The Oracle: Issue 5

the

columbus east’s student newspaper

CHEATING PERSPECTIVES OF THE ETHICS opinions from our students, teachers and counselors

REPERCUSSIONS consequences of first, second and third offenses

STATS OF OUR STUDENTS

how many East students admit to cheating?

CONFESSIONS FROM EAST

plus some words from a self-proclaimed “super cheater”

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[the oracle | february 5, 2016 | page 2

Seniors to Attend Military Academies

Sophomores to be Tested with ISTEP+ and ECA

by Nicole Hendrickson

Most seniors at this time of year are either sorting through college acceptances, still applying to colleges or trying to decide what to do next with their lives.

This is not the case for seniors Nick Andrie and Rhett Myers. Myers will be attending the Air Force Academy and will be playing football, while Andrie will be attending the Naval Academy. Andrie and Myers started applying to school in July of 2015.

As opposed to a normal admissions process which includes submitting a resume, transcript, test scores and teacher recommendations, the admission to a military academy includes several additional requirements.

“I’ve wanted to go [to the Naval Academy] since eighth grade.

There was grades, test

Seniors Rhett Myers and Nick Andrie will be attending the Air Force Academy and the Naval Academy, respectively. | photo by Rebecca Smith scores, an essay, math and english teacher evaluations, activities report (extracurricular and leadership, etc.), an interview, a fitness test, medical exams, an evaluation from a camp I went to at the Naval Academy last summer and I needed a nomination,” said Andrie about his admissions process.

When a student is accepted, they are not necessarily guaranteed

the

columbus east’s student newspaper february 5, 2016 | volume 44, issue 5

Editor in Chief Rebecca Smith

Editor of Content Kennedi Satterfield

Editor of Design Kira Singer

Editor of CEHS News Bryn Eudy

Adviser Scott Duncan

[

a spot. Their admission can be revoked.

“After you turn in everything, they take about a month to look through all the applications they get. If they want you, they’ll send you an appointment.

“When you get your official appointment that is when you know you are in, but they don’t get all of those sent out until April,” said Myers.

Students who attend

a military academy to pursue their education have the opportunity to attend college for no price, as long as they serve in their specific area of expertise.

The statement, “an Academy education is valued at more than $416,000, yet we offer it at no cost to our cadets.

All that is required in return is your commitment to serve as an officer in the Air Force,” can be found on the Air Force Academy’s admissions website.

With acceptance rates of 16 percent at the Air Force Academy and 7 percent at the Naval Academy, it is evident that Myers and Andrie are among the top students in the country.

While they will be moving on to become Cadets and Midshipmen, they will always be considered Olympians.

See staff profiles on CEHSnews.com Reporters

Elizabeth Albertson MacKenzie Brown Caleb Davidson Natalie Glaid Isaac Harper Jacob Harpring Nicole Hendrickson Lillian Hilderbrand Michaela Landis Abigail Larken Austin Lewis

Maggie Lewis Erin Louden Sam Newell Corbin Parmer Karli Reynolds Josie Royer Natalie Ryan Bailey Schroeder Lauren Schumacher Caroline Steinrock

]

Designers Irma Bruce Levi Copas Reilly Jones Oscar Richter Brooke Williams

Social Media Ben Allen Julie Connor Caleb Kinnaird Tanner McFall

by Natalie Glaid As the third quarter is almost halfway through, sophomores will be looking forward to more than spring break: they will be looking toward the standardized testing. In the past, the

Feb. 6: ACT @ East

according to the Bartholomew Consolidated School Corporation’s Director of Assessment Missy Zimmerman. In years to follow, the only purpose of the ECA will be for juniors and

results will then be determined by the fall of 2016.

Needless to say, students are not happy about the new testing changes. Sophomore Grace Bowling said, “I

March 5: SAT @ East

May: ECA @ East

March: ISTEP+ @ East

May: ISTEP+ @ East

End of Course Assessment, ECA, was the only standardized test sophomores were required to take. This year, however, Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction Glenda Ritz called for both the ISTEP+ and ECA exams to be taken.

