The Eyrie - February 2, 2016

AIRPORT HIGH SCHOOL

West Columbia, SC

February 5, 2016

Miss Aquila: A Night of Crowns, Messes, & Little Black Dresses

By Allie Hall Hal720@lex2.org

On Saturday, January 30th, Airport held its annual Miss Aquila pageant to showcase the beautiful young ladies from our school. Through countless hours of practice and rehearsal, the ladies were ready to take the stage Saturday night, Jan. 30, in hopes of taking home the crown! In total, 41 girls competed for the crown.

Many girls showed off their take on what it means to be a woman in their little black dresses and spoken about their goals for their future careers.

From bringing your own sunshine to your local golf player, the girls created a wide variety of personalities for the judges to look at when deciding their top picks for each grade level. Some of the other theme wear contestants included Anna-Leigh Taylor who wore pajamas to emphasize beauty as being comfortable in your own skin. “Whether you’re at home in your pajamas or all done up in your little black dress, you’re always beautiful,” said Anna-leigh. Haley Stokes also had an amazing theme wear. She decided to turn her little black dress into a peacock.

“I really wanted to show that beauty is about showing your true colors,” Stokes said.

In the evening wear category, standouts included Junior Samantha Miles, Senior Aubrey Burgess and Senior Sarah Sams.

Miles said of her dress,

“I loved my evening wear!

It made me feel really confident and I appreciate everyone who took their time to make it perfect for me and for the night.”

Perhaps the best part of the show was the inclusion of Project Unify, Airport’s club to promote acceptance of students with special needs. Five students, including Carlee Vella, Maddie Haas, Paw Ree Yer, Maria Sabillon, and Asia Walker, participated in the evening wear competition. When the students came on stage, they were met with a standing ovation.

Contestant Carlee Vella said of the experience, “It was a great chance to show my beautiful smile and for us to show our personality. I had a lot of fun!”

Now for a summary of the winners.

Taking the top spot of Miss Aquila 2016 was Josey Dorn!

Braylin Urbanek won Miss Senior with Sarah Sams right behind as Fir st Runner Up! Maliah Burgstaller placed as Miss Senior Second Runner Up and Aubrey Burgess rounding up the Senior class with Third Runner Up! Haley Stokes was awarded Miss Junior, and Kellie Wooten took the First Runner Up position. Brook Lowery won Miss Junior Second Runner Up and Shea Adams-Holden ended the group with Miss Junior Third Runner Up. For the Sophomores Madison Dinkins won Miss Sophomore. Brianna Bailey took home the crown for First Runner Up with Skyllar Williams close be-

PHOTO: ANNE REAMER Josey Dorn (12th grade), minutes after accepting her crown. Josey is a very active student, not only participating in pageantry but also sports, including both volleyball and softball. In fact, she recently committed to attending North Greenville on a n athletic scholarship.

hind as Second Runner Up. Courtnie Wooten completed the Sophomore class by winning Third Runner Up. To finish the pageant, Savannah Rimmer was crowned Miss Freshman and Ryann Williams received First Runner Up. To fill Second Runner Up Katelyn Davis won, with Andrea Amaker behind her as Third Runner Up. Continued on p. 2

STUDENT LIFE

2 AIRPORT HIGH SCHOOL Continued from p. 1 When asked, the new 2016 Miss Aquila said, “It was so surprising to win Miss Aquila! I can’t believe I was able to end my senior year with an amazing group of girls and that I could be apart of such a beautiful program directed

by Mrs. Reamer! This was such an honor and I loved every second of it!”

Speaking of Mrs. Reamer, she had this to say about the pageant: “We put our blood, sweat and tears into this and it turned out to

West Columbia, SC beautiful and full of elegance.” Other teachers, such as Mrs. Seddon and Ms. Klein, assisted with the program also.

Teacher helpers weren’t the only staff and faculty to attend, however. Mrs. Rasmussen, who attended not only the Miss Aquila pageant for the first time but also her first pageant ever, remarked as follows: “Not only was the pageant itself a uniquely southern cultural experience, it amazed me to see such great attendance at a school event. It was very clear that Airport has a wonderful community of students, parents,

PHOTO: YOUTUBE.COM The overall winners after the pageant (from left): Vella, Dinkins, Urbanek, Dorn, Stokes, and Rimmer.

February 5, 2016 friends, and family. I am thankful that I work at a school with such involvement and look forward to many years here. Maybe next year, I can help.”

The student body also enjoyed the show.

Brooke Sheppard, twelfth grade, said, “I really enjoyed the pageant, and I had a great time! My favorite part was seeing the Project Unify girls be apart of the experience and I’m really happy for them!”

Congratulations again to all the winners and participants.

STUDENT LIFE AIRPORT HIGH SCHOOL

West Columbia, SC

3 February 5, 2016

Meet The Eyrie We are the staff of Airport High School’s newspaper!

Raven Bradshaw is an 18 year old senior at Airport High School. She enjoys hanging out with friends, watching movies, Reporter, 12th grade and styling herself in fashionable clothes.

Raven is helping with the school newspaper for the first time. While she has no previous experience with journalism, she is eager and also very interested in learning and developing her journalism skills. Raven has had multiple honors-level English classes and has enjoyed writing in the recent years. She plans to write about school sports, student athletes, and current events going on in the school. One of her favorite beats she hopes to cover this semester is Charity Drive at Airport due to her interest in the charity foundation Camp Kemo.

Raven was born in Cobb County, Georgia. She has one sister and one brother. She moved to South Carolina at a young age.

Currently, Raven works at Shandon Baptist Church as a coffee server and a workroom assistant.

Next year, Raven plans on attending Midlands Technical College for two years and transfer to the University of South Carolina to finish her major in mechanical engineering and a minor in aerospace. After college she will pursue a career as a aeronautical mechanic/engineer.

