Feb. Messenger 2014

the

northview high school 路 Volume 12 路 issue 6

essenger

[masthead] Editor-in-Chief: Sam Quinn Managing Editor: Nancy Coleman News Editor: Meredith McBee Sports Editor: Noah Gray Features Editor: Marri Kang Opinions Editor: Rachel Williams Photo Editor: Hui Lin Business Manager: Meredith Keisler Faculty Adviser: Chris Yarbrough Staff Writers: Shelby Bradley, Andrew Gottlieb, Sneha Gubbala, Meredith Keisler, Nabila Khan, Bryan Liang, Hui Lin, Jessica Ma, Lindsey Moon, Brittney Neser, Annie Pennington, Nik Radtke, Tarun Ramesh, Hend Rasheed, Ryan Siatkowski, Andrew Teodorescu, Maggie Xia, Sophia Choi, Tiffany Xu, Connie Xu Cover Design: Sam Quinn Email: nhsmessenger@gmail.com Phone: (770) 497-3828 ext. 176 Website: nhsmessenger.com Address: 10625 Parsons Road, Johns Creek, GA 30097 The Messenger is a student publication published for and distributed to students, faculty, staff, and the Northview community to promote readership of the students ’ current events and issues. The statements and opinions expressed in this publication are those of the individual authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the entire staff or those of Northview High School, its students, faculty, staff, or administration. Content is controlled and edited by staff editors, with a high-priority on celebrating the achievements of its readers as well as events occurring within the circulation. The staff will publish only legally protected speech, adhering to the legal definitions of libel, obscenity, and the invasion of privacy.

Photo credits in this issue : page 9: milika dhru / staff page 11: hui lin / staff Page 12&13: hui lin and tiffany xu / staff page 14: brittney neser / staff page 22: hui lin / staff page 29: hui lin / staff page 30: vogue.co.uk / special

table of

[ contents ]

2 masthead 5 editor’s letter 6 news 11 sports 16 cover story 22 features 24 opinions 26 face-off 30 Staff columns 31 staff editorial

[articles] 6 northview adopts new school color /nik radtke 8 bvp students' film projects submitted to the Georgia student media festival / maggie xia 9 new mega-development avalon approaches completion / milika dhru 10 recent spike in student suicide rates stirs unease / tarun ramesh 11 winter sports rewind: basketball, swimming, and wrestling /andrew gottlieb 12 junior preston krah excels in gymnastics /andrew gottlieb 14 northview reclassified to region 6a for next school year /brittney neser 16 Cover story: in this special report, the messenger examines the effects of and reactions to the nowinfamous jan. 28 snowstorm / bryan liang, jessica ma, and sneha gubbala 22 the messenger 's blind date tradition continues... / marri kang 24 despite historical inaccuracies, Hayao Miyazaki's the wind rises truly shines / sophia choi 25 perhaps snow days aren't the best /shelby bradley 26 face-off: the sat is markedly changing - for better or for worse?/rachel williams and nancy coleman 29 that grammy was kendrick's, not macklemore's /andrew teodorescu 30 media and fashion columns /ryan siatkowski and connie xu 31 staff ed/ the messenger staff

letter from

EDITOR the wikipedia effect

the

Or how the internet has changed the way we think and learn

SAM QUINN, Editor-in-Chief

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he famed English essayist and crime writer Dorothy Sayers began a 1947 essay, namely, The Lost Tools of Learning, with the supremely cautious words, “That I, whose experience of teaching is extremely limited, should presume to discuss education is a matter, surely, that calls for no apology.”

The essay proceeds to depict contemporary—that is, 1940s—education in a less-than-stellar light. Indeed, Sayers rather forcefully decries all education, not just K-12 public education, as having regressed so much in its quality and teaching methodologies that, she argues, a proper conception of the most recent unambiguously fine education can be found no later than the late Middle Ages.

She explicitly refutes the label of “reactionary,” and makes a solid case to boot, but, for her time, that’s exactly what Sayers was. Education was changing— rapidly—and not everyone, as Sayers’ case proves, was happy about it.

The Lost Tools of Learning is, at its core, a lamentable lamentation of a phenomenon whose ramifications have become increasingly acute in recent years. I’ll call it the “Wikipedia problem.”

The tools to which Sayers referred are the relics of a Classical education— the Trivium and the Quadrivium—which Sayers claimed taught students how to think before it taught them what to think. The atmosphere in which Sayers wrote The Lost Tools of Learning—the very recent aftermath of World War II—impelled many people to question the circumstances and origins of the war. Sayers maintained that the failure of Western education was a factor in Nazi citizens’ wholehearted acceptance of the government ideals that were forced upon them, as well as their suppression of natural moralistic impulse.

Now, I’m not at all equating 1940s Germany with modern America— seriously, Sayers is the one that described Germany as such—but if only she were alive today, that she might see her argument’s target behaviors so harmoniously (and perhaps disturbingly) manifest in present-day society.

I’m calling it the “Wikipedia problem” because Wikipedia is, arguably, the most important website in history, and it embodies the half-hearted acquirement of transitory knowledge that has become so characteristic of the way we define “learning.”

Let me explain. I’ve never read Faulkner, but I could tell you what he wrote.

I’ve never seen Ben Hur, but I could give you a two-minute summary. And I don’t know the name of those truly awesome-looking jungle pillars in China that inspired James Cameron’s Avatar, but I’ve seen the pictures.

And that’s why Wikipedia is the paragon of educational irony: it is one of the largest, if not the largest, collections of knowledge in human history, and yet its nature encourages its visitors to attain a scanty grasp—ephemeral at best—of the knowledge held within its servers.

It’s not Wikipedia’s fault—it’s the internet’s. To my great chagrin, and as much as it confirms the orthodox attitudes of intransigent old folks, the internet and other technologies have irrefutably decreased our attention spans.

It’s difficult to measure by exactly how much, because the notions of “attention spans” are ill-defined, but the scientific consensus on the issue stands.

And it shouldn’t come as a shock, either. It’s called “attention economics,” and it’s a legitimate field of study, a sort of unique intersection between sociology, economics, and psychology. In 1977, thirty years after Sayers condemned ‘modern’ education, Herbert Simon, soon-to-be Nobel laureate in Economics, famously prophesied, “a wealth of information creates a poverty of attention,” thus kickstarting the field and providing a basis—albeit a tenuous one—for the journalistic alarmism that led to the statistic that the average internet user now has an attention span less than that of a goldfish. Seriously, this was going around last year: some poll “suggested” that people have attention spans of around eight seconds, while some other study of questionable scientific merit “proved” that goldfish can focus on their food flakes for around nine.

Yes, the statistics are nothing but alarmism—it’d be a tad fallacious to place dubious numbers on matters about which the pundits are not yet in agreement— but behind them is the silhouette of a veritable truth, which borders on the distinctly intellectual as well as the broadly societal: we are simply not what we used to be as an educated populace.

That’s not to say that we aren’t as “smart” as we used to be. Just as we have to be wary of companies proclaiming that the dirt-eating peoples of Barbarianland had a miraculous and somehow heretofore-secret means of rejuvenating the human epidermis, we have to be careful in lavishing praise upon the past. After all, society progresses, and it has, by any rational measure, continued to progress since 1947.

Furthermore, it is difficult to satisfactorily correlate a decreasing attention span with decreasing intellectualism, but at this point I must again defer to Sayers.

There was a time when education was not built on “standards”—when it was not predicated on rote memorization or some contrived measuring stick by which we can quantify how much we understand Hawthorne. A hundred years ago, the very notion would have made literary authorities sick to their stomachs.

It’s a problem of practicality: there are more students flowing through the system than ever before, and it’d be difficult, if not impossible, to evaluate them without the current systematic crutches. Some, such as the preeminent educational authority Sir Ken Robinson, have asserted—at times, violently so— that education can change, that it might, after great effort, attain the vitality and dynamism which we all wish it had, but perhaps thought impossible. While it has always been the goal of education to prepare students for the future— whatever that may take—modern education is faced with a particularly grievous challenge: preparing kids for careers in fields which do not yet exist, whilst maintaining the sense that graduates are not machines, but rather educated individuals, properly equipped with the tools to both succeed in their careers, as well as succeed in life. That I, whose experience of the world is extremely limited, should presume to discuss life is a matter, surely, that calls for no apology. As far as my experience has lent me to believe, those two concepts— success in one’s career and success in life—are not always the same thing.

Sam Quinn, Editor-in-Chief the messenger | 5

NEWS

Going

Green Fresh new color scheme brings Northview into the limelight NIK RADTKE, Staff Writer

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orthview is in for a big change in the near future. It has been rumored for the past few months, but has now become official that Northview High School will have a school color change. The new colors include the original navy blue, silver, and white, but a bright green color known as “action green” is also being added.

