Oversimplification Causes Problems: Stereotypes Create Barriers in

Frank X. Walker, Kentucky Poet, spoke with LTMS students about his latest work, Isaac Murphy: I Dedicate This Ride. Walker’s work pays a tribute to
Murphy’s accomplishments as an African-American and athlete. LTMS Librarian, Timi Goodman, said, “Definitiely one of Frank Walker’s motivations for the
work was calling attention to steroetypes about African-Americans .”
Oversimplification
Causes Problems:
Stereotypes Create
Barriers in Society
by Alice Li
All Asians are smart. All
tall people should be basketball players. All blondes are
incompetent.
You know what they are:
they’re stereotypes. These
oversimplified conceptions
create numerous barriers in
today’s society, and they often
limit communication between
students.Sometimes,students
look at a peer and discredit
them because of their own
prejudices. But when people
perceive others to have a certain trait just because of their
appearance, they make mistakes more often than they’re
correct.
“I think a lot of stereotypes
are formed because people
want to simplify things as
much as possible,” said eighth
grader Reagan Prater. “They
want to be able to look at
someone and then be able to
say exactly what that person’s
like.”
When you trust stereotypes, you limit your perceptions of other people. You
might look at a blonde and
immediately assume that he/
she is unintelligent, but in
reality that is not the case.
There are plenty of blondes
today who are intellectuals,
just as there are many tall
people who don’t like basketball. Likewise, there are
several Asians in the world
who are not as talented as
the stereotype describes.
Naturally, both sides of the
equation are balanced: the
intelligence of Asians vary,
as do the occupations of tall
people and the cleverness of
blondes. In essence, there
is no way to judge based on
appearance.
Most of today’s stereotypes began with influence
from the media. According to the Entman-Rojecki
Index of Race and Media,
89% of black female movie
characters are shown using
vulgar language, while only
17% of white woman. Black
women are shown as being
violent in movies 56% of the
time compared to the 11%
of white women. Clearly,
African-Americans are being portrayed unfairly. But
it is not just limited to blacks
- a large amount of media
sources portray blondes as
being ridiculously dimwitted
and girls as being more foolish than boys.
Prejudice leads to multiple problems. As a result,
stereotypes could seriously
affect the rate of success at
LTMS. If people aren’t overly
stressed and don’t feel that
there are specific, limited
standards they’re expected
to meet, then they will usually succeed at a higher level.
This success includes higher
grade point averages, better
behavior in class and a lower
rate of suicide.
Racial Stereptypes In the Media-Associated Content.
Stereotype Examples-Baby
STUDENT LIFE
said, “On the weekends, I
can never accept an invitation to hang with my friends
at the mall, and I have to give
out the excuse that ‘I have
too much homework,’ or ‘I
have an exam to study for.’
I don’t understand how they
can find the time!”
Teens can also try to keep
a structured sleep schedule,
by setting a bed and wake
time on the weekends and
trying to stick to it. Try to
avoid engaging in exercise,
eating, or drinking in the
hour before bed. Instead, try
calm, quiet activities that will
contribute to falling asleep
faster. Some stress relievers
are: yoga, exercise, eating
a balanced diet, tai chi, relaxation and breathing techniques, and meditation.
Most, if not all teens, are
affected somehow by stress
overload. Until effective solutions can be found to manage time, get the amount of
sleep needed, and still be
able to have the experience
of a “teenage life.”
by Neda Maleki
For some people, studying for a test always results in
frustration and impatience. The seven tips below can
help put an end to all that stress.
one
getting up to go to school
because alarm clocks are
used to wake them up. They
act like zombies while they
prepare for school, and find
it early to stay awake and
pay attention in class, if they
can even stay awake. This
causes them to lose out on
information they need to
complete assignments and
because they are sleep-deprived, they are not able to
function at their best ability.
Kylie Russ, an eighth
grader said, “I am a very busy
person. I am in all accelerated classes, which I usually have homework in every
night along with occasional
projects, and I must complete all of my assignments
on top of a very high commitment to me; soccer. I have
practices almost every day
along with frequent games,
which bring me home around
nine or ten each night. After
completing my homework,
sometimes I don’t get to go
to bed until midnight or later.”
Another eighth grader
Always study in short, frequent
sessions.
Don’t spend more than an hour at a
time looking over the same notes. The
brain needs recharging! Take a break
occasionally to avoid boredom and
distraction.
Take notes.
two
by Taylore Jordan
It isn’t uncommon to
hear the words “teens” and
“stress” used in the same
sentence. Every single day,
millions of teens around
the world are experiencing
stress in ways that were uncommon and likely unheard
of in the time of their parents and grandparents. The
work for students these days
is supposed to be more efficient, motivating, and less
time consuming. Although
many teens work hard to
keep their grades up and
are worthy of reward, they
hardly have enough time for
their commitments, family,
friends, and their lives. This
also shows in their behavior,
attitude, and physical conditions, and has the potential
to leave a mental and/or
emotional scar for the rest of
their lives.
Research shows that
teens need an average of
9 ¼ hours each night to be
able to function correctly
and effectively. Teens natural sleep cycles conflict with
Six Easy Steps to Success
three
Adolescents Juggle Pressure
four
PAGE 2
Like reading, notetaking is a skill which
must be learned. Write down the main
concepts of what your teacher is going over
in class so that you don’t forget the details
when you need to study.
Find a comfortable place to study.
There shouldn’t be any distractions here.
This includes loud noises – do NOT watch
television or play video games while
studying! Start out by studying the most
important information.Don’t start by studying
the little details that you already know.
Get enough sleep the night before.
You need at least nine hours of sleep to
completely refresh your brain.
five
Study everything thoroughly.
Don’t focus too much on one particular topic
in the subject. So if you’re studying for a
science final exam, don’t just study different
types of energy. You should also take a look
at forces, natural processes, and so on.
six
Create a study routine.
Eighth Graders Abhi Saraff and Michael Richie examine a concept in Mary Elizabeth McKnight’s Science Class.
Generally, if you schedule certain times of
the day to study, you will get into a routine
and accomplish more. Use your agenda to
remember the date of your upcoming tests.
Never procrastinate. You cannot only study
the night before and expect a perfect score.
