Issue 3 dec 6 2013 by The Viking Vanguard

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Demonstration sparks controversy See page two

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America is a nation encompassed by Starbucks. Now, the proper name for the 20th century should be the Starbucks era, which will eventually result in the Starbucks depression. Junior Rylee Goodwin has been working at Starbucks for around five months. “It is definitely a hard job. You are constantly running around and trying to make everything clean as you still make drinks,” Goodwin said. Although it is a physically taxing job to have, Kevin Jang, Starbucks

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customer, has a new view as to why Starbucks is such a drinkers then the teens are more likely to become coffee drinkers as well. I believe that many teens turn to coffee fad. “Though I believe that Starbucks does have some to get themselves going in the morning, then it becomes standards for their products, I believe they are quantity a routine because they like how they can feel the energy over quality. It is still corporate America and what drives from it. Holding the cup for the social aspect is probably a that most is making money. Starbucks makes the money minority reason for buying Starbucks,” Jang said. Goodwin agrees that teens look for the iconic red cup from quantity and visibility that comes with quantity,” Jang said. “That is why in a city I used to live in, the in order to strive for a high level of energy. “Teens are getting more and more addicted to caffeine downtown core had three Starbucks in one intersection. [They flooded] the market with their product and every day,” Goodwin said. Although teens look for caffeine consumption, Jang has squashed the competition. I believe they have enough quality standards to avoid his own opinions on why Starbucks is a choice product over other companies. complaints and to keep “Starbucks is my preferred people satisfied.” “TeeNS ARe choice but I still venture off to Satisfaction is part of the reason G e T T I N G M o R e other brands as well. I am not what you would call a hardcore why Starbucks AND MoRe coffee connoisseur, so I just is prominent, ADDICTeD want a roast and a blend that although many To CAffeINe suits my palette. Starbucks is teens seem to the [brand] I’m most familiar lean toward e V e RY DAY...” with so I stick with their line the caffeine mostly,” Jang said. “Starbucks in a s p e c t general to me is a yay with some of their RYlee GooDWIN nays sprinkled in. It depends on drinks. JuNIoR which one you go to. The staff “Teens makes the difference. I work in b u y i n g a store with a Starbucks and the staff we have is great. Starbucks, When I venture out to other locations, I always wonder if I believe, is I’m going to get a good drink or if it will be made right or due to the not. But I like Starbucks overall even with the nays.” Now that teens are consuming more coffee, one can c a f f e i n e. Maybe the notice how orders differ between the age gaps. “The older generation is polite and mainly orders dark taste too. I also believe coffee drinks while the younger generations order more that if the frappes and are extremely rude,” Goodwin said. Senior Keigan Dravis, who volunteers at Thr3e Coffee, parents a r e counters the pro Starbucks side with the negatives of coffee their product. “I am on the fence. Their service is lovely, the drinks are usually nice and the atmosphere is inviting. However, they tend to overcharge and their drinks do not always taste like the cup of love that they should,” Dravis said. Instead of teens looking for a burst of energy from Starbucks products, Dravis believes that the reason for Starbucks among teens is for the social aspect. “I think it is predominately the social aspect of Starbucks that attracts teens. It is a great gathering location and good for low-key, chill hang out sessions,” Dravis said. Now that Starbucks is taking over the teen world, the surface question lies of whether Starbucks is a preferred product over local companies. “I prefer Bigfoot Java or Thr3e over Starbucks. It seems either over priced for small quantity and delicious or tastes odd and is in a 24 oz. cup, you choose. I would rather have a 24 oz. cup of deliciousness for a decent price, rather than a brand name,” Dravis said. All three coffee shops are local, yet Jang works in a Starbucks-centered area. “Starbucks is everywhere. They do have good coffee for my palette. They offer some other products on top of coffee. The pastries are good, yet the price is going up and inconsistent baristas leads to inconsistent drinks being produced. They have flooded the market with their brand resulting in less competitors out there,” Jang said. “In the end I support them because friends work there and they are convenient being in the store I work in. If there was another coffee shop with coffee that suited my palette, I would not hesitate to go elsewhere. I like to support the small businesses as opposed to the giants.” A Starbucks lies on nearly every corner in Washington and will frequently turn up in other cities around the nation. They are a prominent part of the American lifestyle and will continue to prosper as coffee sales rise. “I have volunteered and worked in a coffee shop and just seeing the joy that gathering together to drink a cup of joe brings is exciting. Although Starbucks has many good qualities, I think that any coffee-shoplike setting would be just as nice, minus the arm and a leg cost,” Dravis said.

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evangelists talk to students B y Ly d i a J o h N s o N , Pa t r i c k Fa i r B a N k s , a B B y d o r v e , k a m e r a N m i L L e r a N d s e r e N a F i N k

after school Dec. 2 a group of five self-proclaimed evangelists exercised their constitutional right to free speech on the sidewalks outside of puyallup High School. Holding picketed signs that read “Jesus Bore your Sins” and wearing shirts emblazoned with “repent or periSH,” the evangelists talked with students about religious teaching. one of the evangelists, Daniel konzelman, explained why the group was there at pHS. “we are here to share the gospel and the good news of Jesus christ and his grace,” konzelman said. “we are here to warn people of his judgment and hopes that they will turn to our lord Jesus and glorify him.” a puyallup police officer was dispatched to keep order and ensure safety. “Basically these people are exercising their right to free speech which is protected by the constitution. i am here to make sure nothing gets out of hand and that tempers do not flare and everyone remains calm and respectful,” officer rob kearney said. “they were using an amplifying device to project their ideas, which is prohibited by city ordinance, so i asked them to stop, which they did. overall they have been really respectful.” after kearney told the evangelists to stop using their speakers, they simply k a m e r a n m i l l e r | v a n g u a r d stood on the sidewalks with their above: evangelists stood outside the front doors as school was dismissed on Monday dec. 2. students stood and signs. Students walked up to them and discussed religious ideas with the evangelists for around an hour after school before dispersing. engaged in conversation.

