November 2013 - Battlefield High School

BATTLEFIELD HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT NEWSPAPER
Covering the news in and around the halls of 15000 Graduation Drive
Graphic Design by Ryan Waltz, senior
November 2013
INSIDE Thankfulness is universal;
THIS turkey dinner, not so much
ISSUE
Bobcats celebrate Thanksgiving with multicultural flair
Celeste Chance
Every year, families
gather in November
to celebrate the multitude of their blessings,
such as having a job or
having a roof over their
For seniors, the end- heads. As most Ameriof-year countdown cans know Thanksgiving began with a large
begins now
feast between the Wam>>HALLWAY, PAGE 3 panoag Indians and the
Pilgrims to thank God
for the good harvest they
received. Today, people
have continued with the
tradition, along with
other nations that have
adapted it to their cultures. While the U.S was
the first to establish what
Cross-country fresh- is known as Thanksgiving, countries all over
man Saige Cisler
the world share in festivities that resemble those
>>SPORTS, PAGE 4
in America.
In Canada, families
have been celebrating
Thanksgiving since 1957
in what originated as a
harvest festival. Junior
DRUM
ROLL,
PLEASE
RUNNING
TO THE
TOP
CAFFEINE
VS. GUNS
Starbucks patrons
clash with gun ban
>>KEEPING
CURRENT, PAGE 10
ONE
TWERKS,
ONE
WORKS
Miley and Ariana
go head-to-head
>>OPINION, PAGE
12
Maddie Laycock describes it as a time when
“families and friends get
together and have a big
dinner”. While it holds
many similarities to the
U.S’s
Thanksgiving,
there are some factors
that set it apart. One major difference is the date;
In Canada, Thanksgiving is October 14th and
November 25th in the
U.S. Other differences
include the food, such
as a popular item known
as bread sauce which is
served in Canada.
Photo courtesy of Creative Commons
An example of a Canadian Style Thanksgiving. Many
Canadian dishes are similar, and some include variations
such lamb and rice varieties.
During this year’s
Thanksgiving,
Jewish
Americans will be celebrating the festival of
lights, better known as
Hanukkah. This eightday holiday is done to
commemorate the rededication of the temple
by the Maccabees after
it was ruined by the Syrians in 165 B.C. Typi-
Allah for everything and
throw a massive feast,
and eat to our hearts
content with family and
friends”.
Senior Gabby Reilly
shares her family’s traditions for Thanksgiving, which involve many
different foods, such as
lechon (a whole roasted
pig), pancit (noodles),
and lumpia (egg rolls).
Coming from Chinese
and Filipino heritage,
she also participates in
the Harvest Moon Festival which is equivalent
to Thanksgiving in China. According to Gabby,
“We have family come
over and eat good food,
and we give moon cakes
to each other.”
While many countries have different customs and ways of celebrating their nation’s
holiday, many of the
values remain the same.
Family, food and unity
are all common characteristics for a day of feasting. So whether enjoying
turkey or other cuisines,
students can enjoy the
company of friends and
family.
From October 14th
to the 15th, Muslims
all across the world participated in Eid al-Adha,
also known as feast of
the sacrifice. This day is
significant in showing
Ibrahim’s willingness to
sacrifice his son to Allah.
It also marks the end of
the Hajj pilgrimage to
Mecca. Like Thanksgiving Eid entails family gatherings as well as
big feasts. According to
senior Yusuf Siddiqui,
“Eid is similar because
after 30 days of fasting
cally, during Hanukkah, for Muslims, we thank
family members light
the menorah on each
night ( it is made up
of nine branches), exchange gifts, play games
and eat food. English
teacher Mrs. Marsh
recalls,“When I was little, my parents would
play hot and cold to find
gifts”. Hanukkah does
not always occur during
Thanksgiving because it
is based on a lunar calendar, but Mrs. Marsh
Photo Courtesy of Yusuf Siddiqui
expects to celebrate both
Senior
Yusuf
Siddiqui
and
his
siblings
enjoying
the holithis year.
day of Eid al-Adha.
***If you are intereseted in designing a banner for Inside 15000’s next edition, please contact Mrs. Peyton at [email protected]
2
Hallway
INSIDE 15 THOUSAND
November 2013
Freshmen reveal their biggest fears about high school
By Kelsey Ainslie & Jessica Kronzer
Most freshmen go through
a state of pure confusion at the
beginning of the year. They do not
have a clue about what is going
on, and they feel like they have
just been dropped into a shark
tank. Recently, several freshmen
shared these mixed emotions of
confusion and excitement. Interviews explored freshmen’s feelings
when entering animated high
school. Christina High’s biggest fear
when coming into high school was
getting lost. The school can seem
intimidating when coming from a
smaller middle school. “I’ve gotten
used to the school because someone said it looks like a hershey bar
and I really like chocolate,’’ said
High. The best piece of advice
High received was that it is not
as bad as you think it is. “I wish I
studied more for quizzes because
Battlefield staff answers
most common questions
about college applications
they were harder than I thought
they would be,” this was High’s
only regret from the first weeks of
school.
“Sometimes
you have to pass
up social events for
school, but its worth
it in the end.”
Christion Banks said his
biggest fear was having batteries
thrown at him at the pep rallies.
“The myth was proven false,”
said Banks when referring to the
homecoming pep rally. The best
piece of advice Banks received
was to do his homework. “I don’t
regret anything I have done this
year,” said Banks. Adding on this
topic he stated “YOLO [You Only
Live Once] .”
Shannon Lee’s biggest
concerns when she entered high
school was taking Pre-AP classes.
“I’m kinda used to it now,” said
Lee when asked if she was still
concerned. “The best piece of
advice I received was to study hard
for geometry,” said Lee. Lee also
stated “I regret not studying for
tests and quizzes.”
Jonathan Robson said “I was
worried that homework would be
a little much; handling sports and
everything.” Robson’s fear is not
relevant now because he learned
how to manage his time best. The
best advice he was given was to do
By Ashley Chapman
Every senior is experiencing the same exact feelings as all the rest
with thousands of questions plummeting into their mind when the
topic of applying to college comes up. Many are often confused with
where to start, when, how to apply, what schools they should apply to,
how much time it takes to apply, and so many more factors when applying to colleges. With the help of some of Battlefield High School’s
wonderful staff, here are some of the frequently asked questions and
answers that seniors may have when applying to college.
1. What is the common application?
“The Common Application provides students and school officials
one application that they may submit to nearly 500 member colleges.
Students only have to complete the common application once and
can then use it to apply to any of the member colleges.” –Mr. Sission,
Guidance Department
2. When should I start applying?
Photo courtesy of Yearbook
“Start looking into the process prior to senior year starting. There
are a lot of pieces when applying to college that students need to
consider. Students also need to sit down with their counselor and determine if they are interested in applying early or regular to college.”
-Mrs. Ngyugen, Guidance Department
A shot of the Class of 2017’s bleacher section at the October pep rally
“Students need to provide an academic resume consisting of their
involvement and extra circular activities, reasons why they choose to
apply to that specific university, aspects that make them a unique individual, and their favorite word.” -Mr. Lem, English Department
By Zach Plaster and Danielle Boufford
3. What tools does a student need to provide a teacher
with when asking for a recommendation?
4. How many people should read your college essay before
submitting?
“A total of three people should be reading and revising your
essay prior to hitting the submit button. The first person should look to
ensure that you are getting your point across and that you are addressing the topic that the prompt is asking for. The second person should
be checking for grammatical errors such as spelling. The third person
should assess it to make sure that it is college level appropriate.” -Mrs.
Fairbanks, School Nurse
5. How does a student request his/her transcript and
test scores to be sent to a college?
1) Submit FERPA (Parent Release) Form with parent signature
to the counselor office.
2) If applying with the Common Application, complete the
Common Application Waiver section of your application.
- If you are applying to a college that offers the option of using
the Common Application, you are strongly encouraged to apply using
the Common Application.
-Be sure to add each college to which you are applying, to your Common Application account.
3) Request transcript via Family Connection.
-Username: Student ID
Password: Birthdate in mmddyy
format
4) Go to the Counseling Center and see the secretary for transcript processing and payment.
-The first three official transcripts for colleges are free, however, you
must still see the Counseling Dept. secretary to initiate processing!
-Transcripts for additional colleges are $5.00 each.
