Vol. 14, Issue 3

the messenger

VOL 14/ ISS 3

P. 15

KICKING THROUGH GENDER BARRIERS

masthead CONTACT US

EDITORS-IN-CHIEF

STAFF WRITERS

(770) 497-3828 nhsmessenger@gmail.com 10625 Parsons Rd Johns Creek, GA 30097 nhsmessenger.com

Jessica Ma Tarun Ramesh

PUBLICATION

NEWS EDITOR

Amanda Beard Brooke Casal Sophia Choi Will Claussen Rameen Forghani Sarah Jang Jack Lowrance Nithya Mahakala Austin Meng Akshay Nair Joseph Ni Dennis Ottlik Caroline Pennington Mahima Pirani Niharika Sinha Sarika Temme-Bapat Morgan White

Sneha Gubbala

The Messenger is a student publication published for and distributed to the Northview community. The statements and opinions expressed in this publication are those of the individual writers and do not necessarily reflect those of the entire staff or those of Northview High School, its students, faculty, staff, or administration. Content is edited and controlled by staff editors. The staff will publish only legally protected speech, adhering to the legal definitions of libel, obscenity, and the invasion of privacy.

Sally Pan

LETTERS TO THE EDITORS

Connie Xu

The Messenger staff welcomes letters to the editors but reserves the right to edit all submissions for length, grammar, libel, obscenity, and invasion of privacy.

ONLINE EDITOR

ADVERTISING

BUSINESS MANAGER

The Messenger publishes ads with signed contracts provided that they are deemed appropriate by the staff for the intended audience. For more information about advertising with The Messenger, please contact the business manager.

IN THIS ISSUE Cover design: Jessica Ma

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MANAGING EDITOR

SPORTS EDITOR Maggie Brenan

FEATURES EDITOR Connie Xiao

OPINIONS EDITOR Andrew Teodorescu

PHOTO EDITOR Tiffany Xu

PHOTOGRAPHERS

DESIGN EDITOR

Adriana Boice Tommy Bui Jill Jacobs Alex Jeon Annie Kong Amber Min Ben Minder Evan Moody Andrew Myers Eddie Xie

Jooeun Lee

COPY EDITOR Shelby Bradley Tanisa Mahalingam

ASSISTANT BUSINESS MANAGER Nabila Khan

ADVISER

Chris Yarbrough

DESIGNERS Bryan Liang Jane Paek Elly Sim

contents 05

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22

TARUN RAMESH

AKSHAY NAIR

STAFF

06

14

24

STAFF

CONNIE XIAO

CONNIE XIAO

EDITOR’S LETTER

MONTHLY OVERVIEW

WINTER SPORTS

XC CHAMPIONSHIPS

HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE

FOOD REVIEW

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15*

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AMANDA BEARD

MAGGIE BRENAN

SOPHIA CHOI

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18

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NIHARIKA SINHA

SARIKA TEMME-BAPAT

EVAN MOODY, MAHIMA PIRANI

THANKSGIVING PARADE

NEW SCHOOL STORE

OLIVIA MITROVICH

PHANTOM AI START-UP

YOUTUBE RED

FACE-OFF

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MAGGIE BRENAN

BROOKE CASAL, JOSEPH NI

STAFF

FOOTBALL PLAYOFFS

INTERNSHIPS

COLUMNS

THE MESSENGER | 3

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LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

Filtering for France O n Nov. 13, the world stood in solidarity with France as the Empire State Building turned red, blue and white. The Sydney Opera house followed suit, followed by the Pyramids of Giza, and the list continued. But, by far the most popular show of support was from Facebook, which created a temporary filter for users to overlay the French flag onto their profile pictures. A temporary filter had been used before during the Nepal earthquake and during Meru’s plan of an interconnected India. This time, however, the filter attracted over 63 percent of users—an all-time high.

While Facebook’s outpouring of support was admirable, the use of the French flag filter alone was questionable. A company’s support of one city during a singular attack, while countries across the Middle East, the Caucasus region, and Central Africa are plagued by ethnic warfare and extremist attacks, is deplorable. Perhaps this inherent bias of an American-based company best exemplifies the “west is best” ideology that still pervades our global community.

To be sure, the attacks on Paris were horrifying and should be condemned.

Facebook is certainly not the only party to blame for their misrepresentation and marginalization of the struggles of other countries, though the situation clearly reveals the institutionalized xenophobia found within the Western world.

France made the same blunder that the United States had made 14 years ago: immediate air strikes and bombings resulting

in high civilian casualties, all in the name of combating the Islamic State. The French government’s violent retaliation further legitimizes the extremists’ portrayal of the West as an oppressive overlord, further painting ISIS as a “savior” fighting injustice. With the closure of France’s borders, thousands of Syrian refugees attempting to flee the violence in their homeland have been left to die with inadequate medical supplies as winter sets in. In the end, no matter how many coalitions are assembled, no matter how many task forces are created, no matter how many intelligence bases are bombed, radicalism will exist and violence will erupt throughout the world if the West’s response to this situation is based on an unjustified hatred for Muslims.

There exists no certain answer as to how France should proceed—perhaps it is to work with Arabs in the area or maybe to enter negotiations with ISIS. It is important, however, to refrain from such a swift and vengeful retaliation and from fueling righteous anger with bigoted generalizations.

In the face of such strife, we must remember that all human lives are equal and invaluable. We must remember the systemic violence in Beirut, the ongoing genocide in Syria, the refugee crisis in Europe, the chaos in the Ukraine. We must remember each act of violence and stand in solidarity with every victim, instead of cherry picking the recipients of our sympathy, instead of directing all of our compassion only to the situations we deem most palatable. Vive la France, indeed—but, we cannot forget, vive le monde.

Tarun Ramesh, Editor-in-Chief

THE MESSENGER | 5

NEWS

IN BRIEF 12/08

ISIS claims over 200 lives in the span of 24 hours

11/12

Kendall Jenner and Gigi Hadid join the ranks of Victoria’s Secret supermodels

12/05

09/16 Holly Holm knocks out undefeated Ronda Rousey during the second round at UFC 193

Johns Creek Arts Festival/SPECIAL

Throughout November and December, the Northview Student Council held its annual Mimosa Gift Drive for the parents of students at Mimosa Elementary. An ongoing tradition, members of Student Council bring the school’s donations to Mimosa Elementary and help students choose Christmas gifts for their parents. In previous years, NorthFrom Oct. 17-18, the Johns view students and staff Creek Arts Festival held its fourth were donated gloves, annual event across the street scarves, perfumes, and from the Atlanta Athletic Club. various other items.

Over 100 artists from across the country had the opportunity to showcase their talents and products in the forms of paintings, jewelry, pottery, metalworks, glass, and various other novelYouTube releases music ties. Alongside art showcases, subscription service to the festival also hosted several compete with Spotify other activities, including a pet parade, several musical performances, and numerous rides and inflatables.

11/20

10/17-18 6

The Messenger’s monthly digest of events at Northview and around the world Evan Moody/STAFF

11/13 Bieber is back with his new album, “Purpose”

11/11

On Nov. 11, Northview held an assembly in honor of local veterans who have served in the military. Students gathered in the gym during second period to pay tribute to veterans from the U.S. Navy, Coast Guard, Army, Marines and Air Force. Roger Wise Jr., a guest speaker who formerly served in the United States Army medical corps, spoke about his army experiences and the importance of Veterans’ Day. Members of Northview’s JROTC organization honored the veterans with a presentation of colors, and the chorus and Chamber Winds contributed their music to the ceremony.

