March issue

Duke vs. Carolina fandom Page 10

What’s Inside Dr. Thomas wins Teacher of the Year Northwest Guilford High School • 5240 Northwest School Road • Greensboro, NC • Volume 51 Issue 3 • March 2014

Lindsey McGuirk & Noah McCormick staff writers

News

A

Teen drivers become more distracted

page 3

Op/Ed

Is there a God?

page 6

Spread Photo by Brenna Profit

Social media: the next generation

Dr. Richard Thomas explains the dynamics of population to his AP environmental science students. Thomas has taught nearly 30 years, eight of which at Northwest, and was named Teacher of the Year after a staff-wide vote in February.

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Features

Biology beyond the textbook

Science department begins new literacy program Melanie Jenkins staff writer

I

Student story to be made into movie

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Index

news 2-4 op/ed 5-7 spread 8-9 sports 10-11 arts & culture 12-13 features 14-15 entertainment 16

fter 29 years in education, AP environmental science teacher Dr. Richard Thomas was thrilled when he received the news that he was named Northwest’s 2014 Teacher of the Year.

“The thing that’s neatest about it is that these are your peers who recognize you, so you get recognized by people whom you respect,” Thomas said.

“That is what makes [the award] the nicest.”

His colleagues, who voted during February’s faculty meeting, are in agreement that he is deserving of the accolade.

“He goes over and beyond to make sure that he builds a personal connection with each of his students,” science teacher Diana Burdzy said.

Thomas’s success comes in his ability to make his class relevant to the real world.

“My goal is to show students how the content they learn is applicable in and outside the classroom,” he said.

Not afraid to open up to his students in order to make a connection with each and every one of them, Thomas also invokes extensive storytelling and humor to make his room a comfortable atmosphere for students.

“As you get older, you have more stories to tell,” Thomas said. “I’ve tried to foster my imagination over the years in order to be able to relate as closely to my students as possible.”

Thomas didn’t originally set out to become a teacher. His ini-

tial aspirations lay within some type of forestry work; it wasn’t until his college peers encouraged him to become a teacher that Thomas considered a career in education.

“A lot of people encouraged me to become a teacher as they saw me spending a lot of time with children,” Thomas said.

Taking their advice, Thomas pursued a doctorate degree in education at UNC-G after completing his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in biology from Wake Forest University. Upon finishing his doctorate, and while concurrently teaching high school science, he taught night classes for 21 years at High Point University before deciding to finish out his career solely in the high school setting.

Though he experienced a significant pay cut when he stopped working as a college professor, Thomas felt that he would make a bigger impact focusing on the younger generation of students.

His Northwest students couldn’t agree more.

“He is very caring and wants to make sure that all students excel in their work,” junior Lena Nazzal said. “He participates in a lot of school fundrasiers and is willing to help others in whatever way he can.”

Appreciative of his work at Northwest, teachers feel that Thomas is among the elite in the education profession.

“He builds relationships with students to optimize their learning experience,” AP environmental colleague Jessica Potts said After almost three decades in teaching, Thomas says that he hopes to continue his passion for years to come.

t is expected for high school students to have assigned reading outside of their English classes; however, this year, the Northwest science department is following suit and taking a new approach at teaching biology.

Beginning in December, biology teachers decided to start assigning their students chapters from books either outside of school, or start having them read passages before class and answer questions about the designated passages. These nonfiction books directly relate to the students’ curriculum and are intended to help kids connect the classroom to their world.

“It’s nice to see what we are learning in a real-life situation,” freshman Avery Indermaur said.

“The book [‘The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks’] is really good.”

Some teachers have already assigned their students to start reading “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks,” by Rebecca Skloot, while other teachers, such as biology teacher Jennifer Linden, have assigned their students

to read “The Hot Zone,” by Richard Preston. Both books are centered around nonfiction, real-life events that currently relate to the students’ curriculum so that they have an enhanced learning experience.

“They provide good information on how cell research has improved over the years,” freshman Kristina Clifton said.

Sponsored by Principal Ralph Kitley and the PTSO, the new reading program is not only giving students a chance to connect their classwork with historical events, but it is also prompting students to appreciate reading more. Teachers are hoping that the books will encourage students to relate their school work to their own lives in order to make them better learners.

“I’m hoping that this will get students into reading science nonfiction,” biology teacher Dr. Jennifer Whisman said. “It’s awesome for teachers and the students, too.”

As of this year, the Honors and CP biology classes are the only classes that have incorporated this new reading program; however, there are plans to expand this to other science classes in the future. By implementing

Photo by Brenna Profit

Freshman biology student Ashley Lopez reads a chapter to prepare for class the next day. Biology teachers implemented a new reading plan in December to increase the learning ability of their students.

this new reading plan, teachers are anticipating that it will help students expand their vocabulary as well as aid them in connecting and shortening the gap between events of the real world and their school work.

“Because it’s nonfiction and science-related, I feel that it’ll help them apply what they’re learning in class in a real-life setting,” Linden said. “I’m hoping that students who haven’t enjoyed reading will start to enjoy it.”

News

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March 2014

Exploring the Deep Web: Nikole Nguyen staff writer Early February 2014, the internet Silk Road was reopened after having been shut down by authorities in October 2013. Online, users raved.

The Silk Road, a website within the Deep Web, is much different from history’s most significant trade route. Like its existing counterpart, the Deep Web most certainly has a trade network; however, it trades much more than silk. It is a hotspot for illegal exchanges of drugs- its most popular items include marijuana, LSD and heroin.

According to the FBI’s website, there were more than 1.2 million transactions completed on the site from Feb. 6, 2011 to July 23, 2013.

How did over one million transactions take place on this website for two years without anyone taking notice? One answer: anonymity.

“Anonymity, so the argument goes, ensures governments cannot spy on citizens and thus guarantees privacy and free speech,” David Davenport of Bilkent University said in his paper, “Anonymity on the Internet: Why the Price May Be Too High.”

Online, users highly emphasize the importance of anonymity and keeping their identities safely hidden away behind proxy servers and browser plugins, masking their locations and personal information. However, it comes with many consequences.

“I’ve seen some really awful stuff resulting from anonymity,” junior Katherine Shull said. “People screaming at each other to go kill themselves, trying to shove their opinions on each other. Everyone takes advantage of being online without an identity.”

However, there is a location on the internet that thrives on anonymity.

“The Deep Web is a massive and growing anonymous area of the Internet,” Jay Newton-Small of Times Magazine said in a recent article covering the Deep

The internet has its own Silk Road

Graphic by Nikole Nguyen

Similar to an iceberg, the internet has more to it than at first sight. The Deep Web contains anything from data from the ‘90s to illegal drug trades.

Web’s mysteries. “It’s a blueprint for criminals the world over.”

The Deep Web is essentially the internet’s ‘underbelly,’ swarming with vast amounts of information that date back to the early ‘90s. Rumors of illegal activity such as drug trafficking, identity theft and arms trading has made the deep web an intimidating and mysterious entity, almost as faceless as its users.

“When given the opportunity of anonymity, people take advantage of it to harass others with-

out facing repercussions,” junior Adam Duehring said. “Many use it to spread hate and negativity around, so that they don’t have to own up to it.”

But as potentially dangerous as anonymity is, many disagree with the idea of revoking it completely.

“Used appropriately, [the internet is] a powerful tool that can be used by people to have more control over their lives,” AP environmental science teacher Dr. Richard Thomas said. “However, it can always be taken advantage

of.”

According to Thomas, the Silk Road is an example of abused internet use and does not necessarily represent internet users as a whole.

“Preventing internet use for anyone, even children, places them at a disadvantage,” Thomas said.

The internet in its entirety cannot be easily managed, and the Deep Web only causes the problem to worsen. According to Alex Wright of the New York Times,

Why snow cold? Spring break lost to winter weather Liz Hubbard staff writer GCS has had six 2-hour delays, three early dismissals and nine closings due to inclement weather.

“I love it!” junior Courtney Atkins said.

However, while students often rejoice over the snow and missed school, teachers tend to be less than ecstatic about their lost days in class.

“The AP exam dates are not going anywhere,” social studies teacher Elizabeth Russell said. “At this point, it’s not like I can just push it back to June; we’re going to have

to condense work.”

More disappointing is the loss of spring break due to the inclement weather days.

“This is not what I call vacation,” drama teacher Abby Cockman said when school was canceled Friday, March 7 due to an ice storm. Despite 70-degree weather, school was canceled again Monday, March 10 due to 18 Guilford County schools without power and others with storm damage.

Why has winter been extreme this year? People throughout the midwestern and eastern United States have asked this question this winter, and there is one answer: the jet stream. Usually, this river of

air stays in Canada and the northern United States, and it flows in a relatively straight line from west to east. This season, however, it has carried cold air south and east and has left dry, warm weather to the west; in fact, Alaska has set heat records this year.