-Mid-year and final transcripts for colleges previously requested, as
well as transcripts for scholarships and NCAA Eligibility Center, are
free.
“If a student has any further questions they should contact their counselor.” –Mrs. Bridges, Guidance Department
homework. Relating to this, Robson said “I regret not doing all of
my homework, and then staying
up late finishing it.”
Emma Lee was worried
about getting good grades and
juggling everything she’s involved
in. “I wish I practiced better work
habits,” she reflected from the past
weeks of school. The best piece of
advice Lee received was “Sometimes you have to pass up social
events for school, but its worth it
in the end.”
Johannes Logan said his
biggest fear was different from all
of the other interviewees. “ I don’t
like waking up early,” he admitted.
“My concussion was my biggest
regret,” he stated when referring
to his first weeks of school. Logan
was playing football when he got
hit hard and suffered a concussion.
“It is hard for me to focus,” Logan
said while explaining the effects of
this concussion. Overall though he
has a smooth transition, “I knew
almost everyone here anyway,” he
said.
Sofia Gerima had a fear of
upperclassmen. “I’m not afraid of
them anymore,” said Gerima. The
best advice Gerima received was to
do her work.
SeniorJaiyaana West shared
her advice for freshman “Don’t
surccumb to peer pressure.”
Continuing on speaking about self
worth she said “Stay away from
the bad crowds.” West also suggested to get your language classes
done earlier rather than later.
Ashley Deabreu also a senior
added “Be a leader not a follower.”
On a different note she advised,
“Stay organized and neat, get your
stuff done on time.” In conclusion
Deabrew stated“Just enjoy your
freshman year!”
Many of these freshmen’s
fears have disappeared since the
start of school. Hopefully, for the
students whose fears have not been
resolved yet, they are soon resolved
by these senior’s advice.
Has homecoming come and gone?
Homecoming for many
students is one of the most exciting
events of the school year. However,
for other students, it is not quite as
appealing. Students from both sides
of this spectrum gave their opinions
toward Homecoming. Sophomore
Dillon O’Brien, who attended the
dance this year said that he was
looking forward to going because it
is “a fun, safe, school event”. DIllon
went to the dance as a freshman,
and he said that his favorite part was
“just having the chance to blow off
steam and have a good time with
my homies”. After going to Homecoming again, Dillon said that he
“had a great time, it was even better
than last year”.
This was not the case for some,
including Junior Alexandra Dacey,
who said that “I will not be going
to Homecoming this year because
I’ve already experienced Homecoming before”. She also added that she
“didn’t really like Homecoming because the music wasn’t hip enough”.
As an alternative to Homecoming,
Alexandra dressed up and went out
to dinner with her friends. Alexandra does not regret missing the
dance, she “had just as much fun
being with her friends as going to
the dance”.
As for the students who attended the dance, there are those
who only went because they felt
that they had to. Sophomore
Tommy DeAngelus said the only
reason he had to go to Homecoming is because he was on the court.
“You can’t really expect much from
Homecoming” said DeAngelus.
With this kind of ,attitude toward
the dance, more students can be ex-
pected to view Homecoming as less
a social event, and more as a chore.
In retrospect, DeAngelus said that
he did end up having a lot of fun, “I
wish I would’ve encouraged more of
my friends to go with me.”
Freshman Malik Young said
that he was hesitant to go because
of “rumors that have been spread
around about the dance.” Young
went on to describe one of the
rumors that he heard, about “people
who spit in the food and punch.”
People who create these false stories
about Homecoming need to real-
ize that what they say can cause
someone to form a negative opinion
about the dance, without ever even
seeing what it is really like.
Some students also shared
how they felt the dance could be
improved. Sophomre Keara Mckey
commented that planners should
“make it appeal to every class.”
Senior Jordan Asqueri agreed stating
that “if more upperclassmen were
going it would make itmore ravishing.”
Mr. Fair simply suggested that
“it would be better if I was there.”
Photo courtesy of Victor O’ Neill Studios
Shea Swingle and Tommy De Angelus walk together down that
track at the Homecoming Game.
Hallway
November 2013
Drum roll please
Seniors reflect on their journey to the top
By Kayla Crocker
As we come to the finale of
the biggest performance of our
lives, we can find many anxious
seniors backstage preparing for our
big moment in the spotlight. The
moment we’ve been anticipating
and dreading since we were little.
The moment we walk across the
stage waiting for our names to be
announced, and hearing “Congratulations, you did it!” The moment we look out at our friends
and family with the confidence
and pride that we did do it!
“I’m excited to be graduating and
becoming the the top dogs. Oh!
and senior privileges and such”
says senior, Morgan Albertson.
Other seniors such as Connor Feehan said “I look forward
to getting closer to college and
starting on my future”.
Many underclassmen stare
in awe; wanting to know how we
did it, how did we survive? Are
there any secrets to our success?
Emma Thornberg advised, “Do
well your first years in high school
so you dont have to stress about
senior year as much, freshman year
matters!”
“You need to get involved and
don’t stay in on a friday night”
Students cheer during the Fall Pep Rally
said Albertson.
Feehan stressed “Don’t give up on
anything, it can always get better
depending on how bad you want
it!”
The popular question for
us seems to be do we have any
regrets? Have we made mistakes?
We all know that no one is perfect
and we have all gone through our
fair share of troubles. Katherine
Iskander says “I have no regrets,
the mistakes I’ve made I’ve learned
from. They’ve helped shape me
into who I am today.”
Photo courtesy of Lynx Yearbook staff photographer
Even though we’ve made
it this far, we still get that restless feeling when we think about
our moment, that we’ve all been
waiting for. We’ve all heard the
stories of bad luck ,but what are
our greatest worries about graduation and what follows? A heartfelt
Thornberg shared “I’m worried
most about leaving my sister and
preparing to leave home cooked
meals, because I can’t cook for the
life of me.”
Iskander said “I’m afraid of
not finishing where I want to be
Bobcats show off their spirit
By Kirsten DeZeeuw
As all students know, no
other school knows how to throw
a spirit week like Battlefield.
Through the week, students
showed their school spirit by going all out in their crazy outfits.
Freshman Emily Balog reflects
that spirit is important “...because
no one is being judged by what
they wear.”
Nothing screams ‘Merica
like the country’s flag, camo, and
a little bit of redneck. People went
all out showing pride in their
country by doing everything from
Photo courtesy of Kiwi Herron
Anthony Medovar (left) enjoying spirit week with friends.
making creative flag clothes, to
painting their face into a flag like
senior Kayla Crocker did.
Twin Day was also a big hit.
“My favorites were the Mario Kart
people, the Police guys, and the
Cupids," said Caroline Hilden.
The Mario Kart people were admired for their extreme credibility,
complete with characters Mario,
Luigi, Princess Peach, Waluigi,
and Donkey Kong. The fashion
police patrolled the hallways with
their whistles and aviators, and the
cupids had their angels wings and
bows.
One of the student favorites was Wacky Wednesday when
students donned neon tights,
tutus, animal costumes and footy
pajamas. "Wacky Day is always
Kuleyo's Frozen Yogurt
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Kul-Happy Hour: 20% off
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INSIDE 15 THOUSAND
and losing my friends I’ve made in
high school.”
Albertson spoke on a commonly
shared fear, “ I’m afraid of falling
on stage or tripping up the stairs!”
None of this stops us from
aiming high after we cross the
stage, gracefully or not. Many of
us naturally aspire to accomplish
something great with our lives. “I
want to play college football and
get a good job after college” said
Feehan.
“After graduation I want to
go to college and play soccer and
hopefully pursue accounting in
the FBI,” said Alberston.
Thornberg answered confidently
saying, “I want to go to Virginia
Tech and join a running club.”
Now, as the curtain opens
and we begin our show, we are
given our last words of wisdom.
Who better to get them from our
very own Mrs. Ethridge-Conti?
“Don’t rush it! It’s important to
figure out what you're passionate
about and don’t settle for something just because the pay may be
better. Forever is a long time to do
something you don’t love. Always
keep looking forward to the next
moment, don’t just settle.”
Mrs. Rylands wanted us
to make sure that,“Even though
you’re excited to graduate and
move on to better things in your
life, don't wish away the time you
have with your friends and family
now.”
“I wish I would have known
that you have time to figure out
what you want to do” said substitute teacher, Mr. Cronauer. That’s
it, our time is up and we are ready
to go on; with fingers crossed that
all goes as planned. Now can I get
a drum roll please, for the incredible class of 2014!
