employment opportunities

Transcription

The Magazine of
Student Opinion
D
i
P
U
t
T
d
e
at
l
i
Ja
nt
PReGNa
R
S
Anime,
The Election,
News, Advice,
Reviews,
AND MORE...
F
A
L
L
2
0
0
8
DrOP OUt
s
e
p
y
t
o
e
r
e
t
S
g
n
i
k
a
Bre
Fall 2008 RATED-T 1
If you’re a student in the District of Columbia between the ages of 11 and 18 who has ever wondered
what it would be like to create your own news magazine, website, radio or television program, here’s your
chance. Join Friendship News Network (FNN)—a student run media enterprise located at Friendship
Public Charter School in Washington, DC. Students can join the staffs of FNN Radio, FNN TV, FNN Online
and Rated-T Magazine. FNN students have traveled the world from Fiji to China to New York City and
have had their stories posted by MTV, The Washington Informer and WAMU to name a few! It’s FREE and
open to any student in the District of Columbia! For more information and to download an application visit
our website at friendshipnewsnetwork.com, email [email protected] or call 240-426-7685.
Friendship News Network
News from the Teen Point of View
This could be You!
Photo: Shaquanda Noble
Contents
The Election
Why Should Teens Care by Tiara Marshall 17
On the Campaign Trail by Alicia Wade and Tiara Marshall 18
Going Beyond Opinion: Obama vs. McCain by Brittany Rivers 20
The Future Looks Bleak by Flonora Merritt 22
The Future Looks Bright by Tiara Marshall 23
Obama: Inexperienced or Political Prodigy by Tiara Marshall 24
Rated-T
Volume 1 Number 4
Letter from the Editor by Flonora Merritt 5
Contributors 6
Breaking Stereotypes 8
I’m NOT Stupid, I Just Learn Differently 9
I’m NOT Poor Because I Don’t Wear Designer 10
I’m NOT Going to Jail by 18 11
I’m NOT a Teen Pregnancy Waiting to Happen 12
I’m NOT White Because I Talk Proper 13
I’m NOT a Nerd Just Because I Wear Glasses 14
I’m NOT Just An African American 15
Don’t Count Us Out Just Because We’re Not White Men 16
Cover Illustration: Karlton Chapman
Photo this page: Travis Houze
Anime Replay
28
Chris Malong, Surfer Artist by Flonora Merritt 29
Anime USA Convention by Rated-T Staff 30
Best Anime of 2008 32
Fan Fictiones by Maurice Williams 34
Fan Art Gallery 35
Naruto: Review by Karlton Chapman 36
Out of the Fallout: Review by Jarrell Davis 37
Best Fiction of 2008
The Wrath of Marion by Nadean Talley 39
We Are Heroes by Kadesha Ransom 57
Nano Hit by Jarrell Davis 60
The Light by Ceyanne Foye 62
The Endowed by Randyn Fullard 64
Fall 2008
2007 RATED-T 3
Features
Metro Opens Wallets by Shaquanda Noble 26
Ralph Hodge by Nina Graham 46
From Being in Love to Being in Jail by Chantell Leak 47
The Wiz by Randyn Fullard 50
Duke Ellington School by Randyn Fullard 51
Dog Care 101 by Nadean Talley 54
Washington Humane Society by Da’Vaughn Hawkins 56
The Darkest Region of Space by Jeffrey Daise 59
The Real Nanos by Jarrell Davis 61
The Civil Air Patrol by Crystal Bulluck 68
Sugar Rush, Book Review by Chantell Leak 71
Real Talk
Walking In a Model’s Shoes by Alize Morgan 48
Paging Doctor Noble by Shaquanda Noble 49
Does Music Define You? by Maurice Williams 70
Always Alicia’s Advice by Alicia Wade 74
Only God Can Judge Me by Angel McCormick 76
The Life of a Senior by Travis Houze 77
Interviews
An Interview With The Mayor by Nina Graham 27
One On Two with Ben and Jerry by Imani Strong 42
The Father of the Father of Microsoft by Flonora Merritt 44
Hill Harper by Flonora Merritt 45
Photo Essays
EnVision 2008 by Ahmed Davis 40
China Photo Essay by Adonis Miller and FPCS Staff 52
Andrews Air Show by Ahmed Davis and Adonis Miller 66
Canoeing by Kadesha Ransom and Ahmed Davis 72
THIS PAGE: Photo:Travis Houze a 2008 graduate of Hyde Leadership Academy
Graphic Design: Shaquanda Noble a junior at Friendship Collegiate Academy
Rated-T is the magazine of Friendship News Network (FNN), is a media enterprise run by students located at Friendship Public Charter School, 120 Q Street NE, Washington, DC 20002. FNN is
free and open to any student ages 11-18 in the District of Columbia. For more information, or to inquire about becoming an advertiser for our next issue, email: info@friendshipnewsnetwork.
com. For more information about Friendship News Network, visit our website at www.friendshipnewsnetwork.com. For more information about Friendship Public Charter School, visit our website
at www.friendshipschools.org or call 202.281.1700. Rated-T, The Magazine of Student Opinion, expresses the views of individual students and does not necessarily represent the views of Friendship
Public Charter School. Copyright © Friendship News Network, September, 2008. For permission to reprint articles, please e-mail [email protected].
4 Fall 2008
2007 RATED-T
Dear Fans of Rated-T,
Letter from the Editor
This is our most intense issue.
Despite some rough patches,
our Rated-T staff was able to
complete what I feel is a
masterpiece. This is not kiddy
press. This time we’re taking
on serious topics that relate to
what teens go through almost
everyday. Whether it’s dealing
with stereotypes or personal
struggles, we talk about it all.
Our Rated-T staff was not afraid
to write about touching subjects
that most of you out there really
need to read. I believe some
of the stories in this issue might
make you cry or even rethink
reality.
We also had some fun in this
issue. For the first time ever,
we have an anime section, Yes,
for all you anime fans we have
something you can sink your
teeth into. Oh, let us not forget
fiction, interviews, photo essays
and a whole lot more.
And of course we have our
political section covering the
presidential election of ’08.
It’s an exciting race for the
presidency and there’s a good
chance that we could have an
African American president.
So enjoy the magazine and the
talents of our brilliant editors,
reporters, writers, commentators, cartoonist, photographers
and graphic designers.
Sincerely Yours,
Flonora Merritt
Class of 2008 and rising
freshman at Trinity University.
Graphic design by Randyn Fullard an
eighth grade honors student at Blow
Pierce Junior Academy.
Fall 2008 RATED-T 5
Flonora
Merritt
Editor-In-Chief
6 Fall 2008 RATED-T
Contributors
Flonora Merrit: Editor-in-chief
Alicia Wade: Editor-in-chief emeritus, commentator
Tiara Marshall: Editor-in-chief emeritus, writer
Ahmed Davis: creative director, photographer
Maurice Williams: production director, writer
Randyn Fullard: middle school chief of staff
Shaquanda Noble: senior editor and designer
Karlton Chapman: Art director, cartoonist
Laquesha Barnes: writer
Crystal Bullluck, reporter, graphic designer
Jeffrey Daise: reporter, photographer
Jarrell Davis: writer, graphic designer
Darin Davis, photography and video
Ceyanne Foye: writer, graphic designer, anime artist
Nina Graham, reporter
DaVaughn Hawkins: reporter, graphic designer
Travis Houze: senior photographer, commentator
Reishad Jessup: anime artist
Chantell Leak: writer, graphic designer
Angel McCormick, commentor, graphic designer
Adonis Miller: photographer
Alize Morgan: writer, designer
Kadesha Ransom: writer, graphic designer
Brittany Rivers: writer, graphic designer
Imani Strong: reporter
Paul Thorpe: anime artist
Nadean Talley: reporter, writer, graphic designer
Devon Wilkerson: photographer
Alicia Weston: writer, graphic designer
Rated-T Advisors:
Marilyn Kaufman, Director, Friendship News Network, Editorial Instructor
Brian Young, Graphic Design Instructor Extraordinaire
Dexter Williams, Executive Administrative Assistant, Editor-in-chief Emeritus
Student Instructors:
Karlton Chapman, Randyn Fullard, Chantell Leak, Tiara Marshall,
Flonora Merritt, Shaquanda Noble, Alicia Wade, Alicia Weston
Principals: Peggy Pendergrass, Woodson Collegiate Academy
Ralph Neal: Blow Pierce Junior Academy
Publisher: Friendship Public Charter School
Chairman: Donald L. Hense
Thank You: Michael Spikes, Yolonda Coleman, Angela Chapelle, Kim Jones, Paula Shelton, Christian Schaeffer, Adnaan Wasey,
Larry Bradshaw, Jo Bedney, Kamil Hazel, Ms. Shakelford, Ms. Crowe, Desiree Girelle, Derrick Watkins, David Barnes, Barry Lofton,
Cordelia Postell, Derek Brown, Eddie Williams, Mr. Bush, Smitty, Rose, the entire cleaning and security staffs at Woodson Collegiate
Academy, Ms. Lois Void, Khalil Braswell, Rich Mincer, Gail Sivils, Anita Proctor, Malik Husser, Sharnise Boyd, Linda Wright,
Trooper Cooper, Cathy Reeverts, Tara Clopper, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, Dr. Demos Kazanas, Hill Harper, William
Gates, Sr., Mayor Adrian Fenty, Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield of Ben and Jerry’s, Darin Davis, Major Paul Cianciolo,
The Civil Air Patrol, The Duke Ellington School, Cal Roberson, Jennifer Brickman, The Washington Canoe Club, Ron Burke,
The Washington Informer, The Washington Post, James Kenney, The Envision program at Western Kentucky State University,
Ian Rowe, MTV, Dorothy Gilliam, Lois Page, Gerald Smith, Nekosi Nelson, Gear-Up
And a very special thank you to Patricia Brantley, Carol Seifert and Donald Hense whose continued
vision and support makes all this possible.
Funding and support: Capitol Hill Community Foundation, DC Department of Employment Services,
Prime Movers, DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, Radio and Television News Directors’ Foundation,
The Open Society Institute, The Jewish Foundation of Nashville,
Claudia Zucker, Dana and Ron Feldman, Carol Seifert, David Shapiro, Sarah Bass
Fall 2008 RATED-T 7
Breaking Stereotypes
!
!
!
s
U
l
e
b
a
L
t
’
n
o
D
T
Stereotyp
lonora
F
:
y
B
n
e
k
o
e Br
Merritt
oday’s African-American teens are almost always
labeled by the general society. Many times adults see
us as dumb, horny dangerous criminals-in-the-making,
never taking the time to get to know who we really are
before they judge. But it’s not entirely their fault. On
the news, we don’t often hear about black teens doing
good, especially in predominately black neighborhoods.
We do hear about teens getting killed by other teens or the high
teen pregnancy rate. Well now we’re giving you, our readers, the
Rated-T magnifying glass so you can take a closer look at teens like
us who break the stereotypes that follow us almost everyday. In this
section of the magazine, the teens at Rated-T want you to know that
just because society assumes something, we don’t always prove them
right. This issue of Rated-T is dedicated to breaking stereotypes in
hopes of demonstrating to our peers and readers that the biased
view isn’t necessarily the correct view.
Flonora Merritt is a 2008 honors graduate of Friendship Collegiate Academy and will be attending Trinity University in the Fall.
Illustrations in this section by Karlton Chapman, a 16-year-old junior at Friendship Collegiate Academy.
8 Fall 2008 RATED-T
d
i
p
u
t
s
t
o
n
I’m
ferently
i just learn dif
Y
ou are so stupid”, is a phrase that I am
tired of hearing. Did you ever stop to
think that maybe I can’t quite grasp
the concept of a lesson the way you’ve
grasped it? Does judging me on how fast
I learn make you feel better? Did you
ever stop to think, “Maybe it’s not her
fault? Maybe it’s the lesson. Or maybe, just maybe
she learns differently”. A lot of teens are attacked
everyday because they learn differently. They may be
called names for being placed in special education
classes. Do they even need the classes? Just because
they might show signs of “ADD” or other disorders,
doesn’t quite mean that they are slow or stupid.
Through personal experience, observation and
research I have discovered that a lot of teens have
different learning styles and I have listed them here.
Bodily/kinesthetic learners learn best through
movement and doing. They love being active and
don’t enjoy sitting still. They grasp information by
participating actively in a lesson.
Visual/spatial learners learn best by seeing
something done, and then re-enacting what was
visualized. They tend to stare much of the time and
they remember faces very well.
Logical/mathematical learners learn best
through their ability to use reason and logic.
They think conceptually in logical and numerical
patterns making connections between different
nda Noble
By: Shaqua
otype Broken
Stere
pieces of information.
Auditory learners learn best through lectures,
speeches, and talking and listening. Their ears
are their best friends and they tend to be good
eavesdroppers.
Musical/rhythmic learners learn best by basically
turning everything into a song. For example singing
the ABC song has proven to be very successful. They
like turning study materials into rhythmic, catchy
tunes. Also, they tend to focus better by listening to
music while information is being presented to them.
Verbal/linguistic learners learn best by using
words and language. They think in words rather than
pictures and they make wonderful speakers.
Interpersonal learners learn best through other
people. They tend to “die” if they don’t have friends.
They have the ability to relate to and understand
other people.
Intrapersonal learners learn best by having “alone
time” and being by themselves.
If all or at least most of these learning styles aren’t
addressed in a classroom setting, then it’s possible
that some students will not grasp the concept. They
should not be battered, teased and judged because
they don’t learn the way you do. Everyone is
different and no one is perfect.
Shaquanda Noble is a 16-year-old junior at Friendship
Collegiate Academy.
Fall 2008 RATED-T 9
r
o
o
p
t
I’m no
because I don’t wear
designer Clot
hes
vis
M
Stereotype Broken By: Jarrell Da
ost students make the mistake
of assuming that because
you’re not rocking a Gucci
purse you can’t afford it. Or if
you have a fake leather, (called
pleather) jacket you can’t
afford real leather. However
that doesn’t mean everything a person wears
depicts how much money they have, unless
you’re Paris Hilton…but she’s not important
in this story.
A wise person doesn’t tell how much
money he or she has out of caution. If you
walk around in a North Face, you could
possibly end up getting robbed in the wrong
neighborhood. Wear Gucci or some other
hot fashion and maybe everyone will want to
hang out with you. But to me walking around
in designer is good only if you want fake
friends or want to get robbed while walking
home. Maybe I should back this up with facts.
In 2004, seventy-nine North Face jackets
were stolen in Prince Georges County.
10 Fall 2008 RATED-T
According to the Washington Post, in DC,
as many as 11 robberies occur a day and on
Fridays and Saturdays there’s an average
of 5 robberies per hour. That’s about 240
robberies in two days! So, I believe that
with those statistics, walking around in D.C.
with anything remotely expensive is rather
dangerous as the robberies usually involve
guns, knives or pick pocketing.
I can tell you that I don’t ever walk
around, purposely with my North Face label
showing for everyone to see. And I don’t buy
expensive purses because I hate carrying
them around. Personally, I’d rather not try to
look like something I’m not and I’d rather be
associated with some ridiculous social label.
It’s not that I’m poor or want to stick out in
the crowd. It’s the fact that I want to be a
normal non-trendy person. How do you know
someone else isn’t like that too?
Jarrell Davis is a 16-year-old senior at Friendship
Collegiate Academy.
L
I
A
J
O
T
G
N
I
O
G
T
O
N
IM
BY 18
S
tatistics say that “You are most
likely to go to jail before 18!” This
is what my 7th grade teacher used
to scream at my class whenever we
acted up. “Really? I mean come
on!” that was all I would think
whenever she said that. C’mon
lady, think! When you turn on your TV and
you see news of people getting arrested, who
do you think you see? Adults… right? Wrong.
If you look at the news, you mostly see
black teenage boys committing crimes. Which
means your friend will go to jail at 17, your
15-year-old brother will get arrested for
stealing cars, and you’re next! Right? No?
Exactly!!
That’s the point of all this! You are not
going to jail by 18, and you know that!
According to goodnewsblog.com, “Teen
crime rate is lowest in decades!” so who’s
apman
Stereotype Broken By: Karlton Ch
most likely to go to jail by 18? Even though,
I was told I’ll be going to jail in 2005, now its
2007, and I’m not in jail. And of course you
know that you weren’t in jail in 2005, and I
hope now you’re not. So what does that make
you? An exception?
Now lets finish this. We’re going to break
this negative stereotype, proving, even
through the media and their statistics, and
even through the teens that fall prey to this
assumption, you are not going to jail by 18!
You have dreams, and you want to achieve
them. You have family and friends who
believe you won’t go to jail and rot, so why let
“a lot” mean the same as “all”? And it’s that
thinking that leads to breaking this stereotype.
Karlton Chapman is a 16-year-old junior at
Friendship Collegiate Academy.
Fall 2008 RATED-T 11
y
c
n
a
n
g
e
r
P
n
e
e
T
a
I’m NoWt
aiting to Happen
ston
F
irst things first: I am not a statistic!
I am not what you expect me to be
and I am NOT a teenage pregnancy
waiting to happen.
Here are the facts. Every year
almost 750,000 teenage girls (ages
15-19) become pregnant. 34% of
young women become pregnant at least once
before the age of 20. 8 in 10 pregnancies were
unintended and 79% are to unmarried teens.
Teenage abortion rates are highest in D.C.,
Maryland, New York, New Jersey, Nevada,
and California. In D.C., New York, New
Jersey, and Massachusetts the teen abortion
rate is 50% and higher.
Studies show that teen parents are less
likely to complete high school—only a third
have a high school diploma and out of that
1.5% will receive a college degree by the age
of 30 and 80% will end up on welfare. Studies
take it a step further by saying that children of
teen parents will not only do poorly in school,
but sons are 13% more likely to go to jail and
Stereotype Broken By: Alicia We
daughters will be 22% more likely to become
teen mothers. What I find most strange is
that black ethnic groups account for 9% of
all under 18 abortions, although we only
represent 3% of the world’s population.
All that being said, I will not be counted
as a percentage of any mass grouping. 34%
still leaves more than half. Even if you were
to put together the 13 and 22% failure rates,
this adds up to less than half ! A statistic might
as well be a stereotype when it both classifies
and groups while never considering that
individuality exists! We are a people but we all
decide to make different choices.
Statistics are not always accurate and they
do not always apply to the large percentage of
individuals who defy them. Defy the stats and
make your own studies. Maybe then you’ll
find out what’s correct!
Alicia Weston is a 15-year-old sophmore at
e
t
i
h
w
t
o
n
m
’
I
just because I talk proper
ak
Y
ou know it really bothers me
when I’m in class and I answer
a question and my fellow peers
clown me saying things like,
“Why you trying to be white?” or
“Girl you think you better than
us don’t you?” But that is not
the case. Just because I speak proper doesn’t
mean that I’m trying to be white. Last time
I looked, it was called the English language,
the language we were taught as children.
I believe that all of the “ain’t’s” and verbs
without the “g” were something that we
slide into by being lazy. It is the twenty-first
century and if you want to get somewhere in
life “dis ain’t the way of goin’ ‘bout it”.
In the past people used the excuse that we
naturally talk like this because our ancestors
couldn’t pronounce words the white man
gave us. But like I said before, IT IS THE
21ST CENTURY PEOPLE!!!! Wake up!!!!!
That excuse died a long time ago with our
Stereotype Broken By: Chantell Le
ancestors. We may look at it as the way we
communicate to our people. However, they
[Whites] look at it as our ignorance. They
see it as our complacency and ultimately
our demise. I say that it leads to our death
because the world is constantly moving and
our complacency will either crumble under
pressure or move with the rest of the world.
I have ambitions to go to big places and
“talking like dis ain’t gon get me there”. Yes,
I know that this is how my friends talk. And I
know I’m not perfect and may slip up every
now and then. But at least I can say that I
am making an honest effort to correct my
English. And I hope that in the end I influence
my friends to want to make that change as
well. So if you’re in class and one of your
classmates uses proper English, “they ain’t
tryna be White”, they’re just speaking proper.
Chantell Leak is a 17-year-old junior at Friendship
Collegiate Academy.
d
r
e
N
a
t
o
n
I’m
Just Becaus
e I wear Gl
assess
rmick
M
any people stereotype me as
a nerd, which also means a
smart person just because
I wear glasses. But this is
actually false. Truth is, I am
smart, but if you look deeper
into my history, I barely made
it through school. I did just enough to get
to the next grade. I know. Sad, isn’t it? So,
whenever people see me in the street or in
public, they instantly think I’m a nerd. THIS
IS FALSE, PEOPLE!!!!! I’m not a nerd!! If
you get to know me, then I can tell you myself
that I’m smart, but to a degree. It’s just that
I don’t learn as well, or as fast as others. No,
I’m not “slow” or “retarded,” but I just learn
differently than others. For instance, I failed
one subject: Math. The point is, that I’m not
a nerd just because I wear glasses!! And I‘m
not just speaking for myself, either. There are
many non-nurdy people who wear glasses. Liv
Tyler, as well as other famous actors/actresses
wear glasses. Models wear them too. I’ve been
wearing glasses since… well forever, but that
doesn’t make me any less of a person. In fact,
with my glasses I’m a big hit with my friends.
Stereotype Broken By: Angel McCo
People with glasses are actually cool human
beings too, with just a tad bit of a vision
problem. Of course, there are alternatives
to glasses. There’s Lasik eye surgery, and
contacts. But I chose glasses, because one--I
didn’t really have a choice; two--they come in
really cute frames and colors; and three--well
because they help me see. I guess that last
one’s the real important reason.
Some people with glasses help create the
stereotype that nerds are smart and many are
actually smart. But the same goes for people
that don’t wear glasses—like Albert Einstein.
He discovered the theory of relativity, and
the speed of light. Which means, if you
travel faster than the speed of light (which is
186,000 miles per second), and come back a
thousand years from now, you’ll still be the
same age. The theory itself is cool, and very
informational. This proves that many people
