. And that’s just it; most of these well-meaning inquirers are just trying to be helpful. They want to see kids succeed. They want to ensure they have a plan. But here’s the thing: not all students have plans. In fact, many don’t, not at this point in life. And the expectation that they should and will have one, complete with every
step over the next five years, follows every stress-free moment, a shadow reminding a student of the pressure of life choices. Many attribute collegebound students’ frustration to the vast array of study choices. According to The New York Times, “Colleges and universities reported nearly 1,500 academic programs to the Department of Education in 2010; 355 were added to the list over the previous 10 years as colleges, to stay competitive and current, adopted new disciplines like homeland security and global studies, cyberforensics and agroecology.” So with each new class option, college freshmen face an overwhelming pool of possibilities which makes it harder for students to discern how their true interests align with a college education or career path. Many don’t know and won’t know which educational and professional choices to make until they actually experience a semester (or six) of college. Now, assuming some of these students do have a major in mind before college, they are still very likely to change it, probably more than once,
throughout their college careers. The New York Times also reports that at Penn State University, “80 percent of freshmen — even those who have declared a major — say they are uncertain about their major, and half will change their minds after they declare.” There are so many classes to take, so many opportunities to discover what they enjoy, what they despise, what they excel in, what they have no use for. Some advisors and leaders in education actually encourage unsure college freshmen to enter as undeclared majors, focus on core curriculum classes, and explore all a university has to offer before selecting a set academic path. This is not an advocation
for ignorance; this is not to say that high school students should never give any thought to their futures or that college students should sit back and wait for a magic major or career decision to come to them and solve all their problems. Of course not. Students should be proactive. Taking courses and participating in activities that interest them will prove helpful in the later years which will demand some future life choices be made. But it is simply unrealistic to expect eighteen-year-olds to make all of those choices at once; they are mere children! For now, students should focus on the next steps: not the final destination.
As seasons change, moods can too
By: Jenna Clair Lee Staff Reporter @jenta12
T
he fall and winter months are typically a time for cozy sweaters, bonfires, roasting marshmallows, and being around family during the holidays. However, this “ideal” fall and winter that most people anticipate gets overshadowed by the all too typical frigid mornings and dreary afternoons. In the months of January and February, the sun rarely shines. Days are limited to highs in the fifties and the amount of rain is significantly higher than in any other months. Even on clear, moderate days, the winter season seems to leave most without energy or drive. While it’s easy
to blame a gloomy attitude during winter on a bad case of the “winter blues” or being “stuck in a funk,” those who come down with frequent depressive states could be dealing with a more serious problem known as Seasonal Affective Disorder, which, in all its humor, is typically referred to as SAD. Seasonal Affective Disorder is a type of depression that’s related to changes in seasons. In rare cases, SAD causes depression in the spring or early summer, but cases most commonly occur in the fall and winter months. During the winter months, the human body is adapting to a time change, chilly weather, and for some regions, being stuck in the house for long periods of time. These changes often contribute to an overall depressive state known as Seasonal Affec-
tive Disorder. Some symptoms of SAD include irritability, low energy and fatigue, craving high-carb foods, and weight gain. These symptoms may be difficult to pinpoint because they are common and often associated with common seasonal happenings. One dangerous aspect of this disorder is that many embrace the symptoms. During winter, it is common to eat richer foods in higher quantities. Naps and resting are seen as normal activities during the winter time. Gaining weight is a common side-effect of Christmas and Thanksgiving. All of the symptoms can be disguised as problems that frequently and commonly occur during winter, which is the main reason SAD may not be taken seriously or acknowledged as a real disorder. Most would assume that
SAD is caused by the gloomy weather of winter, and that is true. However, SAD has three specific biological causes: the reduced level of sunlight in fall and winter months, a drop in serotonin (a neurotransmitter that affects mood), and an imbalance in melatonin levels (a hormone that regulates sleep cycles). The most common treatment for SAD is light therapy. Because the lack of sunlight is a main contributor to the disorder, patients can be exposed to a box that shines bright light. Other treatments for SAD include certain antidepressant medications and psychotherapy. SAD can affect anyone at anytime, but some are more susceptible to the disorder than others. Females, teenagers, those living far from the equator, and those who have had other mental ill-
nesses are all more likely to suffer from SAD. For the vast majority, winter is a time to embrace being cozy at home, enjoy shorter days, and revel in all of the fun seasonal activities. However, for those suffering from the winter/fall form of SAD, the winter and fall seasons are depressing and painful. A bad case of the “winter blues” or another seemingly mild issue could be more serious, and the rise of people being diagnosed with SAD is something we need to shed light on. Spending time with family, laughing with friends, and participating in enjoyable activities are all remedies to counteract SAD and make the winter months not so bad.