Student response to the group were mixed. views ranged from being against the gathering, to engaging with the evangelists. “the fact that there are students out here debating with them [is good.] you can tell people care,” senior Jake Hodges said. “they are just here to spread their message. a total defeat for these people coming here would be for no one to talk to them. the fact that people are talking to them is the victory.” Several students found the gathering to be out of place. “i think that, honestly there is a time and place and this is not the place here at school. especially since kids are so impressionable and this is not the time for [condemning] speech,” senior Mikaela Brown said. other students echoed Brown’s statement. “i think there is a thin line [between] church and state. i think it was very bold of them to come out here,” said junior anna ihrig. others acknowledged their right to be out at the school, without agreeing with the overall message. “i believe that they can come out here and say what they want to, but it was not so much of a discussion as it was a telling to,” senior kyle Hendricks said. Despite the conversation’s delivery bearing similarities to a lecture, the group’s actions were completely within the bounds of their rights. “i do not think they pose a threat to the school and they are not disrupting student activities. they are simply exercising their constitutional rights,” kearney said.

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e di Tor-i n- c h i e f........................... a bby doV r e Managing ediTor.......................gabe carroll oPinion ediTor..........................Maddy lucaS feaTureS ediTor........................Sierra Tryon focuS ediTor.............................eMMa Miller a&e ediTor.........................PaTr ick fa ir ba nkS SPorTS ediTor.............................Serena fink neWS ediTor...................................SaMi lynn ad Manager...............................jaycee houSe circulaTion Manager..................... Tia luThy Social Media ediTor........................SaMi lynn PhoTo ediTor............................bailey PluMb gr a Ph ic S e di Tor ................. S aVa n n a h ja r r e T T PhoTograPherS.........................Sean friebel ................................................eMMa Miller Web Manager................................abby doVre rePorTerS..................................eMily baker ................................................jaycee houSe ..............................................lydia johnSon .....................................................T i a lu T h y ...........................................kaMeran Miller ...................................................kyle SMiTh adViSer.............................Sandra coyer, Mje ediTorial Policy:

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Sickness Hinders Efficiency

Missing a test means that you have aking up in the morning is a to find time before or after school to painful process. Sickness manages to make come in and take it. When you miss a mornings even worse as nearly every lesson you have to hope that someone part of your body feels heavy and in your class took good enough notes aching as if you had slept with 50 or you can come in before or after school to get help from the teacher. pound weights for blankets. both of these scenarios When you are in such a are not so intimidating by state going to school is the themselves but multiply them last thing you want to do. by six and you have a problem getting out of bed feels like on your still-clammy-fromcompeting in the olympics: sickness hands. you start with bench So kids bolster up the energy pressing your blankets off to go to school, coughing and and then move on to swim sneezing down the halls until through your murky room. they create a symphony of after that, you start the long run down the stairs e M i l y b a k e r germs. after all, who cares about spreading germs when and out the door, only to rePorTer it means not having an extra find that your only reward pile of homework? is six hours of school. Well, if you look around at the posters in spite of these obstacles, students manage to drag themselves out of in the nurse’s office, it would seem that bed, shove a few ibuprofen down their everyone should care about viruses throat and lug themselves into their and germs. “Stay home when you are sick!” teachers and administrators car or a bus. Why submit yourself to such cry. “do not risk infecting the entire torture? for most students it is school!” i tend to respond to these comments because they cannot afford to miss a with rolled eyes when i am sick, day of schoolwork. Staying home, after all, means that because if anyone so much as glanced you miss out on six hours of instruction at me they would understand that i that could include anything from did not want to be here. if i could stay home, i assure you i would. important lessons to tests.

however, for me and many others, going home is simply not an option due to the workload. The very same people who are asking if i need to go to the nurse are often the same people keeping me at school. This is a classic example of a paradoxical situation: Students are being told that staying home is best, but punished for it when they do. no one chooses to be sick (i can promise you that my case of pneumonia over the summer was anything but chosen), so the expectation that students should be able to do a week’s worth of homework in a mere couple of days is both unfair and absurd. Therefore, we should only encourage sick students to stay home if we can back it up with ways to help them when they return. if students, administrators and teachers alike managed to follow this strategy, the paradox would end. The germ symphony would be reduced to a mere trumpet solo and sick students would no longer have to perform the olympics. instead, they could receive the greatest prize of all: knowing that they can heal and recover without stressing over school.