“It is a version of the Seattle Seahawk green as an accent color,” said Coach Mike Dixon. Dixon, along with Coaches Jennifer Barr and Nathan Harrell, contributed to the change.

“After the idea was introduced, we went to other coaches and showed the mock-ups and talked with them about the color, and the idea was well received by the coaches and Athletic Director Coach Davenport. The idea then went to Dr. Brannon which he liked and approved,” said Dixon. Brannon officially approved the color change in January.

“In the past few years I have mentioned that we needed to spice up our colors a little. Coaches in the past have lamented on the limits of color choices when it comes to uniforms. After talking to Coach Barr and Harrell we agreed that we needed a new color and the green would be a nice contrast to our blue and silver so I made a few graphics using our ‘N’ and navy and green; it got around and the idea caught on,” said Dixon.

Dixon and other staff members felt that the change was needed after many years with the original navy, silver and white.

“The green will help further separate us from Norcross who also used an ‘N’ and has navy and white as their colors. Milton, who is red, white, and blue, has been using more blue and white and less red so the feeling is we need to have something different,” said Dixon.

Not everything has been updated to the new look yet, but the school plans to integrate the color change into all of the uniforms and gear in the athletic department.

“As for using the color, varsity basketball created a shirt for the region tournament that included a new basketball logo and the green. Boys and Girls soccer will include it this year in sweats, T-shirts, socks, cleats etc.,” said Dixon.

Unfortunately, this year the color is not fully integrated into the game uniforms but as new uniforms are ordered, the green will be included.

“Basketball will have it on one uniform possibly next year is what I have heard. I have also done some paint mock ups for adding a stripe of the color to the gym,” said Dixon.

Talk of the new color introduction has the students of Northview buzzing as well. Senior David Eads, who is on the varsity lacrosse team, embraced the new color, which was added to this year’s lacrosse helmets as an accent to the Northview logo.

“I absolutely love the new lacrosse helmets; I think the green can be done really well,” said Eads.

“I think the green is a great addition to the Northview colors.”

Coach Dixon has been doing a lot to get the color change out there to the students of Northview. “I also plan to create a T-shirt that will introduce the color with a saying on the back of the shirt to kind of jump start the color getting out,” said Dixon.

In the future, the color addition will be more integrated as the school is updated. Many are excited for the new and improved look of Northview High School.

“I think the green is a great addition to the Northview colors.”

-David Eads

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news | the messenger | 7

PRODUCTION PREPARATION BVP students complete development on a set of personal film projects for the competition at the Georgia Media Festival MAGGIE XIA, Staff Writer

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ach year, Northview’s Broadcast/Video Production students spend several months preparing a project to enter into the Annual Georgia Student Media Festival in hopes of receiving awards and recognition from the film world.

The Georgia Student Media Festival, which will occur on May 2, 2014, is an opportunity for K-12 students to showcase their original media projects. The projects are judged for things such as production excellency, creativity, and impact on the viewer. The festival serves to recognize students’ abilities in the broadcast and production fields.

Students currently in BVP classes II through IV participate in the competition. The project was first introduced to the students in November, and for the rest of the month, the students brainstormed and organized their thoughts and ideas. “I always draw my ideas from other short films or movies, or even books. Even the simplest thing can give you inspiration,” said sophomore Sranee Bayapureddy. Starting in December, the students began to write scripts for their film. “My main concern about script writing is whether or not I can depict my own words and imagine it, and not having any cheesy dialogue,” said junior Joseph An. Currently, they are in the Pre-Production stage, in which the final preparations occur, such as securing the major cast members, finalizing the script, and most importantly, filming. Furthermore, students will be editing the film into the completed version which they will submit to the contest in May. An is prepared and right on schedule. “I have an actor who has agreed to play the lead role. I plan to start editing very soon,” said An. 2014 marks An’s third year competing at the festival. In the past, his independent film has passed both State and International Student Media Festivals. This year, he will be producing and filming an original short by himself. “My protagonist is a young teenager boy who has to go through society head on and alone. In the end he realizes that he himself is the only one who has the right to himself. I came up with this idea through a friend who’s been going through some tough times,” said An. It is also senior Ryan Hopkinson’s third time competing in the Georgia Media Festival. “The first time, I submitted a film called Sacrifices which was awarded ‘Excellence in Media Production’ at the International Media Festival and last year I was awarded ‘Top Honors’ for my two films, True Colors and Puzzled Heart,” said Hopkinson. Hopkinson is looking forward to receiving constructive feedback from the judges and to see how far his submission will go in competition.

Bayapureddy is another BVP student who is participating in the Georgia Media Festival. Since she is currently a BVP II student, it is her first time competing. “It’s kind of nerve-racking;[...]I have no idea what to expect or anything. Especially since a lot of BVP students from years past got significant recognition for their films,” said Bayapureddy. Her

8 | news

goal for this project is personal. “I just want to prove to myself that I am capable of making a short film by myself,” said Bayapureddy.

In these months of preparation, the students received much support and guidance, from both one another and from the BVP instructor and recently-named Northview Teacher of the Year Josh Lee. “They’ve [friends in BVP program] helped me with developing a solid plot and organize my script. Mr. Lee also encourages me and gives a positive attitude,” said An. “Mr. Lee definitely is a huge help. He gives great feedback and really takes to time to help develop our ideas and edit our scripts,” said Bayapureddy.

No matter what the results turn out to be, the students see the media festival as a great experience. “I hope to become way more humbled from this. I want to pursue film as a future endeavor. This is simply a step forward to that path, “ said An.

NEWS

AVALON CONSTRUCTION PROGRESSES Alpharetta welcomes a commercial behemoth in Fall 2014

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MILIKA DHRU, Staff Writer

ocated in the heart of Alpharetta, Avalon, a mixed-use facility currently under construction, is projected to celebrate its grand opening on October 30th, 2014. This 86-acre community is located off Old Milton Parkway and includes 570,000 square feet of retail and 85,000 square feet of loft office area. Avalon will feature a wide variety of restaurants, residential facilities, retail space, and offices that will provide guests and residents with entertainment and a place to dine, work, shop, and live.

“Avalon’s owners (NAP) recognized that the retail industry was making a transition. As e-commerce was increasing, traditional brick and mortar retailers were suffering,” said Liz Gillespie, VP of Marketing for North American Properties. Gillespie included “[that] in order to compete with online shopping, [North American Properties] had to give people a reason to get off their couches, out from behind their computer screens, and put down their devices.”

Expansion of the development allows Avalon to accommodate for even more amenities. The complex is expected to function differently than traditional indoor malls; multiple uses including residential, retail, office, hotel spaces will give Avalon energy for more than 18 hours a day. There are over 800 residences that will be constructed: 250 luxury homes will be available for rent and 101 single family houses will be available to buy. Office quarters are being divided into two buildings, with the loft offices in the process of construction as well. A 300-room, four-star hotel and a 175-room boutique hotel will not only provide lodging, but will also serve as the location for major business conferences and social gatherings.

Popular companies such as Anthropologie, Banana Republic, Francesca’s, Free People, Orvis, Gap, Athleta, Pinkberry, Regal Cinemas, and Whole Foods have already legitimized the leases to move into Avalon.

“Avalon looks like a really interesting community with a great night life; I’m really looking forward to the ice skating rink and the movie theater that they’re planning to have also,” said sophomore Annie Kong.

“We have sought out retail and restaurant tenants that will provide a unique guest experience. For example, we expect Athleta to offer yoga in the park, Orvis to offer fly fishing, and Whole Foods to offer cooking classes, said Gillespie. These opportunities for a hands-on learning experience distinguish Avalon from traditional malls and online shopping companies.

“Although several stores will relocate to Avalon from nearby malls like Perimeter and Northpoint, both of the malls....are strong regional malls with a strong customer base,” said Gillespie. Upon completion, Avalon is estimated to generate approximately $21 million annually in sales tax revenue and more than 4,000 new retail sector, white-collar, and hotel service jobs.

Apartment complexes will be constructed above stores, dining, and entertainment facilties.

Avalon will officially open to the public on October 30th, 2014.

The development will occupy a total area of 86-acres.

North American Properties purchased Prospect Park Land on July 15th, 2011, beginning the construction process.

Total constructoin closed $126 million on August 16th, 2013.

news | the messenger | 9

NEWS

dealing with ACADeMIC DEPRESSION The recent increase of college suicides sparks concern over students’ stress Tarun Ramesh , Staff Writer

hazing GENETICS eating disorders mental illnesses drug abuse

physical abuse

rape

verbal abuse

low self esteem

alcohol abuse depression

family problems

hopelessness

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STRESS

ANXIETY relationship problems

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ncreased suicide rates in American colleges have led students and professionals alike to believe that the high-stress environments at universities may be too much.

