The Viewpoint November/December 2014 Issue

Viewpoint

Mountain View High School 2135 Mountain View Rd. Stafford, VA 22556

STUDENT NEWS Magazine MVHS VOLUME 9 ISSUE 2

November | December

th e

Junior Billie Webb shows off her tattoos Read about more students with tattoos .

Page 16 and 17.

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the viewpoint q november | december 2014

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The Viewpoint

Life isn't a college essay With the holidays and winter break swiftly approaching, so are application deadlines.

Juniors, sophomores and freshmen can ask for the newest and coolest gadget Christmas morning, but as a senior, I’ll take a delayed Christmas present of a college acceptance letter. I’m not sure how strong of a connection Santa Clause’s elves have with the post secondary education system’s admission’s offices, but I’d appreciate the hook up.

I’m outwardly and obviously jealous of anybody that already knows exactly what university they’re attending come next fall. That’s why my “congratulations” might sound a little bitter or half-hearted.

I really am happy for all the committed athletes and motivated early applicants, but while all of you are sporting your future university sweatshirt, I’m considering the possibility of starting a dog kennel in my backyard instead of continuing my education.

If things go well, I could have a dog kennel monopoly on the south side of Stafford County. Honestly, what sounds better, a bunch of puppies or taking college calculus?

Along with the stress of an unknown future, family members seem to already have your life all figured out.

“I’m telling you Sami, if you go to Germanna you could live with me. I’d let you live in the basement and we could have sleepovers and I’ll take you to lunch and we could hang out all the time!”

Thanks, Mother, sounds like a dream come true.

Then, there’s the Facebook comments from family members still adapting to the digital age.

“Hi, this is your Grandma Sue and I still think you should go to Local University so we could visit!!!!!!!”

It’s all a lot to take in.

NOVEMBER DECEMBER 2014 VOLUME IX ISSUE II

Furthermore, not knowing what schools will accept you just adds to the distant and constant worry that looms in the background of your life.

What if my dream school rejects me?

What if people expected me to go to a better school? (Even though silently looking down on someone because of where they’re going doesn’t make sense. As long as they’re going to school and getting a degree, why does it matter? The student is still receiving a good education.)

Despite that rant, people still seem to judge seniors’ intellectual worth on the college they’re attending in the fall.

Like I said, it’s a lot.

You send off applications in an attempt to define yourself and prove yourself to a college when it’s hard for almost every single individual to think of three single words that describe themselves.

If I could’ve, I would’ve slapped, “unsure, senioritis and breathtakingly beautiful” on that senior profile sheet, but instead I settled with the typical adjectives like “motivated” or something.

Then, there’s the essays. What have I done that will impress a stranger? Since I can’t include my most accomplished feats, as colleges won’t be as impressed as I am with something to do with the dating app Tinder, I’m left only with personal stories or interests that leave me crossing my fingers and hoping it all works out.

To any underclassman who are judging me right now, just wait until next year.

Hang in there seniors.

It’s all a lot.

Editor in Chief

Megan Clark

Assistant Editor in Chief

Sami Toal

Social Media Editor

Erinn Black

Copy Editor

Josh Guillemette Photography Editor

Cory Haley

Business Manager

Sarah Yakulis Adviser

Trisha Strahl The Viewpoint is a cross-section of the news and opinions of the student body of Mountain View High School.

It is a forum of expression published by aPrintis. Letters to the editor are welcome and should be submitted to rooms 303 or 307

assistant editor in chief

Staff Writers

Hailey Bullis, Alex Harrington, Emily Johnson, Dekker Jordan, Paul King, Morgan Ocetnick, Lee Penninger, Austin Venable, Nico Villarreal, Sarah Yakulis

Feature figure of the month

by Morgan Ocetnik choirs in Virginia”, Keene said, and was chosen to perform with the group. She explained that Bonita Keene has helped a lot with that and has been there since freshmen year for her.

Besides chorus for school, she also participates in the school’s Acapella club, and is one of the co-leaders. It is very self-sufficient, so as one of the co-leaders they run warm ups, and pick the songs to perform and the soloists that are performing. Abigail Carbone has furthered herself by also singing for an outside of school quire called Stafford Regional Choral Society. It’s a community choir just for fun that is run by the director from Colonial Forge. Carbone explained that she wants singing to be in her future.

“Hopefully for the rest of my life,” she said. Carbone explained that if she were to sing for a college, she would have to go through auditions by preparing

a piece, and then performing for judges that would choose her for their program or not. Carbone is planning on continuing in college, but she is not sure if she wants to pursue a minor in music.

one (left)

performs

onstage.

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Abigail C arb

Front Cover Erinn Black

Abigail Ca bo

Abigail Carbone is a senior working hard towards her singing career.

Carbone has been passionate towards singing and realized she wanted to pursue it since she was little. She has taken chorus classes all through middle school and high school, and has participated in choirs outside of school. As a freshman, Carbone was in a choir called Beginning Women’s and made a huge transition to the highest chorus possible for that. The most common choirs people audition for are All-County Chorus, which is everyone in Stafford and they pick people from every school. Then they have All-Districts and All-States. Abigail Carbone has made All-County Chorus sophomore, junior, and senior year. Bonita Keene, chorus teacher, said that she has improved and has worked really hard. This year, Carbone auditioned for VMEA Honor Choir, which is the most “prestigious

2014 Virginia High School League State Championship First Place Award Winner 2013, 2014 Free Lance-Star Best Over All Newspaper 2011 Columbia Scholastic Press Association Gold Medalist 2011, 2010 and 2009 Virginia High School League First Place Award Winner Mountain View High School 2135 Mountain View Rd. Stafford, VA 22556

There’s more content online! Go to issuu.com and seach for The Viewpoint to find our EXTRA edition and online versions of our publication. november| december 2014 q the viewpoint q

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John Barrios

The varsity dance team performs at Paul IV Catholic HS. Ten dancers auditioned to perform at the Redskins game on Dec. 28 at FedEx Field.

at a glance...

A cross section of the happenings and the opinions of the students at Mountain View High School.

Dance tries out for Redskins

On Nov. 8, members of the varsity and junior varsity dance teams auditioned to perform alongside the Redskin’s Cheerleaders at the Redskins versus Cowboys game on Dec. 28.

Out of the ten members that auditioned, eight made the cut and will be performing at the game.