STUDENT LIFE
A Word With The Principal
by Alice Li
Changes around Lexington are occurring more often
than ever before, from the
renovations in preparation
for the WEG to the soon-tobe eliminated Delta flights
between Lexington and
Cincinnati. This holds true
for LTMS, where new faculty members have come to
Lexington’s school of choice.
Ever since new principal
Joy “Alison” Hayes’s arrival,
members of the LTMS family became curious as to who
Hayes is, where she comes
from, and what changes are
being planned for the school.
“I was born in Lexington,”
she said. “When I was two,
I moved to Pikeville, where I
stayed until I was eighteen.”
After high school, she
went on to the University of
Central Oklahoma, where
she earned her bachelor’s
degree in elementary education, master’s degree in
education administration and
certificate endorsements in
art education and science
education. She was a principal intern and teacher in
Oklahoma and worked with
state education departments
on school improvement and
curriculum alignment efforts,
and even the federal department of education and Congress on educational reform
in middle schools.
LTMS interested Hayes
for several reasons. “The
school has two separate programs,” she said. “It’s a magnet and a traditional school.
I’ve worked with both programs, and I thought it was
great to have them both in
one school.”
“My goals are to get all
students involved in the
community, to have higher
test scores and an improved
climate, as well as doing
real-world applications,” she
said.
Involved in the community
and doing real-world applications? Research shows that
school is full of opportunities
to develop the qualities most
important to employers. According to College Board,
the ten key qualities that students develop in school are
writing, speaking, teamwork,
problem-solving, being calm
under pressure, taking initiative, paying attention to details, managing time, being
honest, and loving to learn.
Jobs might seem far away,
but it’s never too early to
build strong skills.
Principal Alison Hayes directs students during a grade level assembly in the gymnasium. Eighth
Grader Karrington Burton waits for instructions on the eighth grade “battle cry” to show school
spirit. “V-I-C-T-O-R-Y...that’s the Blackcat battle cry!”
PAGE 3
Excessive Spending
More Shocking than You Think
by Gillian Casey
Spending has always
been a big factor among
teens in the United States.
From 1953 to 1996 teen
spending has increased
greatly. The biggest spending category that teens
spend their money on currently is clothing followed
by entertainment. Spending
money is a big deal between
teenagers and adults, causing some of the greatest conflicts.
“I spend most of my money on clothes! I really think I
spend my money on things I
really don’t need because I
know I have enough and really shouldn’t be too greedy,”
Hailey Raines said. “One
way I would save money is
probably give it to one of my
friends I could trust and have
them hold it till I need to buy
something I really need. I
spend up to 20-30 dollars a
week, which comes mostly
from my mom. I use to get
$6.00 every Thursday, but I
don’t anymore and I usually
never saved the money. It
went straight to buying little
things like candy, pop or
something else I wanted.”
Some parents set up savings accounts for kids. These
kids may not even know
how much money they have
saved because their parents
have control of it This may
seem strange to the teenager but then thet teenager will
have money if there is something special he/she wants
like a car, a trip or just to help
with the cost of college.
PAGE 4
STUDENT LIFE
Lose the Soda:
Eating Healthier
by Julia Loveday
Did you know about onethird of children and teens
are obese or overweight?
Exercising during the
week can be hard because of
school. Many students love
to play sports or enjoy being
active and for these students
I try taking P.E. for a trimester. This would be an excit-
ing elective to get your blood
pumping and even if you
don’t enjoy playing sports,
you may want to try something new. Barb Spitz, the
LTMS Physical Education
Teacher is the sponsor for
intramurals and anyone that
would like to sign up can play
soccer, basketball, or bad.
Staff
Gillian Casey, Reporter
Madison Hopkins, Reporter
Morgan Hopkins, Designer
Lauren Iocono, Reporter
Taylore Jordan, Copy Editor
Matthew Lee, Co-Editor
Angela Maske, Co-Editor
Cody
Leslie,
Editorial
Board
Alice Li, Copy Editor
Hannah Logan, Reporter
Isabel Mendez, Reporter
Zoe Pulmano, Reporter
Jazlynn Thompson, Reporter
Rebecca Walling, Reporter
Eric Xiong, Global News
Editor
Kollier Busch, Reporter
Eric Caudill, Reporter
Hannah Chua, Reporter
Lynsey Crumbie, Reporter
Griffin Gensheimer, Reporter
Angeline He, Reporter
Devon Key, Reporter
Daniel Ku, Reporter
Julia Loveday, Editorial
Board
Anna McMahan, Reporter
John Pike, Reporter
Parin Rekhrai, Reporter
Francesco Serio, Reporter
Sumaya Shalash, Reporter
Kira
Turner,
Editorial
Board
Alexis Baker, Reporter
Madison Barb, Reporter
Julian Burton, Reporter
Kieran Casey, Reporter
Thomas Cheal, Reporter
Lauren Coolbaugh, Reporter
Payton Fisher, Reporter
Courtney Fuller, Reporter
Drake Howard, Reporter
Holden Huffman, Reporter
Ann Keidel, Reporter
Emily Liu, Reporter
Neda Maleki, Reporter
Bethany Manies, Reporter
Megan Martin, Reporter
Bradley McBrayer, Reporter
Maxwell Nagle, Reporter
Triston Runyon, Reporter
Jayden Taylor, Reporter
Patrick Terry, Reporter
Molly Thornberry, Reporter
Amir Zaki,
The Multiple Problems of Multitasking
by Angela Maske
With so many responsibilities surrounding people of
late, it can be hard to focus on
one task only. This is the primary reason people begin doing
more than one job at a time,
commonly known as multitasking. Getting several things
done at once may seem like
a brilliant idea, but research
shows that multitasking not
only takes a toll on internalizing information and memory,
but is actually takes more time
overall than doing one task at
a time.
For many people, time is
a significant issue. It seems
Face It
by Angela Maske
In a recent survey of
girls at LTMS, the majority of girls said they wear
makeup to “look better.”
But why do they want to
look better? The first, and
perhaps most obvious, is
peer influence. Teens, especially girls, don’t want
to feel out of place in their
social group. Possibly they
want to grasp the attention
of their peers so they will
be included in a conversation, group, etc.
Peers aren’t the only
factor influencing girls’
decisions about makeup,
though. Girls are constantly bombarded with images,
sounds, and words from
the media urging them to
wear makeup or simply
“be prettier.”