The acceptance letter is just the beginning. “College can be a very stressful time especially in competitive schools with a tough major,” said freshman Ark Angirish, whose sister Yagna is in her third year at Georgia Tech. High campus pressure has been criticized, as recently shown by Professional Psychology that the immense pressure that college students are under is linked to the increased suicide rate amongst college students. This pressure increases quickly as midterms roll in and exams are underway.

College suicides are caused by psychiatric disorders including depression and anxiety, according to a case study conducted by Dr. Tom Cross of the Davidson Institute.

“The incidence of suicide has grown dramatically since 1955 and is now considered the second leading cause of death among adolescents and young adults,” said Cross. This drastic spike in suicide levels has many believing that the increase of competition in American colleges has boosted stress levels as well as personal problems that can easily cause depression. Cross’s research also shows that the most likely demographic for suicide is a homosexual, Caucasian male from a mid-socioeconomic class that has had family disruptions and access to lethal devices. Most of these demographics stem from personal problems like sexual orientation as well as family violence and abuse. Both these factors can increase the likelihood of suicide.

There are two main sources of depression: school pressure and emotional instability. The buildup of anxiety and stress due to school is blamed for the high suicide rate. “Suicide is high in competitive schools because the pressure to succeed overwhelms a student until their whole life is just about succeeding, and when they don’t pass a test, they feel that their life is over,” said Northview freshman Rohan Menon, who thought that school pressure was the main cause of college suicides.

More and more students believe that college is make it or break it, and this policy increases pressure on students to succeed academically.

“Student are picking courses [in high school] that are more and more rigorous.

They go straight for the APs. Little do they know that these courses will just increase stress levels and studying for these college courses will just trade off from time you can spend elsewhere,” said Northview counselor Allison Leja, explaining the disadvantages of taking AP classes and the tremendous amount of burden on the student. “It’s a college class, so what is the rush? Wait for college,” she said.

Personal problems and emotional instability can also induce depression and suicide. “Personal problems have the biggest impact upon you, because they follow you back to the dorm after class,” said sophomore Santosh Subramanian. These personal problems can arise from ugly breakups, domestic violence, divorces, or rape. “After an emotional ordeal or a traumatic event, people can’t cope with what they have gone through and they feel that the best way to not have to deal with those problems is to suicide,” said Subramanian.

“Students think that getting in to college is the hard part and when they get into a college, it will just be a party. But in reality those high expectations are why students [commit] suicide,” said Leja.

The Daily Beast marked Georgia Tech in the top 50 most stressful schools in the US. Engineering schools tend to be more stressful. Half of the top 50 schools were engineering schools, with MIT leading the pack of engineering schools in 7th place.

The 5 categories that define a stressful college are the tuition, acceptance rate, competitiveness, engineering, and crime ranks. The higher the number in each category, the more likely a student will feel overwhelmed and crack under pressure.

A hobby can help a student relax and escape from the pressure and stress of the day. “Students feel that the world doesn’t need them and there is no point in living, but a hobby can change all of that. It can make us realize that there is something to live for. Something we enjoy,” said Angirish.

SPORTS

Winter sports wrap-up ANDREW GOTTLIEB, Staff Writer

BOYS BASKETBALL

SEASON RESULT: Finished 3rd in the region; lost in the last round of the region tournament HONORABLE MENTIONS FOR ALL-REGION: Dylan Causwell, Isaiah Rose, Jalen-Archie Davis COACH’S SAY OF THE SEASON: “Anytime you don’t make state, it is considered unsuccessful even though you can win all the games in the world.” —Steven Bombard

GIRLS BASKETBALL

SEASON RESULT: Finished 3rd in the region; lost in the last round of the region tournament HONORABLE MENTIONS FOR ALL-REGION: Brittney Neser, Hannah Babadele, Shannon Titus COACH’S SAY OF THE SEASON: “This year the girls as a team played and related to each other in a personal and social level. They were cohesive as a team.” —Michael Martin

SWIMMING

SEASON RESULT: Boys and girls finished 6th and 7th, respectively, at the State Meet with 133 other schools. During the regular season, both the boys and girls teams finished in 5th place in each of their five meets.

TOP PERFORMERS: Knox Auerbach placed 1st in state for 200 & 500 yard freestyle; Kelsey Prince broke two of her own school records in the 200 yard individual medley and the 100 yard butterfly; Michelle Cho, Emily Yang, Kelsey Prince, and Rachel Williams broke the school record in the 200 yard Medley Relay team.

COACH’S SAY OF THE SEASON: “This is one of the most successful seasons we’ve had in the 12 years of our program. I am very proud of the team.” —Colin Maloney

WRESTLING

SEASON RESULT: Three student athletes made it to state: Nick

Hattings, Keewan Williams, and Jack Kenyon TOP PERFORMERS: Nick Hattings at 30-8; Keewan Williams at 309; Jack Kenyon at 25-12; Max Ovrick at 26-5; Sammy Shuster at 20-14; Michael Park at 12-3.

COACH’S SAY OF THE SEASON: “Northview wrestling continued to grow this year in numbers and wins. We had a full team this year which made for a more successful dual meet record. We had a solid year this year. With many being juniors, next year could be the best ever for Northview.” —Bob Biondich

sports | the messenger | 11

Distinguished gymnast and Northview junior Preston Krah is gunning for a spot in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio De Janeiro NOAH GRAY, Sports Editor ith the recent conclusion to the 2014 Winter Olympics, most people have begun to turn to the 2016 Summer Games. But not Northview junior Preston Krah. He’s had his sights set on these Olympics for years.

Krah’s excitement doesn’t arise from a rooting interest or a chance to cheer on his country like most of us, but rather as an opportunity to compete for it on the world’s biggest stage as a gymnast.

For the past 14 years, Krah has participated in gymnastics and has risen to the top of the sport, accumulating accolade after accolade, and with the 2016 Summer Olympics fast approaching, Krah hopes to fulfill his life-long goal of being an Olympian.

At the age of 3, Krah began gymnastics after being spurred on by his mother.

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“I had too much energy so my mom decided that she wanted me to do it. I loved it and stuck with it.”

Ever since, Krah has been doing gymnastics, including participating competitively for the past 10 years out of various gyms. At each gym he’s been a member, Krah has established himself as one of the elite gymnasts in the country in a number of regional and national competitions.

In these competitions, Krah usually places towards the top, finishing in the top five of most major competitions. Krah even medaled in third place on the parallel bars at the Men’s Gymnastic s Jr. Olympic National Championships this past year in Portland, which he considers his happiest moment so far in the sport. Of the six events in men’s gymnastics (consisting of the floor exercise, pommel horse, still rings, vault, parallel bars, and high bar), Krah’s greatest strength is the parallel bars.

In gymnastics, a sport that stresses a balance between strength and grace like no other, practice proves especially crucial, something Krah

knows all too well. “We have practices for about 20 hours a week and I’ve been doing this for the past 7 or 8 years. It absolutely gets difficult,” said Krah. In addition to the intense training schedule, both in the gym and on the mat, a typical weekend for Krah includes a cross-country trip for another competition. In just the past three weeks alone, Krah has had competitions at Georgia State, Las Vegas, and Greensboro.

Even with all the hard work, Krah still loves competing and is driven on by the possibility of reaching the Olympics.

“My eventual goal is to get to the Olympics. 2020 I think would be a realistic goal. 2016, I was set for that one but I don’t think that’s as realistic as I thought it would be,” he said.

Among the obstacles that Krah has endured has been nagging injuries.” I’ve fractured my back a couple of times, so that’s been hard for me.

Over the past 2 years, I’ve been out for a year and just recently I just got another injury that’s not helping.”

Nevertheless, Krah remains optimistic for the future and is not count-

ing himself out of anything yet. His email address even includes a nod to the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro, showing, even with the setbacks, his determination has remained unwavering throughout the difficult qualifying process, which consists of raking up points from various regional and national competitions.

In addition to qualifying for the Olympics, Krah also hopes to compete for the University of Michigan after graduating from high school.

Whenever Krah begins get frustrated or bored with the sport, he always looks to his role model to give him inspiration. “There’s a guy that competes at the Olympic level for Japan. His name is Kohei Uchimura and he is by far the best male gymnast to ever live and he’s been my influence to keep going,” said Krah.

Throughout his distinguished career Uchimura won 5 Olympic medals and 13 World Championship medals, and who’s to say Krah will be any different? No matter what happens, Krah’s initial hobby has become an undisputed ability that has set him apart from other high-schoolers.