Raven Bradshaw

Tanner Glenn

Tanner is a senior at Airport High School and also plays baseReporter, 12th grade ball as pitcher and outfielder. He is currently taking Journalism and Prob & Stats. He has played baseball for Airport since seventh grade. He is very athletic and loves to workout. Tanner plans on going to Erskine college to play baseball and major in Physical Education or become a personal trainer.

Since Tanner has attended Airport he has taken English I through IV. His favorite teachers have included Mrs. Pickett (no longer at Airport) and Mrs. McNair. He has very little journalism background but over the course of the semester he plans to gain more knowledge and become a better journalist. He hopes to write about sports, both at Airport and the professional levels.

When Tanner is not writing for the school newspaper he enjoys playing baseball, basketball, football.

Also he likes to watch movies and play video games from time to time. However, he looks forward to expanding his interests and horizons as he matriculates into college and the working force.

Allie is a senior at Airport High School, where she is involved in multiple activities in and outside of the classroom. ThroughReporter, 12th grade out her four years at Airport she has participated in Beta Club, National Honor Society, B-27, and Teacher Cadet. Outside of school, she is an employee at Carolina Cafe and Catering Co. and spends her time giving back to her community.

In her personal life, Allie likes to spend time with her family and friends. On the weekends she likes to support local businesses in downtown Columbia, and also likes to visit Charleston, Myrtle Beach and Asheville, N.C. Allie also spends her time listening to music, playing guitar, and writing songs. In her very rare free time, Allie writes in her blog about life and her current experiences.

Previously, Allie has taken English 1 Honors, English 2 Honors, English 3 Honors, and English 4 AP. Along with English, Allie has experience with the Airport Yearbook Staff, and three years experience as Head Editor for the Eye on the Eagle News. After high school, Allie is attending Coastal Carolina University where she will study History in preparation to become a high school and middle school history teacher. While in college, Allie hopes to participate in student media and other extracurricular clubs to fill her time.

Allie's goals for The Eyrie are to inform the students at Airport High School of activities and opportunities to get involved in and around the school. She hopes to present the student body with accurate and timely information regarding the latest events around the community. She looks forward to being apart of The Eyrie and bringing the students the news they want to hear.

Allie Hall

STUDENT LIFE

4 AIRPORT HIGH SCHOOL

West Columbia, SC

February 5, 2016

Eric is a senior at Airport High School. He has participated in our football program and played rugby for the Columbia Rhinos.

Reporter, 12th grade Eric currently writes for the school newspaper about sports, general topics and entertainment.

Eric has extensive background in his English classes over the years. He started with English I H in 8th grade and continued to the higher levels every year until his junior year when he finished English IV. After High school Eric plans to attend college, he hasn't decided which yet but is leaning toward Coastal Carolina University. He plans to work in the sociology or psychology fields.

Eric Hall

Hannah is in her 12th grade year of high school and has a good knowledge of news and social media. She has taken four Co-Editor, 12th grade English classes prior to Journalism, and she is excited to be writing for the school newspaper for the first time. Hannah also has a Facebook, Tumblr, and Twitter accounts. Her skills in creative writing and knowledge of social media will help to create interesting articles. In middle school Hannah was apart of the yearbook committee.

Hannah's interest in gaming, movies, and anime has lead her to want to write game reviews, movie reviews, and other recommendations. She plans on putting an online survey out every two weeks for people to put in what games, animes, movies, or other media they want to see reviewed, and then basing her articles around expressed interests. Hannah wants to review things the reader is interested in and will put her time into giving the best review she can.

Hannah’s plans for the future include going to Midlands Tech and graduating with an degree in Accounting. She wants to work for a bank or a large company, and hopes the work life will be at least a LITTLE like The Office. She thinks that'd be pretty cool.

Hannah Hallman

This is Lyric Harrison. She is 17 years old and turning 18 on February 7.

Back Page Editor Lyric is an only child and lives with both of her parents. & Graphic Artist, Art runs through her family. Her grandmother and she are avid crafters and enjoy drawing, sculpting, crocheting, etc. Addi12th grade tionally, her mom and dad are musical so of course she is too.

Lyric has no prior experience in journalism but loves to write.

She loves to make stories and review things to make her opinion known. She is so excited about this class and to learn how to be a journalist.

Lyric plans on writing comic strips and other back page items. This combines her two favorite things: art and writing. She would love to add and “Ask an Eagle” column onto the back page too. Also, she will be doing crossword puzzles and other things that are interactive. Fun fact: Lyric designed the masthead for The Eyrie’s resurrection.

Lyric’s plans for next year are to have an internship at a tattoo parlor and to get her license. She wants to be a tattoo artist and loves the idea of people having her art on themselves permanently. She also plans to move somewhere outside of South Carolina. She grew up traveling and to be stuck here with very little travel since middle school has made her stir-crazy.

Lyric Harrison

EJ is a senior at Airport High School and mostly known for playing baseball at Airport since his freshman year.

He currently takes Journalism and works on the newspaper, Reporter, 12th grade which hasn’t been a program at AHS in quite some time now.

Outside of school, EJ enjoys working and participating in sports and other aerobic activities.

He plans on attending Newberry College in the fall and majoring in Actuarial Mathematics. He also plans on taking a macroeconomics class. Unfortunately, he does not plan on furthering his formal education in Writing and English, although it is required for literally everything in life.

EJ Hiers

STUDENT LIFE AIRPORT HIGH SCHOOL

West Columbia, SC

5 February 5, 2016

Nicholas is a senior at Airport high school and loves to write. Nicholas does many extracurricular activities at his Co-Editor, 12th school. Journalism of all forms is one of his many passions.