Seniors wear togas during the Fall Pep Rally
memorable because you put so
many things together and wear it
as one. It is my favorite because no
one is judged for what we wear,"
said sophomore Alexis Edwards.
Everyone got to put together the
most ridiculous outfits with all of
their friends and laugh with each
other during the fun day.
Decades Day gave the
school a blast from the past. The
seniors went all rock of ages in the
80's costumes, juniors burning
up the dance floor with disco of
the 70's, the sophomores going
all hippie from the 60's, and lastly
freshman brought out their poodle
skirts and greased back the hair
for the 50's. Sophomore Courtney
Perkins loved how it was really
cool "to go back in time to see
how everything was like and be
like them for a day." Everyone became creative in representing their
decades and hit it spot on.
For the last day of Spirit
Week, everyone dressed up in
their classes' colors. Seniors got
creative with their togas, juniors
wore black, sophomores in purple,
and the freshmen wore gray.
3
Photo courtesy of Lynx Yearbook
Every student looked forward
to the Pep Rally. The Pep Rally
pumped everyone up and ready
for the Homecoming game. The
Cheer Team and the Dance Team
performed amazing routines, and
there was some friendly competition displayed between classes.
The varsity athletes from the Fall
sports teams were also recognized for their amazing skills and
dedication. Junior Jonathan Gill's
favorite moment of Friday was
seeing his friend Darian Kelly, a
senior, dressed as Julius Caesar.
After the Pep Rally students spread
the spirit around the community
in preparation for homecoming.
Spirit Week was a huge
success. “Spirit Week brings our
students together as a whole and it
is really something that we all can
participate in as the BHS family.”
said freshman Grace Cuppett. The
crazy outfits all leading up the
the Pep Rally and Homecoming.
Even though the Homecoming
game was postponed until Monday night, the Bobcats were not
phased a bit, and proved to be the
masters of spirit week once again.
$1 off any purchase of $4 or more (one coupon per customer, not valid with any other
offer)
Photo courtesy of Kiei Herron
Students gather together during Spirit Week in various Mario
Cart costumes.
4
INSIDE 15 THOUSAND
November 2013
Sports
Superstar “sweet feet”:
The Living Legend
By: Matt Diefes
Sophomore Keagan
Mcginnis is an upcoming
star athlete who has made
quite a name for himself
in both the basketball and
baseball programs. Last year
Mcginnis was the star player
on the freshmen basketball
team, and even spent some
time on the JV team during
January. During the spring,
he shined on the diamond
and was the only freshmen
to get pulled up to varsity
during the playoffs.
“I like baseball a little
more because I have a better
chance of going further,” he
explains. His favorite part
about baseball is getting
on the mound to pitch.
Mcginnis has been playing
baseball since he was 4 and
would love the chance to
get to keep playing through
college; and if hes lucky,
maybe the majors. “I work
really hard [for both sports]
and do stuff outside of
practice like drills.”
This winter, he will be
looking for a chance to play
on varsity.
Mcginnis is most
excited about the start of
basketball so he can continue to “get buckets.” Sean
Ehardt, a junior, thinks
highly of Mcginnis. “I got
Keagan making V squad
this year and getting a
bucket… also dunking on
someone’s head.”
Ryan Weston, the freshman basketball coach who
watched Mcginnis play last
year, really enjoyed having
him on the team. “Keagan
is an incredibly talented
player. He plays hard and
was clutch when we needed
Running
to the Top
By: Lauren Ainslie
him to be.” He went on to
add that Keagan is “someone
you want on your team. He
is a funny guy and a good
guy as well. I was honored
to have him as a captain last
year.”
Mcginnis is an exceptional young prospect who
will be exciting to watch
both during and after high
school. Be sure to come out
and watch him this winter
during basketball season, as
well as this spring for baseball.
Do you play it?
Interested in playing a winter sport?
Well you’re in luck!
By: Alexis Swingle
Battlefield Athletic
Passes are now on sale between 8:00 am and 1:00 pm
everyday at school from the
Sattelite office, as well as at
every home game.
Individual passes;
$75.00
Family of four passes:
$175.00
Boys
Basketball
Girls
Basketball
Wrestling
Indoor Track
Family of five or more
passes: $200.00
Passes are good for all
home regular season games,
admission for all sports
events are $6 for all spectators without a pass for those
over the age of 5 and under
the age of 62.
Make checks payable
to “BHS athletics”. Credit
cards not accepted.
Look for all team rosters,
schedules, and team updates
on www.bobcatathletics.org,
the new athletics page.
IMPORTANT notice:
before you can try out for
any athletic team, you must
have a completed your
concussion training requirements and a physical on file.
No exceptions.
Coach Pauly
Nov 11 -13 time to be announced
Coach Mills
Nov 11 – 13 time to be announced
Coach
Shaffer
Coach
Fronckel
Nov 11 - time to be announced
th
th
th
th
th
-Athlete information sheet needs to be turned in to
Coach Fronckel room 1129 by Nov 7
-Mandatory team meeting Nov 7 from 2:00-2:30
in the enclosed cafeteria for all interested.
in order to try out Nov 12
-Meet at stadium bleachers promptly at 2:15 on
Nov 12
-info to be announced
-Email [email protected] for any questions
-Nov 12 - 100 freestyle & 100 butterfly
-Nov 13 - 100 backstroke & 100 breaststroke
- Nov 14th - make-ups
-7:00- 8:00pm at Central park Aquatics Training
Center
-Nov 12 - 100 freestyle & 100 butterfly
-Nov 13 - girls 100 backstroke & 100 breaststroke
- Nov 14th - make-ups
-7:00- 8:00pm at Central park Aquatics Training
Center
th
th
th
th
Gymnastics
Coach Henry
Boys
Swimming
Coach
Thorpe
Girls
Swimming
Coach
Thorpe
th
th
th
th
Cisler sprints up a hill at Burke Lake Park
November 2013
INSIDE 15 THOUSAND
5
Sports
Tip Off: The NBA season begins
By: Justin Michna and Andres Davila
The swish of the net,
the bouncing of the balls,
the sounds of the whistle, its
that time of year again, the
NBA season is starting soon
and all basketball fans are
excited.
The season officially
began October 29th with
three marquee games. The
two time reigning champs
the Miami Heat squared off
against the Chicago Bulls.
These two teams played last
year in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. The Heat
won the series in 5 games,
started off by a singular victory by the Bulls, who were
then swept the rest of the
series. The main storyline
for this game is the return of
superstar Derrick Rose who
was injured all of last season.
These two teams seem
primed and
ready
for this season. Cody Miller
a freshman from Thomas
Jefferson High School said
“I expect for Derrick Rose
to come back strong this
season, after missing an entire year and not being able
to play for the Bulls in the
playoffs I expect for Rose to
lead Chicago to a deep postseason run.”
The other game was
the battle of LA with the
Lakers hosting the Clippers so to speak, both teams
have played their home
games in L.A. since 1947
and 1970 respectively. This
game will be for the hearts
of the NBA fans in LA and
for those who are going to
enjoy watching this match
up. Charlie Hyman, a
sophomore, said “I think
the Clippers will take
this game and
will con-
tinue to be the leading team
in the Los Angeles area”.
On one side of the scores
table there’s Lob City with
all stars Chris Paul and
Blake Griffin who have a
new coach this year with the
offseason addition of Doc
Rivers, the Clips new highcaliber coach. The Clippers
have totally revamped their
team going from league
laughingstock to play off
contenders and continue
to be the major basketball
team in the Los Angeles
area. The Lakers veteran
and superstar Kobe Bryant
might not be making his
appearance for this game as
there is no timetable set for
his return during preseason
games.This game is sure to
grab attention and headlines.
The last
game is
between the Indiana Pacers and Orlando Magic,
watch out for the Pacers as
they took the Heat to seven
games in the conference
finals last year.
This new season has
a new class of elite college
players trying to make it
big in the League. Anthony
Bennett, the first overall
pick, leads the class with
Victor Oladipo, Nerlens
Noel and Trey Burke all in
the top ten. Sophomore
Evan Snyder shared his
opinion on the new rookie
class “I am very excited
about the new NBA season
especially dealing with the
new rookies like Trey Burke
and Anthony Bennett that
are bound to have successful
careers”.
This season will
debut 13 new
coaches
in
their cities, including
freshly retired Jason Kidd
in Brooklyn with the Nets.