12/02 JK Rowling unveils new details on the movie adaptation of 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them"

11/05

On Aug. 8, 2014, Abbey Rice from the Northview class of 2015 passed away in a motor vehicle accident. “Ace for Abbey” was initiated by the National Honor Society last year.The volleyball tournament takes place on Dec. 2, in the Northview gymnasium. It will consist of 12 all-male teams, each coached by an individual Northview volleyball player. “The donations will be used for a scholarship given to a senior girl on the Northview varsity girls’ volleyball team who exemplifies the warm and loving spirit that Abbey displayed,” National Honor Society secretary Brian Lee said.

11/15 University of Missouri officials resign amidst racial protests

THE MESSENGER | 7

NEWS

Bharatnatyam in the Big Apple Kruti Dance Academy students dance their way into Macy’s Day Parade A M A N DA B E A R D, S TA F F W R I T E R Students of Kruti Dance Academy gathers to promote their upcoming performance at the Macy’s Day Parade.

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or many families, the most important part of Thanksgiving is not the feast, but rather the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, which will take place this year on Thursday, Nov. 26 at 9 a.m. in New York City.

With over 10,000 people participating and over 50 million watching, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade marks how many families kick off their holiday celebrations.

Kruti Dance Academy, a local Atlanta dance school that specializes in Bharatnatyam dance, will be dancing in the parade this year. The academy will be the first bollywood fusion group performing in the parade since the event’s inauguration 89 years ago.

“What I want other people to get out of this is the exposure to the Indian culture and seeing the fact that there are so many different aspects to our culture that are so beautiful,” senior Milika Dhru, who has been dancing at Kruti dance for the past 11 years, said.

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Kruti Dance Academy/SPECIAL

Typically, in order to be in the parade, a group must undergo an extensive amount of auditions, including auditions in New York as well as submitting application videos and information. However, the directors of the parade spotted the dance academy and invited Kruti to join the Thanksgiving celebration.

“I received a phone call from the creative director of the parade asking if we would be interested in performing.

We were told that our dance company was hand picked by the Macy’s creative team after viewing our past work on YouTube,” Dina Sheth, choreographer at Kruti Dance Academy, said. “Usually the application process consists of a year of auditioning and a very exclusive selection of acts from over thousands of applicants.

We were honored to surpass the audition process and receive a direct invitation.”

The dance group has previously competed on NBC’s “America’s Got Talent” television show in 2009, which prepared them well for the upcoming parade. They have been rehearsing for over three hours every week to train for the performance.

“Our dance teacher is telling us how it will be cold and we will have dance practice [once over there] at three in the morning,” junior Shreya Sanghvi said.

“We just have to be able to take everything in and not complain and just smile ,because that is what true dancers do.”

From “America’s Got Talent” all the way to the Macy’s Day Parade, the young women at Kruti hope to share their cultural identity with a global audience.

“Our performers are trained, energetic and hardworking group of young ladies dedicated to showcasing the beauty of Indian culture to the world,” Sheth said.

NEWS

Into the N zone Northview prepares to open new school store N I H A R I K A S I N H A , S TA F F W R I T E R

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fter years of planning, Northview’s school store is a close reality. Marketing teacher Katie Morgan is ready to bring her idea into being.

For the past two years, the Marketing Principles class has been involved in market research to find out whether or not introducing a school store would be practical for the Northview student body. Northview used to run the Agora as its school store until it was shut down at the end of the 2013-14 school year. Although started by a different department, the Agora was run by the marketing class.

“That was technically our store, but it was very basic: school supplies, [and] maybe some seasonal items. We really wanted to expand it to an actual walk-in facility, like in other schools,” Morgan said.

Neighboring schools like Milton, Johns Creek, and Alpharetta have walk-in school stores. Seeing this, Morgan began a market research project in the Marketing Principles class, and this research has shown that Northview and the marketing class do have the caliber and foundation to put a school store into practice. The first step in making the store a reality was gaining the approval of Northview’s principal, as well as that of Fulton County schools’ central office to help with both finding a location and financial support.

“We want more of like a college bookstore experience when you walk into the store. We had an architect come in and do design plans for us,” Morgan said.

The store will be housed in the old literary magazine room, room 433.

The funds raised from school store sales will initially be used as investment to aid the growth of the store. When the store finds its niche in the workings of Northview after a few years, proceeds will be used to help run the school as a whole. With everything set to go, Morgan and her classes are ready.

“Our goal now is to create that store.”

Morgan said.

Macy McKinley, junior and Marketing and Entrepreneurship student, looks forward to seeing the new school store come to fruition.

“I’m kind of pumped about the store [...]

It’ll be really cool to see what I’ve worked on become [a] reality,” McKinley said.

Her class will be the main class running the store. McKinley is motivated by the uniqueness of her marketing class, where students actually have hands-on experience.

“I think having hands-on experience like this will really help you decide what you want earlier on,” McKinley said. “You get to see what it’s like, and see what you’re good at and see where your interests are. I think for me it’s going to find my strengths and weaknesses and what I need to work on,” McKinley said. “It’s really about putting your whole heart into it.”

The marketing classes have been conducting surveys to figure out what kind of apparel and spiritwear Northview students would want in the store.

“We just want to see what will appeal to the students, and to the community, and to the faculty, and to the teachers,” McKinley said.

Along with spiritwear, the store plans to sell general school supplies, as well as birthday balloons. Morgan is also considering selling coffee in the mornings. Students will be able to shop before school and during both lunches.

There are concerns from the student body, however, regarding the usefulness of the store. Students typically buy the majority of their school supplies in the beginning of the school year, meaning that a school store open throughout the year may not profit. “[Other than] pencils, I can’t think of anything else you might really need from the store,” freshman Sydney Yim said. “I’ll probably buy school merchandise if its cute and attractive and not too expensive. [...] I guess [selling coffee] is a good idea.”

Junior Calista Mei will keep a close eye on pricing before she passes judgment on the idea.

“It’s all for the sake of convenience,” Mei said. “I would buy from them if they were reasonably priced. I’m a high school student, I’m poor.”

Despite that, the purpose of the store extends beyond students’ basic shopping needs.

“The goal for this store is really a process for the [marketing] students to see what it takes to run a business and plan out the daily activities, and how to open a business from start to finish,” Morgan said.

The store is set to open sometime in January. After much deliberation, it has been named “the N zone,” a play on the phrase “end zone” with the N standing for Northview. Morgan and her marketing students anticipate the initiation and hope for success.

THE MESSENGER | 9

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S P O RT S

First and final

The Titans break through their banner before a tough contest against Mill Creek.

Jill Jacobs/STAFF

Titans lose 46-13 to Mill Creek in first round of playoffs B R E N T M I L L E R , S TA F F W R I T E R

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he Northview Titan football team, a historically quiet and unsuccessful force among the giants of Georgia high school football, made history this year by earning a playoff berth for the second year in a row and for only the second time ever. After a strong and undefeated start to the 2015 season, they struggled throughout October and were ecstatic when their last ditch efforts were enough for the playoffs. They were faced with a daunting task though, with an undefeated and third ranked Mill Creek team standing in the way of the second round.