“It’s definitely a big deal,” said captain of the dance team, Haley Olsen. “You definitely feel a big sense of accomplishment when selected out of a large group of people. I think it shows our school has a lot of talent.”

The audition process consisted of a three hour workshop with about 100 people from around Virginia participating, though only 40 people were chosen.

Everyone was first asked to go across the floor doing various techniques. Then, they learned a combination taught by the Redskin’s cheerleaders.

“It was very hard. It was very fast. We learned it quickly,” said junior Lizzie Bellville.

Finally, they performed the same routine in groups of six and were judged by the cheerleaders’ five coaches. At the end of the three hours, the judges called the numbers of the dancers that were chosen.

Bellville said, “There were a lot of people there and it was very intimidating, but our team stuck together and helped each other out during this whole process.”

-Sami Toal

“Mockingjay” review

Mockingjay: Part 1 is the third movie of the series, “The Hunger Games”. The movie stars Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth.

“Mockingjay” is the beginning of the end of the revolution in Panem (The North American continent), the fictional world the story takes place

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in. Lawrence is the leading role as Katniss Everdeen.

In the movie Katniss(Lawrence) is injured and suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder from the last annual Hunger Games and has to come to terms with being the face of the revolution, as Katniss is named the revolution’s Mockingjay.

The movie is packed with action, and more prominently emotion. There are scenes that will bring you to tears, scenes that will make you laugh, and scenes that leave you with chills.

Lawrence captures the essence of Katniss Everdeen wonderfully and captures every moment on screen. The actress shows every emotion from terror to anger and purges those emotions towards the audience. Lawrence along with co-stars Hutcherson and Hemsworth shine as their characters grow and change with the movie progression.

The movie has a fast-paced feeling and leaves you in shock quite often. Although, by the end the watcher feels nothing of importance happened.

This could be due to the fact that “Mockingjay” is originally one book and was split to be two movies.

In “Mockingjay: Part 1” Katniss and District 13 spend a lot of their time receiving and sending propaganda films, this becomes a little repetitive and makes the movie feel very political. Regardless every propaganda moves the story along and helps District 13 fight against The Capital.

In all “Mockingjay: Part 1” is worth seeing and while nothing monumental really happens, the character growth and progression of the rebellion make for an interesting movie.

-Hailey Bullis

Fall baseball wins championship

On Oct. 27, both varsity and junior varsity baseball won the Rappahannock Fall championship title.

Varsity won the championship game 4-1 against North Stafford. After an undefeated season, JV also won their championship against Kettle Run 1-0.

Dylan Hall, a junior on varsity baseball, said, “I think the season was an overall success. We had a good and hard-working team, and we hardly went down without a fight. Our pitching staff did a really good job of getting ahead in counts and once we had the lead we never let up. Then of course we went to win the championship against North Stafford, and all of our hard work and persistence paid off.” Jackson Galvin, a senior on varsity, also said that overall he thinks they had a really good season. There were some more challenging games but in the end their hard work and dedication really paid off. Both Hall and Galvin said that the spring season is looking good, and another championship is very possible if everyone stays committed and they work just as hard.

-Sarah Yakulis

Sorrentino wins award

Coach Lou Sorrentino received his award for 200 total wins as high school head football coach during the last home game. He always preaches about not going after individual awards and being a humble person but this was a pretty big deal. “I’ve never sent my wins in [to the Virginia High School Coaches Association] yearly,” Sorrentino said. “I didn’t want to get caught up in that. My father was a real humble guy and that’s kind of one of my things. But it was hard for me not to come out and say something. I was too excited not to.”

After his father died his first year coaching at Mountain View, and having a blood clot the next year, he set that as an individual goal for himself.

“You look back on the whole situation and you see the big picture,” Sorrentino said. “That’s when I thought it was a neat goal to have.”

-Cory Haley

Same old ‘Skins

By Paul King

Lionsgate Productions

“Mockingjay: Part 1” was released on Nov. 19.

Joelle Neufang

The varsity baseball team poses after their championship win over North Stafford on Oct. 27.

Erinn Black

Football coach Lou Sorrentino displays trophy commemorrating his 200th win.

The Redskins will enter the offseason with more questions than answers. But why did us ‘Skins fans think anything different was going to happen? Why did we think anything was going to change?

Let’s go back to April of 2012. The future seemed so bright.

With the NFL Draft fast approaching, there was a can’t-miss quarterback class reminiscent of the 1983 draft that brought us legends like Jim Kelly, John Elway and Dan Marino. If there was ever a time to need a franchise quarterback, 2012 would have been the time.

The Redskins, with the sixth pick that year, set their sights on a man that elevated the hapless Baylor Bears, and a nickname that sounded like that of a droid from Star Wars: RG3.

This man, the exiting Robert Griffin III, was second only to Andrew Luck in the pre-draft process. While it was certain that Luck was going to be picked first by the Colts, it was uncertain where RG3 was going to be picked. Standing between the Redskins was the Rams and the Browns; the Rams ready to take king’s ransom for their spot in the draft, and the Browns in perpetual need for a quarterback. The Redskins gave the Rams, among other things, three first round picks. It seemed to be a good price to pay at the time.

In hindsight, what a terrible trade it was. I was a fan of the trade because in my opinion, some stability at the quarterback position was invaluable to the Redskins; no more guys like Todd Collins (famous for how much he reminded me of my middle-aged father), Rex Grossman (famous for having a passer rating of 158.3 one week, then zero the next), and John Beck (famous for leading the Dolphins to a pitiful one-win season).

And at the time, it seemed like the trade paid off. Not only did the Redskins make the playoffs, and beat the Cowboys to get there no less, but it seemed like the biggest problem the Redskins had was that they seemingly had two potential franchise quarterbacks in RG3 and Kirk Cousins.

Boy, how wrong I was.

I’m going to spare the details, but RG3 led an Adidas-approved rushed comeback from a horrific ACL injury to lead an atrocious offense in 2013, and so began the finger pointing.

It was Mike Shanahan’s fault for letting RG3 come back! It was Kyle Shanahan’s fault for the lack of offensive production! RG3 would eventually be deactivated to end the 2013 season, and fans believed it when Mike Shanahan said that it was because RG3 was hurt. On top of that, without first round picks, the Redskins weren’t able to fill gaping holes in the offensive line and the secondary.