March 6, 2015
10 entertainment
ality
PARSON
Disney Princesses Disney, damsels and what it means to be in distress
By: Abby Nguyen Staff Reporter @2BusyBeingAbby
Disney and its adaptation of fairytales have long been criticized for telling stories of women who find themselves ditsily in trouble and then have to be rescued by men, who they will later marry in prom scenes from varying time periods and countries. The thing that most critics forget to include when complaining about how powerless women are in these movies is that other, more powerful women are often to blame for the princesses’ problems. Snow White was totally happy, being a rather airheaded teeny bopper who frolicked in forests with her woodland friends until a witch came by and knocked her out with a poison apple. While Snow White eventually finds shelter by cleaning and cooking for not one, but seven little men, she makes herself valuable by using what skills she does possess. Cinderella, similarly, is miserable due not to men mistreating her, but women who hate her. And let us not forget that when every thing falls to shambles, it is Cinderella’s fairy Godmother that comes to the rescue. Cinderella and Snow White though, are
Disney classics, created during a time in which a woman depending heavily on her man to save her was no biggie. Contrastingly, Disney’s more modern works, like Tangled and of course Frozen, are anything but subtle in their choices of strong female leads. Disney’s Rapunzel meets and falls in love with Flynn Ryder, swashbuckling thief extraordinaire, who treats her like an equal. Rapunzel also follows the pattern of having a female antagonist. Her stepmother is a woman who finds fulfillment in using her feminine charm to manipulate men, and refuses to let the youthful beauty that she once possessed elude her. All of these stories make one thing very clear: that women, for whatever reason, too often feel a desire to compete with each other rather than to help or build each other up. Frozen, on the other hand, tells a story of what horrors can occur when love is placed in the wrong hands. Frozen is a cautionary tale urging viewers to take platonic and familial love on the same level of priority as romantic love. These women, whether they were conceptualized in the early 1900’s or pasted across millions of movie screens, all live out classic tales of heroism. If you were
to take the princesses out of their traditional settings and put them in cloaks instead of dresses, and out of castles and into magical worlds with monsters to subdue, their stories would rival those of the Harry Potters and the Bilbo Baggins of the world. Just like Harry Potter and the Lord of the Rings, all of the Disney princesses received sequels to their original debut films as well. This could mean one of two things. First, that Disney was totally hoping to capitalize as much as possible on their hit princesses, or the sequels were Disney’s attempt at changing the “Happily Ever After” stereotype that plagues all fairytales. The Pocahontas sequel, Journey to the New World, flipped almost all of the first movie’s romantic progress on its head when colonial heart throb, John Smith, and Pocahontas decide that they are simply no longer compatible. Brave’s Merida poses the iconic question, “If you could change your fate, would you?” The answer is a resounding “of course,” because as Disney shows us, sometimes more blatantly than others, that their cast of women have been shaping each other’s fates from the beginning.