While northerners sometimes snicker at canceled school days due to wintry weather, North Carolina has not been prepared to have drivers on icy roads, and slick conditions are dangerous when the driver is not accustomed to it.

“When you go out and look at the roads [on snow days], they’re actually really bad, especially the back roads and shady spots,” At-

kins said.

Guilford County may have not been prepared for all of the ice this year, but if the cold is caused by manmade global warming shifting jet stream patterns, North Carolinia will need more solutions to the hazardous roads in years to come. “[GCS cannot prevent snow days] because it’s primarily an issue of safety. Teenage drivers shouldn’t be out on the roads, and even parents who have been driving for years,” Russell said. “It’s more of a state issue; we need more plows.”

Despite a petition that requested the forgiveness of spring break days, the school board voted March 11 to keep the make-up days as is.

Google has added over one trillion pages to its search index.

“But as impossibly big as that number may seem,” Wright said in his article commemorating Google’s trillionth website to its search index, “it represents only a fraction of the entire Web.” As such, websites like the Silk Road will continue to exist so long as the anonymity movement continues to thrive. With the increasing number of transactions being made, it doesn’t seem like it’s stopping anytime soon.

Snow make-up days Monday, March 31 Monday, April 14 Tuesday, April 15 Wednesday, April 16 Thursday, April 17 Wednesday, June 11 Thursday, June 12 Friday, June 13

News

March 2014

Page 3

Explaining the differences: AP vs IB

Distracted driving causes most teen accidents Graphic by Carson Beam & Sarah Deutchki

Distracted driving leads to teen accidents Clare Kilmartin staff writer Every 23.6 minutes, a teen driver experiences a car accident. Every 23.6 minutes, your best friend, lab partner or even your buddy from track could be involved in a car accident because of a teen’s decision to get behind the wheel.

Teen driving is the number one cause of death for teens, and in 2011, 1.2 million teen drivers were involved in car accidents. Of those accidents in 2011, 1,978 teen drivers were killed, and 2,780 other people involved in these accidents were also killed.

“The biggest problem with teen drivers is the amount of distractions that are in the vehicle, such as cell phones, stereo systems, DVD players, navigation systems and lack of experience,” school resource officer Cameron Stephens said.

Distracted driving is any activity that could divert a person’s attention away from the primary task of driving. In 2012, 3,328 people were killed in distraction-affected crashes. Consequently, many states and districts are banning distractions in the car to drivers, such as cell phone use, to ensure driver safety.

“Teen drivers have learned and

know how to drive,” senior Sam Pool said. “The distractions are definitely the problem.”

Not only is distractions a problem to teen drivers, but experience behind the wheel is a big component to driving safely on the roads.

“As a young driver, I have made a lot of mistakes,” junior Hannah Godat said.

Teen drivers lack the years of experience most drivers have on the road, and because of this, they are four times more likely to be in an accident than an adult.

“Experienced drivers are more educated about the traffic laws and the way vehicles operate and maneuver in different elements, making experienced drivers more confident in their abilities,” Stephens said.

North Carolina laws, such as the Graduated Driver Licensing Laws, have been enacted to ensure driver safety and experience.

These laws include a three-stage licensing system beginning at age 15 for a learner’s permit and many restrictions on new drivers. However, some people feel teen drivers should acquire driving permits at 16 and driver’s licenses at 17.

“The more experience teens have with driving, the better they will become,” Stephens said. “The distractions only compound problems with teen drivers.”

in our Student Profiles section, on our Facebook page and in the NWO

nwobserver.com

/NorthwestObserver

News

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March 2014

Sochi avoids catastrophe at 2014 Olympics Noah McCormick staff writer After much speculation about the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, things went as expected.

Prior to the events, much agony and frustration were drawn from all around the world regarding possible terrorist attacks in Russia due to their laws banning homosexuality. With heightened security, less violence occurred than expected, and the games prevailed while dealing with several flaws.

“There were clearly multiple hiccups that made the Winter Olympics far from perfection,” sophomore Kris Dais said.

With issues regarding Sochi’s control over sanitation, and in addition to a minor malfunction during the opening ceremony, many agree that it didn’t meet Russia’s ideal standards.

However, despite the public’s opinionated perspectives about the games as a whole, Sochi took a major sacrifice in their economy, as their totaled costs for hosting the Olympics totaled over $51 billion.

The 2014 Winter Olympics are the most expensive to date.

In Memoriam

Cameron Dreisbach 1993-2013

Cameron James Dreisbach, a 2011 graduate of Northwest Guilford High School, passed away Fri., Dec. 6 due to a car accident. His visitation took place Dec. 10 at Guilford Chapel. A Greensboro native, Cameron served in the U.S. Army after graduating from Northwest and had recently returned home from his service.

“I taught Cameron several years ago and remember him as a funloving soul,” German teacher Lisa Worthington-Groce said.

He is survived by his parents, Jim and Kim, and his sister Stephanie.

Memorial contributions may be made in his honor to the Wounded Warrior Project, PO Box 758517, Topeka, KS 66675 or to the Guilford County Animal Shelter, A525 W, Wendover Ave., Greensboro, NC 27409.

Graphic by Mackenzie Mitchell

This high cost can be attributed to many reasons. In addition to the construction of colossal venues and picturesque infrastructures, including the most expensive ski jump ever built, President Vladimir Putin confirmed that much of Russia’s spending was a result of clearing out land and getting the community to cooperate as they prepared for the event.

“It comes across as rather shocking that so many citizens have been forced to be relocated in order to build all of these massive domes and arenas for the Olympians,” Dais said.

In fact, hundreds of thousands of Russians lost their land from a government repossession in order to provide the needed acreage and funding to put on the opening and closing ceremonies. Taxes were also raised for this event.

However, several thousand families were vacated from their homes since it was crucial that the venues could be built in the architects’ ideal location, which was rather tedious due to the inconvenient terrain they built on.

Going into the games, though, Putin insisted to host the 2014 Olympics, claiming that Russia had

been in its “best state ever,” in one of his recent speeches. Whether that is true remains debatable, but officials were confident with this decision because of their recovering economy.

“I find it a bit premature with the Russians’ willingness to believe they would make for an iconic set of events, putting all previous ones to shame,” sophomore Betty Lulseged said.

As many winter sports pressed through the month of February, one step at a time, the world successfully avoided a potential catastrophe.

Information from CNN.com

Target affected by historic credit card hack Sarah Boggins staff writer Target’s credit card system was hacked between Nov. 27 and Dec. 15. This theft was the second-largest card infraction in U.S. history.

The thieves collected more than 40 million credit and debit card information, including customer names, numbers, expiration dates and codes embedded in the magnetic strip.

“I plan on using cash [at Target],” sophomore Meg Miller said.

“I just don’t feel comfortable using my credit card there now.”

When the breach was found, Target resolved the issue by closing the access points. The stolen data began to be sold on online sites (see “Dark Web” p. 2). Stolen credit card information sells anywhere from $20 to $100 each.

Customers initially had trouble contacting Target call centers, as well as customer service on the Target website. Customers became frustrated and started to comment on Target’s Facebook page; some threatened to stop shopping at Target.

Due to the inconvenience, Target CEO Gregg Steinnafel offered 10 percent off for customers shopping the following weekend.

Target is now offering a full year of free credit monitoring services

Photo by Sarah Boggins

A crowded parking lot at a local Target store shows that custumers continue to do their shopping despite a recent security breach. In December, millions of credit and debit card data was stolen from Target’s security system.

for those affected by the breach; however, some customers have not let this affect their patronage of Target.

“I still feel comfortable shopping at Target because Target has corrected this by creating a strong system,” sophomore Katie Altabet said.

The Target website now has an area to warn and educate consumers on cyber-security. Target will be investing $5 million to educate

consumers about the danger in scams and cyber-security.

However, up to 70 million customers could still feel the effects of this breach in the future. Credit scores are one of the main concerns; if a person’s score is altered, it could limit his or her ability to take out loans or apply for future credit cards. This is the reason why Target is now issuing the credit monitoring.

Banks also will have to monitor

hackers. Customers often receive emails from hackers, but the emails appear professional. Customers who accidently mistake these fake emails for real companies unknowingly release their information.

Despite this historic breach, most customers have not changed their opinions about Target.

“I feel as though something like this could have happened anywhere,” sophomore Morgan Auel said.

Editorial

March 2014

Page 5

Marijuana legalization: A mixed blessing for states Bassam Bikdash staff writer Marijuana has been a source of debate for many years: as the drug serves as medication for certain medical ailments or as a hallucinogenic drug with a high potential of abuse and harmful effects on the brain.

There are many varying opinions over whether marijuana should be legalized.

Some students are okay with the legalization of marijuana.

“People have the freedom to pursue what makes them happy, and if that’s marijuana, that’s their problem, not mine,” sophomore Jorge Capote said.

