January 2010

Illustration By Kimberlyn Bailey

Editorial

2

Buccaneer Bulletin Oswego High School’s Student Voice

Editors-in-Chief Rachel Clark Emily DiFabio Managing Editor Caitlin Sawyer Layout Editor Kimberlyn Bailey Chief Photographer Monék Cullen Art Director Edward Wallace Business Manager Vanessa Sheffield Webmaster Kaitlyn Scanlon Sports Editor Jasmine Davis Entertainment Editor Catie Furletti Clublicity Editor Mackenzie Oatman Alumni Editor Aaron Callahan Photographer Christina Buckingham Ad Representative Dacota Kazyaka Ad Designer Hilary MacDonald Art Staff Ashley Fidler Sports Writers Brittany Ross, MaryKate Torbitt Reporters Shaughnessy Darrow, Emily Fultz, Rachel Healy, Michaela Kearns, Mary Losurdo, Faith Whitely, Kylie Wyman Advisers Bill Reeser Mike McCrobie The Buccaneer Bulletin, a member of the Empire State School Press Association, and The Quill and Scroll, is published periodically by the students of the Oswego High School, 2 Buccaneer Blvd.; Oswego, New York 13126; (315) 341-2200.

It is intended as a vehicle to inform, educate, and entertain the student body.

Printing ser vices are provided by The Palladium-Times. Opinions expressed are those of the students and do not necessarily reflect those of the administration or the advisers.

Cover photo credits: Colons’ photos courtesy of SchoolTools; Victor Rodriguez’s photo by Monék Cullen; other photos courtesy of OHS Paradox.

Buccaneer Bulletin

illustration by Ashley fidler

...To the OHS Inc. classes for hosting a hat, mitten, and scarves drive. They provided many families with warm essentials needed this winter. ...To the increasing numbers of OHS students carrying around eco-friendly reusable water bottles. Considering our school does not recycle, it is comforting to see so many people making an effort to reduce plastic waste. ...To the holiday drive that provided thirty families with a holiday dinners. The faculty and staff “Jeans Fund” also provided 100 needy OHS students with $30 gift cards to Walmart for the holidays. ...To the new science wing that will now enable students to perform their labs safely and efficiently in state-of-the-art facilities. ...To the fall sports teams that were named scholar-athlete teams by the NYSPHSAA: football, boys’ golf, boys’ and girls’ soccer, boys’ and girls’ cross country, girls’ tennis, girls’ swimming & diving, cheerleading, and girls’ and boys’ volleyball. ...To Lindsay Johnson and Sarah Hill, who were recently recognized as the Oswego Elks’ Lodge #271 teenagers of the month.

...To the lack of participation from the students during the OHS Student Council canned food drive. If every student brought in just one item, we would’ve filled a truck instead of the disappointing number of items that was donated. ...To the leaking roof in room B-2 (in early January). It was literally snowing in the classroom. Students learning throughout the day in the room shouldn’t have to bring their winter gear to prevent being snowed on. ...To the smoking in the girls’ bathroom; it makes the hallways smell and it’s against school policy. ...To the students who feel it is necessary to rip down the articles and photos posted outside room 136. These articles promote school spirit. Respect them.

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January 2010

Editorial

3

Chaperones Wanted, Needed Our high school years are filled with many stressful things like tough honors classes, Regents exams, and those dreaded SAT exams. But one thing that can allow us to have fun and be safe at school is slowly disappearing because the lack of involvement from our teachers. Since the seventh grade, many of us have enjoyed attending the school dances that are put on by various clubs and sports teams. But why, in the past few years, has it become difficult for these organizations to get teachers to chaperone? What has changed so much in the past few years to make teachers not want to give up a few hours of their weekend once a month? Is it because they don’t want to give up their time or are there other extraneous factors that are playing a part?

While there are many teachers who are always willing to chaperone school dances, that number is often not enough. Teachers, you need to think back to your high school days and know that there are many students who want to go to these dances, similar to the ones that you once attended. Think back to the ‘good old days’ when you could enjoy the school dances that were put on and the whole experience that you had when you were in high school.

Teachers criticize students for not participating and not being enthusiastic about that day’s lesson, but isn’t that exactly what they are doing? Not wanting to chaperone school dances or other school-related functions is the same. It is extremely hypocritical of teachers to tell their students to get involved when they are not.

Students, you need to want teachers to be willing to chaperone these dances and allow your teachers to see you in a different light than the classroom setting.

So maybe if you peel yourselves off one another, stop the crude language, and follow the dress code teachers will want to chaperone the school dances.

But teachers, please understand that we need you to be there. Don’t make excuses and say that you are too busy to be there for your students.

Teachers, remember why you became teachers-it was probably because you wanted to positively affect the lives of the students that you teach, and by chaperoning school dances you can do this. You can affect that student’s night and maybe you can see the student in a different light.

What is the difference between the middle school teachers, who would get right into the whole chaperoning experience, and the high school teachers who do not willingly participate.

We would like to thank the teachers who chaperone a majority of the dances and who really get in to it; you are helping make the memories of many of us students. To the teachers who show us your best “Cotton-eyed Joe,” Elvis hip sway, or even some slick moves from Grease, you are the teachers that make dances worth going to and the ones that many of the faculty and staff members could learn from.

So teachers, next time you are asked to chaperone a school dance, think about your students and how you can affect their night in a positive way. Don’t wait until the last minute when students are hounding you to volunteer.

Think of how by merely volunteering to chaperone, you are really enabling your students to get a richer high school experience--similar to the one that you had not so long ago.

Bartholomew Represents OHS Bands Nationally Dear Editor: More than 1,300 students from across the country prepared, performed and submitted audition DVD’s one year ago to participate in the 2010 US Army All American Marching Band; 97 were accepted. One of them was one of our very own Kristen Bartholomew.

Kristen is currently principal trumpet in the OHS Wind Ensemble, long-time member of the Marching Buccaneers and a member (and captain) of our Winter Color Guard. She is the daughter of Debbie and Don Bartholomew, music teachers in our own district.

The Army All American Bowl was broadcast live on NBC on Saturday, January 9. Part of the band’s performance was viewed by millions across the country during halftime.

This was a very significant achievement for Kristen. Her name and the name of Oswego High School have been viewed, along with the schools of the other 96 musicians, all over the country. Students (all star

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Division I football players and band members alike) met in San Antonio, Texas – all expenses paid – for the first time Tuesday evening, January 5. In just 22 hours, the band members put the program together.

You can view the program YouTube--it’s fantastic, and a testament to the excellence of each one of the performers. There are other clips of the band’s performance on YouTube as well.

I hope if you see Kristen you will extend your congratulations on her truly outstanding accomplishment. She represented our school district and each one of us with great class and dignity.

What can clubs, that sponsor dances, do to encourage teachers to chaperone these events?

Rachel Doud “OHS clubs can pay teachers to chaperone.”

Class of 2011

Mr.Talamo

“ T h e y c o u l d o ff e r something like a prime parking spot or a lunch at subway.”

Faculty

Cortnie Purce “Give them a vacation day.”

Class of 2013

Mr. Mirabito

“Ask teachers personally, rather than mass e-mails, or ask chaperones to do “shifts” rather than the entire three hour dance.”

Mr. Bill Palange and Steve Defren OHS Band Directors

P.S. Other Oswego band members to earn positions in the USAAAMB were Chelsea Bartlett (2009) and Heather Buske, Amanda Donovan and Adam Dristle (2008).