Sports

new region, new challenges

Northview goes up a classification to a new region BRITTNEY NESER, Staff Writer

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ue to increased enrollment, Northview High School will be moved up from 5A to 6A for the 2014-2015 school years.

This reclassification happens every two years by the Georgia High School Athletic Association..

“All we are doing is being put in a different group of school,” said Varsity Boys Basketball Coach Steven Bombard.

The Northview Titans are moving up into Region 6-AAAAAA. This region contains new but familiar faces for some sports. The new region contains Alpharetta, Centennial, Chattahoochee, Habersham Central, Johns Creek, Lambert, North Forsyth, South Forsyth, West Forsyth and Northview High School. This region could help push athletes to work harder to become better in their sports.

“We should still be competitive at the regional meet, although there will be some more challenging teams than this past year. We will really have to work at state, should we make it that far, because the 6A teams across the state are a lot deeper than 5A,” said sophomore cross-c ountry runner Lindsay Billings.

The change in classes will offer a number of benefits for Northview. Northview will travel the average round-trip of 24.41 miles in the upcoming region compared to almost 50 miles the last year.

“It just gives us new competition and more to strive for. It would not affect the basketball team. We can do whatever we dream of doing.

Playing against Johns Creek will be something to strive for since they are like our rivals.” said junior basketball player Hannah Babadele about next season.

In addition, Northview can continue its rivalries with Johns Creek and Chattahoochee High School.

“There are ten teams. We play every time, home and away so we have 18 region games. We play seven non-region games, three in the Thanksgiving tournament and three in the Christmas tournament and we pick up one game. We have not scheduled yet but it might be Forsyth Central or Cambridge,” said Coach Bombard about next year’s schedule.

Northview will be the smallest school playing in the region. Mill Creek, which is the top school in the region, has 3,708 students, compared to Northview’s 1,903 people. This difference could be a major drawback for Northview when it comes to athletes coming out for sports.

“The games are definitely going to be more competitive. More dedication and team chemistry will be necessary in order to maintain Northview’s competitive nature and high reputation.” said junior lacrosse player Matthew Reny.

Top: Northview faces future region rival Johns Creek Middle: Northview faces West Forsyth in 2011 Bottom: Northview takes on Chattahoochee in 2010

14 | sports

the day

atlanta

froze (literally) atlanta isn’t exactly known for its brutal winter conditions. But on Tuesday, January 28, a mere two inches of snow crippled the city and brought all activities grinding to a halt. By the time officials canceled schools around midday, the roads were already icing over, causing extreme transportation difficulty for homebound students and teachers alike. In its wake, the storm left nearly a thousand auto accidents and far too many unanswered questions.

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who is even be this hap cancele be preve will be this set precede changed

s to blame? is anyone being blamed? how could appen? why wasn’t school led earlier? how will this ventedinthefuture?what e the consequences? will et a precedent? will that dent be followed? has this ed atlanta’s reputation? cover story | the messenger | 17

BRYAN LIANG and JESSICA MA, Staff Writers

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intry conditions and government unpreparedness created unexpected difficulties in the metro-Atlanta area on Tuesday, January 28. Schools, commuters, and government officials faced major traffic congestion and transportation dilemmas, many taking refuge in vehicles, stores, and public facilities.

Although the governor is responsible for storm planning, the Georgia Emergency Management Agency is the behind-the-scenes organization that coordinates the preparation for events like this.

Functioning like the Federal Emergency Management Agency, GEMA also deals with natural disasters and threats to security, just on a state scale.

Every year, the Georgia Emergency Management Agency issues the Georgia Emergency Operations Plan, an extensive document detailing the roles and duties of each agency during a wide spectrum of emergencies, everything from droughts to cyber-attacks.

For possible snow events, the plan is divided into two parts: preparation and response. During the preparation phase, agencies such as the Department of Natural Resources and the Department of Transportation monitor the status of the state’s four wheel drive vehicles as well as supplies for treating roads. GEMA, on the other hand, begins maintaining the State Operations Center, a temporary multi-agency coordination center used to respond to emergencies and natural disasters.

During the response, the State Operations Center becomes fully functional, communicating with the governor and different agencies to execute methods for dealing with the snowstorm. The Department of Public Safety begins emergency rescues while the Department of Transportation continues to monitor traffic and treat the roadways wherever necessary.

However, it wasn’t until the day of the storm when GEMA director Charley English warned Governor Nathan Deal to take action in preparation for the storm. The State Operations Center only activated three hours after traffic and accident reports began to flood in.

“I made a terrible mistake, and I put the governor in an awful position,” said English. “I got this one wrong by at least six hours.”

On the other hand, Deal claims that the weather forecasts were inaccurate.

“The National Weather Service continually had their modeling showing that the city of Atlanta would not be the primary area where the storm would hit, that it would be south of Atlanta,” Deal said Wednesday.

“You’ve already heard some of our agencies saying that based on that modeling, they had not brought in some of the resources earlier because

they thought there were going to be other parts of the state that were going to be more severely impacted than the metropolitan Atlanta area.”

Regardless, Deal did not want to risk shutting down Atlanta. “If we closed the city of Atlanta and our interstate system based on ‘maybes’, then we would not be a very productive government or a city,” said Deal. “We can’t do it based on the ‘maybes.’”

In a press release on the following Thursday, however, Deal took full responsibility for the unpreparedness of metropolitan Atlanta. “I’m not going to look for a scapegoat,” said Deal. “I am the governor. The buck stops with me. I accept responsibility. Our preparation was not adequate.”

Schools in the metro-Atlanta area remained open as well, based on information from the National Weather Service and local meteorologists. However, when snow began to fall late Tuesday morning, schools closed and began to dismiss students.

“Only the superintendent makes the call to close school/dismiss students, and that occurred for all schools around 1:45 p.m.,” said Sasha Dlugolenski, press secretary for the Georgia Governor’s Office. “Principals were encouraged to allow student drivers to check out with parent permission starting about an hour or so earlier.”

Unfortunately, the inclement weather caused major transportation obstacles.

“State government, private businesses and schools were all in the process of releasing employees and school children at the same time, resulting in a massive influx of cars on Atlanta’s roads,” said Dlugolenski. “The mass exodus left city gridlocked in less than an hour.”

Conditions forced some students and staff to take shelter in their school buildings late or overnight. Many students waited for several hours at Alpharetta High School before being able to leave, and 20 students stayed throughout the night, according to Principal Shannon Kersey.

“Many students depend on bus transportation and not all buses were able to get to AHS. Parents also were unable to get to AHS because of the road conditions and the traffic,” said Kersey. “Around 6:30 p.m., we still had several hundred students remaining and we felt we needed to provide those students dinner.”

Alpharetta High School suffered more than other Fulton County schools because of its location at a major intersection and because, as a Special Education Center School, AHS requires more buses than other schools, according to Kersey.

However, adult volunteers managed the emergency weather situation responsibly and facilitated the process of transporting and sheltering students.

“A few of our parents drove up the school early in the morning on Wednesday.

Because they had four-wheel drive vehicles, they offered to take home our remaining

terri b le mi s take. “ i made a

”

i put the governor i n an awful posi t i o n. i got thi s one wrong by at least a few hours.

-charlie english

12:30 PM National Weather Service issues hazardous weather outlook for most of Georgia.

1/26 sunday

18 | cover story

4:53 AM National Weather Service extends winter storm watch across all of metro-Atlanta.

3:38 AM National Weather Service extends winter storm warning for all of metro-Atlanta.

1/27 monday 3:12 PM National Weather Service issues first winter storm watch for southern metroAtlanta area.

9:36 PM National Weather Service issues first winter storm warning for southern metro-Atlanta area.

12:30 PM Snow starts falling.

1:45 PM FCS dismisses all students.

2:00 PM Gridlock and accident reports begin.

the buck stops with me. i am the governor. i accept responsibility. our preparation was not adequate.

”

Patrol, the Department of Transportation and the Department of Natural Resources to mobilize resources to areas where inclement weather conditions were expected and issued a warning order for the National Guard. Local meteorologists’ warnings of a major winter storm also passed from state government to school superintendents and emergency management agencies.

“Deal was able to encourage all Georgians in affected areas to make the necessary preparations […] Georgians also heeded the warnings, giving us the opportunity to get out and treat the roadways,” said Dlugolenski. “There was great coordination at both the local and state level.”

-nathan deal

12:15 AM Atlanta announces that all government offices will be closed for the day.

1/28 tuesday 9:25 AM Deal tweets inclement weather warning.

”

students and staff,” said Kersey. “We called the parents of the students to get their parent’s permission and the students [and several staff members] happily rode home with an AHS parent. I was so impressed with the way our school community pulled together to help each other out.”