with or without glasses may or may not be
smart and may or may not be nerds. Therefore
this stereotype is not accurate.
Angel McCormick is a 15-year-old sophomore at
n
a
t
s
u
J
I’m Not
African-American
I
am tired of being forced to label myself
“African-American”. Neither I, nor
my parents or grandparents were born
in Africa. If we’re labeled “AfricanAmerican” because our ancestors were
from Africa, then why are Caucasians
called “Americans”? Shouldn’t they be
labeled “European-Americans” since the
first whites were colonists and not natives?
The only people I believe should
be labeled “American” are the Native
Americans because they were here
first. When I read books about AfricanAmericans (who were born in America) it
Stereotype Broken By: Laquesha
Barnes
irritates me. When I take standardized
tests, I feel forced to check the AfricanAmerican box.
The term, “Black American” is not any
better than African American. Should I be
called “Black-American” even though the
majority of my ancestors’ were many shades
of brown and black...not the color black?
Why should anyone have to settle for a
label that not only doesn’t fit, or is not even
accurate?
Laquesha Barnes is a 16-year-old senior at
t
U
O
S
U
t
n
u
o
c
Don’t Beca
use
WE’RE Not White M
En
Written by Flonora Merritt
F
or over 200 years, the United States had
white male presidents with the same
tired idea and fake promises. We were
lucky to get a few good presidents like
Washington, Lincoln, JFK, and Bill
Clinton. In my opinion, the rest just
don’t compare to them. Now in 2008,
it is very possible we can have a black man or a
white woman as president, or a woman as vice
president. Is America ready for such a big change?
Women and blacks have been oppressed for
centuries. In the old days, women were given
certain roles like cooking, cleaning and obeying
their husbands. Blacks were considered to be 2nd
class citizens and were given few opportunities.
Today, roles have changed. More and more
women are thriving in the work force. Women
are even becoming more powerful in politics.
Take a look at who’s the leader of the House of
Representatives. It’s a female, people! Girl power
is growing everyday and it will never stop.
Blacks are not left out of the change. Blacks
have been and will continue to dominate anything
if they put their mind to it. Blacks have flourished
in the entertainment and business industry. More
blacks are entering the field of medicine. Yet,
on and Barack Obama
Stereotype Broken By: Hillary Clint
there are very few blacks making a change on
Capitol Hill. We do have Eleanor Holmes Norton,
Rev. Al Sharpton and Rev. Jesse Jackson on the
political scene but the numbers are still small
compared to hundreds of white politicians on
Capitol Hill. Now that Barack is running
for president, more blacks may be inspired to
get into politics.
Hillary and Barack clearly demonstrate that
they go beyond those stereotypical roles. Hillary
represents one of very few women in politics
who have made it to the top and Barack shows
that blacks are capable of doing anything. These
two presidential candidates represent perfect
examples for our generation. Hillary is a strong
political leader and was taking action even while
her husband Bill Clinton was in office. Barack is
determined to make changes in the country and
is often thinking of the well-being of its youth.
Hillary and Barack did not fall into these roles
accidentally. They are making history.
Flonora Merritt is an honor graduate of Friendship
Collegiate Academy and will be attending Trinity
University in the Fall.
The Election:
Why Should You Care?
Commentary by Tiara Marshall
Graphic design and photo by Ahmed Davis
T
he election is very important because it determines
the fate of our country. Of course adults can relate
to this, but what about teens? The main question
that teens ask is “WHY? Why should I care?”
It is a legitimate question. If teens cannot vote, then why
should they care?
Well the answer is simple. Teens should care about the
election because it impacts their future. Teens who are too
young to vote can still influence and inform eligible voters (like
parents or teachers) to elect the best candidate for the job.
Whoever is elected now could impact what happens when you
become an adult.
Whoever is elected, Barack Obama or John McCain,
will decide if more money goes toward education or the
war in Iraq. The new president will decide if we invest in
offshore drilling or alternative energy which can contribute
to a problem or resolution when it comes to transportation.
When teens go to college in the near future, college may
not be affordable if more money goes toward a war instead
of education. And health care will be a big factor for teens,
because when teens turn 21 if they have to pay for their
own benefits, including health care, they may or may not
be able to afford it.
Most likely the president that is elected will do eight years
in office. Therefore, even someone who is 13 now will be
impacted eight years later, when he or she turns 21. It doesn’t
matter what age you are or are going to be because one way or
another, America’s leadership is going have an effect on you.
That is why you should care, no matter how old you are.
Tiara Marshall is a junior at School Without Walls. Ahmed Davis is a
junior at Friendship Collegiate Academy.
On the Campaign Trail With Obama
L
One Man, Many Changes
Commentary and photo by Alicia Wade. Graphic Design by Ahmed Davis
L
ycoming College, Williamsport PA, April 18, 2008. He walks into
a hot overcrowded gymnasium with a predominantly white
crowd and smiles, making the entire situation just a little cooler
than it was just moments before he arrived. The audience roars
when he enters with minutes of nonstop hand claps, whistling
and yelling for this guy who believes in change…”Obama,
Obama, Obama!!” So what is it that makes these people who live
here in Williamsport, PA have so much faith in him? He relies
on them for their votes and they rely on him for change. How
will this all come together? This is the question that ran in the
back of my mind, as I, for the first time, had the chance to watch
up-close-and-personal, this African American candidate with so
much potential, deliver a “naturally from-the-heart speech” to the
people in the gym.
Starting out by joking with the crowd about his being late,
he naturally created an atmosphere that made everyone feel like
one big family. So, the essential question that’s running in the
back of many minds is, “Why does he want to run?” He states
that he isn’t running because of some long-held ambition or
because he thinks it’s his turn or because it’s owed to him. He tells
the crowd he is running because of what Martin Luther King
once said, because of “the fierce urgency of now”. With a strong
approach, he shows that he came prepared for anything thrown
his way. He touches on the situation we are all affected by in some
way…the wars. He says the war in Afghanistan with Al Quaeda
can’t be avoided and the other, the war in Iraq should have been
avoided altogether and ended long ago. He discusses the changes
that need to be made and how he can bring about that change.
He talks to the Pennsylvanians about their issues. He understands
that they need change as well. He can bring that. Repeating that
he is about change, he makes the statement stronger and stronger
each time around, no longer claiming “if ” but “when” he
becomes president what he can and will do. He goes on to speak
to the audience about the problems they face in Pennsylvania
stating that manufacturing jobs are being outsourced to Mexico
and family incomes in Pennsylvania are not keeping up with the
rest of the country.
He emphasizes the fact that prices for things now are
simply outrageous, showing that he as a citizen, understands that
healthcare, gas, grocery and college prices all are a part of the
long list of things we pay more for. We are in need of change and
a change can and will be granted if and when there is change in
the office of the presidency.
He goes on to explain that the cost of these changes should
in no way shape or form be a major problem because we can take
the 10 billion dollars being wasted in Iraq and make something
positive out of it. Offering faith and the hope, he tells the crowd
that there is no problem we can’t solve and no destiny we can’t
fulfill. He’s confident. He knows he has the support. It’s obvious.
During a question and answer session, one audience
member stated that he knew Obama would win in November
2008, but the ultimate question is—what he would do to stay
there until 2012? And the confident, but not cocky, Obama
replied “actually it’s 2016”. He’s got it.
The audience found his message to be that change was
needed. They were ready to make this fearful move that America
has backed away from for the longest time. One woman named
Darby explained that she hadn’t been this excited about politics
for 40 to 50 years…ever since we lost Bobby Kennedy. He has
definitely inspired the youth. A young audience member, Jennifer,
said she has never endorsed a candidate before and that he would
be the first she was really interested in. She said she really likes
the fact that he forces people to discuss race issues because they
have been pushed aside for a while now.
Overall, Obama admits that change is something that takes
time and he let it be known that he is convinced that change
doesn’t happen from the top down. It happens from the bottom up.
Just like “Goodtimes”, we should consider ourselves “moving on up.”
Obama is the change that America for the longest time
was afraid to grasp. He has slowly but surely opened the door
to many. He has helped us believe that it’s the change that we
constantly avoid that we need the most. As one of his supporters
would say, “Its time to take care of home, take care of our
country and its definitely time for change.”
Alicia Wade is a junior at School Without Walls. Ahmed Davis is a junior at
Obama Appeals to Pennsylvanians
With His Message of Change
Story and photo by Tiara Marshall. Graphic Design by Ahmed Davis.
W
W
ILLIAMSPORT, PENNSYLVANIA, April 18, 2008.
consumption because higher prices for fuel equals less money
Obama For Change…What does it mean? I had a chance
for workers which leads to cutting corners and unpleasant
to know what that meant first-hand when I attended one of his
trips for passengers. He also said that finding the right type of
rallies at Lycoming College in Williamsport, PA, where Obama
environmentally-friendly fuel for energy is going be a long-term
had another theme called, “On Track for Change”. It was
problem. So the solution will also be long-term. He said that war
exciting to see what looked like a thousand people coming out
is one of his main priorities, and that he has a plan for getting
to support Senator Barack Obama. Everyone seemed to have an
the troops out. He emphasized that the $10 billion dollars going
idea of what they wanted to change in America and it seemed
to the war every month can be used for something else.
that Senator Obama appealed to everyone’s needs. At this
At the rally, I did not get a chance to ask him a question
particular rally, he showed that he truly is a man of change.
nor did I get an interview with him. I did not realize how tightly
Arriving late didn’t stop Obama from using his sense of
packed his schedule was. Nevertheless he made me feel like he
humor to appeal to the crowd. While being comical, Obama still
is truly going to be a president with the interest of the common
tackled some very important issues and questions. The words
people at heart. He said that the common people fund his
that really appealed to me came home when he said, “The
campaign—not lobbyists. He said he works for working people
American People are desperate for change”. Speaking like a true
and he wants tax cuts—not for Wall Street but for Main Street.
American citizen and now just someone in Congress, Obama
Obama really appeals to me and people my age. He
emphasized that after eight years of the Bush Administration,
made me feel like he actually cares about me. I truly believe he
change is a must. At this rally, he did mostly Q&A. People asked
wants me to go to college by making colleges affordable and by
him about what he would do to make college affordable, fix
giving each student a $4000 tuition credit. He even said that
the No Child Left Behind Act, solve the problems that the airlines
he would pay teachers more. When he said that $150 billion
face because of the economy and bring the troops home
will go to energy technology, my heart soared because I am an
from Iraq. Obama answered that under his plan students will
environmentalist. He just wants to change the world altogether.
receive more money with a $4000 tax credit and lower interest
At the rally, I really liked what he was talking about and that’s
rates on student loans. He said he will strengthen the No Child
how he won my vote.
Left Behind Act by fixing the flaws and financing it with federal
funds. For the airlines, he said that it is all a matter of energy
Tiara Marshall is a junior at School Without Walls.
Ahmed Davis is a junior at Friendship Collegiate Academy.
Change We Can Believe In
OBAMA VS McCAIN
Going Beyond Appearance
by Brittany Rivers
Who will succeed Bush as our 44th president? You’re probably hoping it’ll be Barack
Obama. But do you really agree with his opinions or are you merely conforming to what
those around you believe? For instance, are you pro-life or pro-choice? If you’re for abortion, then you may agree more with Obama, but if you’re pro-life, McCain may be the
candidate for you. So who’s the better candidate? Make you own choice instead of agreeing
with who you think you “should” agree with. Read their opinions on important topics today—from the Iraq War to high taxes. And then YOU decide who’s the better candidate.
The Iraq War
One of the biggest issues today is the Iraq War. The
war started five years ago on March 20, 2003 and still
gose on today. Thousands have died as a result of this
ongoing war, including tens ofw thousands of civilians.
McCain Says: “It would be a mistake to end the war
immediately. Ending the war now, without any real result,
would mean the past five years would be a waste. Leaving
Iraq so soon, where it hasn’t changed, is almost the same
as leaving it as “a haven for terrorists. We should finish what
we started and come up with a better way to leave Iraq
as a democratic country.”
How It Affects You: The way it looks now, this war
is going to continue for at least another year, possibly much longer. That means more soldiers will
be needed. Will your cousin be next? Your brother?
Maybe your father? Or possibly even YOU?
Obama Says: “This war was a mistake and we need to
come up with a way to responsibly end it without any
disastrous results. We need to devise a plan that would end
the war by the end of summer 2010 while simultaneously helping Iraqi leaders learn to “secure their own country”
without the U.S. Army’s help.”
No Child Left Behind
McCain Says: “The NCLB law should stay in place. It
should not be revoked, just changed. It was a good start in
bettering our education system and has proved effective in
some places. There are some things that need to be fixed with
this law, especially some parts dealing with minorities, but it
shouldn’t be “scrapped” altogether.”
President Bush created the No Child Left Behind act
to help better our education system. The law put an
emphasis on preparing children for standardized tests
and hiring qualified teachers. Whether or not the law
was effective is debatable.
How It Affects You: As a student, this act affects
who your teachers are, how you learn, how your
learning is measured, among other things.
Obama Says: “The goal of the law was good but it ended up
being ineffective because it wasn’t carried out right.
Millions of students are still reading below their grade level,
America still has the highest drop out rate, and a lot of students
who do graduate do not go on to college. Millions of children
are obviously still being left behind. We should focus more on
the teachers instead of focusing solely on tests because teachers
are the ones who are supposed to help
better our students.”
Healthcare is an important issue in today’s society.
Because of rising prices, many are unable to afford
healthcare for themselves and/or their family.
Over the years it seems insurance has become
higher and higher.
How It Affects You: Have you ever seen the movie
John Q? The movie is based on a father trying to find
a way to pay for his son’s surgery after he finds out his
insurace doesn’t cover it. When he is unable to raise
$250,000 in time, he holds patients in the hospital
hostage, his only demand being that the hospital give
his son the surgery. Realisticly we can’t all kidnap
people to pay for our hospital bills. Therefore, we
need our leaders to find ways to make healthcare
more affordable.
Money: Rising Prices
America is known for being one of the richest countries in the world. However, in the last few years our
economy has been declining. Due to the war, we are
in debt and prices are rising. People are losing jobs or
are unable to find work and quite frankly, it’s becoming
hard for alot of Americans to make ends meet. Instead
of living, many Americans today are merely surviving.
How It Affects You: Not only is it harder for you to
get that after-school job to buy that new outfit you were
eyeing, but the more your parents have to spend on
basic nessecities the less they can afford to spend on you.
Abortion: Pro Choice
or Pro Life?
Whether or not the constitution protects a woman’s
right to an abortion has been debated for decades.
Currently, abortion is legal in America as a result of the
1973 Roe vs. Wade case. However, the case’s decision
still didn’t douse the debate on whether or not abortion
is morally right.
How It Affects You: Laws on abortion affect females,
so every girl should be concerned about where a
president stands on this issue. It affects males as well,
because it is well known that females don’t get pregnant
by themsleves.
McCain Says: Instead of people receiving insurance
through their jobs, to encourage healthcare and help with
costs, taxpayers will receive a $2500 ($5000 for families)
deduction on their taxes to get their own insurance. The
money will go to the insurance company and if there is any
left over, the money will be deposited into a health savings
account. Also, awareness should be raised on the different
insurance companies available to Americans.
Obama Says: Americans should have the same healthcare
plan that Congress has. That plan states that every American is eligible and no one can be turned away. It will pay for
any medical need, including psychological treatment. You
will also be able to switch jobs and still have the same healthcare plan. And those who wish to have a private insurance
plan instead of this one would be able to do so.
McCain Says: “To help Americans with the constantly
rising gas prices, a “summer gas tax holiday” should be put
in place. This would mean that between Memorial Day and
Labor Day, there would be no tax on gas. The reason it is
becoming so hard to pay for basic necessities is because taxes
are so high. Plans should be put in motion to lower taxes for
Americans.”
Obama Says: “The problem is that salaries are staying the
same while prices are rising. The tax cuts now are favoring the
wealthy whereas the middle and lower class are getting
the short end of the stick. To make things fair, working Americans should receive a $500 tax cut ($1000 for families).”
McCain Says: “With a couple of exceptions (rape, incest,
mother’s life in danger) abortion should not be legal and the
Roe vs. Wade decision should be overturned. However, as of
right now, it shouldn’t happen because women would resort
to illegal, dangerous abortions. Instead we should work on
getting to a point where abortion isn’t necessary. We should
work on improving our foster care system and encouraging
more people to adopt.”
Obama Says: Abortion is a personal decision. It is a
woman’s right to be able to decide whether or not to terminate
her pregnancy. No one wants to have an abortion. It’s a tough
decision that affects the woman the rest of her life. But if she
feels it needs to be done then she should have that right. Instead of fighting about whether abortion should be an option,
we should be coming up with ways to stop people from putting
themselves in situations that cause unwanted pregnancies.
Change We Can Believe In
Healthcare
Brittany Rivers is a 2008 graduate of Friendship Collegiate Academy.
Graphic design by Ahmed Davis is a junior at Friendship Collegiate Academy.
T
his country is slowly going down the
toilet. To be honest I’m not very flush
myself. The United States, once known as the greatest
country in the world, is now nothing but a laughing
stock. We once had one of the strongest armies in the
world and now it has been diminished and crippled in
Iraq. Gas prices are getting higher and higher with no
end in sight and people are having trouble getting to
work. According to brillig.com, the United States has a
huge debt, which is now about 9 trillion dollars. I didn’t
think that trillion was a real number until I heard it. The
Bush Administration has messed things up so badly that
it seems as if the Federal Emergency Management Agency
(FEMA) still hasn’t learned its lesson. California is still on
fire because its forests are dry from no rain. I don’t think
that it’s been fire-free for several months. Glaciers are
slowly melting causing the oceans to rise and since DC is
so close to the Atlantic Ocean, we might as well buy our
boats and swimsuits now. There’s hardly any ozone left
and it’s getting hotter and hotter every summer. Maybe
it won’t be long before the Sun burns us all alive.
All this being said, I doubt that any president
can come up with an effective plan to fix all of these
enormous problems. It’s doom day for us all. And I
The Future Looks Bleak
Commentary and Design by Flonora Merritt
whoever becomes the next president will have a lot on his
plate and I doubt he will be able to clean it.
You may ask why I feel this way. The answer is all
around you. The economy is so messed up that now
teens are having trouble
finding summer jobs,
something that used to
be a snap. According
to CNN.com only 34.2
percent were expected
to work this summer
because most adults
are taking on second
jobs at places where
teens traditionally
work. That is a low
percentage. If teens
who need to work can’t
get summer jobs then