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Faculty

January 2010

4

Features

Movement Against the ‘R-Word’ Increasing r-word in a nonchalant way, people may don’t think they (students) know where in The Post-Standard, the awareness assume it is perfectly harmless to use it comes from; it is derogatory. It has level peaked, as they gained almost become a part of pop culture, it could 100 friends in just 24 hours.

The “f-word” is vulgar and offen- the term in society.

OHS Senior Mitchell Maniccia be possible that the r-word won’t be The Frieds aren’t the only people sive. But to many, the “r-word” is just as insulting. The r-word is the word stated, “I personally don’t want to use part of our vocabulary, but it will just be in upstate New York who are taking the r-word, but people are going to say replaced with another word that could a stand against using the r-word. retard.

A group at Fayetteville-Manlius We have all used the word, either it, and it’s hard to get people to stop be just as hurtful.”

The r-word has become a part of High School has started a campaign in proper context or in a derogatory saying it because it has become part of against using manner. The word is most cruelly used society.”

High school the r-word. The to describe someone’s dumb behavior, club has started but it seems that most people don’t even students use the a website www. know the true definition of the word. It r- word in a jokwerabove.com is a term used when a person has certain ing manner, but a aimed to stop the limitations in mental functioning and lot of them don’t use of the r-word in skills such as communicating, tak- realize that it reand encourage ing care of him or herself, and social ally does bother many, and it is people to become skills. more aware of Not only do some people use the seen by a lot of what they are rer-word to describe the behavior of people as derogally saying. If you someone, they use it to describe a situa- atory and anyare truly passiontion that may seem unfair or something thing but funny. ate about stopthat might not be going their way. It Just walking in ping the use of the is not okay to use a derogatory word the halls, a perr-word, and you to describe something that in your son can hear the would like to join whiney teenage world might not seem r-word a numGraphic illustration by Ed Wallace their campaign, fair to you. Just think about if you re- ber of times and The website www.r-word.org is devoted to eliminating the use of the you can join their ally suffered from a mental or physical the offender can “r-word” and features a counter (like the one pictured above) which Facebook group, disability. “I think that we don’t think almost always tracks how many times the “r-word is used online. which has almost twice before we use the r-word, but we replace the word our generation’s slang. Since it is used 2,000 members. You can also go to don’t mean it in a bad way all the time,” “retard” with the word “stupid.”

There is a problem with that. Is it on hit shows like The Office many www.r-word.org and you can pledge stated OHS senior Julio Valenzuela.

The controversy over the r-word that people don’t care about hurting might feel, why not use it in real-life your support to stop the use of the most recently resurfaced when Ben the dozens of OHS students who suffer situations. All the blame shouldn’t r-word, because as organizers state, Stiller’s movie Tropic Thunder pre- from a disability, or are they just being be placed on high schoolers. Grown every person counts in the battle to miered in mid-August 2008, because mean and ignorant? Many people who adults use the r-word just like their high make the r-word obsolete.

Some people feel hurt when this it had many politically incorrect, ir- use this word might find it interesting school children.

The Fried family of nearby word is just thrown in to the converrational uses of the r-word. The movie to know that there are many people L y s a n d e r sation like it is no big deal. To many, is about bigbudget actors “I think that the r-word is used out of ignorance, and s t a r t e d a it really can be a big deal because you c a m p a i g n don’t know if the person that you are in a war movie, who end up I don’t think they (students) know where it comes a g a i n s t using the r-word around has a family having to be- from; it is derogatory. It has become a part of pop the use of member that suffers from a disability, the r-word and could be offended by the use of come the soldiers that they culture, it could be possible that the r-word won’t when their that word. Mulverhill stated, “I think are portraying. be part of our vocabulary, but it will just be replaced now-three that all of the positive things that are y e a r o l d going on (about the awareness of) Stiller’s charwith another word that could be just as hurtful.” son, Nathan the r-word could help. Facebook is acter is Tugg Kirk Mulverhill w a s b o r n extremely popular with the age group Speedman, or better known Special Education Teacher with Down that uses the r-word, and anything Syndrome. can help.” as “Simple So next time that you are in a situJack,” (a character that Speedman once who have mental retardation that, so- They are using the internet to send portrayed) who has some mental dis- cially, are just like everyone else, but their message. They have a MySpace ation and you think that the r-word is abilities. This is when the “retard” jokes academically, they have an IQ that is page for Nathan, and their friends are about to come out of your mouth, take start, because Speedman confides in a less than 70. This description, which people who have agreed to stop us- a second and think about the people fellow actor about times when he really some people who use the r-word may ing the r-word. They have hundreds you may be hurting when you speak. felt retarded while playing Simple Jack. be surprised to hear, fits the description of friends on their MySpace page, You may not mean it in a way that can This movie makes it seem okay for peo- of some of our peers here at OHS. Mr. and this has helped many people be- be derogatory or hurtful, but many ple to use the r-word. When a popular Kirk Mulverhill a special education come more aware about how hurtful people have a hard time hearing the movie with actors like Ben Stiller, Jack teacher at OHS stated, “I think that the a word can be. When the article was r-word in such a casual way.

Black, and Robert Downey, Jr. uses the r-word is used out of ignorance, and I first published in February of 2008

By Emily DiFabio Editor-in-Chief

Buccaneer Bulletin

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January 2010

Features

5

Seeing Double with Twins at Oswego High

By Michaela Kearns

cording to twin specialists with online postings.

Some twins at OHS say that there are many advanFor each student at Oswego High School, these tages that come with being a twin. Some feel like their four years help to develop their individual identities and twin is their best friend. Michele Canale, the fraternal make them stand out from the crowd in their own way. twin of Marissa Canale, said, “We’re really close and For some students, however, individuality is not the case. you’ve always got someone to talk to.” Other twins feel The sets of twins that walk among us at school each day that the advantage of being a twin is to help them with are the exception. school work. Maia Czarnecki, the fraternal twin of Sam Many twins feel like they share a special connec- Czarnecki, said, “We get to help each other with a lot of tion with each other, more than that of ordinary siblings. things. Homework is the biggest thing. We both have Twins often claim to thinking alike whether it’s saying weak and strong points in school, so we kind of balance the same thing in unison or doing similar things when each other out when it comes to helping each other. Rethey are miles apart. Ms. Kimberly Oswald, a fraternal cently, we did our college searching together, and I think twin and an Oswego High School English teacher, said, with each other’s help, it sped up the process of choosing “(My sister and I) wear a lot of the same clothes or styles the schools we are planning to attend next year.” of clothes, even when we don’t go shopping together!

Many twins feel that a huge advantage of being a Sometimes when we do shop together, we’ll pick up the twin is being able to confuse them by saying they are the same clothes and not even realize it.” other twin. James Dillon, the fraternal twin of Thomas Being a twin is not as rare an occurrence as many Dillon, said, “The age-old advantage to being a twin is people believe it to be. When born, a set of twins can being able to mess with people telling them that we’re either be fraternal or identical. “Twins occur in about each other and getting them all confused.”

1 in 85 human births. The difference between the two There are also many disadvantages that come types of twins stems from a difference in how they begin with being a twin. Many twins feel that a huge dislife--either from the fertilization of two separate eggs advantage is that other people get them mixed up for (fraternal twins) or from the fertilization of a single egg the other. Canale said, “It gets annoying sometimes that later splits in two (identical twins). The difference in when people refer to us as ‘the twins’ rather than our fertilization results in fraternal twins sharing an average actual names.” of 50 percent of their genetic material and the identical Also, another disadvantage of being a twin is twins sharing 100 percent of their genetic material,” ac- having to share with each other. Tyler Kranz said, Reporter

Buccaneer Bulletin

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“We have to share a lot of stuff, like a car… which sometimes causes problems.”