In fact, Alpharetta High School received positive feedback for staff ’s and students’ management of the emergency weather situation.

“We even had Governor Deal come out to AHS last week and give our teachers and students a public Accommodation for how we supported our students during the winter storm,” said Kersey. “We were very honored to have the Governor come to our school and recognize the supportive efforts of our teachers and staff.”

Milton High School encountered similar issues due to the snowy and icy weather. According to Principal Clifford Jones, students had to remain at MHS under the supervision of the administrative team and other staff members, only leaving between 10:00 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. the next morning.

“Parents took multiple students in cars and students spent the night at each other’s homes,” said Jones. “The staff, students, and parents rallied together to support each other.”

On January 29, Deal announced through a press release that all metro-Atlanta schoolchildren had been safely returned to their homes with the assistance of the National Guard and the State Patrol. After the governor-decreed state of emergency ended on February 2, changes were made on both state and local levels to prevent a similar emergency from taking place again.

“With any situation there is room for debrief and process refinement,” said Jones. Milton High School updated the classroom rosters, updated bus driver contact information, and collected staff contact information to improve communication.

According to a press release from February 3, Governor Nathan Deal also implemented changes after the inclement weather emergency, aiming to improve stateto-resident communication. Reforms include storm warning messages on mobile devices; a mobile state emergency app with information regarding shelter, transportation, and other areas; consultation between the Georgia Emergency Management Agency (GEMA) and local meteorologists on current weather modeling and predictions; and emailing weather condition updates to school superintendents.

Deal also appointed Fulton County Schools Superintendent Robert Avossa and other individuals to the Governor’s Severe Winter Weather Warning and Preparedness Task Force. Avossa and his fellow task force members will convene and advise Deal on weather preparedness, according to the press release.

According to Dlugolenski, the reforms led to state and local preparedness when icy conditions developed again on Tuesday, February 11. Deal called on the State

11:13 AM GA tweets that state offices will stay closed Thursday.

11:30 AM Deal gives winter storm response.

1/29 wednesday 1:00 PM Atlanta releases all non-essential employees.

5:28 PM Deal declares state of emergency.

11:10 AM GA State Troopers report 2 fatalities, 130 injuries, 1,254 accidents from Tuesday.

cover story | the messenger | 19

THE PEOPLE speak SNEHA GUBBALA, Staff Writer

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or the first time in three years, Atlanta experienced its very own “Snowpocalypse.” Students, parents, teachers, and other residents all over Atlanta, although initially exuberant at the sight of the seemingly magical fluffiness falling from the sky, quickly learned that beneath the pale and glimmering beauty of the snow was a traffic nightmare ready to strike.

This beauty came with a dangerous bite. The slightest bit of snow caused massive delays and hazardous conditions in traffic. Although most schools in the area dismissed students early, many were unable to get home before six o’clock in the evening.

Chattahoochee

high school “It was 6th period and had been snowing for almost an hour already. I was in Chem class waiting for the best Chem teacher in the world to give us our grades and talk to us about his recommendations for our science classes next year and BAM, the intercom went off,” said Isabella Cheng, sophomore at Chattahoochee High School. Cheng, excitedly expecting to get home early and binge on Netflix, was met with an unpleasant surprise.

At the time of dismissal, students at Chattahoochee were permitted to contact their parents to pick them up from school. Although many students proceeded to do so, Cheng was not among them.

“My mom had called and offered to pick me up when the county called her and told her about the early release, but I thought there was no point since I’d be coming home soon. Boy, was I wrong,” said Cheng. The students were then herded to the cafeteria to await the buses and further instructions.

At four o’clock in the afternoon, the slow trickle of cars and buses picking up students came to a stop. Cheng and her equally stranded peers were then moved to the media center until five o’clock, when Cheng’s bus appeared in the window. Jubilantly, the students climbed onto the bus, grateful that they would finally return home. However, they were still to be disappointed.

“First, we stopped by a neighborhood on the way to let a few kids off and then we proceeded down the sloping Sargent and it hit me. No one could get into the neighborhood either!” Cheng said. Sargent Road, in which a middle school bus had previously been stuck, was backed up, so much so that many people were forced to abandon their vehicles and trek through the fresh snow in order to return home.

Cheng said, “There was desperation in the police officer’s eyes. He was there to direct traffic and make sure no one died. Our bus driver looked at us pityingly and said, ‘Sorry guys, this is as far as I can go.’” Cheng then joined the countless others in braving their way through the wintry weather, safely returning to the warm embrace of her home at last, albeit significantly later than anticipated.

20 | cover story

JOHNS CREEK

high school

Johns Creek High School, like Chattahoochee, dismissed classes at 1:45 pm, yet freshman Kaela Danzig did not make it home until 10:00 pm. Danzig was made to wait along with the many other students in the school’s cafeteria, hoping for a parent or bus to come pick her up.

“We waited for two hours until they told my bus number to come talk to them. They told us that our bus was not coming and they didn’t know how we were going to get home,” said Danzig. After several more hours of waiting, without any sort of meal, Danzig was finally picked up from school by a friend’s mom. However, the ride home was not easy.

“After about 10 min. of unsuccessful attempts to make it up a hill, we decided to abandon the car [...] we were going to walk home from the middle school, which was four miles. My brother wasn’t there but my mom had called the person who drove my brother home. She came and picked us up and brought us home.” Even when safe and warm in her house, Danzig could not rid her mind of the other troubles the snow might have caused. “All I could think about were all those kids stuck at school and on school buses. What would they do about food, going to the bathroom, and meds?”

Although students often chose to blame the schools themselves for the poor handling of the turn of the events, Danzig believed that the decision was out of the schools’ hands.

“I don’t think it was the schools’ fault rather than Fulton County.

They were unprepared and caught just as off guard as we were,” said Danzig. “I believe that Fulton County could have handled the whole bus thing better but the school didn’t have a say in that.”

Kaela Danzig and Isabella Cheng may have made it home in time for dinner and the nightly news, but other students at schools across Atlanta, and even from Northview, did not share in their good fortune.

E. RiverS

northview

Schools in the Fulton County School District were not the only affected by the wintry weather. E. Rivers Elementary School of Atlanta Public Schools housed nearly 100 students, as well as 31 adults, on the night of Tuesday, January 28th.

When he noticed the weather increasing in severity, Principal Matthew Rogers thought it best to take action to ensure student safety. “I had three bus drivers arrive around 7:00 pm and after talking to them about the road conditions, I decided that it was in the best interest of safety to not allow them to leave school with kids on buses,” said Rogers.

Elementary students, although renowned for their sensitive temperaments, took the news surprisingly well. Rogers said, “The kids were fine; we were watching movies, eating popcorn and pizza. As it got closer to bedtime, we had maybe three or four kindergarten students upset, but a quick phone call home and some nurturing from their teachers made the tears go away.” The students turned out to be far from upset when the events unfolded, as they excitedly huddled together to watch films, were led through art projects and paper plane contests, and engaged in a snowball fight outside, which Rogers participated in as well. One student went so far as to compare the experience to a big slumber party.

The children may not have had such a pleasant experience were it not for the 21 staff members that stayed overnight to assist in taking care of the children.

“We were hugging a lot of kids and letting them know that this was an adventure they would never forget,” said fifth grade teacher Lindsay Treharne. Some teachers slept in shifts while others remained awake throughout the night, periodically checking up on the sleeping students.

The next day, after a breakfast concocted from cafeteria foods, students proceeded to entertain themselves as a carpool of community members with large SUVs was organized to take the students home. “By 3:30pm, all students and staff members and parents had departed the building,” said Rogers.

While the students of E. Rivers Elementary were sleeping on gymnasium mats and watching Free Willy, Northview junior Sharon Heaton and her Peruvian exchange student Brescia Saavedra were sleeping on makeshift cots made of chairs at a mediterranean market. When picking up Saavedra from the airport, Heaton and her family only sought to pick her up, maybe do some shopping, and return home by two o’clock in the afternoon. That all changed when the snow began.

“We decided to head back around 11 or 12 but by then it had started snowing and traffic was bad because everyone was trying to get out at the same time and also the roads became iced over,” said Heaton. Cars were abandoned along the highway, forcing some people to walk home.

Heaton, however, was not among them. As the two-wheel drive Ford Explorer the group was in skid time and time again, they quickly came to the decision that staying on the road was not in their best interest. Heaton said, “It was around 1 am that we ended up at a Mediterranean market/restaurant that was owned by this very nice guy who let people stay in there.”

Leaving the restaurant at 4:30 the next morning to brave the wintry roads yet again, the group set out on their journey home. Heaton said, “It was pretty weird [...] as if it were only us [...] there were so many cars abandoned on the highway and then it was just us driving and dark.” Returning home by 6:30 Wednesday morning, Heaton thought back on the bizarre experience she had just been through.