Seventh Grader Elizabeth Brumfield said, “I use
make up to cover blemishes.”
there just are not enough
hours in the day to finish
everything that needs to be
done. Thus, multitasking
sounds like the perfect option. However, because of
a restricted brain function
called working memory, it is
more difficult to switch back
and forth from one job to another. In a Psychology Today blog post, Joanne Cantor, Ph.D, wrote, “Performing
two tasks at once, instead
of sequentially, multiplies
trouble. Multitasking hurts
in terms of speed, accuracy,
quality of output, and energy
consumption.”
Consequently, by undertaking several tasks at once,
simple jobs are made more
challenging, thus using more
time than would have been
needed if the tasks had been
done separately.
Multitasking does not only
eat up your time; it devours
your memory and brain power, too.
“Multitasking bombards
working memory with scrambled and unfocused information and probably keeps the
brain from learning how to
optimize focus and orderly
sequence thoughts,” wrote
William Klemm.
Middle School Money Making
by Griffin Gensheimer
There is one thing that everyone needs and teenagers
want it a lot, money. Some
buy makeup or hair accessories, others sports equipment and video games, and
then there are those who
blow money on candy or silly
bands but to spend money
one needs to get money.
It is easier for kids around
14-16 to get money because
some places hire kids starting at 14, but there are several ways to make money.
First, kids in the eighth
grade can get actual jobs at
concession stands or similar
jobs for maybe seven dollars
an hour. Also, one can get
jobs at pools as a lifeguard.
Most concession stand jobs
require a person to work
two to three days a week for
seven dollars an hour; this
can provide enough income
to afford going to the store,
mall, or someplace else.
Another possibility is a
small grocery store. Or, at
15, you could try Kroger.
Eric Caudill, seventh
grader, said, “Yeah, like during the fall I rake leaves, in
the winter I shovel snow, and
in the spring I mow lawns.
Also, babysitting and requesting a reasonable rate.
Hannah Chua, seventh
grader said, “I babysit and
make three dollars an hour,
it’s not much is it?”
Other joibs include restaurants and retail shops. Ploy
Nontapan, seventh grader,
said, “ I wait tables, to help
my family business, at Mai
Thai. I help whenever it is
busy.”
Nontapan
said,
“The
toughest part of the job is
memorizing what order goes
to what table. But, really, I
am just “extra” not the onl y
waitress.”
STUDENT LIFE
When First Impressions Count: Through
a Sixth Grader’s Eyes
by Emily Liu
Many sixth graders, such
as Ally Grzywacz, believe
eighth graders are “tall and
scary”, but secretly admire
them.
“My first impression of
eighth graders is that they
are kind. I admire the eighth
graders, and hope to become
someone like my eighth grade
sister, Julia Wallin, one day.
When I first met our LTMS
eighth graders, they were nice,
funny, and smart. Now they inspire me, and are my role models,” said sixth grader Amanda
Wallin.
First impressions almost always stick, according to many
businessmenwithexperiences
dealing with trying to impress
someone. If someone is kind to
you, it’s probably because they
are caring and sympathetic on
the inside. If someone is helping you, it’s probably because
they feel for you and want to
assist you in every way possible.
“The eighth graders want to
help the younger generation,”
said Grzywacz.
When an eighth grader
hangs around you, laugh, talk,
joke, and goof around with
you, take it as a compliment,
that such devoting people
want to be with you.
“Generally, eighth graders
are good, smart, and are our
respected elders,” said Hemanth Sontenam, a sixth grader at LTMS.
PAGE 5
The Economics of Social
Networking
A potential new tool for advertising
by Eric Xiong
Social networks such as
Facebook have become one
of the most popular sectors
in the web. It first captivated
the young and the restless’s
minds .
Then it slowly began become an appealing idea to
all, old and young.. Now social networking has become
a part of our daily lives. Not
only does it change the way
you communicate with your
friends, but it also changes
the way you think when going out to restaurants, buying
products, and taking vacations.
A wall post on Facebook
about a new yummy milkshake being sold in McDonalds will likely bring milkshake loving friends there.
Businesses aggressively
use the recent spread of
online relations to advertise
their products. Close social
networks such as Facebook
and MySpace become the
hot places for marketing
because of its potential and
anticipated results per dollar spent in advertisement.
Facebook is filled with advertisements for products.
When a friend of yours in
Facebook clicks a like button
for a product, it has ripple effects. It intrigues and makes
you want to find more information about the product.
As a result, it influences
you to decide in favor of purchasing the product because
a friend’s opinion is more
trustworthy than strangers’.
More importantly, it gives
credibility to a company that
advertises the product, which
inevitably will influence your
future buying decisions by
the company.
Seventh Grader, Jamie
Yannelli, “I use Facebook to
communicate with my friends
and family. But, I would not
ncessariyl be influenced by
a product one of my friends
and family suggested.
Before, many goods were
not well known, but now with
social networking, those
goods are known across the
country. New fashion styles
promoted online entice buyers to spend more money
on the new fad of clothing
instead of waiting for the
prices to drop after it has become less fashionable.
Even for more popular
game systems such as the XBox 360 and Wii, the words
of social network played important roles. Many LTMS
students bought the gaming
systems from the advertisements and presentation of
the cool games throughout
websites.
One LTMS student said,
“I was persuaded to buy my
X-Box 360 because I saw on
Youtube that a new game,
Halo Reach, was going to
come out exclusively on this
gaming system.”
Also, many online sites
permit advertisements on
the page. Although the customers don’t have the same
trust in the good as if they
had friends’ endorsements,
they will still be more liable
to buy it since online advertisements can afford provid-
ing very detailed information
about their goods.
They can advertise the
product without paying the
money they would have to
pay to publish it in a paper.
This allows for extensive research about the product.
Nima
Mahmoodi,
an
eighth grade Panther, said, “I
once saw a pair of shoes that
I liked online. I researched
about them and bought them
a bit later.”
Sites such as Facebook
and online advertising will
play an increasingly more
important role in the future’s
economy. It is like a freight
train that nothing can stop.
When technology evolves in
the future, our experiences
in consumerism will be altered fundamentally.
The economics of social
networking and marketing
will likely be the driving force
for future economic models.
Google, even CISCO, a wellknown computer company,
is anxious to put its finger
prints on social networking in
order not to be left out of the
future economy.
It is equally urgent for customers to learn as much as
possible about social networking and its economic
impact in order to be able to
catch the train of the future.