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RepoRteR tackles black fRiday Black Friday, the one day of the year that it is in their hands. I saw one lady in particular with at socially acceptable to trample over your neighbors least eight boxes of boots. Another passed me with a whole shopping cart at the store, spend ridiculous amounts of money and, if you are extreme enough, camp out by the filled with plain white socks and a stack of 10 blankets on top of everything. store until opening time. Luckily I was able to get in line before Originally Black Friday was supposed to be the Friday after Thanksgiving. But this yearly tradition her and all the other people with huge piles of items has taken a twist as the years go by and to buy. I was stores have begun to open Thursday in and out in evening and remain open throughout just a little the night and until the next morning. over half Every year I hear in the news of fights an hour where people of all ages feud over the which is one item they just must have because of good timing the significantly low price. So I decided for Black to set out on a journey of my own with a Friday. friend for support to watch my back just My next in case things got out of hand. was My journey started Thursday morning j A y c E E H O u S E stop Ta r g e t , as I grabbed the delivered local newspaper. rEPOrTEr which I did A stack of never-ending papers was in my arms and the weight was surprising. Almost every not expect much from store in Puyallup was represented by some sort of because it had opened at 8 p.m. the night before. ad with sizes of every kind. Some were oversized pamphlets with 40 or more When I arrived I soon pages and others were small 8 inch by 10 inch found my suspicions to sheets of thin paper that indicated the opening be true as I saw dozens of shoes, boxes and stray time. The problem I initially faced was deciding on papers flying around a reasonable time to leave and which stores to like a deserted island. shop at. The dilemma was mostly due to the stores The scene had me looking that opened Thanksgiving night. Not wanting to constantly sacrifice time away from my family, I decided to over my shoulder to m a k e go the following morning and not sure no risk getting injured just trying to get crazed inside the store. “THE dOOrS shoppers I cut out several ads in particular so OPENEd w o u l d my journey would be less of a hassle AT 5 A.M. c o m e in the long run, glued them to a single SHArP ANd running sheet of paper and mapped out my P E O P L E P I L E d through the path for the next morning. IN, WHIcH aisles. My alarm clock went off at 4 a.m. WAS A v Ery Though and because of the lack of sleep I HuMOrOuS the store was got the night before, getting out of SIgHT TO barren and bed was an uphill battle. It was very SE E .” desolate, unusual to say the least when I left my I was still house and the sun was far from rising jAycEE HOuSE able to find but I felt as if I were about to take part rEPOrTEr a few good in a battle. deals and I scraped my windowshield of the get out ice and then got in my car to buckle my seatbelt and started my car in the cold 34 degree of there before the crowds of people got temperature that I could see my own breath in. Many people were lined up by the entrance of there. I noticed all the Fred Meyer wrapped in blankets, earmuffs and red warm mittens. The doors opened at 5 a.m. sharp employee’s and people piled in, which was a very humorous droopy eyes that I sight to see. It seemed as though they were more passed by on the concerned with getting inside to purchase their way back to my car, tired from coveted items than remain sane. overnight Maybe it was because the cold weather had their gotten to their heads or maybe this was a normal shift they just occurrence for every Black Friday. The answer of completed. Back out to my car and which I am not sure. Before I went into the store, I felt as if to enter home it was for the store I had to have supernatural powers and me until next sneak around corners but I soon came to find that year when I not everyone is as inhumane and malicious as they battle off the shoppers once seem on Black Friday. To my surprise many frantic shoppers rushed again on Black past me every few minutes with various store items Friday.

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“INSTAgrAM BEcAuSE I LIkE TO SEE WHAT My F r I E N dS A r E u P TO.”

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LocaL oLympian reminisces B y