People often assume twins are similar, when they are actually not alike. Oswald said, “When I was little, I despised the fact that my sister and I had to share our birthday. My sister was a tomboy when we were little, so she always wanted the sports-related birthdays and I always wanted things like princess parties.”

Are twins protective of each other? Some twins are very protective of each other. Oswald said, “Although we are both very individualistic people, my sister and I are very protective of each other. We talk to each other every day to see how each other’s days went, and we definitely look out for each other. We do have an older brother who is protective of us as well, sometimes more than we would like him to be!”

Other twins feel they don’t have to protect one another, but still do. Laura Lawrence, the fraternal twin of Morgan Lawrence, said, “I don’t have to protect her, but I do. I love her. We grew up together, and have been together every day. I do it because I want to. No obligation.”

Twins are thought to have the closest sibling relationship that two brothers or sisters can form. While having such a close relationship can be aggravating at times, the closeness seems to help in the long run.

While they grow up to have separate identities and personalities, they will always possess a bond that normal siblings will never develop.

January 2010

Column

6

hey- buc bull col bout twttr is gd rdg Facebook, MySpace, and AIM are some of the online destinations where we spend most of our time. We use them to communicate, to express ourselves, and to add or find links, which are just a few among the many things to do on those websites. Now there is another site to put on the list. Twitter, the website that lets you update people on what you’re doing and what your opinion is at any time.

This site is becoming more and more popular, and is very easy to use.

All that you have to do is type in the browser www.twitter.com and you are automatically taken to the main page. This website lets you write something on your page in 140

words or less. You can type updates, pose questions, post links, or just express yourself. Once you’ve made your own account, your friends can follow you, and you can follow them.

People can also follow different groups or organizations such as pro choice or the Michael Jackson Fan Club. A lot of people use it to follow their favorite celebrities.

Junior Shannon Pasco said, “I am constantly updated on things that are going on, and I can check up on different celebrities that I like.”

When you have filled the world in with what you’re doing, checked up on your followers, and stalked your favorite band, you can type in different topics and start a conversation. Many people will start debates on twitter varying from the new rules at a local high school to troops in Afghanistan. In the past year, twitter has been ranked one of the top fifty websites worldwide by

Alexas web traffic. It is also the third most-used social network.

Twitter has been called the web’s version of texting, but now you can send tweets (messages sent on twitter) through your mobile phone. This site has grown since Jack Dorsey created it in 2006. “What we have to do is deliver to people the best, freshest, and most relevant information possible. We think of Twitter as not just a social network, but as an information network. It tells people what they care about as it is happening in the world,” stated the creator himself. A wide range of people use Twitter, from professional athletes to the band Mayday Parade to actor Taylor Lautner.

Twitter is not without its drama either. Recently President Barrack Obama stated he did not post any tweets on Monday, November 16, but 418 were posted on his twitter account.

Posted statements included him

discussing restricting internet access with officials in China. The President said, in retaliation to the phantom typist, “I’m an advocate of technology and not restricting Internet access.”

Another recent twitter drama was the uproar of Miley Cyrus deleting her account. Miley tweeted, “FYI Liam doesn’t have a twttr & he wants ME 2 delete mine w/gd reason.” The pop star’s boyfriend did not believe the world needed to be updated on her life every second of the day. A “Bring Miley Back” Twitter topic had been very common.

Many people in school are using twitter, and enjoy using it for various reasons. Junior Brittany Noyes stated, “I use twitter because it keeps me updated on life.”

Now, after school and practice while you’re checking your MySpace and Facebook, add Twitter to your favorites and tell the world what’s going on.

Internet Provides a Shield for Cyber Bullies

Over the past decade, the internet has become something of a mask to society, giving anyone the opportunity to become an entirely different person than who they are in real life. On the internet, people can pull the wool over anyone’s eyes, as dozens of social networks ask about one’s personality, appearance, past, and future, as well as many other aspects of one’s life. The web gives people courage to not only appear as a different person, but to act as a different person as well.

Most teenagers would admit, with ease, that they have been in an argument with another person over the internet that has turned into cyber bullying.

In fact, according to the National Crime Prevention Center, statistics state that over 40 percent of all teenagers with internet access have reported being bullied while they were on the internet in the past year.

Extensive research on teenagers who use the internet concludes that the increasing issues of the cyber bullying world are: threatening an individual’s well-being and/or retrieving an individual’s name and password to a social networking site, then taking over their profile to spread potentially damaging

Buccaneer Bulletin

information for everyone to see. Everyone knows that it’s cruel, yet it’s still a mystery as to what it is about cyberspace that gives us a sudden boost of adrenaline, what triggers our pugnacious instincts over the computer that wouldn’t exist in a normal conversation?

Anthony Samson, an OHS senior, is equally perplexed about cyber bullying. “I think it’s dumb and I don’t understand why you can’t just talk in person, instead of taking your anger out via the keyboard,” he said.

Katelyn Gurney, a junior, similarly said, “Cyber bullying is something that shouldn’t be done.

Everyone says things over the internet that they would never even think about saying in a face-to-face conversation.”

It’s visible that cyber bullying is a problem for both guys and girls. But it has been proven that girls are more likely to be the source of cyber bullying than guys. To most, this may not come as a surprise.

Also, the amount of time girls tend to spend online compared to guys is taken into account, as well as the likelihood that they will be bullied. Alyssa Davis commented on the demographic. “Guys don’t really want to put people down as much as girls want to.

Girls are more dramatic,” the OHS junior stated.

Unfortunately, cyber bullying is more serious than its name gives it credit for. The parents of Megan Meier of Dardenne Prairie, Missouri, could defend this statement whole-heartedly. Tina and Ronald Meier found their daughter on October 15, 2006 hanging in her closet. She’d been a victim of cyber bullying, which ultimately led to her suicide

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at the age of 13. A mother of Meier’s ex-friend (and several others) created a fake MySpace account, taking on the role of a 16 year-old boy.

Their intention was to con the young Meier into believing a young boy was interested in being her friend, and through MySpace they could then earn her trust. The story was skeptical, but their plan had worked. Meier and the “boy” were becoming friends, and she was sharing things with him which would later be used against her. His attitude towards her changed, and “he” began sending her messages stating, “Everybody knows how you are.

You are a bad person and everybody hates you. The world would be a better place without you.”

Meier, who had in her earlier years been diagnosed with depression, took these words to heart and ended her own life because of the weight they had put on her. Lori Drew, the mother who created the fake MySpace account, was indicted on one count of criminal conspiracy, and three counts of accessing protected computers without authorization to obtain information to inflict emotional distress.

Meier’s story is an extreme case of cyber bullying. It’s an abuse of the power of the Internet and the impact it has over people. Issues among teens can often be resolved, but the glowing screen finds a way to lure you in with its endless possibilities.

What needs to be remembered is that the Internet is just as truthful as the people who created it. Frankly, in this new era of technology, deceit is just a mouse click away.

January 2010

Walking the Plank

7

Crazy for You Brings Out the Best in Johnson “Walking the Plank” is a regular feature of The Buccaneer Bulletin. In this issue, Caitlin Sawyer sat down with Chelsea Johnson, a lead in the upcoming musical.

Buccaneer Bulletin: What is your full name?

Chelsea Johnson: Chelsea Melane Johnson.

BB: What is the musical this year?

CJ: Crazy for You. BB: What is your favorite class?

CJ: Concert choir. In concert choir I’m in the student conductor and I lead the class in warm ups and I’m even working on a piece with them for the next concert.