“It was very a interesting day [...] it was bad because we used to live in Buffalo, New York where we had snow tires and people knew how to drive in snow.

When we moved here we changed back to regular tires thinking nothing like this would ever happen, but sure enough it did!” said Heaton.

Although the wintry weather was a nearly magical sight, it severely hindered traffic and people’s journeys home. The National Weather service may have predicted the severe weather ahead of time, but the snow still took the city of Atlanta by surprise. However, these incidents may prove to be a learning experience; the Georgia Department of Transportation has taken note of the delays and unfortunate events and is working to become better prepared for future storms so as to prevent similar circumstances.

elementary high school

cover story | the messenger | 21

DINNER FOR TWO Seniors Kate Finn and King David set up for blind date tradition MARRI KANG, Features Editor

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very year, The Messenger sets up a blind date between two seniors, and this year hosted some familiar faces. Students may recognize seniors King David and Kate Finn for their work on the stage, a deciding factor in their selection.

“They’re both musical. I don’t know if they’re friends or not, but I thought they could bond over music if nothing else,” said Language Arts teacher Julie Hunt, who assisted in creating the match. Hunt teaches both David and Finn, but in separate classes. Still, she picked out their similar interests and senses of humor and thought it would help them get along and, in a way, she was almost too right.

“I know him! We’re already friends,” said Finn upon discovering who the other half to her pair was. The two laughed over the coincidence and continued to chat as they made their way down to Chipotle for dinner. Although the

22 | features

restaurant was crowded and the line was long, their friendly banter kept them occupied until they got far enough to order. With burrito bowls in hand, they settled down into a booth to continue the conversation.

Discussions about college, future careers, and music floated drifted through the racket in the restaurant. Any unsureness about what the blind date would be like seemed to ease away as the friendly chatter continued. The two laughed and joked in between mouthfuls of their food and even received a visit from some acquaintances of Finn, creating a loud and mirthful atmosphere.

After the food was finished and the booth was cleaned up, the two decided to call it a night.

“I’ll walk you out,” David said as they headed out of the restaurant. With the conversation still rolling on, the pair headed back to their rides, wrapping up the events of the perhaps not-so-blind date.

FEATURES

THE WIND RISES

SOPHIA CHOI, Staff Writer

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s the last film of his impressively long career, director Hayao Miyazaki’s The Wind Rises was truly breathtaking. Miyazaki first gave the world a taste of his passion for aviation history with his 1992 film Porco Rosso. In his new film, Miyazaki completely throws open the doors and thrusts the audience into his love of airplanes through a fictional portrayal of the life of Jiro Horikoshi, the engineer primarily responsible for designing the fighter planes used by Japan during World War II. The scenic animation, the bittersweet realization of a childhood dream, and the recurring themes of love and tolerance ring true to the Studio Ghibli we all knew as children, despite the fact that the movie was aimed towards a more mature audience.

Although The Wind Rises, apart from the dream Horikoshi had as a child, does not have the element of fantasy present in other Studio Ghibli films, it is able to make a historical fiction just as artistic and poetic as a fantasy film.

The most demeriting thing about The Wind Rises is its use of acapella sound effects present throughout the movie; they were simply atrocious. It was difficult to concentrate on the detail and effort gone into animating the airplanes when all that could be heard was the sound of someone imitating the sound of a plane by buzzing on his lips. It is incomprehensible as to why Studio Ghibli decided to make many of the sound effects using the human

mouth when they certainly could have used professionally recorded sound effects, or even some other sounds that did not sound so artificial.

Despite the film’s artistic beauty, we should be wary of its historical bias and inaccuracy. The Wind Rises did follow some form of chronological order by referencing historical events, but failed to deviate from the norm of “forgetting” consequences and conflicts following these events. The movie portrayed the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923, which was indeed an important part of Japanese history in the early 20th century. What the movie failed to show were the mass murders of Koreans living in Japan following the earthquake. The Koreans were accused of taking the opportunity of devastation in Kanto to poison the wells and steal from shops. The film, however, showed nothing more than the earthquake itself and how the Kanto region heroically managed to get back on its feet after the economy plummeted.

The film also left out the fact that Horikoshi’s fighter designs were built by enslaved prisoners of war the Japanese government captured.

The Wind Rises has been a source of controversial debate since its release in Japan in 2013, and likely will remain a topic of debate as it gains popularity in America. If it were completely fictional, without a hint of a historical reference, it would have been flawless: a cinematic masterpiece. As a historical fiction, however, it is extremely one-sided and fanciful.

features | the messenger | 23

what has changed?

Opinions

One year after Sandy Hook, school shootings are still prevalent in America NANCY COLEMAN, Managing Editor

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lood-coated drama students at Troy Buchanan High School in Missouri littered the hallways after being shot to the ground by an intruder.

The blood, the bullet wounds, and the shooter were all fake. The situation, however, is very real—and very familiar in other American schools.

Shootings are far too prevalent in schools today, and preventative measures and drills are definitely a necessity...but it seems a little absurd that dramatizations (especially with money spent on stage makeup for “victims”) are the best way to prevent these shootings from recurring.

Supposedly, the best way to make schools safer would be to pass effective gun laws. That would be a great solution, of course, if lawmakers actually passed the right laws.

The Sandy Hook Elementary shooting in Newtown, Connecticut last December shocked the nation and sparked a heated debate over gun control laws in the United States. However, of the 1500 firearm state bills introduced in the year following the massacre, only 109 became law, and two-thirds of these actually loosened gun control. There has been no decrease in American gun violence, both in and out of schools.

Statistically, the rate of school shootings remains unchanged since the 1990s.

On the bright side, the rate did not increase, but the lack of improvement is frightening considering the measures that have allegedly been taken.The heartbreak of Sandy Hook would supposedly help increase gun security and background checks—and most of the laws just made guns easier to obtain.

This solution to the incomprehensible slaughter of students and teachers makes perfect sense. There is clearly no better way to eliminate gun violence than to make guns more readily available.

There has to be a line somewhere where lawmakers wake up and start strengthening gun security instead of loosening it. Apparently, 500 school-associated violent deaths in the past 20 years does not cross that line.

Stories about shootings are normal occurrences in the news, and many schools have taken preventative actions against shooters. Some schools like Northview take a more practical approach by locking exterior doors. Other schools, such as Troy Buchanan, think it is a better idea to cover theatre students in fake blood and hold active shooter drills in which students watch their peers pretend to be shot by a fake intruder.

Learning what to do when approached by a shooter is apparently not as important as learning how to properly witness friends bleeding to death.

Just a few years ago, these news stories sent shock waves throughout the country. Today, we hear about someone shot dead in a high school and it becomes just another statistic. School shootings, even with adolescents and teenagers turning weapons on each other, have become a regular event.

With 90 guns for every 100 citizens, the United States is the most heavily armed country in the world. America’s gun culture is unavoidable. Many of these firearms are for recreational purposes, like hunting and skeet shooting, or for selfdefense. Gun owners may not all have murderous intentions, but their weapons are too easily accessible. It only takes one gun in the wrong hands to wreak havoc, and with approximately 270 million guns in the United States, the chance of trag-

24 | opinions

edy is simply too high.

Gun violence—in schools or elsewhere—is nothing new. This violence, while outrageous, is not what causes anger. It is the fact that year after year, shooting after shooting, death after death, there has been no improvement in preventing these tragedies from reoccurring.

To begin with, there has barely been an attempt at improvement in the first place. Even after what little legislation has been passed in other states (zero gun control bills have been signed into law in Georgia since Newtown), there is still no significant decrease in school shootings or gun violence in general.

The issue could stem from several places: the lack of a strong federal gun ban, protests over the supposed possible revocation of America’s second amendment right, the age-old “it’s not guns who kill people; it’s people who kill people” mental health argument, or simply skeptics who think that gun control will not work at all.

In Australia, a 1996 gun massacre in Tasmania left 35 dead, sparking controversy and fear across the country. Within the next year, John Howard, the Prime Minister at the time, passed a ban prohibiting semiautomatic and automatic rifles as well as shotguns. The law also introduced a mandatory buy-back program for weapons that were newly banned.

There have been no mass shootings in Australia since. Firearm suicide and homicide rates plummeted drastically.

Also in 1996, a gunman burst into Dunblane Primary School in Great Britain and killed 16 children and their teacher, an event that parallels Sandy Hook.

The difference between the two tragedies is the legislation that resulted from the massacres. In the year and a half following Dunblane in the United Kingdom, lawmakers successfully banned the private ownership of all handguns in mainland Britain. The United States still lacks a strong federal gun law.