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But like most athletes, Roach faced many challenges along the way to reach her dream. very athlete’s biggest dream is to compete in the Olympics with all the elites from She began training for the 2000 Olympics but just six weeks before hurt her back and was all across the world. However, very few actually make it. unable to attend that year. Every four years each country watches those elite people on the television screen “I had to watch these women that I had competed against for years go against each work with incredible strength and courage. other and go on to the Olympics and I was not able to go. I had a really hard time and I People all over the world celebrate with them in their success and cry with them in did not even watch the opening ceremonies in 2000 because it hurt so badly for me to their failures. not be there,” Melanie Roach said. Making the journey to the Olympics is no easy task alone. Roach took this down time as an opportunity to start a family and have children, Melanie Roach is 39 years old, a mother and wife from Bonney Lake, Wash. where she though her disappointment in not being able to compete in the 2000 Olympics was a owns Roach Gymnastics & Cheer. weight that never did leave her shoulders. Melanie Roach’s experience in the Olympics as a weight lifter was accompanied by That was until Roach and her husband Dan Roach made the decision to make a failures and successes just like any other Olympian who strives to make comeback in the 2008 Olympics. it there. “We obviously had to make a lot of changes to make everything “I REMEMBER happen but I was supportive and I looked at it as something that she Her Journey There There were many difficulties and hardships that had to be overcome P R O C L A I M I N G T O wanted to do that was right there in her hands back in 2000, which and huge disappointments before the time came that Roach was finally M Y M O T H E R T H A T I slipped out of her grasp because of the injury,” Dan Roach said. “At the W A S G O I N G T O G O time I did not know if she would be able to make it just knowing that she able to fulfill her dream and compete in the 2008 Olympics. T O T H E O L Y M P I C S had a bad back and was a little older to be lifting. Not to mention the fact Her journey, she says, started out as a child. SOM E DAY.” that we were juggling our kids and our business along with everything “I remember being a little girl, I was probably nine years old when I else. But I felt really strongly that I needed to let her just give it her all was watching the Olympics and I remember watching Mary Lou Retton and her 100 percent, so at the end of the day she would not have to look win a gold medal and score a perfect 10. I remember proclaiming to my back and say she wished she would have given it one more shot.” mother that I was going to go to the Olympics someday,” Melanie Roach MELANIE ROACH COMMUNITY As Roach made her second attempt to compete in the 2008 Olympics said. for weight lifting, she, along with her husband and family of three But like any athlete, Roach had her share of trails and bumps along children at the time, had to make a number of sacrifices to make her the road on her way to the Olympics. “During my junior year of high school at Auburn High School, I fell from the high bar dream as a little girl happen. and dislocated my elbow. I was super sad because it was right before our districts meet Sacrifices so I sort of had to miss that and I did not get to attend. I was so devastated of course “We made a number of sacrifices, financially for sure. With her training schedule, if we because it was my first real injury, so as a result I had to have my surgery which was an wanted to sneak out for a weekend with the kids for a little vacation or something, that arthroscopic surgery during my senior year,” said Melanie Roach. just was not an option. There were no weekends because she trained every Saturday. Roach then goes on to explain her journey after high school as a gymnast and goes in That was a sacrifice, also with the kids in general,” Dan Roach said. “She was generally further depth on her injury. there during the day but she would sometimes have to leave town for meets. She also had “Then after my senior year when I competed at Auburn High School, I had to have a training schedule in the evenings so that was a sacrifice. For all of us, it was a challenge reconstructive surgery because all of the ligaments in my elbow were so loose that that she chose to train so intensely which required her to do so much more than the the joint was not stable. As a result of that surgery, I did some physical therapy which average person would do. Different helped with some of my hobbies and things like that upper body movements; were put on hold and we like strengthening my just focused 100 percent biceps and triceps so on the goal of getting to I got tons and tons of the Olympics.” upper body work,” Shortly before said Melanie Roach. the Olympics went underway in the year New Potential of 2008, the media had This was where a specific interest in her journey began as Melanie’s story. All of she became aware of the newspapers and her potential as she magazines wanted to exercised her upper know how she was able body more and more. to make such a glorious Roach continued as a comeback, while also caring gymnast and met a judge for family, owning a gym, and named Andrea Lyons (formerly supporting her husband as he ran in the Andrea Tibeau) who encouraged State Legislature. Roach and her husband were hesitant her to try lifting. at first to accept media but then they both realized they wanted “She came up to me and said, ‘you know you really to share her story with the world. should try Olympic weight lifting. I took one look at her size and she was very strong, and I just said ‘no thanks!’ Making a Difference I was a little intimidated, but I did come to find out that “That was her one time to have her message be heard throughout genetically she was just gifted that way, that is just kind of the whole world and have that platform. What an incredible how she is made,” Melanie Roach said. “Then when I saw her opportunity it was to be able to send that message to others. Just the at the end of the season, she asked me again to come try it, so I hope that you can overcome obstacles. One of the biggest parts that sent decided I was ready to give it a try.” a message was that we had a son with autism and had to deal with that, That was when Roach met an Olympic trainer in his garage. She so it was an incredible opportunity for Melanie to be able to talk to those had come out of high school and gained what everyone calls the people directly who were dealing with it as well,” Dan Roach said. “freshman-fifteen” in weight. Dan Roach goes on to explain how he and his wife Melanie Roach made She went to him with the sole purpose of getting her body back in the decision to accept the calls and interviews and let the media get involved. shape only, but John Thresh knew better than that. “So we decided that she had that little window and once it was gone it was “It was April of 1994 when I showed up at this garage of John Thrush. gone, so we should just take it as experience and touch as many people as I remember walking up to him and telling him I did not want to we can. So when we finally made the decision, that was when she started compete but I just wanted to get in shape,” Roach said. “He just said saying yes to everything and it got really crazy. Either you say no and just okay and no problem, but of course he knew very well that was not do not do it at all, or you say yes and try to accommodate everything.” going to happen. Every person that walks through that door usually One thing that the media got a strong grasp of at the time was the says the same things as I did.” amount of time Roach spent training and altering her lifestyle, just so John Thrush, Olympic Trainer at the time and now owner of she could fulfill her dream. Thrush Sports which is attached to Roach Gymnastics and Training Cheer, recalls his first impression of Roach. “For the training part; you can only train your body so much in “At first I did not expect anything in particular from her. She weight lifting, but it goes way deeper than that. You have the actual is not very big so I did not think about her being a lifter but she hours where you are lifting weight. She would be Put in about 25 wanted to train so I was okay with that. I did not really have hours a week just training that way in the gym actually weight any concrete feelings about her one way or another because I lifting,” Dan Roach said. “She also had to put time into visual work saw her as just another athlete. But then she started training where she would literally just lay there and visualize weight lifting, seriously with the idea of competition and in my gym that is rather than actually doing it physically. In addition to her weight what we do. We train national and internationally,” Thrush lifting, she would do core exercises and those were morning and said. night for half an hour each. There were three straight years of Thrush has coached many USA Olympians in the past her training.” and continues to do so just like the way he helped Roach Roach made her return in the 2008 Olympics and competed to get there, as he works at Thrush Sports in Bonney for weight lifting. This experience helped her to take that Lake, Wash. weight off her shoulders of the heartbreak she felt before “The Olympics is the ultimate goal and everybody when she was unable to compete eight years back in the is pointing towards that. Melanie was wise enough 2000 Olympics. early on to realize that maybe I knew more than she “It was really hard, but because I had come so close the did about what we were doing and so she made up time before, I just had to go back. I thought about it a lot her mind that she was going to do whatever I told her for the five years that I was away and had three babies,” she needed to do. She followed up on everything I told Melanie Roach said. “I am very blessed that I was able her to do the whole way through and that was why to go back and replace all those sad feelings and the things worked out so well in the end.” heartache and replace all those with happy and Just six weeks after walking through the door positive experiences and I learned so much on my of Thrush’s garage, Roach competed in her comeback, it was amazing.” first national competition and trained to go to Arizona in 1994 where she took first place. S Av A N N A H J A R R E T T | v A N G U A R D