Lilo and Stitch’s Nani
By: TAYLOR PARSONS, Editor Even though she isn’t a princess, Nani totally earned the right to be mentioned somewhere in an article about strong female characters. She’s nineteen years old and is Lilo’s best friend, older sister, and mother. She earns them a living and humors Lilo’s demanding imaginationary friends. Pocahontas’s Pocahontas
She effectively causes a cease fire between two dueling groups. She isn’t interested in marrying the guy her father wants her to marry, and pursues her own path. For the first time, Pocahontas came to her male love’s rescue, which is totally refreshing. Mulan’s Mulan
Fa Mulan is by far the most feminist Disney character ever. She pretends to be a man to serve in the Chinese military and defeats her male counterparts all to the beat of “Make a Man Out of You.” She, like Pocahontas, saves her love interest in a flash of silk, cross dressing, and fast-like-lightning sword play.
FIRST THINGS FIRST: Iggy isn’t the realest By: Alyssa Bass Staff Reporter @alyssatrechelle
Music has become a huge part of American culture, and countless artists like Madonna, Katy Perry, and Miley Cyrus have been repeat offenders of cultural appropriation. Cultural appropriation is defined as the adoption of elements of one culture by members of a different cultural group, specifically the use by cultural outsiders of a minority, oppressed cultures’ symbols or other cultural elements. It is often the borrowing, exploitation, and misrepresentation of a culture in a music video or performance for an artist’s monetary gain. A recent offender of cultural appropriation is rapper Iggy Azalea. First thing’s first, she’s not the realest in the eyes of the rap community. Azalea has come under fire with the black community for being a pretentious white rapper
who is inspired by black stereotypes. Azalea adopts an offensive “blaccent” when she raps, which differs greatly from her natural Australian accent. One can only assume that Azalea would gain more acceptance from the rap community if she not only wrote her own songs about the struggles she endured in Australia but also dropped the fake accent to appear more authentic in a music genre that’s all about being real. Azalea’s mentor, rapper T.I., has attempted to defend Azalea by stating that it is sad that people still see color, but he may not be the best person to defend Azalea when he has been accused of partaking in the cultural appropriation of Native Americans to make a profit when selling merchandise. During a radio interview on Ebro in the Morning in December 2014, Macklemore was able to impressively grasp the whole point of cultural appropriation. Macklemore, being a white rapper, is all too familiar with the racial tension within the rap com-
beat’s bits
munity after he received backlash from hip hop fans the night he “robbed” the Grammy for Best Rap Album from Kendrick Lamar. Macklemore said, “I’m just saying it’s important to listen and to be humble. This is not my culture to begin with. This is not a culture that white people started. So I do believe, as much as I have honed my craft, as much as I have put in years of dedication into the music
that I love, I do believe that I need to know my place, and that comes from me listening.” Simply put, the goal of raising awareness about cultural appropriation is for artists to listen to other cultures’ criticisms of artists’ interpretations of cultures. With more awareness of the issue, celebrities are not likely to be repeat offenders of cultural appropriation. However if they are, they will surely feel the wrath of social justice on social media.
ENTERTAINMENT
Actors could share the Bond
Produced by Eon Productions, the next James Bond movie Spectre is reserved to come out on November 6, 2015 and will feature recent 007 actor Daniel Craig. But, Spectre is supposedly the last James Bond film with Craig as the infamous charmer. According to actor Pierce Brosnan, who played 007 in four films, the next Bond should be either actor Idris Elba or Colin Salmon. Elba has starred in intense films, such as Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom and Prometheus. Salmon has also his share of captivating audiences, too. He starred as Charles Robinson, the Deputy Chief of Staff at MI6 (or the Secret Intelligence System), in three James Bond films. So, who will be the next Bond? Brosnan offers support and said, “May the best man get the job.”
