Vol. 5 No. 2 (December 2014)

blueprints Volume 5, Issue 2

DECEMBER 2014

prettiest spots in granville PLUS:

~Plagiarism ~Winter Sports Preview ~Christmas in November? ~Peanut Butter Cookie Recipe ~Interstellar Review

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Letter from the editor BluePrints 2014-15 Staff Editor-in-Chief Julia Lerner

Entertainment Editors Regan McCroskey Adriona Murphy

Features Editor Brittany Cline

News Editor

Destiny Braden

Opinion Editor Anna Minton

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hat many students fail to recognize is that the use of another’s ideas is actually plagiarism.

Before I say anything else, however, you should know that this entire letter was copied and pasted from a Wikipedia page, and by providing this disclaimer, I am citing it, therefore, not plagiarizing.

And while I was kidding about copying this word-for-word, I could still be committing another form of plagiarism. Even if I was simply using the ideas from an article, it would still be considered plagiarism, and I would still be “cheating,” according to my English teacher, Mrs. Beth Simmons.

Everyone knows that, while easy to commit, plagiarism is hard to get away with. So my advice? Just don’t.

Ask your teacher if you’re worried you accidentally plagarized, because 2 BLUEPRINTS DECEMBER 2014

Photo by Ben Barkett

I promise you, they would rather catch it now, instead of wasting their time later.

Break is upon us, and with it, a period of relaxation for the students.

So, GHS students, staff, parents, and friends, I wish you a happy holidays.

Catch a movie (I hear “Interstellar” is pretty good). Show some school spirit and attend a GHS basketball game, a swim meet, a wrestling match or any number of events from other GHS sports. Make someone’s day, and bake some peanut butter cookies.

Because who knows? Any day could be your last, as sophomore Celsey Argyle attests to.

Sincerely, Julia Lerner @julialwashere Blueprints Editor-In-Chief

Sports Editors Nic Mork Trevor Steyn

Layout Editors

Maggie McGonagle Dakota Smith

Photographer Ben Barkett

Artist Nick Bygrave

Business Manager Luke Bauer

Staff Members

Kaeli Frahn Paige Griesse Austen Miller Emily Pitcher Alex Templeton Barrett Williams

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OPINION Page 4: Maybe you have, maybe you haven’t Pagee 5: Christmas in November?

Page 6: 5 Prettiest Places in Granville

SPORTS Page 10: Winter Sports Preview Page 12: Nic’s Sport Report, Any day may be the last- Celsey Argyle Page 13: Lucky Four

FEATURES & ENTERTAINMENT Page 14: Peanut Butter Cookies Page 15: Christmas Movies, Interstellar Review Page 16: Ask Macey and Millie, Ask Andy

NEWS PAGE 8: PLAGIARISM

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STAFF EDITORIAL

Maybe you have, maybe you haven’t

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STAFF EDITORIAL lenty of students claim to be onehundred percent honest. They swear that they have never cheated and never will. They can say this with a smile, and look you in the eye all while typing their English essay. What they don’t understand, however, is that many of them have already plagiarized and will continue to do so.

Plagiarism is one of the most talked about topics in school, while simultaneously being the least understood. Perhaps this is because of the concept’s million definitions, or maybe it is because of the lack of comprehension that students have of the consequences, but practically no one knows exactly whether or not they are cheating.

Or, rather, students play innocent to save face… and their grades.

It is true that many students don’t know what plagiarism is, and that fact could be blamed on a number of people. You could blame the teachers, perhaps. Maybe they haven’t explained the concept enough for students to comprehend. Or, now here’s a rather crazy idea; you could blame the students.

Yes, it may be confusing that if you don’t have a comma in the exact right place, you are considered cheating. But copying and pasting straight from the Internet is not that complicated; it’s more like com-

mon sense.

Taking others’ ideas, paraphrasing others’ work or straight up copying what someone else has said are all things that students know are wrong. The fact that these actions are not acceptable has been ingrained into our heads since the dawn of time, or rather, seventh grade.

I’m not asking for students to memorize the Granville Academic Code of Integ-

rity, or for teachers to spend half the year explaining the details of plagiarism; instead, I’m asking for a compromise.

While teachers may want to spend a little more time explaining what would/would not be considered cheating, students should also start to use a little more common sense regarding plagiarism.