Nicholas loves photography, and has even won $100 dollars for a photo entry in the city of Cayce annual calendar. Along with photography, Nicholas enjoys all English activities like reading and writing. This is his first year taking Journalism because this is the first year this course has been offered.Along with Journalism, Nicholas is on the wrestling team and a member of marching band. Nicholas enjoys athletics and hopes to become a physical education teacher after high school. During his spare time Nicholas loves going to church and spending time with family. He also enjoys fishing, traveling, and being active. After school Nicholas plans on majoring in education. His hopes for the school newspaper include compositions about music and sports. Also Nicholas wishes to educate viewers on national and local

Nick McGee

Tatiyanna Minor

Tatiyanna Minor is a senior at Airport High School who is currently taking journalism. She will be writing for the first time in Reporter, 12th grade the school newspaper, The Eyrie, which whill published on a biweekly basis. She is also a varsity cheerleader and recently became a shift leader at Sonic Drive-In. She likes to listen to Country and R&B. She does debate groups at Benedict College to practice for her future career of becoming a lawyer and will hopefully be going to Shaw University in Raleigh North Carolina, majoring in criminal justice and social work, starting in the fall.

While Tatiyanna is very interested in the study of law, she does love the study of journalism and how to publish news ads and news reports. Beginning in her freshmen year is when she discovered her love for writing and giving not only herself a voice but others. She visited many orphanage speaking to children of all ages, writing reports on their living conditions and what it's like to be a orphan. Listening to each child story touched her so she decide she wanted other people to hear the stories of these children to maybe open up homes of families willing to adopt the children.

Tatiyanna's sophomore year she lost her grandfather and that opened her eyes to making opportunities for herself to tell her story, which is why she started to write a book on her life and also some of the orphans stories, Living Through The Struggle. In her book she has written about so many different life changes that she and the orphans went through and how she relates to them. She is currently thinking about changing the name of the book but she still have her options open.

While writing for The Eyrie Tatiyanna hopes to give information to students in the school about things that go on in our community hoping to get some helping hands to minimize the problems we have. she would like to inspire people to tell their story and not hide in the dark.

Austin Phelps

Austin Phelps is a senior at Airport High School. He is currently taking Welding IV and Journalism, which is new to AHS Reporter, 12th grade this spring. Welding IV is the last class in welding, and Austin will be getting his completers’ paperwork in it. He will also be helping to bring back the school newspaper, The Eyrie, to AHS through the journalism program.

Austin began in high school not knowing what to set goals toward in the future. But sophomore year, he decided to try a welding class. He strongly enjoyed his welding class and decided to keep moving forward in it. Austin has also been in Beta Club and National Honor Society, helping to set a good example and to help with different things like charity week. He also was Meeting new friends and linking up with old friends, Austin has made his life more fun and more exciting than it has ever been.

Austin hopes to help make a very interesting newspaper for AHS to encourage people to want to keep the newspaper in the school. Writing about sports and electronics is what he hopes to do in Journalism. He hopes to help inspire other students to keep working on the school newspaper and keep it going.

In his spare time, Austin likes to spend time with friends and play his Playstation.

STUDENT LIFE

6 AIRPORT HIGH SCHOOL

West Columbia, SC

February 5, 2016

Mrs. Rasmussen is a tenth-year teacher in her second year at Airport High School. She currently teaches English I Publisher and the Journalism course, new to AHS this spring, although her favorite class to teach is probably a tie between English III (which focuses on American Literature) and English IV (which focuses on British Literature). Within her subject area, she has soft spots for grammar and etymology, although she’s no stranger to mistakes in these areas (so be kind when judging this paper)!

One of Mrs. Rasmussen’s favorite books to teach is The Great Gatsby but her favorite book of all time is probably The Stranger by Albert Camus. She hopes to read more journalistic nonfiction as she teaches this course.

Mrs. Rasmussen is VERY excited about resurrecting The Eyrie through the new Journalism class. In Journalism, students will learn fundamental skills pertaining to gathering and disseminating news in conjunction with the standard skills of English/Language Arts.

While Mrs. Rasmussen is very much a classic literature lover, she does have deep roots in journalism. Beginning in high school, she worked for the school paper, yearbook, and literary magazine all four years and also wrote for VOX, a monthly paper published by and for teens in Atlanta. Additionally, in college, she wrote for Atlanta’s INSite Magazine, a life and style periodical, and took electives in Creative Writing, including Creative Nonfiction. While her interests professionally shifted away from journalism and much more towards literature and language, she remains passionate about using journalism as an authentic writing opportunity for her students.

She has previously sponsored newspapers at two schools, The Challenging Times at the SC Youth Challenge Academy in Eastover, SC, and The RAMpage of Arabia Mountain High School in her hometown of Atlanta.

Speaking of Atlanta, Mrs. Rasmussen is EXTREMELY proud to be from this city. She was born there, attended K-12 there, and even stuck around to attend Emory University. To maintain her connection to Atlanta, she enjoys watching reality television filmed there, especially The Real Housewives.

Mrs. Rasmussen’s hopes for The Eyrie include successfully staying on schedule for the entire semester and increasing the student body’s awareness and readership of the paper. She hopes to inspire students to consider careers in journalism and to participate in Student Media in college. Her role as publisher will include proofreading student articles, choosing which articles get published, and fine-tuning the paper’s layout.

In her spare time, Mrs. Rasmussen enjoys reading, typing on her old-fashioned typewriter, fishing at the beach, leisurely bike-riding, winning at Scrabble, traveling anywhere new, listening to her husband’s radio show on WUSC, and taking adorable photos of her cat Mona.

Mrs. Rasmussen

DeAundre Scott

DeAundre Scott is a senior at Airport High School. He is also a participant on the Airport High School football team, Reporter primarily on the defensive and offensive lines.

DeAundre is currently a writer for the school newspaper. He is going to be writing articles about sports in the school, as well as fashion and music.

