FEATURES
6 Blueprint
History witnessed within our lifetime Even though we are only in high school, there have been major events in our lifetime that have shook the world. Some of them we may not remember very clearly, like the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, or the 2007-2009 recession, but we definetely felt the impacts of the aftermath, which we will continue to deal with long into the future. Here we explore the different events that have happened in our lifetime that changed the world, either for the better or for the worse, and share personal stories from students and teachers about the consequences of these events.
2003
Cloning of Dolly the sheep ogy has to help minimize the disparity of resources throughout the country and throughout the world is overwhelming. I think from a business standpoint, cloning of organisms for agriculture in a pure sense is a good idea. In a financial sense I think we have to be very careful about what the legal implications are, because companies are going to start to patent this technology and make it very difficult for the small independent farmer to make a living...it also begs the question as to what are we doing about science education so that people have a better understanding of what it Wolf believes that cloning could have both means to be cloned, and how that can bad and good implications beyond just the affect your health and wellbeing down science world. the line because there’s a lot of inconsistencies and misconceptions that Photo by Gabrielle Bartkevicuite take place...people are unknowingly Cloning seems like something from eating it, be that good or bad. So there a sci-fi TV show, but it’s actually been is nothing that you eat, unless it is a reality since 2003 with the birth of a 100 percent organic, that does not Dolly the Sheep, the first cloned mamhave some kind of cloned organism or mal. Science teacher Jennifer Wolf exhas some kind of cloned genome in it,” plains the positive and negative effects Wolf said. of developing technology that makes cloning possible. “I think the implications the technolContact Gabrielle at gbar1713@csd99.org
By Gabrielle Bartkevicuite, Entertainment Editor
Feb. 5, 2015
2001
FEATURES
Feb. 5, 2015
2009
2008
9/11
Michael Jackson’s sudden death
First African American President
By Gina DeCarlis, Staff Reporter
By Autumn McSwain, Staff Reporter
By Clarissa Moreno, Photo Editor
Drawing by Nicholas Moreno
9/11 was a turning point in American history that affected many lives and left stories to tell from generation to generation. P.E. teacher Dustin Hausherr and social studies teacher Greg Maloney share their personal experiences on this day. Hausherr tells his experience in college, “A buddy of mine came up to me saying the World Trade Center had been hit. I noticed a big fire in the building [on TV], so I knew it was serious. My roommates and I were glued to the TV; classes were canceled and we kind of just watched everything unfold. I remember it like it was yesterday. I remember asking my grandmother if she remembered where she was on Pearl Harbor, and it was the same kind of answer; she knew what time of day, where she was, what she was doing. It’s one of those moments where time kind of freezes and holds still for that moment,” Hausherr said. Maloney talks about his experience while teaching, “I was teaching at a high school in Chicago, close to downtown, and it was a late start so by the time the students had come in they had already heard about the attacks. The news came on and told us that they couldn’t locate the last plane, and my classroom happened to be up on the fourth floor and the window of my classroom had a really good view of The Sears Tower and so when they were telling us that they couldn’t locate the last plane that eventually went down in Pennsylvania, looked at my students, and I realized a look of fear on their face. They were looking outside the window at the Sears Tower as if they were waiting for that last plane to hit the Sears Tower. To say the least, it was a very emotional day and a scary day, too, because of the fear that Chicago could have also been attacked,” Maloney said.
Blueprint 7
As the first African American President, Barack Obama has been a controversial president for our generation. With the 2016 Presidential election right around the corner, President Obama will step down from office but will continue as part of American history. Senior Amanda Surrusco believes that Obama may have changed the way our generation views the issue of race. “Since Obama became president, I think it gives a new perspective to people showing that race shouldn’t matter when it comes to something so high up in authority like being the president,” Surrusco said. President Obama has been a strong believer that the US should Surrusco believes in equal opportunity for be a place that encourages and everyone, especially with something as prestiaccepts diversity. One of his most gious as the presidency. prominent goals has been to diversify our society as a whole. photo by Autumn McSwain “I don’t think America is 100% diverse as a whole, but I do think he defiContact Autumn at nitely made an impact when it comes to amcs2141@csd99.org diversity,” Surrusco said.
Known as the “King of Pop”, Michael Jackson was loved by many, and it’s not surprising that even today, people are still devastated by his passing on June 25, 2009. Many still enjoy his music and consider him an inspiration. Junior Cara Dwan talks about how she was affected by Jackson’s passing. “I was ten...I was so upset...I didn’t believe it at first. I walked downstairs, and it was on the news and I was like ‘No way!’” Dwan said. “[Knowing I wouldn’t be able to hear new music from him] definitely hit me a little later when I realized that I will never be able to see this amazing legend make music. I still think about it. I wish I could watch him perform just one more one time.” Dwan shows off her numerous Michael “[The hologram] made me very happy, Jackson albums that she’s been listening to that he is being remembered for what since she was a kid. he did and who he was. I think it really represented Michael Jackson the best Photo by Gina Decarlis it could,” Dwan said. “I still listen to his music and think about what his message was Contact Gina at -- that he only wanted to help people. I live by his gdec1259@csd99.org message to heal the world,” Dwan said.
2007-2009 Recession
2007-2015
Constant gas price fluctuations By Gabrielle Bartkevicuite, Entertainment Editor
Proimos stands by her car, which she drives to and from Indiana every day to get to DGS. Photo by Gabrielle Bartkevicuite
Gas prices have been fluctuating constantly, from over four dollars a gallon in 2008 to under two dollars a gallon in 2015. English teacher Nicole Proimos shares the effect of fluctuation in gas prices on her commute from Indiana to DGS.
“Honestly, I look at gas as a necessary expense. I cannot make it to work without it, so it was one of those things where I’m going to spend what I have to and try to trim back in other areas. Prior to gas prices dropping, I would try to time my stopping based on which gas stations are cheaper than others. I would try to stop at places in the smaller towns I drive through on the way to work. When I started at DGS they were upwards of four dollars per gallon. Now they’re under two dollars. I went from spending over 60 dollars a tank to around 25 to 30. Considering the fact that I fill up at least two to three times a week, we’re talking around 60 dollars I save, which comes out to about 240 dollars a month that I’m not spending. Now think about how many months we’re in school, and it starts to add up. While some think it’s silly for me to drive out of my way to get a gas pump that seems to be only a dollar or so different, it’s extremely fiscally responsible,” Proimos said. Contact Gabrielle at gbar1713@csd99.org
Graphic by Marcela Calderon
By Marcela Calderon, Copy Editor According to the U.S. National Bureau of Economic Research, the world endured “The Great Recession” from December 2007 until June 2009. Social studies teacher Derek Hoovel believes that ultimately, the recession was caused by the “housing bubble.” This happens when the price of homes are far above the actual value. “I personally know people who bought a house and sold it just a few years later at two and a half times what they originally paid for it, that is a ridiculous return on investment and not sustainable, but when there is money to be made [off of
it] people don’t want to look down the road and see the eventual bursting of the bubble,” Hoovel said. This housing bubble created the mortgage crisis, which contributed to the financial crisis. Banks had to be bailed out by the government in order to avoid going bankrupt, but this could not prevent stocks from plummeting creating a lasting recession. This chain of events put many people out of work or at risk of losing their job. Matthew Smiles explains his personal experiences when his mom risked losing her job. “The company my mom works for laid off 20% of their employees at the peak of the recession,
and there were many times when my mom thought that she would lose her job,” Smiles said. “From what I can tell this type of event wasn’t unique to her company. Many other companies went through very similar circumstances. There weren’t very many people that completely escaped.”
Contact Marcela at mcal2335@csd99.org