Due to changing graduation requirements, students are now required to pass ISTEP+ instead of the ECA,

seniors who choose to retest because they were unsatisfied with their previous scores.

Both exams assess students’ Math and English/Language Arts skills. Additionally, ISTEP+ tests students over their Science skills. The first round of ISTEP+ will be taken in March 2016, with the second round of testing following in May. ISTEP+

g n i t s Te ips T

June 4: SAT @ East

May 7: SAT @ East

June 11: ACT @ East

don’t think standardized tests provide an accurate representation of a student’s knowledge. The only benefit that comes from standardized testing is the actual test-taking experience.”

Students are not the only ones unhappy about standardized testing.

BCSC’s Director of Secondary Education William Jensen said, “These tests prohibit students from

Take deep breaths to relax during the test

Get plenty of sleep the night before (at least eight hours)

being innovative and expressing themselves in their own creative, personal ways. I strongly dislike standardized testing and do not think it accurately shows the depth or full potential of

students.”

The main goal of ISTEP+ is to see stronger results due to the recently adjusted standards. These amodified standards require students to analyze, evaluate, and solve at a deeper level.

[For full story, see CEHSnews.com]

Be attentive and work hard in class

Eat a healthy breakfast the morning of the test

[the oracle | february 5, 2016 | page 4

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Consequences of Cheating Vary

by Natalie Ryan The temptation to cheat is ever present in the lives of high schoolers. “Will it really hurt to peek at the answer sheet so alluringly placed in my field of vision?” “I can’t possibly get caught if I search an answer on my phone just one time!”

Such excuses are always made when the common question of whether or not to cheat arises, but when considering the action, morality placed aside, the verdict is clear: cheating is stupid.

The consequences range from a zero on the given assignment to suspension or expulsion from college, which may seem harsh, but it makes sense. Schools give out clear warnings at the beginning of every school year, and students are expected to take the messages seriously because these policies are truly for the good of the student.

“The top engineers at Cummins are there not because they cheated, but because they’re incredibly bright. They got those good grades by working, not by getting other kids to find the answers,” said Kevin Darr, who teaches Chemistry and Biology at East.

The East StudenHandbook gives a fair

A student uses his cell phone as a calculator while completeing math homework that was to be completed without a calculator. | photo by Lily Hilderbrand warning as it states, “Academic integrity entails a firm adherence to a set of values grounded on the concept of honesty with respect to the intellectual efforts of oneself and others. It observes basic honesty in one’s work, words, ideas and actions. Academic integrity is a commitment to not lie, cheat or steal in academic endeavors”.

When a cheater is caught, the school’s academic dishonesty policies go into action, and the student could fail the assignment or the course, depending on student’s previous actions.

Still, there are always consequences for cheating; none of them benefitting the student at hand’s grades or reputation.

There are also strict

rules regarding cheating on standardized tests like the SAT, PSAT and ACT and AP tests. If a student is suspected, which is most often because of a cell phone alert, test proctors must find proof before confiscating the test, which will then not be scored.

While this may not seem too harsh and does not affect grades, it could result in a little less pocket money for students or parents, because after the test, which is often necessary to take for college applications, is confiscated, students have to pay to take it again. And when parents have to give extra money for something they were only expecting to pay for once, it rarely ever results in a boost in their student’s happiness.

Perhaps the least mentioned, but most significant form of cheating is plagiarism. Plagiarism is when someone else’s work or ideas are credited as one’s own, most often encountered when students fail to cite their sources when writing papers.

The East English Department’s policy states that the first offense is automatic failure of that assignment as well as parent contact, while the second is semester failure, which differs from the general cheating rule of quarter failure after two offenses. It is also less extreme than the procedures in place at most colleges.

At the collegiate level, plagiarism always results in withdrawal from the class or academic probation, and sometimes even expulsion from the school.