On Nov 13, Mill Creek, the strong favorite, overcame a mistake-ridden special teams performance to get the 46-13 win and secure their spot in the second round. Mill Creek struck first, just two minutes into the first quarter to take a 7-0 lead. The next seven minutes consisted of two Mill Creek muffed punts and a Mill Creek fumble. Despite the errors, the score remained 7-0 through the first quarter.

“We were there. Right there,” said Northview Head Coach Chad Davenport. “But, when you play someone as good as [Mill Creek], you have to be perfect.”

In a game where perfection was necessary, the Titans couldn’t deliver. Turnovers and miscues dominated play throughout the contest.

Interceptions and special teams accounted for four touchdowns, and there were a total of six turnovers in the game, not to mention the

blocked punt, blocked field goal, and fourth down stops.

“The offense never really got started. With our offense, we needed momentum,” Northview sophomore quarterback Colton McDaniel said.

At the start of the second quarter, Northview was stopped on a fourth and short opportunity on the Mill Creek 30. The two teams continued to trade fumbles, fourth downs, and punts, which eventually set up a Mill Creek punt deep in their own end zone.

Titan punt returner Chike Otaluka returned to the Mill Creek 23, and from there, with eight minutes left in the quarter, sophomore quarterback Colton McDaniel launched the ball into the end zone for senior Jair Anderson. However, the Ryan Williams extra point sailed wide, leaving the score at 6-7.

Mill Creek got a big return on the kick off, setting up a long 40 yard field goal, advancing the score to 10-6. With five minutes remaining in the first half, Northview continued to falter, and McDaniel threw a pick six on the Northview 20 yard line. Just over two minutes later, Mill Creek busted into the Northview backfield and blocked a punt, recovering the ball just nine yards from the Northview end zone. Despite the starting field position, the Northview defense was able to hold the Hawks to a field goal, bringing the first half score to 20-6, Mill Creek on top.

On the opening kickoff of the second half,

the Hawks returned the ball all the way to the house for six. The point after was blocked, leaving the scoreboard showing 26-6. The next score came when a short Northview punt to their own 31 yard line set Mill Creek up for a short drive capped off with a two yard touchdown run. With five minutes left in the third, this rush extended the Mill Creek lead to 33-6. A minute later, another McDaniel pick six in Titan territory gave the Hawks a 34 point lead. On another Mill Creek possession, the Hawks elected to go for a tough 60 yard field goal. The try was blocked at the line, and Northview senior Kameron House picked up the live ball and took it all the way back across the goal line for the score. Titan female kicker Olivia Mitrovich came into the game to knock through the extra point and bring the score to 13-46. Mill Creek then managed to score one last touchdown late in the fourth quarter to make the final score 46-13.

According to Davenport, the team was already happy to have the opportunity to compete in the Georgia state playoffs, considering their struggles during the heart of the regular season.

“When it’s all said and done, our guys will realize they were in the bracket. They were in the playoffs. We thought we were dead in the water three weeks ago,” Davenport said. “Win out and you get in the playoffs and play a great opponent like Mill Creek? That’s all you can ask for.”

THE MESSENGER | 11

Sports in brief

Northview’s winter sports teams look to the future with high hopes

A K S H AY N A I R , S TA F F W R I T E R

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Wrestling

he Northview wrestling team is in the process of rebuilding its squad after many of its athletes left for college.

“Last year, 12 seniors graduated, and so we are looking at a rebuilding year with only six returning wrestlers from last year. Of those six, one is a senior. So, leadership and discipline is key to improving this year,” Head Coach John MacDonald said.

Even though the squad may be inexperienced, MacDonald feels that key additions, such as freshman Drew Lampel and senior Gregg Leese, will strengthen the team. However there is still flaws in having an inexperienced group as high pressure situations can lead to mistakes, but with the right training and coaching the team could be championship-bound.

A

Boys’ basketball

fter an unfortunate 3-23 season for the boys’ basketball team last year, the players are recuperating for the long season ahead. However, the players are excited and hopeful to make playoffs, and the offseason has been filled with team building and mental preparation. Even with the team chemistry, the region is challenging and the Titans must to step up to the challenge, but Coach Mike Dixon does not feel that the previous season will affect them.

“Last year was last year. We struggled to finish games, we would play great for three or four periods but had a bad second or fourth period and could never recover from it. This year, my goal is to ‘finish’ games and be in it, win or lose, at the final buzzer,” Dixon said.

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Alex Jeon/STAFF

Andrew Myers/STAFF FAR ABOVE: Senior Simeon Mitchell tries to break free from a fellow wrestler during practice.

ABOVE: Sophomore Kyler McMichael crosses up Cambridge defender.

ABOVE RIGHT: Sophomore Vincent Huang practices his butterfly stroke.

BOTTOM RIGHT: Senior Maya Richards drives down the court against a Cambridge player.

S P O RT S

Andrew Myers/STAFF

Swim & dive

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he Northview swim and dive team has moved on to a new regime after the legendary coach Colin Maloney retired after 12 years at the helm. This year’s team, now led by coach Anthony Cianciola, hopes to carry the legacy left by Maloney. With the new season ahead, Cianciola has one specific goal for the team. “[We want to] improve on our overall place at state, hopefully in the top three for both boys and girls,” Cianciola said.

With the rest of the season ahead of them, it has yet to be determined how the new leadership will reflect on the mentality and results of the athletes.

Andrew Myers/STAFF

Girls basketball

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n the heels of an 8-19 season, the girls’ basketball team remains hopeful they will make the playoffs for only the third time in school history. To accomplish this goal the team has spent hours in the offseason practicing to get into form.

“We spent a lot of the offseason working on skill development and formations we will be using this year, installing a whole new offensive system and a few [techniques] to be more cohesive in everything we do,” Head Coach Chris Yarbrough said.

Yarbrough feels that new players such as Ashlee Austin and Maya Richards will provide a powerful presence on the court especially in the post. With the season fast approaching, it remains to be seen how the new implementations will affect the season.

THE MESSENGER | 13

S P O RT S

Rain check on victory

Ladies fall short of three-peat, ending a season full of obstacles C ON N I E X I A O, F E A T U R E S E D I T O R

Emily Galberd/SPECIAL LEFT: Senior Claire Finn embraces junior Michaela Davis at the conclusion of their race at Carrollton High.

ABOVE: Junior Ryan Larcinese battles rival runners in the heat of the boys’ race.

Sabrina Huang/SPECIAL

I

n early November, the Northview Titans headed down to Carrollton for the 2015 GHSA 6-AAAAAA Cross Country State Championships, wrapping up their running season with the largest school team in Northview history. The boys finished 19th in the state, moving up one ranking from last year, while the girls placed third, breaking their two-year winning streak.

Course conditions during the 6-AAAAAA race were not ideal. Following heavy rain, the ground had broken up into slippery mud, and by the time that Northview raced, entire stretches of the course had been trampled into ankle-deep mud pits. The race was no longer determined just by who was fastest.

“It becomes more of a strategical race: being able to get through the mud, navigate the tangents on the course,” Tony Cianciola, head coach of the cross country team, said. “[It’s finding] not necessarily the quickest way, but the way that has the least resistance on the path.”