DeAundre is planning on playing football in college but is still undecided on where he is going to further his education. Even though he had not committed as of the recent signing day, he was very proud of his teammates who did. Wherever he ends up going to college, DeAundre plans on majoring in business.

DeAundre’s background in English includes taking English I-IV, beginning in the 8th grade and concluding last year with Mrs. Flowers for English IV Honors. Now he is taking Journalism.

When DeAundre isn’t writing for the paper he is either in the weight room working out, on the field running, at basketball games spectating, or at home relaxing. He is a great person to have on the newspaper staff because of his positive attitude and proclivity for cracking jokes.

STUDENT LIFE AIRPORT HIGH SCHOOL

West Columbia, SC

Colby Spires is a Reporter, 12th grade senior at Airport High School. He is also a participant on the Airport High School boys golf team.

Colby is currently a writer for the school newspaper. He writes articles about a variety of topics including politics, sports, and entertainment. Colby has interest in attending Coastal Carolina University.

As a first-year writer for the school newspaper, Colby plans to write about politics, sports, and entertainment. He has a passion for politics so this should be the majority of articles he writes about. Sports and entertainment will also be included with topics and articles relating to major events such as March Maddness or an awards show. Also possibly scandals that are hot in the media.

Colby has had an extensive background in english classes. He started out with English I in the eighth grade and continued to take those classes until his junior year when he finished English IV. He then decided to take Journalism in his senior year and is now a writer for the school newspaper.

After high school, Colby plans to attend Coastal Carolina University. He plans to major in Political Science.

Colby also has plans to participate in a number of extracurricular activities, including student leadership.

Colby Spires

Josh Talton

J o s h Talton is a senior at Airport High School. He is a baseball player and plays a key role to his team’s success. He is the number one pitcher on his team and carries most of the load.

Clearly, Josh is passionate about baseball.

Josh likes to say that his writing is not very good, citing as evidence how he has not done very well in his past English classes. In fact, according to him, writing is easily his worst subject. But this year he plans to make a difference in his writing because he is going to college next year and therefore looks forward to learning real-world writing skills with Mrs. Rasmussen.

As of right now, Josh is planning to attend Erskine College and is going on a baseball scholarship. He plans to major in business and maybe one day own his own business.

In this year’s paper he is planning to write about sporting events and the impact that particular game or match had within its league.

Reporter, 12th grade

7 February 5, 2016

Here We Are, Working Hard on Issue #1!

8 AIRPORT HIGH SCHOOL

STUDENT LIFE West Columbia, SC

February 5, 2016

How to Manage Time After School

By Bryan Estrada estrada636@lex2.org

Most high school students do not know how to manage their time correctly after school. We have all struggled to do our homework, and for those who are also working it has become a big issue.

When starting a job, try to find a flexible work schedule so that you have time to do your school work.

If that is not possible for you, then here are some things that might help in managing your time.

There are actually many ways to manage your work and school assignments, but what helps is having your school work close by. Carry your schoolwork in the car and in a non-working zone. By doing this, whenever you have any downtime you can work on it. Also it does not always have to be during work. If you can do half or more before work then do this because then after work you will have little to finish. your usual and finish the schoolwork. Therefore If you just use your time more wisely, then you will be able to pass your classes easily.

For those who work right after school until late at night, you

Especially When You Have A Job should work on it during your lunch break no matter how much this paints you. It is one of your few options and in the end it is something that needs to be done, unlike talking with your friends. Then in the morning, wake up an hour earlier than usual.

From personal experience I know how hard it is having to do school assignments but also having to work. I’ve been working for three years at a tire shop, working after school for five hours and eleven hours on the weekend. Getting home too tired to do homework or study is a regular occurrence for me.

Osvaldo Ambriz, a senior, also works long hours after school.

When asked how he manages his time, “I do it at work whenever I get a chance or stay up at 1 doing it” replied Osvaldo. When asked what tips he had for other students he replied “Try to do it your homework during school if you can. Focus on school and don't get a job unless you really need to”.

Above all, don’t be afraid to tell your teachers that you work after school because they might be able to take extra steps to help you accomplish your school goals.

STUDENT LIFE AIRPORT HIGH SCHOOL

West Columbia, SC

9 February 5, 2016

New Year's Resolutions Eric Hall Hall830@lex2.org

With the new year having recently arrived, I thought it would be good to see what people’s resolutions are.

New Year's resolutions are decisions to do or not do something to accomplish a personal goal or break a habit. It is when people look back at the past year and try to make an effort to improve themselves for a new year.

Regardless of what resolution you commit to, the goal is to improve life in the coming year.

The ancient Babylonians are said to have been the first people to make New Year’s resolutions, some 4,000 years ago.

In ancient Rome after the rule of emperor Julius Caesar, Janus the twofaced god whose spirit inhabited doorways and arches, which is how they got the named for January had special significance for the Romans. They believed that Janus was a symbol for looked backwards into the previous year and ahead into the future, the Romans started offering sacrifices to the deity and made promises of good conduct for

the coming year.

I asked a few people about their new years resolution and they had a variety of responses.

Teacher and newspaper sponsor Mrs. Rasmussen replied, “To go to more school activities.”

English teacher Mrs. McNair said, “To be more active with her children.” Mr. Williams, a math teacher, said he wanted to try and do something positive everyday to hopefully at least one person.

Now to our students.

12th graders Colby Spires

said, “Go to Coastal Carolina, and drink more water.” Senior Allie Hall said, “Save more money.” 12th grade student Maliah Burgstaller said, “Eat healthier.” Lastly, senior Tanner Glenn replied, “After being injured, to get back to being more athletic.”

Personally, my new years resolution is be better at a variety of things and just be an overall better person.

Good luck to everyone keeping their resolutions.

STUDENT LIFE

10

West Columbia, SC

AIRPORT HIGH SCHOOL

February 5, 2016

The Battle of the Bell: Why This Senior Class?