PAGE 6
SPOR
A Spike Closer
by Lauren Coolbaugh, Lauren
Iocono and Taylore Jordan
This season, both the A
and B teams really came together and went all the way.
Both made it to the District
Championships with impressive standings.
Head Volleyball Coach Barbara Spitz, and the Assistant
Volleyball Coach, Aussie Stoencheva, help each player improve their skills, knowledge
of the game, overall potential
and athleticism.
The last time the LTMS
Volleyball Team made it to the
Championships was in 2002.
This year, the Blackcats were
ready to turn it all around.
They persisted in their efforts
and met their goal of making
it all the way to the District
Championship. The A team
made a fighting effort against
the Edythe J. Hayes Panthers,
but were ecstatic when earning District Championship
Runner-Ups.
Taylore Jordan, an eighth
grade player on the A team
said, “We had a very successful season! We all worked together and really improved
our team and leadership skills
along the way. I really believe
each of the A and B teams
really deserved their District
Championship standings. I
know that I was very happy to
receive second place, I know
we really deserved it!”
The B team was consistent
and always gave their upmost effort at practices and in
games.
“We played hard but sometimes made stupid mistakes.
After we realized what we
did, we worked very hard to
learn from them,” said Lynsey
Crumbie, a seventh grader
Blacked Out: Basketball Concussions
by Lauren Iocono
and player on both the A and
B teams.
Practices were very rigorous and hard working, and
took place each day after
school from July until October for two hours. Spitz likes
the amount of time the team
practices for volleyball, and it
shows to be quite effective.
“I wish volleyball wasn’t after school because it is harder
for students to concentrate
[then],” said Spitz.
Almost every team has their
ups and downs, and how they
deal with them and overcome
them is what characterizes
them as a team. The volleyball
team this year had many conflicts, but when they all came
together, “buckled down” and
focused on what they wanted
to achieve, they found that
with determination and teamwork, they could do it.
“I love the feeling when we
hit the winning point and the
crowd gets on their feet and
cheers,” said Julia Loveday, a
seventh grade player on both
the A and B teams.
As district runner-up, the
volleyball team exceeded expectation.
Spitz Said, “Our season
was a pleasant suprise. We
started the season thinking it
would be a long struggle. In
sesaon’s past, we expected
we would perform welI. I could
not have been prouder for
them. The kids completely suprised me--a wonderful bunch
to coach. Nice kids. “
It was February 19, 2010
when tragedy struck. I never knew that that day would
change my life forever.
Your life flashes before your
eyes; the last thing you hear is
the audience’s silence. Then
you black out. You think you
are dead or at least you think
you’re going to be, but no, you
just slammed your head into
the floor of a basketball court.
When you wake up the next
morning you don’t know anything or anyone, all you can
remember is that you were on
a basketball court then you
weren’t; scary, right?
This is the story of many
girls your age and younger,
including me, when I was
12years old.You are a normal
teenage girl on a basketball
team, another normal game.
You are doing pretty well, just
gotten a few rebounds getting congratulations by your
coach feel really good about
yourself. You sprinting to get
on offense, but you trip over
the opposing team’s foot. You
start to cry not knowing what
happened. The referee stops
the game, and your parents
come to see what happened
but they think you just have a
little bruise.
Going Up
You could not finish the
game. All you remember now
is waking up the next day and
not knowing what anything is
or who anyone was.
A three year girls’ basketball player, Hannah Logan,
said, “I think girls have more
injuries, including concussions, because their coaches
push the defense...sometimes
the girls try to hurt the other
team...”
In recent studies, “The concussion rate has gone up 70%
in girls who play basketball
ages six and up. This is the
story of many girls your age
including me. This is my story.
After I hit my head I came
home confused but made
it through the night. When I
woke up, I did not know anything, but that is your average
concussion. Mine was not.
When I opened my mouth to
talk, my parents described to
every doctor it was like four
year old.
“Okay, okay,” I said to everything. They were all so
scared. They were rushing
me into the hospital, telling
the doctors all my symptoms
some they could not even describe. We have never dealt
with something like this.
Back to School
You must think it was scary
going back to school not knowing everyone. Most of the girls
who hit their head go back to
“normal” fairly soon. I did not. I
was out of school for a month
and still could not finish a full
day when I went back. Yeah
not school! Wrong! I had to
go to three hours of therapy
a day occupational therapy,
physical therapy, and speech
therapy. Most girls do have to
go through therapy to relearn
how to do things that they use
to be able to do.
People always wanted to
know how it was living with
a concussion. Well, I am still
living it. Now you know what
girls and their families must be
going through.
A concussion can teach you
that you should appreciate the
things you have because with
one second, they could be
gone. Just think how it is dealing with a concussion and turn
around and ask someone, “Do
you remember me?”
RTS
PAGE 7
Blackcat Football Claws Out The Competition
by Devon Key
Goals and Work Ethics
The football team had two
goals at the beginning of the
season and those two goals
were: to go thought the regular season undefeated, and
to win the city championship. They completed one of
the goals already, now the
main goal was to win the city
championship game. If they
beat Hayes then they will only
have to play one more game
to complete all of their goals.
The team can do this if they
practice hard and they come
out focused, and ready to win.
They will have to give it 110%
and out work the other teams,
because of the other team will
not just let them win.
The Playoffs
At LTMS, football has
had an excellent year for the
Blackcats. The team’s record
after winning the quarter finals against Crawford, was
7-0. The football team played
Edythe J. Hayes in the semifinals at the new Lafayette
field. The Blackcats were not
favored to win the city championship, but they maintained
undefeated
status.
They
made history by being the
first LTMS football team to go
through the season with a perfect record.
was the first time in LTMS’
history that the football team
has ever done this. They
were tremendously excited
after they beat Jessie Clark
at Henry Clay High School on
October 14. Their schedule
got harder as the season went
on but they beat any one that
tried to stop them from going
undefeated. The set a goal at
the beginning of the season to
win the regular season with a
perfect record and they succeeded. The game against
Beaumont was very nail biting but as usual the blackcats
won again.
The Regular Season
Pre-Game
The regular season for the
team was extremely good,
they went undefeated. This
Before each the game the
team eats together before
they go and play. When they
ride the bus to whereever
they are playing there is complete silence so that they are
focused and motivated to go
and beat the team they are
facing.