BB: If you could have dinner with 3 people dead or alive, who would they be?

CJ: Jesus, Rudy Rodriguez, and Aryelle Caruso.

Those three people mean a lot to me.

BB: What are your plans for after graduation?

CJ: I’m attending Spring Arbor in Michigan to pursue a career in music education.

BB: What is your favorite musical?

CJ: Phantom of the Opera.

BB: What part do you play in the musical?

CJ: Polly Baker.

BB: What is one word you would use to describe yourself?

CJ: Different, because I’ve always felt free to be myself.

BB: What is one quote that you live your life by?

CJ: Romans 8:20-28 “All things work together for good for those who love God and those called according to his purpose.”

BB: What is your biggest pet peeve?

CJ: I hate the sound of chewing!

BB: Do you have any embarrassing moments?

CJ: During freshman year, I was stepping off the bus and I slipped and fell off.

BB: What do you do in your spare time?

CJ: Watch movies and hang out with Rudy.

BB: Who is your favorite singer?

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CJ: Michael Buble.

BB: If you could live anywhere on earth where would it be and why?

CJ: Michigan. I love the area and the team!

BB: Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

CJ: In 10 years I see myself teaching high school choir and definitely married.

BB: Describe your character.

Are you similar to her?

CJ: Polly is pretty laid back and really cares about music.

I guess I’d say she’s just like me!

BB: How did you react when you found out you were a lead?

CJ: I was really excited, but nervous at the same time. I knew it was going to be a lot of work.

BB: What are the pros and cons photo by monek cullen of being a lead?

CJ: Pros – I get to do what I OHS senior and veteran actress Chelsea Johnson will portray Polly Baker in the 2010 Oswego High School musical, Crazy for You. love and really express myself through music. Cons – It’s a lot of work, memorizing, and very stressful.

BB: What other productions have you been in?

CJ: Wizard of Oz, Legend of Sleepy Hollow/ Rip BB: Do you ever get stage fright?

Van Winkle, Honk, Our Miss Brooks, Once Upon A CJ: Sometimes, but not as much as I used to. I guess Mattress, Les Miserables, Beauty and the Beast, My I’ve just gotten use to it.

Fair Lady, and others I can’t remember.

BB: How do you cope with long practices and homework?

CJ: I lean on people’s love for strength.

BB: How long have you been in chorus?

CJ: I have been in chorus since 3rd grade.

BB: How long have you been singing?

CJ: I have been singing for as long as I can remember.

BB: Do you have any embarrassing moments in the musical?

CJ: Whenever I mess up in practice in front of everyone it is kind of embarrassing.

BB: What is one thing people don’t know about you?

CJ: I don’t like potatoes.

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BB: If you could pick one Broadway musical to be in which one would you chose and why?

CJ: Hairspray because it is so fun and upbeat, but it also has a good message.

BB: What makes you laugh?

CJ: My friends and family.

BB: How do you feel about the rest of the Crazy for You cast?

CJ: I think the cast is great. People work together and help each other out. And it’s okay if you mess up.

BB: Do you play any musical instruments?

CJ: Yes, I play the cello.

If you know of a student or staff member you would like to see walk the plank, contact Emily DiFabio at edifabio@oswego.org.

January 2010

8

What is the craziest dream you ever remember having?

We All Dream, But Do We Un

Kristina Stemple “I was lying on my friend’s couch and all these people in black coats were surrounding me, and when I talked to my friend the next day, she said she had the same dream.”

Class of 2011

Mr. Chris Mangano “I was on a boat in Minetto, New York and I jumped off the back and started to sink when I saw a young girl’s face below the water.”

Faculty

By Mackenzie Oatman Clublicity Editor

Everyone dreams. Whether you remember your dreams or not, one can, and often does, dream up to four or five different dreams a night, according to Jane Teresa, author of two books about dreams. Some may claim their dreams mean something, some may just disregard them as nonsense. There is a endless list of theories that go along with all the crazy things that go through your head in your sleep.

Dreaming occurs during a stage of sleep called REM, or rapid eye movement. This was proven by Nathaniel Kleitman and Eugene Aserinsky in 1953. If you were to wake up during, or directly following this stage, you are more likely to remember your dreams, opposed to waking up during a non-REM stage when no dreaming occurs. When one does remember a dream, it is described as pictures in your head created by a combination of emotions, thoughts, ideas, memories, trends of life, philosophies, and perhaps even a thing called the collective unconscious. The collective unconscious has not been officially proven to exist, but many believe it is a part of your brain that stores information you are not even aware of.

Researchers have yet to understand why people dream at all, or the exact reason why they dream what they do. Though dreaming is still essentially unknown territory, there are many different theories concerning dreams and whether they mean something or not.

One popular theory simply states that dreams don’t mean anything and that they are just random bursts of electricity in your brain that activate different tidbits of information.

This information is often presented to you in some kind of story format because the mind naturally makes attempts to create order out of

chaos. Dreams are almost always some kind of normal situation blended with something completely illogical, which just represents the mind’s inability to accurately sort the random information provided.

“One dream theory is called the ‘computer’ theory,” stated Mr. Mark Mirabito, a psychology teacher at Oswego High School, who has been teaching psychology for nearly three decades.

This theory claims that the brain uses the time period while one is asleep to save or delete information as a computer would, and while this information is being passed through your mind, it appears in your dreams. These two theories are alike, in that they both argue the topics that appear in dreams are random occurrences.

One might bring up the fact that some people have had recurring dreams, and some dream of things that they wish for, things that they fear and stress over, or are guilty about in their conscious lives. Can these dreams possibly be just random? A third, and very popular, theory maintains the idea that dreams do, in fact, mean something. “At least some dreams mean something,” stated Mirabito. Though not necessarily directly, some believe dreams could relay answers to you about how you’re really feeling about something. Dreams like this are said to be introduced to you in terms of symbols.

Dreams that represent your true guilt, fears, or desires could be so disturbing you would wake up horrified and anxiety-ridden. Symbols are used to disguise these feelings so that you could still learn the benefits of knowing about the internal happenings of your mind, without being completely exposed to the true nature of your subconscious thoughts.

Common universal dreams like

Ever Dreamt of This Man? Tyler Kranz “I had a repeated dream that I would go downstairs into my basement and hide under the stairs and a deer would walk by me on two legs and bring me into another room and electrocute me.”

Class of 2011

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People from all around the world have reported seeing this man’s face in their dreams.

Have you ever dreamt this man?

Go to www.thisman. org to acquire the history behind the phenomena and read theories as to what it means to see him and who he is.

OHS stu who mig experien

b

nderstand What They Mean? the “naked in public” dream are an example of this. The naked in public dream usually consists of one finding himself completely or partially naked in the work place or another environment with an abundance of people -and being embarrassed by it. Many believe this could actually mean that buried somewhere deep in that person’s unconscious, they actually want to be exposed in public, but the fact that they were embarrassed in the dream covers up for it. Sigmund Freud, considered to be the first psychologist, came up with many theories regarding dreams and the human mind. He said that dreams are the “royal road to knowledge of the unconscious activities of the mind.” Freud believed he could use the information presented in dreams to help cure mental illness. Freud was considered brilliant; Mirabito referred to him as “the pioneer of psychotherapy.”

Lauri Quinn Loewenburg, sometimes referred to as “The Dream Lady” is famous for her interpretations of dreams (www.dreamzone. com). “Everything in your dream, no matter how bizarre, or how strange, or even how disturbing that object or the character is in your dream, is placed there for a reason. It’s there to tell you something about your life and about your behavior right now,” Loewenburg said during a CNN special with Dr. Sanja Gupta. Loewenburg has said that one having a dream in which they are

flying represents accomplishing something and feeling good about themselves. She also has said that when one dreams of plane crashes, they may be afraid of their career failing.