Other students are against the issue.

“I don’t trust people to control themselves at all,” sophomore Cody DelFava said.

There are some who don’t care either way.

“I don’t really have an opinion on it,” sophomore Hope Bercaw said.

Cannabis (marijuana) is listed as a Schedule 1 substance under the U.S. Controlled Substance Act of 1970, which is supposed to regulate the manufacture, possession, use and distribution of certain chemicals. Schedule 1 is the highest possible classification for a substance and essentially means that the drug, according to the United States government, has a high potential for

Graphic by Nikole Nguyen

This map shows the progression of marijuana legalization in the past few years. Both Colorado's and Washington's state legislators approved the drug in 2012, and legalization bills may be passed this year in four other states.

abuse, is not an acceptable medical treatment in the United States and is unsafe, even under medical supervision.

This also means that it is illegal to manufacture, possess, use or distribute marijuana. Despite this fed-

eral law, several states have begun or have already legalized marijuana.

In 2012, Colorado and Washington legalized the use of marijuana for recreational and medical use. Several other states have begun to petition for legalization of the

staff editorial

GCS School Board stands up to General Assembly

Guilford County Schools has garnered national attention for defending North Carolina public school teachers.

Since 2008, the only pay increase teachers have received was a 1.2-percent raise subsequently negated by a rise in the Social Security tax.

Then last summer, the state’s General Assembly voted into law two new wildly unpopular acts: teachers pursuing their master’s degrees will no longer receive a 10-percent pay bump, and career status (also known as tenure) will be completely abolished.

GCS is now taking a stand. At its Feb. 11 meeting, school board members unanimously voted to reject the law that strips teachers of tenure by 2018. “[The law is] inconsistent with the oath we were asked to take. I’m not doing it,” GCS School Board Chairman Alan Duncan told the Greensboro News & Record.

Specifically, this state law requires each school system to identify 25

Adviser

Melanie Huynh-Duc

Principal

Ralph Kitley

Editors in Chief Carson Beam Sarah Deutchki

News Editor Sarah Colby

Op/Ed Editor Jackson Parrish

Spread Editor Brenna Profit

percent of teachers who will be offered four-year contracts in exchange for their tenure. In addition, they will purportedly receive a $500 pay raise for each of the four years (although funding has only been allocated for 2014-2015 school year).

Many “Decline to Sign” campaigns have taken place across the state where teachers have vowed not to sign the four-year contract if offered. The remaining 75 percent of teachers will automatically lose their tenure at the end of the school year and will be offered one or two-year contracts instead.

GCS has proven itself a leader by defying this law completely. It will continue with career status teachers as what has been done for the past 50 years. GCS also plans to sue the state because the law violates the state’s constitution.

In a letter to GCS Superintendent Maurice “Mo” Green, Senator Phil Berger implored that the law must be abided by.

Sports Editor Willa Ma

Features Editor Liz Deutchki

Arts & Culture Editor Carson Beam

Entertainment Editor Nick Loschin

Webmaster Austin Drake

Graphics Editor Brenna Profit

“I am deeply troubled by the reports that the Guilford County School Board is considering ignoring a law,” the letter said. “Doing so would not only be illegal, but also represents a ‘picking and choosing’ of which laws the Board intends to follow.”

Northwest Horizons commends GCS for standing with educators.

GCS board members have risked their careers with this historic measure; for challenging the state legislature, they could be charged with a Class 1 misdemeanor and be removed from office.

NC teachers deserve job protection, wage increases commensurate with the rising cost of living and greater respect for the incredible service they do for the next generation of North Carolina’s residents.

Since GCS’ historic stand, other counties have followed suit, prompting an investigation by Gov. Pat McCrory into the teacher tenure law. We thank GCS for being formidable forerunner in the fight for teachers.

Staff Writers

Bassam Bikdash Sarah Boggins Liz Hubbard Melanie Jenkins Clare Kilmartin Noah McCormick Lindsey McGuirk Mackenzie Mitchell Harley Nefe Nikole Nguyen Kara Profit Satoria Ray Thalia Villarosa Natalie Whitehead

substance and may actually win in creating such laws in 2014.

An Alaska campaign submitted 45,000 signatures—15,000 more than needed—for a ballot that would legalize the possession of one ounce of marijuana for adults over

21. California had at least one ballot submitted that would authorize recreational sales and possession of the drug for adults over 21.

Despite all of these state legalizations, someone could still be arrested for possessing or using marijuana because it is a federal crime.

The supremacy clause in the U.S. Constitution makes the authority of the federal government supreme over those of the states. So if you happened to be using marijuana in Colorado, although the state police won’t arrest you, a federal agency can, such as the FBI, can still charge you.

There has, however, been some controversy with the federal government over marijuana lately. The Justice Department said in August of 2013 that it will not challenge state laws that legalize marijuana and will focus on serious trafficking cases and keeping the drug away from children. “[This] sends mixed messages of whether the federal government is approving or disapproving the use of marijuana,” social studies teacher Jim Thompson said.

I suppose one can only do so much to limit the use of a dangerous product that is becoming more and more popular.

“It basically comes down to personal freedoms versus the well-being of a society,” Capote said. “If you legalize marijuana, you promote individual freedoms, but if you ban it or regulate it, you are prioritizing the [welfare of ] society over the individual.”

Letter to the Editor In loving memory of my brother, Eric Ahmed, I created a website as a place where his loved ones and friends could reminisce of his life, as well as share pictures and memories of him. It is a place for those who were blessed to have been impacted by him and a place to always remember the strong presence he left us with. There is also a special page dedicated to share memories of his best friend, Timothy Johnson. Eric’s final resting place is in Mount Gur Cemetery in Kernersville next to Timmy.

On behalf of the Ahmed family, we wanted to thank everyone who kept us in your thoughts and attended Eric’s service.

Let this serve as a careful reminder how potent it is to be the driver of a vehicle. You are not only responsible for yourself, but to your passengers and those around you.

Please visit ericahmed.com and submit your memories, stories and photos.

Submitted by: Sabrina S. Ahmed NC State University 336-209-3262 ssahmed@ncsu.edu

Photo contributed by Sabrina Ahmed

Siblings Sabrina (left) and Eric Ahmed (right) stand together in a lighthearted pose. Sabrina lost her brother in a tragic car accident in 2013.

Policies and Intent

Serving as the primary printed and online forum for student opinion, Northwest Horizons publishes four issues each year by the staff at Northwest Guilford High School.

The paper is supported through community advertisers.

Staff Editorials are unsigned. The stance of each editorial is voted upon in staff meetings, but it requires the approval of the majority of the editorial board.

All members of the school community are encouraged to use Northwest Horizons to express their views. Letters must be signed when submitted.

Visit our website: www.northwesthorizons.com

Find us online: @NWHorizons

Page 6

Opinion

HEAD

Only mankind exists Kara Profit staff writer

Apsu is the Babylonian ruler of gods, Horus is the Egyptian sky god, Jupiter is the King of Roman gods, Thor is Norse Thunder god and finally Zeus is the top Greek god. This list represents a small portion of the hundreds of Gods who have been praised throughout history.

Raised in the southern “Bible Belt” where there is a church every five miles, I know that I am in the minority when I confess that I do not believe in God. Before we take a deeper look at atheism, we must first look at the origin.

According to Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary, “atheist” traces back to the Greek term ‘atheos’ meaning, “without a god, or godless.”

In 2012, where 50,000 people were asked in 40 different countries by a Gallup poll, 13 percent of people identified themselves as atheists. In the United States alone, we can see five to nine percent identify as such.

Atheism is, in fact, not a philosophy or belief system.

It is the lack of belief in either one or many gods. There are many reasons why an individual might not believe in a god; the most common one is the lack of evidence.

For atheists, the idea of Heaven does not exist. We believe that nothing happens after death. This isn’t something that makes me sad; I have accepted it as part of life, and I have found that I really enjoy every experience because of it.

Most atheists trace back the creation of the universe using scientific reasoning with the Big Bang. Following this principle, atheists agree with Darwin’s theory of evolution stating through natural selection change comes with variation of each generation to come.

I, personally, do not have a problem with those who believe in God. It’s when beliefs start to impede on the lives of others that I become concerned. I have experienced this as a young child in elementary school when I was confronted by other students who realized I did not believe in God. Constantly told that I was going to Hell because I didn’t share their faith, I’m sad to say that I wasn’t the only one in my family with these memories.

It’s particularly hard being labeled as an atheist in the South. Many individuals choose to hide the fact they are from friends and family.

A Northwest student who wishes to remain anonymous shared that her parents don’t know that she is an atheist.

“Doing research and figuring out I was an atheist was the easy part; the hard part was not being able to tell anyone,” the anonymous student said. It is something that wouldn’t be accepted in her house.

We are not the only ones that feel this way, however.