READER OPINION

What does plagiarism mean to you?

“To me. plagiarism is cheating in order to advance yourself.”

-Sarah Charlton

“Cheating is taking ideas that aren’t yours.”

-Kayla Braden

“For me, cheating is lazy and ususally unintential.”

-Mrs. Gardner Photos by Destiny Braden

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when should

christmas really begin?

november december

BY ANNA MINTON To some, Christmas is just a corporate sham. Just another way that big name companies get us to buy more stuff. Translation: Bah Humbug.

The Christmas is as much about materialistic “Who gifts as it is about the Easter bunny, which is to say, would not at all. Mega-stores and name-brand industries want to may make shopping seem like the reason for the season, but in reality; getting gifts has nothing to limit do with it. that?”

I completely understand how some people can get tired of the more superficial aspects of Christmas. I get it: no one wants to have Frosty the Snowman screaming in your ear 24/7. But despite what Walmart and Target want you to believe, Christmas is much more than that.

To some people, Christmas is the only time that they can relax and stop worrying about work. To others, Christmas is the only time of year when their family can be together and not rip each other’s throat out. To these people, Christmas isn’t as much a day as it is a mentality.

Christmas is the light of the fire mixed with the glow of snow on the ground. It’s the sound of families laughing combined with the gentle whisper of winter wind. Christmas is the smell of hot chocolate and old wool blankets; the taste of warm cinnamon or a single snow flake on your EDITORIAL POLICY Blueprints, Granville High School’s newsmaga- tongue. It’s the feeling of zine, is published by students in Journalism. As complete calm; that no mata forum of student expression, the goal of Blueprints is to provide the high school students’ per- ter who you are or where spective on relevant issues concerning the school, you are from, you have famthe community and the world. Editorial decisions are based on timeliness, relevance and appropri- ily and friends who love ateness. Opinions expressed in the newspaper you. That’s the true meanare not necessarily that of the entire staff, student ing of Christmas. And who body or school. Letters to the editor will be published as space allows. Blueprints does accept ad- would want to limit that?

Photo by Julia Lerner

OUR OPINION

BY JULIA LERNER The other day, I was walking around in the Heath Mall. The choo-choo train sailed past, blasting Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas,” and I lost it. The lady sitting on the bench next to me started humming along, and I immediately considered breaking out into a loud-and-proud chorus of “Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel” in order to shut her up. I was already so over Christmas, and it wasn’t even December.

Don’t get me wrong, I love Christmas. I love everything about it: the jolly jingles, the freezing cold snow that graces the ground, the hot cocoa, the caroling, the feeling on Christmas Eve when my family and I sit around and watch The Santa Claus, the visits from family and friends from far away.

I love Christmas. But what I don’t love “I love Christis Christmas in November.

In November, we still have Thanksgiv- mas. What I ing to get through. And Thanksgiving, as don’t love it we all know, is the most important holi- Christmas in day in the United States. I’m unaware of November.” any other holiday so thoroughly dedicated to food, so obviously this one holds a special place in my heart. Also, you know, the historical context of it and all. That stuff is important too.

So in mid-November, when I still have over a month until Santa comes to town, I don’t want to be hearing any ho-ho-hos or the jingling of bells or any crackling fires in the hearth. I’d like to get through Thanksgiving with my extended family first, without being reminded of what is yet to come. Come December 1st, I am belting Christmas tunes as loud as I possibly can.

But until then, my “HOLIDAZE” playlist on my phone will remain unused, the Christmas movies will stay in the cupboard and the turkey shall remain king.

vertisements; however, the staff reserves the right to withdraw ads

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prettiest spots IN

GRANVILLE

BY EMILY PITCHER hen the name of our town comes to mind, people often times associate it with a certain place. This place is often times very scenic and a place where people come together and make memories. In this article, I decided to choose 5 spots that I think are the prettiest spots in Granville. Each and every spot is unique within itself, and has special characteristics that make it one of a kind and a must see.

1. East Broadway (Downtown Granville East Broadway is the main street that runs right through the village. East Broadway is the destined location for all restaurants, all downtown events, and all shops, locating my favorite place in Granville: Whit’s. Being the center of all main events, such as the Kiwanis Fourth of July Celebration, the Candlelight Walking Tour, The Blues Fest, etc. etc., East Broadway is the light of it all.