This means that the large sum of money given to the school cannot be refunded, putting students in a precarious position financially that may threaten their future education or career. {For full story, see CEHSnews.com]

[the oracle | february 5, 2016 | page 6

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Students, Teachers, Counselors Share Views on Cheating:

How It Is a Problem and How It Is Combatted at East

Students

“You’re not learning anything if you’re using someone else’s answers.

If you get an A on a test, but you cheated off of someone else, then it’s not really your A; it’s theirs.”

- Liz Hagan

Most students are fully aware that cheating happens regularly during the school year.

Students copy their friends’ homework assignments or they look over their neighbor’s shoulder during a test.

Even though cheating is a common occurence, many students don’t pay that much attention to it.

Senior Chandler Harper believes that students cheat because they are lazy and do not want to do their work.

Harper says that he usually sees students copying each other’s

homework assignments before class, but he does not find it to have a big effect on a student’s education.

“I don’t think cheating puts people behind, but it depends if they do their classwork or not. If they do the classwork, then they are learning the material that they need to know.”

- Chandler Harper Freshman Liz Hagan has different thoughts about why students cheat and if it truly affects their education.

She believes that cheating can put students behind if they are not learning the material.

Most of the cheating Hagan hears about is copying off of someone else’s test. She believes that students cheat because they want to get good grades on tests they did not study for or they did not understand the material going to be on the test.

Unlike Harper, Hagan thinks that tests show how much a student has learned, unless the student is cheating.

“If students are cheating, then the test scores aren’t accurate. If you know the material and can apply it on a test, then, yes, tests are accurate, but if you copy off of someone else, it only shows what that person knows.”

- Liz Hagan

Teachers are very familiar with cheating on tests, plagiarism and copied homework. Many teachers throughout Columbus East have come up with different ways to try and prevent any form of cheating from happening.

Plagiarism is a very common type of cheating that takes place in English classrooms. Brianna Moore, an English teacher at Columbus East, tries to catch this mistake before the assignment is due.

In Moore’s classroom, if a student cheats, they get an automatic zero on the assignment, and they have the option to redo it for half credit.

Moore believes students decide to cheat because they are desperate or they want to take the easy way out on an assignment.

Nevertheless, Moore says that plagiarism is cheating, whether it was intentional or by accident. To try and stop this, she has thought of a way that will catch the error.

To avoid cheating, she created a writing process.

“I try doing things step-by-step, by doing an outline, rough draft and final draft so I can try and catch the mistake early on.”

- Brianna Moore Many other teachers at Columbus East are implementing ways to try to prevent cheating from occurring. Most teachers are making multiple versions of one test, so that students cannot look off of their neighbor’s work.

Or, teachers will have one version of the test and spread out the class so they are not seated directly next to someone.

Also, if students are allowed to use note sheets on tests, many teachers pick them up at the end so the answers can’t be rewritten.

At the beginning of the year, policies are put into place on the first day of school to make sure students fully understand all consequences. On most syllabuses, it states the punishments for cheating, which can sometimes be enough to scare students into not cheating.

All teachers forbid phones or electronics

to be present during a test. If the teacher sees a phone out, usually the test is confiscated and the student is given an automatic zero.

Overall, cheating is a well known problem that is hard to stop, but teachers have collectively found ways that prevent it from occurring.

Counselors

Teachers

by Abigail Larken

Cheating As Spelled Out in the East Student Handbook Cheating, including, but

Columbus East is not a school known for the cheating that goes on during the school year. Cheating is only reported to Rochelle House, a counselor, a couple times a year.

Even though House said cheating may be a bigger problem than she knows, she believes that most students follow the expectation to not cheat.

House wants East students to have the integrity to know that cheating is wrong.

Also, House feels not limited to plagiarism, use of notes without permission, copying from another student, or other forms of such dishonest behavior will be considered as a violation of

that cheating can put a student behind in their education.

“If a student is cheating, they are not learning what is meant to be learned. That information could be a stepping stone for another concept later on.”

- Rochelle House The reason as to why students cheat is unclear and has no right answer, but it is something that can be theorized about.