Also, Doc Rivers in LA
with the Clippers was a
major coaching change.
The long time tenured commissioner of the
NBA, David Stern, will be
stepping down about mid
way through the season.
He has been the commissioner for 30 and will resign
30 years to the day of his
appointment to the position. As commissioner Stern
instituted many key rules,
regulations, programs and
etc. he surely will be missed.
The 2013 NBA season was one to remember
and this year’s is shaping up
to be an outstanding season.
Writers used NBA.com and
ESPN.com for statistics and player
names.
Basketballs courtesy of wikipedia.org
6
INSIDE 15 THOUSAND
November 2013
Center
March of the clubs
Battlefield clubs start to ramp up their activities
By: William Winstead IV
recycling meetings and an outdoor
meeting”. He also provided a list of
the future meetings for reference.
Environmental Club Meeting
Dates
1.October 29, Regular
2.November 4, Recycling
3.November 12, Nuts
4.November 26, Recycling
5.December 3, Bird
The purpose of those meetings
he maintained was to prepare for
an event he has planned during the
springtime, “We’re interested in
planting bulbs in the courtyard to
liven it up during the springtime.
The November 12th meeting will
be for collecting nuts to give to
the Potomac River Conservancy.
They usually take those nuts and
plant them in areas for reestablishing forested areas throughout our
community.” The recycling meetings Mr. Bair continued “are for
carrying out the basic function of
the Environmental Club, which is
collecting the recycling throughout
the school.” However, that does
not mean that the recycling meetings aren’t important. He later stated about the recycling, “We want
to improve the quality of recycling,
Spirit Week has ended, the
Homecoming dance has come and
gone, the Varsity Fall sports teams
are preparing to wrap up their seasons; to the untrained eye, it would
seem as if Battlefield has settled
into the year and does not have any
more large activities planned for
the students, at least for a while.
However, this is exactly opposite
of the case. During this time many
clubs are beginning their progression into their fundraising events
and activities. Many of these
fundraising and/or community
service events take place during
the months of November and December either for the sake attaining
money to hold larger events later
on, or to simply participate within
our community. Clubs such as the
Environmental Club and SCA (the
Student Council Association) will
be working during November and
December to reach goals set for
later on during the year.
Ross Bair, the Environmental Club Sponsor, had this to say
about his club’s plans, “During November we’ll be having our normal
to encourage people to properly recycle,” this will be done by educating people about our recycling program. For the December meeting
Mr. Bair stated “The club wants to
create a bird extravaganza, by constructing bird boxes to install on
campus. In order to attract birds
to the area. Hopefully, songbirds
but there are possibilities for much
more diverse wildlife.”
As for SCA preparations,
Colby Riley, the SCA President,
stated “We’re preparing for the
Winter Pep Rally and the Winter
‘Rave’ Dance.” The Winter ‘Rave’
Dance has been speculated to have
in-school DJ’s come perform and
provide music. Meaning, fellow
Bobcats would be the DJ’s who
mix and perform during the dance.
However, it was unclear as to how
the funds or preparations for these
events will be met. Jack Schnorbus, Senior & SCA Treasurer, had
this to say about the matter “SCA
participates in our community in
a fairly well distributed amount.
Normally, every quarter or so we
have projects to attend to. All of
our projects usually have many different benefactors, while our club
takes in the money; we always give
stipends to other clubs. During
Homecoming, we gave stipends
to [programs such as] Journalism, Baseball, and Peer Diversity
namely for their contribution of
time and effort. So it would only
be natural that we have a plan or
process ready to finance the winter
events.”
As for new members, the Environment Club is open to new
members and would especially like
to see more underclassmen joining.
Thus far, the club has been comprised of primarily upperclassmen.
Some reasons provided by Mr. Bair
for joining were “We have a good
time. If you’re not enjoying yourself in your club then what’s the
point. We’re focused on saving the
world, and have a student-led focus on protecting and restoring the
environment”. According to Mr.
Schelzo, the SCA Sponsor, SCA is
now closed to new member registration as every class has reached its
fifteen delegates limit.
THIS
WEEK IN
HISTORY...
November 3-9
Nov 03, 1964: D.C.
residents cast first presidential votes
Nov 04, 1956: Soviets
put brutal end to Hungarian revolution
Nov 05, 1994: George
Foreman becomes oldest heavyweight champ
Nov 06, 1962: U.N.
condemns apartheid
Nov 07, 1991: Magic
Johnson announces he
is HIV-positive
Nov 08, 1895: German scientist discovers
X-rays
Nov 09, 1938: Nazis
launch Kristallnacht
Source: WWW.History.com
Crossword
Bobcats on “Texting
How
well
do you know your fellow Bobcats?
By
McKenna
Roper
And Driving”
1
2
3
4
By Jacob Baker
5
6
Nothing to “LOL”
about
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
As students sat down at
lunch a while ago, they saw
an unexpected sight. It was
the Battlefield Bobcat. In its
paws was a stop sign with
the message ‘don’t text and
drive’ written on it. Although
the Bobcat gave its message
in a playful and silly way, its
message was serious. Later, a
pledge was passed around. It
was a pledge to never text and
drive behind the wheel.
And what did the students learn from the pledge?
Do not text and drive. It kills.
14
4
6
8
9
11
12
13
14
Across
Who is the SCA secretary?
(2 Words)
Who teaches creative
writing?
Who is the treasurer of
Math Honor Society? (2
Words)
Who is the president of
Science Honor Society? (2
Words)
Who is the varsity field
hockey goalie? (2 Words)
Who is the athletic trainer?
Who is the freshman class
president? (2 Words)
Who is the varsity
volleyball captain? (2
Words)
Down
Who is the golf team captain?
(2 Words)
2 Who is the varsity football
quarterback? (2 Words)
3 Who sponsors space club?
5 Who is the sponsor of Peer
Diversity?
7 Who sponsors math club?
9 Who is the cross country
coach that is also a Spanish
teacher?
10 Who is the secretary of
International club? (2 Words)
1
Allegedly, driving while texting is as dangerous as drunk
driving.
According to www.
textinganddriving.com, in
2011 about 23 percent of
all crashes involved texting
and driving; That is over 1.3
million crashes. Annually,
3,000 teens die and 300,000
others are injured. Texting is
fun, but there is a time and a
place for it; The road is not
the place.
Sophomore
Andrew
Young says he feels unsafe
when he says this. “It isn’t
fair to the passengers if an
accident occurs” says Young.
Young has good reason to
feel this way, as it is a very big
problem in America.
Freshman Eric Thomas
and math teacher Mrs. Augsburger both have seen or
been involved in a texting
and driving accident. Augsburger said she could see the
other driver texting and she
sensed what would happen.
As she predicted, the other
driver ended up crashing
into her. She felt “frustrated
and unhappy” about this incident.
Junior Natalie Peterson feels that teens are the
most at risk of getting into an
accident. She theorizes that
“after being able to text for
most of their teenage years,
what will stop them from doing it while driving?”
Could a smart phone addiction be the bigger problem
in America? Is there any good
solution to this problem? In
New York, there is a law that
all phone calls must be done
on a blue tooth. Young suggested that he fully supported this idea.
So keep the phone off;
the life saved might be yours.
Center
November 2013
Turkey day traditions and travesties:
Students at Battlefield talk about their favorite
Thanksgiving memories
COMIC
Whether the holiday is spent relaxing and watching football with family or rushing
around trying to prepare for the onslaught of arriving in laws, everyone has their Thanksgiving traditions… and nightmares. Students at school shared their favorite and Turkey
Day memories.
Freshman Lauren Mohan remembers a particular Thanksgiving where she and her
relatives played laser tag and held races while they waited for their turkey to cook. “One
time a few years ago, my grandmother forgot the turkey was in the oven, when someone
checked on it, it’d burnt. My dad to to go and buy a precooked one from the Piggly Wiggly nearby,” Lauren described when asked about a Thanksgiving mishap she’d experienced.
Freshman Jessica Gilbert shared her own family tradition, “I always fight with my
brother to get the biggest side of the wishbone, whoever wins gets a dollar,” she said with
a smile. Gilbert shared one travesty her family expierenced one Thanksgiving, “one time
my mom tripped on a child walking by and dropped the turkey, it landed on my sister’s
foot and made a mess but we still had a good Thanksgiving.”