After they get off the
bus,they put their equipment
on and stretch. They have to
stretch so that they do not get
hurt or pull anything so that
we will have every player for
the next game. And right before the game, playersbreak
through a banner and smoke.
One of the coaches said,
“When you come out of that
smoke you transform into
another person you are a different person after you come
out because you are very focused.”
Another thing that our
coach said , “Take the message and not how the message is said to you.” Take the
message for what the message really means not the delivery.
End of Season
The season ended but
the Blackcats had a tremendous season. Regular season champs but defeated by
Edythe J. Hayes in the semifinals. It was a hard fought
game, both teams played really hard in the cold and rain.
The final score was 21-14.
PAGE 8
NEWS
BP: An Oily Gulf Coast
Catastrophe
Human Rights: Even Small Steps
Makes a Difference
by Eric Xiong
by Eric Xiong
You have probably heard
about the recent BP oil spill in
the Gulf of Mexico, but do you
know about it? In all, about
$20 billion worth of crude oil
was lost from the leak, and
even worse damage was done
to the environment.
The fishing industry in the
Gulf is practically ruined. Many
fish died, and some may have
been chemically poisoned,
causing some fish to be inedible. The people who have lost
money or properties have the
option of suing BP or signing a waiver now and receiving compensation. However,
if they sign the waiver, they
might not get all the money
they lost, as the amount is not
yet finalized, and if they sue
BP,theprocessmaytakeyears,
which might not be worth it.
Elliott Beach, an eighth
grade student, said, “Although I do not think I will
be fearful of eating fish in
the future, I think many other
people will. Also, the tourism
industry near the gulf may
decline.”
This means that many students travelling to Florida, or
another state by the beaches
may not want to go anymore,
because of uncertainty about
the water, and because some
beaches may be covered in
oil. Also, households may be
afraid of fish, paranoid that tar
balls caused by the oil have
contaminated them.
Although BP has said
other companies were involved in this catastrophe,
the Obama Administration
is holding BP accountable.
They may be right, however.
BP has the responsibility of
managing itself.
As humans, we all have
the right to pursue happiness and live in peace and
freedom. Human rights are
essential for countries to
prosper and have long lasting peace. There must be
diversity and equality to retain global peace. Albert
Schweitzer, who received
Nobel Peace Prize in 1950,
once said, “Until mankind
can extend the circle of his
compassion to include all living things, he will never, himself, know peace.” One can
go further claiming it is morally wrong to be a bystander
when others’ human rights
are violated.
A Physics Professor at
the University of Kentucky.
had a daughter who attended a private school. She
seemed to be discriminated
against by a dance company. This dance company
sponsored all dance activities in the private school she
was attending. For the dance
events, this company only
sent invitations to thre same
kids. Minorities appeared to
be intentionally kept out of
the events. Once becoming aware of the situation,
the professor joined the National Committee of Community and Justice, NCCJ, to do
something about it.
After joining, with the help
of NCCJ, the professor was
able to end the discriminatory practice by the dance
company.
He said, “When the
government had talked to
them, they apologized to my
daughter. Now, they let every ethnicity learn to dance
there. It was a big success
locally to the fight against
discrimination.”
Also, the U.S. has drastically improved its human
rights record since the first
civil rights movements began. The Physics Professor
traveled internationally as a
member of NCCJ and visited
physicists who were kept in
prisons because they disagreed with the policies of
the ruling governments.
He also worked hard and
made personal sacrifices
to try to get these prisoners
released. The U.S. has improved a lot in comparison to
the governments who held
prisoners.
He said, “Many countries
are arguably worse than the
U.S.”
Diversity is a big step in
eliminating racial discrimination. At the same time, it also
provides people the grounds
to discriminate.
LTMS is culturally diverse.
The student population consists of: 48% of students
are white, 39% are AfricanAmerican, 5% are Hispanic,
4% are Asian, and 4% are
other.
Professor’s name not given to
protect the privacy of his family.
The student popluation statistics for
LTMS come from the LTMS website.
The War Takes Its Toll
by Griffin Genaheimer
There are two wars going
on now and they have so far
been the longest in our history, the Afghanistan war for
nine years and the Iraqi war
for seven years.
A total of about 7,000 soldiers have died, over 4,000
are from America, 1036 were
between the ages 18 and 25,
100 came from Kentucky
and six came from Lexington.
About
300,000,000
© BP p.l.c.
Americans are in the army,
3,000,000 families wait everyday for news of that person who is serving in the
war. 4,000 families may never hear from that relative.
About $900 billion of US
taxpayers’ funds spent or approved for spending through
Sept 2010.
Troops in Iraq - Total
49,700 U.S. troops as of August 23, 2010. All other nations have withdrawn their
troops.
U.S. Troop Casualties -
4,427 US troops; 98% male.
91% non-officers; 82% active duty, 11%
National Guard; 74% Caucasian, 9% African-American, 11% Latino. 19% killed
by non-hostile causes. 54%
of US casualties were under
25 years old. 72% were from
the US Army
US Troops Wounded 31,929.
Iraq-War.WS
NEWS
PAGE 9
Hybrids: Unique But
Not
Uncommon
by Alice Li
World Equestrian Games: A Fantastic
Success
by Alice Li
When a female bottlenose
dolphin named Punahele
gave birth to a dark-skinned
calf that partly resembled the
false killer whale with whom
she shared a pool, trainers
at Hawaii Sea Life Park were
stunned. Later, in 2006, a hunter in the Canadian Arctic shot
a grolar bear, a hybrid with a
polar bear and a grizzly bear as
its parents.
Contrary to popular belief, hybrids have been born
throughout history, and there
are more species in existence
than what one might expect. A
zedonk foal was recently borne
in Georgia at the Chestatee
Wildlife Reserve. With a zebra
father and a donkey mother,
the zedonk has black stripes
on her legs and a donkey-like
stature. Cross a cow with a
buffalo and you get a beefalo,
a hybrid that produces meat
lower in fat and cholesterol
than normal beef. Then there
are zorses, mules, camas, iron
age pigs, ligers, leopons, wolf
dogs - the list goes on for quite
a while.