So,

should

the

senior

privileges be given back to the senior class of 2016?

When

asked

about if the senior bell

By Raven Bradshaw

should be given back to the sen-

Bradsh345@lex2.org

ior class of 2016, LaMar Brooks

So where it all began was the

said, “Yes.” Then Alanya Zeigler

senior assembly at the beginning

interrupted, “We’ve waited four

of the school year.

Dr. Brook’s

years to have a senior bell and

dropped a bombshell that the

the fact that teachers let us out in

senior class of 2016 would not

the past isn't fair to punish just

have a senior bell at the end of

us.” The statement above clearly

the day.

shows how strongly the seniors

Back in the day like

previ-

feel about this senior privilege

ous years of high school they've

any kid to go back to class would

being

always have had two senior bells:

have any effect. My being about

Gutierrez was asked about the

one at lunch, and one at the end

5’2” has really no intimidation

senior privileges taken away, he

of the day. Then this year things

factor either… Also his statement

said, “It’s wack, it’s

changed, due to previous year’s

makes you think, “Why are the

think it is the teacher’s fault not

underclassmen leaving

during

teenagers letting the underclass-

the students. We should have the

the senior bell. I’m not

exactly

men go in the first place?” Aren’t ,

bell back ASAP.” So was it the

sure why only this senior class’

like I said earlier, the children in

teacher’s or the students’ fault?

privileges are taken away even

a teacher’s classroom their re-

though not only a small few of the

sponsibility in the first place? So

seniors of 2016 was involved in

wouldn’t the “blame” be on the

the rule breaking.

teachers that’s letting them go

Perhaps the

teachers who were dismissing all students early are the ones who need to be held accountable.

I most vividly remember the aforementioned senior assembly, when Dr. Brook’s stated along the lines of how the seniors should be the ones to tell the underclassmen to go back to class, but why should that be our responsibility?

Honestly, with me being a high school senior, I doubt my telling

and not the senior class?

revoked.

When

Angel

stupid. I

Email Raven Bradshaw with any comments or suggestions.

STUDENT LIFE AIRPORT HIGH SCHOOL

11 February 5, 2016

West Columbia, SC

Mrs. Bailey’s Interview

By Austin Phelps Phelps621@lex2.org

Mrs. Bailey is a well known and loved teacher at Airport High School. She is very different compared to your average Joe, but in a good way. She can be the sweetest person you've ever met or strict enough to enforce a good learning environment. Those two put together make an amazing teacher who gives students the best possible learning experience.

Mrs. Bailey answered some questions on her teaching experience and some of her opinions.

When asked what caused her to pursue being a science teacher, she answered, “I was researching toxicology in salt marshes, and really enjoyed it but missed interacting with lots of people. The lab only had six or seven researchers. I was going to pursue my PhD but on a whim I went to the educators job fair at the university. I was ‘crash course’ taught some teaching strategies through the critical needs program.”

In response to a question about what made her want to teach in high school, she replied, “The opportunity to teach marine science and the level of content I was most familiar with.”

The kind of work Mrs. Bailey would be doing if you weren't teaching would be researching either with a government agency or at a university.”

Mrs. Bailey says some of the ups and downs of teaching include getting to meet new people every semester and getting to be a part of their lives. The downside, though, is legislation.

Having rules and regulations dictated by people who don't work in education is the worst part, Bailey says.

When asked how Airport High School could improve, Mrs. Bailey has this to say: “Wow! Everyplace everywhere can always improve. If you get to the point where you don't think there's anything more you can do, then it's time to get out of the business. But for AHS specifically, I think it's trying to stay in tune with what kids need (not necessarily what they want).” Perhaps the most important thing, says Mrs. Bailey, is making sure we are providing the best preparation for college and work.”

STAFF PHOTO

To conclude, here are four unique facts you might not know about Mrs. Bailey: She has two children, she’s a vegetarian, her husband is a middle school science teacher at Hand, and she used to live in Iceland.

Here is what some of Mrs. Bailey’s students, past and present, have to say about her. 11th grader Brianna Rouppasong says, “She’s very nice, but mean when you aren’t listening.” According to 11th grader Amanda Shumpert, “I had her last year, I always liked her.”

If you would like to have Mrs. Bailey for your teacher, you have to take Marine Science or AP Bio.

“Mrs. Bailey is my twin; she’s cool and fun.

She’s the most awesome teacher ever.” ~Savanna Moore, 11th grade

12 AIRPORT HIGH SCHOOL

OPINION West Columbia, SC

February 5, 2016

Why The Long Wait?

By Gabriel Hoover Hoover188@lex2.org

Most people have found themselves in a hospital emergency room for any number of reasons and wondered, “If I am here for an emergency then why is it taking so long to see a doctor?�

Having recently been to the emergency room for a wrestlingrelated injury, I can safely say that I am no exception. In total, I was there five and half hours and was left wondering why in the world it took so long to see someone with an easily treatable medical issue; the actual injury took only about 15 minutes to care to.

In America alone, there are over 130 million visits to the emergency room yearly, according to the CDC, 40 million of which are injury-related. Yet, only 27% of all patients are seen within fifteen minutes.

35,100,000 out of 130 million patients are seen within the first fifteen minutes.

You may not be surprised to

PHOTO: www.fcer.com STOCK PHOTO

hear that although over 30.1 billion dollars is invested into the U.S. health system annually only 12 million is allocated to health resources and services, such as that of the hospital emergency room.

These statistics are not comforting to most, I am sure. What of the grandmother having an asthma attack or the family who has just been in an auto accident, are they expected to wait?

Should they not be seen immediately? Fifteen minutes may not seem very long, until you realize the difference it could make between life and death. Even if not so urgent why should those in pain (assumingly) have to wait so long for medical care?