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“Oh, I love Twitter beef, I just like to grab a bag of popcorn and watch,” Sosa Just as styles and trends change, so do the strategies of said. “But if it turns into harassment or threats, then something should be done harassment. The current Program Supervisor in the School Safety about it.” Donlin explains when an argument on Center of the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction in Olympia, Wash., Mike Donlin, explains the Twitter can turn into a concern. “very often what is a Twitter argument or threat to teenagers. “Cyberbullying in Washington and around the world simply texting back and forth between two runs parallel to regular everyday bullying. About 20 percent people who are ticked off turns into more if of students say they have been cyberbullied in some way or someone else jumps in, sees it, takes it, twists it around and turns it into something the first another,” Donlin said. However cyberbullying is a tricky concept to understand. two people never intended for it to be,” Donlin The District policy states that the District does not tolerate said. “It stirs the pot and that is when it becomes a challenge.” any behavior that qualifies as cyber bullying. According to Donlin, adults Harassment or bullying via the Internet are typically the ones to call a has the same repercussions as traditional “A B Ou T 2 0 disagreement over social media out bullying cases. Whether it is in or out of P ERCENT OF as cyberbullying and bring attention school, disrupts the educational process STuDENTS SAY upon the situation. In contrast, Hogan or invades the privacy of another student, T H E Y H Av E BE E N claims that adults will only be involved the District asserts that there will be CYBERBullIED if the student wants them to be. consequences. IN SOME WAY OR “Why people tend not to come Donlin reinforces that there truly is no A NOT H E R .” forward is because they think we are distinction between real-life bullying and going to hijack the situation and the cyberbullying. adults are going to take over when really “There is no reason to make a distinction MIKE DONlIN unless it is an extreme, your-life-is-inbetween bullying and cyberbullying OSPI danger sort of situation, we are not going because it is really all the same,” Donlin to advance further without the student’s said. “What we have come to realize is that if a person is being cyberbullied, the chances are they are permission,” Hogan said. Even if a situation is not technically bullying, there are being bullied in the real world as well.” According to the student handbook, the disciplinary still ways that an individual can handle the conflict. Hogan action will be appropriate and responsive. Depending on recommends having a third-party mediator to help with the student, the severity of the harassment, the age of the the issue. “Rather than trying to fix the situation over social media, student and the relationship between the harasser and the because that will make it worse, find a conference room, victim the severity of the punishment will vary. vice Principal Eric Hogan explains what may be or an empty classroom with a teacher or trusted adult considered bullying to some is probably not bullying at all. mediating,” Hogan said. “It is almost a hundred percent “It may feel like bullying to the person and we help them successful.” Hogan says that sometimes the best way to avoid conflict through that. But the harassment may not actually meet the legal definition of bullying,” Hogan said. “It needs to be on social networking is to stay away from the internet. “Jumping off of Facebook or Twitter does not necessarily persistent and ongoing over time. A conflict between two mean that the problem goes away, but if you constantly people is not bullying.” The line between playful banter and harassment blurs find yourself caught up in the social network drama, maybe when social media is introduced. Twitter beef is just one try and stay off the internet for a while,” Hogan said. “If it is of many passive aggressive and argumentative forms of not a healthy environment for you, do not put yourself in internet self-expression. Junior Domenic Sosa elaborates that situation.” on this phenomena.

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ake up. Check Facebook. Brush teeth. Scroll through Twitter. Zip up sweatshirt. Refresh Instagram. It is no doubt that social media is a huge part of this generation’s lives. Kids spend huge amounts of time looking at their phones and computers and it is affecting how they behave. The social media sites act as a form of self expression and a way to journal daily lives but at the same time they have bred passivity. An example of this is ‘subtweeting.’ “[Subtweeting is] tweeting about someone or something but not directly mentioning what you are talking about,” sophomore Maris Mastrorocco said. People also tend to forget that they are interacting with actual people. “I see [subtweeting] daily and all the fights,” sophomore Gabby Gallucci said. “Friendships are being broken apart because of something that is said and they can not tell if it is being truthful or not. Some people will say stuff but they do not want the whole world to know but yet they are letting them in that action [of subtweeting].” Another fact often overlooked is that people are opening up to others that they might be seeing every day at school. “A lot of people

that I know are a quiet or really polite person to somebody’s face. They will even call it a but then you see them on social media and it conversation. Having a conversation? No you is like a whole different side,” Gallucci said. are not. Having a conversation is where you “It [can be good or bad] because some people speak to people. [With texting] you have never open up more but then again, some people verbally said a word.” Constant conversation over text also hinders open up in the wrong ways like attacking the degree of communication. Sarcasm and others and using profane language.” A common occurrence is how people show irony have become large elements of humor but new facets of their personalities that are cannot easily be expressed without inflection. One cannot read into body language or tone displayed nearly exclusively online. “People act so tough on social media,” when the only thing you have to interpret is Mastrorocco said. “On the Internet you can be pixels. “People do not really know if they are joking someone totally different. You can lie online so easily. In real life you can be really boring; you or not because it is over a screen,” Gallucci said. Internet communication offers anonymity have to be yourself.” Although the formation of online identity like never before. There are sites like Ask. may be beneficial as people get the opportunity fm where one can anonymously ask friends to adopt personalities that may be stifled questions; unfortunately, such sites are often in normal life, frequent Internet use itself is abused. There is always the possibility of hate and it is often difficult to trace an impacting how people socialize. anonymous message back to its Every social outing gets its own photo shoot and is posted to “ F R I E N D S H I P S origin. ARE BEING “Words can be vicious Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. BROKEN and horrible, now I get to be People will have their friends in A PA RT...” amazingly hurtful and I have front of them and their attention no consequences for it,” White on their phone. said. “The whole phrase ‘sticks “Kids get on the Internet and GABBY GAlluCCI and stones will break my bones they become so accustomed to SOPHOMORE but words will never hurt me’... it that they are always on their phones,” Gallucci said. “I feel like kids spend what an absolute lie. We can all come up with way more time on social media than they something that somebody said to us at some time, a long time ago, and you will always should.” Cell phones have evolved into a social remember how hurtful it was.” Social media and Internet use have affected crutch; technology has turned conversing with others into an impersonal activity. Many people in making them less likely to engage kids and adults alike will avoid things such as in face-to-face communication and also act confrontation or actual verbal communication nastier when given the opportunity to have no in the simple act of not answering a call from personal consequences. “I do not do social media at all. I think that an unknown number. “People do not know how to talk to each it is way too narcissistic,” White said. “It just other or they do not talk to each other much,” focuses everything so internal, how everything AP Psychology teacher Matthew White said. impacts me instead of how you could impact “Instead of actually interacting, people will other people’s lives. It is such a shocking waste text each other things they would never say of time.”