Competitive teams were hit worst. Throughout the day, the favorites to win did not perform as expected, because the faster runners were drawn into the pack. Both Northview teams, however, benefited from the unexpected conditions, especially since they had encountered their

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own surprises throughout the season; sophomore Sarika Temme-Bapat, one of the top runners on the girls team, suffered a stress fracture shortly before regionals, and the girls did not expect to make the podium.

“We had some changes in our lineup, and we weren’t really favorites any more,” senior Lindsay Billings said. “[The mud] gave us a second chance.”

The situation could not subvert all of the hard work that the Titans had put in throughout the season. Junior Ryan Larcinese placed 65th in the 6-AAAAAA division, cutting more than two minutes off of last year’s time, and senior Tiffany Yue finished 8th, a jump from 34th last year. Billings dominated the course, outstripping the competition by 40 seconds to finish 1st and become a three-time state champion. She had trained extensively in the mud and was confident in her ability to prevail once more. “[Billings’s] work ethic is by far the best I’ve ever seen in any athlete, in any sport, and the results show,” Cianciola said.

With the state championships over, the cross country season ended, and the team said goodbye to its seniors. This year, Northview had both the largest team and senior section in school history, and the seniors did their best to nurture

the future team. Many of the seniors had been together since freshman year. “[I have been] in cross country from day one,” senior Aditya Patibandla said. “[Then there is] summer training, and most of the team comes back for track during the spring.

So we’re a team that’s together three-fourths of the year. Our team is [...] the most determined, hard working, open, cheerful, and it’s such a nice environment.”

When the seniors leave, underclassmen like Larcinese and Temme-Bapat will take the helm.

In the future, Cianciola plans to do year-round weight training, which the team started this season with the Fast Twitch program.

“We saw great results,” Cianciola said.

“We worked on strength, building muscle for hills, for overall endurance and just size, cause when you’re out there on a meet, against 200 people, you have to have some size so you don’t get pushed around.”

The GHSA has also planned to create a new division for the coming year, 7-AAAAAAA, which will include 44 of the state’s largest schools. Northview will remain in 6-AAAAAA, where they will likely face less competition.

“We are going to be able to get on the podium at state,” Larcinese said.

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Making history Meet Olivia Mitrovich, Northview’s first female football player MAGGIE BRENAN, SPORTS EDITOR THE MESSENGER | 15

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he Titan football team picked up a new member this season, and quite an unconventional one at that. Olivia Mitrovich, a junior and two-year varsity girls soccer player, stepped in as Northview’s JV starting kicker and varsity backup kicker earlier this fall. She decided to try out for the team after her incredibly powerful leg caught the eyes of some of the football players. ”I went out to the field with a bunch of the guys over the summer, and I was just kicking around and joking around, and they said ‘Wow, you’re good, we don’t have a kicker, come try out,’ “ Mitrovich said.

For girls, the prospect of playing football is rarely given much consideration.

But Mitrovich has aspired to play on the football team from an early age, so all it took was some polite prodding for her to try out.

“I have never had to envision Olivia holding her own with a team of boys. She has spent years playing on all boy teams starting at age three. She has played on so many boys’ teams that it really is the norm for us,” Kristen Mitrovich, Olivia’s mother, said.

Prior to her tryout, Mitrovich’s biggest concern was not what the other football players would think or how they would treat her, but fatigue from a recent soccer tournament.

“I was a little bit scared about what would happen, since I had a soccer tournament the weekend of my tryout and I played six games and then turned around and tried out for football,” Mitrovich said. “I was kind of scared about being ready for [the tryout], and I was scared about how the guys would react. I was friends with most of the guys but I didn’t know some of them. It turned out there was nothing to worry about.”

Mitrovich’s tryout was a typical one. She

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D D O O T T D E D TE NT AN W WA O V IC H IA M IT R O L IV

parents had some reservations about the season ahead and about her reception. According to the National Federation of State High School Associations, only 1,561 girls across the entire country played football in high school last year. Girls joining football teams always garner media attention because of their rarity, but little precedence exists concerning the community’s response.

“My biggest fear in her playing was that she would be harassed by the parents and students. I wasn't sure how open minded people would be with having a girl on the team,” her mother said. “I never worried about her

ability, I knew she had the talent.”

As the season progressed, however, it became clear that the team completely accepted Mitrovich. Initially, her presence was a shock to some members, but an exciting addition for others.

“I was a little worried for her because I did not want her getting hurt, but at the same time I was actually fascinated and excited to have a girl on the team,” varsity teammate Dylan Burns said.

The coaching staff, including Davenport, also experienced this initial surprise, but the feeling quickly diminished when they became aware of her ability. She receives equal treatment with other team members, the only difference being the locker room that she uses.

“At first, some of the coaches were very standoffish, but as we’ve gone on they’ve become really close with me,” Mitrovich said. “Davenport was very opposed to it at first. I think that it was just the fact that I was a girl, and he didn’t think I could hold my own. But once he realized that I could hold my own, he was fine with it.”

Davenport’s apprehension and discomfort stemmed from a lack of prior experience. Although Mitrovich is not the first female to ever join a football team, she is the first to ever do so at Northview. Once Davenport recognized the necessity of filling her open position and acknowledged that Mitrovich’s presence would be no distraction at all, however, his hesitation slowly subsided.

“I was not very happy about it, to be honest.

It’s just not something I’m accustomed to, but after talking with Coach McDaniel, who is our Assistant Director [and] kind of runs our JV program, he [reminded me that] we don’t really have anybody that’s kicking for [the JV team] at all,” Davenport said. “I think she saw a need as far as kicking, and that’s something she does and that

Title IX of the Education Amendments mandates inclusion of financial equality in collegiate sports

Women’s Football Alliance (WFA) created as the first full tackle women’s league in the nation

1972

2009

Women’s Professional Football League (WPFL) created in Cleveland

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tried out after practice, in the company of both the varsity and JV teams. Her tryout was relatively private, with only Mitrovich, the snapper, the holder, and the coaches.

“I didn’t want to make a big deal about it so we didn’t do it during the practice. She came after practice, [...] the second week of school,” head coach Chad Davenport said. “Me and Coach McDaniel were there watching her, and she did really well.”

Although Mitrovich’s confidence level ran high going into the tryout, her

1975

Place kicker Patricia Palinkas becomes first female professional football player

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S P O RT S she wanted to do, and so she met a need for us.

That’s what I like about her the most, she’s doing it for the right reasons.”

The rest of the community has also responded with acceptance and support. Mr. and Mrs. Mitrovich have received countless emails, texts, and phone calls with words of encouragement.

Although Mitrovich has had the potential to garner media attention from this experience, she has chosen not to. The possibility that other girls facing gender obstacles might look to her as a role model does not intimidate her.

“I didn’t really think about that at the time.

I’ve had a few clubs that have come up to me and asked me to be an advocate for them and speak for them and stuff, but honestly I just [tried out for the team] because it’s something I’ve always wanted to do, and just because I’m good at sports and I knew I could contribute,” Mitrovich said.