This was one of the toughest gun restrictions in the world. Initially, it was not successful—firearm crimes rose during the late 1990s to peak at 24,094 offenses from 2003-2004. In the years since, this rate dropped dramatically: by 2010, crimes with guns dropped 53%, and handgun-related crimes alone dropped 44% in the same time period. The positive impact of the ban is easy to see.

The situations in Australia and Britain are evidence that gun control laws can work. The difference between America and these countries is that the United States has a ridiculously prevalent gun culture.

Enforcing gun laws in this country, even just background checks, can save hundreds of lives and prevent a deadly weapon from falling into the wrong hands.

These life-saving laws are not being passed because, in America, the fun of shooting a deadly weapon to hunt or skeet shoot apparently outweighs the irreversible consequences of killing a student.

Possible infringement upon the second amendment causes a major uproar.

If only the unnecessary murder of children, administrators, and teachers had the same effect.

OPINIONS

Unexpected snow wreaks havoc Students and teachers adjust to their normal schedules after multiple days off SHELBY BRADLEY, Staff Writer

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now days come as welcomed gifts, giving students a coupleday break from the stress of schoolwork. However, these extra extended breaks have driven teachers to attempt to teach two weeks’ worth of material in only a few days. The snow days created a stressful environment for both teachers and students, who are trying desperately to get back on track and finish everything that needs to be done by the end of the school year.

By the second snow break many teachers decided to continue class online through Edmodo or their websites. Every day students were expected to look online to see if they had any assignments their teacher

posted which would either be turned in online or brought to class on Tuesday when they got back. Students like snow breaks since they are a mini vacation from schoolwork; they do not hope for snow to come so that they can do their schoolwork in a different setting.

Many students also missed tests over the break and were expected to take the test the day that they got back. Since students were out for a long period of time, their test scores are more likley to be lower than usual because they lost instruction time, the information is not as fresh, and students forgetting to study.

The first day of a snow break proves to be more enjoyable than the rest for students since they can sleep in late knowing they do not have to go to school. As the days go by, though, students quickly realize that not only can they not go to school but they also cannot go anywhere else that is outside of walking distance. Even students who are close to stores and other facilities will not be able to do anything due to the fact that most businesses are closed when bad weather hits. This gives students no choice but to stay home until the snow fades away Fulton County’s Board of Education considered multiple options to retrieve lost learning hours including the extension of the school year into the summer. Eventually they decided to replace the planned teacher workday March 14 with a typical school day. Spring and summer break look safe for now, as long as no more snowstorms pass through Georgia.

Fulton County did not have any choice of keeping the schools open since it was a safety hazard getting their students home. Some people compare states that receive lots of snow to those who do not receive as much snow. These people declare that if the states that are buried under mountains of snow can continue to go to school then the other states should ‘man up’ and do so as well. They forget about how large of an investment it is to purchase machines to plow snow when they would rarely be used. Everyone taking a break from work or school would be a better solution than buying a machine that will only be used once or twice a year.

Of course it is no one’s fault that it snowed twice this semester but maybe it would be best to save wishes for more snow days for next school year.

No Sch

ool

opinions | the messenger | 25

OPINIONS

REDESIGNING THE SAT

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ollege Board President David Coleman recently announced the redesigned SAT, a new version of the standardized test beginning in 2016 with sweeping changes to the both the scoring system and the material covered on the exam. According to the College Board, the revised test is meant to be more practical and straightforward, but students claim that some of the new requirements actually make the test more difficult.

Are these changes really for the better?

26 | opinions

NO: RACHEL WILLIAMS, Opinions Editor

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hen it comes to a standardized test like the SAT, the key word is standardized. As the College Board makes frequent and ridiculous changes to the test, it is also steadily losing its credibility. These new redesigned tests will only cause more and more students to jump the sinking ship of the SAT. The biggest change in the redesign of the SAT is a return to the old 1600 point grading system. Instead of the mandatory essay in addition to the reading and math, scores will once again be based only on the reading and math sections with an optional essay section for those students with strong writing scores. Perhaps most embarrassing, the 2400 system was first introduced less than 10 years ago, in 2005. By removing the essay requirement again so soon after the initial change, the College Board comes across as capricious and unable to make up its mind.

Additionally, all of those hours spent poring over SAT vocab lists has now been made obsolete. The reading section will now require students to figure out the meanings of words from context clues, as opposed to simply knowing the definition.

SAT vocab has always been the same; from the first test-takers to students today, students who take the SAT have had to memorize these difficult vocabulary words. Changing the vocab section is unfair to both the previous test-takers and the students who will take the test after the changes. Those who have already taken the test do not have the access to the easier vocab, and the new takers’ test is easier so the scores will be seen as less valid.

The redesign of the math section moves away from the standards of geometry and algebra fully into algebra along with ratios, proportions, and complex equations. This is ostensibly to have students answer questions they might come across in

a college course, but is actually to make the SAT math section closer to the ACT math section, which is preferred by a majority of students. Additionally, calculators will no longer be able to be used for all sections of the test, removing one of the only refuges for students who struggle on the math section.

Essentially, the only changes made in the redesign make the SAT look more like the increasingly popular ACT. The reading section will now include science, the math section has more algebra, and the essay has become optional; all of these have always been facets of the ACT test. While the College Board may claim the redesign was to benefit the students, it is easily seen that it really wanted to become another ACT so the test will regain its lost attractiveness. Creating another ACT only creates another ACT, it does not help fix the problems with the SAT.

Yes: NANCY COLEMAN, Managing Editor

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very year, SAT tutoring companies rake in tons of money from stressed students anxiously trying to cram for the infamous standardized exam. Test-takers learn strategies of how to skip, infer, and memorize their way to a perfect 2400. The SAT is no longer an aptitude test, but a contest of who can pay more money for a better tutor or wedge more ridiculously exotic vocabulary words into their mind.

The monumental changes of the redesigned SAT solve these problems, returning the exam to its former aptitude test classification. Alterations to the style of questions in each section let students draw from skills they have actually learned in school, like analyzing sources to write the (now-optional) essay. The reading section will also allow test-takers to utilize their knowledge of history and social studies with well-known excerpts of speeches like Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address and Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream.”

With more pragmatic information used on the exam, the College Board has leveled the playing field for kids who cannot afford an expensive tutor outside of class, allowing students to use the techniques that they have grown accustomed at school.

Colleges look for smart pupils who are able to handle the intensity of college-level courses. They never ask on applications how accurately a student can guess on a multiple-choice question about a random passage or how many outrageous vocab words they know that they will never actually say in real life.

That is one of the best benefits of the redesigned SAT: the abrogation of the assiduous, enervating grandiloquence in the vocabulary section expunges the need to stress over fatuous words.

Stereotypical SAT vocabulary words are now a thing of the past. The reinvented vocab section incorporates words that are actually used in the workplace and college classes, creating a legitimate

reason to study and learn the words outside of the fact that they are on the exam. Easier words mean less cramming for vocab and more time spent mastering other subjects covered on the test.

Current high school freshmen will be the first to take the redesigned test in Spring of 2016, much to the dismay of upperclassmen. Most critics of the new exam are, in fact, bitter sophomores, juniors, and seniors who still have to take the old SAT. With many of the changes making the test easier, older students have taken to complaining about the disadvantage for them compared to freshmen. This thought process is completely irrational; test-takers are competing with those in their grade, not with others in different classes. If we used this logic for all decisions, we would never improve or reform anything for the fear of being unfair to those that had to suffer through the bad version. The redesigned SAT format is better and more practical—it is as simple as that.

opinions | the messenger | 27

TiTans Go WesT.

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OPINIONS

ruining Rap’s Rep Macklemore snubs Kendrick’s GRAMMY

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ANDREW TEODORESCU, Staff Writer

hroughout the history of the GRAMMY Awards show, there have been multiple upsets; in this race for acknowledgement, rap album winners tend to be wildcards at best. In 2004, Eminem’s “Lose Yourself ” lost to Luther Vandross’ “Dance with My Father” for Song of the Year. Kanye West’s “College Dropout” lost to “Genius Loves Company,” by Ray Charles and Various Artists in 2005 for Album of the Year. In 2008, West’s “Graduation” lost to a non-rap album, again. Drake lost Best New Artist to Esperanza Spalding in 2011. Example after example, it is clear that rap music has a bad reputation at the GRAMMYs. In the most recent upset, at the 56th GRAMMY Awards show on Jan. 26 2014, Macklemore took home the GRAMMYs for Best Rap Performance, Best Rap Song, Best Rap Album, and Best New Artist. Kendrick Lamar left the Awards show empty-handed although he was nominated for the same categories as Macklemore.