George H. W. Bush was found quoting during a conference for a national magazine, “No, I don't know that atheists should be considered as citizens, nor should they be considered as patriots. This is one nation under God.” However, other places, such as college campuses, are welcoming the diversity. Utah State University offers a “Secular Safezone” for atheist students to go when they need to get away from discrimination or bullying, and Elon University’s Interfaith Center offers programs for atheist students. Thanks to the Secular Student Alliance, schools have been encouraged to create a place for students to question, discuss and criticize.

Some well known atheists are Friedrich Nietzsche and Sigmund Freud, who were critical of religion.

Nietzsche used the analogy of religion as a shield where man protects himself from the fear of morality. Freud agrees when “Religion is a system of wishful illusions together with a disavowal of reality, such as we find nowhere else but in a state of blissful hallucinatory confusion.”

Religion's 11th commandment is "Thou shalt not question.” Not all atheists were like this. Albert Camus admitted that he did not believe in a god, but this did not make others incorrect with their faith.

When you hear the word “atheist,” it usually carries a negative connotation. There are many misconceptions that can be traced back to be the causation of this negative image. More than often people believe that atheists don’t have anything to live for, or that we don’t have a purpose in life. This is not true, however; Ricky Gervais quoted it perfectly when he stated, “It’s a strange myth that atheists have nothing to live for. It’s the opposite. We have nothing to die for. We have everything to live for.” Just because atheists don’t believe in God doesn’t mean that we lack morals, either. We are just like any other human being, who can distinguish the difference from right and wrong.

Being an atheist is something that I have decided. It wasn’t because of how I was raised. Just because I do not believe in something doesn’t make me a bad or closed-minded person. There are extremes, but these people are on both sides of the spectrum.

Therefore, even though I don’t believe in a god, I believe in many things. I believe in the endless power that a person can have when they set their mind to it, and I believe in the potential that humanity has to offer.

2Is

there a GOD?

March 2014

HEAD

There's something higher than all of us

Jackson Parrish op/ed editor A few days before the Christmas of 2012, my father had a seizure while lying in bed one morning. The ambulance came and the rest of my family met him at the hospital.

A few days later, he was diagnosed with Stage 3 brain cancer.

It’s something that you don’t expect. You know it happens to others though, distant acquaintances and relatives of friends, but not to you or someone you love.

So when it does, it’s something real and tangible that shakes you up inside for a while until you can find something, anything, that can put you back into a normal life.

And as a Christian, I found that salvation in my Lord Jesus Christ.

Religion is a strange thing for high school students. Though there are the devout followers and the diehard atheists, a lot of students are sprinkled somewhere in the middle, maybe calling themselves Christians because of their parents or other social influences, but not giving the idea of a God another thought. Others simply couldn’t care less, thinking only of the tokens of false satisfaction rife throughout the world today, trying desperately to achieve as much temporary happiness as possible by devoting their lives to the coolest music, movies, celebrities, video games and whatever else teenagers turn toward for entertainment.

And so I will tell my story, not out of a feeling of superiority, nor some sense of belittlement toward others, but simply to show that God is there for every one of you, through every struggle, every dark place, every bad test and even every serious sickness like cancer.

When I got back from that winter break in which my father had been diagnosed, I came to school hiding my feelings. I put a smile on my face and pretended that everything was all right. After a while, however, reality hit me, and I knew that I needed an answer, someone to turn to, some sort of hope that could shine in the darkness of my current life.

I had been a Christian for all of my life. I definitely believed in God, and I went to church and prayed regularly. Some sense of a close relationship with Him, however, was missing. After what happened with my father, I knew that a relationship with God was something I needed so that I could simply get on with my life without a cloud of dread hanging over me.

Recently, in order to strengthen this relationship and my faith, I ordered a collection of books by C.S. Lewis. An atheist early in his life, he pledged to write a book disproving the existence of God. As he studied and wrote, however, he began to realize that all of his findings supported Christianity and the existence of a God, rather than disproving them. He went on to write many Christian novels about his life and findings, including arguably his most famous work, “Mere Christianity.”

What I’ve read so far in “Mere Christianity” has changed my life. Lewis builds up Christianity in such an amazing way that I wish I could leave the entire text for you here in this paper. However, I will hone in on one point only, and that is that Jesus Christ, the son of God, was who He said He was and was crucified on the cross for our sins.

Essentially, Jesus could have been three things: a lunatic, a liar or the Lord. Given that a raving lunatic cannot be the world’s greatest moral teacher, and a liar cannot go through the most painful death imaginable for a mere lie, Jesus was who He said He was.

C.S. Lewis illustrates this point best in “Mere Christianity” when he writes: “I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about [ Jesus]: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept His claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say.

A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says He is a poached egg — or else He would be the Devil of Hell.

“You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”

To conclude my story, I grew in my faith in God thanks to C.S. Lewis. I prayed over and over for my dad. I never took his “Pray for Parrish” wristband off and still haven’t. And as my faith and relationship in God grew, I started to see more and more hope. Every report my father has gotten has been nothing but good news, and the doctors are even talking about taking him off of chemotherapy early. Not because of anything I did, but thanks to the grace of God, my dad is getting much better.

And so now I leave you all to your own lives. What hardships do you have in your own life? Where do you need your glimmer of hope? What will you turn to for the answer? One third of the world’s population is not simply mistaken. Jesus was not a madman or a liar. When my dad, and the rest of us, die, we don’t just become erased and cease to exist. There is something higher than everything having to make complete sense in our mere human minds.

There is something higher than all of us.

Photo by Brenna Profit

Opinion

March 2014

Page 7

Animal Cruelty:

The problem must stop now Mackenzie Mitchell staff writer

Surely by now, nearly everyone at Northwest has heard the infamous story of the student who supposedly “locked his dog inside of his car” on a freezing December school day. Several students reported the scene to Assistant Principal Bert Webb.

“It was a large dog inside a small car,” Webb said. “The car was parked in the senior lot, but it was not assigned to the spot [where it was parked].”

Webb reported the car’s license plate number to the front office, but when he returned to check on it, the car had disappeared. The dog hasn’t been back since.

Could this have possibly been an act of animal cruelty? Many would argue that it was.

Freshman and animal rights supporter Sophie Vazquez labeled this situation as “neglect” and a form of domestic violence.

Science teacher Diana Burdzy holds a different opinion, however.

“It depends on how long the dog was left in there,” Burdzy said.

“Who knows how long [it had been]?”

There are many different divisions of animal cruelty, unfortunately, and these divisions include factory farming (the slaughter of live animals to make food), animal experimentation (the testing of animals for any affects caused by a medicine or product made for human use), overbreeding (the forced breeding of animals usually for science or for sale) and of course, domestic

violence (the violent or inhumane treatment of animals, especially pets). “[Animals] are treated and cast aside like they have no intellect,” Vazquez said. “They’re not credited for what they’re worth.”

Domestic Violence

Domestic violence with pets is usually a result of violence in the home. People who abuse animals are five times more likely to abuse fellow humans. Therefore, harming animals is just a gateway to causing more crime in our already unsafe world. Seventy percent of animal abusers have also committed other crimes.

Categories of domestic violence with animals are dog fighting, abandonment and the neglecting of food, water or shelter. Thirty-two percent of children with human and animalabusive parents were reported to hurting or killing their own pets.

Punishments for domestic animal cruelty include expensive fines and imprisonment, the length of which varies from state to state.

“There should be an increased punishment legally for people who get caught abusing animals,” Burdzy said. “The punishments should be the same as cruelty with a child. [Animals] are just babies with fur.”

Food Preparation

One would not believe the process that helpless farm animals must endure for food preparation.

The food industry has caused a lot of controversy over the harsh treatment of animals. Chickens are crowded into filthy sheds by

the tens of thousands. Pigs and cows live their lives being beaten and stuffed inside cages that are too small for them to move around.

“Some places do have people who follow the guidelines, but we need more inspectors checking the conditions and processes [of food industries],” Burdzy said.

And to think, the people in charge of these farms and factories are making a huge profit off the torture of these living creatures.

“It’s unnecessary,” Vazquez said. “People are only focusing on money.”

Animal Testing

The same monetary issue can be said about animal testing.

Over 100 million animals are fatally harmed in U.S. laboratories every year. This type of abuse is completely unneeded, for 92 percent of the drugs tested are deemed safe for animals but unsafe for humans. Animals are even exposed to harmful substances every day for two years when testing for potential carcinogens. “[Scientists] are making products that burn people's hair and skin,” Vazquez said. “I don’t know what concerns me more, the fact that [scientists] are doing this to animals or that companies are making products like this.”

Overbreeding

A form of animal cruelty that may be more overlooked than other forms is overbreeding.

Eight million stray animals end up in shelters each year, and 3.7 million of them are put down.