Mitrovich’s quiet dignity is reminiscent of Ashley Martin, the first woman to score points in a Division I football game at Jacksonville State University. Women across the globe have slowly advanced in traditionally male-dominated sports for the past half century, but the prospect of women in football still tends to startle onlookers. Although there are several semi-professional women’s football teams across the country, the notion of women and men sharing a field in the NFL is unheard of. One by one, however, women are beginning to break through the gender barrier in football, even on the high school level: Erin DiMeglio, the first girl to ever play quarterback in Florida high school football history, Tami Maida, the first high school football quarterback to be crowned homecoming princess—and now, Olivia Mitrovich, the first girl score points in a Georgia state playoff game in the last decade.

“It meant a lot to know I had a part in Georgia history, even if it’s just a tiny sliver,” Mitrovich said.

Junior Olivia Mitrovich prepares to kick at football practice after school. Mitrovich recently became the first female football player to score points at a state playoff game in Georgia high school history.

NABILA KHAN/STAFF

Milestone reached permitting women to play in the National Football League(NFL)

Jen Welter becomes first women to play in a contact position in a men’s professional league

2012

2014

!! !! !! !!

2013

Kicker Lauren Silberman becomes the first woman to try out for the NFL

2015

Olivia Mitrovich joins Northview Titan varsity football team as a kicker

THE MESSENGER | 17

FEATURES Tiffany Xu/STAFF

Starting up Northview seniors take entrepreneurship to a new level S A R I K A T E M M E - B A PA T, S TA F F W R I T E R

S

eniors Sanjit Kumar, Santhosh Subramanian, Rishi Rao, and a team of Northview students created Phantom AI earlier this year. It is a medial diagnostic software that they hope will transform the lung cancer diagnosis process.

Working for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and doing data mining over the summer, Subramanian read over thousands of research reports. When he came over one he found particularly interesting, he brought it to Kumar. The article was a study that took Computerised Tomography (CT) scans of 53,000 patients. Radiologists in the study diagnosed 20,000 people with lung cancer. According to the article 96.4% of those patients studied were false positive, misdiagnosed patients who had no cancer. The two realised a need for a more effective way to diagnose tumors.

“If we were to make this in the next 20 years, it would pioneer the entire software industry.”

SANJIT KUMAR “You can’t guess in the medical industry, and that’s the problem with the current software. It doesn’t give you any insight,” Kumar said.

Biopsies, the process of removing a sample of tissue and testing it for cancer, are emotionally and physically painful procedures, not to mention extremely expensive, so wrongly diagnosing a tumor as malignant can come at a great cost.

“There is around 23 billion dollars spent per year by insurance companies for biopsies, and only around 5% of that should be spent,” Kumar said, “We can save $15 billion”.

The software that Kumar and Subramanian developed takes the up to 200 slices of imaging from CT scan of the lung and analyses the tu18

mor for its minute details: calcification, density, size, and color. It compares this information to a bank of stored data of previous diagnoses. This allows the doctor to make a better guess as to whether or not the tumor is truly malignant, reducing the number of false positives. This means less pain and anxiety for patients, and less money spent by insurance companies.

Kumar and Subramanian collaborated with Sarang Janakiraman, Kumar’s friend from Austin, Texas, to design the algorithm for the software, while Kovid Bioanalytics, a tech team in India, assisted with the coding. Rao took on the legal parts of the job, searching for lawyers, patents, and licenses, registering the company, and managing finances.. Senior Siddharth Satuluru (Executive Vice President), Aditya Patibandla (Co-Vice President of Research), Joonas Koski (Vice President of Sales), Akshay Raman (Co-Vice President of Marketing), and Raju Sajja (Co-Vice President of Marketing) all got on board and became part of Phantom AI. Maverick, the company developing the technology for the software, owns 30% of Phantom AI. The team credits JP James, an investor who acts as the team’s mentor, with many of their accomplishments.

After the idea took root, the team put their company on Angel.com, a site that matches investors with start up businesses.

“We just finished a $5 million investment deal with the investor, Dr. Mohammed Ali,” Kumar said. “And we’re about to sign another deal with an investor.”

Since its inception over the summer, the company has enjoyed unprecedented success for a software designed by high school students, and if all goes well, the company will soon make profits to be split among the team members. Phantom AI charges hospitals by a pay-per-report system, meaning that the hospital pays for the software every time they use it to make a diagnosis. The higher its success rate, the more insurance companies—the main customer for the software—will buy it.

“We worked really hard, but everything kind of really fell into place,” Kumar said.

The team must now apply for a utility patent and have their software approved by the FDA. After that is done, the technology is set to be a game changer in the field of medical diagnosis.

“This is the first thing of its kind to really use big data analysis, and machine learning technology, to really create a software that will use past data to make predictions about the future” Kumar said, “If we were to make this in the next 20 years, it would pioneer the entire software industry.

THE MESSENGER | 19

A look into the future Northview students take on internships to prepare for the future B RO O K E C A S A L , S TA F F W R I T E R J O S E P H N I , S TA F F W R I T E R

LEFT: Senior Saisha Mediratta promotes the AAJC’s goal of legal services for minority groups.

AAJC/SPECIAL

RIGHT: Junior Animesh Koratana reflects on his work with Johns Hopkins and other parts of the medical community.

SAISHA MEDIRATTA

N

orthview senior Saisha Mediratta and junior Animesh Koratana both sought internships during their summer break. Internships resemble full time jobs, although not all interns are paid.

Unlike in a traditional classroom, students learn by doing on-the-job training.

“You get first hand experience in something that you love,” Saisha Mediratta said, “it’s not just reading out of a textbook.”

Mediratta’s interned with Asian Americans Advancing Justice’s Atlanta affiliate. AAJC is a national nonprofit that promotes Asian American visibility, political organization, and rights. The organization usually accepts college students for internships, but welcomes high school students like Mediratta. As an Asian American herself, Mediratta could personally identify with the cause of AAJC. “You don’t see a lot of Asian Americans in politics,” Mediratta said.

20

During her four-month paid internship, Mediratta participated in a mobile conference called Dream Writers. She traveled around the nation making impassioned speeches about unfair immigration policy and helped fulfill AAJC’s goal to provide legal services to individuals who are eligible for DACA. DACA, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, helps undocumented immigrant youth in the US receive work permits, social security numbers, and driver’s licenses legally.

On these tours, she met many people and was particularly honored to meet the chairman of Coca-Cola, who was also the first African American woman to go to Westminster High School. Furthermore, she got the opportunity to visit Washington D.C. Mediratta also wrote a policy brief on civic education; the brief focused on how educating youth voters would raise the abysmal voter rates, a problem in the country today.

“We love Saisha. She is very responsible, quick to learn, passionate and wise beyond her years!” Jessica Frankel, who works at AAJC, said.

Her internship was not all fun and games, however. She worked forty hours a week, just like a normal employee would.

“It was a little bit of a shock when she ended up coming home later than both me and her dad,” Anupa Mediratta, Saisha’s mother, said.

Mediratta’s internship gave her the experience and knowledge needed to fulfill her own ambition of running a voter registration education campaign in Northview next semester, where political participation among young people, especially Asian Americans, is lacking.

However, the Northview senior loved her internship. In her future, she wishes to find employment in the field of policy work, particularly in foreign policy.

“Be yourself and learn how you work,” Mediratta said.

FEATURES

ANIMESH KORATANA

J

unior Animesh Koratana formed his own internship program to assist professors at Johns Hopkins University with projects focused on using computer sciences to help expand the medical field.