Students have a fear of not doing well on a test or a fear of getting into trouble with their teacher for not completing an assignment, which ultimately leads to cheating. House sees these as reasons as to why students copy their friend’s homework or cheat off of a test.

Cheating is something that cannot be taken lightly, however. In the school handbook, there is a list of consequences that go along with cheating. It includes: failure of the test, contact with parents, no credit for the class and assignment to a study hall.

Yet, not all types of cheating are punishable in the same way.

“It is up to the teacher what the punishment is.

Usually, it depends if the assignment was for a grade or if it was just for practice.”

- Rochelle House

“Maybe the student had a bad night and couldn’t get what they need to get done, done.”

- Rochelle House

Every since elementary school, students have been taught to practice integrity in school.

House believes that cheating goes back to the integrity that each student should have.

Every student knows that cheating is wrong, which should be enough to stop the few students that continue to cheat on their homework and tests, when really they are only cheating themselves.

acceptable behavior.

The following will apply: First offense: Failure of test, assignment, etc. and parent contact by teacher.

Second offense in same

class: No credit for 9 week period.

Third offense in same class: No credit for semester; assignment to study hall (or may audit class).

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[the oracle | february 5, 2015 | page 8

itsLearning Senses Plagiarism from Internet, Students

Confessions from Super Cheaters

by Lauren Schumacher

by Corbin Parmer

A student in resource logs on to itsLearning. | photo by Josie Royer Starting this year in BCSC, students have been given access to the itsLearning site as an all around tool. Within this site, teachers can upload assignments for students to complete by either attaching a document or typing straight into text boxes on the site itself.

When an assignment like this is created, teachers have the option of turning on something called “plagiarism control.” This control looks through uploaded assignments for any hint of cheating.

Many students wonder how this feature works, and whether it is really accurate.

Angie Wieneke, a UDL Coordinator for Instructional Media Technology for BCSC, elaborated on its functionality: “[The plagiarism control] checks work turned in with resources on the internet. It will provide a report with the percent breakdown of similar words.”

This means that, instead of the popular thought that it searches for copy and paste actions, the plagiarism

detector actually checks submitted work word for word, and compares it with anything else on the internet that has the same writing, word for word.

Teachers can pull up an option for each submitted assignment to see exactly the percentage of any suspected plagiaristic action, and also see which websites or internet files that were possibly plagiarized.

Each of the websites or other files can be just simply clicked on to bring up a side-byside comparison with a

student’s submitted assignment. The detector even goes to the length of highlighting which sections have the same text on both the assignment and the suspected website or file.

The resources this detector can search are limitless. It not only searches websites, it also searches any assignment uploaded by another student during the same mod.

For example, if one student in mod four uploads a paper, and his or her friend in mod four copies and uploads the exact same paper, the detector will scan it for a 100 percent match between the two uploads.

Chasidy Kannianen, an English teacher and the English Department Chair at Columbus East, gave a view of the plagiarism control through the eyes of a teacher, and elaborated on how the English department handles it. “[English teachers] use it on every paper.

For me, if a student turns something in and it says over 25 percent , then I’ll usually check it,” Kannianen said.

[For full story, see CEHSnews.com]

Admit it: you’ve cheated; everyone has cheated, but some cheating endeavors are more noteworthy than others. Here are some stories about students’ experiences with cheating and statements from Columbus East’s own Super Cheaters.

I cheated on ISTEP as a grade schooler. I was one of the only kids who had a cellphone other than my friend who sat across the room. So when I didn’t know an answer I’d ask her.

That was the only year I did well on ISTEP. The teachers never found out, I guess it was because we were so young that they didn’t think to look for cell phones.

One time, the smartest kid in my class got caught cheating.

It was on a really easy vocab quiz and he just wrote all the answers down on his hand.

We were all crushed; we just couldn’t believe that he would let us all down like that.

In a couple of my classes, we’re allowed to use notes and resources that the teacher gave us on itslearning. Of course when you use notes on your computer, nothing’s stopping you from just opening up the internet in a different window. I’ll look up answers I don’t know and check to make sure everything’s right before I turn it in.