Breeders are primarily interested in making a profit, but too many

pet owners refuse to have their pets spayed or neutered. They are simply ignorant to the possibility that their pets could accidentally breed. Not everybody wants or can have a pet, thus indirectly sending animals like cats and dogs to their possible doom in the pound.

“There are so many dogs and cats that need homes, yet [breeders] continue to make more [of them],” Vazquez said.

Breeders who seek to make a profit do not appear to realize the danger in which they are putting these animals…or maybe they do.

How To Help

It seems that animal cruelty is hopeless, but there is a lot the average person can do. To help prevent overpopulation, spaying and neutering pets is a very simple solution. Adopting pets from a legitimate shelter or rescue group can reduce the number of pets that have to be put down. Of course, raising money, donating and

creating awareness by informing as many people as possible about animal cruelty is one of the best ways to help the situation.

“The public shouldn’t be afraid to confront, call the police or knock on the door of an animal abuser,” Burdzy said. “In general people ignore [these situations], but they should get more involved.”

Anybody who sees an act of animal cruelty has every right to report it. There are much more positive outcomes than consequences.

“There’s a way [anyone] can make it fair and just,” Vazquez said.

Next time you see an ASPCA commercial, you shouldn’t lunge for the remote, turn the channel and try to forget the cold-hearted treatment you just saw; instead, you should remember the reason why those commercials are there in the first place. Animal cruelty is a worldwide issue, and anyone can help put a stop to it.

Fast Facts

• 62 percent of U.S. households have a pet • 5-7 million animals enter shelters yearly • 3-4 million animals in shelters are euthanized each year: 60 percent of dogs and 70 Information gathered from aspca.org percent of cats

A false hope for teachers Mackenzie Mitchell staff writer

Imagine you have very recently graduated from a prestigious college in hopes of becoming a doctor someday. To get into medical school, you need a competitive résumé, so you decide to teach school for a couple of years.

Five weeks later, you are standing in front of a full classroom of unruly students who expect you to flawlessly carry out the role of an experienced educator. They entrust you with the responsibility of being their guide to success, and the way you teach them today is going to affect them for the rest of their lives.

How could you possibly be ready for this without any real training on how to be a teacher?

This is the exact process of Teach For America, a program that takes freshly graduated college students, hurls them headlong into an intensive five-week training program, then sends them out into the world to acquire a teaching job. The instructors then obtain their professional educator’s license as they complete their teaching course. “[Teachers] should get their teaching degrees before they actually start teaching,”

junior Courtney Atkins said. “I don’t think Social studies teacher Katherine Conner [Teach For America] really qualifies.” applied for Teach For America in her senior The point is that Teach For America year of college, but she did not make the cut.

(TFA) will be enacted in Guilford County Upon finding out more about the ways of Schools next fall. Scary? Yes: for teachers, TFA, she was overall unimpressed with its students, and the entire education system. methods.

TFA was originally created to “I wasn’t sure what they were looking for provide instructors to struggling middle in terms of who made it through,” Conner and high schools that h a d said. “It was a better option to actually be trouble recruiting new trained as a teacher in the teachers. Instead, many long run.” college grads use the TFA is not always program merely as an beneficial for students, impressive addition to either. Given that the their résumés. teachers are required to go TFA is somewhat of a through so little training, it rip-off for college graduates may not be the best choice for a multitude of reasons. for students with a greater First, teachers are forced to need for decent educators. accept whatever wages the “[Teach For America] is school offers; there are no not necessarily successful negotiations, which means for students,” Conner social studies teacher the school could be taking said. “I don’t think it’s the Kimberly Deyton advantage of giving TFA answer.” teachers low paychecks.

TFA is not only controversial, but it is Another problem with TFA is that also job-threatening to professional, wellinstructors can be fired at any time, and their trained teachers who have been effectively term in a school usually only lasts for two teaching in schools for a much longer period years. This brief process and the five-week of time. training program do not give the teacher “It could be good in schools that have enough experience to be a fully qualified and high turnover rates, but it makes teachers skilled educator. feel like they’re being replaced,” social

“

[Teach for America] makes teachers feel like they’re being replaced.

”

studies teacher Kimberly Deyton said.

“Actual teachers stick it out.”

Teach For America was introduced with the promise that these newly graduated teachers were advantageous for schools in need of educators, but is a poorly trained instructor really the answer to both a teacher’s and a student’s success?

“It’s not the Rosetta Stone of teaching,” Conner said.

How might this affect Guilford County, though?

TFA will only place its teachers in schools with high teacher turnover rates. That is not a problem at Northwest, but the program will greatly impact high-need middle and high schools. These are the schools that are seeking better performance from their students. Is TFA really going to ensure that students will improve their work ethic?

What lower-performing students really need is a teacher with enough knowledge in their field of study to give adolescents a learning boost. High-need communities need a dependable workforce that ensures stability rather than turnover every two years.

TFA may be able to provide teachers to schools in need, but it cannot provide the training and experience necessary to help a teacher and a student along the path to achievement in the long run.

The Evolution Of Soci

In the 21st century, social media has bec experience, but how and when did it all begin? development of social media, from Com

Graphic by Mackenzie Mitchell

ial Media

Graphic by Brenna Profit

come an undeniable part of the high school ? Northwest Horizons investigates the origins and mpuServe in the 1970s to Twitter today.

Liz Hubbard & Lindsey McGuirk staff writers

It seems as if teenagers spend more time connecting with their friends via Facebook and Twitter than actually seeing them face-to-face.

While this may not be the case for every 16-year-old, most teenagers spend a few hours on social media every day.

Adults who did not have social media when they were in high school often don’t understand what’s so great about these networking sites and why kids use them so much.

“I can see ways [social media] has been helpful and detrimental,” AP US history teacher Ray Parrish said.

So what exactly is social media? Its formal definition is a form of electronic communication through which users create online communities to share information, ideas, personal messages and other content. But this singular definition does not really explain what all the buzz is about.

“I like to use [social media] so I can look at pictures and talk with people,” junior Katy Rose said.

And Rose is certainly not the only one. The great majority of social networkers use it in some way to connect with friends, family, school groups, jobs or other organizations; it is a great way to do that because it is free and convenient to anyone with a computer or smart phone. Oth-

er social media uses include blogging, advertising or simply sharing information.

“I use it to keep in touch with all my high school friends,” environmental science teacher Dr. Richard Thomas said.

Though social media today seems to revolve around sites like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, social media goes all the way back to 1969, when the first major commercial internet service provider, CompuServe, was created. After CompuServe came the first email in 1971, followed by the bulletin board system in 1978, AOL in 1985, and the World Wide Web in 1993.

In 1994, Yahoo opened as the first major Internet search engine and GeoCities was created to allow users to make their own websites. By 1997, the internet had one million sites, blogging began and AIM was created. In 1998, Google opened as a search engine. By the year 2000, there were 70 million computers connected to the Internet, and within the first six years of the 21st century came Wikipedia, Friendster, MySpace, LinkedIn, Facebook, Flickr, YouTube and Twitter.

With the introduction of the Internet smartphone, social networking became even more popular, basically giving users 24/7 access to their favorite sites. Starting in 2005, MySpace was the most popular social networking site in the world, but in 2008, Facebook surpassed MySpace in the total number of monthly visitors. Facebook remains the most visited social

networking site today, while Twitter and Instagram are becoming increasingly popular.

“Twitter is more interactive,” sophomore Zac Ellison said. “A lot of good stuff happens, especially Twitter fights; that’s my favorite part.”

Ellison’s enthusiasm is embraced by most members of the Northwest community, but a minority, including junior Holli Benfield and Honors English 10 teacher Sarah Hutchinson, miss the simplicity of instant messaging via AIM, which was at one point just as popular as Twitter is now.

“I hate Twitter,” Benfield said. “On Twitter, you can fight in front of everyone.”

Although Benfield reminisces on the era of AIM, a majority of Northwest students don’t even know what AOL Instant Messaging is.

“With AIM you carried on a conversation, but with Twitter it’s a way to keep posting,” Hutchinson said.

But Twitter has 645,750,000 users, and that number is only going to grow, along with many other social media sites. So if you’re not a fan of social media, it might be a good idea to try to look at it in a positive light and enjoy its advantages because it’s certainly not going anywhere.

However, if you are someone who uses social media regularly, maybe even a bit too often, it might be a good idea to use it a little less.

“Social media can be useful; [however,] like any technology, it can be taken advantage of by kids,” Thomas said.

Graphic by Brenna Profit

The timeline shows when various websites were created from 1969 to 2007. Social media is ever-evolving; even within the past 10 years, popular sites such as MySpace and Facebook have been surpassed by sites such as Twitter and Tumblr.

Page 10

Sports

March 2014

Battle of the Blues Eight miles separate one of the most intense rivalries in the country

Willa Ma sports editor

Nick Loschin entertainment editor

As the only team to beat the top four teams in the preseason rankings, the Carolina Tar Heels beat Louisville, Michigan State, Kentucky and their rivals, Duke.