how are they supposed
to pay for college,
books, clothes and
other necessities. And
let’s not forget about the increasing price of gas and food.
Teens gotta drive and eat too.
And oh yeah, how about this weather we’ve been having.
It’s crazy right. In fact it’s down right insane. In the
midwest there’s nothing but floods. They’re going
through what New Orleans went through in 2005 and
believe it will take a great miracle for everything to be
right again. Like R.E.M said, “It’s the end of the world
as we know it…” but I don’t feel fine.
“It’s the end of
the world as we
know it...” but I
don’t feel fine.
Flonora Merritt is an honors graduate of Friendship
Collegiate Academy and will be attending Trinity
University in the Fall.
A
mericans seem to take the need to find
alternative energy sources lightly. No matter
what, petroleum eventually will run out and
cease to exist, because it’s a natural resource,
and it’s not renewable. Scientists say that oil
reserves will only last 25-40 years, which is not
a long time at all. If an answer is not found, then America will
be in trouble.
Despite this potentially awful fate, I believe that America
will find a solution to the problem at hand. America has a
knack for bouncing back from terrible situations, i.e. The Great
Depression. Scientist are already coming up with potential
solutions to the energy problem, like using more hydro (water),
wind and solar power. I believe that in 10 to 15 years, America
will have found environmentally friendly energy sources
and then will share them with the rest of the world. That
is what America does—solve its problems and then help
solve the world’s problems.
booming, those same people can sell high and get lots of money
With everyone selling stock right now if you buy low, then
when the country gets back on its feet, you can sell high and make
lots of money.
One thing I believe is that, a stable country ALWAYS, gets back
up. All it needs is good leadership, and with the general election
coming, I believe America will be up on its feet in no time.
Unemployment rates are very high right now, which is very bad
for everyone, especially teens. In America, jobs go to people in
order of priority, first adults and then teens. If adults cannot find
jobs, then teens won’t be able to find a job either. Sad, but when
America gets back up for round two, this will all be fixed.
Crime rates increase when people do not have enough money
to feed their families and it’s unfortunate but all that is required
is patience. The government is working on several solutions right
now and although there will be no true solution; they are working
to fix the NAFTA agreement which was responsible for so many
American jobs going overseas. If jobs stop going oversees or to our
The Future is Strong
One of the biggest
problems facing America
right now is the current
recession. Due to the Bush administration’s poor business and
economic decisions, as well as an unnecessary war in Iraq, trillions
of dollars are being wasted everyday. Our country’s money is not
really benefiting its people right now. In addition, the value of the
dollar is falling, inflation is increasing, foreclosures are increasing,
etc; Furthermore, if American troops do not get out of Iraq soon,
I believe America will face a depression.
This may sound bad, but there’s another way of looking at the
problem. In order for a stable economy to thrive, it sometimes
has to fall. If an economy does well all the time, with businesses
thriving, prices would go up and stay up and then people would
have a hard time. It seems contradictory but it is not. Stock
traders call it ‘buy low, sell high’. A good example of what I am
talking about is the example of Microsoft. Microsoft first started
when the demand for technology was low and everyone who
bought stock in Microsoft bought low. Now that Microsoft is
America has
a knack for
bouncing back
from terrible
situations...
neighboring countries,
then Americans can
have jobs again.
Health care is also an issue that can be resolved by the
government. Right now, America is one of only a few countries
that does not have universal health care. That is a very big issue
because it is very hard to receive medical attention without it.
When I had a surgery that cost $16,000 dollars, my mother didn’t
have to pay because she has good health insurance, but imagine
someone who did’t? I believe that the new president and Congress
will make sure that health care will be one of the first bills put on
the floor of Congress and signed unto law.
Education is a big issue because with more technological
advances, a good education is essential. Most likely, a high
school diploma is essential at the minimum. Although the Bush
Administration has poor country-running skills, it did attempt to
address education with the No Child Left Behind Act. Both McCain and
Obama said they will fix the flaws of the act and make it better.
Climate change is a problem that America is going to have to
adapt to because nobody can really control nature. Climate change
is evident in the frequent natural disasters from hurricanes to
wildfires. However, the solution will come in the form of helping
the people overcome those natural disasters and FEMA, (Federal
Emergency Management Agency), is making an attempt. Progress
always comes from continually attempting to solve problems.
Overall, when you look at both sides of the story, the situation
doesn’t look that bad. Actually, the situation seems bright. I do
believe that in the future, America will once again flourish and
prosper. I believe that with the right leadership and resources,
America can be at the top of the world’s food chain again.
Tiara Marshall is a 16-years-old junior at School Without Walls.
a
m
a
b
O
?
Obama
Prodigy or Inexperienced?
?
a
m
ba
O
ama
b
O
Since announcing his presidential campaign in February 2007, Barack
?
Obama has laid out an extensive agenda for change which includes
ending the war in Iraq, increasing energy independence, decreasing
the influence of lobbyists and promoting universal health care. Even
with his innovative agenda for America, the biggest problem he faces
is what critics elsewhere call, “inexperience”.
Yes, inexperience. In addition to the “race card” being played many times, the “inexperience card” gets played even more
when pundits (so-called media
experts) mention his name. The same people who play that card say that his
naïveté shows up when he presents these “quixotic ideas” about the
changing America.
However, there are two sides to every story
?
and although pundits may say that
he’s inexperienced, I say that he is a
PRODIGY. Sounds like a quixotic idea?
Maybe. But then again, think about
Mozart. Johannes Chrysostomus
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, the
musical prodigy, started composing
his first musical works at the age of
five. At five years old Mozart really
did not have any experience playing
music but yet he wrote complex musical
pieces. The same story applies to
Obama. He really has no experience
but yet he has demonstrated time
and time again that he can be the
?
Obama
O
a
m
a
? Ob
?
a
m
a
b
O
Obama Obama
?
?
a
man for the job. For instance, as a freshman senator, Obama
background and his working-for-everything-he-has-ever-had
introduced “The Iraq War De-Escalation Act of 2007,” a
story, gives him the right to say, “I understand what you are
well thought out bill to cap troop levels in Iraq, begin phased
going through”. Presidents before him were white or usually
redeployment, and remove all combat brigades from Iraq
came from a wealthy background, which meant that they
before April 2008.
never experienced being black, poor, in poverty or working
Barack Obama is a political prodigy because he has
two jobs to buy the food on their tables. Being black, Obama
developed an agenda for America that people with decades
grew up having to work twice as hard for everything he has
of experience couldn’t even dream of. Who says you need
and will ever get. He knows the hardships that the working
experience to run a country? Running the country was
class goes through. The Bush family before him had stuck to
supposedly in our currentt president’s blood and family.
the stereotype that the person who runs the country has to be
He was supposed to be the best president because he had so
uptight, dressed in suits and speaking properly all the time.
much experience and look what happened. George W. Bush
Obama had the common sense to show the America people
ran one of the wealthiest, thriving countries into the ground.
that if he is going to be a man of change, it all starts with his
Obama
Obama
?
In this case, experience was simply passing down ideas
from past presidents to future presidents in order to run the
??
?
?
persona. When Obama gives rallies and speeches, he speaks
from his heart and you can tell because of his analogies
country. For instance, if being dependent on other countries
and occasional mispronunciations. The media often shows
for energy was a bad business decision from the start, a smart
Obama off the campaign trail, playing his favorite sport,
president, with his own mind, would have stopped it and
basketball or dancing on a talk show like Ellen. I don’t think
found an alternative solution. However, our current president
that I have ever seen a picture of any political figure without
with “experience” just took the advice and ideas from previous
a suit. When Obama shoots jumpers from the three-point-
presidents and continued the bad idea. Therefore, logically, it
line, it makes me realize that he is just like me. Barack Obama
would only be smart for this country to look towards a man of
is a common human being just like me; only difference, he’s
change who has fresh ideas for America.
running for president. On that note, it’s time for America
?
?
Obam
a
Obama
?
a
It’s not just Obama’s ideas that make him a prodigy.
It’s also his ability to connect with the American people
on a common and more personal level. Obama’s minority
?
Obama
m
a
Ob
to experience leadership from the mind of a prodigy, from
the mind of Barack Obama. And so I leave you with this
question, is Obama inexperienced or is he a prodigy?
Tiara Marshall is a junoir at School Without Walls. Illustration by Karlton Chapman, a junior at Friendship Collegiate Academy. Graphic Design
by Ahmed Davis, a junior at Friendship Collegiate Academy.
by Shaquanda Noble
We all know money doesn’t grow on trees. In fact
nowadays it’s a little hard to get. So why does
the price of gas slowly rise and now thanks to the
Metro Board, metro fare?
Starting Sunday, January 6, 2008,
metro fare rose to its highest ever in
the history of metro. Bus fare is now
10 cents more for those paying with
cash, and regular rail fare is now 30
cents more and 75 cents more during
rush hour. However, prices are still
the same for SmarTrip card users.
The Metro Board’s reasoning for this
sudden increase in transprotation is to
help close a budget short fall. If fares
weren’t raised, then Metro would have to
cut service. These shocking prices are
affecting people all over the Metropolitan
area, especially SmartPass users who
are now paying $27 a month instead
of $22. A lot of families couldn’t afford
metro fare last year, and now it’s
even worse.
About 84% of students in Maryland,
the District of Columbia and Virginia
depend on Metro as their way of
transportation to and from school. For
those ‘’not so well off’’ families, some
students might not be able to make it to
and from school. High school student,
Alicia Weston states, “When metro
fares rose it was as if I was working to
get to pay for work.” Schools are doing
all they can to provide token slips and
discounted fare cards, but eventually
they won’t be able to do much. If
transportation prices continue to rise I
wonder what’s next.
Shaquanda Noble is a junior at Friendship Collegiate Academy.
Rated-T Interviews Mayor
Reported by Nina Graham
Graphic Design byRandyn Fullard
In April 2008, DC Mayor
Adrian Fenty visited
Friendship Public Charter
School’s newly opened
Friendship Southeast
Academy to commemorate
the 40th anniversary of the
assassination of Dr. Martin
Luther King. After he finished
delivering his speech to the
students at the Academy,
FNN Reporter Nina Graham
had a chance to interview
Mayor Fenty before he left.
Nina: What is your purpose
in being here?
Mayor: Ah, my purpose
is to not only celebrate the
memory and the legacy of Dr.
Martin Luther King Jr., but
also to acknowledge the great
work of educating young
people here in Washington,
DC at Friendship Public
Charter School, specifically
this new extension on the
Southeast campus.
Nina: How did Dr. King’s dream influence you?
Mayor: Well, I think that Dr. King inspires all of us
in different ways, but he was someone who stood up
for what he believed in. He had a saying that went….
ah…how did it go, I believe it goes along the lines of “if
you don’t stand for something, you fall for anything.” He
really stood for what he believed in and I try to do that in
everything I do as mayor of the District of Columbia.
Nina: Is there a specific quote of Dr. King’s that you
follow on a daily basis?
Mayor: You know I thought that was a good quote. But
try this, “A man that doesn’t have anything he’s willing to
die for, isn’t fit to live.” That’s another good one.
Nina Graham is a 15-year-old sophomore at Friendship Collegiate
Academy. Randyn Fullard is a 13-year-old student at Blow Pierce
Juinor Academy.Jarrell Davis is a 16-year-old senior at Friendship
Collegiate Academy. Layout by Randyn Fullard.
Anime
Illustration by Karlton Chapman
KC
A lmos t Ev erything Yo u Ne e d t o K n o w A b o u t A n i m e
By Flonora Merritt and Rated-T Staff
Anime is a growing phenomenon that has taken the United States by storm. In case
you are unfamiliar with anime, it’s Japanese animation. You know, like Pokemon,
Bleach or Naurto. It’s amazing. Anime encompasses many forms of media—from
TV shows to movies to manga (graphic novels) to video games. It has become so
popular that there are increasing numbers of anime conventions coming to our
area and new anime movies like Speed Racer, which came out in May. With that
being said, Anime Replay is here to fill you in on the world known as Anime. You’ll
get an inside look into the Anime USA Convention, admire great fan art from our
Friendship Public Charter School students and get a look at an up-and-coming anime
artist. In short, you’ll find lots of good info about anime right here in this issue.
Flonora Merritt is a 2008 graduate of Woodson Collegiate Academy. Karlton Chapman is a junior at Woodson Collegiate Academy.
Anime Aritist Chris Malone Brings His Dream
to Life With His Cartoon Blue & Blonde
By Fl onora M e rri t t
C
hris Malone is a 23 year-old surfer from Northern Virginia.
He started surfing and drawing when he was six years old. In
fact, his whole family surfs.
Malone’s father is over 60 years
old and still boogie boards to
this very day. Currently Malone
is a cartoon major at Virginia
Commonwealth University.
But these days Malone isn’t just
surfing. He’s on the brink of
making the next biggest anime
series and graphic novel called
Blue and Blonde.
The cartoon is about these
two guys, Blue and Blonde, from
New Jersey who travel around
the world to compete in surfing
tournaments. Blue is more into
the “art of surfing” which means
he’s more into customizing
surfboards. He has his own
surfboard shop and his friends
are his employees. Blue is more
responsible and down to earth.
Blonde is all about catching the
waves and winning the competitions.
So far, Malone has completed one episode of Blue and Blonde
(which can be seen on You Tube at http://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=NkbsHxesVeE). His friends did most of the voiceovers
but Malone also got some professionals on his team. His video
has Greg Ayes who’s the voice of Goku (from Dragonball Z)
and Saiyuki (Saiyuki Reloaded); Michell Knotz who’s the voice
of May (from Pokemon) and Bill
Rogers who’s the voice of Brock
(from Pokemon).
Now let’s not forget about his
graphic novels. Malone has two out
right now and book three, Forever
Sunset is coming out in February.
It’s going to be a parody of Endless
Summer. That’s Malone’s style. In
his comics, Malone does parodies of
various movies. It’s kind of like how
Family Guy or The Simpsons does it.
If you want to see more of
Malone’s comics, go to his website
www.blueandblonde.com where you
can also learn more about all the
characters, join the forums and chat
with Malone himself.
Flonora Merritt is a 2008 graduate of Friendship
Colligate Academy. Photos by Karlton Chapman, a
Anime USA Convention 2007
Story by Jarrell Davis
Photos by Karlton Chapman
Graphic Design by Flonora Merriit
Ever thought about going to a local anime convention?
Last October, yours truly went to AnimeUSA 2007 with
fellow FNN reporters Flonora Merritt, Kalton Chapman
and Darin Davis. On this spread you’ll find some of our
top pics at the convention.
Artist’s Alley
So you like anime and manga art? Can you actually draw
like these guys? All right, I can’t draw either but there are
lots of talented people here at the convention who’ve created
the perfect fan art and their own original art too. They’re
even willing to let us buy the pictures they created (a perfect
fan art supply). Yes, the Chibi (little anime characters) are
adorable and in their best poses. I bought a cute Rukia
(Bleach) and Kyouya (Host Club) magnet! Hey, if you can
draw and plan to go to a convention, check and see if they
have tables available. Who knows, if they do you might be
able to join these talented people and make money.
loriofpandora.com
Art by Lori Collins
8thDayAnime.com
Art by Chris Dame
cordeval.com
art by Amelie Belcher
loriofpandora.com
Art by Lori Collins
Dealers Room
So you like Naruto or maybe Sailor Moon? Do you like those cute little plushies? Then the Dealers Room will make you
spend money without trying or thinking about it. Mangas, anime DVDs, plushies, pocky (Japanese candy), and even kimonos
(yes,kimonos) are sold in this room. If that didn’t get your attention then the authentic weapons sold in that room will!
Project Surreal
Art by Veronica Mullen
However most
cons don’t allow
people to walk
around carrying
the dangerous
weapons and if
caught you will
get booted from
the room. Booths
are set up and
lined with all
of the Japanese
goodness. If you
ever go to an
anime convention
definitely bring
money (lots of
it) and check out
that room! It will
fulfill all of your
anime desires. Just
make sure you
have money to get
home! :)
myspace.com/gbeefabrics
by Ginger Currence
Games Galore
At AnimeUSA 2007,
the game room was
full of gamers completing against each
other. Game cubes
and other game
consoles were set up
around the room
connected to TV sets
with choices for video
games. AnimeUSA
employees had a small
booth set up to sell
video games for various platforms. A DDR
contest was being
started as we entered.
NeonDragonArt.com
The art of Jessica Pfeiffer
MetalLynxCreation.com
by Jim Lovetro
DDR, Dance Dance Revolution, is a fun dance game
to play against friends or the computer. It’s a step
game with many songs to choose from. Personally, I’m
not good at the game and only play for kicks. It’s in
the game room. I suggest this room for all you people
out there who love video games and want to meet all
types of skilled people (which I, dear reader, am not!)
Karlton and Darin however highly recommend this
room. They want you guys to check it out!
Jarrell Davis, Darin Davis, Flonora
Merritt and Karlton Chapman attend
T he Hottest An im e Lis t . . . E v e r By Flonora Merritt, Jarrell Davis, Maurice Williams and Karlton Chapman
Hey there. You got nothing to watch, nothing to talk to your friends about? Do the cartoons shows
you watch now lack the realism of life? Well, luckily for you, we’ve compiled a list of the best anime out there. If you’re wondering what anime is… it’s the slang term for Japanese animation here
in America. Japanese animation is made in Japan and then is dubbed here in America for all of
us deprived fanatics. So to all you inquisitive young minds sit back, relax, and be entertained… or
informed by Rated-T’s best pics.
Best Plot
Death Note: This new fantasy horror suspense thriller will keep you at the
edge of your seats. It’s about how a high
school senior named Light Yagami finds
a notebook and discovers that if he writes
someone’s name in the notebook they
die. Light plans to use the death note to
rid the world of criminals and make a
perfect world. But L, a detective is right
on his trail. The battle between Light and
L grows more intense with every episode.
Who will catch who? Death Note is an
excellent anime show and has the potential
to be number one.
Full Metal Alchemist: Edward and
Alphonse Elric are two brothers with a
single purpose…find the “Philosopher
Stone”. It all starts when their mother dies.
When they try to bring her back, they fail.
In the process, Alphonse loses his body and
Edward looses his right arm and left leg.
Edward, the oldest brother, joins the state
military to get funding that will help lead
to the stone. As they work towards their
goal, the brothers uncover many conspiracies within the state military. They discover
that their father may be the link to the
Stone. The show is definitely fun, but some
episodes can get boring.
Samurai Champloo: This actionpacked sword fighting adventure is
number three on our list because it takes
a modern spin on the feudal era in Japan.
It’s loaded with violent scenes and has
some comedy too…that is if you think
cutting people with a sword is really good
for a laugh.
Popularity
Yu-Gi-Oh: This show is about a children’s card game called “Duel Monsters”.
The card game is based on an ancient
Egyptian game called ‘Magic and Wizards’. Yugi, the main character, is holder
of a previous Egyptian Pharaoh’s spirit.
He now works to defend the world from
shadow magic using the ancient card
game. It’s a really good show; however
the spin off (Yu-Gi-Oh GX) killed it.
FLCL (Furi Curi): FLCL is brilliantly
insane. You’ll have to watch the show from
the first episode otherwise you will be left
in the dark. FLCL was a brief series with
only about 10 episodes.
Speed Racer: This classic anime series
also made its way towards the big screen
this past May. But making it to the big
screen is not the reason why it’s on the list.
Speed Racer is a very memorable anime
show. When you bring up anime, Speed
Racer is the first thing that comes to mind.
Sure, some may criticize the show’s style,
