April2016-NHS Omniscient

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Points of Interest

April 2016

The Omniscient

In Loving Memory of Lara Summers

Chloe Gruesbeck/The Omniscient

Many students were able to vote for the first time in the N.C. primary, March 15. pg 6

December 3, 1997-April 6, 2016 Correction: In January’s editorial column titled “WorkKeys Testing: Confused teachers, upset students,” The Omniscient incorrectly stated that TV announcements and fliers were not used to advertise the WorkKeys test. The Omniscient apologizes for the mistake.

Adrianne Cleven/The Omniscient

Families are often torn apart when a parent is incarcerated. pg 8

- THE NORTHWOOD -

O M N IS C IE N T EDITORS Chloe Gruesbeck Editor-in-Chief

Ellie Saksa Opinion & Social Media Editor

Becca Heilman Managing & Online Editor Sawyer Davis Layout Editor Photo courtesy of Andrea Powell Ferguson

Local actress Andrea Powell Ferguson has played roles in movies such as Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part II and Ender’s Game. pg 16

Adrianne Cleven Opinion Editor

STAFF WRITERS Madison Clark Jacqueline Condrey Jessie Craig Natalie Fragnito Sara Heilman Carter Owings-Hurgronje Leah Kallam Jessica Kolomichuk Chloe Maynard

Davis Palermo Emmy Robertson Tory Scott Hannah Gail Shepherd Sarah Helen Shepherd Briana Stone Harleigh White

ADVISOR Neal Morgan nmorgan@chatham.k12.nc.us

The Northwood Omniscient is published by journalism students at Northwood High School. It aims to present accurate coverage of events of interest to our readers, as well as provide an open forum for the opinions of students, faculty and the community.

We welcome letters to the editor, which can be delivered to the advisor in Room 607 or sent to the school’s address. Letters must be signed, and the staff reserves the right to reject any letter containing libelous statements, to edit for length and to ascertain the truthfulness of the content.

Unsigned editorials represent the majority view of the editorial board. Columns, letters and cartoons represent the views of the authors.

Ethan Hyman/Raleigh News & Observer/MCT

Northwood alumnus Tobias Palmer was recently signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers. pg 24

Front Cover: A vacant cell block in an old Chatham County jail.

Photo Credit: Adrianne Cleven

April 2016

The Omniscient

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Mr. and Mrs. Coach Hall: A conversation with the Halls

By Adrianne Cleven Opinion Editor

Football coach Bill Hall and instructional coach and testing coordinator Kim-Marie Hall have been married since 2007. Recently they spoke separately regarding their connection to the school and each other. Responses have been edited for length.

On the ways their spouse supports them inside and outside of school: Mrs. Hall: Well, that’s probably why we get along so well; this is a very time-consuming and a mentally and physically demanding profession. It’s a “takes one to know one” kind of thing, so he has a great appreciation for my level of tired and my level of needs…. I always have done stats for the football team, because it’s one of those “If you can’t beat them, join them” [situations], so you might as well find a way to be a part of it. This is our second marriage for both of us, and one of the things that we talked a lot about was the fact that our former spouses kind of resented the fact that we spent so much time at school. And even at home you’re grading papers, you’re doing lesson plans, you’re researching. You know, just that sort of thing, to really understand that and appreciate it unless you’ve been there. Because people with real jobs go home every night and get to do whatever they want and they don’t bring their jobs home with them like educators do.

Coach Hall: I honestly don’t know how I would have made it all these years as the head football coach without her. She did my stats, she was my secretary, anything I needed to get done as far as paperwork or that kind of stuff, she would help me with. When I had a bad practice or we had a bad game, I could talk to her, or she would just leave me alone. You know, sometimes that’s what I needed. And even when we had great games and great practices, [she was] somebody to talk to, and [she] leveled me back off, calmed me down a little bit and that kind of thing.

On how working at Northwood makes their relationship different: Mrs. Hall: Northwood is a very special place, and it gets in your blood. And the best thing about this environment is the students, so we both fell in love with this place a long time before we fell in love with each other….

I would not be as happy if he wasn’t here, because he makes part of the work even more fun. It’s easier to go, “Can you believe what so-and-so said,” you know, things that happen, and we have that connection… and again, because of the time that we’ve both spent, at least we’re able to do it in the same place. I know where he is, whereas if he was at a different school or if I was at a different school, then those hours would just be more hours apart.

On their peaceful marriage: Coach Hall: We’ve never had a fight. We’ve had disagreements, but we were both in a previous marriage where arguing and fighting was part of it, and we both made a conscious effort that that’s not going to happen in this one.

Mrs. Hall: I think part of it is just maturity. We’re just old. There are just some things that aren’t worth fighting over. Now that’s not to say that we don’t yell and pick at each other and stuff, but really we have the same goals.

We want the same thing, and we both want to live in a household that is free of conflict. And in a relationship, it takes two to create conflict. He does things that drive me crazy, and I do things that drive him crazy, and you have to own that and say, “Well, it doesn’t bother him. I’m the one with the problem.”

On working with his spouse: Coach Hall: I can’t imagine I would have stayed this long without her being here. I’ve heard horror stories about other couples working together and how it just didn’t work, but honestly I can’t imagine working without her being here.

On their proudest in-school moment with their spouse: Mrs. Hall: It always comes back to football. I just think every season had its moments, but his last season at the end of the year get together… being able to have people say how much they appreciated him. I did a retirement

Adrianne Cleven/The Omniscient

THE HALLS glance over Kim-Marie Halls’ daughter’s travel itinerary while eating their daily lunch together in Mrs. Hall’s office.

party for him after that, and just the number of people that came back, former players and stuff like that, all coming and saying how much he impacted their lives. And he’s really good at keeping up with former players…. There is not one of them that if they called and said that they needed something that we wouldn’t be in the car going to do whatever we needed to do.

Coach Hall: One of my proudest moments for [Mrs. Hall] was last year at the state DECA conference when she got a lifetime achievement award from North Carolina DECA. It had to be a secret, so I got her mom and dad and brother and his wife here, and all of her friends here, at Greensboro. We had to hide out, and she didn’t know I was there, so when she got the award up on stage in front of everybody, we walked out in front, which made it even a bigger deal for her.

On their favorite in-school memory with their spouse: Coach Hall: [Mrs. Hall] was a first-year Northwood teacher, and I don’t remember the year—it was 2000, ’01, ’02, somewhere in there—I’m old, I can’t remember this stuff. But she was in charge of DECA, and they were going on a field trip to Charlotte, and she was going to take one of my football players. And again, we weren’t dating, we were just teachers then. She was going to take one of my football players, and we knew each other well, and we were becoming good friends. But I told my football players, “This is the state playoffs. You are not missing practice to go on a field trip.” And she came down, halfway picking and halfway serious, she yelled at me down the hallway, and told me I didn’t have the right to not let the football players go on the field trip, and I got loud with her back…. That was kind of one of our funny moments together.

Did the kid end up going on the field trip?

Oh no. He stayed for football practice.

Mrs. Hall shared her memories of that event.

Bill said, “If he goes, he misses practice, he won’t start tomorrow night.” [I said], “That’s not fair. This is a field trip!” [And he said], “Well, I’m sorry. That’s the rule.” I said, “Well, that’s a stupid rule.” [Coach Hall] was walking down towards the gym, and I’m yelling, “But that’s not fair! That is ridiculous! How can you punish a kid for wanting to do something that’s educational?” and the student standing behind me was like, “People don’t yell at Coach Hall. People don’t yell at Coach Hall.” And I was like, “I’ll yell at him!” And I think it was that next season that I got involved with doing the stats. He only asked me because I was the only one that he knew that could operate a computer, but then I kind of got it. Then it was like “Oh, he’s right. That kid should not have gone.” Because part of the success of that team and that program is the discipline involved, and everybody has to be held to the same standard. But at the time, I was worried about my standard, and I wanted to offer this student this opportunity. I was so angry with him.

Any final comments?

Coach Hall: Let everyone know it’s not too bad being married to Coach Hall. I’m not mean all the time.

Mrs. Hall: One of the questions I get a lot from students is, “Is [Coach Hall] this mean all the time?” and I always say, “Yep. He’s just as mean at home as he is here.”

Is that true?

Mrs. Hall: “No; he’s not mean at all. And the other thing that you probably wouldn’t believe is that our house is very quiet. We are both very quiet people. You would never believe that knowing either one of us, probably. But when it’s just the two of us in the house, it’s a very quiet place—unless he’s got wrestling on television—in which case, it’s loud.”

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The Omniscient

April 2016

Tory Scott/The Omniscient

SENIOR PIPER PUCKETT AND FRESHMAN GRACE LAKE play the roles of Holly and Julia, who discuss Julia’s hopes for a marriage proposal from Glenn.

Vows and Vocals: Arts department debuts The Wedding Singer

By Emmy Robertson Staff Writer

The ensemble consists of the backup singers and dancers.

“I [sang] and [danced],” junior Kendra Moon “It was very good,” drama teacher Kayla Sharp said. “I love[d] it.” said on last weekend’s musical. “I think there are In addition, the technical crew has many impordefinitely things we can always improve on. There tant jobs. always are; reflective practice teaches me that.

“When we first started working in the musical, I thought it was a very good run, and I was very we started working on programming the lighting pleased at what the students put forth.” sequences,” junior Nikolai Mather said. “Then we This year’s musical, The Wedding Singer, was started painting and making the set pieces, and we shown March 17-19. The show is about a wedding started working on coordinating the sound sesinger named Robquences. [When] the musical bie who gets left at [was] in its final stages, we the altar and meets a started playing those lightwaitress named Julia, ing sequences, we monitored with whom he falls in sound sequences [and] we love. She, however, also moved the set pieces and is engaged to a Wall made sure they were in order Street banker named for the actors and actresses’ Glenn. What ensues use.” entertained both the The practices and perforaudience and the cast. mances take up an extensive There are many amount of time. aspects that con“It is a frantic, fantastic, tribute to a musical fun-filled time,” Sharp said. production, including “From December until early Tory Scott/The Omniscient April, it’s the only thing that the actors, the musical pit, the ensemble SOPHOMORE CONNOR LEWIS plays the role of I can do…. It’s a lot of time, Robbie, who has just been left at the altar. and the technical but it is a very rewarding crew. process.”

“It’s really great that the whole arts department Despite the time commitment, many of those comes together and we all put one show together,” involved in the musical enjoy the experience. said senior Hudson Moore, flute and assorted per“In a way, I wish it took up more of the day,” cussionist in the musical pit. said sophomore Connor Lewis, who played Robbie.

Senior Cameron Underwood discussed his char“However there are still commitments to school…. acter, Sammy.

In the end, it all comes together, and in the end, it’s “It’s hard to describe Sammy in a way that’s polite,” worth it.”

Underwood said. “My very first line in the musical, The musical has had a large emotional impact to I’m hitting on a woman in a very [rude] way…. I think those involved. the word I would use for him would be ‘trashy.’”

“It’s just so much fun to be part of a production

like this,” Lewis said.

Underwood agreed.

“The whole show, it just goes up and up until the very end,” Underwood said. “It gets to the point where everyone is so excited and hyped up…. The curtains close, we’re singing the last song, we run backstage and we just start hugging each other and throwing each other across the room. We’re just so happy; it’s the best feeling for sure.”