Some biologists estimate
that as many as 10 percent of
animal species and up to 25
percent of plant species may
occasionally breed with another species. The result may
sometimes be a distinct new
species that is stronger or larger than the originals, but often
the hybrid is infertile and unable to reproduce, leading to
an evolutionary dead end. A
second problem is that any hybrid will usually be vastly outnumbered and outcompeted
by one or both parent species.
Yet some hybrids gain ad-
The Alltech FEI World
Equestrian Games began on
September 25, 2010, but for
the people of Lexington, it
started much earlier. Renovations were completed all over
the city months before hand.
Although some plans were
foiled because of the economic downturn, several improvements occurred: roads
were repaired, the Bluegrass
Airport got a new runway, the
Horse Park received a $36.5
million indoor arena, and new
sidewalks and trails were built
downtown.
“I’ve seen that the roads
downtown are newly paved.
. . There have been some real
improvements,” said eighth
grader Matthew Lee. “I think
this will bring more tourists
and visitors to our city, which
is great.” Fittingly, Lexington
was chosen to host the 2010
WEG - after all, the city is nicknamed “the Horse Capital of
the World.” With the renovations, the city has gained some
great improvements that have
given it a fresh outlook.
LTMS eighth graders
earned the privilege of getting a grounds pass and visiting some of the special WEG
exhibits.
“It was an amazing experience, partly because of the
diversity,” said eighth grader
Reagan Prater. “There were so
many people of different cultures, but all of us shared the
same love for horses.”
“I really like seeing the exhibits. I learned some things
about Kentucky that I didn’t
know before,” said Aubrey
Smith, another student who
vantages neither parent was
given. In other words, they are
able to survive where their parents cannot. Recent field tests
that examined the relative
ability of the parental species
to thrive in the hybrids’ habitat, and vice versa, found that
the sand sunflower (a hybrid
that results from the breeding of the common sunflower
and the prairie sunflower) was
better able than its parents to
germinate, grow and survive
in its dune habitat but fared
relatively poorly in parental
habitats. Similarly, the puzzle
sunflower was much better
at growing in salty conditions
than its parents.
“When you get a hybrid,
you get a mixture of two species,”saideighthgraderAubrey
Smith. “It’s interesting because
you see some things that don’t
happen with the parents. Hybrid genes are just different.
And if you think about what
could happen if we could
somehow control this - to be
able to select certain traits and
throw out traits we don’t want
- well, that opens up a lot of
options.”
The discovery that some hybrids are able to live in habitats
where their parents cannot is
forcing biologists to reshape
their pictures of species as
independent units. Some hybrids may evolve into a complete, individual species after
several generations. There are
certainly enough of them to
make a difference in the world.
went on the field trip.
WEG, held every four years
since 1990, showcases the
greatest horses and riders
internationally in eight disciplines: dressage, show jumping, eventing, vaulting, reining,
combined driving, endurance,
and paraequestrian — all in 16
days.
The 2010 WEG had a total
of 507,022 people; among the
attendance numbers are 6,000
volunteers and 62,000 schoolchildren and college students
who came through a special
program.
Referring to his previous
hope of achieving a 500,000
attendancefigure,GamesCEO
Jamie Link wrote in an email:
“We met and exceeded that
goal, and with the positive
feedback we have received
from spectators about their
experienceattheseGames,we
are proud of what we have accomplished for Kentucky and
feel that these Games have
been a fantastic success.”
The Economic Impact
by Eric Xiong
Alltech had many reasons to sponsor WEG. David
Butler, an Altech marketing manager, said, “We felt we
had grown to the point where we wanted to increase
our brand awareness.”
Alltech specializes in animal nutrition, so they would
be able to introduce their brand to an international
view. In the long run, sales for Alltech will improve and
it will grow as a company.
The local economy is most likely going to grow. The
best values for the Games lie in sponsorships, Butler
said, “In the long run, I think we will be able to see
many more national events in Lexington, and especially in the Kentucky Horse Park.” There will be many
permanent improvements to Lexington such as the
renovated roads and sidewalks.
If you think you will not be affected by the WEG,
think again. Many more people will now visit downtown, and the new renovated areas such as the new
fountains and the central plaza where you can relax.
More tourists from around the nation will come to see
the Horse Park and equine industry. Lexington’s government may use some of the sales tax they received
from WEG to fund education.
The WEG have been beneficial to many people and
the environment they live in as well. They will serve as
a once in a life time event for many people, and make
many lasting changes to Lexington.
PAGE 10
OPINIONS
The effects of the texts
More than 75 billion text
messages are sent and received monthly in the United
States. The average teenager
sends and receives 2,272 text
messages a month. These are
astonishing numbers. Imagine
how long that would equal to
in hours spent texting; probably somewhere around 20-30
hours a month. That is a ton of
wasted time!
The Effects
Have you ever stopped
to ask yourself what kind of
effects texting has on you?
If you haven’t, you should.
Many doctors are beginning
to be concerned about this
“texting epidemic.”
Dr. Jonathan Pletcher
said, “There is a short-and
long-term anxiety [with text
messaging]…The short-term
anxiety is, ‘Will he or won’t
he answer?’ It’s unnecessarily negative, but the same as
a phone call we learn to deal
with over time. Long term, it
impairs your daily functions.
They [teenagers] are doing it
late and are not sleeping as
well, leading to daytime anxiety.”
Many doctors overall say
that text messaging leads to
anxiety, sleep loss, distraction in school, and falling
grades. Are you seeing any
of these symptoms in yourself?
Why do teenagers text
message? Possibly to stay
socially connected; which is
a positive. It is always good
to be social. But when you
send 11 times as many text
messages as you do phone
calls, your social skills become impaired. This could
be a negative effect from text
messaging. You become so
socially dependent on text
messaging that you forget
how do uphold a conversation face to face.
Shocking Numbers
In 2001 only 2% of U.S. residents used text messaging. It
is 2010 and it has become an
epidemic.
Latin: A Necessity
by Cody Leslie
Salve! Fortuna te ad redetne? Most people would
find understanding the last
sentence somewhat of a
challenge, and that is because most people regard
Latin as a pointless language, seeing as it is now a
dead language.
I believe that there is
more to it than that. There
is more to a world language
class than just the language;
the culture of that country is
taught as well, and I’m certain that there are a lot of
ways that the Romans have
affected our culture that
you’ve never thought of.
For instance, did you
know that the entire idea
for a “senate” as a legislative governing body was first
thought up by the Romans?