There was this boy in one of my classes that got caught cheating in one of the dumbest ways. He wrote the answers on his hand, but hid them by leaning his cheek against his palm. By the end of the test, all the answers were smeared on his face.

He tried to deny it, but you can’t really argue when it’s literally written on your face.

My whole class actually learned morse code to cheat on tests.

We would just tap out the number of the question and then someone would give us the answer in morse code. Double digit numbers had to be tapped out one number at a time though, and pen clicks were out of the question- only taps. We got pretty good at it and by the end of the year we could have conversations in morse code.

There was a kid who I knew cheated off of me all the time.

So, during one test, I just randomly filled in the answers so he’d copy down the wrong ones. As soon as he was done copying, he ran up to put his test down first. As he came back, I looked him dead in the eye and erased every single answer. The look on his face was priceless.

From a Super Cheater: 1. Know where your teacher is and where their attention lies 2. If you’re right handed, cheat to the right.

If you’re left handed, cheat to the left 3. If you agree to cheat with a friend, write big and clearly- plan ahead of time 4. Body language is everything- move slowly and deliberately 5. Know what answer you’re looking for before you search

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[the oracle | february 5, 2016 | page 10

Students Cheat Without Consequences Consistently

The Oracle conducted a random survey of 160 students at East. We asked them about their cheating habits, including the types of assignments they cheated on, how consistently they cheated, and how often they were caught.

Here are their responses. |compiled by Jacob Harpring

Have you ever cheated on a test?

Have you ever copied homework (from another student or the internet)?

Have you ever plagairized?

Did you know cheating on tests/assignments/plagiarism was cheating?

Was this an isolated incident or was it consistent behavior?

Have you ever been caught cheating?

YES: 73% (117 students out of 160)

YES: 90% (144 students out of 160)

YES: 27% (43 students out of 160)

YES: 97% (155 students out of 160)

CONSISTENT: 53% (85 students out of 160)

NO: 71% (114 students out of 160)

As I walk through resource before school every morning, I see different groups huddled around tables. Some are discussing last night’s soccer game, some the art project they are working on and some have their phones out to take a picture of a worksheet only one person in the group completed.

This cheating is blatant, consistent and seemingly without consequence. Some students try to brush off the copied assignment by saying everyone copies homework, no one will know whether or not they cheated or by saying the assignment is “busy work”. Furthermore, students do not seem turned off by the possible consequences of cheating, as an anonymous survey conducted at East re-

Rebecca Smith vealed only 29 percent of students who cheat are caught. For a desperate, confused or lazy cheating Olympian, that 29 percent could imply that the odds are in his favor.

Yet, many students have the same blatancy and consistency when copying tests and papers as they do when copying homework. And there seems to be little-to-no punishment for either crime. This raises a few questions: Is one type of cheating more severe than another? Should

the punishment for being caught cheating vary on the severity of the situation? How can the administration combat the amount of cheating?

The word “cheating” seems to encompass all severity of academic dishonesty. Yet, some forms of dishonest behavior can be milder than others.

According to Rochelle House, the East Counseling Department Director, some of the milder types of cheating can be copying another student’s homework worksheet or looking up the answer to a question online.

However, House is quick to differentiate between looking up an answer out of laziness and looking up an answer due to not understanding the topic, saying that the internet is a resource when it is being used to

learn, not to copy.

House says that a consequence is necessary for even the smallest forms of cheating. She said that punishment teaches students integrity and that cheating is not a strong choice in any circumstances.

Some ways of cheating are more severe than copying one answer. For example, sneaking glances at another’s paper during a quiz is frowned upon, yet still a frequent occurrence.

And as the administration attempts to integrate more technology, students are able to find updated and creative ways to cheat. While looking at another student’s paper is the “traditional” way to cheat, cheating at this level can take many digital forms as well.

In a recent course I

took, my teacher allowed us to use digital notes, such as documents found on itsLearning, during our test. However, when students are struggling to find an answer and Google is ready just one window away, they begin to fall victim to this temptation. With safety just a click away, students had no trouble closing their browsers as the teacher strolled by.