Junior Daniel Milihram shared a Thanksgiving disaster. His aunt nearly cut her
finger off with a poultry saw when she was cutting up the turkey. Holidays can cause an
influx of patients running to the emergency room with cuts and sore stomaches.
Sophomore Josh Buskey describes his laid back Thanksgiving as, “eating turkey and
watching football at Grandma’s house.” Many students cherish the time they spend with
family during the food focused holiday. However, not everyone enjoys a turkey dinner.
Josh also recounted a particular holiday where instead of having Turkey his family made
sausages for their Thanksgiving dinner.
Many students said their favorite thing about Thanksgiving is spending time with
family and eating good food. Also, a fair amount mentioned that getting off from school
and being able to sleep in were also a plus.
However freshman Emily Harrison said her favorite thing about Thanksgiving was,
“...doing a turkey trot” before gorging on Thanksgiving dinner.
Though most said their family tradition consisted of eating a big dinner with relatives
and watching football, one sophomore’s described something a little more crafty. Hannah
Morgan explained that with the help of her cousins they make a homemade pumpkin pie
together as their way of catching up and spending time with the visiting family.
The majority of students enjoy and look forward to having family and food filled
holiday weekends as they all honor the first pilgrims and offer thanks for the blessings of
the year.
One of a kind bags &
accessories
Make it & Take It sewing
classes
-------------------7 W. Washington Street
Middleburg, Virginia
watermelonwishes.com
703-577-0283
7
Irony of Existence
By Claire Capasso
By Alie Paoli, Courtney Milot, and Lauren Bennett
INSIDE 15 THOUSAND
8
INSIDE 15 THOUSAND
November 2013
Style
Falling With Pride rises to the top
New band hits the BHS music scene
BY ANDREW YOUNG
The BHS musical environment is always thriving with new
life. New bands pop up with their
own unique styles amost monthly.
Battlefield is a thriving community in many of its aspects. It
consistently hoists regional sports
trophies, high academics, and
boasts some of the best student
numbers around. But, an incredible feature that is a lot of the time
looked over is its music scene.
BHS’ music scene has been
going incredibly strong. Acts such
as Restless Street, Face Control,
Shefinagodanky, AKA, Choice
of Getaway, 4th Row, and more
have all come out of our community. The amount of talent in our
community is absolutely huge, as
day-by-day, week-by-week, new
acts constantly come about and
leave their mark on BHS’ scene.
Jacob Baker is the bass player for a
new upcoming band called Falling
With Pride. The line-up consists
of drummer Seth Koppisch, who
graduated from battlefield in
2013, Baker, and Guitarist/Vocalist Steven Wentz. The band originally came together this summer
after Koppisch was at Deja Brew,
a local coffee shop, for one of the
annual Saturday Open Mic nights.
There, he saw Wentz perform solo
and approached him afterward,
only to ask him about the possibility of playing together. After
Koppisch mentioned that he knew
a bass player in Baker, Wentz decided he would be open to playing
together, and they formed a trio.
Combining unique styles of music
together, Falling With Pride are
now trying to establish themselves
amongst the thriving, lively, and
exciting local music atmosphere.
When asked about the roles
in the group, Battlefield sophomore bassist Baker replied that
his real job is to “play subtle
bass lines”, and that everyone
in the group has different influences, such as Wentz’s interest
in modern hard rock and heavy
be due sometime around the holidays this year. When asked about
specific plans for the record, Koppisch noted that the track list is
still “open for discussion” and that
they may record over the holidays
because they have a few different
original tracks in the works.
Junior Max Nichols (who’s
band we are covering for a later
issue) is someone who has fre-
Photo courtesy of the Falling with Pride Facebook Page
Steven Wentz, Seth Koppisch and Jacob Baker hang out before a performance at Deja Brew.
metal. He also went on to describe
the groups sound as “classic rock
mixed with metalcore”. Drummer Koppisch noted also that the
band really sets itself apart from
other acts by their playing style
together, and how they have a very
“raw sound”, and “mixed style of
music”. As for their current plans
together, both Baker and Koppisch noted that they are currently
in the studio working on an EP, to
quently seen the band, as both
he and the band are regulars at
the local Deja Brew Open Mic
Nights. When asked about what
stands out about Falling With
Pride, Nichols simply replied,
“feeling”. “They’re pretty good
live” Nichols said, “They have
really good movement and really
good sound”, both in which are
key essentials to having a good live
show and being a standout local
FLASH FICTION:
The rain pelted against the
illuminated screen of my continuously buzzing phone as I scurried
through the crowded parking lot
to my awaiting car. My fingers
typed furiously as I narrowly
avoided clashing with the mob of
students rushing to cars of their
own. After distractedly walking
past my car once, I finally slid into
the driver’s seat with rain dripping
from the tips of my hair.With one
hand still on my phone and the
other on my keys, I slid them into
the ignition and started the car.
The shrill squeaking of the wipers
on the windshield and the rain
drumming on the roof blended
with the soft music playing on the
radio to create the car’s very own
stormy day soundtrack. Placing
my phone beside me I pulled out
of the parking spot and into the
line of vehicles waiting to exit the
lot.
Smiling as I recognized the
dancing driver in front of me, I
picked up my phone from the cup
holder once again.
Nice dance moves Casey :P
OMG is that you behind
me??
Haha yeah
All in all, Falling With Pride
is showing a great deal of potential
already, although they’ve only been
around a short period of time.
They have all the resources to be
extremely successful in our local
area and really establish themselves
as something unique within the
ever-changing music scene. To say
the least, Falling With Pride will
find themselves only rising.
Louise’s Box
Crash like Thunder
By Allie Paoli
band. Other local listeners such
as Highland Michael Moore have
heard the band numerous times
at the venue. “When I hear them
play I really hear the rhythm of
the bass” Moore said, in which
afterward, he further elaborated
on the band, describing them as
having a “unique tone that combines old school rock and roll will
rhythmic beats”.
The line started to move and
I continued out of the lot with
my phone sandwiched between
my hand and the leather of the
steering wheel. Leaning forward,
I strained to see through the
pouring rain while following and
texting the still dancing Casey in
front of me.
Hey what was the LA hw?
my eyes shot open at the sound
of crunching metal as the car collided into the guardrail. I held my
breath as everything slowly grew
silent except for the pattering of
rain that throbbed in my ears.
The tears streaming down my
face blended with the rain that
soaked me as I ran from my car
to Casey’s now smoking one. A
I’d just pulled up next to her
at the intersection when it happened.
It seemed to come out of
nowhere, plowing into the side
of the car. A scream escaped my
lips as I watched the windshield
shatter and rain down. Then, as
if in slow motion, the car’s left
side compacted and the sounds of
squealing tires filled the air as the
car spun across the slick pavement.
I squeezed my eyes shut, praying
that when I opened them again
the sun would be shining and all
the cars would be lined up in the
uniform lines, waiting for their
light to flash green. I counted,
one, two, three seconds before
strangled sob choked its way from
me as I witnessed the lifeless and
mangled body behind the steering
wheel.
A buzzing in my hand made
me notice that my knuckles were
clenched white in a steel tight
grip around my phone. Gasping
through my tears I slowly unlocked my phone to read the one
last text,
Read the chapte--The text that could have
waited.
A Poem By Christopher Marin
Slap, Tap, Swap, Bang, Toom, Zoom,
Ruum
Slash, Dash, Hip, Hop, Bip, Bop,
Flip, Flop
Sling, Swing, Zing, Ding, Dong,
Plop, Blup
Tick, Tock, Click, Clock…Boom
fUN fALL fACTS
The pumpkin was first named by people in Greece,
who called it a pepon, which means “large melon”
during fall, the days get shorter because the
planet is tilted in space
the autumnal equinox is the first day of fall
animals like bats, hedgehogs, and some kinds of
fish hibernate for the winter
WWW.WHYZZ.COM
Ever get frustrated that you don’t get your hands on a paper?
$15subscription for 8 editions
Delivered right to your door!
Email Mrs. Peyton for details!
[email protected]
Local Youtube star
inspires students
INSIDE 15 THOUSAND
BREAK UP;
DON’T SCREW UP
By Kendra Anderson
By Lily Korpella and
Corrie Murray
Patriot High School’s popular
Youtuber, Amy Rauch otherwise
known as “amydrauch” on YouTube makes make up tutorials and
advice videos that influence peers.