Koratana spent eight to nine hours every day the past summer working on projects for this internship, which has extended into the school year as well.

Koratana’s internship deal with artificial intelligence, natural language processing, and grade computing. All aspects of computer science help further the fields of medical aspects.

Koratana has worked on major projects during his internship, including some that had yet to be explored.

“We analyzed Yik Yak’s data. Being able to analyze the data helped find trends in drugs and things like substance abuse.

You wouldn’t be able to find that information otherwise,” Koratana explains.

Koratana was also able to be a part of a project that used artificial intelligence techniques to model protein folding.

“We are being able to find out what the next version of a virus will look like before they even occur, such as the flu. It helps doctors do more studies and find ways to create cures for the next version of a virus,” Koratana said.

Several classes at Northview have helped Koratana continue his and broaden his knowledge, such as the AP math and science classes. Koratana is also a captain of the robotics club and has done projects for the Northview science fair that allows him to utilize his knowledge.

Andrew Myers/STAFF

The world behind an internship is different from the everyday life of an ordinary high school student, according to Koratana. Responsibilities a student has at Northview are relatively simple compared to the things you are responsible for during an internship.

“People are counting on you, and whatever happens is because of you in that internship. When you are assigned a project whether a success or fail is because of you,” Koratana states.

According to Koratana, internships entail substantial pressure from colleagues

and require a great deal of maturity and time management skills. His experience with the internship program has taught him about responsibility and adulthood, and he now applies this to his schoolwork.

“Animesh has done so much and we are so proud of how far he has come,” Gopal Koratana, Animesh’s father, said.

Animesh Koratana was able to create an internship revolving around what he wants to do after high school. Being able to experience what being an adult and having the responsibilities of his dream job paves the road ahead of him.

THE MESSENGER | 21

features

2015

holiday gift guide We’ve got you covered—from the beauty expert to the gadget junkie, there’s something for everyone on your list. lifestyle

under

Moleskine Classic Large Ruled Hardcover Notebook $18, Amazon

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$ beauty

fashion

L’Occitane Hand Cream Delights $14, Sephora

tech Lumsing Ultra Slim Portable Power Bank $15, Amazon

J. Crew Marled Cotton Socks $17, J. Crew

Forever 21 Chunky Knit Scarf $13, Forever 21

lifestyle Rifle Paper Co. 2016 Garance Doré Wall Calendar $26, Rifle Paper Co.

beauty Lorac PRO Palette $42, Ulta fashion H&M Jacquardknit Sweater $40, H&M

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under

50

$

Timex Weekender 40 Watch $44, Timex

tech Urbanears Plattan Over-Ear Headphones $49, urbanears.com

beauty

under

Clarisonic Mia 2 Keith Haring “Love” Skin Cleansing System $149, Sephora

100

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tech lifestyle Kinfolk Magazine subscription $60, kinfolk.com

USA Toyz Quadcopter Drone with HD Camera, Return Home Function, and Headless Mode $120, Amazon

over

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100

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IT Brushes for Ulta Your Airbrush 6-Pc Advanced Brush Set $65, Ulta tech

fashion

JBL Flip 3 Splashproof Bluetooth Portable Speaker $97, Amazon

Zara Suede Jacket $169, Zara

Archival Navy Duck Day Pack $160, Archival Clothing fashion Michael Kors Jet Set Saffiano Leather Phone Wristlet $98, Nordstrom

lifestyle Diptyque Mini Candle Set $130, Nordstrom

CPO Ruskin Deck Jacket $99, Urban Outfitters THE MESSENGER | 23

FEATURES

Writers’ Digest

Noosh Kitchen The Messenger’s monthly food review

C ON N I E X I A O, F E A T U R E S E D I T O R

C

hef and owner of Noosh Kitchen, Nooshin Yazdani, began her career in her own kitchen, making Persian food that she shared with the community. When demand grew for her culinary creations, Nooshin and her husband, Saeid Yazdani, opened up their own restaurant. Noosh Kitchen serves authentic Persian food with a decidedly healthy air, with no additives, preservatives, or tenderizers.

Located in an unassuming strip mall off of Jones Bridge Road, the bistro immediately captured my attention with its beautiful wall murals and soft, candle-lit, cozy space. Maybe because it was Sunday night, or maybe because Noosh is tucked away from the roadside in a largely non-trafficked plaza, but the restaurant was not very full; a few groups were finishing their meals when we walked in, and customers trickled in for take-out orders.

Service throughout the night was fantastic.

The server patiently explained each of the dishes and helped assemble an all-encompassing variety of appetizers for the Taste of Persia dish.

The hummus was more mealy than most, and each mouthful had real “bite” to it. The masto-khiyar, a chilled, tangy yogurt-based dip with shredded cucumbers, cooled the mild heat of the Eggplant Delight, a warm eggplant dish with peppers and tomatoes. The Eggplant Delight tasted similarly to the mirza ghasemi, another warm eggplant dish with eggs and tomatoes.

Perhaps the weakest dish was the baba ghanoush, which was not smoky enough and the least complex in flavor.

The entrées were delicious, especially considering the price. The house kabob or beef koobideh, consisted of ground beef, seasoned not too strongly and just right. The lamb shank easily fell off the bone, but the meat itself was still firm and chewy. This dish was perhaps the least satisfactory; one medium leg of lamb lay in the stew, accompanied by nothing but inconveniently large vegetable chunks. The chicken makhsoos was the strongest dish of the night. Organic chicken is marinated in yogurt and herbs, producing a dish with a refreshing

flavor that wakes up the tongue. All entrées were accompanied by a salad and saffron rice, but specialty rices, filled with dried berries or nuts, could be substituted. Although the specialty rice, Zereshk Polo, was flavorful, berries and pistachios were sparse and not worth the almost $4 charge.

Noosh Kitchen offers healthy Persian food at a reasonable price, and is worth a stop for a weekend dinner or date. The Messenger will definitely be back.

LAMB SHANK

CHICKEN MAKHSOOS

N O O S H K I TC H E N 11880 Douglas Rd #200 Johns Creek, Ga. 30005 (770) 609-8133 This article was not sponsored by Noosh Kitchen.

All photos by Connie Xiao/STAFF

THE TASTE OF PERSIA 24

O P I N I ON S

Rolling out the red carpet The new paid service of YouTube Red is destroying the core idea that brought YouTube to its popularity S O P H I A C H O I , S TA F F W R I T E R

Y

ouTube is making an offer to video creators that they literally cannot refuse. For $9.99 a month, users can subscribe to YouTube Red, which allows them to watch YouTube without advertisements and provides faster video loading times. The service will also include access to Google Play Music, video downloads, offline playability, and the ability to use smartphone apps while listening to music on YouTube in the background. YouTube even plans to start allowing creators to publish videos that are available only to YouTube Red subscribers.

In a public statement, a spokesperson for YouTube boasted that 99 percent of creators have already signed the deal with YouTube Red. This would seem quite an impressive indicator of the potential benefit of YouTube Red for both viewers and creators, if it were not for the fact that creators are essentially forced to agree to the contract— the videos of those who have not yet agreed to the terms of YouTube Red have been set to private, meaning that nobody else is able to view the content.