Students also are cheating by using Google Drive. With all student emails going through Google servers, students can now sign into their personal Gmail accounts and share documents or photos of assignments.

While having a conversation with a friend, she confessed that a typed assignment was shared with her on Google Drive, and she was about to

copy it.

This form and similar forms of digital cheating are relatively new, making it much more difficult for teachers to catch. However, the result of this type of cheating should be consistent with other punishments of its severity.

Copying another’s test or plagiarizing a paper takes cheating to a new level. These aspects of cheating are deemed the most severe, and usually result in failing the test or the paper. If cheating is a frequent activity and a student gets caught cheating more than once in a course, he can fail the course.

Along with these obviously dishonest behaviors come actions that may or may not be considered cheating. Some of these questionable actions regard the tests that teach-

ers give.

In my years at East, I have taken classes in which the teacher gave gave an identical test to each class each year. If I had obtained a copy of the previous year’s test, would I be cheating or simply utilizing my resources? Is it unethical of me to study the previous year’s test under the suspicion that I would be taking an identical test?

I have also had teachers provide the class with past tests to use as study materials. In this case, if that teacher were to use a few questions identical to those on a past test, would I be cheating having known the question before the test? Or is this an acceptable behavior as the teacher condoned the use of the test? How is this situation different than the first?

The blurred line between acceptable and unacceptable behavior is why “cheating” needs to be redefined. Students, teachers and administrators need to know exactly what constitutes “cheating” in order to consistently enforce a punishment.

House wants all cheating to be addressed, no matter the size or situation.

“Students need to know that what they are doing is wrong and that it is wrong in every aspect of life,” she said.

The epidemic of cheating at East is under the radar - undetected or unobserved. Yet, if East wants to combat these fraudulent actions, it needs to be more willing to call out student cheaters on actions in and out of the classroom.

[the oracle | february 5, 2016 | page 12

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Sports Concussions Prompt Film, Senior Project

months were able to get an appointment.

“I went out to Pittsburgh in February of 2013. During my time there, I saw a total of seven different doctors.

My first appointment was seven hours long,” Thalls said.

Luckily, the months of waiting were worth it.

“In the first five minutes within working with Dr. Collins, the director of the center, he told me he knew exactly what was wrong and that he was

by Karli Reynolds According to Prevacus, a pharmaceutical company that is developing new treatment for concussions, high school athletes sustain an estimated 300,000 concussions per year.

Forty-seven percent of these come from high school football.

These frustrating statistics have drawn media attention, and most recently impacted director Peter Landesman.

His movie “Concussion”, which came out in theatres on December 25, tells the story of young doctor Bennet Omalu and his discovery of a neurological deterioration caused by continual hits to the head.

Will Smith, who played Omalu in the movie, was hesitant about accepting the role.

“My son Trey played at Oaks Christian, which is a football powerhouse in Southern California, and those were some of the best days of my life as a parent,’’ Smith told The Post in an interview previewing the movie.

“So when I got this screenplay, it was deeply conflicting,’’ Smith said about the Concussion movie that blasts the NFL for the concussion crisis connected to the game.

However, NFL football commissioner Roger Goodell ensures that the league’s goal is to reduce the number of concussions overall and is not concerned about the effects of the film.

“We’re not focused on a movie, we’re focused on continuing to make progress,” Goodell told a group of reporters.

The NFL has made a vigorous effort to limit concussions and inform players, coaches and athletic trainers about new protocol.

“We have incredible progress that has been made. From protocols that we implemented, research we are doing, coaching changes we have had and in taking certain techniques out of the game. What you are seeing is an incredible amount of progress and real impact,” Goodell said.

When it comes to concussions at East, senior Kortney Thalls has experienced many on the volleyball team.

She had her first concussion in June of 2012 when she was hit in the temple with a volleyball.

At first, Thalls thought she was just experiencing a migraine. She even continued to compete in a volleyball match the next day.