The problem with analyzing dreams is that various dream experts could have different interpretations of a certain dreams, and there is no way of saying which is correct. These ideologies are interesting to think about, but simply cannot be considered as facts, yet. “Just because it’s interesting does not mean it’s true,” stated Mirabito.

Dreammoods.com provides a dream interpretation dictionary containing more than 4,300 keywords and symbols with multiple interpretations for people who are interested in reading more into something they saw in a dream.

The fact that many details of the dreaming realm remain unknown, just makes the topic more intriguing and wide open. You can decide what you believe and consider some of your own theories without criticism; because everyone is in the same boat.

With the fast-paced development of technology, it’s safe to say we are on the way to revealing the secrets of our unconscious, but until then, sweet dreams.

udent Maggie Mooney enjoys a nap. A person ght look peaceful on the outside, may actually be ncing wild or vivid dreams.

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9

Dream Symbols

Snakes/Serpents -- These could represent the enemy, demons, a bad omen, or danger.

Falling -- Is usually an indication of insecurities, instabilities, and anxieties.

Being chased -- If someone is chasing you in your dream it could mean you’re avoiding a situation in real life.

Flying -- Could reflect feelings of freedom or accomplishment.

Loss of Teeth -- Your teeth falling out could represent a fear of the way people perceive your appearance.

Photo BY Mackenzie Oatman

January 2010

10

Entertainment

Thirteen Reasons Why is Emotionally Dry led to a rumor not fabricated in the minds of the infamous ‘mean girls’ that exist in every high school in America but instead by Mr. Justin Foley. As Hannah puts it, “A rumor of a kiss ruined a memory that I hoped would be special.”

The

“I’m going to tell you the story of how my life ended. And if you’re listening to these tapes, then you’re one of the reasons why,” boldly states the voice of Hannah Baker, a victim of suicide who, just before killing herself, recorded a series of seven cassette tapes in the controversial 2007 New York Times best-seller, Thirteen Reasons Why. The tapes come with a map of her hometown, written on and personalized by Hannah.

The map shows the listener every place in the fictional town of Crestmont that was important to Hannah. The thirteen stories on those tapes are about people who touched her life, both er ley fidl n by Ash io t a positively and negatively. They r t Illus were classmates (who couldn’t care less about her feelings), teachers stories (who didn’t bother to notice her), and continue, tape by tape, to tell so-called friends (who left her alone). the stories of a boy who gave Hannah Each of these people had somehow a reputation she’d rather not have, contributed to Hannah’s decision to a girl who was supposed to be her take her own life. Just like our lives, friend but abandoned her because some people affected Hannah’s life of senseless jealousy, an extremely more than others did. immoral boy with an anything-butOne of the recipients of the tapes clean mind, a friend who “poses” a is Clay Jensen, little too much, a a classmatewho just was Those tapes are about boy and former another Romeo, people who touched and a boy who crush of Hannah’s. her life...They were strangely had The first fingers c l a s s m a t e s ( w h o magnetic story is about for anything Justin Foley, couldn’t care less about that had any Hannah’s first her feelings), teachers sentimental boyfriend. value for During Justin’s (who didn’t bother to Hannah. This is story, Hannah notice her), and so- an oddly diverse admits that list for an called friends (who left average suicide when she was a freshman victim, but the her alone). and he was relationships are a senior, she very realistic used to follow him around to his and identifiable for any high school classes whenever she could. This student. “obsession” led to her first kiss. That With Clay as the narrator, readers first kiss should’ve been a memorable anxiously await his story. As the moment in Hannah’s life. Instead, it narrator, he had been both dreading

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and anticipating his link to Hannah.

He heard the stories of people who had a horrible common bond with Hannah; he dreaded his role in her decision to take her own life. In Clay’s story,

Hannah says how he doesn’t belong

on the list. As I read that line-over and over, I thought, What?! Come on, Jay Asher. If you bothered to make Clay Jensen the main character, at least put him in the hardest situation you can devise. Who wouldn’t think that makes a great book? I’m not author Jay Asher, but if I was, I’d make Clay’s story as heartbreakingly painful as the eight stories before it.

I found it disappointing that the people the stories were about (other than Clay’s) weren’t in the actual story, just in the tapes. Clay is a likeable character, but did it ever occur to the author that people like emotion in their books? At least show a glimmer of Mr. Porter, for example, who was Hannah’s English teacher/counselor whose job it was to prevent these things. That would be the emotion that (as a reader) I wanted.

Despite the fact that I was personally not at all a fan of this book, I’m sure that a majority of today’s teenage readers would love it due to its subject matter. Because of that fact alone, I’ll recommend it.

T-Shirt of the Month

PHOTOs BY Catilin Sawyer

“I got 99 problems, but my kicks ain’t one” is exclaimed by both Elijah Singleton and his t-shirt. If you see an interesting or funny graphic t-shirt, you can contact Emily DiFabio at edifabio@oswego.org

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January 2010

Entertainment

11

Rihanna: An Evolution to the Darker Side

By Kimberlyn Bailey Layout Editor

The word “dark” is flung around the music industry like confetti at a parade, usually as an adjective, as in “that song has such a dark sound.”

But if there is anyone who deserves the noun form of the word, it is pop princess Rihanna. With her new, provocatively sinister image, she has retaken her musical throne at the top of the “top forty.”

The world has known the charttopping Robyn “Rihanna” Fenty for a bit less than six years, yet her small home island of Barbados, just west of the Caribbean Sea, has known her and her resounding voice for all 21 years of her life. She said in a 2005 interview, “I would sing in the shower. I’d sing everywhere! My neighbors would always complain I was too loud, but looking back, they don’t mind it now.”

They certainly shouldn’t mind, because by the time this interview scoured the airwaves, “Pon de Replay” was a summer hit, claiming the second spot on the Billboard Hot 100. Def Jam Records had successfully over-saturated the media with its newest 17 year old songstress. Fresh faced and girly, Rihanna entered the public eye with flowing chestnut locks, belly-baring crop tops and a bubbly persona to match. This image carried her over to her 2006 number one hit, “SOS.” Nevertheless, the formulated image that had led to her success was also, for Rihanna, a formulated deceit of her true self. “There were so many restrictions,” she told reporters in 2007, “I could only wear certain colors on my lips, wear my hair a certain way – nothing bold. They wanted me to be very commercial. Eventually, I just started

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to ignore them.”

This is when Rihanna’s new image as an aggressive, smoldering femme fatale took center stage. She chopped her tresses into the infamous edgy bob and ignited her makeup with fiery color palettes. Fashion magazines became enamored with her revamped wardrobe. Glamour magazine wrote, “If style risks could be measured in miles, Rihanna would have crisscrossed the globe a thousand times over already.” She played shape shifter with her clothes, wearing exaggerated shoulders, bulbously puffed skirts and skyscraper heels encrusted with enough spikes and studs to give an image so far away from human that it appeared almost robotic.

This new mechanized persona also passed over into her music. For Good Girl Gone Bad, her 2007 album, The LA Times wrote, “Rihanna’s most successful setting in pop has been somewhere between mystery and machine, giving little of her personality yet simultaneously commanding our interest in her.”

Gone were the days of the sweet island girl singing relaxed reggae and R & B tunes in way for the charged pop songs of rock-chick prowess. Her fresh look and new album rocketed “Umbrella,” “Shut Up and Drive,” “Don’t Stop the Music,” “Hate That I Love You,” and “Disturbia” up the Billboard Hot 100, giving her more number one hits than anyone in this decade.