but that doesn’t change the fact that it’s one
of the most recognized anime shows today.
Inuyasha: Kagome was a normal Japanese teenager living with her family at her
grandfather’s shrine, until the day she fell
down the closed well in her grandfather’s
old shack called the “bone eater” which
was really a time portal. She popped up in
feudal Japan and befriended the arrogant
half-breed InuYasha who was pinned to
a tree. Kagome posseses the Sacred Jewel
of Four Souls, a sacred jewel inside her
body thought to be burned and destroyed
by a priestess named Kikyo. Kagome’s
accident ultimately turns into a catastrophe as demons everywhere along with an
evil demon, Naruko, are after the sacred
jewel that only Kagome and Kikyo can
sense. To make matters worse, Kagome
becomes shattered and lost in the atmosphere. Then, Kikyo who is Inuyasha’s
first love interest is revived by an evil
demon witch and stirs up love troubles for
InuYasha who must choose between Kikyo
or Kagome. Kagome and Inuyasha travel
around feudal era Japan searching for the
shards of the Shikon Jewel and discover
more allies and enemies. This show is
more for people who are into the whole
love triangle thing as well as for people
who love to see demons go at it in some
unpredictable battles.
pilots down to Earth. After that the battles
between Oz and the Gundam Pilots began. The animation on this show is pretty
good considering the year it was made.
There’s good character development too.
The movie has the best graphics in this
Gundam series.
Best Characters
Blood +: The way the characters are
drawn in Blood + is tremendous. The
fight scenes were well done. It made you
feel like you were right in the middle of
the battle. When the chiropterans turned
into monsters it was scary theatrics. The
animation was so good that sometimes
you would think the monster would come
out of the TV and get you. The way the
chiropterans’ eyes would glow red made
me want to hide under the covers.
Zatch Bell: Zatch Bell is filled with
colorful characters. When you first look
at it, you think it’s the cute anime. You
know the type of anime, babies watch in
between Telly Tubbies and Barney. Those
cute little kids pack a punch. The power
they hold can create mass destruction.
Zatch Bell is a good show and it draws you
in to each character’s back-story. It goes
to show you that you can’t judge a book
by its cover.
Animation
Bleach: This action fantasy fully entertains the anime geek within us. It’s about
Ichigo who used to be an average high
school student living a pretty average life.
That is until he meets Rukia, a soul reaper
(grim reaper) who protects souls, hunts and
destroys Hollows. During a battle with a
Hollow; Rukia gives her powers to Ichigo
who becomes a substitute soul reaper. Ichigo continues to fight Hollows until other
soul reapers capture Rukia to execute
her for the crime of giving Soul Reaper
powers to Ichigo. Now Ichigo will not rest
until he has saved Rukia.
Gundam Wing: Organizaton of the
Zodic (OZ) has joined an ongoing struggle
between Earth and the five colony clusters.
The year is After Colony 195 (AC). In an
attempt to stop the war and bring peace to
the Earth, scientists have sent 5 gundam
Overall Best Anime
Full Metal Alchemist: See review under Best Plot.
Ghost In the Shell: This is a beautiful
looking anime that airs too late for the littluns to know about. This story is basically
a futuristic-crime series revolving around a
special anti-crime force known as “Section 9” as they crack down on “copycat”
murderers and criminals whose originators
seem to have never existed.
Blood +: This is a great Anime show that
will grab your attention. It’s about the
war between humans and Chiropterans
(vampires) that has been going on for over
a century. The heroine, Saya appears to be
a young high school girl. But looks can be
deceiving. In reality, Saya is a 173-yearold vampire-slaying machine and the present day fighters are called the Red Shield.
Details of Saya’s past lead to a sibling
rivalry between Saya and her little sister
Diva. The season finale made me cry. It
was that good. The way it all came to an
end was brilliant. Hopefully it left room for
a spin-off or another season.
Honorable Mention
Cased Closed: Jimmy Kudo is the best
detective in town, but investigating strange
people in black coats leads to his new
predicament. Jimmy is trapped in his eight
year-old body and is now trying to the find
the organization that gave him the drug
that caused it. Things don’t go as planned
and Jimmy becomes Conan Edgawa. He
stays with Detective Richard Moor and
his daughter Rachel solving cases using
the latest in spy gear. This show is very
interesting and had new cases to solve
nearly every episode, yet it wasn’t meant to
be and was cancelled too soon.
Ouran High Host Club: The rights to
this show were just given to Funimation.
Ouran Host Club is about a group of rich
Japanese teens with too much time on
their hands. What better way to spend that
time than by getting more money hosting
for the equally rich girls of Ouran Academy? The main character, Haruhi Fujioka
is a middle-class commoner and now the
newest Host working to pay off her debt.
The show follows the wacky lives of the
Host Club as Haruhi uncovers more about
her new friends. It’s a pretty good manga.
The show is new in America and will be
released by Funimation in October 2008.
Pokemon: Pikachu, I choose you! Yes,
Pokemon! Pokemon!! POKEMON!!! Ah
yes Pokemon. In a world where Pokemon
and humans coexist, a boy named Ash
Ketchem from Pallet Town turns 10…or
11. Was it 12? Whatever. Ash, who dreams
of becoming a Pokemon master, is finally
old enough to get his first Pokemon and
become a Pokemon trainer. And this begins his adventure! I never understood why
he didn’t just go get a Pokemon himself.
That’s like putting a bunch of money
in somebody’s face and saying,“Wait till
you’re older.” But anyhow, Ash oversleeps!
What a twist! So now he has to pick the
lame Pokemon, because all the good ones
are gone, and the only lame one left is
Pikachu! So Ash and Pikachu leave Pallet
Town to achieve Ash’s dream of becoming
a Pokemon master. Now it’s been 9 seasons
or so, and Pokemon is still alive and kicking. Love it or hate it, Pokemon isn’t going
anywhere anytime soon.
Yu Yu Hakashio: Yusuke Urameshi is
the normal delinquent teen in Japan. He’s
arrogant, has no problem beating a guy up
or skipping classes. However Yusuke’s life
takes a turn when he saves a little kid from
getting hit by a car and ends up dying. The
problem is that Yusuke wasn’t supposed to
die and the friendly grim reaper, Botan,
doesn’t know what do with his soul—at
least not until he agrees to become a spirit
detective working for Prince Koenma to
rid the world of high class demons sneaking past the barrier separating the three
worlds of: Spirits (Raiki), Demons (Makai)
and Humans. The show is really good and
it is one of my recommend shows!
(continued on page 78)
Fan-fic-Shi-O-Nes
by Maurice Williams
Graphic Design by Flonora Merritt
Fanfic-Shi-O-Nes is my definition to describe readers and writers of fan fiction—
a well-known writing style. Fan fiction includes stories from popular shows, videogames, manga
(japanese comic books) and other story telling media written by fans of stories like Buffy the Vampire Slayer,
Naruto, Devil May Cry, Gacha Gacha, etc. Fan fiction writers create alternate situations involving
the characters from stories they like using different, ingenious plots in different genres like romance,
drama, comedy, action, thriller and many others.
To find out what motivates Fanficiones,
I interviewed Brittany Scott, V’Sheta
Purnell-Cropper, Madre and Tia Campbell.
Everyone I talked to got into fan fiction
between elementary and middle school.
They all told me that either a friend
introduced them to this alternate universe of storytelling or they found
out about it on the internet. The main genres of fan fiction that are both
popular to read and write are romance, drama, horror, alternate-universe
(AU) and comedy.
Fan fiction writer Tia Cambell stated that she liked to write and create
stories from her favorite authors based on her own imagination. She didn’t
think she could write better stories. It was more of an outlet. She puts
real life problems and situations into her stories. and mostly writes about
Kingdom Hearts since she knows the storyline so well. But she also writes
stories based on Naruto, Inuyasha, Jak and Daxter and Gravitation. The writer
wouldn’t give us any links to past stories she’s written but she did tell us that
people want to read fan fiction because it’s fun and you might particularly
like it without having to write it yourself.
So there you have it, a true fan fiction…….uh fan…… in the flesh, well ink.
You can find fan fiction on sites like www.mediaminer.org, www.fanfiction.net
and various other websites. Fan fiction is one type of writing style that
will never die. So long as there are stories to be told there will be people to
retell them. This is Maurice Williams, a Fanfictiones, signing off. Later days.
If you have written fan fiction email it to us at info@friendshipnewsnetwork.
com and we’ll put it on our website this fall. Be sure to include your name.
Maurice Williams is a 17-year-old senoir a Friendship Collegiate Academy.
Pictures provided by Teddy Chindavong a 21-year-old artist who lives in France.
To find more of his artwork look him up at khanshin.deviantart.com.
Fan
Art
Reishad Jessup
Spider Man
Anime that’s in
your face from
Friendship
Collegiate
Academy
Fan Artists!
Paul Thorp
Samurai Jack
Paul Thorpe
Yoda
Kalton Chapman
Evolution of Naruto
THE HIDDEN GREATNESS OF...
WHAT’S HIDDEN BENEATH THE RUBBLE!
Review and graphic design by Karlton Chapman
“M
mmm ok…” is how I describe Naruto (Naa-roo-toe) . With a cliché plot,
cliché character design, and WAY-too-crazy storyline, Naruto seems to be just one big
STAY-AWAY show. But actually, there is something really great about this hit anime.
Within this cliché plot (what with Naruto wanting to be the highest ranked ninja and
all), I actually found a touching reason why it’s so great. I just burst into tears when I saw
flashbacks that depicted Naruto suffering as a child. But you had to follow the show from
the beginning to find out about this. In Naruto there are many times when flashbacks
explain why the characters do this and why they’re like that. But this is where Naruto fails.
Because when the characters are engaged in hardcore ninja vs. ninja action, a lame
flashback ruins the whole battle! Don’t get me wrong. Flashbacks help you understand the
opponent relationships, what’s on the line and the battle’s limits. But not when flashbacks last
till the end of the...snooore —HUH WHA?! Oh…yeah…the review. Yeah, yawn, the end of the show. The problem is, you’ve got
to see six whole episodes of flashbacks just to see a ninja slap a guy & make him cry.
Next, I decided to pick Sakura (Sa-ker-ra) to give you an idea of Naruto’s cliché character design. We all know how
Sakura is the pretty one who everyone is supposed to love (just like the high school movie junk you see on TV). I’ve seen it all
before. Or there’s Hinata (Hee-nah-tah), that girl who secretly likes the main character (Naruto). But Naruto (OF COURSE) is
completely oblivious to the fact. This cliché character design really makes the show predictable, but Naruto makes up for it with a
moving, intense story.
Finally, let’s get to Naruto’s crazy storyline…Okay all viewers know how Naruto possesses the mighty nine-tailed fox
demon Kyuubi in his body and how Sasuke (Sa-skay) is a survivor of a clan that was slaughtered by his brother Itachi (E-tahchee), and finally Sakura is…Sakura. Then we watch 25,000 episodes of Naruto just to find out that the fourth Hokage (Ho-kagay) sealed ol’ Kyuubi in Naruto! Then, we watch about 12,000 episodes of Naruto repeats, and another 30,000 episodes to find
out that Sasuke’s brother is called Itachi! WOW! Then we learn Itachi is a part of the mysterious group known as The Akatsuke
(Uh-ka-skee), and the Akatsuke run around stealing people’s tailed-beasts like Naruto’s Kyuubi!! This goes on forever ‘till I’m like
40 and I discover that Naruto is really a brunette!! WHOA!!
Surprisingly, even though my criticism is harsh and true, it still doesn’t change the fact that Naruto, is a great show. In spite
of the cliché plot, characters, and convoluted story, Naruto remains a favorite in my book whether I’d like to admit it or not! And for
all of you in the question mark, you can watch new Naruto episodes on Saturdays from 9:00 to 9:30 on the Cartoon Network!
An anime book about a teenage boy with the mental ability to control flames… An anime book about
a teenage boy with the mental ability to control flames… An anime book about a teenage boy with the
i
mental ability to control flames… An anime book about a teenage boy with the mental ability
tow
control
e
v
e
flames… An anime book about a teenage boy with the mental ability too
control
flames… An anime book
kR
o
B
e
about a teenage boy with the mental ability to control
flames…
An anime book about a teenage boy with
m
i
n
A
the mental ability to control flames… An anime book about a teenage boy with the mental ability to control flames… An anime book about a teenage boy with the mental ability to control flames… An anime
book about a teenage boy with the mental ability to control flames… An anime book about a teenage boy
with the mental ability to control flames… An anime book about a teenage boy with the mental ability to
control flames… An anime book about a teenage boy with the mental ability to control flames… An anime book about a teenage boy with the mental ability to control flames… An anime book about a teenage
boy with the mental ability to control flames… An anime book about a teenage boy with the mental ability to control flames… An anime book about a teenage boy with the mental ability to control flames… An
anime book about a teenage boy with the mental ability to control flames… An anime book about a teenage
boy with the mental ability to control flames… An anime book about a teenage boy with the mental abilBy Jarrell Davis
ity to control flames… An anime book about a teenage boy with the mental ability to control flames… An
Design by Flonora Merritt
Out of the Fallout:
Volume One
“Wow,” is an exclamation that describes this book. Out of the Fallout, Volume One, is an interesting read about the psychic world, written
by Veronica A. Mullen who appeared at Anime USA 2007 selling copies of her book series, Out of the Fallout. Ms. Mullen was happy to
be around the convention and had fun talking about her book series. When I interviewed her, Ms. Mullen was nice to talk to and spent
time talking about her struggles getting the book published as well as things that inspired her to keep going so she could write the book
series. One of the two heroes Jason Silver a 15-year-old teenager is a pyromaniac who can communicate using telepathy. He’s just one
of the characters in this story who are realistic and have interesting backgrounds. Jason has a connection to Michelle Teller that leads
him back into the past of their families. Michelle’s past is a sad tragic one that is slowly revealed in the book. It’s pretty interesting to
read about her life and personality in the book. Michelle was raised by her uncle, after her mother’s death. Her uncle however makes
a not-so-happy appearance trying to kidnap/kill Michelle. Jason is a boy who rebels against authority and is protective of his friend,
Michelle. The book is one I would recommend because it’s interesting and has good action scenes. The book is an excellent read
and can be bought at www.lulu.com. In addition, Ms. Mullen has written an entire Out of the Fallout series that can be found on
the website listed above.
Jarrell Davis is a 16 year-old senior at Friendship Collegiate Academy.
Flonora Merritt is a 2008 honors graduate of Friendship Collegiate Academy and will go to Trinity University in the fall.
COMING
FEBRUARY 25, 2009
T
D
E
T
A
R
Anni
iti
on
‘S
ve
rsary Ed
FEATURING:
Rated-T’s founding members...Where are they now?
THE BEST ICE CREAM IN DC
GLOBAL WARMING AND ENDANGERED SPECIES
NEWS REVIEWS AND MUCH MUCH MORE!!
FOR MORE INFO VISIT friendshipnewsnetwork.com DEC. 2008
THE WRATH OF MARIAN
In The 1600’s there was a lady named
Marian. She was 67 but looked very young.
She was very mean and when angered ran
away. One day she ran into the woods and
the further she went into the woods, the
more she began to feel lost. As she was
looking around, she stumbled upon a trunk
and it opened. She was sucked into the trunk
and was never seen again until….one day
when it was found by my great-grandfather
and brought into my house. And there under
the dining room chair it sits……
One night I got a little hungry and decided
to go for a little midnight snack. I opened
the fridge and pulled out some cherries to
eat. As I sat at the table I thought I felt
something crawling up my leg. I shook my leg
even though there was nothing there. During
this act, I accidentally kicked the trunk, and
Marian flew out. She made a loud shreik as
she walked though my kitchen door and made
her way down the alley. By this time I heard
a voice yelling “Marian please come back.”
I think it was my conscience, So I began
yelling “Marian, Marian please come back,”
But I was to late. By the time I said something, she was already down to the end of
the alley. Suddenly, I felt a shock and began
to cry. I turned around and walked back in
the house and as I made my way up the stairs
going to my room I heard a loud shriek.
Suddenly I saw a ghost-like creature
coming towards me. I ran to my room and
locked the door. It began banging at the
door so I hid under my covers.
Then, I woke up from this dream but I couldn’t
believe it was really a dream. It was 6:00am
so I had to get ready for school. I walked
towards the door and opened it. And there
stood Marian. I was so scared that I woke up
from my dream, This time for real, I realized
that it was actually my dad telling me to get
up for school.
After I got myself together I went
downstairs to go out the door. And there
was the trunk sitting there waiting to be
opened again…..
Fiction by Nadean Talley , an 8th student at Hart Middle
School. Photo by Travis Houze, 2008 graduate of Hyde
Leadership Academy.
enVision2008
high school photojournalism workshop
high school photojournalism workshop
“...we affect everyone we
come in contact with;
so why not affect them in a
good and positive way.”
-Ahmed Davis
enVision 2008 Participantt
Story, graphic design and photos by Ahmed Davis.
W
hat is Envision? Envision was an
opportunity for me to enhance my
abilities to become a better photographer
and a better photojournalist. This summer
I was one of nine elite students that were
chosen from across the country to participate
in five days of intense instruction at Western
Kentucky State University’s nationally
acclaimed photojournalism program. The
program, evision 2008, consisted of a very
experienced faculty that helped me and other
students that were involved with envision—
James Kenney, WKU photojournalism
coordinator; Jahi Chikwendiu, Washington
Post photographer and photography coach.
Carol Fisher, Nikon USA Inc. representative;
Francis Gardler, PJ in residence, WKU;
Nathan Morgan, Multimedia Producer
WKU; Elizabeth Lauer, Multimedia Assistant
WKU; Curtis DeGidio, Online Producer
WKU; Christopher Fryer, Lab Technician
WKU; and Weston Kenny, the sidekick. The
one thing I learned from this program is that
we are not just taking pictures for people to
view, we are taking pictures that will capture
not only a moment in time, but history
in the making. If anyone is interested in
finding out more about this program I would
encourage him or her to go forth and seize
the opportunity! Envision is your chance to
make your dream a reality.
Recently, Rated-T reporter Imani
Strong had the opportunity to
interview Ben and Jerry, the actual
founders of Ben and Jerry’s Ice
Cream. Here’s some excerpts from
the interview.
Ben: Hi, It’s Ben Cohen, the ice cream
guy and you know who else is here!
Jerry: It’s me Jerry!
Imani: Hi Jerry.
Jerry: How is school today?
Imani: Fine.
Jerry: That’s good,
are you having any
ice cream at school?
Imani: No
Jerry: No! The
school oughta sell ice
cream everyday don’t
you think?
Imani: Yes.
Jerry: Whom should we
talk to about that?
Imani: The principal.
Jerry: The principal! Well when we’re
done you put the principal on the phone
and we’ll talk about that.
Imani: Yes. (Editor’s note: Unfortunately
the principal was not available for comment
at the time of the interview.)
Jerry: Well thank you for calling. What
are we going to talk about?
Imani: About Ben and Jerry’s, of course.
Jerry: All right, what do you want to know?
Imani: I would like to interview the both
of you for our magazine Rated-T and our
radio show. We are also doing a story on
the best ice cream in Washington, DC for
our 5th anniversary issue coming in
February 2009 and we have narrowed it
down to Ben and Jerry’s, Baskin Robbins,
and Coldstone. We are doing our taste test
at Ben and Jerry’s next. Are you ready for
the interview?
Jerry: Yeah!
Imani: What makes Ben and Jerry’s different from all the other ice cream shops?
Ben: Well I think the flavors are better. I
mean all the ice cream companies we’re
talking about have different flavors but
Ben and Jerry’s has big chunks of cookies
and candies in its ice cream flavors. We
also have sorbets and frozen yogurt in the
ice cream shops. And you can get great
sundaes, drinks, smoothies and milkshakes.
But, one of the best things about a Ben
and Jerry’s ice cream shop is that there
might be a photo of Ben and Jerry in the
store and that would be very, very good.
Imani: Is there a certain atmosphere that
you try to create for each shop?
Jerry: I think we try to create a fun
atmosphere. There’s music that plays and
people can come in and get samples of
different flavors so they can get a taste
of the flavors. And the core of the shop
is decorated. It’s very colorful. There’s a
mural with cows, clouds and green fields.
The best thing about the green fields is it is
also my last name, Jerry Greenfield.
Ben: You know I think the difference
between our ice cream and say Baskin
Robbins is Ben and Jerry’s has a lot less air
in it so it’s actually heavier and chewier.
In comparison to Baskin Robbins our ice
cream is all natural. I would be very surprised if theirs is all natural. Also we don’t
have any added colors so if you get mint
ice cream it looks white instead of green.
Imani: Out of all the jobs in the world,