Even with a rough start to their season, Carolina finished fourth in the ACC and 15th in the nation, and they had a twelve game winning streak near the end of the season.

Players Marcus Paige and James Michael McAdoo have been contributing factors of Carolina’s successes in the 2013-2014 season.

The Carolina Tar Heels are among the greatest college basketball teams in the country. They are currently third on the Division I all-time wins list. Referring to the Carolina-Duke rivalry, the Tar Heels lead with a 132104 record in games won against the Blue Devils, 59 of them won by the renowned Dean Smith.

“One thing I like consistently about our team [Carolina] is the rivalry with Duke,” social studies teacher and UNC alumna Elizabeth Russell said. “Both schools have very good basketball teams, but I think our coaches are better.”

Carolina also leads in NCAA national championships and ACC regular season and tournament championships over Duke.

“I grew up loving UNC and knowing that you’re not supposed to like Duke,” AP US history teacher Ray Parrish said.

Carolina won their first national championship over Kansas in 1957. Coached by Frank McGuire, the Tar Heels went into triple overtime and finally defeated the Jayhawks 54-53, ending with a record of 34-0, a perfect season.

Arguably one of the greatest basketball games, the 1982 NCAA national championship game, was between the Carolina Tar Heels and the Georgetown Hoyas. With a score of 61-62, Carolina trailed Georgetown.

In the remaining seconds, Michael Jordan sunk the game-winning shot, making the score 63-62 and winning the national championship, the first championship win for coach Dean Smith.

This shot made Michael Jordan famous. Jordan left Carolina after his junior year and went on to play in the NBA for the Chicago Bulls, where he won six NBA championships and was MVP of all six. He played on two Olympic gold-medal winning teams for the United States, including the 1992 “Dream Team.”

Dean Smith coached yet another championship team in 1993 over Michigan, and 10 years later in 2003, we entered the era of Roy Williams.

“I grew up in the era of Dean Smith, and I’ve been a big Roy Williams fan from the beginning,” Russell said. “I like their style of coaching, and I like the fact that a lot of what they do is concentrated on making the whole team better. Not that Coach K doesn’t do those things, but there’s a reason we make fun of Duke players when they flop because it seems to be something that they are taught.”

Originally a coach at the University of Kansas, Roy Williams led the Tar Heels to their fourth national championship title in 2005 and their fifth (and most recent) in 2009. This 2009 championship team was led by three big names in college basketball: Tyler Hansbrough, Ty Lawson and Wayne Ellington.

All three have gone on to play in the NBA. Carolina has 16 alumni currently playing in the NBA, while Duke trails behind with only 14. Also, 13 Tar Heels have been to the Olympics and Dean Smith was the head coach of the 1976 team.

Carolina and Duke both finished with a 13-5 record in the ACC and have both beat each other in the regular season.

“My grandfather used to say that anyone in the ACC can beat anybody, but it’s more true when it comes to Carolina and Duke,” Russell said.

Less than a second left in the game, Austin Rivers, a previous freshman at Duke, released the ball from behind the three-point line. Just as the buzzer went off, it swished in the net, beating Carolina 85-84 in 2012.

The Duke versus Carolina rivalry started in the 1920s, and each year it grows more intense.

In 1906, Wilbur Wade Card, Trinity’s Athletic Director, introduced the game of basketball to Trinity. In 1920, Trinity won their first title and from there it skyrocketed. In Duke’s first match-up against the University of North Carolina, they won 19-18; the same year they received their first title.

Billy Werber of the class of 1930 became Duke’s first All-American player and later in 1952, Dick Groat became the first Duke player to be named National Player of the Year.

“It is one of the best schools in the world with an outstanding academic reputation and sports that play at the highest level in the NCAA,” Athletic Director and Duke alumus John Hughes said.

In 2010, Duke won their most recent NCAA Championship over Butler. This 2010 team was led by Kyle Singler, Jon Scheyer and Nolan Smith. These three players became the second trio to each score at least 600 points in one season.

So popular that he has his own era, current Blue Devils Coach Mike Krzyzewski started his career in 1980. His accomplishments include four National Championships, 25 Conference titles and over 900 wins.

“Coach K will rarely, if ever, blame players for poor performance and instead takes responsibility himself for team mistakes,” Duke Alumna Ellen Newby said.

Kryzewski has made Duke the number one seed for a total of 235 weeks since he has been coaching.

Arguably one of the greatest coaches in the history of the sport, Kryzewski coached the Olympic basketball team in 2008 and 2012, winning gold both times.

Creating his own dynasty for the Blue Devils, Kryzewski acts as the catalyst for Duke, causing the team to shoot up in wins and lead to more NBA draft picks.

“I think Coach K is an excellent coach and sets expectations very high. He demands hard work and dedication, both academically and athletically,” Newby said.

The Duke vs. Carolina rivalry has been one of the fiercest in the NCAA for decades. Fans of both teams wait in anticipation for the rivalry games to occur and tickets sell out almost immediately.

Duke and Carolina have captured 27 percent of the National Championships in the NCAA. Duke has won more games than Carolina in the last ten years and even this year for example they tower above Carolina with a winning record. The largest margin of points that Duke ever won over Carolina was 37 with a score of 104 to 69 in 1964. Duke has also won seven of their last ten games against Carolina.

“Of course, in the ACC, and particularly with Duke vs. UNC, no matter what the rankings or history, any school can win on any night,” Newby said.

The Blue Devils are ranked number seven in the country and third in the ACC. Duke has won a total of 24 games, including a win against Carolina to finish their season. The Blue Devils are led by star freshman Jabari Parker and sophomore Rodney Hood, who both scored over 30 points on the night they defeated the Tar Heels.

Duke and Carolina are usually top ranked teams in the NCAA and leaders of the ACC. Both teams are evenly matched, and even when one is higher ranked than the other, the teams are known for their upsets and their vicious fans. Both groups are cut-throat at each other, keeping the rivalry alive.

“The coaches are the best in the country, and even though the competition is very intense, it is clear both teams have a high level of respect for each other by the intensity of every game they play against the other team,” Hughes said.

Photo by Brenna Profit

Sports

March 2014

Spring Sports Previews

An inside look on Northwest’s Varsity spring sports Compiled by Staff

The Northwest Vikings ended the winter sports season with conference championship wins by the Varsity boys’ basketball team and the girls’ swim team.

A plethora of postponements and cancellations due to inclement weather marked the start of spring sports.

Take a look at what Viking athletes and coaches have to say as they look forward to Spring 2014.

Baseball

Starting off the season with a 10-0 win over Northern and a 15-2 win over Western, Northwest baseball has dominated the start of their season.

Coached by Sonny Gann, the Vikings are confident this year in baseball because of the skills they have on their team.

“I think we have a shot to go all the way this year,” junior Cole Aker said. “We are really talented, and if we play well together, we are going to win a lot of games this season.”

Girls’ Soccer

Kicking off the season with a tie against Caldwell Academy, the Northwest Varsity girls’ soccer team started their 2013-2014 season with the loss of seven crucial seniors.

“We were all upset when we lost some really good seniors last year, but I think we’re going to make up for it with the new talent on the team,” junior forward Hannah Johnson said.

Coaching at Northwest for the first time, Jason Thomas brings with him seven years of prior coaching experience.

The Vikings lost to Northern March 5.

“We started [the season] off a bit rough, but everyone starts off rough,” Johnson said.

The team played its next game at home against Northern on March 13 and lost 2-0 .

“We’re a really strong team, and we have a lot of potential,” Johnson said.

Track

Spring track’s first meet took place March 19 at Ragsdale High School.

The long distance track coach is social studies teacher Nicole Wobler. Starting this year, the team is also adding team captains.

“I’m looking forward to improving on my mile and two mile times as the season goes on,” sophomore Emma Brown said. “I really enjoy running with the team and they continue to motivate me everyday to do my best.”

Boys’ & Girls’ Lacrosse As the Northwest Viking lacrosse seasons begin, both the boys’ team and the girls’ team face a new conference.

“I don’t like the new conference,” senior Tyler Donelson said. “I liked playing Western and Grimsley twice, and I don’t think the season will be the same without those games.”

Despite the lack of those reliably action-packed games this season, the girls’ coach Kaitlin Foster is confident in her season.

However, freshman Sierra Tolley feels less optimistic about the season.

“I have no clue how we are going to be,” Tolley said. “We’ve only played Page, and they don’t seem to really be good.”

For the boys’ team in the 2014 season, coach Mark Goldsmith is optimistic about the upcoming season.

“The team has been working very hard in practice, and the team chemistry appears to be pretty strong,” Goldsmith said. “We have many returning seniors who we are

looking to be our statistical leaders as well as our team leaders.”

Donelson agrees with his coach.

“I feel we have a strong senior class and a lot of returning starters from last year,” Donelson said.