2. Infirmary Mound Located at 4351 Lancaster Road, just outside the village, Infirmary Mound is tucked away from all the action in Granville. Being a 316-acre park, Prehistoric Infirmary Mound is a nice place to spend time with your friends and family; it’s my favorite place to take a hike with my dogs.

From hiking to fishing to picnicking, to walking to hiking, to horseback riding through the trails of Granville’s beautiful paths, the Infirmary Mound is a perfect get away close to home into what nature has to offer. Also, this park is a great facility for meetings and gatherings. Hosting special events of all kinds, Infirmary Mound is a home away from home for me.

3. Bryn Du Mansion A huge part of the quaint village, and personally one of my favorite spots, the Bryn Du Mansion is located in the center

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of Granville and is most known and valued for its beautiful landscaping on a 52acre estate. The mansion, in my eyes, holds such detailed history about the legacy of families that once lived there. Also, it really has the ability to provide the public with such a unique sense of taste to the rich environment and facilities that are used by the people of Granville and people from all over. I just recently figured out that Bryn Du is completely managed by Village of Granville’s commission, whose mission of historic preservation is to provide a place to host programs and a great facilities area for the community to benefit from. Lacrosse and Polo, and soccer and art shows and even weddings, Bryn Du hosts it all.

Available to everyone, a place to walk and a beautiful place for picture taking, Bryn Du mansion is perfect in winter, spring, summer and even fall.

4. Biological Reserve With over 350 acres of land tucked away in town, the Denison Biological Reserve is more than just a place to take a walk to me. Perfect for hiking, running, bird watching, bike riding, and lab experiments for Denison students, the Biological Reserve is a place that is ideal for anyone at any age, especially anyone who enjoys nature as much as I do! The reserve provides a great opportunity for everyone to become active and enjoy nature through all seasons.

5. Denison University Ohio’s second oldest liberal college, founded in 1831, known to most as being 30 miles East of Columbus, but to me as the spotlight of Granville, Denison University is home to some of the most famous celebrities (Steve Carell and Jennifer Gardner, just to name a few). Aprivate co-educational school, Denison provides students with hands on learning opportunities. About 2, 385 students attended Denison in 2013, having an acceptance rate of 49%.

East Broadway

Infirmary Mound

Biological Reserve

Bryn Du Mansion

Denison University Photos by Emily Pitcher

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The Dangers of

Plagiarism

BY ANNA MINTON AND DESTINY BRADEN ranville High School has always had a strict policy on plagiarism.

They believe that a “life of honesty and integrity should be at the core of all human endeavors,” as stated in the Academic Integrity Code. Plagiarism and all other forms of cheating are never accepted, and are strictly punished.

The problem is that many students don’t know what plagiarism actually is.

The Merriam Webster dictionary, however, give plagiarism a much more simplified definition. According to them, plagiarism is “the act of using another person’s words or ideas without giving credit to that person.” Despite these many definitions, students still seem to be confused on what’s cheating and what’s not.

A sophomore who wishes to remain

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anonymous got a zero on her research paper, because her paper was deemed unoriginal by the Turnitin website.

“It’s not like a just copied and pasted everything” said the student. “I just read some stuff off of Wikipedia, and used parts of their sentences because they sounded better.” According to her, she did not plagiarize.

The Granville Schools Academic code, however, shows that she was indeed plagiarizing. Fabrication of data from other sources to make it original is considered cheating.

According to English teacher Molly Gardner, many students don’t comprehend the idea of plagiarism.

“I think that people know that they shouldn’t cheat,” says Gardner. “I think that it’s the proper quoting and citing their sources that they have a problem with.”

According to a Blueprints poll, 100% of students believe that they know what plagiarism is, while a majority simultaneously got the definition wrong. This further shows the ignorance of students when it comes to cheating.

Not only is plagiarism a moral problem, but it’s a time problem as well.

“I don’t think that students understand how many hours we teachers spend dealing with plagiarism,” Gardner said.

Teachers have to find proof that the student plagiarized, present it to the par-

“I didn’t

think it was

plagiarism”

Since the school started using turnitin.com, are you less likely to plagarize?

Yes 40% No 13% No Change 48% 8 BLUEPRINTS DECEMBER 2014

Have you ever plagarized?