what made you both become ice cream
makers?
Ben: Well, we couldn’t really succeed doing any of the other things we were trying
to do. I was trying to be a potter and make
a living making pottery and I couldn’t really sell my pots. Jerry wanted to be a doctor. The only thing we liked doing together
as friends was eating. We really both liked
to eat and we were very good at it. So we
decided we would start our own business.
And we decided we needed a business
that had to do with eating. So it became
ice cream. We also thought about making
bagels. So it was between making bagels or
ice cream. Those were the two we considered and we picked ice cream.
Imani: What is your motivation to keep
the business going?
Ben: We want the business to give back to
the community and to be a good neighbor.
We want to use the business to help with
social issues like education, healthcare and
trying to convince people that the government should be helping people instead of
bombing people.
Imani: When you initially started the
business did you expect the shop to be as
good as it was?
Jerry: No. We expected it to go out of
business because we usually fail and we
thought that the odds were that we were
going to fail. Also we didn’t really know
how to make the ice cream and we didn’t
really know how to run the business. Even
though the odds were running against us,
we though we’d like to give it a try.
Imani: Did you have any personal goals
for the business and if so what?
Ben: Well my goal would be have more of
ONE ON TWO
With Ben and Jerry
By Imani Strong
Graphic Design by Ahmed Davis
the ingredients we use to be fair traded so that
the farmers who are producing the ingredients
get a good wage for their hard work. I would
like the company to be more active in terms
of changing our government so they give the
people what they need like houses, clothes, food
and education.
Imani: What has changed since you started
Ben and Jerry’s?
Jerry: Well the company has changed quite a
bit. When we started, it was a little homemade
ice cream parlor. And now there are about 450
ice cream shops around the country. And the ice
cream is sold in grocery stores and super markets. There are now several hundred people who
work here so it’s much bigger and better known.
Also there are more interesting flavors. I think
we have a great variety of flavors.
Imani: Do you see any changes in yourselves
since you started Ben and Jerry’s?
Ben: Well I’m a lot older and my waistline is
bigger...up maybe 2 inches. I have less hair on
my head.
Jerry: Are you wiser?
Ben: Yeah, I’m a lot wiser, kinder and gentler.
Imani: What were your initial goals in the
beginning?
Ben: All we wanted to do was stay in business and have enough money to survive, and
of course to have a good time. We never really
had any initial goals for the business to be super
successful or to be very big or to make a ton of
money. That was never our goal.
Jerry: We wanted to be a community-based
business where people would like to come together and spend time.
Imani: How has ice cream changed the world?
Jerry: The interesting thing is that all over the
world no matter what country you go to, everyone loves ice cream. I think ice cream brings
people together. And I also think that ice cream
has been involved in global warming since cows
fart and the cow farts contain methane gas and
that contributes to global warming.
Imani: What is the most popular flavor of
Ben and Jerry’s ice cream?
Jerry: I think the most popular flavor is the
Cherry Garcia.
Imani: How do you
come up with the
names for the
flavors for your ice
cream like Cherry
Garcia?
Jerry: I think the
best ones are the
ones the customers
come up with.
A customer wrote
us a postcard suggesting the name Cherry Garcia.
Another customer suggested Chunky
Monkey and Chubby Hubby, a chocolate
flavored pretzel.
Imani: Can anyone get a job at Ben and Jerry’s?
Jerry: Go to our website and it lists what jobs
are available. The best job for you would be at
the scoop shop in Washington D.C. You can do
that when you are 16.
Imani: Would you consider creating a flavor
tasting internship?
Ben: I think we should mention that to the
bosses because it would be great to have flavors
that the children your age would like. Since I’m
very old, what I like may not be what you like.
But, I don’t want to you to come up with ideas
like gummy bear or bubblegum because I don’t
really like that stuff.
Imani Strong is a 7th grader at Blow Pierce Junior Academy..
Ahmed Davis is a junior at Friendship Collegiate Academy..
The Father of the
Father of Microsoft
Story and Graphic Design By
Flonora Merritt
nerds (including myself). That’s why it
was an honor to have the opportunity
to interview his father.
Now you might ask yourself, “Why
did he visit our school?” Well it turns
out that Gates Sr. is involved in The Bill
and Melinda Gates Foundation founded by
his son. The foundation funds health
and education projects including
scholarships for high school students
at our school. Gates sends his father
on trips to check on his “investments”.
You know, to find out what programs
need funding and to make sure that
the school isn’t wasting the money on
something ridiculous.
I not only interviewed Gates Sr.
but was also part of a focus group of
advanced placement and early college
students who Gates Sr. interviewed.
After we shared our experiences with
Photo by Rated-T staff memberAdonis Miller
Gates Sr., he took a tour of the school.
Before
Gates
Sr.
said
his
goodbyes,
I managed to sit down with
n March 17, 2008, the father of
him and have a chat. Now just because Gates Sr. was here on
the father of Microsoft came to
business doesn’t mean he can’t have a laugh. During the interview
visit our humble school, Friendship
he was hilarious. When asked if his son was as generous as a teen
Colligate Academy (FCA). I’m
as he is now, he joked and said, “Is any teen generous?” Nice to
talking about Bill Gates’s father,
know that Gates Jr. has changed into a giving soul.
Bill Gates Sr. In case you are
It was a real pleasure to have Bill Gates Sr. at FCA and we
unfamiliar with the genius of Bill Gates Jr., he is the creator of
hope
that he and his son come back soon. You can view a video
Microsoft. Gates was one of the visionaries who made computers
of
the
entire interview on our website, friendshipnewsnetwork.com.
personal. In other words, Gates made computers small and
O
O
compact so everyone could have one in their homes. Since 1978,
Microsoft has grown into a multi-billion dollar industry. Because
of Gates’ creation, the man is worshiped by billions of computer
Flonora Merritt is an honor graduate of Friendship Collegiate Academy and
will be attending to Trinity University in the Fall. Adonis Miller will be a
Hill Harper Reaches
Out to Youth
O
Written and Designed By
Flonora Merritt
n June 17th, 2008 CSI: NY star
and author Hill Harper came to
Friendship Collgiate Academy for
the signing of his new book Letters
to a Young Sister. Hill read a passage from
his new book to our students and gave some
words of wisdom. Girls from various ages kept
emailing and sending letters to Hill and asking
him some difficult questions. It was the same
thing with his first book Letters to a Young Brother.
So many letters were coming in Hill decided
to write a book that would answer all their
questions.
Of course, Hill is not perfect. Some of
the questions from the girls had Hill a little
stumped. I mean, this time he’s dealing with
“girl issues”. Fortunately, Hill had some backup from his friends like Mrs. Michelle Obama,
wife of Democratic presidential candidate,
Sen. Barack Obama. I am not joking. Hill
and Barack Obama were buddies at Harvard
University and still are today. So while Hill
was writing his book, he called Obama up and
asked if Mrs. Obama could help him out with
a few questions. How awesome is that.
Years ago, Hill was inspired by a book
called Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria
Rilke. Hill said the words from the book were
very powerful and it made him want to change
the way he looks at life. When Hill was a
teen, he too had low self-esteem and saw no
hope for the future. As soon as Hill read the
book, he felt that he could do anything. I was
amazed how a book could do all that. That’s
another reason why Hill wrote those books.
Hill wanted to inspire other teens that were
just like him back in the day. He wanted to use
the power of words to reach out to the youth
of our generation. It’s rare to see big stars like
him caring so much about the youth. Usually
the only time you see most celebrities reaching
out to young people is when they have to
do community service. If you have any
questions for Hill Harper you can go visit
his website www.manifestyourdestiny.
org. Three cheers to Hill Harper. HipHip Hurraaaaaaay!!!!!
Flonora Merritt is an honor graduate of
Friendship Collegiate Academy and will be
attending Trinity University in the Fall.
In Loving memory
of
RAPLH HODGE
#4
Losing someone you care
about is always a painful
experience and remembering
them can only make it better
or worse. When young people
like Ralph Hodge become
fresh memories and have to
be buried by their own parents, that’s just
UNACCEPTABLE. As a teenager I hate
to see the people I’m supposed to grow
up with “end the race early”. Especially,
when this could’ve been avoided. A split
second decision caused a precious life to
be lost and many hearts to be broken.
According to newsroom.
dc.gov, on Wednesday,
August 27, 2008, shortly
after 5 pm , police responded
to a report of gunshots in
the 4800 block of Benning
Road. On the scene and
suffering from multiple
gunshot wounds was Ralph
Hodge Jr., a fellow student
at Friendship
Collegiate Academy, who was
transported to an area hospital
and pronounced dead.
Adults such as Brian Young, an
instructor at Friendship Collegiate
Academy, felt that there have
been major negative changes in the black
community since his upbringing. Young
stated, “I never had to face the epidemic
of death that young black children have
to face today…What’s so sad is that you
guys have choices.”
Often we make the mistake
of thinking that someone
else will provide the solution
for our problems. But that
can no longer be envisioned
at our expense. We have to
do it for ourselves! Leading
by example to enforce the
change will begin with me.
But I can’t do it all by myself.
I need you.
-by Nina Graham, a junior at Friendship
Collegiate Academy.
Graphic Design by Ahmed Davis
6
2
#
:
3
8
0
0
The
Price
of
Love
7
3
The Kemba Smith Story
From Being In Love to Being in Jail...
In 1996
, Kemba Naimbi Smith
was sentenced to 24.5 years in prison—all
because she had fallen in love. Kimba
Smith grew up living a very sheltered life.
She finally received a little freedom from
her parents when she went away to school
at Hampton University in Hampton, VA.
There she met pretty-boy-on-campus,
Peter, whom she fell madly in love with.
Knowing the kind of reputation Peter
had around campus and the type of
girls he dated, Kemba just knew that he
was the one who would treat her differently. And he did. He made her feel like
she was a queen, buying her expensive
designer clothes and taking her out to
Story and Layout by: Chantell Leak
fancy restaurants. For three months Peter
treated her with the utmost respect. The
months that followed were not so pleasant.
A lavish relationship soon turned abusive.
However, Kemba remained—all because
of love. She loved Peter and thought that
he someday he would change and that she
could possibly change him. Kemba found
out that not only did he have a bad temper
but he was also a drug dealer. Yet she still
stayed with him and ended up pregnant
with his child. When the law finally caught
up with Peter, Kemba stayed quiet in fear
of what he was capable of doing. It wasn’t
until her eighth month of pregnancy that
she turned herself in. During her trial,
even though the prosecutors believed that
she did not sell or do any drugs, she was
sentenced for conspiracy to distribute 255
kilos of crack cocaine and received 26.5
years in federal prison. While in prison
she gave birth to her son who is now 12
years old. Soon the media picked up her
story and began letting the public know of
the injustice that had occurred because of
current drugs laws. Colleges and organizations all over America began to protest
and petition for her release. Finally in
2000, Former President Bill Clinton gave
her clemency and she was thus released.
Having to serve six unfair years in prison
would have taken its toll on anyone. But
Kimba did not let that experience slow
her down. Since her release, she has kept
moving and only looks back to bring
others along with her. In May 2002, she
graduated from Virginia Union University
with a bachelor’s in social work. She also
completed her first year of law school at
Howard University while managing and
continuously developing her foundation,
The Kemba Smith Foundation. Her ultimate
goal is to ensure that youth and people in
general know about the corrupted drug
laws and about love for self. She wants to
change the way the justice system treats
African Americans since we are the race
that these unfair laws disproportionately
affect. So she goes around to speak to
people about her story and explains to
them that at any moment they could be
in her shoes and that they might not be as
lucky as she was. I take personal interest
in her story and want to aid her in her
mission because I hear so many people
talk about how the system is so messed
up and how we, as African Americans
fall victim to it when we don’t have to. If
we educate ourselves on matters that we
take to heart, if we stop complaining and
actually do something about the matter
then maybe things will get done. Maybe
you or your daughter would not end up
in this same situation. Maybe your son
can actually stand up and fight to change
the system’s unjust laws. Maybe if we
take more interest in our community, we
could get the “Peters” off the street so our
young girls wouldn’t have to fall for the
things that they say. If we try to change the
community as a whole, then it would be a
lot better. Then our children can grow up
living as part of a positive reality. Many
people don’t know about Kemba Smith’s
story but it’s important to know about her.
Any of us could go through what she went
through. The current drug laws are unjust.
We fall victim to them everyday. Kemba
Smith is not the only one who has been
wrongly and outrageously sentenced. If we
educate ourselves on these matters, if we
come together and find out how to solve
such problems within our judicial system
then we can right the wrongs.
And you won’t have to read about the
Kemba Smiths anymore.
Chantell Leak is a junior at Friendship Collegiate
Academy.
Catalog shoots, runways, make up, free stuff
( clothes, shoes, cars, shades,etc) , endorsements …
The is the life of a model. I was an aspiring model.
Now I have taken on the title of ROOKIE in the fast-paced
fashion industry and though I am only 15, it seems as
though I am living the life of a 20-year-old woman.
My success in the world of fashion has made a
big difference in my life—both negative and positive.
In the process, I have become more mature.
My first photo shoot (for my portfolio) took place
at FedEx Field, home of the Washington Redskins.
During the drive I was filled with anticipation. But
I did have support from my mom and my dad. I felt
like a celebrity when I went to meet my stylist. The
make-up artist told me I had really good gorgeous skin.
Although I was nervous when I worked with the
first photographer, after the second photo shoot, I felt like
a pro. I felt as though I was the queen of that empire.
It was one of the most exciting days of my life.
Since my first photo shoot, I am more confident about asking
any question on my mind to any person in the fashion industry—
no matter what rank or how high up they are in
the industry. For example, in July, I walked into a
cute little vintage boutique called Remix. For a
long time I’d wanted to ask about how to be involved
in their runway shows. This time I asked the woman
at the front desk. To my surprise, she turned out to
be the stylist for their next show, Walk for AIDS,
hosted by Tocara with a special guest performance
by Mario. I was so excited when she invited me
to the open call for this star-studded event. Now
that I’ve gotten over my fear, booking jobs
is easy and I have made it one of my favorite
things to do. I think I have a great chance to
gain a position among the top 10 models.
Not to toot my own horn, but in my opinion, my
strut is more eye-catching than the average cat-walker.
So, I hope that my story will be an inspiration to
other young girls who are like I once was...dreaming to
put on a beautiful mask/an alter ego to hide behind and
to boost self-esteem. It seems as though modeling is now
a big trend in the DMV (D.C., Maryland, Virginia)
especially for girls my age. I think for some girls modeling
is a title. But for me modeling is a way out, a career, a dream
fullfilled, and a story that has yet to be told. I’ve learned that
just because one person doesn’t think that you’re beautiful,
it doesn’t mean that you aren’t beautiful to someone else.
‘’Big dreams are not
only aspired, they are reality’’
Alize’ Morgan, is a sophomore at Friendship Collegiate Academy
Walking in A
Model’s Shoes
Paging Dr. Noble Paging Dr. Noble Paging Dr.
Noble Paging Dr. Noble Paging Dr. Noble Paging Dr. Noble
Paging Dr. Noble Paging Dr. Noaging
aging
ble Paging Dr. Noble Paging Dr. Noble Paging
Dr. Noble Paging r
Dr. Noble Paging Dr. Noble
by Shaquand
a NoblPaging
Paging Dr. Noble
Dr. Noble Paging Dr.
e
Noble Paging Dr. Noble Paging Dr. Noble Paging Dr. Noble Paging Dr. Noble Paging Dr. Noble Paging Dr. Noble Paging Dr. Noble Paging
Dr. Noble Paging Dr. Noble Paging Dr. Noble
Noble Paging Dr. Noble Paging Dr. Noble Pag-
P
E
D
N
oble
.
ver since I was little a girl, I truly enjoyed
playing doctor. From the first time my
kindergarten teacher asked me “What
would you like to be when you grow up?”
my answer has been a doctor and that has been my answer to that
question ever since I was little. As I grew older I realized there are
plenty of different types of doctors. Almost every year I changed
my mind as to type of doctor I wanted to be. It wasn’t until
a tragic family incident occurred that I realized what I truly
wanted to become.
In 2006 my aunt, Christy Smith, became very ill. She began
menstruating and didn’t stop for 3 months straight. Once she
was admitted into the hospital, she immediately had to be given
several blood transfusions. After the doctors conducted research
they came to the fear-provoking conclusion that my aunt had
uterine cancer which is cancer in the uterus. The uterus or
womb is a holding place where a fetus develops into a baby. After
hearing this devastating news I was extremely hurt. After all the
years my aunt struggled to bear children we finally knew why she
had been unsuccessful. To save my aunt’s life, surgery had to be
performed and her ovaries, uterus, fallopian tubes, and almost her
entire female reproductive system was removed. No menses and
even more devastating, no children. Everyone in my family was
completely distraught.
After this episode, I sunk into a deep depression. If only there
was something I could have done. I continuously asked myself,
“Why does cancer ruin and take lives almost everyday?” Then
after weeks of research I figured out what I wanted to do with
my life. This time it wouldn’t change. No more women would
have to face the horrible consequences of cancer that affected
the reproductive system. I wanted to be the one to help them, not
only the women but also the men and children. First I wanted
to start with the women who are affected more drastically and
emotionally. I finally made up my mind. My career choice ever
since then has been to become a Gynecological (guy-nuh-co-lahji-cal) Oncologist.
A Gynecological Oncologist, or a women’s cancer
doctor, is a doctor that specializes in the diagnosis and treatment
of cancer’s found in the female reproductive system. These
special oncologist treat cancer found in the, ovary, uterus, vagina,
cervix, endometrium, and the vulva. My goal in life
is to possibly find cures for all these types of
cancers so that removing the organs won’t
be an option, instead everything would be
treatable.
The future Dr. Noble is a junior at Friendship
Collegiate Academy.
By Randyn Fullard
Photo by Travis Houze
Did you see The Wiz? If you didn’t, you
should. If you want to see a thrilling and
exciting version of The Wizard of Oz, then
go to Duke Ellington School. The Wiz
is the modern-day African American
musical version of The Wizard of Oz.
This production at Duke Ellington was
fly! From this experience I have realized
that Duke Ellington School of Arts really knows how to get things done. What
amazes me is that this was their first musical in a long time and it seemed like they
had been doing this forever. After seeing this play, my mind is set to go to this
school for high school—no matter what
I have to do.
Some of the highlights of this experience
for me were meeting the principal [who
invited me to come back
any time I wanted],
meeting the director of
the play and finding out
more about this school.
Throughout all my field
experiences with FNN
this has been the best!
To find out more about
The Wiz, please visit
Duke Ellington School
of
The Arts.
Randyn Fullard is an eight grade
student at Blow Pierce Juinor
Academy. Travis Houze is a
2008 graduate of Hyde
Leaderrship Academy.
My Day at Duke
By Randyn Fullard
On May 14, 2008, my news crew and I visited one of the best arts schools
ever! You guessed right if you guessed Duke Ellington School of the Arts.
So sit back and read about my life changing experience.
“ Wow!” I thought, as we arrived outside of the historical school. I had
been waiting for this all day and I was pumped up. When I first got to the
school, it was a little shocking because it was actually smaller than it looks in
pictures I’ve seen. I hadn’t thought about being nervous until we entered the
school and made our way down the hall and up a flight of stairs. When we
got to the main office we asked for Cal Roberson, Dean of Arts, who would
be giving us a tour of the school. We had to wait a few minutes for him to
arrive. So we took some seats and as we waited, I watched how the students
were able to express their personalities through the clothes they wore. It was
amazing how you could tell what major they were in by the way they dressed.