Tory Scott/The Omniscient

SENIOR KAITLYN JONES plays the role of Linda, Robbie’s ex-fiancé.

April 2016

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The Omniscient

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April 2016

Chloe Gruesbeck/The Omniscient

STUDENTS voted in the N.C. primaries March 15.

Prime-ary Time: Northwood hits the polls

By Chloe Gruesbeck Editor-in-Chief The presidential election Nov. 8 will be the first in which many Northwood students will be able to vote.

“This is a very important election,” junior Kristian Eanes said. “Part of me feels like my vote probably wouldn’t make that much of a difference, but if a lot of us felt that way, then nothing would get done.”

From Bernie Sanders to Donald Trump, the candidates fall on both ends of the political spectrum. With so many options, Eanes says it’s helpful for young voters to be informed about important policies.

For senior Jordan Perez, a key issue is foreign affairs.

“With stuff that has been going on with Syria, ISIS, and China and everything else it is really important,” senior Jordan Perez said. “A lot of people don’t agree with Obama with helping [other countries], but a lot of people want to help.”

Social studies teacher Sara Keever says that a lot has changed since she started voting.

“You have instant, constant information from various sources,” Keever said. “I had to rely on the major news sources like TV and print media, but in college you started to see more points of view from various sources on the Internet, so I think that’s a big difference.”

Eanes says this access to quick information can have a negative effect.

“I see so much ignorance on Twitter, and it’s because people don’t know that much about the candidates and what the candidates are really for,” Eanes said. “It’s very important to stay updated. [People who are not informed] start getting really influenced by other people’s viewpoints.”

Keever says that social media and the 24-hour news cycle does not necessarily make it easy for voters to make an educated decision.

“It just seems really confusing,” Keever said.

Despite this, Keever still anticipates the results of the election.

“I am just waiting to see what is going to happen and how [the election] is going to play out in the end,” Keever said.

Chloe Gruesbeck/The Omniscient

April 2016

The Omniscient

Opinionated Candidates, Opinionated People: Students discuss political extremism

By Emmy Robertson Staff Writer

“It’s not very right to tell people their opinions are wrong,” said senior Mallory Mitchell, who supports Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. “I think people should be entitled to their own opinions.”

This election is full of extreme opinions, from Democratic socialist Bernie Sanders to businessman Trump. The people are just as divided.

In a primary held throughout the school, conducted with a survey by The Omniscient through student email, the Democratic polls declared Sanders the nominee, whereas the Republican polls decided on Trump. This is a slightly different turnout than the North Carolina polls that declared Hillary Clinton the winner for the democratic party but kept Trump the Republican frontrunner.

“I’m supporting Bernie Sanders,” sophomore Rania Kazmi said. “What his campaign is centered on is making sure that everyone in America is equal and that this really is the melting pot, that everyone in America is happy and safe. He’s fighting for rights for women, trans people, gay people, agender people, so on and so forth…. Mainly I’m supporting him because it affects me a lot, because I’m super gay and also Muslim.”

Sanders is best known for his ideas of taxing the wealthy to make college tuition free and fighting discrimination.

Trump’s ideals are on the opposite end of the

spectrum. He is best known for his immigration policy of building a wall on the border of the U.S. and Mexico, intending for the Mexican government to fund this, and his anti-trade with China speeches on the basis that the country is destroying the United States’ economy.

“I like his immigration policy, not necessarily the wall policy; I also like his gun rights policy and his economic policy,” Mitchell said.

Some say a reason that these candidates are gaining popularity is the concept of anti-establishmentarianism.

“For the past 20 years, there’s been this established way of politics, and not very much gets done,” said junior Nolan Holmberg, who supports Sanders. “Generally, anti-establishment candidates are not funded by large corporations or huge banks or stuff like that. For instance, Bernie Sanders isn’t taking Super PAC money. Candidates like Donald Trump…for the most part, he is funding his own campaign. I do admire those things about Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump, about how they’re not going to have their views change because of someone else’s money.”

Anti-establishmentarianism is possibly the one thing that both Sanders and Trump supporters agree on.

“I’m fed up with the establishment and special

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interest groups having control over politicians,” said junior Nicholas Cantin, who supports Trump.

There are still establishmentarian candidates earning votes, such as former Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, who has won the North Carolina primaries.

“I’m supporting Hillary Clinton,” junior Destiny Bryant said. “She is a very strong woman, she knows what she’s doing and she’s already had an office close to the president being secretary of state…. I think her being a woman is amazing; we need a woman president, because women don’t have the rights that they need.”

Other students also support Clinton.

“She supports women’s rights, and she is tolerant, kind and supportive of everything I stand for,” senior Skyler Waugh said. “I think it’s time we get a lady president in the White House…. I think that everything Hillary stands for is important.”

With a ballot full of “extreme” prospects, some voters seek a candidate that falls more central on the political scale.

“I’m supporting John Kasich,” senior John Dunning said. “He’s a moderate guy, he’s trying to work with both sides and his economic policies line up with the ones I think are best for the country.”

“I’m fed up with the establishment and special interest groups having control over politicians.”

— Nicholas Cantin, junior

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The Omniscient

April 2016

Parents Behind Bars: The life of a family with an incarcerated parent

By Becca Heilman Managing & Online Editor The names of the students in this article have been changed for their privacy.

2.7 million. According to the Pew Charitable Trusts, this is the number of children in the United States with an incarcerated parent. This means that an estimated one in every 28 children has a parent in jail or prison.

Siblings Steven and Jennifer Brown know the consequences of such a situation all too well.

“We were a family,” said Steven, a Northwood junior. “I had my two parents and my six siblings together, and now we’re split up four ways. It’s affected my life completely. It’s completely opposite from how it used to be.”

The Browns’ father has been incarcerated twice. First arrested in 2010, he faced charges regarding embezzlement of up to $200,000 and tax evasion. According to Jennifer, a sophomore in college, her father stole money from the company for which he worked.

Jennifer described her experience when her father was first arrested.

“It was just shock,” Jennifer said. “I came home from school one day, and he was gone… and it was just crazy. My whole life changed. We lived in a really big house from all my dad’s embezzlement money, which is funny. I really lived comfortably growing up, and we always had a really stable family unit…. That was really broken for me, and I had a lot of feelings I never thought I’d have to deal with. My dad had [always] been in my life and framed himself as a guy who taught his kids morals, but then he turned it all around on us and lied to us.”

Steven described a similar feeling of disbelief.

“I didn’t believe it,” Steven said. “It’s not something you can accept right away. I was in denial, but I had never seen my mom like this. I knew she wasn’t lying. It was very emotional.”

The arrest changed the Browns’ lives dramatically. The family, which lived in another state at the time, was forced to move to North Carolina to

Becca Heilman/The Omniscient

live with relatives. When their father was released state correctional facility and 45 percent of parents on probation, he moved the family into a new in a federal correctional facility reported never house in Pittsboro. having had a personal visit from their children.

“When he got out the first time, there were “I’ve gotten four or five cards and letters from just good feelings, like, ‘We can only go up from him,” Steven said. “I’ve written to him once, and I here,’” Steven said. “Everything was just really plan to again some day soon, but I’ve never visited positive. We accepted him back into our lives, so him and don’t have any plans to. I don’t think he we had high hopes, and we trusted him.” deserves, after what he’s done, to see his kids. I’ve Both Steven and Jennifer struggle with forgivwritten to him to let him know I still care about him, ing their father. but I know that me forgiving him doesn’t necessarily “Him coming back after he went to prison the mean I’m ready for him to be back in my life.” first time was really a hard adjustment period, Jennifer has had no contact with her father since because I was rehis arrest last year. ally hesitant to be “He wrote my forgiving in those mom a letter asking few years, and my for my address, mom really presand I asked her to sured me to be not give it to him,” forgiving, because Jennifer said. “I she was trying to think part of me do the same thing,” wants to write Jennifer said. him a letter saying Despite their that I don’t want hopes, Jennifer and him to contact me, Steven’s father was especially once arrested again in he’s out. The time 2015 for obtainmy dad was out ing property under of prison was refalse pretenses.

Adrianne Cleven/The Omniscient ally traumatic, and “I think everythere was a lot of AN ESTIMATED 809,800 PRISONERS of the 1,518,535 one just wanted emotional abuse held in the nation’s prisons at midyear 2007 were parents of everything to go that went on in my minor children, according to the Bureau of Justice. back to normal, and family. I’ve healed that normal period lasted for about a year, and then a lot from that and from the times that he’s hurt me finances weren’t making sense,” Jennifer said. “We or my mom or my siblings. I feel like we are a lot were evicted from three different houses. Our wabetter off without him, which really sucks to say, ter got shut off one time…. My mom didn’t have a because that’s my dad. At the same time, he’s just job, because we didn’t have a car for her to go to not the dad I used to have.” work, and she had seven children who she was takChildren with incarcerated parents often find ing care of while my dad was the primary breadthe situation difficult to manage. Some, like Jenwinner…. The last year we were evicted from our nifer, try to focus on other aspects of their lives. house was over Christmas break of my freshman “Two weeks after my dad went to prison, I was year of college. That lasted for like two weeks, and hired at two different places, and I just dove right then all of a sudden, we were back in the house. into that. I just worked; that’s how I coped with it, My dad had paid off our landlord; everything was and it’s maybe not the healthiest way to deal with fine. But then we come to find out that he had it, but I made myself not think about my family or stolen that money from the people he was working what I was losing…. I took on more responsibilities for at that time.” and leadership roles; I made myself kind of unavailAccording to the Pew Charitable Trusts, 44 percent able to talk about how sad I was…. I feel like I’ve of parents held in state prisons lived with their chilactually really healed from doing all of that.” dren prior to incarceration. More than half of imprisDespite her difficulties, Jennifer acknowledges oned parents (52 percent of mothers and 54 percent of the positive aspects of her situation. fathers) were the primary earners for their children.

“To look at the positive of it, I feel like I’ve really One study found that in the period the father was belearned a lot about how to be an adult,” Jennifer said. hind bars, the child’s income fell 22 percent from the “I still don’t really know what I’m doing, but I’m year preceding the father’s incarceration. being forced into making decisions that are grown “I don’t think a lot of people understand that up. I finance my own car…. I didn’t ever really date not everyone’s problems are just school,” Jennifer in high school, and now I have a serious relationship said. “They go home to a whole different world with somebody. I think I’ve kind of created my own that… might be really isolating to them…. Maybe family in a way, and I’ve created fallbacks and supthe reason that this kid failed a test was because port systems…. I’ve really taught myself how to take things are bad at home, or the reason this kid is care of myself emotionally and physically.” awkward or has social anxiety or problems in Steven and Jennifer’s father’s release from learning or feeling like they can speak out in class, prison is scheduled for May. After everything Steit might just be because something really, really ven has been through, he offered words of advice. impactful is going on at home.”

“Don’t lie, and make sure you value your life,” In 2004, according to the Pew Charitable Steven said. “Be thankful for what you have, beTrusts, approximately 59 percent of parents in a cause in any minute, it could be gone.”

April 2016

The Omniscient

STUDENTS receive many letters from different colleges and universities starting their junior year.

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Hannah Gail Shepherd/The Omniscient

“We regret to inform you...”: Students discuss college rejection and deferral

By Hannah Gail Shepherd Staff Writer Click. Check. Refresh. Wait.

Click. Check. Refresh. Wait.