Now in 2014, it has become more apparent that, while RG3 was not at full health, the Shanahans deactivated him because he just isn’t good. Jay Gruden, the current head coach, is much more forthright with the media in how he feels then Mike Shanahan ever was, so now we know just how bad RG3 is.

We know that RG3 isn’t a huge fan of watching game film, we know that RG3 isn’t leading the locker room like a franchise guy should, and above all, we know how naive we were to believe that RG3 was benched by the Shanahans purely because he was hurt.

RG3 ran the Shanahans out of town, but we now know that Kyle Shanahan wasn’t the problem with the offense; RG3 is.

This is all the more apparent because of how Kyle Shanahan has made a respectable quarterback out of Brian Hoyer in Cleveland. Jay Gruden isn’t blameless in this season’s poor outing (some of the play calling has been suspect), but he’s a first-time head coach. Give him time.

So once again, as we enter the offseason with Colt McCoy as the starting quarterback, the Redskins have more uncertainties than certainties.

There are three certainties, however. One, RG3 is not the future anymore, and two, the Shanahans weren’t as bad for the franchise as we all thought.

And the third certainty, above all, is that once again, you will hear the phrase uttered by disgruntled fans that is all too familiar to residents of the DMV: “Same old ‘Skins.” november | december 2014 q the viewpoint q

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Sarah Yakulis

s s e c n i Pr P M A C BOOT

The stereotype of a princess may be that she is just beautiful, but Elise Whitworth wants to show the Stafford community that princesses are so much more than that. by Sarah Yakulis

Elise Whitworth, along with the help of her mother and the Wild Acts, is putting on several “princess boot camps” throughout the school year. Princess Boot Camp is a theater program for children in elementary school. Girls from the community will come in on a Saturday and see a performance with the goal of teaching them important things like healthy choices and self-expression. The goal is to break down the stereotype of a princess, that she’s only beautiful.

Through Princess Boot Camp, Whitworth is hoping to show that princesses are also intelligent, courageous, strong and independent. Whitworth and the drama club have a passion and goal to make a

“We’re trying to break down the typical thought of what a princess is, and show girls that they can be whatever they want to be.” difference and teach girls that being beautiful isn’t a necessity to having happiness and success. In her own words, Elise Whitworth said, “We’re trying to break down the typical thought of what a princess is, and show girls that they can be whatever they want to be.”

Reports by psychologists show that a girl’s self-esteem peaks around nine years old, then takes a nosedive. Stereotyping what girls should look like, how they should act, and what they should do, only

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makes it plummet more. That’s why events like Princess Boot Camp are found to be so beneficial to young girls.

The project is a large effort with over 40 students from many different clubs helping to make sure the event goes smoothly.

Eighty percent of the profits made from all the boot camps this year will go to charities focused on helping children.

On Nov. 22, around 70 girls from the community attended the first Princess Boot Camp. They learned lessons about healthy choices, music and safety from Mountain View students dressed as popular Disney princesses. Whitworth believes that the event went spectacularly. “I’ve heard many children and parents raving about it from their emails and all of the support that they have shown us. I even had little girls come up and ask for autographs!”

Kinsey Carthron, who worked with the girls at Princess Boot Camp, dressed as Elsa, also feels the event went even better than expected. Carthron said, “It was so nice knowing that I was able to teach these girls great things and really be able to make an impact.”

Attendance is expected to double for the second event. There are plans to slightly change the program so the returning girls can be shown new material, and learn more different and important lessons.

According to Whitworth and the response of the community, Princess Boot Camp was a success.

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Gay marriage legalized in Virginia

With the recent legalization of samesex marriage in Virginia, the Viewpoint talked to students to give their thoughts about the decision.

by Sami Toal and Austin Venable

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W

ith the recent Supreme Court decision that legalized gay marriage in mid-Oct., marriage restrictions in Virginia, Indiana, Oklahoma, Utah, and Wisconsin have been uplifted ,bringing the total number of states that recognize same-sex unions to 30, along with Washington D.C. The Supreme Court deemed the Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional, leading to more than 40 federal and state courts attempting to end gay marriage bans.

Additionally, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals struck down same-sex marriage bans in Nevada and Idaho, and if this decision is upheld through the Supreme Court and applied to other states in this district, 35 states would then allow gay marriage.

This decision is a historic break through for those in support of gay rights. According to a nationwide Gallup Poll from earlier in 2014, 55 percent of the population is now in support of same-sex marriage across the United States.

With this change in policy and growth of population in support for gay marriage, how do students across the school feel about this legal change?

Surveys were given to 200 anonymous students that asked questions regarding the decision and their overall perception of the legalization of same-sex marriage in the United States.

The poll found that 71 percent of students were in support of the Supreme Court’s decision to legalize same-sex marriage.

“I think it’s good they legalized gay marriage,” said senior Xavia Lemott. “You shouldn’t take

71%

polled support the Supreme Court decision that legalized same-sex marriage in Virginia

64%

polled have witnessed discrimination or felt a dislike of homosexuals

*200 students polled

away people’s rights based on others’ beliefs.”

Junior Richard Grant said, “I think it’s great we’re moving forward. You should be able to marry who you love.”

However, 29 percent did not support the Supreme Court’s decision.

Senior Adam Scotto said, “People are going to like who they like, but it doesn’t mean it’s right.”

Out of the 200 people polled, 37 percent said that their religion heavily influenced their decision on this matter.

“Honestly, from a religious standpoint, I don’t agree with it. From a biblical standpoint, marriage is supposed to be between a man and a woman,” said senior Hannah Tuckwiller.

Sophomore Mackenzie Cunningham said, “God decides in the end what’s right or what’s wrong. It’s not our place to judge.”

Furthermore, 25.5 percent of people polled believe homosexuality is wrong, while 74.5 percent of people believe it is not wrong.

“It’s really not right or wrong. It’s just the way they are. Nobody’s in any position to tell them what’s right or wrong,” said freshman Grace English. “I don’t see why gay marriage was illegal in the first place.”

Still, some students feel differently.

“I just don’t agree with the whole concept, even if I do love the people, and just not what they do. If you’re like ‘I don’t like you because you’re like that [homosexual],” then that’s not OK,” Tuckwiller said.

She continued, “People think that if you’re against it then you’re prejudiced, but there has to be a middle ground where you can not agree with it but realize they are people and need to be treated as such.”