The most common response is the lack of persons available to tend to each patient, especially when considering each patient has a different condition and will require varying amounts of time with the staff. It is not as if these people have no regard for

our wellbeing; they simply cannot be in more than one place at once, not to mention the ridiculous hours required by doctors and nurses, particularly those in the ER. Now you say we already knew this, what good is that to me?

This is an issue I worry will be a constant problem for years to come, but if we ever want to receive the care that we deserve, serious changes need to occur.

Either hospitals should reassign funding to areas they see are weak, such as the ER or the government will need to step in and offer money and services to which are accessible at anytime of day for any kind of medical emergency. Medical patients should not have to wait for assistance; if they see it as a big enough of a concern to come to the emergency room, then it should be seen to almost, if not immediately.

POLITICS AIRPORT HIGH SCHOOL

West Columbia, SC ers, but a certain a certain news outlet just wasn't having it.

Slate.com, a news source with a large following on Twitter with 1.5 million followers, published an article declaring “Hillary Clinton Won Sunday Night’s Debate.”

But on that same Twitter account they published a fan poll, and the results were the exact opposite (see screenshots below).

The evidence is clear that whatever the media says isn't always what is correct. This source has a history of expressing their opinion, as seen here.

As the polls clearly state otherwise, the race is very close and could go either way. So people, please do your own investigating and don't give your vote to corrupt media.

As shown, you could have one news source say one version of a story and ten other sources say a different version of the story. This causes people to be misinformed about topics in the news, some of which could directly relate to them, and it would cause them harm or suffering.

This is sometimes allowed by the news source if that news source stands for a specific issue, such as a pro-gun magazine not wanting to publish an article about gun violence and misuse.

This is expected to be left out by the readers of this magazine.

Though this may be ok in some forms, a news source that declares itself as an unbiased news

Why Are People so Influenced by the Media about their Political Choices?

By Colby Spires spires821@lex2.org

Many Americans rely on the media for information on the world, both domestic and global.

This is really the only way that the average American can learn about what's going on in foreign nations or neighboring states.

They can't just visit all 50 states in a day to hear what's the talk around the water cooler. So when it comes to the presidential race many people use news media for information on the candidates running and don't do their own investigating.

While relying on only the media about the political race is a terrible idea, many Americans find it easier to just read an article or watch a video on the subject because they don't have “time” to do their own digging.

With this power, the media controls what people see and what they don't see. They can “pull the wool over our eyes” and we wouldn't even know.

A strong example of media influence is with the Democratic presidential race and the first Democratic debate of the year. In this debate, the vast majority of Americans said that the “winner” of this debate was Bernie Sand-

13 February 5, 2016 outlet should only publish those articles that stick to this format and promise and leave political opinions out of it.

My advice to readers and viewers of the news is to do your own research and not to rely on the viewing of others and the opinions of others to form your own. Use multiple sources and question everything you read on its truthfulness. The media should give you the facts and allow you to form your base of thinking about a particular topic.

Also you as a person should find a news source you can trust.

If you are looking for a place to view unbiased and factual news I would recommend www.vox.com. I personally use this source as my main viewing of news from a variety of categories.

Two more examples of politically influenced media coverage. On the top, both stories are about young men recently arrested; however, the story pertaining to African American men uses their mugshots while the story about white men feature more respectable school photo-like images, begging a question about the ideological motives underpinning that news source, in this case ABC. On the bottom, two covers of Newsweek infuse opinions about politicians into their headlines.

14

SPORTS

AIRPORT HIGH SCHOOL

West Columbia, SC

February 5th, 2016

NATIONAL

Sports Highlights with T.G.

By Tanner Glenn Glenn453@lex2.org

Last week in sports there were many top stories and headlines.

Detroit Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson (Megatron) told Lions he plans to retire. Johnson told his family and a close circle of friends that 2015-16 would be his final season in the NFL. He delivered the same message to coach Jim Caldwell the day after the regular season ended. Johnson is 31 years old and has played nine seasons in the NFL. The five-time Pro Bowler has battled lingering ankle injuries and general body soreness to the point that it would be difficult for him to return for another season.

Johnson played in all 16 games this past season and hauled in 88 receptions for 1,214 yards and nine touchdowns. It was his sixth consecutive 1,000-yard season and the seventh of his career.

Megatron was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2007 draft. Johnson had his best year in 2012, when he set the NFL single-season record with 1,964 receiving yards.

He is the Lions' all-time franchise leader in receptions (731) and receiving yards (11,619).

On Saturday, January 30, police were called to investigate an incident involving Cleveland Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel in Fort Worth, Texas.

Fort Worth police said in a statement Saturday that officers were

called to an apartment building around 2 a.m. about a possible assault. Police talked to a 23year-old woman who said she had been involved in an incident earlier in the evening with her exboyfriend in Dallas. The woman also told officers she was concerned about her ex-boyfriend's welfare. Police officers attempted to locate him, including by helicopter, and later determined that he was safe and not in danger.

Fort Worth police confirmed the man in the report was Manziel.

They said they are working with Dallas police to determine whether any criminal offenses occurred. When asked about the incident by ESPN, the Browns said they would have no comment at this time. NFL spokesman Greg Aiello told ESPN the league was aware of the incident and "looking into it.'

Kings center DeMarcus Cousins suffered a sprained left ankle Saturday night. Sacramento loss to the Memphis Grizzlies 121117. The injury forced him to exit game. The injury occurred with 2:03 remaining in the fourth quarter, when Grizzlies center Marc Gasol fell into Cousins' ankle while diving for a loose ball.

Cousins, who was recently named to his second All-Star Game, had to be helped off the court and seemed unable to put weight on the foot. X-rays on the ankle were negative, according to the team. He's considered day-today.