While waiting, my photographer Ceyanne and I decided to take a look at the
art exhibit. There were all different types of art— portraits, collages, scenery
and many others.
When Cal showed up, we greeted each other. “Hi my name is Randyn
Fullard and I’m from Friendship News Network,” I said shaking his hand.
“Follow me,” he said. We followed him around a corner and into an office
where the secretary who was very nice greeted us. She asked me why I was
interested in Duke Ellington and what I wanted to major in. I told her that
I was interested in Duke Ellington because I thought it was a great way to
get my face out there in the music business and also to find a positive way to
release my stress at the end of the day. At Duke Ellington, the end of the day
is when students work on their major. And I also thought it would be fun to
go to school with kids interested in the same things as me.
I interviewed
two students and asked them about when they discovered their talents. Their
answers were really interesting. I was intrigued by the way their answers were
based on what they had majored in at Duke Ellington. It was as if their whole
lives were already planned before they even knew what they were going to do.
The favorite part of my visit was at the end when Cal told us that we could
audition for Ellington at the end of the summer in 2008. If we were accepted,
we could go straight to Duke Ellington for high school. For more information
on Duke Ellington School of the Arts www.ellingtonschool.org.
Randyn Fullard and Ceyanne Foye are eighth-grade honor students at
Blow Pierce Junior Academy.
photo of a painting at Duke Ellington by Ceyanne Foye.
A Trip To Remember
O
An interview with Adonis Miller about his trip to China by Shaquanda Noble.
Graphic design by Ahmed Davis. Photos by Adonis and his fellow travelers.
O
n June 21, 2008
Adonis Miller
arrived at Dulles
International airport to
embark on his journey to
Beijing, China. After a 13hour flight, he arrived at the
Beijing International Airport.
From there Adonis and his
group checked into The Seven
Days Inn and then began to
scope the neighborhood. The
next day Adonis went to visit
the Emperor’s Summer Palace,
which was where his group’s
first meals were held.
During the time spent in
China, Adonis’ group visited several schools and talked
to the children about how their schools differed from
the schools in the US. The group did research on
China’s water and learned how the US is helping the
Chinese conserve their water. They visited a wetland
and learned the three different processes the Chinese
use to purify their water with plants. They even helped
rebuild a wetland. They pulled weeds that would
endanger the water cleansing plants.
After 12 days of working, Adonis and his group
were treated to a trip to the beach to relax. According
to Adonis, there were lots of Asian children running
around. On another day,
they hiked up to the Great
Wall of China. “It was a
fun experience because I’ve
never been that high up in the
mountains,” said Adonis.
Besides the beautiful
view and extremely crowded
metro, food was the best
part of Adonis’ trip. He ate
duck, octopus, chicken, pork,
plenty of vegetables, fish,
and of course everything
was served with rice. Adonis
said the best meal was at the
wetland. He ate a great dish
made with sautéed beef and
peppers. Everything Adonis consumed was eaten with
chopsticks. Adonis was surprised at the bathrooms.
The public bathrooms were indeed “public bathrooms.”
There were no stalls, just a hole in the ground where
you squat to handle your business. There was no privacy
at all.
At the end of the trip, Adonis and his group went
to the Hi Ho Market to buy souvenirs. They used the
Chinese currency in which 1$ of American money
equals 6 Chinese Yuan or RMB’s. Adonis told me that
this was the best trip he’s ever taken and he would like
to return someday.
Adonis Miller, Shaquanda Noble and Ahmed Davis are
juniors at Friendship Collegiate Academy.
Dog Care 101
Hi, my name is
Nadean Talley. I’m writing
this article because many of the
dogs I see are not being taken
care of properly...AT ALL.
So here are some tips on how
to treat your dog properly.
By Nadean Talley
How to Care for Your Dog…
Make sure your dog stays cool…
. Keep a small container and an ice-cold
bottle of water with you at all times.
. Make sure to not keep your dog in the sun
for long periods of time.
. Do not keep your dog in the car for a
long period of time even with the windows
rolled down.
. If you do keep your dog in the yard in a
doghouse put straw or bedding in it and
keep plenty of water there.
Keep Your Dog Clean….
. Dirty dogs cause bugs, so clean your dog
every week especially if it is outside a lot.
. Wash your dog’s feet every night because
believe it or not, they will began to stink.
. Brush your dog’s teeth everyday and or give
them doggie mints.
. Keep your dog’s nails clipped, so there won’t
be overgrowth.
DO NOT STRESS YOUR DOG OUT….
. Even though it is hot allow your dog to
exercise. Take your dog on a daily walk
around the neighborhood.
. Change your dog’s food and water everyday.
. Keep the temperature in your home cool, so
your dog stays cool.
. If your dog is dark-colored, KEEP YOUR
DOG OUT OF THE SUN. I say this
because, dark-colored dogs absorb heat.
So that’s another way your dog can become
over-heated.
*CLEAN UP AFTER
DOG
YOUR *
Face it, nobody likes to step in dog poo. I know I don’t. So why let other people get their shoes
all dirty and stinky? Point blank...CLEAN UP BEHIND YOUR DOG!!
Finally...you can have the cutest dog in the world, but if it stinks, NOBODY WILL LIKE
YOUR DOG! Wash your dog. Wash its feet, hair, eyes and ears. Treat your dog like you treat
yourself and MOST IMPORTANT.....NEVER ABUSE YOUR DOG...EVER...there’s such a
problem with that these days, imagine if your were your dog. Would you like to be beaten or deprived of food?
*KEEP YOUR DOG FIT*
NO ONE LIKES OBESE PETS,
DOGS ARE ONLY FUN TO LOOK AT,
NOT TO HAVE.
photography by Travis Houze & Nadean Talley
story by Nadean Talley
O
If
They
Could
n January 31, 2008, my FNN
team and I had the opportunity to visit the Washington
Humane Society to interview
Ms. Shakela Brown and other
staff about the adoption process and animal cruelty.
The trip to the Washington Humane Society was
very educational and somewhat fun. During our
tour around the Washington Humane Society, we
learned the whole adoption process. The adoption
process begins with choosing an animal to adopt.
Then you sign and complete an application to
adopt that animal. After that you are interviewed
by a staff member. Then a staff member will come
to your home and check to see if your home is
suitable for your new pet. After your application is
approved your new pet will come home to you.
While waiting in the lobby, my FNN team
member, Ceyanne and I had a chance to go with a
staff member to walk a Pit Bull mix named Clarice.
On the walk, Clarice and I practiced simple
commands such as sit and stay, but she wasn’t really
Speak
What
Would
They
After that I interviewed an animal cruelty officer
about animal cruelty. We learned the ways they
can rescue animals from a bad situation. They also
said that even if they aren’t on duty and they see an
animal abandoned by their owner, they have they
the right to take that animal from that situation.
This experience at the Washington Humane
Society was great and I hope I can go back.
And to all the people out there “ Speak up for the
animals because they can’t.”
For more infomation on the Washington Humane
Society, visit their website at washhumane.org.
Da’vaughn Hawkins is a rising freshman at Friendship Collegiate
Academy. Randyn Fullard is an eighth grade honor roll student at
Blow Pierce Junior Academy.
Story By Da’Vaughn Hawkins. Photo by Randyn Fullard.
Say?
cooperating with me. Then we walked back in
the building to look at the cats. When we were
observing the cats we came across a wonderful
one named Marcie, who has been at the
Washington Humane Society for over 130
days waiting for a good home.
We Were Heroes
Fiction by Kadesha Ransom
“ Dear Diary, I feel very happy today. I am actually glad that I
am here. It all started the day I was born, October 28, 1994, at
Southeast Community Hospital. I wasn’t really born until my
aunt Midnight came. Then she held my mom’s hand and told her
to be strong and push. I was out after a few pushes. I saw a bright
light and started to cry. Next thing you know, I got smacked on
my backside and ouch, that left a mark. The doctor discovered
that it was actually a birthmark. Soon, I went to elementary
school, which wasn’t cool and I graduated middle school on
June 6, 2008. I graduated high school in the top ten percent of
my class on May 23, 2012. I was offered a full scholarship to the
University of Maryland. Four years later, I graduated with flying
colors. I was rejected from some of the jobs I applied for, but I got
a job at a veterinarian clinic.
Then one day, this friend comes back into my life and it
turns out his name is Dragon Jones from my twelfth grade
class. He’s into snow leopards and asks me to go on a mountain
camping and hiking trip with him and some friends. I said,
“Sure, why not?”
The next day, I packed my bags and bought a digital camera
to take pictures of the animals that I would see. Then I went
downstairs and made some red velvet cake and peanut butter and
jelly sandwiches. I also packed some hamburger meat, hotdog
meat, hamburger and hotdog buns, chips, ketchup, mustard,
soda, cups, juice, cookies, more cake, doughnuts and pies. I called
Dragon and asked him to bring a grill, charcoal, newspapers
for the fire and an oblong lighter. He picked me up late in the
afternoon and we all drove to the mountains. We set up the tent,
cooked food, ate, sung songs and had fun. The next thing we
heard was a cry from far away. We all got scared. Then we pulled
ourselves together, grabbed a flashlight and headed into the
woods. We were told by Dragon to split up. I walked for a long
time until I came closer to the sound. In the light of my flashlight
I found a snow leopard stuck under a broken tree. I yelled until
Dragon and our friends came. We pulled the tree off of the
leopard and rushed it to the animal hospital. It turns out that the
snow leopard was the last female in the world. The last male was
at the zoo. We had our pictures taken, were interviewed, were in
the newspaper and on the news. We were heroes.”
A few months later, I got a call from one of the zookeepers
saying that I needed to come right away to the zoo and to bring
Dragon with me. I hung up and called Dragon and told him to
pick me up and take me to the zoo. He came in twenty minutes
and he drove me to the zoo. I got out of the car and ran to find
the zookeeper who called me. Then, we all ran to where the snow
leopard that I found had been taken. The zookeeper told Dragon
and me that she was going to have cubs any minute. I jumped up
and down with excitement. I helped with the delivery. The snow
leopard had five cubs and I was the first to pick a name for a cub.
I picked out the cutest one, even though they were all so cute.
I named the one I picked Shadow. Dragon named the others.
We had the best time. All five cubs will be able to stay with their
parents until they are fully-grown. After that day, I came to visit
every day. The snow leopards were a family, and I was a part of
it. That’s all for now. Goodbye!”
Kadesha Rsansom is a 9th grader at Friendship Collegiate Academy.
The Darkest
Region of Space
by Jeffrey Daise
O
n July 18, 2008 I went to the NASA Goddard
Space Flight Center with my news team,
Randyn Fullard and my cousin, Davon
Wilkerson, to find out about black holes. The
man I went to interview was Dr. Demos Kazanas, an
expert who studies black holes. Black holes are also
known as death stars or worm holes. A black hole is
a region of space. The gravity force of a black hole
is so strong that not even light can escape from it.
The surface of a black hole could be 2 miles long but
nobody knows for sure. Nobody will ever live to visit
a black hole...not that I’m sure anyone would want to.
It will take 10,000 years to get to the closest black hole
at the speed of light and over 100,000 years at regular
speed. Then if you get close to a black hole you will get
sucked into the center. As you go to the center, it will
stretch you and then turn you into a tiny point. And
that’s how you die. A black hole can also shoot you
from one edge of the universe to the other.
A black hole may reveal its presence through an
interaction with matter that lies in orbit outside its
event horizon. A black hole may be perceived by
tracking the movement of a group of stars that orbit
its center. Gas from a nearby star may go into the
center. The gas spirals inward, heating up to very high
temperatures and emitting large amounts of radiation.
This renders the hole’s interior invisible or, rather,
black, like the appearance of space itself. That’s why
it’s called a black hole.
Black holes are formed by exploding dead stars.
Planets can also turn into black holes. For more
information, go to www.nasa.com or visit www.
friendshipnewsnetwork.com this fall.
Jeffrey Daise and Randyn Fullard are 8th grade students at
Blow Pierce Junior Academy. Davon Wilkerson is also an
eighth grade student.
t
i
H
o
n
a
N
Fiction by Jarrell Davis
Illustrations by Karlton Chapman
The sky darkened and the rain poured. In one scientist’s
lab the lights flickered on and off as the man in a bright white
lab coat activated the remote control. The man, Doctor Steven
Stovall, was in his early 30’s with a round oval-shaped face. The
most distinctive feature on his face was the scar that ran across
his left eye. “It works!” he whispered to his assistant, Amelia, a
woman in her late 20s with brown hair and dark brown eyes.
“Doctor, are you sure it’s safe?” she asked.
“Amelia, do not question me,” the doctor said as he turned the
lights on once again.
Amelia looked at the doctor wonderingly. The project they
were working on had taken weeks to develop and a few more days
to perfect.
“Our project is perfect now, and now I will test it.”
Amelia raised her eyebrow as she turned to look at her boss.
“What are you going to test it on?” she asked as the thought that
he might try to test it on her passed through her mind. Amelia
didn’t know much about her boss other than his last assistant just
up and quit. She didn’t know that at the moment he was having
some rather disturbing thoughts.
“Why Amelia, on you of course. Thank you for your help.
Unfortunately, I cannot have any witnesses to my new project.”
Amelia had barely moved when she begin to feel a crawling
sensation on her legs, but she couldn’t see anything. “You see
Amelia, I created this new project with no regard for any
weaklings around me, like you. No, I created it to ensure that I
get what I want. Isn’t that the American way?”
Amelia opened her mouth to scream in horror as billions of
sub-microscopic things began attaching themselves to her legs.
Her scream came out as a choking sound as the things attached
themselves to her voice box.
“Good bye, Miss Neanda,” he said as the things covered the
brunette woman’s face, flashing a smile where the woman’s lips
once were. Doctor Stovall laughed as the things disappeared in a
gust of wind just as lightening struck near the window. Then, the
computer screen sitting on his desk flashed: PROBLEM TERMINATED! As the things disappeared one of them jumped on a set
of blue prints that read: PROJECT HIT: NANOBOTS.
-Weeks Later“Oh that’s just terrible!” a woman complained to
her half-listening husband. “People in New York are just disappearing, Congress isn’t doing anything and the police are not helping.”
The woman’s husband rolled his eyes.
“Yes, I’m sure. It’s truly sad dear. However, what can they do in
Congress? Nothing, I assure you. It’s all up to the police,”
he replied.
Just then, the wind outside the house blew a submicroscopic blue
thing past the window. It attached itself to the Mercedes Benz outside. The woman walked her husband to the door smiling at him.
“Have a good day at work honey,” she said as she closed the
door behind him. “It’ll be your last,” she thought to herself. “And
you thought I wouldn’t find out about you cheating on me.”
The man, Robert Herman, a big time vice president for Bank
of America was rather hated by his co-workers. He was far from
being a team player and only received his promotion because of
his ‘hard work’. Robert arrived at work as usual. But, then the
normalness of the day was interrupted by a new sound.
Scraaaape. Pause. Scraaape.
Robert would never admit that he was a paranoid guy. But,
his wife had been acting odd all weekend and he wondered about
those missing people. He knew every single one of them. One of
them had been his mistress. Her disappearance wasn’t a problem.
It meant his wife wouldn’t find out about her.
Scraaape. Pause. Scraaape.
Robert turned around and looked out of his 10th floor office
window and noticed a man cleaning the window. The scraping sound came from the wiper sliding down the glass. Robert
frowned. He didn’t remember anyone ever cleaning the
window during the day—
at least not when he was in his office. “Hey you!”
Robert called out as he walked towards the window. The man cleaning the window looked at
him. At least Robert assumed the man was
looking at him. It was hard to tell with the
hat shielding his eyes.
“Yes?” The man answered in a monotone voice.
“What are you doing?” Robert demanded. The
cleaning man waved the bottle of cleaning solution.
“Washing the windows wouldn’t be too obvious
for you, would it, corporate man?”
Robert glared at the man. “Are you supposed
to be cleaning right now?”
The guy cleaning the window sneered.
“I’m working, right?” the man pointed out.
If Robert had been paying attention he
would have sensed the tiny things crawling on
his shoes and moving up his legs to his body. Robert sent the guy
a glare, “I’ll have your jo…!” He looked down, but couldn’t see
anything. He began to feel billions of tiny things crawling up his
arms. “What the?”
A chuckle made Robert look up.
“You don’t get it do you?” said the window cleaner. “While
you stood there acting like a snob, my nanos have completely
overtaken you.” Finally the guy lifted his hat.
“W-what? Why?”
“The name is Stovall, Steven Stovall.”
“S-Steven? Crazy Steve from Princeton?” Robert asked.
Steven said nothing. The nanos terminated Robert and then
briefly organized themselves into a smiley. Then, the evermysterious wind blew them away leaving nothing in their place.
“I guess I became crazy after what you did to me.”
Doctor Steven Stovall said as he left the empty office.
Jarrell Davis is a 16 year-old senior at
Karlton Chapman is a 15-year old
To find out why Doctor Stovall went crazy, visit the fiction section of
friendshipnewsnetwork.com later this fall.
Nanos That Really Exist!
Ever wondered if Nanobots actually exist? They’re actually part of a new science called nanotechnology, which is the development of
submicroscopic robots that can be used for many purposes including medical science. Nanobots could make medical procedures a lot
faster in the future. As of now nanotechnology is a growing field with new nanobots being developed, tested and researched by various
business and universities. Well, I searched the web for interesting nanotechnology projects that actually exist and here are my top four.
NANOBRAIN You read that name right, I said ‘Nanobrain’.
Now you may be wondering, “what the heck does a ‘Nanobrain’
do?” A Nanobrain is made from 17 molecules of the chemical
Duroquinone. Duroquinone is derivative of 1,4-benzoquinone
(a 6 member ring compound chemical). Researchers have found
that changing the state of the Nanobrain can control the
states of Nanobots surrounding it. According to scientists this will be helpful for
future operations performed by Nanobots because it will
be easier to control them.
For example, if you give
the Nanobrain something
to do, all the surrounding
Nanobots will do the same
thing. Source: http://news.
bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7288426.stm
SILVER NANORODS
The nanorods are designed
to test for diseases and illness
while giving results in a minute.
Silver nanorods are used in conjunction with a special chart to
help determine if a virus has been spotted. Then the doctor will
determine which diseases (if any) that you have, This process is
like a really elaborate mood ring only it tells if you’re sick. According to scientists, the nanorods are designed to be very sensitive to any the virus cells they find. Source: www.azonano.com/news.
asp?newsID=3383
CARBON NANOTUBES Yep, the name says ‘Nanotubes’.
Nanotubes are inserted by injection into the blood stream and
attach to cancer cells. Then they’re hit with an infrared beam and
in less than two minutes they explode, destroying the cancer cells
while doing nothing to the normal healthy cells. Source: http://
news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4734507.stm
CHROMALLOCYTE NANOBOT In the near future your cells
could be able to repair themselves. Nanobots are being developed
that can analyze the problem and provide a quick fix for damaged
cells. For example if you have a cut, the nanobots will help the
damaged cells repair themselves. Source: http://www.azonano.com/
Details.asp?ArticleID=2035#_Chromallocyte:_A_Hypothetical_Mobil
i
Light
The
Fiction by Ceyanne Foye
I
t was a dark night with a clear
sky. Nothing can go wrong, right?
Wrong. Tomas was walking down
the street just coming from a party.
He decided to take a short cut, so
he went into the alley. The alley was dark
and creepy, like the ones in those scary
movies. There was nothing really in the
alley—just some boxes and trash cans.
As Tomas walked through the alley, all he
could see was smoke. Just as he reached
the middle of the alley, he heard something behind him. As soon as he turned
around, three figures appeared out of nowhere. The three figures started whispering something that Tomas couldn’t comprehend. It was as if they were speaking
a totally different language. They slowly
walked towards him. He backed up a little.
But, still Tomas couldn’t understand what
they were saying. All of sudden, although
he couldn’t explain it, he knew what they
were saying. They were saying “The Light.
The Light. The Light.”
“The Light? What?!” Tomas yelled. “What
do you all mean? What is The Light?”
They weren’t listening to him. All they
kept saying was “The Light. The Light.
The Light.” Then they said something
else, “You…You…You are The Light.”
“Me? What…” Tomas heard something