The brilliance of her icy, distant image was the room

it gave her audience to imagine the intentions in her songs. But this year’s highly publicized account of domestic violence from former boyfriend Chris Brown gave the world a closer, if not too close, look at the pop icon. She appeared solemn, yet strong in interviews – a far cry from her vivacious personality at the start of her career. She told Diane Sawyer on 20/20, “I’m glad it happened to me because now I can help girls that go through it.” Following the aired interview, calls to domestic abuse hotlines went up 53 percent and calls to teen help hotlines shot up 73 percent.

All of this gave her songs and her bad girl image a greater sense of a backstory and hard-won authenticity.

For her newest album, Rated R, she has delved more deeply into her dark persona.

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Rihanna embellished her body with more tattoos, streaked her hair in a scorching orange and thickened her stark charcoal eyeliner. She dons a more literal take on her menacing appearance, bandaging barbed

wire and whips around her body for the album cover. While her shadowy persona takes on a higher level of confidence and strength, her music shows more vulnerability. She told ABC, “Every emotion I was going through in making the album went into the songs.

It was my place to vent.”

The first single, “Russian Roulette,” presents her right where the tabloids love to paint her: at the cusp of stability. In the video, she appears in a game of Russian roulette with love as the stake, nervously accepting a gun from a man sitting across her from a dimly lit table. The lyrics read, “Calm yourself, he says to me/ If you play, you play for keeps/ Take the gun and count to three.” Of course, anything she does will now be seen in the shadow of her incident with Chris Brown, which leaves one to ask if the man is meant to represent him. Any fans looking for a revengeful ballad will leave without a reassuring feeling, as Rihanna endures the torture of internalized memories throughout the video. Even more unsettling is the blackened ending, accompanied only by the mystifying sound of a gunshot where it is unclear what has happened.

Thus, the subtext of the songs makes her an all the more interesting and enduring musical icon. The world has witnessed her evolution to the darker side, both in her personal life and her image. It begs the question: does the artist make the music or does the music make the artist? Without an end to her career in the near future, there is a obscurity around what uncharted waters she has yet to explore. Can she become any darker? The world is left to ask: what is next, Rihanna?

January 2010

Entertainment

12

Disney’s New Princess Deserves a Better Film There were a multitude of reasons to be excited about The Princess and the Frog, including the hand-drawn animation and jazzy, Broadway-inspired musical numbers that take us back to Disney’s golden ages of the 1950s and the 1990s.The film is energized in three ways: Tiana (Anika Noni Rose) is Disney’s first African-American heroine, the film celebrates the Jazz Age, and it is set in one of America’s most romantic cities, New Orleans.

As a little girl growing up in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Tiana shared her father’s dream of opening a restaurant in an old mill.

She has mastered her father’s gumbo recipe and his impeccable work ethic.

Her father’s death has only made her dream stronger, as she works day and night to buy the old mill.

It’s voodoo that reigns supreme in this movie. Dr. Facilier, the Shadow Man (Keith David), claims to have “friends on the other side,” mystical spirits who have promised him wealth and power if he will deliver them souls. He tricks Prince Naveen (Bruce Campos), into turning a tarot card reading that leads to a black magic kidnapping. The Shadow Man turns Prince Naveen into a frog to get him out of the way so that Shadow Man can kick his plan into high gear.

Prince Naveen escapes Shadow Man and stumbles across Tiana (Jennifer Cody), who appears to be a princess, but is actually clothed in her wealthy white friend’s (Lottie’s) clothes. Prince Naveen manages to persuade Tiana to kiss him by promising to help her get her restaurant, but instead of breaking the spell, Tiana herself is transformed into a frog. Joined by a lightning bug named Ray (Jim Cummings) and an alligator called Lewis (Michael-Leon Wooley) who loves the blues, they make their way deep into the bayou to ask for help from the magical Mama Odie (Jenifer Lewis).

Early in the film, Tiana sings a number called “Almost There” where she gives voice to her fantasized restaurant dream. As Tiana and her mother dance through

the run-down, cluttered old mill, the room transforms into a vision of an African-American Jazz Age restaurant. The style is completely different from that used in the rest of the film, but it works because it’s just a representation of Tiana’s dream.

With music, food, and Mardi Gras, New Orleans seemed like a perfect location for Disney to set a movie about its first black princess.

Although the music is kind-hearted and inspiring, none of the songs are catchy enough to repeat like Disney’s other hits such as “Be our Guest” from Beauty and the Beast and “Under the Sea” from The Little Mermaid. This was a missed opportunity on Disney’s part to showcase the musical riches of America’s past, especially since the movie is set in such a historic place for music, New Orleans. It’s hard not to think “pimp” upon meeting the Shadow Man, with his thinly manicured beard stitching along his jaw, his gaudy purple suit, and his bare stomach. Unfortunately, the representation will do nothing to dismiss stereotypes about AfricanAmerican men, particularly because the rest of the men in the film are white or of indeterminate race like Prince Naveen.

The sexual undertones do not end with Shadow Man. Prince Naveen sings about leaving behind a string of broken hearts, and it’s evident that he’s come to New Orleans because of the potential for meeting a “loose party girl” that is usually associated with Mardi Gras nowadays. During the big parade scene, we even see beads being flung. Luckily, there were no “girls gone wild” scenes.

Even more disturbing is the way that both Tiana and spoiled rich girl, Lottie, end up trading their bodies for gain. Lottie wants to marry a prince so badly that she doesn’t even recognize the imposter that takes over Prince Naveen’s body. Tiana gives a kiss (Prince Naveen, the frog) in exchange for her dream, the restaurant. It’s obviously for her restaurant, but it doesn’t change the fact that she’s kissed a frog only for personal gain. Although Disney seems to be trying to counter some of its enveloping princess ideologies,

Buccaneer Bulletin

By Caitlin Sawyer Managing Editor

Photo Courtesy of Google Images

Since December 11, Disney’s The Princess and the Frog has grossed over $100,000,000 at the box office.

The Princess and the Frog is still showing that women can’t get by without men.

The use of “black magic” is what ultimately reveals the movie’s tactless core. The Shadow Man engages in black magic. The scenes where he speaks to his “friends on the other side” contain many horror elements like the horror in Sleeping Beauty when Maleficent, the evil character, prevents Prince Phillip from reaching his Princess, Aurora. It’s very clear that the Shadow Man is trafficking evil. Younger children might be quite frightened by the imagery, and older children might find themselves fascinated by the spirits and wanting to learn more.

As if this weren’t bad enough, we are introduced to mystical Mama Odie, who completes every cliché of the wise old black woman. Mama Odie knows voodoo, but her magic is more of the homegrown kind. Mama

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Odie sings to Tiana and the gang to just “Dig a little deeper” inside yourself and you’ll find what you need to achieve all of your dreams.

Sure, there’s magic, but it only shows up once you’ve done everything in your power to get what you desire.

Mama Odie’s message sends mixed signals to children, saying if you just dig a little deeper, you will ultimately get what you want. Sure, this is the message of just about every family film that has come down the pike since the dawn of cinema, but the way it was presented was inadequate.

As a result of Disney’s poor attempt for their first AfricanAmerican princess to hop to the screen (literally), many Disney fans may be disappointed. With the sexual undertones, black magic, and dull music, Disney may want to create another movie that gives a black princess another shot on the big screen.