Internet distracts students

”We typically don’t block [or allow] a specific site such as FB or Twitter, but we block or allow the category Social media is everywhere. It is on phones, of Social Networking [that one is blocked for students computers, advertisements and television shows. The but allowed for staff],” Averill said. This blocking has both upsides and downsides. existence of social media is near impossible to avoid “If they [social media sites] are not disrupting a and when you are doing homework it can become a teacher’s lesson plan then I feel that they should not be major player in the procrastination game. Yearbook adviser Kristin Gerhardt deals with banned, as they could be used after school for students that do not have access at home,” Kim said. “But if it students on computers during class. is creating issues for teachers then I “I think there is definitely more think it would be fair to ban them.” opportunity to misuse time Of course, regulating social media [because of social media],” “ I T H I N K T H E R E I S Gerhardt said. “You can spend D E F I N I T E l Y M O R E does not manage to eradicate procrastination completely. Some 10 minutes just setting up OPPORTuNITY sites can be used for educational your playlist on YouTube, TO MISuSE TIME purposes as well as procrastination, thinking, ‘Okay, I am just [BECAuSE OF going to do this and then I S O C I A l M E D I A ] . ” which can make blocking them a difficult decision. am going to work.’” “I agree with banning some sites Sophomore Jordan Kim KRISTIN GERHARDT like Facebook because so many agrees that social media YEARBOOK ADvISER people use Facebook but with sites can easily distract you. like YouTube and other sites I feel like “If I give in to procrastination, it very much does they could also be used for looking up pictures and [affect my productivity] as I can always videos on a certain subject for more information,” find tweets to read or Instagram pictures Musick said. These factors can make it seem like there is very to look at if I want. However, I try to stay motivated to ignore it until I finish doing little hope in solving the procrastination problem completely. my work that needs to get done,” Kim said. “I think until we can develop a software that says Sophomore Hannah Musick finds it much harder to stay motivated but she attributes her procrastination you can only look at [necessary school websites] and more to not wanting to work than to social media itself. your email and everything else is locked out then “...It is more of a mindset of me not wanting to do [procrastination] is going to happen,” Gerhardt said. However, procrastination and social media do not school work and social media just kind of helps with it because it provides something else for me to do,” have to be seen as dooming elements that will forever affect your productivity. Not according to Kim, at least. Musick said. “I feel that social media can easily worsen The struggle that being on the computer creates for some students is part of the reason why the school procrastination, but it is not the sole cause,” Kim said. “For someone looking for an excuse to ignore work, district regulates social media. According to the Executive Director of Technology it is very easy, but if you work on staying focused and Services Randy Averill, the district uses a web filter that telling yourself that homework and studying is the works based on categories of sites. The company who priority you can very well be successful.” created the filter reviews sites and categorizes them. B y

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various vegan views vocalized

“Because i am a female athlete i take iron supplements. B12 can or many people the concept be added to a meal by nutritional of cutting meat, eggs and yeast and i also supplement milk out of their diet is vitamin d,” katzberg said. although some nutrients are a difficult to imagine. although it might be hard to little trickier to come by, it is not say goodbye, such is the reality as difficult as it seems to get all of for those who choose to be vegan. them. art teacher dorrie coleman “the benefit is that a [vegans’] health is better. there is less risk has been vegan for six months. “protein is really interesting of heart disease, diabetes and cancer,” consultant dietician because almost every plant is Fay tong said. “generally, high in protein. people do not people who are vegans are very think about that but the more conscious of their health and you cook something the less they eat less junk food and foods protein you get from it,” coleman with preservatives in them. they said. “i could eat five potatoes in also watch their weight and one day and get as much protein as anybody else is getting eating exercise.” chicken or fish or those who beef in one meal. are on more “i Find that you My family high-protein can Be vegan [asks], ‘are diets will also really easily you getting need to make Because you are enough sure they do not eliMinating protein?’ i am eat too much three-quarters absolutely meat as the oF t h e stor e .” getting enough excess protein protein.” can lead to the dorrie coleMan coleman is destruction of art teacher a plant-based the kidneys. vegan, which people who are vegan do not have that issue means that she does not eat but can still have health problems processed foods such as tofurkey and because of this it is necessary like some vegans do. “i know that following a to take supplements such as B12, plant-based diet is correlated iron and zinc. eating meat, especially ones with longevity and less diseases with high amounts of fat, will associated with meat, poultry increase one’s endogenous and other animal sources of synthesis of cholesterol (meaning protein,” tong said. however, the benefits of this their own bodies make more cholesterol) which is correlated diet are not limited to just health. according to coleman, it is with heart disease and cancer, cheaper to consistently buy just tong explained. “also, if you have kidney vegetables and healthy items disease, your kidneys can not than to be susceptible to the filter the extra protein that is temptations of unhealthier being ingested. europeans ban impulsive purchases. “i find that you can be our meat products because we put too much hormones in vegan really easily because our cattle,” tong said. “Meat you are eliminating threegenerally has more calories than quarters of the store. i stick to vegetables. vegetables have less one corner of the store and calories, more fiber and more am there for maybe 20 or phyto-nutrients, which help the 30 minutes,” coleman said. “it has lowered my shopping immune system.” senior Mariah katzberg has bill considerably. i used to spend been vegan for six months in $20 a week on fast food and then addition to having intolerances $100 a week in normal groceries that were not incredibly healthy. to egg and dairy. Ly d i a J o h n s o n R e p o R t e R