behind him and the next he thing he knew
everything was pitch black.
Three long years had passed since that
mysterious night in the alley. Since that
time, Tomas hadn’t even thought about it.
But in his head, he still remembered the
sound of what the three figures had said
about ‘the light’ and his ‘being the light’.
“Tomas are you alright?” asked Rosa, his
Designed by Shaquanda Noble
big sister.
“Huh? Oh, yeah, I’m alright.”
Rosa was on her way to the store and Tomas
asked to come with her. Tomas was deeply in
thought as they walked to the store.
“Tomas are you sure your alright? You’ve
been acting kind of weird,” said Rosa.
“How many times do I have to tell you
that I feel fine.”
“Until you look like you’re fine. You’re still
not thinking about…”
“No! Now can we please get off the subject? Thank You!”
Tomas was tired of her asking the same old
thing. She had been asking him that question over and over again, ever since he told
her what happened that night in the alley.
“My bad! I was just asking…”
“Well don’t!”
There was silence between the two. They
were getting closer to the store. “Well, why
don’t you just get some rest. You know, to
get your mind off things,” said Rosa.
When Tomas didn’t say anything, Rosa
gave him the puppy dog look.
“Okay. Fine. I’ll do just that.” They
stopped in front of the store. “You’re not
going to rest, are you?” said Rosa.
Tomas gave a stern smile “Now, I never
said that. Bye sis.”
He turned around and headed down the
street, trying to get his mind off things.
As he walked, he passed the park where
he saw kids running and laughing. He
continued walking and came to an alley.
He looked down the alley and realized that
this was the exact alley where the three
figures had shown up. He continued to
look at the alley thinking about that night.
Then, all of a sudden, a sharp pain shot
through his head like a bullet. Then he
saw himself standing in front of himself.
He looked a little bit older, but he seemed
stronger, much stronger. He was holding a
sword in his hands. The sword had ancient
writing on it and it was glowing as if it
were a distant light…the kind of light that
you wish you could just hold onto forever and forever. But there was someone
else—someone else beyond him. There
was a girl in the distance. Tomas couldn’t
really see her face, but she was also holding a sword and she was different, very
different. Tomas felt like something was
disturbing her. He felt as if she was filled
with darkness and that she was trying to
get away from it—but she couldn’t.
Then everything disappeared and he
found himself on the ground. Realizing
that it was almost dark, he got up, took
one more look at the alley and went
straight home.
When he got home he laid on the couch
for a while just thinking about everything that had happened, trying to find
something—some kind of clue as to why
all these things were happening to him.
When he couldn’t take it anymore, he went
upstairs to his bedroom and fell asleep.
As he slept, Tomas had a mysterious
dream.
“You are our savior, our Hero. You are the Light.”
Tomas was spinning around and around. All he
could see were people wearing white cloaks. The
white figures were all around him.
“What do you want from me!” Tomas was going
crazy. All he could hear was whispering. That’s
all they were doing. Whispering. Whispering. By
now Tomas was on the floor, covering his ears. He
just couldn’t take all the whispering anymore.
“SHUT UUUUUUUUUUUP!”
Tomas woke up all of sudden still screaming his head off. He couldn’t handle the
whispering. Sweating from head to toe, he
kept repeating “Shut up! Shut up! It took
20 minutes for Tomas to calm down. Still
sweating from head to toe, he got out of
bed— almost falling in the process—and
went into the bathroom. He looked in the
mirror, just staring at himself for about
5 minutes. He took his washcloth off the
hanger, wrung it out and wiped his face.
He put the washcloth away looking back
at the mirror and said, “What’s going on
with me?!” Then he hit the wall with his
fist. He went back in the bedroom and laid
down on the bed and turned on his side
looking out of the window. The sky was
clear. The moon stared down at him. He
fell asleep staring up at the moon.
The next day, Tomas woke up, got dressed
and went downstairs into the kitchen. Rosa
was sitting at the kitchen table reading a
newspaper. Tomas grabbed a glass, filled
it with orange juice and sat down next to
Rosa. She folded up her newspaper and
looked at him. When he noticed that she
was looking at him, he got up and went to
the fridge. While still looking at him she
took a deep breath and said, “Tomas, you
need to stay home today.”
He was stunned. “Why?” he asked.
She stood up and said, “You’re not feeling
well and…”
“How do you know?”
“Last night…”
“What about last night?”
“Last night when I came home you were
talking, no, yelling in your sleep.”
“And, what about it?”
“I think something is wrong, so you…”
“I don’t have time to listen to this.”
Tomas walk towards the front, which was
just outside the kitchen. He got his jacket,
put it on, opened the door and said, “I’m
going to school, see ya.”
And he shut the door leaving Rosa standing in the center of the kitchen, in shock.
On his way to school he passed other
students without noticing them. Tomas
went to a high school called “ Lightly High
School”. Kind of strange huh—Tomas
going to a school called “Lightly” when
it just so happened that three years ago
he had been called “The Light” by three
figures and now he is having dreams about
being called “The Light”. And whoever
heard of a school called “Lightly”?
Tomas went inside the school without
saying a word to any of his friends.
After school, Tomas went to the soccer
practice in hopes of releasing all his anger
on the soccer field. He ran down the field
with the soccer ball heading towards the
goal. Then someone came in front of him.
No one could ever get past Tomas because
he was one of the best players on the
team. He thought of a trick he’d seen a
famous soccer player do on TV. He wasn’t
sure, but he thought he could do it. He
jumped up higher than he usually jumped,
did a twist, and kicked the ball real hard
into the air. It went straight towards the
goal. When he landed back on his feet and
looked up towards the goal, he noticed that he
not only made it, he actually kicked the ball
so hard that it tore the net off the goal. Tomas
was amazed and so was everybody else on the
team. He had never done that before, even
when he was mad.
After practice, Tomas went straight home. He
lay down on his bed thinking about what had
happened on the field and how high he had
jumped. I mean, it was really, really
high. He wondered if he had powers. He
thought to himself, “Maybe I can fly!”
Now he was excited because he might
have super powers. He got up, ran outside
and climbed the ladder leaning against the
side of the house onto the roof. He stood
on the edge of the roof. Right before he
jumped, he looked down to see if anybody
was walking by. Nope. No one. He looked
down at the ground. He thought he must
be about 20 to 40 feet from the ground.
To be honest, he was a little bit scared. I
mean, was he ready to jump off a roof in
hopes he could fly? What if he couldn’t
fly? Would he just fall 30 feet to his death?
“Guess I’ll find out,” Tomas thought as he
jumped off the roof. He couldn’t see anything because his eyes were shut. He could
feel wind brushing against his body as he
fell. Then, it stopped. The wind suddenly
stopped brushing against his body. Am I
dead? Tomas open his eyes. No. He was
still well and alive. Tomas was facing the
green grass in front of his house. When he
looked up, he realized that he was floating.
FLOATING. He was actually floating! As
soon as he realized he was floating, BANG!
He fell flat on his stomach. “Ouch!” His
stomach hurt. He got up rubbing his stomach. He looked up at the roof, amazed that
he had actually jumped without falling to
his death. Did he have the ability to fly?
No. Instead, he has the ability to float in
mid-air! Thinking about what he could do
with this power, he walked into the house
and went to sleep.
That night Tomas had the exact same
dream as before.
Suddenly, he was shaken awake by Rosa.
“Tomas! Tomas!”
Tomas sat up and yelled, “What!?”
“Tomas! Come outside, quick!”
“What? Why?” “Come on!” Rosa ran out
of the room and down the stairs.
Tomas got out of bed and headed towards
the front door. When he reached the door, he
saw a ball of light floating in mid-air. Tomas
and Rosa looked at each other. He started
towards the ball of light, but Rosa grabbed
his arm
“Tomas…”
“Rosa. It’s alright.” said Tomas with a
smile on his face. Rosa let go. Tomas
walked towards the ball of light, but
stopped when he came face to face with
the light. Tomas raised his left hand,
getting ready to touch it. To be honest,
Tomas was a little bit scared, but still…
3 inches…2 inches…1 inch... He looked
back at Rosa who looked really scared.
Tomas turned back to face the light and
he touched it. As soon as he touched it,
there was a rush of wind. The ball of light
got bigger and brighter almost blinding
him. Then, suddenly, Tomas disappeared.
Rosa couldn’t believe it. Her little brother,
Tomas was gone. Disappeared from the
earth. Probably never to be seen again.
“Tomas? Tomas! Tomas!”
Wonder what happens next? Then, check out the
new fiction section of friendshipnewsnetwork.com
this fall for the next installment of “The Light”.
Ceyanne Foye is an eighth-grade honor roll student
at Blow Pierce Junior Academy. Shaquanda
Noble is a junior at Friendship Collegiate Academy.
The
Endowed
Fiction by Randyn Fullard
Once there were four boys—Jay, Nick, Jason, and Chad who grew
up in a small town called Endowed. People always wondered
why the town was called Endowed. Some say that the town was
mysterious. This story is about these four boys and how they
unlocked the secret of the town...but at a cost. Their lives would
never be the same again.
Ahhhhhh! Nick screamed. He woke up—his sheets drenched
from his sweat. He had a nightmare again—the same one he had
every night for sixteen years. In his dream, he would see a hooded
figure emerging from the darkness. The figure would chase him
asking for ‘The Power.” “What power?” he would ask. Then a
bright blue light would appear and Nick would scream so loudly
that the sound could make your skin crawl.
Now Nick sat up in the middle of the night and didn’t dare go
back to sleep. He had this dream almost every night and never
got enough sleep which meant that at school he would fall asleep
in class. He started to fail due to the lack of sleep. Nick thought
about telling his friends but was afraid his friends would think he
was a wimp. So he never told them. Coincidentally Jay, Jason and
Chad all had been having the same dream but they never told
each other until one day.
It was Friday and the boys had planned to hang out over at Jay’s
house. But on this particular day after school they decided to take a
short cut through the woods. Jason, the smartest and most interested
in nature, started examining the bushes. But Jay, who was more
cautious said “Cut it out. You don’t know what’s in the bushes.”
“Wow look!” The boys turned around.
“What is that?” asked Chad
“It’s a cave,” said Jason. Without thinking he walked into the cave.
“Hey wait! Are you mental,” said Jay. “You just can’t go in
there. Who knows what’s in there.”
“You’re right and that’s what I’m going to find out,” said Jason.
Finally the boys decided to follow Jason. It seemed like they
had walked for miles. They suddenly came to a halt. There
seemed to be a cracking noise coming from the cave. Then a
rumbling. Rocks started falling.
“RUN!” Chad yelled, too scared to think. The boys ran forward.
“STOP! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!” yelled Nick. “THIS WAY!”
But it was too late. The boys turned around in horror when they
saw the sight. The cave had caved in and there was no way out.
“Wait. Look over there,” Jay and Chad said together. There
was a bluish, metallic door covered in vines.
“Let’s go in,” said Jay, tearing off the mud-matted vines. He pushed
the door open. To their surprise, there lay a green, blue, white and red
box on the ground in the center of a small circular room.
“What do you think is in it?” asked Jason.
“I don’t know. But let’s find out,” said Nick. He rushed
forward and opened the box. To their surprise, nothing seemed to
be in the box...at least that’s what they thought.
“Let’s get out of here. This place is weird,” said Jay.
“Smart idea,” said Chad. “If only we could get out. LOOK!
There’s a crack between the roof of the cave and the rocks. I
think it’s big enough for us to fit in.”
After what felt like hours all of them were free.
“Woo,” said Jason. “We’re free. Let’s get away from here.”
When the boys finally got to Jay’s house, there on the table lay
a gigantic leather book. Jay’s mother and father sat on the couch
“What’s up Mr. and Mrs. Powls? What’s going on?”
“We have news. We wanted to wait until you all were eighteen
but you have stumbled upon our family secret. This town is called
Endowed because strange and terrible things happened here
twelve years ago. Four boys around your age found a strange
box and told the town that it had some type of power inside of
it. One power was freezing time; one was healing; one was fire;
and one was earth. It was said that these powers combined could
make anything happen. Then, one of the four boys got powerhungry and tried to take the powers from the other three. He
almost did. But, he couldn’t take the power from the last boy. This
particular boy had the power to shape-shift and he used his power
to turn himself into an animal. No one ever saw him again. As for
the power hungry boy...he died three years ago. We believe you
four boys are their descendants, which means you have inherited
your rightful powers from that box. First, you Nick. We believe you
inherited the power of fire from your ancestor Nicholas Flaming.”
Ms. Powls took out a folded piece of paper. She told Nick to
point at the paper and think about fire. And before their very eyes
the paper began to burn as fire shot from Nick’s fingers.
“Ahh! What’s happening?” said Nick.
“Don’t worry, Nick. You’ll soon be used to your power,” said
Mrs. Powls.
Nick hurriedly sat down feeling as if he had lost his breath.
“Next it’s your turn, Chad. We think you may have inherited
the power of earth.”
They all went outside under the darkening sky. This time Ms.
Powls stood in the center of her back yard. She then told Chad
to try and lift her up by moving the ground. Finally, after his third
try, he got her off the ground.
Finally, after all the boys had a go at their powers, they went
home wondering what had happened to them and why.
The next day at school the boys met up in the school’s big
courtyard and decided to take a visit back to the cave. Once
there, they would try to figure out more about their ancestors
and how it all started.
When they got to the cave, they decided to let Chad go in
front since he could control earth. He had become confident with
his powers after several practice rounds the previous night.
Once they were halfway into the cave, Nick stopped.
“Wait! Look over there!”
Everyone stared in amazement at the giant golden door.
“Look at the words on the door,” said Chad.
The emboldened words read:
“Those who enter must pass these tests: intellect, strength, flame and trust.”
After thinking for a long time, the boys decided to let Jason go
first. After being convinced that it was he who needed to go first,
he stepped through the golden doors and saw amazing site. Little
golden lights were flying around. He reached out his hand to
touch them and got burned. And before they knew it, they were
being attacked.
“Do something Jason,” said Chad.
“I don’t know what to do” said Jason.
“Why don’t you try stopping time,” said Nick.
He closed his eyes and imagined everything freezing. When
he opened his eyes he realized he had frozen both his friends
and the lights. He started to freak out. He didn’t know how to
unfreeze his friends without unfreezing the lights.
“You can do this,” he thought. He closed his eyes again and heard
a burst of yells. He opened his eyes to see his friends unfrozen.
“You did it!” said Jay.
“Let’s go on,” said Nick.
It was now Chad’s turn. They had already figured out why
there was a big stone wall in front of them. Chad had to find a
way through it to the other side. “But how could he do it,” he
thought. “Concentrating on earth, he pushed his hands forward.
A big chunk of the wall fell out onto the other side. They crawled
through and saw a room full of bookshelves. Nick picked up a
humongous book off a nearby table. The title said: The Endowed
Book.
“Hey, that’s the book that was on the table at your house Jay,”
said Nick.
“What’s it doing here?” said Chad.
“No, the question is...how did it get here?” said Jason.
Wondering what was inside, the book the boys opened it.
The pages looked yellow like a newspaper when it’s outside
too long. In bold letters, the first page read, The Standard
Book of Spells.
“Do these spells really work?” asked Nick. “ Let’s find out.”
Nick opened the book and picked a spell.
(continued on page 78)
S
Soaring through the sky and performing for the crowd, the Blue Angels
amazed all with their death-defying tricks. The Blue Angels own the
skies over their base during the Andrews AFB Air Show! Viewing them
that day amazed all, as kids looked up into the skies searching for the next
feat to amaze them. With such grace, they zoom past their audience
performing all sorts of air tricks. For those of you who were not there,
here are amazing photos to thrill the naked eye. -Ahmed Davis
BLUE
ANGELS
Photos by Ahmed Davis and Adonis Miller.
Ahmed Davis and Adonis Miller are juniors at Friendship CollegiateAcademy.
Story and design by
Crystal Bulluck
Photos by Travis Houze
Assistance from
Randyn Fullard
The Civil AirPatrol
An interview with Civil Air Patrol Cadet Flight Sergeant Darin
Davis who is also a junior at
Crystal: What is the Civil Air Patrol?
Darin: It is the official auxiliary of the United
States Air Force. It was founded December 1st
1941, one week before the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Crystal: How did you become interested in the
Civil Air Patrol?
Darin: Well, it all started one day in August. I was
talking to one of the Air Force generals who told
me about the Civil Air Patrol and what it could
offer me as a student since I wanted to be in the
Air Force.
Crystal: What steps do you take in order to
become a member of the Civil Air Patrol and was
it a difficult process?
Darin: Well, first off, you have a three-week
training course after you first submit your application. Then, you go to boot camp which we
call ‘Incampment’ in the C.A.P. After graduation
from boot camp you are free to do many different
activities. National Cadet Activities is what we call
them. We could also travel around the world.
Crystal: What do you expect to get out of being a
part of the Civil Air Patrol?
Darin: Hopefully I can obtain a certain rank
before I graduate high school. That way, I could
obtain a fifty-thousand dollar scholarship towards
the Air Force Academy.
Crystal: What are your plans after the Civil Air
Patrol?
Darin: I don’t think there is going to be an ‘after’.
I might as well stay in the Civil Air Patrol for the
rest of my air force career.
Crystal: Could you describe an average day at
Civil Air Patrol?
Darin: I have two average days. One average
day is the day my squadron meets at Andrews Air
Force Base. There we practice drills, take tests,
take leadership classes and classes on air and space
education. An average day on a mission is alot of
fun. You go out (depending where the site is) early
in the morning. We are out there for hours searching for whatever it is that they have us looking for.
Crystal: Would you recommend the Civil Air
Patrol to anybody?
Darin: Yes, I would reccommend it to anybody
who’s interested in being in the military because
this is the training you’ll receive in bootcamp. You
will gain the skills needed to make it through.
Patrolling the Air
Photo: U.S. Airforce
After I interviewed Darin, I was given the
opportunity to visit the Civil Air Patrol unit
stationed at Andrew’s Air Force Base. This
was my first assignment for Rated-T and I
was very excited to be the lead reporter and
immediately got to work. Darin invited us to
come to one of his squadron meetings.
At the beginning of the meeting they drilled
and practiced basic skills.
three-hundred-sixty degree circle going in the
direction with the strongest signal.
Major Cianciolo, the commander for the
Andrew’s Composite Squadron, split everyone into groups. Then he instructed us on
how to properly hold the radio and gave us
a demonstration on how the black box would
sound. Everyone had a chance to locate the
black box but the only catch...we had to be
Then we got a chance to participate in one
blind-folded. We were given a radio and
of their practice missions which was a traininstructions on what to do in order to locate
ing to find the ‘Black Box’. Since the Civil Air the black box using only our hearing. It
Patrol is in charge of 90% of aircraft search
was really fun to try and over all a very
and rescue missions in the U.S., they use this
great experience.
device that is built into most aircrafts. The
black box goes off if there is a hard impact
This is a picture
(if a plane crashes on land) and/or if it gets
of me at the Civil
wet from salt water (if the plane crashes into
Air Patrol search
the ocean).
and rescue training
When searching on the ground for the black
boxes in the planes that have crashed, the
search and rescue team uses a radio. It is
tuned to pick up the black box signal. Once
they locate the signal, they begin to search in
the area. Once they arrive in the area where
the signal is strong, they search in a complete
after I finally found
the black box after
about ten minutes.
The black box
pictured here is
orange.
Crytsal Bulluck is 15-year-old sophmore at Friendship
Collegiate Academy. Travis Houze is a 2008 graduate of
Hyde Leadership Academy. Randyn Fullard is an eighth
grade honor roll student at Blow Pierce Junior Academy.
Does Music Define
Who You Are?
Story, Photos and Graphic Design by Maurice Williams
What affects your personality? What blasts in your eardrums when you’re walking
down the street or chilling at home? What influences your behavior? What moves you
to unexpected actions with bass-pumping, soft melody-like, or smooth-cruising sounds?