Yes 21% No 61% Not Sure 18% ents, explain to the parents that their child did in fact cheat, then meet with the administrators and start the whole process over again.

“Students may think that they are saving themselves time, but really they are wasting ours,” Gardner said.

All in all, plagiarism may be the one of the most talked about topics in school, while simultaneously being the least understood. Students may not comprehend that they are cheating, but according to teachers, that does not excuse their actions.

“The students think that they can just copy and paste their report, and save effort,” said Gardner. “Really, all their doing is opening a whole new problem to deal with.”

In the long run, student really do end up wasting more time than if they would have just been honest in the first place.

The Granville Schools Academic Code of Integrity states that there are many aspects of plagiarism, including, but not limited to: • Using, as your own, the work, ideas, and information provided, knowingly or unknowingly, by others.

• Sharing and/or copying homework, labs, projects, and/or all other assignments.

• Bringing in and/or using unauthorized information during class time, including information stored in a calculator.

• Sharing and/or copying test/quiz answers.

• Using friends’/siblings’ papers or work from previous years as your own.

• Knowingly taking credit for an assignment to which you did not contribute.

• Fabricating or “fudging” data, information, or sources to pass off made up material as the result of genuine efforts.

• Changing answers during trade and grade (graded assignment) or gradeyour-own.

• All other actions of an inappropriate nature or as defined by an individual teacher’s requirements.

Today’s youth is too dependent on the Internet

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BY KAELI FRAHN echnology is a big help and a big problem. We can do anything and everything on our phones, on our computers, or any other device.

But with greatness comes consequences. Look around and I’m sure at least half the students in the class are on their phone snap chatting, texting or playing “Kim Kardashian Hollywood” or “Clash of Clans,” and I’m sure if Twitter, Instagram and Tumblr weren’t blocked, we’d be on there too.

Even our daily school life has been affected. Grades are now posted on web sites, homework is given online and essays are now submitted to Turnitin.com.

While these are all improvements, they make it nearly impossible for a student to succeed without some access to technology. Owning a computer and cell phone is now a necessity,

rather than a luxury.

The fact is that we are all dependent on technology. If you disagree, imagine waking up to find your cell phone dead, your Internet connection down, your TV broken, and all other forms of day-to-day technology rendered useless. Suddenly, your world of instant entertainment, information and communication vanishes.

I’m sure we’ve all realized the extent of our addictions when the power and Internet goes out. We can’t watch movies, can’t text with friends, and can’t listen to music. You can’t even Google “What to do when bored?”

Without technology, we’re at a loss.

We can’t entertain ourselves, get immediate answers to questions, contact friends or even get our schoolwork done without technology.

Not only have we become de-

pendent on technology for answers, completing schoolwork or for pure entertainment, but it has completely surpassed normal face-to-face conversations. What are the consequences?

The worst result is poor thinking and communication skills within our generation.

So I challenge you to put your cell phone down and go outside and get some fresh air or pick up a good book; you’ll feel a lot more accomplished at the end of the day.

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Photo by Alex Templeton

WINTER SPORTS PREVIEW The Blue Aces gear up for winter

BY NIC MORK, AUSTEN MILLER, BARRETT WILLIAMS, TREVOR STEYN, AND ALEX TEMPLETON

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he winter sports program is looking to repeat its success from last year, by winning league titles again. Last year the bowling team, the boys’ basketball and the wrestling team won the LCL title. It’s time to see what Old Man Winter has in store.

Both the swimming team and bowling teams have already had their first meets, as well as the Granville Indoor Football Club has had a wide variety of games. The basketball team looks to recapture the league title for the second year in a row. The Newark Generals hockey team has a lot of young talent leading the way. The wrestling team has already had one match out of their eight total.

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Photo by Trevor Steyn

WRESTLING Last season the varsity wrestling team had a successful run, winning the LCL title and sending three wrestlers to participate in the state tournaments. Dane Steffeny (’14) broke a school wrestling record by placing fourth in the state, the highest anyone from the school has ever made it. But now with him, and other senior talent gone, the team looks on to the coming season.

For the last few years, the team has relied on young talent to win various meets, and it looks like that won’t change for this season. Coach Marvin Bright has high hopes for the Aces this year.