13%

polled identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual, or anything other than heterosexual

55%

polled think sexual orientation is a choice

Others remain indifferent about the issue as .5 percent of students polled have no opinion on the matter.

“I don’t care because it doesn’t affect me in anyway. If it’s legal, whatever. If it isn’t legal, whatever,” said junior Harrison Norton.

Senior Lauren Kahle said, “If it doesn’t hurt anybody then it doesn’t matter if it’s legal. It doesn’t affect me either way.”

Still, many are thankful for the Supreme Court’s ruling.

“The world is changing its views on a lot of things, homosexuality being one of them. I believe that one day people won’t have to be afraid to be gay anymore,” junior Adrian Alvarez said.

The Viewpoint also talked to students across the county who will be directly affected by the change of policy, specifically members of Colonial Forge High School’s Sexuality and Gender Equality Club.

“Personally, in the future if I wanted to get married, I could,” said Emily Marshall, a member of the club. “We are one step closer to being accepted, where being gay won’t be something that’s not normal.”

The adviser of the club, Janae Williams said, “The legalization of gay marriage across these new states is an affirming thing for them. The nation is recognizing their existence in the world as valid.”

President of the Sexuality and Gender Equality Club, junior Axl Harraden said, “I think it’s great but it’s only a small step for this country. A lot of states still need to legalize gay marriage. We’re getting there, and it’s closer than before.”

77%

polled think the majority of the school population would be, or is accepting of their sexual orientation

85%

polled would not change their opinion about someone close to them if they discovered that they were homosexual

november | december 2014 q the viewpoint q

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eBay to the Extreme Is Connor Walls an average teen or a business man? by Morgan Ocetnik

Erinn Black

Karli Beaumont

Students these days are starting their life and career off early.

Many have a job, or have some way of making money already. Sophomore Connor Walls has been running an eBay business for two and a half years. The outcome of this business has been very successful.

Walls strived when he was younger to find a way to make money without finding an actual job because of baseball and school work.

He had no time for a job outside of his house and was also too young to get a job. Walls visited his uncle and saw a bunch of stuff in his garage. He thought about how all those items could be sold and put to good use. He then found a YouTube video to get him started and went from there.

Walls explained that for this business he goes to Good Wills, thrift shops, or garage sales, and he buys things for cheap prices. Sometimes he will pick up clothes or attire, or just random things. Then he posts the items on his eBay page and sells it for a lot more than he bought it for, making a profit. When a client requests to purchase something, he gets it packaged up and shipped out to their address.

Walls receives help in the packaging department from his mother.

She gets 10 percent of the profit and is paid monthly as if she was an employee.

Everyday Walls trys to put something up to sell on his eBay page.

He gets three to five sales daily, which he said is a lot to keep up with. Some months for him are harder than others. For example, October was difficult because he had homecoming preparations to deal with and a busy schedule with fall ball.

There are many fees in the process of selling products. The price of the original item is taken from the profit, and then depending whether or not he charges the person for shipping. He has a final value fee which depends on the category and is anywhere from three to ten percent of the final price. Then the shipping fee is a little percentage of how much the shipping cost and it gets added together. The average item is sold for $30. The biggest items he sold were around $270.

With all of these items, boxes, stamps, and more, he has to stay organized. There is a storage room in his basement where he stores all of his things for shipping and packaging. Walls said, “There’s a whole wall, like two tables and then underneath the tables is all the boxes, and at the end of the table is the bubble wrap, and the scale and paper.” Then all the items that he has bought and is planning on selling, stays on a shelf in the corner of his bedroom.

Walls is planning on running his eBay account all through high school. He explained that he would like to keep selling things through college, depending on how far it goes. Walls said that this job can get really stressful. “The worst thing is when purchases start piling up, like I am buying more then I am selling, that gets stressful; because I have to take a lot of time out just to post stuff. Like in the summer, there were days I was waking up at seven o’clock just to spend two hours posting my stuff,” Wall said.

Walls thinks of this whole thing more as a hobby sometimes than a job. He said that when he looks at it more as a hobby it motivates him to get more done. “I love it, it’s fun, and I get paid for it,” Walls said.

Almost every adult now would love to be doing something they enjoy, rather than dreading work everyday because that is hard. Walls is getting plenty of experience and learning more for his future. By the time he graduates high school he will have more knowledge than the average student graduating because he knows what its like to handle the business world.

november | december 2014 q the viewpoint q 11

Alex Everson Youtube.com

Michael Woods Youtube.com

Alexis Viola Youtube.com

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q the viewpoint q november | december 2014

What to Watch Hundreds of millions of viewers watch YouTube videos everyday; however, some students prefer to make them. Check out the students below for an inside view to creating videos for the whole world to see.

by Emily Johnson

Freshman Alex Everson performs and posts videos of him singing a variety of covers to share his voice with the Internet. Everson has been making

these videos for almost a year.

He has covered several artists such as Austin Mahone, Drake, Shawn Mendes, Jason Mraz, and more. His most popular video is a cover of him singing to Austin Mahone’s “All I Ever Need” gaining 4,400 views.

Everson said, “I’ve always loved music and thought it was the most fun thing ever.” He explained how he discovered Austin Mahone’s covers and saw how much Mahone had improved, and wanted that for himself. Everson said, “I was amazed at how he had become so big from just putting covers on YouTube.”

After acknowledging Mahone’s success, he said, “I wanted to do something with my life and I wanted to do something that was different and that no one would expect me to do, plus I absolutely loved music.”

When Everson was thirteen, he taught himself to play guitar. After learn-

F

reshman Michael Woods has been creating videos since last year when he posted his first cover of an AC/DC song “Back in Black”. Since then, he has posted several videos ranging from covers, tutorials, and improv sessions.

Woods posts have gained several views. His most popular videos including his how-to video of playing “Hail to the King” by Avenged Sevenfold gaining 24,212 views. Other videos have reached hundreds to thousands of views.

Woods said, “Every kid at some point has the fascination of being a rock star.” This led him to receive his first guitar Christmas of 2011. Woods said that he taught himself to play his guitar. After teaching himself, he got professional guitar lessons for about six months to be sure that what he had taught himself was correct.

Woods said that one reason for starting his videos was to track his progress as a musician. Woods said, “I like doing it. It’s more fun tracking my progress rather than getting paid for it.”