That’s right, Music! Whether your partying like a rock star, jamming like a rap star or
singing like a pop star, music defines who you are. Music can be defined based on any
manner of speaking, but how does music define you? If you listen to rock, does that
make you a head banger or gothic? Does listening to southern rap make you country?
Or does pop make you a prep student?
This reporter wanted to find out
why people act the way they do or
more specifically, if the kind of music
people listen to affects or defines their
personality. I’ve noticed that when I
listen to a marathon of rap, I use more
slang, but after listening to a marathon of
rock I start speaking properly and feel more energetic. After listening to each genre
of music, I’ve concluded that music not only affects emotions but it affects aspects of
your personality and use of language. Therefore, my assumption is that people who
listen mainly to rap and go-go will probably use slang and people who listen to rock
and alternative will probably talk properly without the use of slang. Music can also
affect your mood and actions.
I’m guessing music can also determine how you move when you’re listening to it depending on the song or genre. When you
listen to rap, you almost always move from side to side snapping your fingers to the beat of the song. With pop music you just get
up and jump around singing the lyrics to the song you’re listening to. Rock music makes you move your head to the beat of the
song. Other genres like go-go, classical, and country can have you either “freaking,” doing the “Waltz” or “Square Dancing”.
I interviewed a few of my colleagues about the matter at hand and found out that 2 out of 5 believed that music affected
their personality. However, others pointed the finger at television,
their surroundings, or and I quote, “Clients that don’t want to pay
me”. My colleagues also answered that they always do some sort of
movement or action when listening to their favorite genre of music.
Everyone said music affects their moods. One of my colleagues said
that after listening to Neo-soul (which, go figure, is actually a genre
of music) she feels relaxed and laid-back. Rapcore keeps another
one of my colleagues energetic and jazz keeps my boss “funky”.
So whether you’re a preppy, the self-proclaimed eccentric soul
searcher, or just an average run-of-mill head banger, music can’t
affect your personality but apparently it’ll affect everything else.
Maurice WIlliams is a 17-year-old senoir at Friendship Collegiate Academy.
Another Dose of
Sugar
Book Review and Graphic Design
by Chantell Leak
I
n 2005, we were first
captivated by Sugar Rush,
Love’s Liberation, a story
of black love that everybody,
no matter what age, could
relate to in some way. You
probably knew a Dolly or a
Gerald, or wanted to be like
Dolly and Gerald or remembered the days when everybody loved the “Dolly and
Gerald way”. And like many
others you probably wanted to
know what happened to them
after you finished the book.
Did Dolly’s rival Vanya come
between her and Gerald? And
what about Dolly and her
crazy ex who just popped up
out of nowhere? I thought he
was kinda psycho. Well you’ll
find out all that and more in
the sequel, Sugar Rush: Love’s
Elevation by Yolonda Coleman.
Just when you thought that
Dolly and Gerald would leave
you hanging at the end of
the first book, Ms. Coleman
has come through by providing us with the next installment of Dolly and Gerald’s
relationship—everything from
taking their relationship to
the next level to meeting the
family to closing relationship
hindering doors together. The
sequel has lots of action and
love and you never know what
to expect. Reading this book
is like being on an emotional
rollercoaster. From tears to
smiles, from anger to love,
from worry to peace and everything in between, you will
experience it all. It is a real
page-tuner and will make you
believe in love again. I recommend this book to everyone.
Sugar Rush: Love’s
Elevation is Yolonda D.
Coleman’s second published novel.
You can purchase this book as well as
Sugar Rush: Love’s Liberation online
at Amazon.com keyword: Yolonda
Coleman or from her website
coffeedreamz.com.
n
o
t
g
n
i
h
s
a
ub
W
e
o
an
C
l
C
n July 20, 2008, the Friendship Collegiate Academy Leadership and Criminal Justice program went
canoeing at the Washington Canoe Club. There, we
met the USA Olympic Canoe Team. They taught us
how to paddle, how to steady a canoe and we learned cohesion.
The experience was so scary! I almost fell out of the boat, but Trooper
Cooper caught me. I was happy I didn’t fall out of the canoe because
I didn’t have a change of clothes. Then we learned the history of the
building where the club is housed, saw canoes, took pictures and got
autographs. After that, we saddled up and left. It was cool!
Story by Kadesha Ransom, a ninth grade student at Friendship Collegiate Academy.
Graphic design and photograqphy by Ahmed Davis, a junior at Freindship Collegiate Academy
Always Alicia’s Advice:
When Trust is absent.
the parent. You’re the leader, the role model, the light to
Readers! I’m hoping you all are as excited as
your child’s path. You set the foundation. You set the paveI am! We are constantly progressing and in
ment on which your child will walk.
some sense we’ve grown together. I look forward
to advising you all on another go around of Al- Birth is the Foundation...
ways Alicia’s Advice. So, as usual buckle up and
Whether parents realize it or not, when the child is born,
prepare to go above and beyond the skies!
For this issue, I want to discuss how teens and parents can
gain one another’s trust. This article doesn’t favor teens or
adults but acts as a two-sided mirror, challenging both sides
to use the mirror to look at themselves and stop playing the
blaming game.
it is totally dependent on the adult. The child unknowingly
trusts the parent to care for them, raise them, tend to them
when they cry, feed them when they are hungry, clothe
them when they are cold and so on. Without any words
being stated, parent and child rely on each other to make
that relationship work.
First of all, in any relationship there needs to be a strong
foundation for both teens and their parents to stand on.
The basic foundation is made up of many aspects. One of
the most important aspects happens to be trust. So, who
needs to look into the mirror first? Well, of course it’s the
As the child gets older, the parent trusts that the child will
behave as taught, whether in public or at home taking any
“home training” and displaying it properly, because as my
mother would say, “both parent and child are a representation of one another.” That line right there, shows how
“Trust...a big chunk
of the foundation of a
relationship between
parent and child.
Without it everything
will crumble because
there’s no stability.”
Photo by Travis Houze
strongly each depends on the other. Reputations are everlasting and no one wants their name to be marked down.
It’s the little things...
Parents, when you say you are going to do something, do it.
And if you genuinely can’t come through with a promise,
you should explain why you couldn’t come through. No, I
don’t believe adults should have to explain themselves in
all situations, but you’d be amazed how little things go a
long way. Say you promise your child a game system, but
let’s say rent was higher than normal this month so you
couldn’t get it. Do not take this lightly because just like the
people you pay the rent to, your child was looking forward
to what you agreed to. If you didn’t have your rent money
you would have to explain your situation to the landlord so
that TRUST would still be there. So what makes you think
that you don’t need to explain it to your child? Children
need to understand things happen beyond your control. By
explaining what happened, not only are you maintaining
that trust between the two of you, but you are also teaching
your child to mature and understand there are unexpected
occurances in life. They’ll learn that mommy and/or daddy
do care and haven’t forgotten the little things that do matter.
Teens, just as much as the little things your parents say or
do go a long way and have an impact on you, you must
understand that the little things they ask of you mean just
as much. And when you tell them where you are going, or
who you may be dealing with in life, be honest. Because
like a wise man said a long time ago, “once you lie, you
have to lie multiple times to cover the first lie.” Why go
through all that when you can just be honest. Simple as
that. You should take the little things like home training and
basic principles and use them the way your parents would
expect for you to. This will create a bond of trust that both
sides will just feel without discussion. But please note that
both sides should sit down and discuss what each at the
minimum expects from the other. This will form a level of
respect and understanding between the two of you.
The Atmosphere Is Everything...
Many times, what people, in general, fail to fully understand is that in conversations, arguments or simple talks,
your actions or what you say have the greatest effect on how
things turn out. You create the atmosphere. Parents, this
one is more for you because nine times out of ten you
dominate discussions. Your child needs to trust you to
always be open-minded when he or she may want to discuss
issues with you. This means that throughout any conversation, discussion or debate between you and your child,
you stay level headed. And when disagreements occur, you
should respond respectfully, regardless of what the situation may be. When it comes to your children’s feelings and
what they have to say to you, treat them just like an adult.
Respect their privacy when they want to talk openly and
take their feelings seriously. Give them your full attention,
and make time to discuss whatever may be on their minds.
Honesty is key, but always consider how you express things,
because in the end, they want to trust that you are there
for them. So whatever they may come to you with, keep it
confidential.
Boundaries we love to hate....
As I grow up, one thing I’ve learned to appreciate is the
word, NO. Don’t get me wrong, I hate when my parents
tells me NO. But at the same time, I’ve learned to appreciate it when they do. I’ve learned to TRUST my parents
judgment regarding some things, whether I find them to
be fair or not. Looking back, they have always done things
in my best interest. So, parents, set boundaries. And be
firm with them. Your child may not fully understand at the
moment and think you’re being unfair. Explain and tell
them to, “Trust me on this one, it’s in your best interest.”
No, don’t make this the line for everything or because you
just want to say No. Actually communicate responsibly why
things are a certain way. For example, set a curfew, and say
this is your rule and they must abide. By doing so, they are
gaining your trust. And it’s up to the teen to come through,
because if they don’t follow along with the plan, the trust is
lost.
...Trust me?
Parents trust yourselves. How can you expect for a child to
trust you and your decision-making, if you don’t fully show
confidence in yourself ? Your child needs to see that your
position is firm and that you are in charge. Because the
moment they see a weakness, the trust is lost and they take
matters into their own hands, believing you couldn’t handle
it. Now, don’t get me wrong. I am not saying walk around
with a paddle and a whistle yelling all day. But I am saying
when you say something stick to it. Follow your own rules,
because right behind you are your children following in
your exact footsteps, trusting you to guide them into the light.
Trust is a big chunk of the foundation of the relationship
between parents and children. Without it everything will
crumble because there’s no stability. -Alicia Wade
The author and designer, Alicia Wade is a junior at School Without Walls.
Travis Houze is a rising freshman at Saint Augustine’s College in Raliegh,
North Carolina.
Only
God
Can
Judge
Me!
Commentary and layout by
Angel McCormick
L
abels. What are they really? People often
label others in a way that makes them
feel uncomfortable, or bad—like an
incident that happened to me. When my
hair was longer I had it draped over my
face like a curtain. People started calling
me “emo.” It was kind of foolish, but for a while I
thought they were right. When I started believing
what they were saying, I became depressed and began
cutting myself. I don’t mean to scare you, but this is
what some people go through. Two girls I know also
suffered from being labeled when they wore black one
day. And all of a sudden they’re “emo” or “Goth.”
People, labels are just society’s way of belittling
you, or making you hate the way you are. Those
people who label you are just too judgmental. And
when you try to contradict them and say that you’re
not what they try to stereotype you as, they keep
coming with the insults. And even when someone
tries to take up for you, they (the accusers) say that the
person who’s taking up for you is just like you—which
is not necessarily true. And as a result, the person who
tried to take up for you might feel verbally abused or
hurt too. Then when you need help and you try to
go to that person again, they’ll probably not agree to
help you at all because in past times when they tried
to help you, they were ridiculed too. And because you
don’t want to send that person through a guilt trip,
you accept their refusal, only to find out that they
were making fun of you too. It’s sad, when you think
about it, but these things happen...not just to teens,
but to everyone. If you defend someone that everyone
is making fun of, then everyone thinks you’re like that
person when in truth you’re not!
Finally, what I’m trying to say, is that all kinds of
people suffer from all sorts of labels. So, don’t think
that you’re the only one going through this type of
problem. If you’re a person with a ‘label’ problem,
then talk to your parents or guardian about it. And if
that doesn’t help, then, well, I’m here to talk to you,
because I went through this problem (as I stated in
the beginning of my article) and I have experience.
You can find me at [email protected].
I’ll be glad to talk with you or email you back.
Angel McCormick is a junior at Friendship Collegiate Academy.
the life
by Travisof
Houzea SENIOR
by Travis Houze, Photo by Alize Morgan
There’s a difference between saying something and actually
doing it. I promised myself that when I entered my senior year
of high school I wouldn’t mess up and I would try to get high
grades. I also decided I would work to have minimal distractions because this was a year I couldn’t afford to mess up.
In the end, everything I promised myself wouldn’t happen,
ended up happening.
The first week of my senior year, I walked into my school
determined to give my teachers no problems, turn everything
in on time and never slack off. This method led me to a
3.1 GPA at the end of the first quarter. I thought to myself,
“things are going well,” and decided that I wouldn’t mind
taking time to just relax and do some stuff I wanted to do.
One day of laying back led to a week of relaxing. That
one week turned into a month. The month led to a semester
and soon my grades were lower than they had ever been.
That’s when stress entered my life. I was doing too much of
what I wanted to do instead of what I needed to do. As that
became a problem, so did the people I associated with. I was a leader known not to follow or act like
other students. My friends didn’t challenge me to do my best
in class, yet they expected me to challenge them to do their
best. It wasn’t a two-way street. I learned that a leader always
faces a time when he or she needs help. But those who follow
that leader may not always provide the needed support. And
that lack of support from my friends made me angry. I didn’t
realize that I needed to stop being influenced by those holding
me back until it was nearly too late. It was only when I took
myself away from their drama and started to focus on what I
had to do instead of what I wanted to do, that things got back
on course. Then I was able to pass all my finals with one grade
of 78, and the rest 80’s.
So, if you’re an upcoming senior, never wait till the last
minute to get yourself together for school. When you wait
until the last minute, often times it will be hard to make the
grade. You’ve made it this far, so there is no reason to give up
now. You’ve already stuck it out the last 14 years. Don’t expect
support from friends because even though they may want you
to help them, you might not get the support back. This is what
I experienced in my 2007-2008 senior school year so I know
how it feels. No matter what happens, just know that giving up
isn’t the best option. There are so many more benefits for the
future for those who graduate from high school than for those
who don’t.
And finally, I’d like to leave all you rising
seniors with the following quote I created to
push me throughout my senior year:
“With aspiration,
dedication, and motivation;
there’s nothing anyone can
tell me I can’t do.”
-Travis Houze ‘Class of 2008’
Travis Houze is an upcoming freshman at Saint
Augustine’s College in Raliegh, NC this fall studying
filmmaking and business.
(The Endowed continued from page 64)
UNDERNENEATH THIS FIRE
IS the light of HIDDEN DESIRE.
All of a sudden tiny blue, white and green lights popped into
the air. The boys decided to follow the lights and were surprised
when the lights led them to an opening of the cave.
“Oh, no,” said Nick. “How are we supposed to get rid of the
lights? We left the spell book back in the cave and it’s too late to
go back. Our parents are probably worried sick.”
This time the boys were trapped with no way out. They couldn’t
go home or to school. There’d be no way to hide the lights. Just when
they started to give up, they heard a snapping of twigs.
“Wait don’t run!”
“Who are you?” asked Chad.
“I am Rosezario and I am here to help you.”
Sorry, we don’t need help from people like you,” said Jay.
“Oh really,” said Rosezario. “I believe you need my help to
control those powers of yours. But first you need to get rid of
those lights.”
Rosezario closed his eyes. Then in the blink of an eye, the
lights disappeared.
“Wow! How did you do that,” said Nick?”
“Who said I didn’t have a power, Rosezario said cockily. “I
have the power to project anything with my mind and I can
shape-shift into anyone or anything.”
“Wow! Who knows what you could do with your power which
is exactly why we shouldn’t trust you. You could picture one of us
dead and it could happen. All you have to do is project it.”
“I am sorry you think that I am evil. Right now, I have no time
to tell you my life story. But I’ll be glad to tell you after we get
somewhere safe.”
“What do you mean somewhere safe? Is this place not safe?”
“Actually, no it’s not. It almost midnight and that’s when the
Apocalypses come out.”
“What are the apocalypses?”
“They’re zombie-like creatures who only come out at night.
Be careful not to look into their eyes. They’re called Apocalypses
for a reason. They can make you go blind and they also have the
ability to randomly affect different people in different ways.”
“Wait. What was that? I think I heard something in the
bushes. Look,” said Jason.
“No! don’t look! yelled Rosezario at Jason.
But it was to late. Jason already looked. All of a sudden a zombielike creature jumped from behind the bush and grabbed Jason.
“Help! Help!” yelled Jason. Then, within a blink of an eye,
Jason and the creature vanished into thick air.
“Oh no, we have to save him!”
....To be continued. Later this fall, check out the new fiction section of
friendshipnewsnetwork.com.
Randyn Fullard is an eight grade honor roll student at Blow Pierce Junior Academy.
(Best Anime Ever continued from page 33)
Rurouni Kenshin: This is a classic anime about a samurai
named Kenshin who repented from his previous life as “Battosai
the manslayer” in a previous time era. Now Kenshin Himura
wanders Japan helping others to pay for his crimes without killing.
A classic in my book and a must see for ANY Samurai lover!
Samurai Jack: Long ago in a distant land, Aku the shape-shifting master of darkness unleashed an unspeakable evil. But, a foolish
samurai warrior wielding a magic sword stepped forth to oppose
Aku. The two opposing forces fought till only the samurai stood. But,
before the final blow was struck, Aku tore open a portal in time and
flung the samurai into the future where Aku’s evil is law! Now the
samurai, Jack, seeks to return to the past, and undo the future that is
Aku. This was an anime to remember. With more violence than you
can shake a stick at, Samurai Jack should be a classic by now.
Trinity Blood: This anime is about the ongoing struggles between vampires and humans. The Catholic religion is the main
theme of this show, however don’t let the religion keep you from
watching this show. It has some good gore with vampires attacking and killing people. The plot line of this show is also really
interesting even if it takes a few episodes to understand. Father
Nightroad is one of the main characters, When you first see this
guy you might laugh at his stupidity, but when he goes into fight
mode it’s all whoa!
Flonora Merritt is a 2008 honors graduate of Friendship Collegiate Academy
and will be attending Trinity College in the Fall. Jarrell Davis is a senior at
Friendship Collegiate Academy. Shaquanda Noble, Maurice Williams and
Karlton Chapman are juniors at Friendship Collegiate Academy.
You believe your
child can do
Anything.
So do we.
FRIENDSHIP PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL
Five campus locations serving students in Grades PreK-12
Friendship Chamberlain Elementary (K-5)
1345 Potomac Ave. SE
(202) 547-5800
Friendship Southeast Academy (K-6)
645 Milkaukee Place, SE
(202) 562-1980
Friendship Woodridge Academy (Pre-K-7)
2959 Carlton Ave. NE
(202) 635-6500
Friendship Blow Pierce Junior Academy (6-8)
725 19th street, NE
(202) 572-1070
Friendship Collegiate AcademyCarter G. Woodson (9-12)
4095 Minnesota Ave., NE
(202) 396-5500
For more information
call (202) 281-1700

employment opportunities

Transcription

Similar documents

Rainbow Magic Friendship Bracelet Activity

Eclaro Academy PDF

slcda15

2009-2010 Facts

March 18-20, 2011 Valley Forge Convention Center King of Prussia

BESM THIRD EDITION

Tips, reviews, fanart, Pokémon go! and much, much more

Micah Solusod - City of Denton

Best of Times - Neil Sedaka.pub

friendship force