January 2010

Entertainment

13

Bailey is a Barbie Girl in a Real World Dignity wise, this is not my finest hour. I, an allegedly mature high school senior, am surrounded by my neighbor’s Barbie dolls scattered blithely on the floor. The one in my hand is screaming automated phrases at me as I strip her down to her painted-on underwear. This is embarrassing.

Okay, technically, it is all for research, but I feel none the more dignified as I move on to grooming her synthetic hair with the pintsized pink brush. Thankfully, this isn’t a measure of my dignity – I’m contrasting my appearances to that of the doll’s in an attempt to separate measurable physical fact from gossipy fiction: there have been claims that I have a striking resemblance to that of the classic Barbie doll.

Barbie? Me, really? The blonde, deep blue-eyed, with dancer’s thighs and whittled waist, long-lashed, slender-jawed, pearly white grinned, disproportionately curved, personified plastic doll? I’ve heard it one too many times to be ignored, and with frighteningly detailed descriptions, too. I recall a freshman exclaiming in the locker room one day, “Your blue eyes, like, even sparkle! Just like hers!” Moreover, the facts don’t lie. I do have all her physical traits.

But the comparison isn’t what I find so disquieting. Those who have linked my looks to that of Barbie’s have always insisted on using the word “perfect” in the conversation – that is what stuns me. “You’re so lucky,” they all say, “I wish I had that.” I say back, how did we equate Barbie with perfection? If she was perfect, why would toy company Mattel have made dozens of changes since her 1959 debut? This figure that people have touted to be the epitome of flawlessness has quite a flawed past.

Barbie was born out of an absence in the toy market for an adult-bodied doll and based off a patent Mattel bought of a German newspaper cartoon character named Lilli, which Mattel has hushed from the public

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knowledge. While Barbie’s first throughout the house, dipping her and her political message, entangled job was as a fashion designer, her in overflowing sinks for a swim or with the cultural narrative about counterpart Lilli had less innocent posing her against the clouds in the the presumed, definable concept of beginnings as a German streetwalker. skies to make her appear to fly. There perfection. I’m battling on a different Perfect, right? Furthermore, this were no hidden political agendas in front, against the entire notion of being the fiftieth anniversary of the my play time. perfection. What does it mean to bodacious blonde’s be perfect, if people describe me as birth, she has seen such, and do I want to be perfect? landmark changes Perfection, by my understanding, through the years is a single state of being, adored by and has served as a all. Barbie is always smiling. All the symbol of cultural time! What is so interesting about change through her that? There is nothing behind that popular reign as the smile. Her eyes have an artificial world’s best selling cheerful sparkle, while mine glisten doll. When equal with an assortment of emotion. Why opportunity activists do people want to be one thing, one raised protests at fragment of the possibilities in this her lack of diversity, world? To me, the biggest compliment Barbie made an is to not be perfect, yet loved. In how assortment of new I dress, look and act, I subscribe to a ethnic friends. With formula in which I deliberately try to complaints of rigid fail, with a certain audience. I want gender roles, a group people to think I’m ugly or different. calling themselves When something I do is loved by “The Barbie everyone, that worries me, I don’t Liberation Group” want everyone to like what I do and snuck into a toy I certainly don’t want everyone to stores and switched understand it. So, please, if you’re the voice boxes of going to compare me to Barbie then the GI Joes and the compare me to her controversy, to the photo illustration by Kimberlyn Bailey Barbies. In 43 states, waves of social unrest and her change Barbie said, “Eat through the years. Her imperfections lead, Cobra. Vengeance is mine!”

Since her creation fifty years ago, and interpretations, to me at least, are while GI Joe said, “Let’s go shopping. the battle thus far has been a struggle far more interesting and desirable than Will we ever have enough clothes?” to change what Barbie represents her assumed perfection.

Barbie has had a number of tougher occupations since then. Perhaps most confrontationally, body image activists have complained of her improbable body proportions, which have been thickened and reshaped numerous times to a more plausible scale.

So Barbie endures – as a pop culture icon, an object of sociopolitical satire, a figure that invites zealous interpretation. But isn’t interpretation what toys are really about? And Barbie is, after all, a toy, despite the suspicious fantasies of conspiracists who like to believe that she is a means of mind control for antifeminism, racism, and body distortion. Because when I think of Barbie, I don’t think Olsen or Bezio?

Bezio or Olsen? about her hip-to-waist ratio, her Above, Oswego High School junior Darren Bezio (left) bears a remarkable stagnant role as a homemaker or resemblance to Eric Christian Olsen (right), from Fired Up. If you know anyone her lack of acquaintances of color, I at OHS (either faculty or student) who has a celebrity look-a-like, contact Emily remember my interpretations. I recall DiFabio at edifabio@oswego.org. childhood memories of hauling her

Celebrity Look-a-Like

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January 2010

Sports

14

Overbearing Parents Hurt, More Than Help

By Brittany Ross Sports Writer

When you think about it, the atmosphere for athletics is generally the same, regardless of the sport. Spectators are sitting or standing on opposite sides to cheer on their home team, along with players from both teams warming up.

Coaches are running through strategies in their heads, perfecting the way in which they will convey their plays to their team. An adrenaline rush overcomes athletes as they first step onto the field, ice, or court. But what sticks out the most in some people’s eyes may be an over-excited parent.

Many parents are great support systems for their children, and encourage their children to do their very best. With this attitude, they step back and allow their children to perform to their maximum abilities in games and in practices. “My parents were very supportive. They didn’t miss a game, and allowed me to experience dealing with winning and losing. There is a lot to learn from that, whether you’re participating or not,” stated boys varsity baseball coach Mr. John Finch.

However, there are a number of parents who don’t seem to agree with coaching strategies, and try to become involved in their child’s athletics in unhealthy ways.

According to Dr. Phil McGraw, parents need to know how to balance intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation is simply self motivation. All athletes need to know how to properly motivate themselves. Extrinsic motivation may come from rewards or other influential individuals. Parents who don’t know how to distinguish between the two may jeopardize their son or daughter’s athletic career, or worse ruin their selfconfidence. “We had a pitcher in softball who did much better during games on the road, but didn’t pitch very well when we played here in Oswego. At home games, dad would stand behind the backstop watching every move, every pitch, etc. and give advice--or what he thought was encouragement.

In reality, he wasn’t helping her, he was hurting her performance. When he couldn’t get out of work to attend away games, she did fine, she corrected mistakes herself, or the catcher or coach helped her correct it,” said girls’ varsity

softball coach Mike McCrobie.

Although some parents think otherwise, a coach’s main objective isn’t to listen to the parents’ input. “I think most situations with parents and coaches conflicting occur when the parents and coach have different philosophies in terms of what they’re looking for from a player. This usually comes about by the parents wanting to coach their kids themselves,” stated girls’ varsity basketball coach Phil Reed. Parents, athletes, and coaches will never be on the same page 100 percent, but they do need to respect each other’s positions.

“The coach is most concerned about the sport, what that athlete is like in the sport, the improvement of the athlete, and as much team success as possible,” stated boys’ varsity basketball coach Mr. Warren Shaw.

It’s often difficult for parents to establish the fact that although their child is important to a coach, they need to remember that their child isn’t the only athlete on the team. If all athletes focused on themselves individually, there would be no team chemistry. As a result, this group of athletes would become very unsuccessful. Coaches strive to see the big picture. “Our job as a coach is to look out for the good of the group as well as the best interest for the individuals,” stated Finch.

Overly excited parents can become excessively disruptive during games or even daily practice. From numerous different standpoints, this type of behavior is usually frowned upon. “The hardest part is that some parents don’t recognize boundaries and they don’t recognize timing. Parents approach you at the wrong time. Most coaches don’t like being approached during a game, or immediately after a game,” stated Shaw.