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now my grocery bill has gone down from $100 a week to being between $25 and $40 a week.” But on days when home cooking is not available, eating can be difficult due to the fact that not all restaurants offer vegan food. “[Being vegan] has affected my lifestyle a little bit in that family does not quite understand why i would go to such extremes,” coleman said. “going out to eat, socially, is a little bit more difficult because there has to be a little more planning ahead. thank goodness for the internet because you can look up restaurant menus and find out what ingredients they use

before you go in.” although the frequent unavailability of vegan dishes is a problem, the blow is softened a bit by the fact that more restaurants and stores have begun offering vegan dishes. “i think being vegan would be more difficult if i did not already have an allergy to dairy and egg; i am not tempted to cheat and eat these foods. in the last year i have noticed that there are many more vegan

options becoming available,” katzberg said. tong recommends that if one is looking into a vegan diet to either talk to a dietician or research it. the vegan diet, like any other diet, can easily be maintained and be healthy so long as one is sure to eat enough food and to eat nutritionally.

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Ye a r b o o k s a r e o n s a l e n o w ! Get ‘em while you can! $ 6 5 t o M r s . F r a s e r, t h e b o o k k e e p e r.

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“A photograph that one has taken of oneself, typically one taken with a smartphone or webcam and uploaded to a social media site.” oxforddictionaries.com

100 PHS students were randomly selected to participate in a survey about selfies in late November. These are the results: 32%

Number of selfies taken a week:

27%

1. Snapchat 28% 14%

10%

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Top three social media sites used to post selfies:

2. instagram 25%

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3. Facebook 20%

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“Selfie” was chosen as the word of the year by Oxford dictionaries. Why do you think people take selfies? Tips for taking selfies, according to ctvnews.ca: To show off an outfit

11% 44% Because they can

1. Use good lighting — you want to be facing the light source. If you cannot, use flash.

2. Use your front-facing camera for taking photos — it is much easier. 45%

To get attention

3. Take quick photos in crowded places to avoid photobombers. 4. Show people your surroundings — try rotating your camera 45 degrees to see more background.

5. Use filters and effects to enhance your photos. are selfies cool to post?

Number of posts on Instagram with hashtags relating to selfies: Information accurate as of Dec. 2.

64% No

25% Yes Sometimes

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#selfie

#selfienation 660,827 posts

60,035,842 posts

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students participate 17% ofin #selfiesunday

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research shows that the earliest known usage of the word “selfie” was in 2002 by an australian forum post. smh.com.au

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do you remember playing house as a young child: building forts, dressing up and making the storyline up as you go? even if the heels were 10 sizes too big and the necklace brushed the ground, imagination would make up for it. For a moment you were transported to a different world. a world where you were the king, the princess or the dragon. Playing house does not stop once the heels actually fit. Because now that same girl wears those heels to go see a movie. For two hours she is transported to a different world. But this time she does not have to do any of the work. this time the set designer builds the forts, the costume designer dresses the characters up, the script is already written and it is all neatly displayed on a large “it iS screen. all she must do is buy a SuSPenSeFul, ticket and take a seat. terriFying, during some movies, viewers can ProMiSing and just sit back and relax, while other extreMely times they are laughing the whole r e a l iSt ic .” way through. But some movies are so emotionally exhausting that it eMMa Miller takes viewers a few hours to wrap FocuS editor your head around what they just experienced. “catching Fire” is one of those movies. Based off the book by Suzanne collins and the sequel to “the Hunger games,” the movie transports viewers to a futuristic world full of extreme government control due to an earlier revolution. However, since the previous annual Hunger games, a nationally-televised event hosted by the government where kids fight to the death, the government’s system of control has been slowly shattering. the Hunger games are meant to invoke fear and remind the people that they cannot overcome the government but two teenagers’ act of defiance stemming from their supposed love for each other has sparked hope in the people. katniss and Peeta, both victors of the 74th annual Hunger games, are now realizing the effect they had on the country when they convinced the government that they would rather both die than kill each other. it is suspenseful, terrifying, promising and extremely realistic. the first time i saw the movie i was either on the edge of my seat in anxiety or sitting back in shock as tears rolled down my face. i was, for two hours, transported to katniss and Peeta’s world. it was as if i was with them. yet in reality, the experience was entirely fake. it is a movie: a big production shown on a big screen.