“I want to go all out this year and win as much as possible. My ultimate goal is to be a state champion,” senior captain and four year letterman Christian Price said. “I feel really good about this season. Hopefully we’ll come out successful.”

“We are really young again this year, but I feel confident we will perform well,” junior Mason Holt said. “We will really need them to focus and make sure that they can help us.

BOWLING With the loss of former MVP and senior Jon Massey, the Blue Aces bowling team are relying on junior talent to lead the way this year.

“I feel good about the upcoming season,” junior John Mayer said. “I think we will perform well in the LCL and win it like last year.

The girls’ team had a somewhat appeasing season last year, but did not win a league title or make it to districts. The future of the team remains uncertain, due to the fact that they don’t have many girls returning to play. The two seniors on the team are Carly Eggleton and Carrie Gant.

GRANVILLE FOOTBALL CLUB The Granville Football Club is a recreational team that started meeting together of April of 2014. Started by senior Dakota Smith, the team played every Sundays at various fields around Granville.

“I established GFC to get a group of people together who are all passionate about the same thing: football,” said Smith about finding GFC. Now a days the club is run by leader Jack Corbett, which many members attribute running the club into the ground.

Although, the GFC plays every Saturday at the Resolute Complex GIRLS’ BASKETBALL The girls’ basketball team is looking to bounce back after an unusual off season for the Lady Aces. The girls have a very young roster with only a couple of seniors but they hope to have their youth be able to lead the Aces to a deep playoff run. Cihanna Winston was a big part of the team last year as a freshmen.

“I hope to help contribute to the team again, and I hope I can dunk in every game,” said Winston.

BOYS’ BASKETBALL The boys’ basketball team ended its season last year 18-4 and won the LCL Title.

“I’m pretty happy with last season”, Coach Adam Teeters said. “We had a good group of guys who came together and achieved some pretty nice things” In regards to the upcoming season, Teeters said, “I think there is a lot of potential with this group to accomplish things we did last year, but the pieces need to come together first.”

The team this year has five seniors on the team and are described by Teeters of

Photo by Nic Mork

“being great leaders and even better group of young men.”

GENERALS HOCKEY The Newark Generals Varsity Hockey Team is currently 3-2-2 with losses against the PHA prowlers and the Northeast storm.

The Generals tied two games against the Northeast Storm and Westerville.

Levi Beckholt, a student at Newark high school has contributed much to the team by leading the team in scoring with seven goals, but the final line of defense for the Newark general is goalie Charlie Smart.

He has faced 212 shots in their first seven games and has saved 192 of those 212 shots which comes out to a .905 save percentage.

Hopefully Coach Don Jennings can coach the Generals varsity team to a successful season this year.

SWIMMING The swimming team had a great season last year and are looking to continue the success even though some of their star seniors have left.

The team has been given a new coaching staff for this season and the players are still adjusting. Hopefully the new staff can lead this team to be just as great as last season. Most players say they enjoy the new staff but they’re still adjusting to the new way of doing things.

Photo by Austen Miller

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DEAR santa

BY NIC MORK

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h i s year I have been very good and I hope that my actions deserve some things this year that I really want. Although this Nic’s Sport year I don’t want any tanReport gible things, instead I want the year of 2015 to be one of the best in history for my Ohio sports teams. Here are some of the things I would like you to make happen.

1. To begin I will start with something that might be the easiest to do, to bring a championship to the state of Ohio. The Cavaliers have a chance to bring something to Cleveland that hasn’t happened in decades: a championship for one of the worst sports cities in past years. Despite early season problems I believe the Cavs will make it to the finals and then you will have to work some magic.

2. The Columbus Blue Jackets, despite their great season last year, have started out with one of the worst seasons in franchise history. I would wish for another playoff berth but that does not seem possible at this time. So my Blue Jackets wish is the first pick in the 2015 draft in which the Jackets will draft Connor McDavid, who will bring Stanley Cups to the city of Columbus for many years.

3. One of the worst NFL franchises in the NFL in the past years have been the Cleveland Browns, although this year they have come out to a 7-6 record and are in a tie for the last wild card spot. My wish is not for the NFL title but just a trip to playoffs for the first time in years.