Rauch currently has 3,044 subscribers on her main channel and
a total of 157,672 views growing
more every day since she started
Youtube two years ago.
For a while, nobody knew.
“It’s a bizarre feeling that people
look up to you, because you’re just
you,” Rauch says. She is constantly
interacting with her subscribers
within the comments giving them
advice and taking suggestions for
new video ideas. “I do what the
people who watch my videos ask
me to do,” Rauch says. She immediately became inspired to start a
Youtube channel from users amarixe and devinsupertramp.
Rauch has a series of look
book videos ranging from how to
wear floral pants to end of the summer look books. She is on the uprising of local beauty gurus in the
area from covering hauls, makeup
and hair tutorials, reviews, DIY,
OOTD’s, and so much more.
She is always looking to help
Photo courtesy of Amy Rauch’s Youtube
out her subscribers no matter how
she can. Hautelook , Sigma, and
Dailylook are fashion sites that
Rauch always links at the end of
her videos for her subscribers to go
and check out. Depending on the
month, Rauch also includes coupon codes for the sites to take off
their entire purchase.
Her steadily growing and now
sponsored channel began as just a
fun way to spend her time. “Lets
just try this and see how it goes,”
Rauch thought, but now she has
become so popular that people in
public will even come up to her to
get a picture with her.
When posting on YouTube it
is inevitable that locals will start to
follow. Elisa Buzzalino, a sophomore, has been watching Rauch’s
videos for months now. Buzzalino
says, “I’ve always watched Youtube
videos but when I found out about
Amy and how she was local I was
very interested.”
“Every area has their own style
but knowing someone local, and
watching their videos gives me
a sense of confidence. I feel as if
it’s just a reassurance to know that
there is a local beauty guru and my
style will be partially from the fact
of what I’ve seen from Amy.”
Meghan Finley and Cristina
Smallwood, both freshmen, have
also watched Rauch’s videos for
quite sometime. Both girls have
been watching Youtube since the
time they were both in elementary/
beginning middle school years.
“I’m just amazed at the fact that
someone so local has made it as big
as she has. I feel while watching
her videos I’m getting real tips that
can help me with my style for our
area,” said Finley.
Smallwood also agreed with
Finley and added, “I don’t only
watch her because she’s local
though, I feel as if her videos are
truly helpful and I’d continue to
watch them even if she wasn’t local.”
Rauch has made it big for
herself, going into this she never
would have thought she would
be where she is today. She has
clearly impacted not only people
from a distance but also our local
students here at Battlefield and Patriot. “All I did was put my mind
to it, I worked to be something
that would be appealing to others.
With that I made it big and so can
you,” said Rauch.
Viewers can also find more
of Rauch at her vlog channel,
instagram, and twitter all as
“rauchiemousie”.
Just got out of a relationship?
Did that person who broke up
with you say “Lets be friends, I
think we should see other people,
It’s not you, it’s me?” Break ups are
common in high school, but its
also common to handle the situation the wrong way. According to
wzakcleveland. com, “71 percent
of people have said that they think
about their ex too much even after
a few weeks of the separation.”
This statistic increases even more
for people in high school. Why?
Because constantly everyday students see the same people around
the halls, in classes, and passing by
at lunch. It’s not rocket science,
people will never get over their significant other right away, but that
doesn’t mean that they will never
get over them, it just means it will
take time.
“Usually when someone
breaks up with their significant
other, that other person finds so
many ways to make their ex jealous. They walk with another person thats a different gender from
them in the hall, making sure their
ex see’s them. They laugh extra
loud, even though really, nothing
was that funny,” says Junior Quera
Smith. “It would be considered
immature but sometimes people
just can’t help,” says Smith. Teens,
in particular, have that type of
mindset; however, there are many
more ways to deal with a breakup.
According to huffington. post.
com, “studies shows that after a
rejection or break up, people think
passively,” without giving much
thought to the actions that follow
up after.
“Go walk with them to make
him/her jealous; they’re right
there, start laughing.” Don’t’ you
hear that all the time, whenever
your ex comes into view? Well,
don’t do that! It will only make the
situation more awkward and complicated, and no one wants that.
Why have it unpleasant when just
a few days ago, the word awkward didn’t even existence in the
relationship? “At first it definitely
is awkward but over time it can
become less and less troublesome
MOVIE REVIEW:
Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters
By Catie Villavicencio
Many summer movies will
premiere on DVD this winter, but
are they worth buying? One highly
anticipated DVD coming out is
“Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters,”
a sequel to “Percy Jackson and the
Olympians: The Lightning Thief.”
In “Sea of Monsters” Percy,
son of the Greek God Poseidon,
continues on his journey to fulfill
his destiny and help save Camp
Half-Blood.This riveting, actionpacked movie is based on the
popular book series. Although the
series was very well reviewed, this
movie is getting mixed reviews
from the critics.
Critics assert that this summer film is appealing to tweens.
Peter Harlaub from the San
Francisco Chronicle says, “There
are plenty of bad films to get riled
up about in the summer, “Percy
Jackson: Sea of Monsters” isn’t one
of them. This is harmless tween-
Photo courtesy of Ashley Chapman
centric fun.”
Entertainment Weekly gave
the story a B- rating, saying, “...if
the characters can’t muster genuine
awe for their adventure, it’s a tall
order to ask us to do it for them.”
The film of course did make
an impact on movie watchers of
America. With a budget of 90
million dollars, it soon doubled its
9
Style
November 2013
fortune when the movie hit theaters. The movie was also released
in 30 other territories outside the
United States raking in a whopping 190 million dollars from the
depending on the person,” say
sophomore Parker A. Instead of
using the jealousy method, just
continue doing what you were
doing before when walking past
them. Even just catching their eye
and smiling would do no harm.
It would show them that you are
handling the situation maturely.
The one thing that should
never be done after the break up,
is ask, “why why whyyyy?!?!?!?!”
One time is appropriate. Knowing why they broke up with you
is something that anyone would
want to know. In some cases it is
really important. Whatever you
do, do not convince them not
to dump you. They have clearly
already made up their minds, do
not try and change it. Not only
that, but it would also boost
their ego when you beg them to
stay. Couples who just got out of
relationship definitely needs to
keep their space. Being with your
ex every day is not going to fix
anything. It is understandable that
people have to see them in school
and class, but that does not mean
that they should walk with them
to your next class. If you are truly
trying to get over them, that is not
the answer to your problem.
A lot of people would say
“just forget about them” but
clearly it’s never that easy. “My
ex used to always go through my
mind, but it has gotten easier.
Believe it or not, I do think about
him still, but it will get to the
point where he won’t go through
my mind at all, it just takes time,”
says Junior Rachel Antonious. It
is fine to think about your ex, it’s
called coping. ‘Coping’ with the
break up is a step to healing. Soon
there will be no necessary need
to cope, because you would be
completely healed. Following these
advices, won’t necessarily make
you immediately forget about that
person, but you will be at a good
and healthy start. Don’t do things
out of anger or jealousy after a
breakup, it will only cause many
more problems, handle it maturely, no matter how badly it hurts
because it will get easier.
worldwide box office. For those
who saw this film, was it worth
the cost?
Mohamed Mohsen, a junior
at Battlefield, gave the impression
that he was not quite fond of the
movie by stating, “It was a good
story, but it didn’t take its time
throughout the acts,” also stating
that the scenes in the movie were
rushed and did not take enough
time to capture all of the details
they needed to.
Nikolaus Barnhill, a senior
student, seemed to agree with
Mohsen and the fact that it was
not necessarily worth it, then adding, “The plot was very obvious. It
had good action and good humor,
but it didn’t follow the books.”
With criticisms from both
critics and students, “Percy
Jackson: Sea of Monsters” got
reviews of both its strengths and
weaknesses. Go see it, and see if
it makes the cut on a good winter
DVD release.
10
Keeping Current
INSIDE 15 THOUSAND
November 2013
The right to drink caffeine or carry guns?
Patrons react to Starbucks gun statement
By Jessica Kronzer and Kelsey Ainslie
Photo courtesy of creativecommons.org
Two police officers guarding Starbucks Coffee from potentially unwanted and unruly customers.
The Starbucks’ CEO, Howard Schultz, has recently stated
that the store would prefer for
customers to not bring guns
into their stores. Customers and
employees at Starbucks shared
their heated and fiery opinions
on this topic. The controversial
issue involving second amendment rights was discussed in a
series of opinionated interviews
with Haymarket Starbucks’
customers and employees.