Even with that being his main goal in mind, he discovered that he really loves the interaction with the viewers

J

unior Alexis Viola has been making YouTube videos for two to three years performing a variety of covers and sharing her love for singing online.

Viola said that her passion for singing is what started, and has continued to, push her to make YouTube videos. She said, “They’re just fun.”

Viola’s videos have reached over 200, 400, to even 1600 views. Her most popular video is a six second remake of Tori Kelly’s Vine post gaining 1,600 views. She has covered artists such as Bruno Mars, Rascal Flatts, Katy Perry, FUN, Adele and more.

For some YouTubers, viewers may be a concern. Those who comment their responses to videos and form sometimes harsh opinions. But for Viola, she said, “I’ve had some people comment tips and how I can improve. Most are pretty positive.”

ing how to do so, he started to play his guitar in his covers. He said that he has always had dreams of being a performer and would love to have a big fan base.

A big fear for any YouTuber seems to be the people sitting on the other side of the screen. For Everson, he said that he didn’t want to let his fear of what people would say affect his actions. This decision led him to post his first cover.

With more views, comes more critics. Everson said that he has gotten plenty of hate. He said that sometimes he thinks, “Why am I doing this?”

Regardless of the hateful comments, he said, “ Honestly, if you love it then keep doing it. Don’t let people stop you from doing what you love. People are going to voice their opinions any ways so just do what makes you happy.”

Everson said, “I’m not giving up on my dream to be a performer. It’s something that I don’t go a day without thinking about. So in my opinion, if you’re thinking about something that much it’s probably for a reason. “

Woods explained that YouTube offers people who gain a certain amount of views to apply to get paid for making their videos. Once YouTube decides that their channel is popular enough, they will get paid for their videos.

Due to the fact that Woods videos gain thousands of views, there often comes lots of commenter’s. Woods said, “There was a period where I got nothing but hate.” He said that people leave a variety of constructive criticism, hate, and even appearance comments. As for being worried about posting his videos for the world to see he said, “It did at first, what if people don’t like what I put out. Though, it was honestly just for me, it’s really for my enjoyment.”

Woods family also plays a lot into his skills as a musician. He said that his dad grew up playing piano, which rubbed off on himself and his sister. He said that he has known how to read music ever since his childhood. Woods said he loved making videos and playing his music.

As for posting the videos for anyone to see, she explains that sometimes the nerves can get to her. Viola said, “Kind of, yeah. Just because I never know how people are going to react.”

Although, Viola’s music career has extended beyond YouTube. She performed the national anthem at several ceremonies such as one called “Wreaths Across America” at the Civil Air Patrol National Convention. Also at a retirement ceremony in honor of Captain Jason Lyuke of the United States Coast Guard in Washington D.C. Along with these, Viola has performed in a wide variety of sporting events for schools and talent shows. Whether it is online or on stage, Viola said she has always loved to sing and perform.

november | december 2014 q the viewpoint q

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NEWS OPINION FEATURE

THE VIEWPOINT

PRESENTS

Network Neutrality

Underlying monopoly

Major Internet service providers (ISPs), such as Time Warner Cable and Comcast, are trying to push the government to fundamentally change the Internet, offering instead a slow lane and a fast lane. by Joshua Guillemette

N

etfilx, YouTube and Hulu are content providers important to the younger generations. Current Internet users are able to access any content they choose and immediately view any show or movie on demand consistently and reliably. Now, imagine if the opposite were true. Imagine an Internet where ISPs could limit access to content and demand users pay for access to blocked content. In addition, ISPs blocking access to content providers and demanding they also pay more for access.

Well, this is the difference between network neutrality (NN) and its absence.

Net neutrality, or Internet neutrality, is what we have right now. It protects the Internet from any single entity from restricting the Internet in any forms, such as content, speed or quality. For example, this means Cox Cable cannot restrict access to certain political websites simply because they’re ideologically opposed to them.

Another example would be if net neutrality were eliminated, Comcast could to restrict users to the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) by either slowing the Internet speed to ABC’s content and promote content published

by National Broadcasting Company (NBC), considering they are partnered. This is monopolization and quite unfair for ABC.

Holly Bryngelson

Another example why eliminating net neutrality would be detrimental to the consumer is assume Comcast were legally allowed to restrict content as stated in the above example, but they offered freedom, freedom with a price.

There could be different tiers of Internet access. They might offer a premium service which requires people to pay more to see more; on the other hand, a basic service, while it is cheaper, would only allow content Comcast wants them to see. For those of us who are not paying the bills and saying it doesn’t affect us now, yes, it doesn’t affect us, but our days of living with our parents are limited. Soon, we’ll be living on our own paying our own Internet bills, subject to monopolization like this if net neutrality is gone. It is obvious the main

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reason why ISPs want to get rid of NN is for their own benefit.

Since the beginning of the Internet’s creation, the government has stayed pretty much hands-off of the Internet in terms of restrictions and regulations.

In fact, the previous Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Chairman Julius Genachowski issued an order called the “Open Internet Order” in 2010 which stated that no one or nothing could restrict any site or user and would protect those from unreasonable discrimination. This means Internet service providers, like Verizon and Comcast, must treat all information, sites and users equally. Sounds good, right? Well, it is, however, Comcast and Verizon seperately sued the FCC on this issue, claiming they have no authority to restrict who can do what. In the case of Verizon v. the Federal Communications Commission, a few members of the FCC testified that these rules were in fact out of their regulatory power, which is the basis of why Verizon and Comcast sued the FCC. On Jan. 14, 2014, this set of high-level rules was eventually reviewed by the Supreme Court. In the final ruling, the Supreme Court stated that the FCC’s rules on Internet openness are not within their authority and has abolished the rules. Despite the strike-down, they have urged the commission to, despite the strike-down, continue to push for new rules on net neutrality.

In a desperate effort to keep the Internet free for everyone, the FCC has opened a comment section on their main website specifically people’s input, or anyone who wants to have a say in this issue. The purpose of this is to receive feedback to help them formulate new rules and regulations in an attempt to keep net neutrality, while at the same time not violating the restrictions of their power.

The FCC received 1.1 million comments since the closing of the comments.