Nothing about YouTube Red is especially revolutionary for creators; it may be months before they start to see an increase in revenue thanks to Red, if any at all. Currently, it is unlikely that enough people will subscribe to YouTube Red in order to make up for the revenue lost by removing advertisements for those subscribers. There is also the chance that the money that each creator earns for subscriptions falls short of the amount earned using ads shown to avid viewers over the course of a month, even after accounting for the loss of revenue due to ad blockers, which YouTube cited as one of the reasons for the creation of YouTube Red. Perhaps what is most insulting about YouTube’s new service is that it sets a certain standard for the content that exists on YouTube. In reality, YouTube is not only a collection of videos from celebrities and major companies. YouTube Red users are paying the same price as a month-long Netflix subscription for ad-free music videos, celebrity vlogs, and home cat videos.

The greatest impact that this new service will have, however, is how it will change the very core of YouTube that spiked its initial popularity. After its launch in 2005, YouTube enjoyed overwhelming success with its simple notion of a website for uploading and viewing videos without charge. After it became a medium through which people and corporations, both large and small, shared their art, music, and other content, the site introduced advertisements to make revenue for itself and its contributors. With the introduction of YouTube Red, however, it seems as though the Internet will see a split in the community created around YouTube, separated by subscriber-exclusive content and the prioritization of certain viewers’ YouTube experiences over others.

Red currently seems to exist mostly to benefit YouTube—and by extension, its parent company, Alphabet (previously known as Google)—rather than creators. The forced introduction of Red brings with it the dawn of a new, likely unpopular era in YouTube’s history.

It is a manipulative business tactic disguised as a push for art appreciation.

THE MESSENGER | 25

faceoff

SHOULD SCHOOLS PREPARE STUDENTS TO BE POLITICALLY ACTIVE?

Many American adolescents are coming of age just in time for the 2016 presidential election. In an age known for its strongly opinionated millenials and increasingly polar political atmosphere, should public schools include political activity in the general curriculum?

26

O P I N I ON S

YES:

F

ive major political parties. Over 30 minor ones. Ten national news networks. And just a little under one year until millions of high school students will be able to vote for the first time in a presidential election.

The decision is indubitably a prominent one; with over 25 million 1824 year olds in the United States, high school and college students comprise a very powerful demographic, enough to sway an election. The decision they make on the ballot will determine the next four years of their lives: student loans, cost of tuition, welfare. It would be a shame if students were unaware of how to voice their opinions on these issues that are central to their lives.

Unfortunately, of those 25 million youth voters, only 38 percent of them sub-

M A H I M A P I R A N I , S TA F F W R I T E R mitted ballots in the last presidential election. What about the other 62 percent?

Perhaps they simply did not care. Perhaps they did not know how. Perhaps they did not even know who they should vote for.

All of these are valid reasons. The presidential election process is tricky, complicated, made even more so due to the bias of politicians and the American press.

As millennials, we pride the prevalence of technology in our lives, flaunt its social, economic, and political potential.

We often cling to this potential, forgetting to take it with a grain of salt. We leave ourselves vulnerable to the predatory influence of the media, often thoughtlessly persuaded to think or act or even vote a certain way because Jon Stewart or Anderson Cooper or Beyoncé said so. Our opinions are no longer our own. And in

a democratic republic that functions on opinion, this is viciously disempowering.

The elderly are not paying college tuition like we will. They are not pulling out student loans like we will. They are not entering the workforce like we will. They are not preparing to live and marry and raise children in this society like we will.

Their political voice is nearly twice as loud as ours because students feel uncomfortable in their role as voters, disenfranchised by the political system, or entirely confused by the election process itself.

Schools can change this. By learning about political processes and current events and decision-making factors in the unbiased vacuum that schools could provide, students could be empowered to combat the media’s vigilant attempts to pilfer their voices in issues in which their voice is uniquely pivotal to.

NO:

I

t is entirely common for a student to say they hear their parents discussing their votes for the upcoming election or that they agree or disagree with their parents’ political alignment. However, while many high school students are interested in politics, not quite as many are interested in pursuing the means to become informed voters. People who receive most of their political news from a singular biased source—their family, a news channel, a particular newspaper—tend to share the views of the biased sources that they are surrounded by. Teens may lean left or right of their parents views, but usually not by enough to constitute voting for a different party. According to a 2005 Gallup Poll, 71 percent of teens claim that they share roughly the same political ideology with their parents.

E VA N M O O DY , S TA F F W R I T E R Teens are not exactly more politically impressionable than adults by nature, but rather they are constantly in environments where they are potentially subject to such impressions. Parents may discuss politics at home with their children and pull them towards certain biased views.

Similarly, teachers may blatantly expose their own political views in the classroom and sway the views of their students. If the school feels the need to give their students the opportunity to learn about politics, an elective class or optional seminar should be allotted to discuss politics without bias as per request by the students.

Perhaps one of the most central elements to our nation’s democratic ideals is the belief in the power of voting. The media exposes us to the latest political news,

but without a lens to filter the bias embedded in our media, teens are limited in their ability to become informed voters.

One of the main objectives of the American public education system is to produce active members of the American community. Our teachers prepare us to meet these expectations, and the role of our education system in creating informed voters may seem to suggest that political discourse should be welcomed in schools.

However, we must be careful of what kind of information we want to receive at school. A political ideology is built largely on moral standpoints, as are religious ideologies. To allow these ideologies to be spilled upon such an impressionable demographic as our nation’s youth would be akin to crossing over church and state in our secular democracy.

THE MESSENGER | 27

C O LU M N S

S TA F F E D I TO R I A L

Trapped in a holi-daze A utumn holds in store nostalgic memories of eating caramel apples, of seeing beautiful falling leaves, of feeling a windy breeze blow away the harsh heat of summer. The warm feelings of autumn are dulled, however, when stores begin displaying Christmas products in September. The fond memory of playing in a pile of leaves disappears and the anxiety of holiday shopping consumes consumers, killing any sense of the autumn spirit.

Most people love the winter holidays, and though they can be stressful, most people look forward to the break from work and meeting with family and friends. With that being said, to dedicate over one-third of the year to selling Christmas products is taking seasonal commercialism a bit too far.

Christmas has crept into stores earlier and earlier each year to overshadow all other nearby holidays. In mid-October, Costco’s Christmas section was three times larger than its Halloween section. Emphasizing the importance of a holiday that is two months away more than one that is two weeks away is chronologically absurd.

Christmas product set-ups are not the only thing that companies are rolling out earlier every year; Black Friday has also started coming early. Last year, department stores began opening their doors for their annual Black Friday sales as early as Thanksgiving afternoon. Sea-

28

sonal items have also reached shelves earlier in the year. Starbucks began serving pumpkin spice lattes as early as Sept. 8. The early availability of seasonal items is an increasingly-popular scheme used by companies to make sales during off-months nearly as high as those during the holiday season. Even just the sight of seasonal items opens up a world of possibilities in the common shopper’s mind. Customers not only buy Christmas decorations but also by seeing Christmas decoration arrangements are more inclined to buy items like presents and holiday foods since they associate these arrangements with the proximity of Christmas itself.

Since some holidays are not thought of as big spending events, companies do not advertise them to the extent nor for the same length of time as they focus on Christmas.

This under-coverage of the holiday spirit and over-coverage of gifts shifts are nation’s focus to the superficial side of the holidays. Christmas has been commercialized in America to become innately associated with the idea of buying and receiving gifts, rather than holding associations with the ideas of love and unity.