For many rap fans, Lamar’s loss to Macklemore was a tragedy, to say the least. However, non-rap fans, or rather, fans of other genres who also appreciate an occasional rap radio hit, were ecstatic for Macklemore’s win. Due to Macklemore’s extreme popularity in radio hits, winning Best Rap Song, Best Rap Performance, and Best New Artist were explainable to an extent; his award for Best Rap Album was nothing short of unacceptable for many rap fans, not only in the United States, but across the world.

Other nominees for Best Rap Album were Drake, Jay-Z, and Kanye West—all three of them sharing widespread success in mainstream rap for years.

Macklemore is a generally well-liked character.

He’s a good guy. His song “Same Love,” which advocates for the support of gay rights, is among one of the numerous contributions that he’s made for the gay community. People seem to respect Macklemore for being in touch with his fans and a supporter of causes that tend to be avoided in the mainstream music industry, especially rap. That being said, Macklemore is extremely aware of his role in the music industry to the point

that he cannot do anything deemed “good” by society without publicizing it to gain even a larger following. He understands that his image as a celebrity is just as important, if not more, than the actual work that he produces.

However, the GRAMMYs are about music. Macklemore did not win “Most-Likeable Artist of a Rap Album”; he won “Best Rap Album.” Kendrick Lamar focuses on his music more than his publicity. Granted, Lamar does not focus on his public image as much as Macklemore: he is a shy, slightly awkward, and reserved artist. Yet, like Macklemore, he is humble in his work.

Without getting too detailed about the comparisons of Lamar’s nominated album, “good kid m.A.A.d. city” to Macklemore’s “The Heist,” Lamar’s album was a much more conceptual album than Macklemore’s pseudo-deep pop-rap.

With polluting singles like “Thrift Shop” and “Same Love,” Macklemore experienced significantly more radio play than Kendrick’s “Swimming Pools” and “Poetic Justice.” However, the award for Best Rap Album should be for just that—Best Rap Album.

“Thrift Shop” is viewed as a pop album that’s not much more than “Thrift Shop” and “Wing$” to the majority of the rap community while “good kid m.A.A.d. city” is viewed as a complete album with unifying themes. This is not even a matter of underground versus mainstream: “good kid m.A.A.d. city” hit platinum status this summer. Among the rap community, Lamar’s album is the undisputed winner.

Macklemore even admitted that Lamar should have won over him. The day after he won his awards, he posted a screenshot of a text he sent to Lamar. “You got robbed. I wanted you to win. You should have,” said Macklemore. Although this could have just been another attempt to stop hatred from hardcore Lamar fans, Macklemore seemed genuine. Kendrick Lamar deserved to win Best Rap Album; he knows it, Macklemore knows it, and rap fans know it.

opinions | the messenger | 29

MEDIA

COLUMNS

R.I.P. Cable

RYAN SIATKOWSKI, Staff Writer

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echnology is constantly changing and that is what keeps the best technology emerging. In this Darwinist world, every computer, smartphone, and social network has its lifespan. Some last for years, some last a week, but the point is any device or service that is successful will always be phased out by the next cutting edge product. This is certainly the case for cable and satellite television.

Cable has dominated the home entertainment industry for decades.

The idea that one can have access to shows, movies, and news twentyfour hours a day changed the world. Even with on demand and recording services, cable television providers cannot compete with the vast and virtually unlimited amount of data that is accessible on the internet. However, the internet alone is not enough to cause the decline in television subscribers that has been occurring. This is where streaming services come into play.

The question, “Do you have Netflix?” has become more than just small talk. The answer to this simple question tells so much about a person’s daily activities. Having a streaming service such as Netflix, Hulu, or Amazon Prime gives the viewer an entirely new entertainment experience. Netflix lets subscribers access thousands of movies and entire TV series. Hulu gives the ability to watch new episodes days after they come out. This not only changes where people get their entertainment, but how they watch it as well.

Binge watching or Netflix marathons make it possible to watch television shows episode after episode. Viewers endlessly take advantage of the massive library. The hours and hours of content on streaming services blow cable’s 800 channels out of the water. This is due to several reasons. According to the Wall Street Journal, Time Warner Cable lost 833,000 customers last year, and 532,000 the year before.

This may be attributed to more than just the services. Comcast’s starting price for digital television is $44.99, and this price usually increases after a couple months which adds up on the bill. Netflix’s standard price is $7.99 monthly for streaming and another $7.99 for disc service.

With this price difference, cable providers cannot compete. Statistics prove that consumers are “cutting the cable cord” more than ever.

Cable and satellite companies are not entirely to blame for these steady declines in revenue. Products like Google’s Chromecast and Apple TV that facilitate streaming to televisions are becoming more affordable and offering more features. Now that these libraries are available in the living room the combination of convenience and variety makes streaming the most logical option.

Although the declines are not that noticeable, they give an insight into the future of cable and satellite TV providers. It probably will not happen overnight, but the disappearance of these companies might happen in decades to come. Every piece of technology has its prime, but it must also have its death in order to make room for the most innovative thing. In Steve Jobs’ 2005 Stanford Commencement Address, he said, “Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life’s change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new.”

30 | opinions

FASHION

CONNIE XU, Staff Writer

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he Pre-Spring and Summer collections provide a smooth transition period by gradually reintroducing the bright colors and loud prints that characterize the warmer seasons. Trends that stood out, shown by designers like Phillip Lim, Marc Jacobs, Carven, Derek Lam, and Chanel, included black and white, earth tones, small pops of pattern, and cutouts.

1. BLACK AND WHITE:

Not straying away from the dull color choices of the winter season, the collections feature a prominent black and white color scheme with occasional pops of color, usually orange and blue hues. By basing an outfit on a very simple, timeless, and harmonious color scheme, this incorporation of color seems to work effortlessly.

2. POPS OF PATTERN:

Easing into a season full of mixing bold patterns, many collections included small pops of pattern or subtle prints. These are super fun to play around with, and because there are such a wide variety of patterns, the possibilities are endless: add a patterned piece to a monochromatic outfit or try mixing a micro print with a louder one.

3. EARTH TONES:

Neutral colors evoke the desire for warmer weather. The sand color is reminiscent of sunny beaches, while the olive green resembles fresh cut grass. It is no surprise that designers chose to feature these particular colors.

4. CUTOUTS:

Cutouts are no stranger to the spring and summer collections. They are a more innovative way to add interest into an outfit; they function as both a pattern and a texture. Additionally, they can keep you cool in the warm weather.

2 1 3 4

staff editorial Universities were originally established as institutions for higher education. After completing high school education, students are able to progress further and get a degree. College serves as a stepping block into the real world, preparing students to face challenges and eventually get careers. College should remain this way regardless of the circumstance.

In general, athletic programs are valuable. College is a stressful environment for students, and providing extracurricular activities such as athletics helps ease off the tension. College athletics are known for providing students with opportunities to take rigorous courses while simultaneously training them in sports. Through these programs, students that are passionate in sports can also work to get a degree in the same college.

Universities, however, are now taking a leap too far to improve their athletic programs. In a recent controversy, University of North Carolina was accused of enrolling student athletes in “fake classes”, allowing them to take easy classes while still playing for UNC. Mary Willingham of CNN led this investigation, which administered tests to student-athletes at UNC to gauge their literacy. Willingham’s research showed that some couldn’t read well enough to follow news coverage or even read the word “Wisconsin”.

The root of the problem is the fact that athletic programs are turning into corporations rather than extracurricular activities for students to participate in. Through advertising and partnering with name brands such as Nike, Adidas, and Under Armour, colleges can make a lot of

money off of athletics. For example, in 2012 alone, the University of Texas made $163.3 million in revenue from its athletic programs and even began its own television network which is valued at over $1 billion. Colleges are earning way too much revenue from athletes, feeding their interest in college sports.

Universities are taking a step too far with athletic programs. The UNC scandal is only a glimpse of the issue with the profit from college athletes.

By earning this much money, colleges are becoming more pressured to enroll better athletes, regardless of their academic performance, which used to be the main prerequisite to getting into college.

Another issue is that the college admissions process is becoming even more competitive. Thousands of students are preparing their entire childhood life to get accepted into schools like University of North Carolina and other top tier universities. Although it makes since to lower expectations slightly for student-athletes, the academic rigor of the athletes participating in the UNC investigation is unacceptable and proves unfair to those hardworking students that deserve enrollment at the university.

We’re losing the definition of what a university is. A college is not a corporation that values athletics over its own education. Even though extracurriculars are important in a college, the purpose of a college is to help prepare students to the real world.

While colleges are profit-seekers they shouldn’t sacrifice academics for athletics. Bottom line.

opinions | the messenger | 31

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