However, there are only 800,000 responses the FCC will actually analyze. This is normal from a statistical standpoint as it is easier to look at a sample rather than all 1.1 million comments. Also, many were omitted because they were satire or didn’t make sense. From the 800,000, the FCC has determined that less than one percent oppose Internet openness. Comments from organized campaigns made up at least 60 percent of the 800,000. Some organizations include CREDO Action, Battle for the Net and the Electronic Foundation Aspect. Many of the responses are very educated and included points ranging from political to philosophical to economical. Based on the fact 99 percent of the comments were in favor of NN. ISPs should get hit the hint that people do no want their greedy paws on the Internet.

Of course, the Obama Administration has a say in this matter. “(I) support the principle of network neutrality to preserve the benefits of open competition on the Internet,” said President Obama. This is a good sign, however, the administration appointed Tom Wheeler as the current chairman to the FCC. This might not be a problem if he were not a former lobbyist in favor of eliminating net neutrality. While the administration gave Wheeler a shining recommendation, much of the public was outraged because they viewed this as a conflict of interest. This is not an odd concern, but those in defense of Wheeler say that his appointment was based on his knowledge of telecommunications, not just NN. Jon Oliver, the host of “Last Week Tonight with Jon Oliver,” created a great discussion concerning Internet openness. In this, he comically compared Tom Wheeler to a babysitting dingo, also claiming this a conflict of interest.

Net neutrality is a pressing issue that needs attention as if it is handled incorrectly could spell for disaster for all of the Internet and its users. New regulations might not come out for a few years, but focusing on it now will greatly affect it in the future. Sending letters to congressmen will also have a great impact.

Did you give a buck?

Donian Allen Ella Arkle Carter Armendariz Nicholas Armendariz Doug Armstrong Elisa Ashura Tara Austin Kayla Barker Noah Bannon Ashley Jean Baptiste Helen Barsana Zach Batt Faith Beach Brody Black Stephanie Black Bud Black Shane Black Annie Black Erinn Black Conor Black Clayton Bridges Emily Britton Lakisha Brown Allyson Brown Tony Brown Lily Bryngelson Danielle Bullis Jason Bullis Tom Bullis Linda Bullis Brittney Bullis Emily Burnett Sam Butler Jardena Butler Marilan Capah Sue Carter Jean Cary Rachell Cary Jeanie Cary Sarah Cevallos Michael Chang Dalila Christian Ali Clark Becky Clark Randy Clark Taylor Clark Tom Clark Michael Clements Austin Cole Gordon Collins James Concannon Kathy Vice Conte Hayleigh Cotillo Chris Cotillo Thelma Cotillo Deneine Cotillo Joseph Cotillo Matt Cotillo Tony Cotillo Hannah Cruzan Makayla St. Cyr Lexi Dahlke Joan Darby Anthony Dass Steven Dawn James Donaldson Deputy Dupre Ashley Ellison

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Dylan Miles Dolores Mills Allison Morris Kyle Moss German Munoz Abby Murray Brooke Myers Danny Null Hannah Olkowski Matt Papandrea Everett Peake Patricia Peake Laura Peake Shelby Pedigo Brent Pittinger Kevin Plourde Lauren Puglia Michael Radwick Judi Radwick Luis Rovira Amal Sagal Nico Samonte Mark Sanford Ryan Scott Katie Sell Tyler Schwartz Kassandra Sejas-Padilla Jasmin Shelton Dwight K. Shruet Laura Smith Janelle Smith Eric Smith Nick Smith Meredith Speet Lily Sportsman Julia Squillante Angela Steinback Susan Steska Hunter Stines Graciela Syas-Padilla Brandon Thompson Kathy Thompson Ben Toal Mary Toal Art Vandelay Kathy Viceconte Sarah Viceconte Mary Kate Viceconte Pete Viceconte Ryan Viceconte Sierra Villarreal Liesl Wagner Nancy Walker Josh Walker Martin Walker Nancy Walker Megan Walker Kiara Watkins Christian Watt Emma Watt Phil Wedding Albert White Searra White Judy Wible Jim Wible Lauren Willsey Michael Woods Laura Yakulis

Sam Yakulis Samuel Yakulis Sarah Yakulis Elayna Youngson

They did!

november | december 2014 q the viewpoint q 15

Junior Billie Webb “I have two tattoos on my feet that match each other. They are called mandalas. They are detailed designs that represent the universe. There’s one on my ankle. It’s an umbrella with 7 raindrops for Friday the 13th. I have two tattoos on my leg. One has three flowers with calligraphy and a quote that says, ‘it gets worse before it gets better.’ There is also a skull of a vampire with a flower incorporated into it. On my hips, I have two that go together as an exploration and ocean theme. One is a compass and the other is an anchor with an infinity sign.“

Erinn Black

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In a society where the view of tattoos are changing, more and more young people are opting to ink up. by Megan Clark

Erinn Black

THINK INK

Junior Jacob Menders

“I got the tattoo on my back because it was not something I wanted to show off. I got the tattoo to memorialize my mom’s passing and to remember that she always had my back. “

F

Erinn Black

Senior Ariel Farr

“The tattoo starts at my shoulder blade and runs down my arm. It’s a Marine saying meaning always faithful.”

Erinn Black

Senior Sterling Collins

“My ribs seemed like the most appropriate place to get it. I actually found the quote online.”

Senior Jack Barry

Erinn Black

or years in American history, tattoos have been reserved for military personnel and those who live life on the edge. Having a tattoo assigned an individual a certain sigma.

Recently, tattoos are finding their way into the business world and into the academic world as well. Tattoos are becoming common place.

Tattoos have an appeal to young people which hasn’t existed in past decades. Statisticsbrain.com states that 36 percent of young people in the United States (ages 18-25) have tattoos.

Some may question why young people would be motivated to get a tattoo. Junior Jacob Menders said that he got a tattoo because it had special meaning to him after his mother’s passing:“The heart signifies the ‘light of love’ service we held at my house three days before my mom died, 500 people came to my house with candles and, in the shape of a heart, stood outside my house and prayed. The initials in the middle are my mom’s initials. The wings represent my mom being an angel, and the bible verse was her favorite.” The deep meaning to Menders allowed him to ignore the pain of the tattoo. Menders said, “It wasn’t painful because it was for a good reason.” Menders does not plan on getting any more tattoos.