“The first day of our national tournament I became very confused and my mom took me to the trainer. While being tested I didn’t know the month or season, when my birthday occurred, three plus three, or other basic information. The trainer said it was possible I had a concussion,”

going to heal me by the summer. He said I had completely wiped out my vestibular system on both sides, which is the part of the brain that controls balance, eye movement, and special awareness. I ended up going out to Pittsburgh a total of eight times,” she said.

“In July of 2013 I was healed and back to normal. This was also the first time in 13 months I did not have a headache,” Thalls said.

Thalls decided to use her experience with her concussion to raise awareness for others.

For her senior project, she secured a sponsor to pay for Dr. Melissa Womble from University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Sports Medicine Concussion Program to travel to Columbus and provide two free lectures about concussions.

The lectures are geared toward doctors, nurses, school administrators, coaches and

33% of all sports concussions happen at practice 90

47

Thalls said.

After being released two weeks later, Thalls’ parents did not believe she was fully healed and took her to see a neurologist in Indianapolis. There, her doctor prescribed many medications and told her to avoid her phone screen.

“At one point in time I was on a total of nine different medications.

Doctors told me that this was going to be my new life, and I was going to have to live with this pain for the rest of my life,” Thalls said.

Thalls’ parents were given a Wall Street Journal article about a concussion center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

They ended up calling the concussion center and after several

90% of most diagnosed concussions do not involve a loss of consciousness

47% of all reported sports concussions occur during high school football

Statistics from Head Case Company

athletic trainers.

“The biggest wish for me is that everyone who comes will learn about concussions and know that they are a very serious topic, that they will learn correct information about concussions and how they affect individuals differently. My hope is that spreading the word like this will help people not have to face the same struggles that I faced during my concussion,” she said.

Senior Project Quick Facts • Who: Kortney Thalls • What: Senior Project about Concussions and Concussion Awareness • When: Feb. 9 at 6:30 p.m. and Feb. 10 at 12 p.m.

• Where: Mill Race Center • Why: To raise awareness about concussions “My hope is that spreading the word like this will help people not have to face the same struggles that I faced during my concussion.” - senior Kortney Thalls

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[the oracle | february 5, 2016 | page 14

A Day in the Life of Principal Mark Newell

by Erin Louden

Poor Sleep Habits Can Lead to Poor Grades, Anxiety

Newell is doing breakfast duty.

“I like walking around, talking to the students.”

6:30 a.m.

“I like being outside, it’s nice, quiet time. My dad always rode to work, so I think that’s where I got the idea. But it depends on what I’ve got going on after school if I ride or not.”

7:15 a.m.

Principal Mark Newell starts his day with a bike ride to school. It usually takes him 45 minutes to ride in from where he lives.

6:15 a.m.

by Caroline Steinrock

By this time, Newell is getting to school and checking his emails. He looks at his calendar to see what events are in store for the day.

“First thing in the morning is probably one of my productive times.”

From this point on Newell’s schedule varies. Usually he will do lunch duty for Mod 5B.

1:00 p.m.

Newell is attending a Secondary Administrator meeting about laptops and damaging them. The meeting is also over e-learning days and ways for administrators and teachers to support them.

Everyone knows that a good night’s sleep is vital to having a productive and successful day; however, many high school teens struggle to attain the minimal eight hours of sleep needed.

A teen in high school juggles many exploits in a single day.

High school students receive homework in the majority of their courses every day, in addition to upcoming exams. In short, school is a lot to manage, especially for those who are also involved in extracurricular activities. Trying to get an adequate amount of sleep after taking care of your daily responsibilities is fairly grueling.

According to the National Sleep Foundation (NSF), teens need about 8-10 hours of sleep each night in order to function optimall.

Sleep is comparable

to food for your brain.

Not getting enough sleep is a lot like not eating: it’s not healthy, and it just leaves you weak and exhausted. You wouldn’t starve your stomach of food for an entire day, so why would you starve your brain of sleep?

Sleep may seem like a last priority to your responsibility-filled day, but it should hold a more important and “set in stone” place within your day. Allowing your body to rest for a proper amount of time is so crucial to a successful high school career.

