December 2012 Highlander

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Highlander

The

The cliques of Carlmont

www.scotscoop.com

Pages 10 and 11

December 2012, Vol IV, Issue III

Makeup Madness By Kellan McDonough Multimedia Editor Does the need girls have to wear makeup say something about society? It seems that way. There is a certain image girls have to live up to, whether it be for themselves or for others. High school is an especially tiresome time for everyone. Between class, homework, and extracurriculars, its amazing girls find time to even maintain their appearance. For most, getting ready for school is a no-hassle process. Throwing on whatever they can find and dashing out the door to make sure they got that extra 15 minutes of sleep. If high schoolers are always so tired and so stressed, why do girls wear makeup to school and who are they trying to impress? If no one notices it and no one cares, why do girls go through all the trouble? Freshman Elena Mateus commented, “I [wear makeup] so I feel good about myself. I usually only wear eyeliner, but it makes me feel good and makes me happy know-

ing I look good.” For some, wearing makeup is not about impressing boys or peers, it’s about feeling confident and self assured. When girls dress up for a special occasion, they want to know they look good to maintain poise and courage. Senior Kayla Wright said, “I don’t personally wear makeup to school because I’m comfortable in my own skin. But a reason I wear makeup sometimes is to just look nicer. I understand why it goes against people’s morals but I personally don’t see the problem with makeup unless a girl relies on it to believe she is beautiful.” Wright poses an interesting question; do girls depend on makeup to maintain their self confidence and is that something society should allow? In the media and in magazines, society presents an image of the typical girl: perfect skin and flawless make up. Some girls wear makeup because that is what society expects to see. Even in high school, a community of teenagers all facing the same problems and all under the same pressures, girls wear makeup to hide Continued on page 16

Photo by Marissa King

The truth about homework Students with harder classes should expect to do more By Rachel Schuster Senior Editor The sound of an alarm clock shrieking at 6 a.m. is the most horrible sound to wake up to. For students like Charley Bernardo, it signals the start of yet another exasperating day of hard work that begins with the unfinished homework from the previous night.“The worst is when you know you can’t keep sleeping because you have to finish your homework,” said Bernardo. “And my bed is so warm in the mornings, so I never want to get up.” Students like Bernardo are forced to finish their homework in the mornings,

since their long days and extracurricular activities leave them exhausted and unwilling to complete hours of homework.“I feel like some teachers give ‘busy work,’” said Mateen Nozzari. “Sometimes there’s just too much. Teacher’s shouldn’t give out extra homework to everyone just because some people aren’t studying enough for quizzes and tests.” So here lies the real question: If students must endure long hours of tiresome work, does homework ultimately help or hinder student learning? And to what extent does that answer go to when taking into account the amount of time spent on assignments? According to a 2004 national survey of

2,900 American children conducted by the University of Michigan, the amount of time spent on homework has risen 51 percent since 1981. Currently, some parents worry that their children spend too much time on vast amounts of homework. “As a parent, I believe that homework is a beneficial tool. But I also think it’s overused,” said teacher Jim Kelly. “I understand that teachers give a lot of homework to reinforce the importance of education, but I don’t need to see my daughter in fourth grade doing three hours of homework each night.” Kelly also believes that large amounts of homework affect a student’s well-being, saying that “kids need to be able to spend time at school, do extracurricular activities, have a social life, practice a spiritual or religious life, and still get the right amount of sleep.” A lot of students agree with Kelly and express how hard it is to add homework to their already packed schedules. “I literally leave my house at 7:30 a.m. Continued on page 16

Feeding Hungry By Sarah Klieves Staff Writer Every day, many Carlmont students go home hungry and Carlmont’s Associated Student Body (ASB) is trying to do something about it. Students from ASB organized an annual canned food drive to help Carlmont families in need. The food drive ran from Nov. 5 to Nov. 16 and was very successful. According to Carlmont counselor Tammy DePaoli, the food drive is very beneficial to Carlmont families. DePaoli stated that over 200 Carlmont families were able to receive food for the holidays due to the efforts of students during the food drive last fall. DePaoli also said the food drive is “great, no matter how much is given.” Junior Claire McKeefry commented that “[The food drive] is a great cause because it’s a simple way to make a big difference and help people close to home who need it.” English teacher Gail Langkusch said the food drive is “really important because so many families are in need, however many students do not remember to bring in food unless they have an incentive.” Carlmont freshman and ASB Human Relations Commissioner Annie Klups Continued on page 13


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