After Ariel Farr’s dad passed away last summer, she also got a tattoo. Farr said, “ I got my tattoo in honor of my dad ... It’s a way to respect his legacy and service.” Farr continued on and said she plans on getting more tattoos in the future. “ I’m planning on getting one this month,” she said.

Junior Billie Webb has multiple tattoos and plans on getting even more. Webb said, “I decided to get my tattoos because I grew up around people who always had a lot of tattoos, so it stuck to me since I was really young.” Webb did not think that getting a tattoo was particularly painful. Webb said, “My tattoos were not painful because I have a high pain tolerance but the one I felt the most was the one with the skull because the inner part of the leg has more nerves than other parts.” Webb has plans to getting a lot more tattoos in the future. “Pretty soon, I will be getting something on my arm and it might be a bat or something like a time piece,” she said.

Senior Jack Barry also has a tattoo, but with different motivations. Barry said, “I wanted to get a tattoo so I could be team tatted.” Additionally, Barry said his tattoo has “meaning to me because family is one of the most important things in my life and this tattoo symbolizes that to me.” While Barry describes the pain of getting a tattoo as “an annoying kind of pain,” he also added, “The worst part was trying to anticipate how much it would hurt.” Barry said he plans on getting more tattoos.

Senior Sterling Collins also said that his tattoo had personal meaning to him. His tattoo says, “For those I love I will sacrifice.” Collins said, “It’s an important value I live by.” Collins said he was prepared for the pain because he was told before he got his tattoo that getting a tattoo on the ribs was one of the most painful places.

English teacher Kati Frost has multiple tattoos, including a crescent moon on her hip, a phoenix on her right ankle, and her sibling’s initials on her left foot. Frost said she got her first tattoo because, “I was 18 and I could. My mother told me not to.” Frost said that she believes that young people get tattoos because it is an easy way to express themselves. Frost said, “It’s permanent , so it’s not something you say that goes away. It’s a permanent reminder.”

Students are getting tattoos for a variety of reasons, varying from making a statement to the remembrance of family members. Whatever the reason, tattoos are becoming more prominent and for many provide an outlet for self-expression, no matter the motivation behind it.

“ [ My tattoo is an ] Irish trinity knot with my family motto under it. It’s on the left side of my chest. I want to get more for sure. The next one should definitely be on my forehead!” november | december 2014 q the viewpoint q

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the viewpoint q november | december 2014

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f inMVd TheViewpoint w o l l o f # @mvtheviewpoint november | december 2014 q the viewpoint q 19

Who Do You Play For?

Fall sports are breaking records and bringing home trophies. by Erinn Black Football: The football team had over 14 athletes finish in the 5A Conference rankings. First team consists of Adham Hasan, Aric Dass, Elijah Burress, Jamil Collison-Cofie, Steven Hunt and Tre Coghill.

Second team consists of Aldon Sue, Bob Grzymkowski, Brandon White, Brenden Sumpter, Elijah Burress, Grayson Milligan, Jamil Collison-Cofie and Steven Hunt. Honorable mention was awarded to Bob Grzymkowski, Jeremy Sitko, Josh McCullar and Sterling Collins.

cheer: The cheer team brought home the 5A Conference trophy for the second year in a row. The girls finished second in the 5A regional competition by one point and competed in states the second year in a row finishing fifth.

Cross country:

Cross country swiped the first place titles for both the girls’ and boys’ teams in the 5A Conference meet. First team All-Conference runners were Alysha Thomas, Ashley Pearson, Christina Dittmer, Jordan Angers and Julia Squillante. For guys, 20 q the viewpoint q november | december 2014

Alex Bukovich, Connor Weed, Curtis Mussen, Henrick Anderson, Taylor Braney and Thomas Branstetter finished in the top 15.

Angers, Dittmer and Mussen finished as All-Region runners advancing them to the states. Angers and Dittmer placed in the top 15 of states and were nominated as Free-Lance Star All-Area Athletes. Angers was also nominated as the runner of the year.

volleyball:

The volleyball team finished third in the conference tournament and had eight athletes ranked in the 5A Conference bracket.

First Team All-Conference consists of Emily Abramaitys and Tiaralyn McBride. Second Team All-Conference consists of Abbey Carey, Mikayla Alexander and Taylor Barbazon. Honorable mention was awarded to Kate Allen and Simone Jaramillo. Senior Brittney Bullis was nominated as the 5A Conference Libero.

Field hockey:

The field hockey team took home the 5A Conference and 5A Regional first place itle for the second consecutive year in a row. They finished with a record of 194, went undefeated through districts as well as

regionals and placed second in the 5A state tournament.

First Team All-Conference consists of Beth Barnes, Emily Johnson, Erinn Black, Gretchen Geisler, Lauren Graves and Olivia Hubert.

Second Team included Bailey Whitaker, Cassidy Kelly, Jasmin Shelton and Lily Bryngleson. Goalie Rachel Gregor receiver Honorable Mention. Hubert and Johnson were nominated as Free-Lance Star All-Area Athletes and Hubert was nominated as Player of the Year. Check out the full story on the journey for the varsity field hockey team on pages 22-23.

Kathy Angers

“My dad has been my MV coach for two

“My technique is to race the beginning with

years and his best advice to me was, ‘just

my head, the middle with my training and

go out and play with all your heart and the

the end with my heart.”

ability that God has given you.’”

- Alex Bukovich

- Brandon White

“I enjoy being a flyer. It feels like you’re on top

“ As libero, I have to keep the mindset that

of the world and you’re the center of atten-

I will dig up every ball and nothing will hit

tion. When I’m in the air, I don’t think about

the floor.”

anything except being tight and smiling.

- Brittney Bullis

- Rachel Ransom

* All-Region and All-State nominations have not been made for the field hockey and football team.* Photos taken by: Erinn Black november | december 2014 q the viewpoint q

21

STEPPING UP E M A G E H T O T Field hockey goes to state finals but loses by a controversial call. by Cory Haley and Erinn Black. Photos by John Hubert.

F

or eight years the field hockey team has made it to at least the state quarter-finals and last year they won the 5A state championship with a 21-1 campaign. This year they came close to winning it, but with a controversial call in the last two minutes they lost the title to Princess Anne.