The term “senioritis” has been thrown around OGHS since the beginning of time, or so I would assume. I obviously haven’t been around that long. Anyway, seniors give up. It’s just the way it is. When I was an underclassman, I joked that I had “sophomoritis.” Last year, the punchline was “junioritis.” Now that I am a senior and have realized the realness of senioritis, I know that there is no form of giving up quite as severe as that of a senior. I have worn the same pair of black pants to school every single day since we started back in January. I wash them on the weekends. I regret nothing. If you’re a freshman, sophomore, or junior, you’re probably reading this and judging me. If you’re a senior, you’re probably reading this and thinking to yourself Wait, is wearing the same thing every day bad? Whoops. Zero cares given. My mom is going to kill me for printing this in the newspaper, but we are supposed to be real. And I really have given up. Freshmen, hold on to that desire to look nice. Cling tight to the desire to be the cute girl at school. It, like your desire to be the coolest or the smartest or the most athletic, will probably fade by March of senior year. If someone has the flu, he has this fatigue that keeps him from being able to do hardly anything. Senioritis has similar symptoms, but the symptoms only apply to things pertaining to school. The main thing that leaves a person susceptible to senioritis is simply being a senior. Duh, it’s senioritis for a reason. It’s tragic and possibly fatal if not treated correctly. Kidding. But seriously, senioritis is nearly impossible to treat. It’s spreading like wild fire. Protect yourselves. Attend senior parties, spend time with friends, do things! Do all the generic senior things like memory making. The great things about senior year must outweigh the apathy to really enjoy the big, cheesy oncein-a-life-time opportunity in front of every senior.
By: Olivia Diaz, Staff Reporter
Disney classic gets a makeover
Ready for the red carpet?
On March 13, Disney will release the timeless story Cinderella once again. This live-action version of the story, however, has a few twists that were not in the classical 1950 version. For instance, another major villain will team up with the stepmother and attempt to prevent Ella and the Prince’s happy ending. Minor characters from the story will reveal stronger personalities, such as the Fairy Godmother, who will be played by Helena Boham Carter. Other celebrities will star in the movie, too, such as Lily James as Cinderella.
The 87th Academy Awards ceremony hit television screens on Sunday, February 22, with a number of memorable highlights. For example, singer John Legend and rapper Common performed the Oscar nominated song “Glory” from the recent film about the hundreds of people who fought for the right to vote in Alabama in 1965, Selma. Many noteworthy films and actors received awards. For instance, the American dark comedy Birdman won several awards, including Best Picture. Julianne Moore won the Best Actress award for her portrayal of a linguistics professor and mother of three suddenly diagnosed with Early-Onset Alzheimer’s in the film Still Alice.
March 6, 2015
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THE DUFF
a Delightful but Unoriginal Funny Find By: Jenna Clair Lee Staff Reporter @jenta12
T
he moment I saw the trailer for The DUFF, my heart leapt for joy. The emergence of this new teen comedy meant two things: the genre has not disappeared, and Mae Whitman is getting the big break she so deserves. With the popularity of dystopian series and thrillers, the teen comedy cinematic scene has been dead for several years, and it’s about time for someone to take another shot at creating a comedy-filled iconic teen movie. High-school senior Bianca (Mae Whitman) is thrown for a loop when she learns that her classmates secretly know her as the DUFF -- designated ugly fat friend -- of her friend group. Bianca is neither fat nor ugly, and the term DUFF is explained to be relative to each person. In Bianca’s case, she is stuck with the title due to her being slightly less attractive, cool, or fashion-forward than her two friends, Jess and Casey. Desperate for change and a date with her crush Toby, Bianca enlists the help of Wesley (Robbie Amell), a charm-
ing football player and her childhood friend, and tutors him in Chemistry in return. After Bianca is secretly filmed joking with a mannequin doll that she pretends is Toby, the video goes viral and Bianca’s social life goes to the dogs. In an effort to salvage her sanity and her senior year, Bianca has to find the confidence to stand up to the mean girl, express her feelings for a guy she never thought she could fall for, and embrace her DUFFiness. This movie has the appeal of any teen rom-com. The casting is genius. Mae Whitman, known for her role as Amber on the popular prime-time family drama Parenthood, portrays the main character of the film; she is the DUFF and she owns the role. Whitman’s acting ability and quirkiness do not go unnoticed as she brings this film to life. Much of the movie revolves around her sarcasm and colorful personality. Robbie Amell, who plays the supposedly vapid jock Wesley, brings undeniable charm to the character. By the end of the movie, Wesley is seen as everything but vapid: he has depth and sense, at times more than Bianca, and this is largely due to Amell’s spectacular delivery. With an inspiring and humor-
ous plot and a great cast, not much could go wrong with the film. However, the script takes several nasty turns. Although the movie contains no graphic scenes or nudity, the innuendos are cringe-worthy and incessant. Some may expect crude humor in a movie about teens in high school, but this movie contains an unnecessary amount of inappropriate and perverted imaginations. This excess of sexual innuendos and crude jokes detracts from the could-be iconic film. These days, finding a movie without any political agendas, anxiety-inducing violence, or unrelatable futuristic plots is extremely difficult. I’ve been craving a return of the 1980s style teen comedies: movies that leave us laughing, crying, and feeling inspired at the same time. Despite the annoying crude humor, this movie is it. The DUFF portrays a relatively accurate depiction of high school politics and leaves viewers with an inspiring message. After navigating the waters of finding and redefining herself, Bianca eventually realizes that being labeled as “The DUFF” doesn’t matter. Labels are meaningless; know who you are and accept it.