PHOTO: www.sportsonearth.com

PHOTO: www.usatoday.com

PHOTO: www.brownsvilleherald.com

SPORTS AIRPORT HIGH SCHOOL

West Columbia, SC

15 February 5, 2016

MIND OVER MATTER

By Nicholas McGee McGee557@lex2.org

I thought I knew how grueling athletics were, then i joined the wrestling team and realized it was a completely different ball game.

As a first-year wrestler at Airport High School I was more than eager to learn all the ins and outs of the sport.

I am somewhat knowledgeable about sports considering what I plan to do as a career after college. I plan to become a Physical Education teacher. As an active person I consider myself physically inclined.

However, nothing could’ve prepared me for the conditioning challenges at hand.

Some of these physical extremities include sprints, stair runs, wall sits, suicides, and bear crawls. To a person untrained in the art of wrestling these may all seem like pointless tasks, but the veterans of the sports will tell you that each activity serves a purpose.

Wrestling is a very physical sport, but most people don’t realize that is is also very psychological. A wrestling match is as strategical as game of chess. The strategic aspect of wrestling is the set of de-

cisions you have to make. At any moment you have to know how to defend against or score on your opponent. Wrestling includes a lot of the “mind over matter” mentality and persona.

Lastly, a good wrestler has to have a lot of heart; this is where the team aspect comes into play. Luckily at Airport we have a team that backs one another up. Each person feels close to one another. When it is time for a match, everyone cheers.

Everyone knows that once they step out onto the mat, all we can do is watch and pray.

I experienced this comradery the first time I stepped out onto the mat. I felt nervous but I realized my team had my back no matter how good or bad I wrestled. I am so glad I tried wrestling this year. We are now Region Champions and are headed to the playoffs.

I believe we have it in us to do great things.

Who knows, maybe we will be State Champions. If you have any interest in this sport, I suggest you join the team. Wrestling will make you mentally tough; physically strong, and you will never forget the friends you make along the way.

SPORTS

16 AIRPORT HIGH SCHOOL

West Columbia, SC

February 5, 2016

Airport Vs BC

By DeAundre Scott Scott343@lex2.org

On Tuesday, January 26, our Airport Eagles took on our rivals Brookland-Cayce at BrooklandCayce. Although for our Eagles it was a really close game that came down to the last shot, we ultimately won.

In the first half, our Eagles came out a little slow. I felt like we really didn't execute how we wanted to we came out sluggish but stayed up close to BC throughout the half.

During the second half of the game we went back and forth with multiple lead changes. But in the fourth quarter within the last minute, the score was 43-41, Airport up, but BC player Kozy Brown jacked up a three and it fell so score is 43-44.

In the last 15 seconds of the game with the ball in the Eagles’ hands, as the clock was ticking and the gym in silent, the ball was passed around the perimeter of the basket. Our Eagles wanted to go the hole and maybe draw a foul, but the Bearcats forced our Eagles to shoot from the three.

The ball passed to Eagle Josh Williamson with three seconds left. Josh put up a deep three, way past the arc.

The buzzer went off and the shot went in for the Airport win against rival Brookland-Cayce, 46 -44.

Of the game overall, one player commented, ”We played bad as a team but when the

fourth quarter came my team put me in a position to make a big play and that's what I did.”

PHOTO: DeAundre Scott

SPORTS AIRPORT HIGH SCHOOL

West Columbia, SC

17 February 5, 2016

By Josh Talton Talton@lex2.org

On the night of Thursday, January 28th, there was a very intense basketball game between the visiting Midland Valley Mustangs and the Airport Eagles. It was an exciting, chew on your nails, sitting on the edge of your seat slugfest for a full 32 minutes plus a 5 minute overtime period. Both teams were neck and neck the entire game. Unfortunately the Mustangs got the best of Airport this year.

Last year's game between these two teams was almost identical to this year's game. It was a very quick, physical, and intense game with lead changes and momentum swings.

Midland valley also got the best of the Eagles these past couple of years. The mustangs, last year, defeated everyone and

went on to win the 2015 state championship. They showed great experience as one would expect of a defending state championship team.

Airport held their own against this fast pace offense.

Although Airport is greater in height, Midland Valley is much faster, and this speed helped the mustangs to get an overtime win against a very skilled Airport basketball team.

12th grader, Tanner Glenn was asked about his take on the Airport versus Midland Valley basketball game. He said, “It was a good and close game. It was a nail-biter. The entire game was very intense. It was one of the best games I have witnessed during my time at Airport High School. Even though the team

lost, they can take from it, learn from it, and work to improve for their next meeting at Midland Valley. TG out.”

Zach Feaster, fellow senior, also had his own take on the game, “It was a live atmosphere.

Both teams played well. I think if we meet with Midland Valley in the playoffs at home, we will definitely pull out the win. Shout out to J-Will (Josh Williamson) for the clutch bucket to send us to OT.” I also asked the Head Basketball Coach of the Airport Eagles, Coach Kinard, what his take on this close and unfortunate game was, “Our guys played hard and competed the whole game. Midland Valley’s guys made a couple extra plays on over time that gave them the victory in the end.” Coach K seemed to be very proud of his players for their efforts but also knows that his team needs to improve in certain areas of their game.

18 AIRPORT HIGH SCHOOL

ARTS & CULTURE West Columbia, SC

February 5, 2016

Lazer Team is Here!