Both teams finished with identical records and had a well-matched game for the state championship. The Wildcats held a strong defense with many opportunities of capitalizing on the offensive line. Princess Anne put a fairly quick goal in which was answered with a goal by Olivia Hubert assisted by her sister, Maggie Hubert, making the score 1-1. The two teams battled it out with the last five minutes consisting of consecutive corners by Princess Anne where they were questionably awarded a stroke with about two minutes left in the game. The team laid everything on the line for the last two minutes and ran out of time to clench the second state championship title.

Captains Beth Barns and Emily Johnson both strongly agreed that the final score did not dictate the right results. Barnes said, “ We dominated the whole game and kept possession for most of the game. We out-played Princess Anne.”

They didn’t get caught up on bad calls or the loss though. That’s not what they took away from the championship. They took away teamwork and family and having each other’s backs and the pride of being on a team. Barnes said, “No matter what happens in a game, we know that we are a team and we are playing for each other and not just for ourselves .... we are all strong players and when we play together as a unit we are unstoppable.”

Pattie Sullivan had a lot to do with the girls’ success. She’s been here as long as the school has been. “Our coaches were the reason we were able to work together so nicely,“ said Beth Barnes. “They knew what they had to do in order for us to be prepared in each game. They were always there to push us to our max.”

Unfortunately Sullivan will be retiring this year with a 188-42 career record. “It’s been one of the best parts of my life,” she said. “I’m leaving on a very positive note. There’s been so many valuable people—all my parents, my coaching staff, the administration. It’s just been great ....

They mean everything to me.”

“We have a great program because of the great players we had,” Sullivan said. “I was just trying to motivate and get as much as I could out of them. Every year it got better and better.”

“MVFH played with heart all the way through the game until the final whistle. We deserved to win because of the way we played.”

-Emily Johnson

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1

2

Above junior Lauren Graves cuts around a Riverbend midfielder.

1 Senior defender Emily Johnson clears the ball to her offensive line.

3

4

2 Seniors Olivia Hubert, Rachel Gregor, Beth Barnes and Junior Lauren Graves set up for a defensive corner.

3 Senior goalie Rachel Gregor clears a shot taken by a Forge player.

4 Senior Cassidy Kelly dribbles the ball down the field as a midfielder.

5A

2013 Champs

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Love Brooklyn

Music group Love Brooklyn emerges in the pop punk scene with their new EP titled All or Nothing.

by Lee Penninger

O

All photos provided by Love Brooklyn

n the search for new, quality music, it’s common to see a multitude of links on social media sites that lead to obscure rappers and their mix-tapes featured on some audio sharing site.

However, amongst the sea of poorly self-produced mix-tapes, a few golden fish are found.

A professional EP called “All or Nothing” from a group called Love Brooklyn can be found on various social media sites. This band is comprised of vocalist and guitarist Casey Parks, guitarist Alex Sellers, drummer Jesse Hurst, and the newest member of the group, bassist Taylor Belew who replaced former Love Brooklyn bassist Clay Eubank. The band brings its unique sound to the pop-punk-rock genre, something rather difficult to do.

Headman Casey Parks told the story of the band. “We were all in high school - a bunch of punk kids running around in Mississippi. Me and my guitarist [Sellers] who I never really hung out with prior to getting together to make music just came over one day.

We just started writing music.” Instantly hooked, they began to write music together.

Their sessions were never deemed formal or official practice sessions. Park said, “We never considered it practice, we would just jam and then we would write stuff while we were jamming.” Sellers and Parks brought Hurst in around this time, Hurst being a drummer in the marching band.

Parks said they ended up breaking up after high school, “Just like every band does when they start out.” After going their separate ways to college, they all wound up back in their home town. They would see each other around town and eventually they asked each other, “Why are we not playing music together?” As they had gotten older, they had learned to take their music more seriously. “It takes a long time and that’s where we’re at,” said Parks.

Parks himself first picked up an instrument when his mother (whom he credits for his love of music) signed him up for piano lessons. He realized he wanted a guitar when he saw his friend get a guitar and girls began to flock to him. Parks immediately decided he wanted girls to flock to him too and got a guitar. Parks said that, since then, “it has gotten deeper than that.” Parks also said, “I

don’t think about ‘Let me go play my guitar,’ I think about ‘Let me play the instrument that’s closest to me,’ because I’m not just a guitarist.”

Another discernible feature about this band is the fact that they are all from Mississippi. Few would expect a pop punk band to hail from an area where country music is the dominant figure. “I was an outcast. I didn’t listen to country and I went to an agricultural school. I wanted to be different.” He was thirteen when he got his first guitar for Christmas.

The small band obviously does not make their living totally on their music career. As a smaller band, they have part-time jobs as well as attending college. Parks attends University of North Alabama. The entire band has to make sacrifices for the sake of their music.

Parks draws inspiration from local music figure Bill Carey who played at church and many other places.

Parks said, “Anytime I want to talk, I always call him.

He’s always there to talk.”

Park considers him “his protégée.” As far as his musical influence is concerned, he credits Will Pugh from Cartel.

Initially the group was called Set In Stone.

After what Parks called a re-branding phase, they began calling themselves Love Brooklyn which seems unusual because this band is currently rooted in Corinth, Mississippi. Parks said, “It’s representative of a first love. You can break up with that girl, or that girl can break up with you but you’ll always, kind of, love Brooklyn.”

The record itself consists of five tracks: “Where We Stand”, “Take It Slow”, “All The Way”, “Another Pretty Face”, and “Alone”. It opens strongly with “Where We Stand” with lyrically and tonally appealing sounds. It sets a high standard for the rest of the tracks that they more than exceed. “Take It Slow” is a shorter track that still emits the emotion put forward by the band. “All The Way” stands alone as the longest track on the album. With its themes of lost love and longing, it puts forward a tone of hopefulness through the use of a harmonic minor tonality. “Another Pretty Face” in particular brings the album to an exciting climax.

This song gives off a feeling that it should be played during a summer night drive with someone. A fun fact about this song: it was written in-studio in about an hour and a half.

This is evidence to the band’s creativity, ability and cohesiveness to come up with such an outstanding song. “Alone” manages to keep the excitement and energy of the band while also drawing the record to a fitting end, leaving the listener anticipating another from this truly talented group.

“ IT TAKES A LONG TIME AND THAT’S WHERE WE’RE AT.” - CASEY PARKS

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q the viewpoint q november | december 2014

Alex Sellers, Casey Parks, Clay Eubank, and Jesse Herst