Every year, high school seniors across the United States sit in their bedrooms in front of their computers, and they click, check, refresh and wait. They wait for a letter that begins with either “Congratulations” or “We regret to inform you.” Seniors who have planned their future around this letter that begins with “Congratulations” are forced to stop, take a breath and reevaluate their future when their letter begins with “We regret to inform you.”

For a majority of seniors, getting rejected or deferred from their top choice of college is their first rejection. They must learn how to react and approach the situation that involves them not getting what they want, even after they worked hard to get it.

Nadeem Sbaiti was deferred from North Carolina State University (N.C. State) after applying to the university’s Poole College of Management as a business major. Sbaiti had tickets for the N.C. State basketball game for Saturday, Jan. 30, the day he was going to find out if he was accepted.

“I went and I checked, and my heart started beating so fast,” Sbaiti said. “I opened it, and it was just like, ‘Hello, due to the academic competitiveness, we can’t offer you an

Glossary Deferred: The admissions decision is postponed to a later date for students who applied through Early Action or Early Decision.

Early Action: A non-binding agreement between university and applicant. The student applies to the university at an earlier deadline and typically receives their admissions decision earlier than students who applied Regular Decision.

Early Decision: A binding agreement between university and applicant, typically utilized by students who have a clear idea of their top choice university. Upon acceptance, the student must attend. Exceptions are made if the student cannot afford the school or does not receive adequate financial aid.

Waitlisted: The student does not receive a denial, but their chance for admission relies solely on the number of students a university decides to accept from their waitlist.

A waitlist allows a university to accept more students when their enrollment numbers are lower than expected.

admissions spot right now, but you’ve been deferred until a one more time. Because you don’t know; you could just get later time,’ and my heart just sank.” lucky and get a high score.”

Senior Mallory Mitchell was deferred from UNC-Chapel Mitchell agrees with Sbaiti but takes a more philosophiHill, and later waitlisted. cal approach to what advice she wants to give underclass“I was disappointed; I’m not going to lie,” Mitchell said. men and upcoming seniors.

“Seeing everyone else post pictures of them getting in, “I just want to tell future kids, don’t be scared,” Mitchell it’s like, ‘Well, okay, I’m glad that you got in, but I wish I said. “Do your best, and honestly, if you get rejected, it’s not would’ve gotten in.’” the worst thing in your life, because there are other schools English teacher Jill Jackl was denied from her first out there that want you. And just because one school says that choice, Bowdoin College, as a senior in they don’t want you, that doesn’t mean “I was disappointed; I’m that you won’t blossom at another school. high school. She attended the Univernot going to lie. Seeing sity of Hartford instead.

Prove them wrong.” everyone else post pic“I went to Hartford begrudgingly, After initially being deferred, Sbaiti because they gave me money, and it was denied from N.C. State. He has come tures of them getting in, turned out to be fabulous,” Jackl said. to terms with his initial disappointment. it’s like, ‘Well, okay, I’m “I got to know who I was…. Disap“At first, I was so mad and upset and glad that you got in, but I like, ‘This sucks. This is the worst thing pointment is healthy; criticism is going wish I would’ve gotten in.’” that could ever happen.’ Now, I just see to happen your whole life, so how you — Mallory Mitchell, senior it wasn’t meant to be, at least for this use it defines who you become. You don’t get into your top school; you’ve year. I know that in the grand scheme got to go somewhere else, and how you use that determines of things, it’s only one year that I’m going to be missing how you’re going to go forward. I think that’s a lesson better out [on]. It’s not the end of the world for me. It’s definitely learned young than older.” upsetting, but I’ll be fine.”

Principal Justin Bartholomew was accepted into his top Callie Robertson, a school counseling intern and UNCchoice, Boston University, but was denied from their physiChapel Hill graduate student, was initially denied from UNC cal therapy program. but transferred during her junior year.

“I don’t like to lose at anything, so any rejection is hor“I would say it’s fully fair to be upset about it; I was,” rible,” Bartholomew said. “But you know things have a way Robertson said. “It wasn’t like in that moment or that time of working themselves out; if you don’t fail, if you never I was super ‘Yay! Now’s the time to have an open mind.’ I experience failure, then you’re never going to experience would say that it’s okay to be upset about it, because we do great success. You have to have those rejections, failures, plan things, and we do want things for ourselves, and that’s mistakes that get made so that you know how to get better not wrong. But I would say that if it does happen, know that at something, how to do something better and how to push it’s because there could be something better…. It’s a choice to yourself harder than you had before.” believe that something else could be just as good, if not better, When outcomes of situations don’t go the way students than what you had planned for yourself…. Allow yourself to hoped, they tend to question themselves about past decihave an open mind amidst having a one track mind.” sions. If they would’ve done something differently, would Jackl often tells students to think outside the box when it the outcome still be the same? comes to colleges and to have faith in themselves that they Senior Ally Freeman was denied from UNC-Chapel can handle the obstacles that life throws at them.

Hill, and then deferred and eventually waitlisted from the “This is what I tell students all the time when it comes engineering program at N.C. State. to colleges: too often they get in the mindset of thinking “I think I definitely could have pushed myself a little inside the box and they lose the opportunity,” Jackl said. harder in high school,” Freeman said. “I didn’t sign up for “I think it’s essential that students look outside the box and the SAT Prep Class either before they took it away, which I have enough faith in themselves that they can handle these probably should have done.” opportunities that they don’t think are the best.”

Sbaiti feels that underclassmen and rising seniors who are Bartholomew believes that where a student goes to colapplying to colleges should focus on the standardized tests lege does not determine their level of success. and being involved in school.

“I would bet you, if you look at students I graduated high “Definitely do extracurriculars,” Sbaiti said. “I feel like school with, it probably didn’t matter where they went to that is probably why I got deferred and didn’t get denied. If college,” Bartholomew said. “What mattered is when they you feel like you’ve taken the SAT or ACT enough, just do it got to college, what did they do with that experience.”

E ntertainment 10 From Kanye to Cork: Who is your hero?

By Sara Heilman Staff Writer

“A hero to me is someone who can inspire you, someone who makes you want to be better,” sophomore Mariah Shobande said. “In a sense, their presence just supports you in that, so your parents could be your heroes, stars could be heroes. There are people that you just look up to who make you realize your goals in life, and push you toward that.…

You just want to strive not to be them, but to be like them.”

Heroes can be found almost everywhere. Senior Aiden Williams finds his inspiration in someone close to the school. Williams’ hero, Darian Cork, is a science teacher at Northwood.

“He’s very generous,” Williams said. “He has a lot of assistance in Robotics Club, and that’s how I met [him].”

Williams says that Cork uses the club as an environment to teach more than just how to build a robot.

“He has taught me the importance of character, responsibility and sometimes just not caring,” Williams said. “This was really big in robotics.… If you did everything you can do, and there’s nothing left for you to do, there’s no reason to mope…. You did your best, so move on with your life.”

Dance teacher Kristen Oakes’ hero is fellow employee Leah Wilhelm. Oakes was one of Wilhelm’s students when she was in high school.

“She has supported me through everything without judgment,” Oakes said. “When other people said I couldn’t do something, she was there.… She’s really taught me that there’s more to teaching than just what the content is in your class. She taught me to believe in myself, which sounds really cheesy and cliché, but I am an over-analyzer.

I overthink everything. I always think that I’m not good enough. I always think that people are better, and she’s always taught me that if you think it’s right, go with it. If it’s wrong, you’ll know next time, and you’ll do better, but it’s okay to be wrong.”

Others at Northwood have found heroes in the people closest to them: their family. Theater teacher Kayla Sharp is inspired by her mother.

“She has overcome great adversity in her life, and she has come from very small means and created a great life for herself,” Sharp said. “I aspire to many of her qualities, not the least of which is her introspective quality.

She really thinks about who she is as a person and how

Sara Heilman/The Omniscient

she can better herself consistently. She doesn’t push the blame on other people. She thinks about what she has done and how she can improve as a person, and I find that very inspiring.”

Shobande, whose hero is Lin-Manuel Miranda, the playwright and star of the musical Hamilton, is inspired by Miranda’s representation of people of color in the show.

“On Broadway, there aren’t a lot of diverse roles to play,” Shobande said. “If you’re [a black female], you either get a role in Dreamgirls or Motown. If you’re [Hispanic] like Lin-Manuel Miranda, you get to play a guy in West Side Story. He decided, ‘I’m going to write a musical for myself. I’m going to write something where people of color can play roles.’ When you learn history, it’s a bunch of white guys… and when you hear about other people of color, it’s either the Trail of Tears or slavery…. You don’t really feel connected to it. Through [Hamilton], you actually feel like you’re connecting to something, and I think that’s why he’s my hero.”

Sophomore Caleb James finds inspiration in Kanye West, despite West’s “rough patches.”

“His latest release, The Life of Pablo, was a very disorganized release,” James said. “It had lots of subpar, at least for him, tracks. Having said that, there were

some spectacular tracks on it such as ‘Ultralight Beam,’ and you know, I believe in his ability to come back.… I think all great artists have rough patches, and I do think that Kanye West is one of the great artists of our time, so I think he’s going to be able to rebound.”

West has even inspired James to create music of his own.

“I’m working on two projects currently, one with a rapper at Northwood, AJ McCrea, and I’m producing the beats for our EP together,” James said. “Then I’m producing an EP of my solo work which is alternative pop songs with a hip hop influence, but also some original poetry samples, so I’m looking forward to it…. Music is my passion, and [West] has inspired it quite a bit.”

According to senior Piper Puckett, a hero is not easy to define.

“The concept of a hero has always been very complicated for me, because my entire life I’ve been very selfsufficient,” Puckett said. “I think that I would define a hero as someone who is able to see what area needs the most attention at the time, someone who’s able to put themselves first when it matters but draw back and help others.… It’s very situational, very circumstantial.”

Ben Choate, sophomore Hero: Michael Jordan

Austin Korynta, junior Hero: Cameron Underwood, senior

“He is my hero because of the way he’s so open about his failures, but he’s so successful at what he does....

I think he’s taught me a little bit about work ethic and how to make it through your failures.”

“I’m very much into the drama department here at Northwood and Cameron was the person who made me think, ‘I can do that.’ I want to be a theater major after I graduate, and I don’t think I’d ever have thought that if Cameron didn’t inspire me to take all the theater classes and be in all the plays.”

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The Omniscient

Screenshot courtesy of Chatham County Schools

STUDENTS are restricted from visiting many websites like Facebook and Instagram.

Blocked: Students discuss Internet restrictions

By Chloe Maynard Staff Writer “Sorry, you don’t have permission to visit this site,” reads the student’s laptop screen. This is a familiar notification for most teenagers at Northwood. All students are provided with an individual computer. For some students, this notification is an annoyance, but for administrators, it is very important.

According to principal Justin Bartholomew, there is a huge liability involved with one-on-one student laptop programs. The school is legally responsible for all activities done by students on their school-issued laptops, which is why they have students and parents sign a liability form at the beginning of the year.

“The school system is ultimately responsible for whatever content comes through and that [the students] get exposed to,” Bartholomew said.

When giving teenagers permission to use the Internet, the school must regulate what they can access. This is important for school systems that provide students with laptops. If a student used school-issued technology to access inappropriate or illegal content, they would face disciplinary action.

As for the school, there isn’t much precedent for what could happen to them. The spread of technology in schools has been so rapid that the law hasn’t caught up yet. Outraged parents may sue the school for allowing the student to access inappropriate material, but with no precedent set, it can’t be determined who would win that lawsuit.