PAPER TOWNS angsty girl + nerdy boy = Green novel By: Lucy Pruitt Staff Reporter
@LucyLu_too
M
uch like many other leisure readers, I often find myself wandering the aisles of our local Books-a-Million, skimming through books at random, and finally choosing the one with the cutest cover to hand to the cashier along with that week’s entertainment budget. Around the time this pattern began for me I was just entering high school and had quite an affinity for the author John Green. After having read both Looking for Alaska and An Abundance of Katherines, I figured there was no possible way for a Green book to disappoint me. So following my usual habit, I chose John Green’s Paper Towns, and began the new discovery of his writing. While in his most recent book The Fault in Our Stars, Green undoubtedly became one of the most renowned authors of our time, there is a reason it did not happen with any of his other books. Published
on October 16, 2008, Paper Towns disenchantedly could’ve been titled An Abundance of Margos or Paper Alaska; because in these three, albeit well written and entertaining novels, Green uses the same formula, again and again. How many books can be written about an angsty, lovable, quirky teenager secretly being in love with another angsty, lovable, quirky teenager? Unlike the characters and situations in The Fault in Our Stars, almost every aspect of Paper Towns was so absurd and unrealistic the story failed to make much of an impact. From the main character Quentin’s parents, to the road trip, to Margo’s ability to plan scavenger hunts and pranks, it seems that Green had plenty of fun writing this book because he didn’t support the story with reasoning or reality, that is, until the very end. The story was broken into three parts, which on a structural standpoint I found to be discombobulating yet artistic. The first part of this book was standard as far as introducing characters goes, but the story doesn’t actually start until the
next section. Part two was suspenseful and fun to read as the mysterious Margo chooses the quirky Quentin to become a large part of her antics. In part two the reader really gets a sense of how far Q would go to impress this girl, although I never really understood why he liked her so much in the first place. There’s nothing particularly wrong with Margo, but the two went years without talking and still he’s obsessed with her. It’s quite creepy, actually. Towards the end of the second part of the book, too much emphasis was put on prom and preparation for something that was really a non-event for the main characters in the end. Just like in Oak Grove High School, prom becomes an exhausted topic before it even happens. The plot eventually makes its way to a grandiose search for a runaway Margo, but finding her just seemed to get monotonous. I began to think the plot was dragging on longer than necessary. It took several tries to get through it, but once I did, the ending was well worth it. Finally the third part and finale arrived. In order to not give
anything away to those who may decide to read the book, I must end here. Although the plot in the second act would sometimes tromp through the investigation of Margo’s disappearance like a turtle with wads of chewed up bubblegum on its feet, the ending was eye-opening while also being wholly unsatisfying in the best way, and I
would implore readers to give it a chance beyond the “ugh, another angsty John Green novel with a manic pixie dream girl and a boring male lead.” What’s consistently enjoyable about John Green is his way to finish a story with a beautifully unromanticized conclusion.
March 6, 2015
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