They were actually the first
super power to have a representative democracy, or
used what is now known as
the Roman Republic. As you
can see, there is a lot more
to the class than that.
Most people think of the
U.S. government when they
look at a large, marble building with columns, but this
idea was actually developed
by the Greeks and Romans.
As a matter of fact, almost
every government building
in the U.S. is designed in
this style, including the court
buildings, which are all designed after the Roman temple style.
I bet you can also name
one of the greatest achievements in Roman architecture
ever built, the Coliseum. This
monumental structure was
one of the largest architectural undertakings in the history of mankind, and it has
been standing for almost two
thousand years!
Almost 2,000 years later
the structure is still standing.
As you can see, the Romans
had a very large contribution
to modern architecture and
studying Roman architecture
would certainly help you if
that is the way you wish to
go.
The Romans also had a
very large influence for our
government. The Romans
had the first republic and
they also invented the senate. The founding fathers of
the United States looked directly at the Roman Republic for ideas that they might
use in their new government,
and the senate was one of
the ideas that they decided
to use.
So if you are looking for a
government office when you
get older, you might want to
take a look at the Romans.
One of the most prominent ways that the Romans
have affected us is, obvi-
ously, language. Almost every English word is derived
from either a Latin or Greek
word, with exceptions from
Germanic, Celtic, and old
English words.
Many of Europe’s most
used languages are derived
directly from Latin, with an
added millennium of misspelling and mispronunciation, such as French, Spanish, and Italian. So not only
did the Romans have a huge
cultural contribution to the
Western world, their language had an influence as
well.
Obviously, the Romans
had a huge foot in Western
Civilization, and because of
this learning Latin can pave
the way for a lot of future careers that you all might be
interested in.
Latin Teacher David Wilson said, “The most compelling reason students should
take Latin is that it dramatically raises test scores and
maximizes English vocabulary.”
I feel that it is therefore
extremely important that students take Latin classes, so
that they can prepare themselves for a good career.
I hope you see things my
way and realize that Latin
isn’t a pointless subject just
because no country uses it.
Habe tu dieum bonum. Vale!
OPINIONS
PAGE 11
Online Cyberbulling: An Invisible Threat for Students
by Taylore Jordan
For ages, kids have been
bullied by other kids who are
bigger, stronger, and more intimidating than themselves.
Teens all know the common
scene; behind the school, with
the big, strong guy beating up
the tiny, wimpy geek. But that
isn’t always the case; bullying
has evolved and taken other
forms. Cyber bullying is an epidemic following teens to their
other lives online. What may
seem like a “harmless” connection to friends through social
media sites such as Facebook
and MySpace, or a “harmless”
visit to that chat room may in
fact be a trap in getting you
hurt, or allowing you to harm
someone else. Cyber bullying
hurts; but there are ways you
can avoid, overcome, and even
help someone else with their
cyber bullying dilemma. It is a
main problem in our world today and in LTMS, and it can be
stopped.
Cyber bullying occurs
“when a child, preteen or
teen is tormented, threatened, harassed, humiliated,
embarrassed or otherwise
targeted by another child,
preteen or teen using the
Internet, interactive and digital technologies or mobile
phones,” says. Forty two
percent of students in the
U.S. have been bullied online, and 53% of students
have said something mean
or hurtful to another while
online. That’s about half of
the students in the U.S. that
have been involved in cyber
bullying in one way or another. Are you one of them?
An example of the consequences of bullying are displayed in the case of Megan
Gillan; a 15 year old girl who
was targeted by a few of her
classmatesonFacebook.They
started a password-protected
group about Gillan, falsely accusing her of being drug-addicted and fake, among other
things. After Gillan had been
tormented and was fed up
with it, she committed suicide.
There are many other possible
ways that Gillan could have
handled the situation without taking her own life. If you
are being cyber bullied, here
is how you should go about
dealing with it:
Do not open or read messages by people you think
could be suspected cyber bul-
lies.
Do not erase the messages—they could be used as evidence to take action.
Protect yourself and be logical. You should never meet, or
consider meeting someone in
real life whom you have met
online. They could be a predator, and have the intention to
physically harm you.
If you are bullied through
chat, SMS, or email, the bully
can sometimes be “blocked”
by the provider.
If you are threatened with
harm online, inform the local
police. It could be a serious situation in which federal action
needs to be taken to ensure
your safety.
Cyber bullying can come in
many forms. Sometimes kids
pretend like they are someone else when they are online, spreading lies and rumors
about victims, tricking people
into revealing personal information, or sending or forwarding mean text messages about
someone.
If you are a cyber bully you
may think that it’s not a big
deal. Besides, everyone does
it, you aren’t really hurting
anyone, and you’ll never get
caught (because you’re “super
sneaky”). Well, you are terribly
wrong. It’s not fun to be put
down by others and to live
your life thinking that maybe
what that cyber bully said is
right.
Jennifer Jordan, an LTMS
mother whose child had
been cyber bullied, says,
“Bullying is a major problem,
and with the technology and
how kids have communication at their fingertips all the
time, it’s pretty much a given
that someone at some time
will say something to hurt
someone else, without them
even realizing it,” she said,
expressing how easy it is for
kids to bully others, “It goes
global, and once it does, it
never goes away.”
So before you post something or send an IM, SMS, or
email, think to yourself, “Will
what I am saying harm the
person I am sending it to? Is
it harming someone else? Am
I doing this to intentionally
harm someone? What is a nicer
way of saying this, or should I
be saying it? Would I say this
in person?” Put yourself in the
victims’ shoes and imagine
how they would feel; would
you want someone to say the
same thing to you or about
you?
“It has affected my child
so much, that I’ve had to take
her phone and computer
away countless numbers of
times. It’s hard to try to protect my child when she has
the choice of what she can
say, and hear,” says Jordan.
She believes that another
major problem is the fact that
sometimes kids say things
online that they would never
say in person. You should
always think before you act,
what you are saying, and the
effect it may have on others;
it could result in helping you
tremendously when you are
in a tough situation.
Parents play a large role in
the cyber bullying problem.
A huge problem is the fact
that parents are not informed
of what is going on in their
child’s technological lives.