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Six years after her accident, Argyle now runs competitively. Photo by Destiny Braden

Any day could be the last

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BY DESTINY BRADEN that her bone broke through her leg and her he slap of her feet on the pavement fibula and tibia were broken. Argyle had to is accompanied by the satisfying stay in the hospital for three days, and was crunch of leaves under her run- out of school for a couple weeks. When her ning shoes. People make way as she speeds doctor wanted her to use a wheelchair, Arthough the sidewalk. Nobody realizes the gyle refused. She wanted to “walk on her scar running up her left shin, or the fact own and be able to walk sooner.” that she had to go through weeks Today, Argyle is running of physical therapy just to be able cross country, indoor and outto put pressure on her leg. door track. She runs the 800, Late October in 2007 at age mile, and three mile. Argyle has 9, Celsey Argyle was crossing the mostly been on varsity every seastreet on Denison Drive. She ran son of cross country, indoor track ahead of her family and in front of and outdoor track. She didn’t let an oncoming car. She tried to run the accident stop her from living back onto the sidewalk, but could her life. Now she is a normal 15 not get out of the way fast enough. year-old girl. The only physical “I fell forward and hit my reminder of the accident is a long chin on the car,” Argyle said. “I scar that runs along her left leg. was thrown back onto the road Argyle recovering The effects of the crash shortly after her acdi- wasn’t only a large scar on her leg. and landed on my backpack.”

After the initial impact, Ar- dent. Photo courtsey Because of the crash, she realized of Celsey Argyle gyle could not move. “I just laid that she couldn’t take her life for there, stunned,” Argyle said. “All I granted. could hear was shouting. I couldn’t “I was small enough,” Argyle feel anything.” said. “I could have died. I realized that any She was put on a stretcher and was air- day could be my last.” lifted to the hospital. There she found out

Lucky number Four A

BY AUSTEN MILLER t the beginning of the season, Coach Urban Myer told the media at the B1G Ten conference in Chicago, that the Buckeyes certainly were not a playoff team this year. After losing starting quarterback and senior Braxton Miller to a shoulder injury at training camp, freshman JT Barrett got the nod. Along with seven other freshman starting, Myers thought that the Buckeyes were too young to perform at the level at which they did. He and sophomore running back Ezekiel Elliot led them to an 11-1 record, when terror struck again.

In the most historical rivalry in sports, Ohio State against Michigan (6-7), Barrett was sacked and came down awkwardly on his right leg. He was diagnosed with a broken ankle that required surgery, and would be out for the rest of the season. Ohio State went on to win the game, and was ranked fifth in the country after that week.

It was down to the third string quarterback, Cardale Jones, who was definitely not known for playing football. Last year during his redshirt year, the 6, 5”, 250 pound

freshman made a controversial tweet that suspended him for two games. He stated that he is attending Ohio State to “play football, not school,” and that classes are “pointless.” But when the Buckeyes went on to play Wisconsin in the B1G Ten conference title game, Cardale was playing football.

Jones completed 12 of his 17 passes attempted for a total of 257 yards passing, and was responsible for three touchdowns.

The third stringer went from bottom of the totem pole, to starter, to MVP of the B1G Ten conference game. He and the Buckeyes routed the Badgers by a score of 59-0.

Ohio State and Wisconsin were the last two teams to play the evening, and now the College Football Playoff Committee had a difficult job in selecting the top four teams in the country to compete for the National Championship. At the current moment those four teams were one seed Alabama (12-1), two seed Oregon (12-1), three seed TCU (12-1), and four seed Florida State (13-0). Things that they had to take into account were quality wins, losses, strength of schedule, and head to head matchups.

On Dec. 7, at 12:30pm ET, the College

Football Selection Committee announced that TCU had been bumped down to sixth place, Florida State bumped up to third and Ohio State bumped up to fourth in the country-- the lucky number to send them to the first-ever college football playoffs.

The Rose Bowl between Oregon (2) and Florida State (3) will be played in Pasadena, California on Jan. 1st at 5pm ET. Ohio State (4) will be playing Alabama (1) in the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1, in New Orleans at the Super Dome at 8:30 pm ET. The National Championship game will be played on January 12th in Chattanooga, Tennessee at 8:30pm between the winners of the two bowl games.

The Buckeyes have been the underdogs for the entire season, and that isn’t changing for the game against Alabama. The Crimson Tide is favored by (-10) with a lot of offensive talent. Will it be David Slaying Goliath? Or perhaps the aggresive SEC style of play will be too much for the Buckeyes and their lacking offense. A battle of two storied programs comes down to a 60 minute game.