By Hannah Hallman Hallman653@lex2.org

Next, the most noticeable element of the movie is character motive. I’ll admit, when I first saw the trailer, I didn’t have much of a clue as to why the characters had the pieces of armor; and getting into the theater I was very worried about how the movie would set itself up. What this movie did was a wonderful example of what a film’s exposition should contain. You go through and you get the chance to live with the characters a little, get a feel for who to view the movie from a blankLazer Team is a movie about they are and why we should care four men who discover an alien slate sort of perspective. about them. They are shown in a spacecraft and gain parts of Firstly, in terms of cinematogway that makes you interested in some galactic battle armor and are raphy, the movie was shot amazwhat they are doing; the characters ingly. There were very little to no suddenly tasked with saving the world, Made by a company known times at which the viewer encoun- become important, and therefore as Roosterteeth. It is filled with ters a scene that is not important. gives us a reason to get into the movie. Nothing is worse than a references of past Roosterteeth A lot of movies try to focus too movie that spends either, way too works, such as their shorts and much on the background and the shows, that fans will absolutely world around the character, rather long trying desperately to describe all the characters that are imporlove. Honestly, the movie practithan developing the character cally revolves around its referthemselves. Let’s face it, in a movie tant and why they are important (etc.) or leaves you with no knowlences. That being said, the movie you want the story. The backedge of who these characters are does a fantastic job letting those ground is NOT that interesting, and makes you have to draw conwho understand the references You came to see a movie and no clusions that aren’t reliable. You have a special little something, but matter the genre, unless it is a aren’t an idiot and you don’t need to those who don’t get the referdocumentary, the background to ever feel like you are or be baences they can still enjoy the movie should be used to create atmosand understand what is happenphere. This movie does that just bied from a movie. Lazer Team ing. right: the characters are reacting makes sure to get it’s point across Now I’m going to do a little to the world; the world isn’t react- in a clear-cut way that makes it just ‘what the movie did right’ and ing to them. Everything in the a little more enjoyable.

No movie can be perfect, how‘what the movie did poorly’. I am movie is meant to be there and will ever. biased because I am a fan of relate to something else in the Roosterteeth, but I’ve tried my best movie.

Continued on p. 19

ARTS & CULTURE AIRPORT HIGH SCHOOL Continued from p/ 18

In the movie there is way too much happening on the screen at one time, which often confuses what the viewer should be paying attention to and making it much harder to keep up. At two points in the movie I found myself feeling super disconnected, and had to try to figure out what was important for me to watch. This made me over think the situation and

West Columbia, SC pull me out of the movie. Sometimes too much is really TOO MUCH. I want to be able to watch the movie fully immersed and getting the full effect of the movie. An example of this was when they did t news flash’ type scenes, one the scene there was the announcer, the scroll bar at the bottom, AND pop ups at the bottom of the screen that aren’t majorly important to look at, just being plain out distracting.

Another major problem I had was the character-viewer relationship. Yes, you do really get to learn about our MAIN characters, but you don’t get to really bond with anybody else. There was a lack of empathy towards bad things happening to anybody else, and that means nobody else’s sacrifices, however minor, will not

19 February 5, 2016

matter. In some cases that’s good, or shown through a sort of ‘that character deserves it’ attitude.

When you want it to matter it needs to actually matter. You can’t really feel that sorry for characters that don’t seem important to you, and sadly that can be said about practically every single character outside the main four.

Next week I plan on creating a promo for one of my favorite YouTube channels.

If you’re a fan of web series such as Marble Hornets, EverymanHYBRID, or you want to know about the latest in horror movies without spoilers, this will definitely be the channel for you.

Email me!

ADVICE

20 AIRPORT HIGH SCHOOL

West Columbia, SC

February 5, 2016

Tatiyanna’s Advice

By Tatiyanna Minor minor@lex2.org

PHOTO: Alyandra Jamison Tatiyanna Minor and Elecktra Barnes expressing there long journey of high school together starting as strangers and now best friends.

"You're going to change throughout high school, the people who stick by your side all four years are the people you can call your real friends or even your best friend.�

High school can be a mixed bag of good and bad. These have been some of the best years and some of the worst. The fact that I've made it this far is a great accomplishment. As senior I wish I had someone my freshmen year to tell me what to look for as I start on my journey of high school, but I didn't.

People will judge you for your mistakes, but how you react is PHOTO: Caitlyn Welch what really matters. Always keep Tatiyanna Minor giving advice to a underclassmen your head up and remember who who wants to give up on coming to school. you are. This is just the beginning and the best is yet come.

Join as many things as you can For many, their senior year and try and keep a positive outnever lived up to the hype it was look. There are more things to life given - the workload never less- than high school: ened, part-time jobs still weren't Airport senior Elecktra Barfun, friendships fizzled and the nes added, "You're going to parties were never as spectacular change throughout high school, as expected. the people who stick by your side The senior year comes with all four years are the people you certain baggage. At the start of can call your real friends or even the final year of high school and your best friend. seniors were burdened with ex"As a senior I wish someone pectations that their final high would've told me to apply for colschool year would somehow be lege and scholarships early and easier than previous years. You're not wait until my senior year. Do suddenly the big kid on the Not Wait, apply early and get a block, older, wiser, top of the head start because if you wait high school food chain. But some until your senior year you're gohave been cheated of an enjoy- ing to be very frustrated and tryable senior year. ing to hurry to meet deadlines.

Despite the pall of negativity, High school is what you make of I as a senior have my own advice. it.

People will gossip about you, that Find your true friends, stay is just the way it is, and what focused, and you will be fine. f they say is not always going to be you can survive high school, you true. But realize that you gossip, can survive anything. too. Just like what is said about you behind your back is not always true, common gossip about other people is not always going to be true either. Don't believe everything you hear, and judge people for what you see yourself.

Don't let small things get to you.

BACK PAGE AIRPORT HIGH SCHOOL

WEEKLY CROSSWORD PUZZLE

West Columbia, SC

21 February 5, 2016

What Zodiac Signs Laugh At Aries: when someone trips Taurus: funny videos Gemini: gifs Cancer: EVERYTHING Leo: intelligent/sarcastic jokes Virgo: others laughing Libra: comedy show Scorpio: people they hate Sagittarius: other people Capricorn: their grades Aquarius: NOTHING Pisces: a funny vine

Next issue will include an advice column Email questions to: Harrison724@lex2.org