As of now, the girls’ team has played Page twice, winning 22-11 the first time and 20-5 the second.

The boys’ team’s season opener was against Page, resulting in a win of 15-3.

Boys’ Tennis

The Varsity Boys’ tennis started their 2014 season with an 8-1 victory over High Point Central on March 11. The team, coached by Randall Alexander, won the conference last year, and hopes to win again this year.

“I feel as if we have a good chance to repeat as conference champions,” Alexander said.

The victory over the Central Bison put the team 1-0 in the conference and 2-0 out of the conference. The boy’s next home game is on Monday, March 24 at 4:30; the team will be taking on the Ragsdale Tigers.

Rugby

Among the spring sports starting up their seasons, rugby kicked off the season with a scrimmage against Audrey Kell Feb. 22.

Coach Glenn Christy’s difficult practices have jumpstarted the team’s season.

The team currently has four losses due to its influx of new players and tough opponents.

“The season is going okay, but there is still a lot of room for improvement,” senior Chris Kirksey said. “Injuries and inexperience have plagued us because we only have about five returning players this year.”

The team will have its next game at home against Myers Park March 22.

Former coach inducted into Hall of Fame Sarah Deutchki co-editor in chief

Ending his baseball coaching career with one state title, six conference titles and 422 career wins that spanned over 32 seasons, former Northwest baseball coach Sandy Gann, Sr. was rightfully inducted into the North Carolina Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

Gann began coaching baseball in 1966 and coached solely at Northwest for his entire career.

In 1998 at 53 years old, Gann retired fourth on the active win list in North Carolina. Jan. 18, 2014 was the day that brought back memories as Gann was inducted into the NCBCA Hall of Fame among coaches from eight other regions in North Carolina.

“[The association] called me and told me [that I was going to be inducted],” Gann said. “I was surprised. It is certainly a great honor because it is sort of a ‘who’s who’ of all the great baseball coaches in North Carolina.”

Every year an NCBCA committee headed by Paul Faulk nominates coaches for this honor.

Faulk, who has been in baseball for many years, takes three factors into account when nominating coaches for the hall of fame.

Faulk first considers the longevity of the coach’s career. With that comes the second factor: success rate. An adequate number of wins versus losses and state titles are favorable. The last standard is the effect that the coach has had on his local community.

“We want somebody who has been in the game and supported

the game for many, many years,” Pete Shankle, Executive Director and NCBCA board member, said.

The induction ceremony began with the regional coaches awards.

Gann was the last coach to receive his regional award.

Gann’s family attended the ceremony with him. Among his family is current Northwest baseball coach Sandy Gann, Jr. “I had a feeling of satisfaction during the ceremony,” Gann, Jr. said. “I understand a hall of famer has to have a lot of wins and some championships, which he accomplished. But it is just as much a reward for his work, time and commitment he dedicated to the program. There is no better feeling than that. He’s a great parent, mentor, role model and friend, so I’m happy for and proud of him to have been selected for this honor.”

Page 11

Student Athlete Profiles Northwest coaches selected the following students for their exceptional athletic ablilties. Catch a glimpse of some of Northwest’s hardworking athletes.

Girls’ Track Mikala Johnson Grade: 12 Position: 800m; 1600m Pump-up song: Anything by Beyoncé.

Pre-game ritual: “I drink a lot of water and get in the right mindset.”

Most memorable moment: “The first time I ran the 800.”

Girls’ Lacrosse Sarah Colby Grade: 11 Position: Attack Pump-up song: “Renegade”

by STYX Pre-game ritual: “The team gets together and says the Lord’s Prayer and we do our ‘Do Work’ cheer.”

Most memorable moment: “Beating Western my freshman year on that year’s Senior Night.”

Rugby Brandon Clark Grade: 12 Position: Outside Center Pump-up song: “Lose Yourself ” by Eminem Pre-game ritual: “I walk out to the center of the field and put my cleats on instead of lacing up my cleats on the sideline.”

Most memorable moment: “When I scored my first tri.”

Information compiled by staff

Page 12

Arts & Culture

March 2014

Creative Corner Northwest students share their personal writings

Beauty

Untitled

by Austin Whyatt, senior

by Taiya Griffin, sophomore

Do not wish for new hands—the ones you’ve earned are fine, by the wet wood of things you built— that were rotted, because no one paid mind, and so crushed like apples in their palms, still, you went on!

Everything you touch thanks you – to be thanked! To be thankful! I thank you!

Gentle things that do not even clap when even crickets are asleep, strong things that do not even shake if you cry.

Trace me with a finger, and I will sleep on your breast, I will love you even when they are limp because you are asleep, and you cannot see the sun through your blinds pulled.

Incineration

by Kirsten Riggs, freshman A chorus drones Such a dismal, monotonous melody.

Flavorless.

Unappealing.

Stifling the beacon of distress We’re surrounded!

See the lights struggling, The imposters kick them back Assuming that they are worthless to their cause.

Judging, after a single glance, The lanterns heavily outnumbered flicker, ever luminous, Oblivious to their doom, Sentenced to a burial under a cascade of false notes.

Still they persist Despite this cruel, indifferent world A command is given Life extinguished Only darkness and silence remain.

The Eternal Fool

by Dylan King, junior To whom is thy hearts beauty given true?

Whose beauty is greater than that of any meandering streams deepest blue Agleam with sunlight which is thy blue love Release thyself from thine constant sorrow Release past unfit of such divinity And when finished, my heart you may borrow I only ask it held infintely

With sorrow substituted by much joy Only good comes from this mended future And from happiness, be born a boy If none other, this I can assure, Suspended by strings of love, a Jewel, For thee, I shall be, an eternal fool.

What is beauty?

Being the perfect size, having the perfect relationship, Looking like a model, Having long hair perfectly aligned pearly white teeth, What is beauty?

Being called ugly, a nerd, loser, fat Just never good enough We could blame society for painting the perfect mental picture in everyone’s mind telling us what we should look like What is beauty?

Something I don’t understand If I was born this way, why am I judged for looking different?

It makes no sense The ugliest girl in the room seems to be the most pretty Having the nerve to question others Getting away with playing dumb It’s all about inner beauty yet we’re approached by how we look on the outside Never being good enough for being who we are pulling skin back on our faces covering them with foundation and whatever else we can find Age used to be beauty An expression of wisdom Now, our elders are just as bad trying to prevent wrinkles They don’t frown so much, trying to dress like their daughters When did that becomes beauty?

Did it happen because someone told you so?

Telling me I’m not good enough because I’m not curvy Just in case you’re wondering, Someone’s still going to want me I’m sure they’d rather have twists and turns than to lay on a flat surface You tell me that’s not beauty.

The biggest question of your high school life Kara Profit staff writer It is around that time of year when girls start looking for dresses and guys start saving up money for tuxedos. Yes, it’s prom season, and if you’re a junior or a senior, this could be the ‘most memorable event’ in your high

school career.

How you are going to ask that special someone to accompany you is a big part of the prom experience. You need to be creative and think outside of the box.

Perhaps, even be a little daring.

Asking someone to prom can be a frightening experience.

The fear of being rejected is paramount. Often, teenagers ask through a text, but this is too un-

original for someone who wants to create a memorable experience. However, a text makes it easy to plan out exactly what he or she is going to say, and being rejected isn’t as bad through a device when you’re not right in front of someone. A random poll of Northwest students revealed that of 30 upperclassmen, 22 of them were asked to last year’s prom by text message. Although this may

seem like a pragmatic option, it’s not something memorable.

The top rated way seems to be writing a song and serenading to them, although I wouldn’t recommend this if you don’t have the voice for it. Another form that is utilized during this age is creating a Facebook page or a Facebook event. You can get your friends in on it, post pictures and details to plan out how you’re going to do it

or even invite that special someone right from the page! A cheesier idea would to be going with the classic ‘prom?’ spelled out on a delivered pizza. Just make sure they know that the pizza is coming from you and not the pizza man. Even more special, you can tie a note to your dog and train him to deliver it when that special someone comes over; they’ll definitely be in for a surprise.

Graphics by Sarah Colby and Mackenzie Mitchell

Arts & Culture

March 2014

Page 13

What do your classmates listen to in the hallway?

Wearing earbuds has become a popular way for students to pass the time during class changes.

Northwest Horizons took a poll to find out what genre of music is most popular among students.

“

“

I listen to rap and hip-hop because it is my favorite kind of music.

”

freshman Luke Beashears

“

I put my playlist on shuffle because I enjoy all sorts of music.

senior Michael Cronan

”

I love listening to country music because it makes me think of summer.

junior Shelby Barrow

“

”

I can tolerate any music, but I enjoy pop music.

senior Chelsey Coble

”

Graphic by Thalia Villarosa and Natalie Whitehead

Features

Page 14

March 2014

Sophomore’s short story to be made into film Willa Ma sports editor Imagine working on a short story and finding out that it will be turned into a short film. This dream has become a reality for sophomore Hannah Cook, who wrote a short story for her English class and won a contest to bring her story to life.