Never try to hide your phone,
delete messages, or hide your
technological life from your
parents. Odds are, you are hid-
ing something you don’t want
them to see. Your parents are
here to help you and keep you
safe, and you aren’t letting
them do their job. It is in your
best interest to talk about your
life and feelings with your parents at all times; they can give
you advice, and take action
if you are being cyber bullied
or harmed in some way. So always be sure to keep your life
of technology out in the open
with your parents; they are the
ones who can help you and
want to help you the most.
There are many things
that you, yes YOU, can do to
help lower the instances of
cyberbullying.
One thing you can do is
to speak with other students,
as well as teachers and
school administrators, in order to develop rules against
cyber bullying. You can also
raise awareness of the cyber
bullying problem by holding
a small assembly, or creating informational flyers to
distribute to kids and parents
in your community.
Getting the word and information out there can really make an impact, and it
starts by getting your community involved and taking
action.
So, what will you do; Will
you inform the students of
LTMS and beyond about
a major problem in teens’
worlds? Will you do nothing?
Or will you make the smart
decision to try and save the
lives of this generation of
teens, one text, email, or IM
at a time?
A Punch Worth Taking Return of the Olympians
by Matthew Lee
In the movie, “Karate Kid,”
Jaden Smith and Jackie
Chan star as the main characters of Dre Parker and Mr.
Han. Dre and his mother
move from Detroit to Beijing,
China because his mother
was transferred there though
her automobile factory job.
When they arrive, Dre meets
some new people including one special Chinese
girl. He walks up to her and
starts flirting; too bad he
didn’t know that an overprotective friend was watching.
When the friend realizes she
isn’t practicing her violin, he
comes over to teach Dre a
lesson in the art of Kung Fu.
Dre continuously gets beaten
up by the same guy and his
gang. One day, Dre decides
to take a risky move and
throws water all over them.
The gang chases him and
they have him trapped and
start to wale on him. Mr. Han
then finds this occurring and
temporarily stops the fight.
Then the gang tries to attack
Mr. Han. Mr. Han then takes
Dre to help heal his wounds
with an Ancient Chinese
method. Mr. Han becomes
fed up with the bullying that
he confronts the gang’s kung
fu instructor and tells him
what is happening. Mr. Han
was able to make a deal that
the gang will not harm him
anymore but if Dre doesn’t
enter into the tournament,
Bad things will occur to both
him and Dre. This ultimately
results in Mr. Han becoming
Dre’s Kung Fu instructor and
Dre enters the tournament
and he is successful!
Overall, I would rate this
movie with four stars out a
possible of five stars. This is
because I found that Jaden
Smith’s acting was a little
lazed and not completely
focused on the scene. I also
thought Jaden Smith was
a little too young to portray
the original Karate Kid. On
the other hand, I found the
movie a great modern day
version of the original The
Karate Kid. I also found that
the movie was a little more
intense than the original.
To conclude, if you have
not seen The Karate Kid, the
latest version; I suggest you
should go out and rent it for
a day. It is a superb story of
how someone can overcome
adversity of a bully. I am sure
some can relate to having a
bully pick on you non-stop.
So all in all, it is an awesome
movie and age appropriate
for Middle School.
by Cody Leslie
Rick Riordan, the famous
author of Percy Jackson and
the Olympians, has written
a follow-up to his previous
series, called The Heroes of
Olympus. The first book of
this series has already been
released: The Lost Hero.
In his new book, Riordan
has brought forth many new
characters but has kept the
ones from his last series as
well. Annabeth, the witty and
reliable daughter of Athena,
is still a key player, as is
Thalia, the powerful daughter of Zeus, and Percy, the
ever heroic and rash son
of Poseidon, but Percy has
disappeared suddenly and
nobody knows where he is.
The new characters are a
trio by the names of Jason, Piper, and Leo. Jason
wakes up one day on a bus
in the middle of Arizona
holding hands with Piper,
but he has no idea who he
or anybody else is. When he
ends up in camp half-blood,
he is told that he is the
son of Zeus, or Jupiter as
Jason likes to call him, for
he prefers the gods’ Roman
names. Piper’s father is a
famous actor who has mysteriously disappeared and
Piper keeps getting dreams
about a giant threatening
to kill her father unless she
betrays her friends. Leo can
build almost anything with
his hands and can even
control fire, but he has a
bad past of running away
which started when his
mother was killed in a fire
that Leo accidently started.
These friends are sent on
a quest to stop another evil
force from awakening, more
powerful than the titans, the
Earth goddess Gaea.
The book is written superbly, because although Riordan
true sticks true to his original
voice and humorous style, he
also has a lot more suspense in
this book. He also sticks true to
his style of putting the characters in situations found in mythology, but this time he starts
leaning more towards Roman
mythology than Greek mythology, which are very similar but
have minimal differences. For
example, he exposes that the
gods really have two personas,
one of them Greek and the
other Roman, with a more strict
and stern attitude.
I would recommend this
book to anyone who enjoyed
Riordan’s first series, because
even though he sticks true to
his previous books, he adds a
few more twists that make it
more enjoyable for the reader
and more engaging. I don’t believe that the school library has
this book yet, but that shouldn’t
stop you from reading it. So if
you ever have to read a book
for class, which at this school
is almost guaranteed, you
might want to look into reading
The Lost Hero.
Fall Music Update
by Angela Maske
In the past month or so, several new songs and artists have popped up on Top 40
radio. From a well-know country sweetheart, to a stage-named artist “Ready Set” to
take the spotlight, fall has been an exciting season for music.
-Bruno Mars: After making an stunning debut on “Nothin’ On You” by B.o.B and Travie McCoy’s summertime hit, “Billionaire,” the Hawaiian singer/songwriter went on to
release an album. “Just The Way You Are” peaked at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, and
“Grenade” is climbing up the charts. Both songs are more on the emotional side in different ways. However, both have the strong melody and impressive vocals that Mars
has come to be known for.
Spanish Teacher Amanda Jones and Math Teacher Rachel Pittman direct students during the Pro Reward snack
time. PRO Reward time is every six weeks for students
who do not receive strikes for misbehavior.
-The Ready Set: The one-man band was formed by Jordan Witzigreuter, who burst
into the music scene when he released his debut album, I’m Alive, I’m Dreaming. He
has worked with artists such as Nevershoutnever and Boys Like Girls. His single,
“Love Like Woe,” has peaked on the Billboard Top 100 so far as #32. It will have you
abusing the replay button, with it’s upbeat, catchy melodies and fresh, fascinating lyrics.