Anna Deen said, “They don’t
want to alienate part of their
customer base, so that is why
they aren’t taking a headstrong
take on it.” By this she means
guns in stores].” The employee
implied that the statement was
released for the comfort and
safety of Starbucks’ customers.
Ivan Zupan does not agree
with this statement. He added
“We have the right to carry
guns.” He strongly feels that if
Starbucks’ decides to ban guns,
that it would be against the
Constitution. He also spoke
about how the statement implies a harsh stereotype; people
who carry guns are reckless.
When asked, Zupan also stated
that Starbucks’ did handle the
situation from the best business
standpoint.
that Starbucks handled this
situation with the best interest of their company in mind.
Tiptoeing around this sensitive
topic, in her opinion, was a
way to protect their business.
Expanding on this she stated
“As a company they are trying
to reduce their liability when
it comes to something like
a violent act happening on
their property.” By attempting to remove guns from their
environment, Starbucks can be
less responsible in the case of a
dangerous event happening.
An anonymous employee
commented that “He [Howard
Schultz ] did it for the safety
of the customers, because other
people aren’t comfortable [with
Erin, a Starbucks’ employee
that wished to withhold her
last name, said that Starbucks’
statement did not affect her.
When asked if she felt safer
now that the statement was
released she said “yes” in a neutral tone. She then added that
if Starbucks’ does ban guns,
then some customers would
be mad. As a result of these
angry gun-favoring customers,
Starbucks’ would lose business.
Angry customers could easily
hurt Starbucks.
Freshman Bradi Sindlinger
feels that the statement will
hurt Starbucks’ business but
thinks they will still be thriving as they were before the
statement. “How often I go to
Starbucks is not affected by the
statement,” says Sindlinger. She
further stated “They[Starbucks]
could’ve just not messed with
the situation[guns on their
property] because no one was
hurt.” She believes that this
stirring of the pot will do more
bad than good.She also believes
that Starbucks made the wrong
move by saying this. Overall,
she does not have strong opinions on the topic but believes
that the statement was unnecessary.
David O’Neil and Mike
Itther had identical opinions
on this issue. One commented
“Statistics show that areas or
cities where a greater amount
of people are armed are safer.”
They both feel that guns
should be allowed in Starbucks,
and we as citizens have the
right to carry them into the
store. They also said that they
would continue to go to Starbucks even if they ban guns
saying in an excited way “They
make good coffee!”
Overall, this issue concerning
Starbucks is very heated and
these are some of many opinions on the topic. Strong gun
activists feel it would be in the
best interest of Starbucks for
their customers to carry guns.
By putting this statement out
there, Starbucks is defending
people against guns. Whether
Starbucks has the right to ban
guns or not, everyone can agree
that they make great coffee.
Editorial
A look at young girls’ struggles for education
By Jayne Ross
Sometimes, school can be a pain.
There are days when I feel like I would give anything
not to lug around a backpack full of textbooks all day, as
if anything in the world would be worth trading for a day
without homework. But is school really worth having to give
up anything?
Would you?
Some girls would— but they are not fighting against
education. They are fighting for it.
One of these girls, Pakistani Malala Yousafzai, took
the world by storm in 2009 when she began a blog for the
BBC under a pseudonym. The blog reported on life for
schoolgirls in the Swat Valley of Pakistan, a life fraught with
increasing danger as the Taliban took over the village, blowing up girls’ schools and banning Yousafzai and her schoolmates from attending class. According to the Taliban, for a
girl to attend school is to commit a sin against the Quran.
Yousafzai’s fame grew from there, as did her passionate campaigning for girls’ rights to education. The young
girl has been internationally recognized for her efforts, even
becoming the youngest person to ever be nominated for a
Nobel Peace Prize. But the Taliban is now determined to kill
her— and they have tried. Yousafzai was shot in the head
in October 2012 while riding a bus, returning to her home
after taking an exam.
When I get on the bus in the morning, I don’t have
to worry about being attacked by gunmen. The tests I take
pose a risk to my best grades, not my life. School will never
be a life-or-death situation for me.
Yousafzai’s story, and the stories of so many like her,
are wake-up calls, and not just to the policymakers of the
world. Their cries are to students like you and me.
Our education isn’t a pain— it’s a blessing that we take for
granted every single day.
I don’t spend nearly enough time appreciating the
basic human right to education that is out of reach for so
many. The next time I think to complain about going to
school, I will try instead to think of Malala. I will try to
think of the girls who struggle to stay alive on their way to
class every day, and I will try to make the most of my education—something that any of them would treasure so dearly
if it was given to them.
So thank you, Malala Yousafzai, and thank you to
every girl in the world risking her life for the chance to go to
school. Your fight does not go unnoticed— at least, it never
should.
And the most striking thing about Yousafzai? She’s
sixteen years old.
Just like me.
Girls in school in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
Photo via wikimedia.org
11
Keeping Current
November 2013 INSIDE 15 THOUSAND
Bobcats under pressure
Bobcats explain their stress, and the effects of it
By Grant Donaldson
Wake up, its 5:30 am, go
to school until 1:50 pm. After
school, some students get home
with Math homework, History
homework, an English paper, a
Science project and two tests to
study for. Work is from 2:306:00. Club is from 6:15-7:15,
and sports practice is from 7:309:00.
Finally, you get home and
you have all that homework to
do on top of the fact that you
have to get up at 5:30 am the
next day. People wonder why
some students are so stressed.
“What is stress?” The Webster dictionary definition says:
“a state of mental or emotional
strain or tension resulting from
adverse or very demanding circumstances.” When the brain is
having to think or do things that
it has not done before, the person
is under stress, even if it is not
noticible.
So what exactly causes stress?
According to WebMd, there are
two types of stress. Short term
stress otherwise known as STS is
when you have something coming up, a test, drivers ed, cooking
for a guest ect.) STS can in some
circumstances be healthy for the
body. It makes the senses react
quicker and the body goes into
repair mode. “While your body
experiences STS it releases many
hormones one of them being
Cortisol which wreaks havoc on
your body tissue. But then when
your body senses the damage it
sends in the cleanup crew. If the
stress is short lived, you can heal
quickly and still have enough left
over energy to repair everyday
wear and tear like a scratch or
a bruise,” according to Melinda
Wenner, from Women’s Health
Magazine.
How do teens handle
stress? Sophomore Emily Fowler
said, “Stress, no matter what
[the source]is, you won’t always
feel good about it but for me the
most important thing when dealing with stress is turning off my
phone and getting my homework
done early. If [I] do not have
homework, listening to music
and being quiet always calms me
down.”
On average people deal
with this kind of stress every day
no matter what they are doing,
and it does not even have to
be school related. Sophomore
Hailey Comer says, “When I
experience stress I usually can
not think straight and it is hard
for me to pay attention and to
get my work done.” Teachers will
continue to assign homework,
they have a curriculum that they
are required to teach. Students
are going to have to push
through it or fail. While they
are doing the work or studying,
it is good to take breaks; it really
relieves your mind. Another
piece of adviceCorner offered is
to “eat a snack, go for a walk, or
even take a nap. Sleep deprivation can really increase stress and
it makes it harder to do better
work. And always eat a good
breakfast even if you do not feel
like it, that is the base of your day
and is what helps me get through
mine.”
So which stress is considered
bad stress? The answer is long
term stress which is referred to ass
LTS. This occurs when someone
is having a bad relationship, money problems, family problems,
something tragic has happened.
life. Sophomore Mekhia Day
gave several examples, “Stress is a
big factor in my life. I am definitely stressed out a lot. One of
the biggest things being [that]my
parents expectations are higher
than what mine are, and what
I expect from myself. We are
three different people and their
expectations for themselves [and
what] they expect me to meet are
way different than mine.” She
added that, “It definitely impacts
According to WebMD, LTS is
not good because, it is long term.
The body tissues are being damaged chronically for a long period
of time. As a result the body can
not maintain itself properly. That
is why students get exhausted
easily, because they have used up
almost all of their energy.
Freshman Lauren Reece said
she has experienced LTS, “At the
time I did not know what to do,
and I would get so overwhelmed
at the smallest things.” She offered that students should, “just
try to not get worked up, I know
that sounds funny but really the
more worked up you get the more
stressed you will get.”