According to the American Psychology Association, or the APA, insufficient sleep has been shown to cause difficulties in school such as disciplinary problems, sleepiness in class, and poor concentration, ultimately leading to poor grades.

An occasional winter storm will demand a 2-hour-delay, allowing students to catch some extra Z’s. “I always function better on days when we have two hour delays, because I get a lot more sleep,” said sophomore Reagan Perkins.

Mary A. Carskadon, PhD, of Brown University Medical School conducted a study involving over more than 3,000 high school students.

Her results revealed that a mere 45 minutes of sleep can drastically affect a pupil’s performance in school. Students in Carskadon’s evaluation who reported having C’s D’s and F’s only went to bed about 45 minutes later than students who were receiving A’s and B’s.

Getting a good night’s rest is not only beneficial to one’s school performance, but also

one’s own safety. According to the APA, drowsiness and fatigue cause over 100,000 traffic accidents each year, 50% of which involve adolescents.

According to Stanford Medicine, sleep deprivation can also lead to mental disorders such as depression and anxiety. Not getting enough rest not only leaves you physically spent, but also emotionally and mentally.

The simple act of getting some quality rest does so much for your body.

Sleep is a lot more important than we realize. It refreshes us from an over-tiring and hectic day, and prepares us for the long day yet to come. Sleep helps our physical, mental, and emotional health, as well as improving our performance in school.

“Once we start getting on a regular schedule, I’ll be getting into the classrooms to do observations. We’re all trying to grow and get better.”

3:00 p.m.

Newell likes to get out of the office every passing period and talk to students and teachers.

2:00 p.m.

How Much Sleep Students at East Get Each Night How Much Sleep Students at East Get Each Night

At the end of the school day, Newell is checking in with students and teachers and wrapping things up.

“Mainly just trying to wrap things up and looking for what’s coming up for tomorrow.”

6-8 Hours (51%)

3-5 Hours (30%)

9+ Hours (10%)

0-2 Hours (9%)

[the oracle | february 5, 2016 | page 16

Filling a “Knead” in the Community

by Austin Lewis Knead, center, pull.

Repeat.

Knead, center, pull.

Repeat.

This is the process that Shaunak Deshmukh goes through for his senior project, Columbus’s annual Empty Bowls event.

The process sounds overwhelmingly monotonous and simple, but after making over 20 soup bowls and being on the potter’s wheel for over a year, Deshmukh knows that many variables are out of his control.

“There are so many risks you have to take. Is it going to come out alright? Is it going to glaze alright? It’s just all dependent on the clay and

the day. There are so many factors that come into play,” Deshmukh said.

Deshmukh isn’t the only one that knows this; 20 other Columbus East students have made soup bowls for the Empty Bowls event.

Despite this, Deshmukh has gone far beyond a bowl or two. In fact, every pottery piece he has made this school year is going towards his senior project because a new element is being added to the Empty Bowls event: a silent auction.

“I’m trying to make 10 to 15 silent auction pieces and they all are going to be kind of speciality pieces. So, not

necessarily functional pieces, but more artistic,” Deshmukh said.

Traditionally, Empty Bowls is an event put on by the Columbus Food co-op that benefits food insecure families.

According to the coop’s website, over 8,000 Columbus residents are food insecure, making hunger a very present issue in our own community.

This year’s Empty Bowls event is February 6 at 5:30 p.m. at Central Middle School. Further information about the event can be found on posters hanging around school. Deshmukh is excited to experience the culmination of months

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of hard work in one night.

While the final night of excitement is enticing for Deshmukh, he cherishes the small victories as well. Victories as seemingly simple as a fully completed pottery piece coming out of the kiln.

“When [a pottery piece] comes out, it’s an amazing feeling, like, ‘Oh my goodness, that looks amazing. I made that with my own hands.’ That feeling, it’s, ah...I’m losing words to describe it,” Deshmukh said.

But the process to get to that feeling remains the same.

Knead, center, pull.

Repeat.

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