READER OPINION

What will be the score of the OSU game?

“Elliot runs through the SEC defense.

37- 28 OSU” -Mitch Mcdonough

“42- 31! Go Bucks!”

-Ciahnna Winston

“SEC is too much for the Bucks.

35- 24 BAMA” -Sam Stewart Photos by Nic Mork and Trevor Steyn

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old-fashioned peanut butter cookies

{

This delicious recipe will awaken memories of grandma’s ingredients kitchen and the aroma of her home- 1 ¼ cups unsifted all-purpose flour baked peanut but¾ teaspoon baking soda ter cookies. These ½ teaspoon baking powder cookies are so easy to ½ cup butter of margarine, softened make that you’ll want 3/4 cup Granulated sugar to double, maybe even triple the recipe. ½ cup light brown sugar, firmly packed The peanut but½ cup creamy peanut butter ter cookies, topped 1 large egg with milk chocolate ½ teaspoon vanilla extract 3 dozen foil-wrapped milk Hershey Kisses and chocolate Hershey Kisses served with a tall glass of cold milk, make for a perfect Christmas treat.

}

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BY KAELI FRAHN 1.} In a medium-sized bowl, using a wire whisk, gently stir the flour, baking soda and baking powder together. (this eliminates the need for sifting) Set flour mixture aside.

2.} In large bowl of electric mixer, at high speed, beat the butter, ½ cup granulated sugar and the brown sugar together until mixture is light and fluffy.

Add the peanut butter, egg and vanilla; beat until mixture is thoroughly combined.

3.} Add flour mixture to peanut butter mixture one-fourth at a time, beating after each addition until mixture is thoroughly combined. Scrape dough from side of bowl; cover bowl and refrigerate dough 1 hour.

4.}Preheat oven to 375F. Lightly grease three large baking

sheets. Using hands, roll level tablespoon-fuls of the dough into balls about 1 ¼ inches in diameter. Place the dough balls 3 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.

5.} Dip the tines of a fork into granulated sugar, then flatten dough balls crisscross style.

Bake on baking sheet of cookies at a time on center rack in oven until cookies are slightly brown, about 8 minutes. Remove cookies from oven; unwrap chocolate drops and press one into center of each cookie. Let cookies set 2 minutes.

6.} Using a metal spatula, carefully transfer cookies one at a time to wire racks to cool completely. Repeat until all the cookies have been baked. Store cookies in airtight containers.

For more recipes, check us out at blueprintsonline.org/category/features/food

top five christmas movies

BY BRITTANY CLINE 5. “A Charlie Brown Christmas”- Charlie Brown realizes that the Peanut gang has lost the true meaning of Christmas. Charlie Brown sets out to find a real tree to have for the gang to celebrate around. Unfortunately, he found a small, scrawny tree that the Peanuts made fun of. That was until they recognized that Charlie Brown was right, trying to re-install the meaning of Christmas back into their lives. This movie is considered a classic because it has meaning and shows how the holidays bring people together no matter their struggles of friendship.

4. “Christmas with the Kranks”-Luther is tired of the same old “commercial Christmas” and decides to take his wife, Nora, on an extravagant cruise and skip Christmas.

When their only daughter decides to come home for the holidays from college, they scramble. When she arrives home and the Christmas party starts, Luther and Nora realize the true meaning of Christmas. They

take the cruise brochures to their elder neighbors and give them the trip fully paid for. At the end of the day, the best feeling in life is to give to others. The movie really has a heart-warming aspect to it.

3. “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation”- This movie truly captures the spirit of Christmas through a family’s eyes.

All Clark Griswold wants is to have a good Christmas with his family. He makes several attempts to try to give Christmas a little extra glimmer, but fails miserably. In these failed attempts, a destroyed house and a few fires, he realizes that the most important thing about the Christmas holiday is to be happy and thankful for your family and everything that you have instead of being upset about the little meaningless things.