Some may argue that these restrictions go overboard.

“I think they overdo it on certain websites,” sophomore Kylie Belcher said. “Like with YouTube, sometimes it will block videos that actually are educational.”

Sophomore Courtney Wolfe shares this point of view.

“I think they go over the top,” Wolfe said. “They block stuff that shouldn’t be blocked, like music.

I know one time I was doing something for my church, and I saw that Christian music was blocked.

Also, if they’re going to give us laptops, they have to treat us like adults if they want us to act like adults.”

Students and some teachers find the controls to be inconsistent.

“There are certain websites that come up blocked that there’s no understanding to it,” English teacher Kathleen Greenlee said. “Maybe a teacher was able

to utilize it at some point, and then the students can’t access it.”

The list of blocked material is constantly changing based on the school’s needs. YouTube used to be completely blocked from student use, then it was completely accessible, and now there are certain restrictions within the website itself.

“Students would hop on during Plus One and be on YouTube… and we’d have a video up that everyone was watching,” Bartholomew said. “It completely destroyed the bandwidth.”

As can be expected, popular social media sites like Facebook, Instagram and Tumblr are blocked, but Twitter is still accessible to students. Chatham County School’s Executive Director for Technology & Media Education, Keith Medlin, explained the dichotomy between education and Twitter.

“Twitter is being used more frequently across all grade levels as a way for our teachers to collaborate and communicate with students and parents what is happening in their classrooms,” Medlin said.

Policy 3225-4312-7320 states, “the board recognizes that it is impossible to predict with certainty what information on the Internet students may access or obtain,” (Section C, “Restricted Material on the Internet”). For this reason, there are extensive restrictions set in place. So what happens when the students outsmart the restrictions? They download proxies and other software that reverse the roadblocks set in place.

“This year, they did some serious blocking, and I couldn’t [download a proxy],” Wolfe said. “But pretty much everyone uses [a proxy].”

However, downloading software like this can result in disciplinary action. The One-to-One Parent Student Laptop Handbook states, “violations may include the loss of Internet access at school and other disciplinary action as outlined in the Student Code of Conduct,” (Section VII, “E-mail”). Many students aren’t aware of what consequences can come with altering their laptops. These consequences include after school detention, In School Suspension, Out of School Suspension and loss of laptop for up to a semester.

“Many workplaces have even more restrictive policies in place and attempts to bypass those security precautions can result in termination,” Medlin said. “As a school system, we attempt to use these violations as learning opportunities for students.”

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Upcoming Concerts APRIL 20

• Pearl Jam at PNC Arena

21

• Jimmy Buffett at Walnut Creek Amphitheater

22

• Tribal Seed’s at Cat’s Cradle

23 26

• Santigold at The Fillmore Charlotte

29

• Kawehi at Cat’s Cradle

• Houndmouth at Cat’s Cradle

PENTATONIX will be performing at the Red Hat Amphitheater May 11.

Photo courtesy of Ralph Arvesen/Flickr

MAY­

Photo courtesy of Constanza CH Photography/Flickr

ELLIE GOULDING will be performing at the Red Hat Amphitheater June 10.

3

• Beyoncé at Carter Finley Stadium

19

• Aretha Franklin at Durham Performing Arts Center

5 7

• Parachute at Cat’s Cradle

20

• Kenny Chesney & Old Dominion at PNC Music Pavilion

• Boyce Avenue at Cat’s Cradle

6 11

• Sticky Fingers at Cat’s Cradle

14

• Halestorm at Harrah’s Cherokee Casino

18

• Rogue Wave at Cat’s Cradle

• PENTATONIX at Red Hat Amphitheater

23 • The Neighborhood at The Fillmore Charlotte

24 • Daryl Hall & John Oats at PNC Music Pavilion

27 • Dave Matthews Band at PNC Music Pavilion

28 • Josh Ritter at The Fillmore Charlotte

JUNE 5 • Journey & The Doobie

Brothers at Walnut Creek Amphitheater

18 • The Wombats at Amos’ Southend

• Rascal Flatts at Walnut Creek Amphitheater

7 • Selena Gomez at Time Warner Cable Arena

9 • Lord Huron & Nathaniel Rateliff at Red Hat Amphitheater

10 • Ellie Goulding at Red Hat Amphitheater

11 • M83 at Red Hat Amphitheater 15 • Of Monsters and Men at Red Hat Amphitheater

21 • Weezer and Panic! At

The Disco at Walnut Creek Amphitheater

29 • Twenty One Pilots at Red Hat Amphitheater

30

• Demi Lovato & Nick Jonas at Time Warner Cable Arena

Photo courtesy of Levi Manchak/Flickr

LORD HURON will be performing at the Red Hat Amphitheater June 9.

— Compiled by Jessie Craig

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April 2016

Magic in the Making: J.K. Rowling to publish new book

By Jacqueline Condrey Staff Writer Potter fans are starting to get riled up as they hear more and more about the continuation of the Harry Potter series.

J.K. Rowling has announced that the play Harry Potter and The Cursed Child is scheduled to debut July 30 at the Palace Theatre in London. The book of Harry Potter and The Cursed Child is the basic script of the play and is expected to be released July 31 following opening night of the play.

“I would have liked to know about Harry Potter’s dad and his mom,” senior Nadeem Sbaiti said.

“I don’t mind that [Rowling] continued.”

The announcement of the book marked the 18th anniversary of the publication of the first novel, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, published June 26, 1997. The play is set 19 years after the conclusion of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and follows Harry Potter, now a Ministry of Magic employee, and his youngest son, Albus Severus Potter.

“From what I’ve read, I think it is going to be a lot different from the books,” senior Sierra Teta said. “It talks about how Harry has not exactly lost everything, but he is rundown and tired. The story line I’ve read doesn’t sound as exciting; it’s not how you think his life would go on to be.”

Rowling had earlier said that she was done writing books for the Harry Potter series, so her announcement came as a surprise to the public. Some fans are

excited for an eighth book, but others are not so sure how to feel.

“Once you’ve got your stuff out of it, once it’s done with and people love it, don’t risk ruining it by adding more stuff on top of it,” sophomore Nicole Campbell said. “And if it turns out really bad, then everybody is going to have a bad taste in their mouth from the [Harry Potter] series because that is going to be the last one they’ll read.”

The lead cast list for the play has been announced: Jamie Parker, Noma Dumezweni and Paul Thornley will play Harry, Hermione and Ron, respectively.

There has been some disagreement about whether Dumezweni, a black English actress, should be playing the role of Hermione. Some say that Dumezweni shouldn’t be playing Hermione because Emma Watson, a white British actress, played Hermione in the movies.

Other Harry Potter fans on Twitter say that Dumezweni’s race shouldn’t affect the play at all; everyone is equal.

“In books, the character often is white and then if they aren’t white then the writer usually says this person has ‘dark chocolate’ skin,” Campbell said. “White is the default, and that’s weird because it shouldn’t be that way even though that’s just how it is.”

Rowling tweeted about how, in her books, she gave a description of Hermione, but did not specify skin color in her description. Both Watson and Rowling have made clear that they are in full support of having a black Hermione.

“Can’t wait to see Noma Dumezweni as Hermione

Russell & Associates Attorneys º

Ŝ Ŝ 919-754-3904 ɭɰ ř

Photo courtesy of Dallas Epperson/Flickr

THE HARRY POTTER SERIES is the bestselling book series of all time; nearly 500 million copies have been sold since the publication of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone in 1997. on stage this year,” said Watson Jan. 2 in one of her many supportive tweets.

Harry Potter fans have said that they stuck with Rowling because there was just something captivating about the magic. Readers like Campbell said that going through this series there were things they would have changed for personal preference.

As much as the fans would love to change what happened in earlier books, they loved how Rowling wrote the series and are eager to find out what happens next.

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April 2016

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O N R T T A H S W T O S I OD T R A SENIOR EDITION

HUNTER KOCH

“I think, mainly, my art is growth-inspired, just these four years of high school. I was 15 when I entered this school, and I’m going to be 18 leaving, and I’ve learned a lot and met a lot of people along the way, and my art kind of shows that progression.”

VANESSA JONES

“I think, artistically, I have had a lot of influences. I really like 18th century realistic portraiture... I’ve always been fascinated with the human face. I also... like drawing in a cartoonish style. Obviously the cartoon, anime influence, I incorporate that into my artwork as well.”

JORDAN POLLARD

“What really influences most of my pieces of art is… storytelling. If I’m doing something for class, I’ll paint something abstract, not in composition, but in meaning, [so its] meaning can change depending on the [viewer’s] interpretation.”

KIRSTEN SELLERS

“[My art] started with anime, and then I grew into really liking to do portraits, and that’s what I’ve been focusing on. I got into realism, and that’s all I do now... My best [piece] that shows my utmost abilities is the portrait of Jordan [Pollard] (pictured bottom left) I did for a Beauty Discovered [prompt].”

—Compiled

by Sawyer Davis

April 2016

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Andrea Powell and the Hollywood Connection

Andrea Powell Ferguson is an actress who lives in Pittsboro. Ferguson has played roles in films and TV series such as Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part II, Ender’s Game, Halt and Catch Fire, Sleepy Hollow and many more. In addition to a professional acting career, Ferguson runs AndiSites Inc., a web design and development company.

Quotes have been edited for length.

Could you tell me a bit about your background?

I was always one of those geeky kids that didn’t really know what I was going to do or be. I was going to be a fireman, and I was going to be a mermaid and I was going to be all of this stuff.

When I was 12 years old, there was a local community theater production of Oliver, the musical, so I decided I would go do that. It introduced me to a world where I realized I could be a fireman, and I could be a mermaid and I could be whatever I wanted to be, without ever having to truly commit to any one thing. It was one of those things where I auditioned for the next show, and the next show, and the next show, and it was the thing I was looking for. So that’s really how it all started. Then the professional part of it started when I got older and the opportunities started to come because in that time, North Carolina was starting to get some film and TV work here, and an agent had come to see me in a show and offered to sign me. It all happened kind of organically.

Has acting taught you any important life lessons that you would want to pass on?

Absolutely. One of the biggest ones is resilience.

When you’re acting professionally, you’re not going to get the job a lot more often than you are going to get the job. Most times it’s because of something you couldn’t control anyway; either you didn’t look quite right for the part or maybe someone’s shorter because the male lead is short, or something like that. So understanding that sometimes when you don’t get things in life, it’s not because you weren’t good enough, it’s just because the other person got it instead and they couldn’t give it to both people.

By Leah Kallam Staff Writer How do you make an acting career work from Pittsboro?

Nowadays, it doesn’t matter where you live. I have agents and I have my manager in New York, so the opportunity comes to me regardless of where I am physically, because you can travel to wherever you have to go to shoot. Also nowadays, the biggest thing is that it’s very rare to go to an audition in person anymore. Usually what you do is record an audition and then post it to the internet, to a casting site, and then if you get a callback, or you need to do a screen cast or something, then you go to wherever it is. Fortunately, physically being in New York or L.A. isn’t as important, especially when you’ve been around for a while.

Why didn’t you want to live in L.A . or New York while acting?

I’m willing to give up some of the larger opportunities that living in L.A. might afford me, just so that I can be happier in life overall, because acting is just one part of it.