While seeing a holiday product set-up a few months early is not going to ruin anyone’s day, at some point, it gets out of hand. Nobody wants to see Santa Claus in July. Sometimes it is hard to let go of the things we love.

But unlike some things in life, the holidays will always be constant.

C O LU M N S

COMMENTS

This is America, where we speak American The rising tide of anti-intellectualism in America is throwing even the most basic of our nation’s ideals into jeopardy.

A N D R E W T E O D O R E S C U, O P I N I ON S E D I T O R

A

s Americans, we pride ourselves on the freedoms and opportunities that exist within our nation. While we may wave our flags, sport our patriotic colors, and pledge allegiance whenever possible, the way that we understand our freedoms is inherently flawed. We envision our rights to be everlastingly solidified. Our English teachers tell us that they are terrible at Math, and that it is okay to be terrible at Math, because we need not know everything. Our Math teachers tell us that they are terrible at English, and that is okay, too.

The common American blatantly rejects topics that are difficult to comprehend, topics that challenge beliefs and warrant legitimate discussion.

There are certainly many Americans who strive to learn, to create, to grow; our nation was built by leaders. However, the silent majority of Americans watch the world as outsiders, or seemingly do not watch it at all. In Pew’s 2011 News IQ quiz, only 38 percent of Americans were able to identify David Cameron the prime minister of Britain. As one of our oldest allies, a strong player in interna-

tional politics, and the home of the Beatles, one would think that most Americans would know the most important person in Britain.

Turning a blind eye to the rest of the world has become so prevalent that it is now a cultural norm in America.

Americans’ common lack of interest in current events is not limited only to the international spectrum, but it has also seeped over into domestic politics. A survey conducted by Rasmussen in May of 2012 found that only 37 percent of American voters were closely following the presidential election for that year.

However, many that were not following the election still voted, likely on the basis of whatever political party they are predisposed to.

Roughly 58 percent of the American voting population cast votes in the 2012 presidential election, a figure 21 percent greater than the percent of those closely following the election.

The overlap of anti-intellectualism and patriotism creates an odd trend that declares that it is cool to vote, but not cool to know who or what one is voting for.

America’s war against knowledge spills into every crack of American life. We dis-

courage political discussion with friends.

We negatively label people that seek success as “overachievers.” We make no feasible attempts to learn other languages and to appreciate other cultures because we believe that English is the most useful language and that American culture triumphs all. We obsess over the idea that America is great with little understanding of or valuable input into the process that makes it great.

The ultimate result of this war against knowledge is disconnection. Americans are disconnected from each other and from the world community because we avoid social discussion about current events and new international developments. We find it difficult to relate to other cultures due to our own culture that separates America from all other countries. We are uninformed on all fronts.

It is unrealistic and unnecessary to expect all Americans to share the same tenacity about the world as a Political Science professor, but we cannot continue to popularize the idea that it is uncool to care about the events that inevitably shape our lives and the lives of billions of others.

THE MESSENGER | 29

music

C O LU M N S

C A RO L I N E P E N N I N G T O N , S TA F F W R I T E R

Hello

Adele

Justin Bieber

Adele shook up the world’s airwaves with her lead single, “Hello”, released on October 23. It is the lead single for her much-anticipated upcoming third studio album, “25.” The song instantly skyrocketed in popularity as Adele’s powerful voice flowed throughout the song, radiating emotions about past loves for its almost 5 minute duration. The song held a spot on the famed Billboard’s Hot 100 list and claimed the title as the first song to ever break one million digital sales in one week.

Its music video even broke Taylor Swift’s record of the most views on YouTube in 24 hours, beating Swift’s 20.1 million views with an impressive 27.7 million.

Upcoming Releases

Various Purpose Justin Bieber surprised both old and new fans with the release of his new album, “Purpose,” on November 13. Although the sounds between each individual song do not differ much, the sound of the album as a whole deviates far from his beginning songs like “Baby,” “One Time,” and newer songs like “Beauty and a Beat.” The songs have more of an R&B feel than his pop and hip hop origins, allowing Bieber to take on a sound similar to that of The Weeknd. The first single released from the album, “What do you mean?” was Bieber’s first number one Billboard Hot 100 single. The album was his first full album since 2012, and like his preceding works, has been a complete success. Bieber will appear in concert at Philips Arena on December 17, 2015 and April 12, 2016.

30

Zayn Malik is rumored to be dropping his own solo album in the new year. It is unknown what genre Malik will pursue: the R&B, hip hop, or pop path? Only the release will tell. Cage the Elephant is expected to release an album, “Tell Me I’m Pretty” by the end of December.

It’s expected that they will follow the rock patterns that they have been sticking to in their 9 year life as a band.

Considering the success of their last album, released in 2013, it will be interesting to see what the band can produce this time around. Coldplay’s seventh studio album, “A Head Full of Dreams” will be released on December 4. Pop singers Beyoncé and Tove Lo will join the members of Coldplay in some songs off this album. The rock-pop fusion will surely be a topic of discussion for months to come.

fashion

C O LU M N S

C ON N I E X U, D E S I G N E D I T O R

06.

06.

03.

spotlight on: Saint Laurent 01.

04.

04.

07.

05.

02.

Yves Saint Laurent, one of the world’s most coveted luxury fashion brands, was established in 1961

by Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé. It is historically best known for its tailored, monochromatic designs, such as the women’s tuxedo suit. Since Saint Laurent’s passing in 2008, his iconic approach to fashion lives through creative director Hedi Slimane. Slimane remains true to the brand with his clean, modern designs, while including his own nods to certain music and cultural subcultures with his use of hardware, bold patterns, and glitter. His talent to design clothing that is rebellious, yet glamorous, tough, yet classy has attracted a younger clientele, among those many musicians and actors, and has become an inspiration to many fashion lovers alike.

08.

01. macy’s jacket, converse blouse, h&m trousers+ 04. + 05. + 06. + 07. hedi slimane for saint laurent, pictures from saint laurent collection/ hedi slimane photo diar y 08. h&m jacket, vintage top, forever 21 scar f, h&m jeans

THE MESSENGER | 31

For the best teachers, FOR THE BEST TEACHERS, THE the learning BESTbest LEARNING ENVIRONMENT, environment, and the AND THE BEST RESULTS best results CLASSES OFFERED

Math and English classes for all levels Intensive SAT, PSAT, and ACT classes Competition math classes (AMC, AIME, ARML, etc.)

Remote live class session available (new)

PROGRAM BENEFITS

CONTACT US (404) 388-6303

10475 Medlock Bridge Rd, Suite 505 Johns Creek, GA 30097 Email us at teacher@alltopschool.com

Multimedia, high-tech, interactive teaching environment Instant feedback, dynamic online homework system Over 500 students enrolled in program Strategies and tactics proven to increase test-taking skills High rates of winning top three places in the last several years’ national competitions, including AMC 10/12 and Mathcounts. High rates of perfect scores on the SAT.

TEACHER PROFILES Math teacher: Main instructor Dr. Chen, Math Ph.D. Five years of experience as university professor in China China Mathematics Olympiad coach Over 15 years of experience teaching math in the U.S.

English teachers: Honors and AP Language Arts teachers from local high-ranking high schools

NOW HIRING Teachers and teaching assistance

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