There are also other side
effects LTS can have on everyday
me physically; sometimes when
I’m stressed it makes me work my
body too much which can impact
how I perform later on. Probably
the biggest is when I do not meet
my parents’ expectations and then
that makes me feel disappointed
in myself, which makes me more
stressed about doing worse later
on.” In order to deal with stress
Day says,“ I run a lot, exercise is
always there for me and just gives
me a time to get away, be alone
and think. Music also helps a lot
because it lets you go into your
own little world and you can just
relax. Sometimes you just need
to step back and assess the situation, go through in your head
what the problem is and try to
figure out ways to fix it.”
Photo Courtesy of Ashley Chapman
Even talking to people can
help whether it is kid or an adult.
Just spilling out what the current
struggls are can always be helpful,
and will sometimes bring relief.
Homework; no one likes it,
but it has to be done and it can
cause added stress. Day commented on the teachers, “sometimes I feel like [if ]one or more
of my teachers has had a bad
day or goes through the material too fast for some people to
understand it, it affects my stress
level. Then the students that do
not understand it are afraid to ask
too many questions because they
do not want to be made fun of or
to be pointed out as stupid.” She
added, “if you do not understand
something do not be afraid to
ask a question. Understanding
something and getting the material is better than being ‘socially’
accepted by some peers or being
stressed out because you don’t
understand it. I would rather be
embarrassed and to get it and not
be stressed than to be accepted by
everyone and to not get it at all.”
Having LTS can also have
even bigger effects on people’s
lives, like depression. Stress
messes up the “health triangle”
said P.E. teacher Mr. Burkhart.
For example, it can make a
student unsociable. The physical
body also starts to wear down, and
can have lasting effects.
Remember to take precautions to avoid and handle stress.
Doing so will result in sucess in
school, college and eventually
work.
12
INSIDE 15 THOUSAND November 2013
Opinion
One twerks, the other works
Two teen idols, but the similarities stop there
By Alyssa Estrellando
Two child stars, both singers
and actresses, and both twenty years
old. Both have even had Australian
boyfriends, but really, the similarities are very few. While Miley Cyrus
twerks for her career, fellow pop sensation Ariana Grande works for her
career.
Cyrus, whose recent single
“Wrecking Ball” reached number
one status on the Top 40 chart,
has been making headlines for her
dramatic 180-degree turnaround
from her previous Hannah Montana days. Ariana Grande, however
is not as well known as Cyrus, especially from her younger years.
She has been catching up, though;
her first big acting gig came to her
when she starred on the Nickelodeon show Victorious as Cat Valentine, a ditzy redhead, and she slowly
gained a name for herself by doing
intimate concerts full of covers and
original songs.
Once Victorious ended,
Grande chased after a more serious singing career, while taking on
the new Nick show Sam and Cat.
Grande’s debut album dropped this
summer with a number one on the
US Billboard Charts.
Grande’s biggest recent hit is
“The Way,” featuring Mac Miller,
while Cyrus’s “We Can’t Stop” is
arguably even more famous than
“Wrecking Ball.”
“Miley acts crazy but her songs
aren’t as bad,” says Ryan McGee.
Miley’s songs are indeed very fun
and dance-y songs, but McGee’s
mother has a different view on Miley Cyrus.
“I’m absolutely appalled she
uses molly in the song. I don’t like
her saying, ‘we can do whatever we
want.’ The message of We Can’t
Stop is trying to push the limits and
use shock factor. She is not a good
role model. The Way is definitely
more age appropriate.” says Christy
McGee. “I am appalled by Miley
and it makes me very sad, because
I know what she used to do,” she
adds, saying that Cyrus is trying to
go against her old Disney image.
Mrs. Rector, who teaches PreAP World History, says, “I’m disappointed in Miley Cyrus, because she
is an adult.”
Rector and McGee make a
valid point. No matter how many
times people say they hate her, however, we all are kind of fascinated by
her. Cyrus is unique, artistic, and
performs with a shocking edge. Ev-
Inside 15000 Staff
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Grant Donaldson
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Special Thanks
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eryone is trying to copy her and be
her. In our local Virginia Gateway
Spirit of Halloween Store there is
even a costume of her VMA performing outfit.
Kirsten Dezeeuw, freshman, is
a Cyrus supporter, saying that “Mi-
photo courtesy of wikipedia.org
Ariana Grande performs on the Today
Show in Spetember 2013
ley is admirable for how she’s broken out of her Disney career and has
become her own person.” In fact,
many Cyrus fans have said that she
is just trying to make a name for
herself and not as Hannah Montana.
Grande, on the other hand, has
stayed true and isn’t too concerned
about dropping her Nickelodeon
title.
Sixth graders Cole Smith,
Matthew Reheuser, however, were
quick to agree.
“Miley’s thinking bad publicity
is good publicity,” says Reheuser.
“If she gets more crazy, then
she gets more attention,” says Smith.
“Ariana acts more professional,” adds McGee.
“Miley’s showing the
world you can be you, and don’t
worry about what other people say.”
Miley is actually in some aspects a
good role model, young kids can
embrace themselves and not care
that other people have a different
opinion.
A recent poll asked students
to rate both girls on a scale of 1-10,
1 being modest and 10 being provocative. Miley got scores of 5,10’s,
8’s, and 9’s. Ariana received 5’s, 2’s,
and 3’s.
Students were asked to compare both young women with another big star. Miley was compared
to the controversial Lindsay Lohan,
Madonna, and Lady Gaga. while
Ariana was compared to slightly
more modest stars like Mariah
Carey, Selena Gomez, Hillary Duff,
Annelise van der Pol, and Sara Bareilles.
Most students said Ariana had
a better, fresher voice and is more
mature. Also most even said they’d
rather watch her perform and the
adults both said Ariana is more family centered and better for their own
children.
In the end, though, Cyrus is a
very smart business woman, because
she knows what will help her make
money. Also, no matter how much
hate she got on her new haircut she
still remained strong and didn’t let
it bother her. Miley has shown the
world that no matter how much
someone hates on her she still remains strong and could care less
what haters think.
Grande, however, presents herself modestly and with class, and
has still managed to build a strong
career. Her songs avoid cuss words
and references that some might find
inappropriate, and she is a lot more
“kid-friendly,” making her popular with teens and parents alike.
Her music videos may not display
raunchy costumes, but they’ve still
racked up millions of views, even if
not quite as many as Cyrus’s.
Both ladies have undeniable talent. Their differences lie in
how they present themselves. One
twerks, the other works; but both
have rocketed themselves to stardom. And that is no small feat.
ASK
ANONYMOUS
From break-ups to beginnings,
problems are bound to come... and go
By Anonymous
“My ex-boyfriend is now in a relationship with another girl. They’ve
been really close lately, and I’m getting a bit jealous, even though I
broke up with him. What do I do?” ~Still in Love
It’s normal to get jealous
after a relationship ends and
a new one starts without you
in it. In fact, I recently went
through the same situation.
Its only high school, though;
there’s a whole other world
out there. I could be cheesy
and simply say “there’s
plenty of fish in the sea,” but
we’ll save that for another
time. It all comes down to
this: do you still like him or
do you just not like the fact
that he’s moved on? Once I
“It’s only high school
there’s a whole other
world out there.”
realized my situation was the
latter, I “swam” away pretty
quickly. If you still like him,
you have two choices; tell
him now before it’s too late
or move on. Good luck!
~A
photo by Shelby Cesario
Students can submit questions
to Ask Anon. in the library
“I’m entering a new relationship, and I’m extremely over stressed,
even though she’s the perfect girl. Help?” ~Stressed out Boyfriend
First off; any relationship will be at least a little
stressful, so don’t worry
about that. It really depends
on what you’re stressed
about. If you’re stressed
about repeating a disastrous
past relationship, remember
that you’ve already been
through it once, so you
know exactly what to avoid.
My suggestion is to talk
to her. If she’s the “perfect
girl,” she’ll surely be understanding, and she might
even be going through the
same thing.
One of the most important characteristics in a
relationship is being able
to tell to each other what’s
bothering the other, so go
ahead and tell her what’s on
your mind.
If you’re worried about
becoming too attached to
quickly, just slow your roll.
One thing that you shoud
NEVER do is ask her for
space. Thats a huge “no, no”
in a girls opionion. You can
back off a little, just enough
to not be noticble, but dont
go into a relatioship, just to
pop right back out because
your scared or stressed.
Good luck!
~A