“I was pretty excited because I wasn’t expecting to get a reply or anything like that,” Cook said.

As a part of the City of Greensboro’s Drama Center, Teen Greene Pictures, a motion picture company, announced a contest in which Guilford County high school students could write stories that are less than 1,000 words and feature a teen as the protagonist.

The winner would have his or her story adapted into a film “Teen Greene Pictures started in 2004; we added a teen division in 2012 because our younger group, Greene Pictures Jr., had aged up to high school,” City Arts Drama Director Stephen Hyers said.

This is the second year the center has had the short story-tofilm contest. Last year, Lauren Elwood’s “In the Crowd” won. Her

Photo by Brenna Profit

Sophomore Hannah Cook sits down to continue her writing. Teen Greene Pictures, the company that sponsored the writing competition that Cook entered, has had a teen division for young writers to enter for two consecutive years now.

short story focused on high school cliques.

Cook’s story will become a short film as the Teen Greene crew

auditions teens in Greensboro.

The film will be shot by teens hoping to learn more about filmmaking. Hyers will be the producer

of the film, and coincidentally, a student from Northwest, junior Weston Crutchfield, will be directing and shooting the short film.

Last year, Crutchfield was the director of photography. “[We picked Cook’s story because it] was a daring piece about loss in an exciting environment,” Hyers said.

The plot of her story focuses on two best friends, Kaylen Reese and Sasha, whose parents are spies.

Their families were together over Christmas break. When Sasha and her family leave, they die in a car crash. Years later, Kaylen, who now goes to a spy school, figures out her parents are double agents and that they had killed Sasha and her family.

“She has a strong message about disappointment that is clear in her story, and we hope to carry that into the film version,” Hyers said.

Cook adapted her short story into a script in early January.

“I had to shorten [the script] a little bit because it’s a short film,” Cook said. “I ended up switching it a lot, but it’s still the baseline of the story.”

The crew is currently working on the second draft of the script.

They hope to release the movie in early August, so look out for “Enemies Closer,” coming to theaters soon.

Couples who save together stay together

Each grade level reveals how dates don’t have to be expensive to be fun

10th

12th

9th

11th “Cheaper dates are more fun because we can just relax. Expensive dates are more like an occasion, so I would definitely choose going to the park or movies over going out any day.”

“I love hanging out with Zack because he is so easy to be around, and it is fun to just hang out and just relax and be together.”

Abby Hrabosky and Forest Chilton, 10th

“We have just as much fun doing things that don’t cost much money like going to the park to eno or play frisbee. We just enjoy spending time together.”

“Any time we get to spend together is all the time I need.

The small things that we do together are what makes it fun and even greater.”

Emily Morgan and Zac Conway,12th

Mallory Peterson and John Drawbaugh, 11th

Grace Walker and Zack Tyler, 9th

Photos by Thalia Villarosa and Liz Deutchki

Peace United Methodist Church Rev. Roger Green

“Building on the inside to

2315 Scalesville Rd. Summerfield, NC 27358 Phone: (336)-643-3357 peacesummerfield@att.net

draw from the outside.”

t

March 2014 Sarah Boggins staff writer Every day is a special occasion for a girl. Girls must follow their schedules in order to meet their own standards before they leave

Features the house.

6:00 a.m. girl wakes up, looking like…something 6:05 a.m. girl gets in shower half asleep 6:20 a.m. girl finishes shower and eats breakfast

6:30 a.m. girl blow-dries hair 6:50 a.m. girl styles hair (curls, straightens, etc.)

7:30 a.m. girl does makeup (instantly goes from a three to a nine in front of the mirror) 1. moisturizer

Girls

vs

Page 15 2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

concealer foundation/powder blush and bronzer eye shadow eyeliner curl eyelashes and apply mascara

7:50 a.m. girl scans her closet for clothes (looks in closet full of clothes and sees no options for outfits) 8:00 a.m. girl gets dressed 8:10 a.m. girl is ready and heads off to school

Boys

It’s no secret that girls tend to spend more time in front of the mirror in the morning than boys do. Here is a look at the typical routines for boys and girls.

Carson Beam co- editor in chief Each day is just another day for a boy. There is no elaborate sched-

ule to follow for getting ready, and their standards are not as high as a girl’s on a day-to-day basis. It does not take long to throw themselves together and get out the door right

on time every day (sometimes).

Wake Up Time: 7:30 a.m.

Stand in shower: 7 minutes Contemplate life: 3 minutes Actually bathe: 5 minutes

Put on clothes: 2 minutes Eat Wheaties (the breakfast of champions): 10 minutes Shave beard: 3 minutes Realize you had no beard to begin

with: 1 minute Tie right shoe: 1 minute Tie left shoe: 2 minutes Out the door and running to catch a ride: 8:00 a.m.

Graphics by Mackenzie Mitchell

Page 16

Catfishing: Nick Loschin & Satoria Ray entertainment editor & staff writer

“Catfish” was a popular documentary released September 2010.

Contrary to popular belief, it was not a film about the fish species roaming around in lakes. Rather, it was a documentary about a guy, Nev, who had met a woman online. A woman pretending to be someone she was not. A ‘catfish.’

The movie documents everything from Nev meeting the woman on Facebook to him finding out that she was actually using pictures of a professional photographer and model instead of her own pictures.

The movie inspired the MTV show hosted by Nev and his friend Max, “Catfish.” The show involves Nev and Max meeting people who think the person they’re talking to on a social media site is pretending to be someone he or she is not. Nev and Max go through research to prove if the person is lying or telling the truth about his or her identity. Almost always, the person is lying.

Shelby Roberts’ Story Junior Shelby Roberts experienced her own version of catfishing.

Roberts, like most teenagers, has various social media networks, and, like most teenagers, she checks these networks daily.

One day Roberts opened her Instagram app and saw more notifications than usual. A guy, Trey, had liked all of her pictures. Curious and a bit confused, Roberts clicked on his profile and scrolled through his pictures, liking all of his in return.

Entertainment

March 2014

The internet phenomenon of fake online identies affect students

“He left a comment on one of my pictures saying I was pretty,” Roberts said.

In his pictures, he was slim with curly blonde hair and no facial hair. Roberts, thinking he was cute, commented back with her phone number, and they started texting.

A week and a half later, after getting to know each other via text, they decided they wanted to meet in person. A local movie theater was the perfect place to do so.

“We planned on seeing ‘The Conjuring,’ but plans got rearranged,” Roberts said. “He was already in the theater and I was outside, and we just ended up deciding not to see a movie.”

When Trey finally made his way out of the theater, Roberts was shocked.

“He came out, and he was a really chubby guy. He had a mustache and a beard.”

Roberts quickly regained her composure and greeted him in a friendly manner, but it was obvious that who she was looking at in-person was not the same guy in the Instagram pictures.

Roberts was able to become friends with Trey despite his lack of honesty but learned a lot from the experience.

“Now when I meet someone on a social network, I definitely Skype with them so I know what they look like,” Roberts said.

Molly Morgan’s Story Catfishing, as mentioned before, is not an isolated event. While many viewers of the popular MTV show “Catfish” may think it may never happen to them, it is more common than most people realize.

A growing problem that even

lurks in the hallways at Northwest, stealing the identity of another person is dangerous for the victim and unhealthy for the perpetrator.

Junior Molly Morgan was deceived for two and a half years.

“One of my friends told my friend and I that she was cousins with someone named Richie from Germany,” Morgan said.

Naturally, Morgan and her friend found his Facebook page and began to message him. Eventually this graduated to text messages and phone calls.

“What I didn’t know was that my friend had been talking to him at the same time and we both started to like him,” Morgan said.

Sooner or later, her friend’s parents got involved and tried to convince the girls that “Richie” was fake and to stop messaging him.

“Neither of us believed them, though, because it had gone on for over two years,” Morgan said.

Soon Morgan’s parents got in touch with the friend, who introduced them to “Richie.” The friend had been the one texting and messaging them on Facebook, while her older brother was the one who would talk over the phone.

“At the time I was really hurt because it was my own best friend who did it to me,” Morgan said.

“But when I look back on it, I think I was blind and naïve to keep believing it.”

Thankfully, for Morgan it was only her friend and not some unknown person who could have been potentially threatening to her safety.

“Lies won’t get anyone anywhere,” Morgan said. “I don’t really understand why they do it, but there has to be a less harmful way to any situation.”

Photo by Brenna Profit

Photo by Brenna Profit

(Above) Junior Aadam Haque demonstrates how easy is deceive to deceive others using a stolen photo of someone else.

(Above) Junior Aadam Haque demonstrates how easy it isitto others by by using a stolen photo of someone else.

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