“It’s very hard to go and enjoy a high school sporting event when parents are constantly back and forth with each other about players, or coaches favoring one player. We all get caught up in it, but it becomes too dramatic and we can’t change coaches decisions or reasoning for our children,” stated parent Mrs. Theresa Stevens.

Although parents may be distracting at various levels of competition, the ages of athletes determine their ability to deal with the behavior of their parents. At a middle school level, hostile

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Illustration by Kimberlyn bailey

Even top players are hindered by their overbearing sports parents throughout their athletic career.

parental displays toward coaches or other parents may be more distracting than at a high school or college level.

“If you’re 13 or 14, this becomes a real problem. But, older players do a better job of ignoring that, just as you ignore obnoxious fans from other schools,” stated McCrobie.

Overall, distractions affect some parents more than they affect the athletes. “I try to stay focused and just tune it out and play my game,” stated sophomore athlete Mackenzie Robinson. Veteran coaches are generally better at blocking out overly opinionated parents as well. “I think it affects the players more than the coach. I’m not usually affected by parents,” stated Reed.

Parental distractions may jeopardize their relationships with their children, as well as relationships the children may have established with their teammates. “Sometimes you get a kid that’s embarrassed because his/ her parents are really pushy,” stated Shaw.

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Other distractions can disrupt the overall atmosphere of a team. “Listening to parents bicker can put a lot of tension on the team, and it causes a lot of drama because sometimes the coach will blame the players for what the parents say; it throws the team chemistry off,” stated senior athlete Katie Abramski.

Even though the intentions of these pushy parents are never meant to affect their children or hurt the team in a negative way, this isn’t generally how it’s perceived. “Most of the time parents need to take a step back from their child’s life. Sometimes they cause more harm than good and make it much harder for the kids in the long run,” stated former Oswego High athlete Ryan Galloway, who is majoring in athletic coaching at West Virginia University. Despite the negative attitudes that may be displayed at games or at the dinner table, the bottom line is that parents are concerned. “Parents do it because they care about their kids. It’s Continued on page 15

January 2010

Sports

15

Angry Parents Often Embarrass Their Kids Contunued from page 14

image courtesy of usa hockey

A USA Hockey advertising campaign entitled “Hey, It’s Just a Game” struck a nerve with many youth sports parents.

not necessarily negative because they want the best for their kids, but many times they don’t see the big picture,” stated OHS athletic director Mr. Scott Sugar.

In some cases, parents may go to extreme levels to get their opinion heard during a game setting.

“Cases where parents are coming right out of the stands after coaches i m me d iat ely fol low i ng a ga me screaming and yelling about how their kid wasn’t playing is never a good situation. Coaches are upset, parents are upset, and there is never going to be a resolution at that time,” stated Sugar.

Not only do parents get their point across to athletes and other parents during a game, but times, disgruntled parents come directly to the athletic director. These parents request answers as to why their kid isn’t playing as much as they believe they should. “If their kid isn’t playing the game I don’t know if it’s because they’re late to practice, or if they are injured, or missed a meeting. There are many different reasons why,” stated Sugar. Sugar admitted as an athletic director, he isn’t always

present to see everything that goes on at daily practices, or even games.

As a result, complaining parents are re-directed to get answers from their children or the coaches first, before any meetings take place with the athletic administrator.

“Many times parents haven’t even talked to their kids about what might be really going on. They just make an assumption that hypothetically their kid isn’t playing, or the kid doesn’t like their kid. But if they just talk to their kid, then the kid usually understands that they might not be the best, and maybe they should be playing as much as they are,” stated Sugar.

Despite negative involvement, there are positive ways to become involved in your children’s sports or other activities. “Parents should be very involved with the program by supporting the coach. Things like running concession stands are the types of things parents should be involved in,” stated parent Mr. Mark Abramski.

Coach McCrobie agreed, “Providing their children with rides to practice, quality equipment, and moral support is the ideal job description of a sports parent,” he said.

State Aims to Teach Finance Via Video Game

A lot of teenagers going off to college have no idea about finances. But there is help in the form of a new computer game online.

It is called financial football. It teaches young people about finances and may catch the eye of a sports fanatic at the same time.

In the game, you get to choose from your favorite NFL football team. There are two different degrees of difficulty, and then players can choose how long they want to play. Once the game has started, there is a coin toss. If the player wins, he gets the ball, but if one loses the toss, he goes on defense.

Then, the game begins by asking financial questions. You can choose the difficulty of the questions by how many yards you want to gain. The short gain questions are easy,

Buccaneer Bulletin

but the big gain questions are tougher. If you get a question right, you get yards depending on the difficulty of the question. If you’re playing defense and you get a question right, you can stop them and have the opponent gain no yards. If you consistently answer the questions correctly, you will end up in the end zone and putting points up on the board.

Before I played this game, I was not as financial savvy as I should have been, but once I started playing, I began to get a hang of what finances are all about. It was tough in the beginning, but by the end of the game, I was beating the opponent.

If you have no idea about finances I would highly suggest you play financial football and learn what it’s all about. The NY State government is producing this computer game because the economy is still unstable, and it’s never too early to learn how to manage your money.

This game is being made available in all secondary schools in New York State or can be found via a Google search using the key words: Financial Football.

Illustration by Kimberlyn Bailey

From piggy-banks to pigskin, NY is trying to increase students knowledge of finances with a new video game, Financial Football

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January 2010

Buccaneer Bulletin Sports Volume 13 Number 4

Oswego High School’s Student Voice

January 2010

Oswego High School Athlete of the Month

Jamie Cliff

I

By Jasmine Davis Sports Editor

f you listen throughout the halls of OHS this winter, there is a fresh topic being brought up in conversations. A new team spirit is being flaunted around the school. The bowling team was reinstated this year at Oswego High School for the first time since the late 1990s, and so far, it has been a striking success.

For OHS senior and team captain, Jamie Cliff, bowling started out as just a pastime. When he was only eight, Cliff began bowling with his father just for fun, but as time progressed, Cliff realized that he had talent in the sport.

About five years ago, he began bowling seriously, and it has brought him to be one of the best in the league. His average score is above a two hundred.

Donning their new team uniforms, the bowling team walks through hallways with pride. “Many people do come up to me and ask me about the team. Most people ask how we are doing and also what we do for practices, matches, etc. because they do not understand much about bowling. We are very excited about having a bowling team back at OHS because it is one of our city’s best sports and we have a lot of talent,” stated Cliff.

Cliff spends most of his time at the Oswego bowling alley, Lighthouse Lanes.

When he is not there for practice, he works there. “On average, I spend around 50-60 hours at the bowling alley a week. About 20-30 hours of this are because of work, but the rest are due to bowling and/or helping out with various leagues going on,” said Cliff.

“My favorite thing about bowling is that it takes my mind off of things… it’s fun and carefree,” he said. Cliff truly loves bowling, and not many athletes can say that their sport is a stress-reliever for them. In fact, more often than not, it’s the exact opposite. Cliff is dedicated and works very hard at what he does, “It bothers me when people make fun of the bowling team because they do not realize that bowling is a very difficult sport to be good at.” Practice must make perfect because all of the time Cliff spends at the bowling alley has paid off. His highest score so far this season is 279 out of 300. This means he only missed one strike in one frame.

Cliff hopes for the team to keep improving this season so that more students will want to become involved next year. He’s undecided about his collegiate future, but he hopes to keep bowling wherever he goes.

photo by monek cullen illustration by Jasmine Davis