2. “A Christmas Story”- “You’ll shoot your eye out, you’ll shoot your eye out.” This movie, by far, is the most quotable Christmas movie of all time. A 9 year old boy

named Ralphie is the main character and all he wants for Christmas is a Red Ryder Carbine Action 200- shot BB gun. His life is the same thing day by day and he yearns for the morning of Christmas so he can wake up to a BB gun to shoot. Although his mother is strongly against the idea, his father secretly goes out of his way to make his kid happy.

1. “It’s a Wonderful Life”- This movie has such an uplifting theme with an ending that will make the toughest person in the world shed a tear which makes it the best Christmas movie of all time. The main character, George Bailey, is a grouchy old man who believes he has a horrible life and doesn’t have the spirit of Christmas. Everything changes when he sees what life for his family and friends would be like if he wasn’t a part of it. He comes to the realization that his life is exactly the way he wants and is happy with the outcome. It’s truly a timeless story that should not go unseen.

sEE INTERSTELLAR IN THE THEATER A

BY DAKOTA SMITH s an acclaimed movie critic, going to the theater to see “Interstellar” was a no-brainer for me. “Interstellar” is Christopher Nolan’s eleventh film as a director and it shares the common characteristic of his other movies: containing confusing plot points that the movie-viewer has to connect in his own head.

Matthew McConaughey plays Cooper, a widowed father of two, who has become a farmer to provide for his family. When he is reunited with Professor Brand, his college professor, he is given the opportunity to potentially save all of mankind.

Brand has teamed up with NASA to launch an expedition to travel into space in search of a more sustainable planet to support human life. The team pitches the idea to Cooper, who is immediately onboard, but has to remember his responsibilities at home.

Though Cooper’s daughter (Jessica Chastain) is not happy with her father’s decision, she has to let him go. So he goes off into space

in search of astronauts who went missing searching for a planet able to sustain the human population.

As Cooper and the other astronauts on his team are traveling through space, time goes by at a different rate, which, as a viewer, was really cool to comprehend in the midst of all of the action. This ends up serving as the basis of the emotional aspect of this movie.

We see this when Cooper and Brand’s daughter return from a planet in search of a lost astronaut to find that what seemed like an hour on the planet, turned out to be more than seven years in Earth time. He then watches a video of his daughter and sees how old she is, which takes a toll on him, but also gives him the determination to get back home after completing his mission.

Both actors had a great performance, though Matthew McConaughey really shined as the main character in this film. I do recommend this movie, but I would have to say it has to be seen in the movie theater to really capture the full effect of the cinematography and the score.

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DEAR MACEY, DEAR MILLIE

One monthgone, another question asked. Don’t worry-if you’ve got questions, you’re not alone here! We all have wonders. Like how the heck to get a winter formal date (we obviously have no clue), or how to deal with frustrating freshmen (Don’t you be too judgey! You were one a lifetime, or two years ago!).

It’s because of all these questions that we have risen to the challenge (or were bribed with class credit) to answer your most pressing problems. We’ll be no help with World War II, but we can help you avoid World War III with your friend.

Dear Macey and Millie, I am stressed out! My best friend and my boyfriend never particularly liked each other, but they just had a huge argument and now they practically hate each other. Please save me! I’m so torn!

Sincerely, A Seriously Stressed Student

R

emember, sisters before misters, which is easy for me considering I don’t have any misters. Don’t ditch your best friend just for a guy. If possible, I would just keep them separated. If not, talk to them and let them know that they’re both a big part of your life and they need to try to get along. GOOD LUCK!

-Macey

B

alancing a friendship and a relationship is hard enough when the two get along, let alone when there dueling to the death. I would say that you shouldn’t choose between the two unless you have too. Good friends AND good boyfriends should try to make you happy, not stressed! Talk to the two, and try to see if they will get along for your sake. If not, this could tell you a lot about the both of them.

-Millie

ASK ANDY

How should I spend my Winter break?

F

irst of all, winter break is just what is says: a break. So that means relaxing and unwinding before another couple of months of school. So the last thing you do is any schoolwork what so ever; even reading a book should be banned from your agenda.

Sitting should be how you spend the first week of your break, in your favorite spot on the couch and watching 25 days of Christmas movie marathon on TV. The second part of your week should be used to play with all of your new toys, wear all of your clothes in mismatch fashion together and then fall asleep wearing your new onesie. The main idea of winter break, other than Christmas, is to get yourself rested up for the rest of the school year.

16 BLUEPRINTS DECEMBER 2014