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i was just sitting in a movie theater; there was stale popcorn under my feet and someone texting in front of me. though the emotional roller coaster that i had just been thrown on was not fake. V a n g u a r d Movies evoke feelings and start thought trains. For the two hours that viewers endure the uncomfortable seats and smell of popcorn butter, movies are intensively laboring to make the viewers believe. to make them believe that the world they have been transported to could indeed exist. it goes back to everything you do as a kid, playing house: the fort made of blankets and furniture and the dress-up borrowed from your parents’ closet. the costumes in “catching Fire” are brilliant. each character’s disposition is illustrated through their style, which was compiled by costume designer, trish Summerville. katniss’s hunting outfit from the very first scene includes a coarse wool one-shouldered cowl over a tan leather jacket with denim pants and the picturesque katniss boots. it is a plain and hardy look: one that both katniss and Peeta exhibit throughout the movie. it is a look that screams ‘hardcore’ and reflects their district’s hard work through their hardships. effie trinket, katniss and Peeta’s spokeswoman, is known for her unique outfits. almost every one of effie’s outfits includes a very structured and unusual dress with a tight core and short skirt, tall heels and some sort of eye catching detail. While her outfits look very abnormally put together, they lack a comfortable aspect, which not only embraces effie’s personality but also her inner turmoil. effie often is conflicted with her job to be happy and presentable as a government representative and also her motherly love for katniss and Peeta as she watches the government destroy their lives. With every change in character, with every change in mood, with every change in experience— there is a change in fashion. the costume design in “catching Fire” not only mirrors the movie but enhances it. it is one of the many mechanisms working to make the viewer believe in the story presented. Because if you believe in the story, in the world, in the movie, then maybe you will think differently.

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Upcoming match: Dec. 10 vs. Rogers at Daffodil Lanes

Pictured: Freshman Jessica Galan

information Boys Basketball

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Wrestling

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Upcoming meet: Today at 3p.m. at Rogers

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Pictured: Sophomore Natalie Crouch

Pictured: Junior Addie Picha

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Upcoming match: Dec. 18 vs. Federal Way, Rogers and Kentwood at Puyallup

Girls Basketball

Upcoming game: Dec. 10 vs. Curtis at Puyallup

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Upcoming match: Dec. 11 vs. Rogers at Puyallup

Upcoming game: Dec. 7 vs. Spanaway Lake at Puyallup

Pictured: Senior Matt Voss

Pictured: Junior Brady Winter

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visit; instead it consists of tests done under physical stress. misplaced tackle, a stunt gone wrong or just a bad “When you do the screening test fall — all are possible causes of a concussion, a after you have had the concussion minor traumatic brain injury. you need to do it under exertional Junior football player Michael Fuller got a concussion circumstances. So it is not sitting in during a game. your quiet pediatrician’s office with no “i was going out for a pass, i was not looking and a guy distractions,” Muiznieks said. “When lead with his head and hit me,” Fuller said. “[there was] a you do an exertional test, you run or jump lot of pressure in my head, i kind of felt a little dizzy, i did rope or hop up and down on boxes, your blood not feel like i was all there.” pressure is elevated, your heart rate is going, you But what happens after a concussion has taken place? are breathing a little bit harder, now are you still For some the answer is “not much.” symptom free?” Junior cheerleader keely connolly is currently unable although many athletes have gotten concussions to participate in cheer after getting a concussion for the playing sports, Muiznieks feels that the Puyallup second time. School district takes concussions “[after my concussion] i could just sit more seriously than other school “[BecauSe oF at practice… you pretty much just do not M y c o n c u S S i o n ] districts. feel involved at all,” connolly said. “absolutely [the Puyallup i cannot But connolly and Fuller are not the School district takes reMeMBer tHingS Very only students to have experienced concussions seriously Well So it concussions. according to athletic enough], because we are really aFFectS director lisa Muiznieks, approximately a one of the few districts M y gr a deS.” dozen students sustained concussions in that do baseline this year’s fall sports season alone. screening before keely connolly Junior However, loss of participation in you have even had a sport is not the only side effect a a concussion so that we have some concussion can have on an athlete. information to base your results on to find out how you “Some kids cannot sleep, some kids have problems are doing after you have a concussion,” Muiznieks said. with their memory, some kids have problems organizing “So we have pre and post data and, as far as i know, our what they used to be able to organize before, some kids school district and kent are the only two larger school get really bad headaches, some people are sensitive to districts that do pre-screening beforehand.” really bright lights or loud noises,” Muiznieks said. “it Fuller experienced this screening first-hand. really depends on the severity of their concussion and “i went to a specialist to give me more insight on maybe even where their concussion occurred.” what i needed to do and how long it would take,” Fuller connolly says she experiences dizziness and blurred said. “i had to do the concussion test to compare it to vision and that her grades have also suffered as a result of what we did at the beginning of the year.” her concussions. unfortunately, sometimes student athletes “[Because of my concussion] i cannot remember things choose not to very well so it really affects my grades,” connolly said. report their Fuller’s grades have experienced a similar dip. concussions, as “[My concussion] affected my grades pretty badly they fear doing because of the two weeks i was gone and i was not able to so may damage take some big tests,” Fuller said. their athletic Sometimes the effects of a concussion can be far- career. reaching. “as of yet, i have not “emotionally [having a concussion] just makes you seen [concussions] be a really depressed because you cannot do anything or do factor [in participating in college any physical activity. it is harder to function. Pretty much, athletics] but if it impeded your ability it changes your life,” connolly said. to participate and you had to leave your sport before Sometimes the process to return to full participation in you graduated from high school then of course it would,” one’s sport is as short as one week, other times, several Muiznieks said. weeks. it is not always easy to know if you have a concussion “after their concussion has been reported they have and, as such, it is important to see a professional if to wait one week and be symptom free before they get you suspect you may have gotten one. screened again and if they are still showing symptoms “Sure, [it is important to address a possible at that screening then they have to wait another week concussion] because you might be doing or they have to be completely symptom free before they something that would be do their baseline screening again and then get cleared,” aggravating it when Muiznieks said. “So for some athletes it might only be a you should be week but [not] for others.” resting and then connolly may have to wait until next year to return to you are risking her sport. getting another “[the doctor] said maybe six or more months [before c o n c u s s i o n , ” i can participate in cheerleading again],” connolly said. Muiznieks said. the concussion screening is not like a typical doctor’s B y G a B e C a r r o l l m a n a G i n G e d i t o r

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