Which well known actors or actresses have you gotten to work with, and what was it like to work with those big names?

Who I’m thinking of right now is Melissa Leo. I did an independent film with her in New York before she kind of got so famous, but she’s really a fantastic actress who I respect a lot. In terms of really big names, I’ve worked with Charlize Theron, Harrison Ford, Viola Davis. I’ve worked with Will Smith and Dennis Hopper. It’s interesting because the actors who are really truly professional, and a very big deal and all of that, tend to be some of the nicest people because they’re secure in their careers, and they tend to be pretty solid professionals.

You were in The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn- Part 2.

What was it like to be a vampire?

It was fantastic. Because that movie is so famous, and has so many followers, you know that you’re part of something really huge. There’s a lot of security on the set, a lot of that kind of stuff, all this secrecy. The vampire part of it is great because in Twilight, all of the different groups of vampires have different characteristics. We were the super-blonde

April 2016

Photo courtesy of Andrea Powell Ferguson

ANDREA POWELL FERGUSON plays a werewolf in The Gates. vampires with purple eyes. What was cool was you have these contact lenses that they make for you; they’re made exactly for your eyes and they have your prescription in them. You’re not even allowed to touch them yourself; you have to go in this room and they put them in your eyes and take them out of your eyes. That was pretty fun, but the cool thing is that the woman who created my contact lenses had made my werewolf contact lenses for the TV show called The Gates that I was on. We were laughing that I had switched teams, and it was funny because I had these Twitter followers who were mad at me because I had been a werewolf in The Gates, and now I was being a vampire in Twilight. They thought I was being disloyal to my pack.

What has been your favorite film or TV series to act in? What made that your favorite?

Honestly, the one that I’m working on now called Outcast. It’s going to be premiering on Showtime this Spring, I believe. It’s based on a graphic novel by the guy who did The Walking Dead, and it’s whole thing is demon possession. It takes place in a very small West Virginia town, and I play a very conservative church lady. The actors are really fantastic. Brent Spiner who was on Star Trek, he’s in it; a lot of other actors who are famous in London. The scripts are fantastic. I haven’t even told my husband anything that happens because I’m like, “I just want you to see it as it’s happening,” because it takes all these huge twists and turns and it’s really crazy. I would say it’s definitely one of my most favorite things. And also, when you play a recurring role in a new series, you get to sort of shape the character yourself with the writers, and it’s a lot of fun.

Will acting be something that you do for the rest of your life?

Absolutely. I think the roles get more interesting as I get older. Fortunately, you don’t have to be a 20-year-old gorgeous woman anymore to get some really interesting stuff. I don’t see any end to it, at all, and I’m very happy with that.

Photo courtesy of Andrea Powell Ferguson

ANDREA POWELL FERGUSON plays the character of Ender’s mother in Ender’s Game.

Do you have any advice you’d like to pass on to up and coming actors or actresses?

Keep doing it. If you love it, keep doing it. Do it as often as you possibly can; do theatre, get your friends together and do readings and approach every job as if it could be your last. That’s the way that you really start looking toward the people that you meet, the places you get to go, the words you get to say, and all of that becomes part of the pleasure of it. It’s a difficult profession to be in; there’s a lot that will try to smack you down, but just stay positive, meet as many people as you can, be nice to everybody, and just keep showing up.

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April 2016

Mostly Ghostly: Chatham County residents discuss ghost hunting

By Ellie S aksa & Harleigh White O pinion Editor & Staff Writer Deep in the hold of the USS Battleship of North Carolina, James Hall searches for the voices he is picking up. Hall, a science teacher at Margaret B. Pollard Middle School, is looking for some sort of paranormal activity on the TV show Ghost Hunters (season 2, episode 4). Banging and suspicious noises surround him and his team. Separated but in contact with each other, each member shares evidence as it is happening. Cameras moving by themselves, loud prison doors banging and voices caught on tape are not considered odd for these paranormal seekers.

“Do I think that there is a possibility of some sort of paranormal activity? Yes,” Hall said. “Do I believe that the spirits of dead people cause that paranormal activity? That has not been proven.”

Hall began ghost hunting in high school and continued for nearly 30 years. He first joined a professional team in 2002 and retired in 2011. Even though Hall does not believe in the dead coming back as ghosts, his experiences as a ghost hunter have exposed him to a variety of unexplained phenomena.

“Paranormal activities are things that can’t be explained by other beings,” Hall said. “We’re talking about voices that are captured on audio when there wasn’t a person present while it was being recorded.

We’re talking about seeing objects being moved when there isn’t a force moving them, you know, being physically touched when there’s no one there to touch them or feeling like they’re being touched.”

Hall has been on various TV shows, like the popular show Ghost Hunters.

“They just follow you around with cameras, and they may occasionally stop and ask you to repeat something they didn’t hear clearly, but the investigations themselves, at least 10 years ago or longer when I did it, those were legit,” Hall said. “They weren’t staged.”

During Hall’s investigations and on Ghost Hunters, he used various tools such as still cameras, Electronic Voice Phenomenon (EVP) recorders and video cameras.

“We would try to record things like the temperature, if there were any changes in the electro-

magnetic field, changes in humidity, air pressure like the Stagville Plantation, a place in Durham, the or anything to let us start looking for correlations Battleship of North Carolina, battlegrounds, places between this sort of data and if there was anything like that.” unexplainable going on,” Hall said.

Sophomore Jaxx Delgado, an amateur ghost An Electromagnetic Field Reader (EMF) is one of hunter, explains the feeling of encountering a ghost. the main tools that Hall and other ghost hunters use.

“I haven’t experienced anything touching me, but “Electromagnetic Field Readers have a constant I have gotten chills and stuff like that, cold breezes background of electromagnetic radiation being just out of the blue when it’s hot out,” Delgado said. around you at all times,” Hall said. “A lot of it Hall explains the controversy of the truth behind comes from the sun, sometimes the earth itself, but EVPs and ghosts from a parapsychologist view. there’s always a constant background of it.”

Parapsychologists are scientists who study paranorHall checked his EMF readers and continuously mal and psychic activity. watched for changes over time.

“Most legit parapsycholo“If we have a meter going “[Unknown entities] say gists, and when I say legit, I off and we notice an anomalous mean people who have actually various things; they are gotten a doctorate in parapsychange in the magnetic field, then we might go back to one usually little snippets of chology and do actual scientific of our audio recorders and see research, believe that what’s a voice coming in the if there was a voice on tape going on somehow is not ghosts caught,” Hall said. middle of someone else’s or spirits but human beings that According to Hall, voices are unconsciously affecting conversation.” captured on audio recorders and their environment,” Hall said. fluctuations in the EM fields According to Hall, most — James Hall, Pollard are not uncommon. parapsychologists believe science teacher “[Unknown entities] say certain people can control EMF various things; there are usually little snippets of a readers and audio recorders in an unconscious or voice coming in the middle of someone else’s conpsychic way. versation,” Hall said. “Sometimes they seem to be “It’s either teenagers or older women going direct answers to people’s questions, but it always through menopause,” Hall said. “Just that their body sort of seems random.” temperature is all out of whack, with some kind of Hall acknowledges the fact that ghost hunting is psychic ability that they don’t have conscious conwidely viewed as frightening by non-hunters, but he trol over, somehow affecting their environment.” responds to this from a scientific standpoint.

Hall realizes that scientific observers rarely ever “What we’re doing is actually really more obserconsider poltergeist as a ghost or a spirit, while vational science; when you do it, it’s very dry and most inexperienced people do. not scary at all,” Hall said. “Most people don’t find “When we talk about poltergeist, even though it scary, because you’re usually just watching monithat literally translates from German as ‘point tors or sitting in an empty room while you’re colghost,’ what they call poltergeist activity… is actulecting data and waiting for something to happen.” ally normally somebody going through some kind of There were two types of locations that Hall and extreme hormonal change,” Hall said. his team typically investigated.

Similar to questioning the existence of God or “Number one would be private homes where gods, Hall is unsure of his opinion regarding ghosts. someone has called us up and said, ‘Something “So, if you’re asking me what I believe in terms weird is happening in my house. I’m having expeof my faith, I believe that our spirits live on,” Hall riences; can you please come check it out?’” Hall said. “If you’re asking me what I believe as a sciensaid. “That was probably about half of them, and the tific researcher, I have to say that there is no proof other half were usually historical sites and places one way or the other.”

Photos courtesy of James Hall

GHOST HUNTER AND SCIENCE TEACHER JAMES HALL captures photographs of a vaporous anomaly at Rural Hall, N.C. (left) and an abnormal account where a woman appears to be in the left window at the Mordecai House in Raleigh, N.C. (right).

Page 19

The Omniscient

April 2016

Say “Yes� to the Prom Dress: How prom has transformed

By Madison Clark Staff Writer

High school students across the country are gearing up for what some describe to be one of the most memorable nights of high school. Yes, it’s true; prom is here, but how did it get to where it is now? Prom began as a small celebration for the end of high school for seniors in the 1930s and 1940s. The celebration has only grown since then. “I’m looking forward to seeing everyone dressed up; it’s a big milestone in our lives,� junior Savannah Maloch said.

Prom was not always about glamorous dresses or elegant dinners. Prom, short for promenade, was originally a middle class replication of the debutante balls. Debutante balls were a way of introducing the daughters of an upper class family to society by showcasing the young girls’ etiquette and elegance. A less extravagant party was created by the middle and working class families. In the early 1900s, prom was a simple tea dance, and students would wear their Sunday best.

In the 1950s, the typical prom venue would be the school cafeteria or gym. “Ours was in the cafeteria; it was decorated; we didn’t have to drive far or pay much,� French teacher Sharon Kolman said. “I’m not sure a more expensive and elaborate

Iconic Prom Dresses

prom would make it any more special for me.�

A part that some students remember is how they were asked. Last year, senior Kenley Green received packages of jelly beans and a card that said “I would be very ‘JELLY’ if you didn’t go to prom with me.� According to The Washington Post, “promposals� boomed in popularity in between 2007-2011 on social media as a way to bring attention to the students. “I think it would be lame to say ‘I got asked to prom’ ‘How did they ask you?’ ‘A text message,’� Green said.

An older prom tradition is the theme for each year’s dance.

This year, Northwood is showcasing Starry Starry Night as the theme. “I’m ready to see what they’re doing with [the theme]; it has the potential to be really nice and pretty with the lights,�

Maloch said. �I love the venue; I’m really excited about the venue. I think the theme fits.�

A noticeable transformation throughout the years is the fashion. In the first 50 years of the 1900s, modesty was at the top of the list when finding a dress. Dresses went below the knees and almost touched the floor. Sleeves kept the arms covered to satisfy modesty. During the 1960s, however, the trend began to consist of spaghetti straps and shorter dresses.

People now have the freedom to wear dresses that fluctuate

1970s Ruffles were highly popular; colors were vibrant

1960s Most dresses were pastel, ankle length ball gowns Blythe Hopes/Flickr

1980s Dresses got shorter, ruffles were still popular

Vegas Laveau Vintage/Flickr

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between full length ball gowns and short party dresses. With great dresses comes a high price. “I’ve been to school dances before; it’s just a school dance with more expensive dresses,� junior Kendra Moon said.

Prom is not just paying for a ticket. Dresses, tuxedos, shoes, flowers and dinner add up quickly; some put in the effort to rent limos and DJs for an after party. Others say it’s too pricey now. “It doesn’t seem fair to the people who can’t afford it to not be able to participate,� Kolman said. “I think that things have gotten very expensive; it’s very extravagant, and I think it fits into our culture.�

Last year Northwood’s prom moved from the Wicker Center in Sanford to the local Chatham Mills. The attendance has grown, but the space is smaller. “I’d like to see it stay in Chatham County,� said data manager Bonnie Morris, who advised the prom in 2005. “You hear about so many accidents around prom, and if we can keep it close to home, it’s less miles to travel for students.�

Prom takes place this weekend, and students and staff hope to make the night the best it can be. “It’s all about dressing up fancy, going to dinner, dancing and having a good time,� math teacher William Kager said. “I don’t see it changing much in 20-30 years.�

1990s Shiny, satin sheath dresses were a common sight on the dance floor Bridaldress Alizee/Flickr

2000s Dresses with lots of volume continue to be popular Blackrwordspinkrose/Flickr

Page 20

April 2016

The Omniscient

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The Omniscient

April 2016

Page 21

Finding their voice: Two seniors hired as voice actors

By Natalie Fragnito S taff Writer

Seniors Jordan Pollard and Cameron Underwood have been hired for a voice-acting job from California.

Pollard and Underwood are working with a studio called Moonshine Animations, run by Moon Kim. Most of the animations involve stop motion.

Pollard and Underwood invest their time in a YouTube channel, called DUBious By Nature, that showcases their abilities.

“It is pretty exciting, the prospect that we get to do [voice acting] somewhat professionally,” Underwood said.

Pollard and Underwood have been actively pursuing theater and acting since before they began taking classes at Northwood.

“I’ve always loved acting,” Underwood said.

“I’ve been acting since sixth grade, maybe fifth grade, and I’ve done acting through all this time I’ve been in this wonderful establishment [Northwood.]”

Both Pollard and Underwood began voice acting during their sophomore year. Voice actors provide voice-overs for animated characters in various forms of media.

Pollard and Underwood began voice acting as a fun activity that was inspired by anime.

“I’ve been into anime since sixth grade,” Pollard said. “It has a bad rap, but it’s a really good art form. As I got into the art of anime and the story line, the acting just followed, and it’s cool to be able to give life to a character like that.”

Pollard first introduced Underwood to the activity.

“I kind of stumbled into it,” Underwood said. “It was never really a planned thing, just something we did for fun on a Saturday, but it turns out that we’re pretty good at it.”

Voice acting and typical acting are very similar, but in voice acting, actors are unable to show emotion through body movement. When voice acting, all of their emotion is expressed through their voice.

“It has a lot of the same principles as acting, but you get to focus solely on the vocal part of it,” Underwood said.

Even though voice acting and stage acting are different, Pollard still enjoys both activities.

“I love stage acting,” Pollard said. “I’ve been in a lot of the plays and musicals...I love acting in general, but I really like voice acting…. With voice acting, you really have to over-exaggerate everything you do, which I didn’t really know when I started. If you speak in a normal voice, it sounds flat. It’s hard not to make it fun.”

Underwood shared his experiences with voice acting and the process.

“The difference between voice acting and acting on stage is that you do the same line over and over again, and you can listen back to the recording,” Underwood said. “I’ll do a line, and I’ll get so frustrated because I can’t do it right. And then when it finally comes out, and it is the exact way I want it to sound, it is just this overwhelming feeling of achievement. Just like, yes, I did it, it’s great. That’s probably the best part.”

Both Pollard and Underwood plan to be involved in theater in the future but do not plan to pursue voice acting as a career. Pollard plans to be involved in art and to be close to the voice acting field by going into animation in college.

Pollard does not think that voice acting is noticed as much as it should be.

“I think that voice acting should get more recognition in the theater community as a whole, because it’s one of those jobs that you don’t hear about anyone ever doing, but clearly someone is doing it,” Pollard said. “I feel like theater classes, theater programs and productions should have more opportunities for people to learn about voice acting and just talk about it.”

Sawyer Davis/The Omniscient

SENIOR JORDAN POLLARD practices voices for her YouTube channel.

22

O pinion

Fear Factor: My first experience with scary movies Adrianne Cleven

iiiiFear, as I have been told, is the strongest of all human emotions. My personal list of things that scare me is updated often and stored safely on my laptop: “accidentally being put on the US ‘No Fly’ list,” “aneurysms,” “a power outage while taking a shower” and “people with limited to no teeth” are some of the more memorable entries. Gory scenes, both real and computergenerated, affect me physically. If you heard rumors of a student fainting during the heart health video in Anatomy class, the mystery is over. It was me.

It’s my last year of state-mandated education and I’m preparing to embark on some of life’s biggest adventures: college, law school and then real life. All are exhilaratingly scary, and I felt grossly unprepared to conquer those fears. The last film that

Easy. Black and white cinematography had genuinely horrified me was The Polar makes everything seem above-board. I Express. Back in second grade, I was inexplicably terrified that those poor pajama-clad could handle that, no problem.

Or so I thought. Psycho’s infamous children wouldn’t make it back home alive.

Horror films, then, were my last frontier. “shower scene” sent my heart pounding and drove me close And with the to shutting the help of a few project down. brave friends and But I stuck it copious amounts out only to be of Sour Patch rewarded with Kids gummies, I the final chillset out to screen ing moments my first horror of the film. movies.

No spoilers, After much but think deliberation, I shriveled-up settled on two raisin corpse, films: The House at the End of the Becca Heilman/The Omniscient stabbings and Street, starring SENIOR ADRIANNE CLEVEN watches a scene taxidermy crows. Frightthe apparently of Psycho. See video at nhsomniscient.com. ening Norman multi-talented Jennifer Lawrence of Hunger Games fame, and Bates and his mother Norma, my friends and I decided, were anything but normal.

Psycho, a well-known 1960s film headed The House at the End of the Street up by the formidable Alfred Hitchcock. I (2012) is classified as a “thriller” instead figured if J-Law could make it out of the of “horror.” But I was more horrified than Hunger Games unscathed, I could rely on thrilled. There are a plethora of jump scares her for a lesser body count. And Psycho?

and locked doors down long, dank hallways.

One scene is of darkness being intermittently broken by a weak flashlight beam, which—you guessed it—eventually illuminated the creepiest character of the film. He was wielding a knife, by the way. With that, I discovered why I had steered clear of these films during my first 17 years on earth.

Interestingly enough, the fear I experienced during movie night dissipated soon after the credits rolled. I was uncomfortably frightened at first, but the feeling of having “survived” such a spine-chilling experience was euphoric: think of a runner’s high but with more popcorn. Will I ever watch one of these films again? Quite possibly, but only with first-rate friends and food: the great mood-boosters in any intimidating situation.

The world outside my window is chock full of scares: diseases, murders, war, genocide, global warming… the list goes on. It may seem nonsensical to say that my first experience with scary films altered the way I view such problems. All I know is that now I feel just a bit more equipped to jump headlong into my unstable world and face those problems head-on. And I think Alfred Hitchcock would be proud.

students to follow protocol relating to safe driving and reputable in-car conduct.

Numbered parking spaces would simplify that job and improve student safety. At the beginning of the school year, each student awarded a parking pass would be assigned to a designated parking lot, similar to how the system works currently. However, under the new system, students would also

the pavement of their parking spaces.

Administrators can also use the numbered spaces to keep track of students who repeatedly break parking regulations, including sitting in their parked cars instead of walking directly into the school building. There is also less of a likelihood that students will abuse their pass by copying it and distributing it to others or trying to transfer it to unauthorized cars. The parking spaces will clearly be “one per person,” and administrators, as well as students, will enjoy more control and less hectic mornings and afternoons.

If there is one topic The Omniscient has mentioned the most in the past few years, it has been student parking on school grounds, and if our cries are getting tiring, we sincerely apologize. Parking may not seem like an incredibly hot-button issue, but students need safe and efficient parking in order to focus on their education.

Numbered parking spots may not be the final answer, but the plan would be a valid first step to making the parking process less of a headache.

Assigned spaces could solve parking problems

Staff Editorial

iiiiImagine driving to school one morning but stopping just short of that iconic and majestic “Northwood High School” sign. You’ve made it this far, you think to yourself, and you spin your wheels into the nearby Bojangles’ parking lot to reward yourself with one of those classic Bo-Berry Biscuits. But those few extra minutes devouring man’s finest culinary creation will risk more than your well-toned abs.

When you pull into the school’s parking lot, your observation takes your breath away. Someone else’s car is nestled in your parking spot. YOUR spot! How dare they?

Not even Bo-Berry can remove the sharp twinge of betrayal deep in your gut. Unfortunately, scores of Northwood students have been unwittingly placed in a situation like this. The Omniscient’s editorial board recently brainstormed a solution. Drumroll, please! Assigned parking spaces.

Posting a number for each slot in the school’s lot would not just make mornings carefree for kids who can’t start school without breakfast. Administrators seem eager to ensure that all students who park at school have a valid pass. They also want

be the proud owners of a specific parking space characterized by a number. The risk of fender-benders could be lowered, because late students would not feel a chaotic rush to “find” their parking spot.

It would already be there, mapped out and waiting for them. Some students at nearby schools such as Overhills High School even express their personalities by painting

Graphic courtesy of Cassandra Navarro

STUDENTS may benefit from assigned spots in the parking lot.

April 2016

The Omniscient

The Omniscient Talks Feminism

White Feminism: Why intersectionality is important Sara Heilman iiiiAs a woman, one cannot deny that I face patriarchal oppression, but I am also white, straight and able-bodied. The reality is that there are women across the world who are being oppressed in more ways than one. Women of color (WOC), disabled women and LGBT+ women all face a double jeopardy situation that further prevents them from achieving equality with men.

Intersectionality illustrates the way that people face discrimination due to race, class and gender and how these discriminations overlap. According to the American Association of University Women, in 2014, white women earned 78 percent of what white men earned, while African American women earned 63 percent and Hispanic and Latina women earned only 54 percent of white men’s earnings.

What many white women refuse to acknowledge is that our experiences are in no way equal to those of more marginalized groups. “White feminism” is a set of beliefs through which the issues of WOC are excluded. Though white feminism does not include all white women who are feminists, the vast majority of those who do support these beliefs are white women with no recognition of the advantages they hold in society because of their race.

An incident involving Taylor Swift is one of the more well-known examples

Page 23

I’ll Make a “Woman” Out of You: How Mulan taught me feminism

of white feminism. Though Swift has not hesitated to show her support for the feminist movement, her disregard of racial issues has been problematic. In July 2015, rapper Nicki Minaj’s “Anaconda” music video was not nominated for MTV Video Music Award for Video of the Year, while Swift’s “Bad Blood” video ended up taking home the win.

Minaj expressed her disappointment on Twitter, stating that the contributions of black women to pop culture are often overlooked. Swift then directly contacted Minaj.

“I’ve done nothing but love and support you,” Swift said. “It’s unlike you to pit women against each other. Maybe one of the men took your slot.”

Swift centered the situation around herself, and in typical white feminist style, cut off an important conversation about race. Minaj, who was trying to bring light to racial discrimination in the music industry, was silenced by her white counterpart.

I’ll admit it: it can be difficult to remind myself of the adversity faced by others when it does not affect me directly.

The oppression of others is not always easy to see. Those holding privileges in society, including myself, must train ourselves to be aware of these injustices.

If we refuse to acknowledge the additional oppression of WOC, LGBT+ women and other marginalized groups, equality can never be achieved. True feminism encompasses all types of women. It acknowledges their experiences and the adversity they’ve faced, and it acknowledges the privilege of many white women at the head of the movement.

iiiBefore I could even walk or talk, my mother would show the film Mulan to me. Throughout my childhood, I remember watching it over and over again and it instantly became my favorite movie of all time. I never got tired of watching it, and to be completely honest, I still don’t.

In no time at all, I learned every word to every song in the movie. However, this was no passing childhood infatuation. Mulan grew to be my role model, teaching me that girls can be as strong and as powerful as anyone else. Beside my mother, Mulan was the first character to introduce me to the concept of feminism.

As a little girl, I saw Mulan as someone who took matters into her own hands and controlled her own destiny. She was strong, clever and independent; qualities that I desperately wanted to have then and still strive to have today. I admired her ability to combat every obstacle she faced,

physically and emotionally.

In the film, Mulan was told to look, act and behave a certain way.

She was primped and dressed up to look more dainty and feminine. By being made to look this way, Mulan believed that she had to be someone that she wasn’t. I watched Mulan overcome her mental, cultural and physical obstacles and I was able to see that women can be beautiful, in control and who they want to be all at the same time.

I think that all people growing up have some kind of role model, in real life or in fiction. Role models can be anyone from favorite pop singers to favorite superheroes. Mine happened to be a Disney princess, although I never thought of Mulan as a princess.

When I hear the word “princess,” I visualize a damsel in distress, waiting to be saved by the prince. In my eyes, Mulan was nowhere near this.

She was expected to be beautiful and obedient, but she found the strength within herself to defy expectations and to be her own person.

As someone who struggles with insecurity, watching a female character who could be exactly who she wanted to be helped me to see that women can be as confident and tenacious as any man.

topic of conversation.

“Where is Jack going to college?”

“What is Jack going to study in college?”

“What is Jack going to do after graduation?”

“Has Jack applied for any scholarships?”

I have answered these questions a thousand times and the answers are now programmed into my brain. For the record, he is attending Colorado School of Mines to study mechanical engineering and he has received a scholarship.

When I was younger I always thought the day Jack went to college would be a great day for me. We always got along fairly well but I was excited to be an only child; however, as this summer looms

closer, I have taken on a different perspective. What is life going to be like as a somewhat only child? Who is going to drive me around? Who is going to help me with my homework?

His decision to go out of state means he won’t be visiting on the weekends and he won’t be able to visit to celebrate birthdays. I have lived my whole life with an older brother and I used to think he was a burden, but now that he’s leaving, I realize all of the good things he brought into my life. He was the person I had crammed into the back seat with on road trips and later he was the person driving the car.

Last summer was the first time we took a road trip alone and it was also the last. We drove seven hours to West

Virginia to visit our dad over summer break. Despite the fact that he controlled the music and he refused to stop for food, it was a better experience than I expected it to be.

“We’ll be there soon, Chloe,” he said.

“You can’t be that hungry.”

Apparently his idea of being somewhere soon is three hours. It may sound strange since he was depriving me of food, but looking back, this was the day it dawned on me that he was actually going to college and wouldn’t be around anymore.

I’m going to miss having an older brother nearby to make me laugh and drive me to my friend’s house, but I’m excited to see what his future holds.

Leah Kallam iiiii

Saying Goodbye for Now: My brother leaves for college Chloe Maynard

In six short months I’m going to be an only child. My brother, Jack, will be boarding a flight to Golden, Colorado to go to college. Although Colorado is only 2,000 miles away, it feels like light-years after spending the last 15 years with Jack less than 20 feet away in the room next to mine.

Over the past year, give or take a little, I have gotten entirely fed up with my brother constantly being the only

24

S ports

Tobais Palmer: From Northwood to the NFL and back again

By Davis Palermo Staff Writer Northwood football star Tobais Palmer stands on the track, stretching and preparing to run the 40-yard dash. The whistle blows, and he takes off, sprinting as hard as he can.

“I timed him in class running a 4.21 second 40-yard dash; you can’t teach that,” former football coach Bill Hall said.

The top speed ever run at the NFL Combine, an event where NFL draft prospects show off their athleticism and skills prior to draft day, is 4.24 seconds, ran

by East Carolina’s Chris Johnson in 2008. “[Palmer] was in elite company when it comes to speed,” Hall said. “That was his main asset.”

Palmer graduated from Northwood in 2008 and recently signed to play football with the Pittsburgh Steelers, his fifth NFL team in three seasons. Palmer was recently back at Northwood as an Online Coordinator. He left March 23 to go to training camp. Palmer played college football at Georgia Military College and N.C. State.

He signed as an undrafted free agent with the Jacksonville Jaguars and has had additional stints with the San Diego Chargers, New Orleans Saints and Buffalo Bills, along with the Steelers.

“It’s a blessing to able to play in the NFL,” Palmer said. “It’s a great opportunity to go out there and play with some of the best athletes in the world.”

An athlete Palmer played with that stood out to him was Phillip Rivers. Rivers is the quarterback of the San Diego Chargers and also attended N.C. State. “He has helped me out throughout my career and gave me some tips and pointers on what I needed to do to tighten up my game,” Palmer said.

Palmer graduated from N.C. State in 2013.

“My proudest moment for Tobais was the day he got that degree,” Hall said. “I’m glad he’s at Northwood, and I’m glad he’s part of the family.”

Palmer says playing football in the NFL is different than playing in college and in high school.

“In the NFL, everybody is fast on the field; even the refs are fast,” Palmer said. “You have to be smarter and understand the system.”

Palmer’s professional career has had its ups and downs. In a preseason game during his first season with Jacksonville, Palmer muffed a punt.

“I still remember it,” Palmer said. “I felt I could have made a huge impact in that organization, and not being able to catch that punt when I needed to bothered me and still does to this day.”

Despite facing adversity throughout his career, Palmer says he plans to continue to play until his body says he can not do it anymore.

“There is always a time in life where you hit rock bottom, and it feels like you want to give up,” Palmer said. “But there is always that competitiveness inside of me that keeps telling me to keep going and to not give up on whatever I am working for or working towards.”

As a member of the Buffalo Bills, Palmer caught his first touchdown since arriving in the NFL this past preseason.

“It felt good,” Palmer said. “After experiencing quite a letdown in my first couple seasons, to see I still have the capability to get back in the end zone felt great.”

When his playing career ends, Palmer still expects to be involved in the game.

“I could possibly be coaching football here or just coaching football in general,” Palmer said. “I might not be able to play, but I can still have ties to the game and be able to take the knowledge and years of experience I have and provide it to others.”

“It’s a blessing to be able to play in the NFL.” —Tobais Palmer, Northwood alumnus

When Palmer was at Northwood as a student, he accomplished many things in the world of athletics.

He was two-time Offensive Player of the Year in the conference and also won the Chatham County Male Athlete of the Year award. For track, Palmer won the men’s 2A 100-meter state championship as a senior and set a 2A new record in the event with the time of 10.58 seconds. The record has since been broken.

Palmer’s football jersey is retired at Northwood, which means no other Northwood football player can wear his number.

“It means a lot,” Palmer said. “Being the first the person out of Northwood to make it to the NFL is a blessing, and just to have my name in the rafters here is truly an honor.”

Palmer used his family, friends and religion to stay motivated in high school.

“In high school, I was a firm believer in being very religious, keeping God first and just staying faithful to who I am,” Palmer said. “I surrounded myself with positive people to make sure I kept focus on where I wanted to be in life.”

Others at Northwood say Palmer was great on and off the field.

“He was a great teammate,” Hall said. “He was team captain; the kids loved him; he was well respected by the faculty, just a good kid.”

Palmer developed and matured throughout his high school career, according to Hall.

“He learned he had to get in the weight room, and his overall maturity as far as working in the classroom improved,” Hall said.

The most important thing Palmer learned from Northwood was to not forget who you are or where you come from.

“Coming from Northwood, it’s a very small town, and just being able to say that I made it out of Pittsboro, North Carolina has been a blessing,” Palmer said.

Tobais Palmer’s NFL Teams Through The Years

Photo courtesy of NHS Omniscient Archives

TOBAIS PALMER poses for a picture after playing in the Shrine Bowl.

Davis Palermo/The Omniscient

Photo courtesy of Ethan Hyman/Raleigh News & Observer/MCT

TOBAIS PALMER stiff-arms a Clemson defender.

April 2016

Page 25

The Omniscient

Kai the Sailing Guy: Junior Kai McGregor competes in local regattas held on Jordan Lake

By Tory Scott Staff Writer “We were coming down the downwind finish, and my dad jibed a bit too aggressively, and we capsized, and our tiller and our rudder fell out;one of which floated, thankfully, but the other sank, so we lost the rudder, and we had to sail all the way back with my foot sticking in the water,” junior Kai McGregor said.

McGregor has recently taken up a new sport: competitive sailing. He is a part of the Carolina Sailing Club (CSC) and recently joined the Research Triangle Park High School Sailing Club (RTP High School Sailing).

“I enjoy CSC a lot; they’re a good group, and it’s easy to get into,” McGregor said. “You can show up, and they will provide you with what you need to get started.”

McGregor has won many individual races. There are usually six races total in a regatta. He has not won a whole regatta yet, but hopes to in the future.

“I got pretty close,” McGregor said in regards to his previous regatta. “I won one of the races and got second or third in the other races.”

McGregor is competing against well-experienced adult sailors, including his father.

“They definitely have more experience than me; to really sail competitively you have look at the lake and predict where the winds are going to be coming from and where the gusts will be the strongest,” McGregor said.

Alasdair McGregor, Kai’s father, shared a little about their friendly father-son competition.

“Sometimes he beats me, but not often; it’s more fun when I beat him,” Alasdair said.

Alasdair thinks Kai is a talented sailor and has a natural talent for it.

“He can right that boat many, many times without getting tired and without getting wet,” Alasdair said.

Kai’s interest in sailing began nearly two years ago. His parents strongly urged him to take up the sport, and when he did, they taught him the ropes of sailing. Kai and his father spent a lot of time

practicing; they would go out to Jordan Lake and compete in CSC races.

“At first, we were on the same boat, a Laser, and eventually I moved onto my own boat,” Kai said.

At that point, his parents gave him everything he needed to get started.

“I gave Kai my boat and all my gear so that he would have the opportunity to go sail, and I encouraged him to practice and have fun with it,” mother Pam McGregor said.

Kai, a triplet, even received his mom’s old wetsuit.

“He uses my mom’s old wetsuit. They had to repair it first, it had a bunch of holes in it,so they would patch up a hole, send Kai into the water and whenever it leaked, he’d come back, and they would patch up another hole,” sister Darcy McGregor said.

The McGregor family says they enjoy sailing a great deal. The triplets’ parents have a passion for sailing and once sailed through the Greek Isles for two weeks before Kai and his sisters were born.

“You get to see the world from a different angle when you come from the water as opposed to driving someplace; you get a different impression,” Pam said.

Last summer, the McGregors spent a week on a 30-foot sailboat that they chartered called a Catalina and sailed through the Chesapeake Bay in Virginia.

“We anchored out in the streams, outlets and inlets, which were really pretty,” Darcy said.

The McGregors spend a significant amount of time sailing on Jordan Lake.

“We go to Jordan Lake a lot just on the weekends, and we’ll sail, or we will take two boats and go to Kerr Lake and camp for the weekend,” sister Elsbeth McGregor said.

Kai will continue sailing throughout the seasons to gain more skills and experience in hopes of winning a regatta, or maybe just beating his dad more often.

“You get to see the world from a different angle when you come from the water as opposed to driving someplace.”

— Pam McGregor, Kai’s mother

Photo courtesy of Derek Binkley

JUNIOR KAI MCGREGOR (right) has sailed competitively for the past two years.

Photo courtesy of Derek Binkley

JUNIOR KAI MCGREGOR (right) AND HIS FATHER (left) sail together on Jordan Lake.

Glossary Jibed: when a sailboat goes downwind, the sail switches sides Laser: a small racing sailboat Regatta: series of boating races, either sailing or rowing Rudder: steers the sailboat Photo courtesy of Derek Binkley

JUNIOR KAI MCGREGOR (right) is a part of the Carolina Sailing Club (left), which sails on Jordan Lake.

Tiller: handle to turn the sailboat

Page 26

April 2016

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MANY STUDENT ATHLETES struggle to recover after injuries.

Sawyer Davis/The Omniscient

A Bad Break: Senior student athletes discuss injuries

2089 Lamont Norwood Road Pittsboro, NC 27312 (919)-918-1080 oldschool.fancygap@gmail.com

By Sarah Helen Shepherd Staff Writer For many high school athletes, their athletic career begins at age four with Little League t-ball or recreational soccer and basketball. The athletes fall in love with the sport at an early age, and many dream to play in college. However, according to CBS News, only 2 percent of high school athletes end up playing in college and receiving a scholarship. The probability of being able to play in college is already slim; add getting injured during high school, and the dream of playing in college disappears.

One of the first injuries that occurred this year affected senior Conner Leinbach, who was injured during the football season. Before his injury, Leinbach hoped to play baseball in college for either a small Division I school or a Division II school. However, his injury has caused a change in his plans.

“I was not able to play any fall baseball or work out in the winter for baseball,” Leinbach said. “It hampered my ability to be recognized by colleges at that time.”

Senior Jazmine Atkins tore her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) this year in her right knee. Atkins believes that if she were not injured, she would have had the opportunity to play basketball for a Division I college.

Atkins has verbally committed to Converse College, a Division II school located in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Verbally committing is a nonbinding agreement, which allows for both the athlete and the school to back out of the agreement.

“My injury held me back, because I was not able to get the exposure that I needed to reach out to college coaches, and it is also a really hard commitment for rehab and getting back properly,” Atkins said.

Senior Cole Walker tore a medial collateral ligament (MCL) and dislocated his kneecap during last year’s football season. Walker, a defensive end, was looking to play at Campbell University, Wingate University, East Carolina University or Appalachian State University before he was injured.

“I had to tell all the college coaches that I could not play, and it was awful,” Walker said.

Leinbach described his injury as the most pain he has experienced in his life.

“When I first fell, I was in a pile of people, and my leg hurt really bad,” Leinbach said. “Then I looked down, and my leg was sideways. It was really painful.”

Walker explained how he felt when he was first injured.

“It was the worst pain in the world,” Walker said. “I feel like tearing my MCL was worse than breaking a bone. It was the worst pain of my life. I cried in the doctor’s office after they told me what my injury was.”

Leinbach reflected on how his injury will impact his future.

“It made me think about how important sports are to me,” Leinbach said. “They are important to me, but it is not the only thing that I want to do.”

After Walker’s injury, he believes that he needs to be more careful while playing football and “always be prepared for whatever comes at [him].”

Atkins explained how her injury has affected her life.

“I’m grateful that I had this injury even though it was a long and hard process, because it taught me a bunch of life lessons,” Atkins said.

“I still love the game. Tearing my ACL has made me love the game even more, because it gave me a different perspective. All the hard work that I had to go through made me not take playing basketball for granted.”

Walker described the implications and long-term effects of his injury.

“I cannot run full speed anymore, and it is difficult to get up steps,” Walker said. “I’m going to be limping around for the rest of my life and have a knee problem.”

Leinbach’s football injury has made him tentative to move on his injured leg while playing baseball.

Varsity baseball coach Rick Parks commented on how Leinbach’s injury has affected his final season playing baseball for Northwood.

“Any setbacks aren’t ideal, and they create adversity, and we have to overcome those challenges,” Parks said.

Atkins said her injury has made her stronger mentally and that she can take on a lot more than she used to. Tearing her ACL has taught her to “never give up on something you believe in.”

April 2016

The Omniscient

Page 27

Lacrosse vs. Baseball: These sports don’t hit it off

By Briana Stone Staff Writer

over the place,” Althoff said. “In baseball, you just vented the game as a way to train for war. You run for 90 feet or whatever it is and then stop. Lahave no shin padding and little forearm padding; crosse is just constant, and there is physical hitting, all the pads are as light as possible. My legs and Lacrosse or baseball? It is an age-old debate that unlike other sports.” forearms are often covered in bruises and laceraphilosophers have discussed since the beginning of Baseball involves the specific skills of throwtions after a tough game. It is one of the most time. Not really, but this topic can often start fierce aring, hitting and catching, all of which require work dangerous sports.” guments amongst athletes. and practice to acquire. Many of the Furthermore, lacrosse has been described as a In the spring, there’s top hitters in the game do not have combination of several other sports and is a game baseball as well as lacrosse. tremendous speed or strength, but of back-and-forths; there are no pitching changes, While lacrosse may not they all have a high-level of handmound visits, time taken or pitchers taking 30 sechave the title of being the eye coordination. onds between each pitch. “national pastime,” lacrosse Sophomore baseball player Max Lacrosse coach Kevin McDaniel explained the players have plenty to say Hundley described the skills decomplexity of the game. about why their sport is manded for baseball compared to “Lacrosse is a faster paced game; you have to better than baseball, and lacrosse. think on your feet a lot,” McDaniel said. “There are vice versa. The rivalry be“I feel like a lot of the skills are the strategies of basketball and hockey that come tween the teams at Northkind of the same, like speed and into play; lacrosse is like six-on-six basketball wood went to the point hand-eye coordination,” Hundley where you are trying to move around to get a good where two diss tracks were said. “Reaction time has to be pretty shot, so you’re setting picks, rolling away, reading posted on SoundCloud, good for baseball players, like when the defense and trying to get open to get good opone of which is by Conner a pitch is coming and you have to portunities to score. In baseball, they throw a ball at Photo courtesy of Conner Leinbach Leinbach, aka C-Rhymes, decide whether you’re going to swing you, and you hit it and run around bases.”

BASEBALL PLAYER CONNER LEINtitled “Lax Diss.” or not, so I guess reaction time is a Baseball players argue that their sport contains unique BACH (C-RHYMES) wrote the rap “Lax “There’s definitely more important aspect of baseball.” strategies that are just as complex. Furthermore, baseball Diss.” This is the track’s cover artwork. some player dislike When determining which sport is players insist that they are overall better athletes. between the sports specifiharder, how pain“The lacrosse team lost cally at Northwood, but I think it’s the fact that we’re ful the sport is can be considered. in a three-game series in a “Sit back, ’cause Cin the same season,” senior baseball player Conner Baseball players may have aches mutual sport that was chosen Rhymes is up to bat yo. Sit by both parties, basketball, Leinbach said. “If you don’t make the baseball team, and pains after a game, maybe a rug you try out for the lacrosse team, because everyone burn or two from sliding into a base back and get slayed on this and they lost 18-21 the first can play on the lacrosse team.” or a sore shoulder from throwing game,” Leinbach said. “I track yo. Y’all tried, but it’s believe the second game Lacrosse, often referred to as “the fastest game on the ball repeatedly for a long period two feet,” is a high-speed contact sport that compels the of time. On the other hand, cuts finished 10-21, so they lost really just sad though.” participants to be fit and in shape, particularly because it and bruises are a daily outcome of 2 out of the 3 games. It was — C-Rhymes’ “Lax Diss” involves intensive running. The average midfielder can lacrosse practices, let alone games. a straight blow out, and the run five to seven miles in one game of lacrosse. FurSenior lacrosse player Sean baseball team had a bad thermore, there are different kinds of fakes, dodges and O’Donnell mentioned the physical danger of lacrosse. game and still managed to win; we are superior athletes.” moves, all of which require footwork.

“In lacrosse, you have a whole bunch of guys Undoubtedly, both of these sports are quite tough Sophomore lacrosse player Tanner Althoff comrunning around with six-foot metal sticks trying to and require a great deal of effort. But as the weather pared running during a lacrosse game to running hit you and physically overpower other players,” gets warmer and the seasons for these games begin during a baseball game.

O’Donnell said. “It is a game of not only skill but again, will the victory go to a stick and pads or a “We don’t run from point A to point B; we run all physical dominance, and the Native Americans inglove and a bat?

Jessica Kolomichuk/The Omniscient

JUNIOR WESLEY ROBERSON observes a lacrosse game from the sideline.

Photo courtesy of Will Davis

JUNIOR DYLAN MAZUREK stands at second base waiting for the play.

SUPER

CHARGED

The student athletes shown below have exhibited traits that have earned the recognition of their coaches for exemplary athletic accomplishments.

— Compiled by Davis Palermo

Skyler Waugh/The Omniscient Photo courtesy of Carrie Bailey

Photo courtesy of William Davis

Trent Bagwell

Jack Maynard

“Trent is a good teammate and someone the younger kids look up to.”

— Brodie Beasley

“Jack has worked very hard at pole vaulting, and that’s how he reached the point he’s at now.”

— Chaz Bailey

Paige Marro

Becca Heilman/The Omniscient

“Paige is definitely a leader on the team. She sets the tone for games and practices as she leads by example.”

—Morgan Simmons

Featured Athlete: Tessa Sheets Hannah Gail Shepard/The Omniscient

Kayli Blankenship

“Kayli is a hard working individual that constantly strives towards her goals no matter what challenge faces her.”

— Anna Goldman

Photo courtesy of NHS Lacrosse

Jacob Bass

“Jacob always plays with a ton of passion and strives to make everyone on the field better.”

— Jonathan Robbins

Tessa Sheets has already accomplished many things in the world of track despite only being a junior. This past winter, she won the indoor state championship for the pole vault.

“I felt really good and really accomplished,” Sheets said.

Sheets entered the championship ranked number one in the state with a jump of 12 feet and won the title with a jump of 11 feet.

“I was kind of disappointed [with my jump], but that indoor season I just wanted to clear 12 feet and win the state title no matter what it took,” Sheets said. “I cleared 12 feet and won the state title, so I was happy with it.”

Sheets offers some words of advice.

“No matter what you do, always make a goal and reach for it,” Sheets said. “Even if goals seem kind of cheesy or really hard to achieve, before you know it, you’ll

probably achieve it. You just need the proper mental attitude.”

Sheets aims to win the outdoor pole vault state championship this spring season and possibly repeat as state champion next year for indoor as a senior.

Photo courtesy of Lindsay Denny

Carter Denny

“Carter is a great teammate and gives good advice when someone is struggling.”

— Cooper Patterson

Jessica Kolomichuk/The Omniscient

Sam Earnshaw Photo courtesy of Jentzen Jones/MileSplit

“Sam is a hard worker and is very dedicated to the game.”

— Tullis Davis