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January 2014
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The Omniscient
Table of Contents News Depression and Anxiety 4-5 Adoption 6-7 Getting to the Point 8-9 Photo courtesy of Africa Mason
Students share their adoption stories. pg 6&7
Entertainment Jerry Makes Bank 10 Selfie Do’s and Don’ts 11 Real Life Sci-fi 12-13 Concert Experiences 14 2013 Wrap Up 15 Music Majors 16 Art Spotlight 17 Review Page 18
Photo courtesy of Peter Ifft
Opinion 19-20
What’s going on in the world of science? pg 12&13
Sports Powder Puff 21 Moving Up: 3A 22 A Day in the Life: Coach Hall 23 Supercharged 24
Photo courtesy of Gale Brickhouse
Raising money for cancer through Powderpuff football. pg 21
- THE NORTHWOOD -
OMNISCIENT - STAFF -
EDITORS Allison DeJong—Editor-in-Chief Jessica Clayton—Graphic Editor Taylor Maloch—Social Media Editor Lauren Merrill—Social Media Editor Tori Nothnagel— Photo Editor Tyler White—Online Editor Morgan Yigdal—Online Editor STAFF WRITERS Rachel Boyle Savannah Castor Courtney Cleveland Jordan Dalton John Dunning
Chloe Gruesbeck Marlene Gutierrez Vanessa Jones Kenya Lee Savannah Maloch Mariah Moon Valentina Moreno Meredith Norman Savannah Raynor Emma Reinberg Zachary Robillard Ellie Saksa Jack Teague Dana Walker Skyler Waugh Jay Williams
-ADVISOR-
Neal Morgan nmorgan@chatham.k12.nc.us (919) 542-4181
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.
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Pittsboro 35 Thompson St. Suite 103 Pittsboro, NC 27312 (919) 542-5481
The Omniscient
January 2014
Chapel Hill 101 Conner Dr. Suite 401 Chapel Hill, NC 27514 (919) 929-2365
www.severtsmiles.com Morgan Yigdal/The Omniscient
Mental Health Statistics •1 in 10 people aged 5-16 suffer from a mental health disorder •1 in 15 children and young people deliberately self harm. •The amount of young people being admitted into hospitals due to self harm has increased 68 percent over the last 10 years. •Nearly 80,000 young people suffer from severe depression.
Source: Young Minds Professionals
January 2014
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The Omniscient
Depression and Anxiety Students share their experiences with the two disorders By Jessica Clayton Graphics Editor
“When it hits me, I feel like somebody is sitting on my chest. I can’t breathe and I start shaking, which causes me to get a fever. My body just shuts down and I just freak out. It takes over my mind and has me thinking that everything is not going to be okay; it’s not going to turn around,” said a senior who will be called Emily Jane, describing an anxiety attack. Although minor anxiety may be experienced by everyone at some point in their lives, an anxiety disorder is different. It is classified by chronic nervousness and exaggerated distress over everyday things. “Anxiety usually comes from the unknown—trying to figure out where to go from here, what my plans in life are going to be, how am I going to make it, what if I don’t get into the college I want, so your mind starts racing with a million different things,” guidance counselor Telisa Hunter said. Jane has battled anxiety since the eighth grade. It has affected her life in more ways than one. “On days that I am really anxious and nervous, I hold back and I can’t be myself. People notice it and think something is always wrong with me,” Jane said. Anxiety is not only socially debilitating, but also impacts her health. “If I have a panic attack, it’ll affect my immune system and my body and it’ll make me sick,” she said. “I’ve been to the hospital twice because I had a panic attack, I thought I couldn’t breathe and that I was going to die.” Jane has no control over her anxiety. A trigger can be anything that will cause a panic attack to occur. “If I have a [big] workload, it will trigger. If something reminds me of a time where I’ve had a panic attack in the past, I’ll relive it,” she said. On top of altering her life at school, anxiety also impacts her personal life because some people do not know how anxiety can affect a person. “It has caused arguments because not everybody understands what is going on in your mind and in your body,” Jane said. “They don’t really know how to react to it, so it causes a lot of arguments in conversation.” Sleeping can also be a problem for Jane. “[Anxiety] causes me to wake up in the middle of the night. When I’m sitting there going to bed and thinking about everything and stressing out, I get very anxious,” she said. “Then I can’t sleep the rest of the night because I feel like I’m not going to come out of it.” Jane used to take a medication called Paxil, which is used to treat many things, including depression and anxiety, until last year. “At first, I felt dependent on [the medication] and felt if I didn’t take it, I was going to freak out. Now that I’ve gotten older and I’ve had years of experience, I’ve realized that I don’t need the medication as much,” Jane said. “I started going to therapy which helped me learn how to fight it.” Jane felt the medicine put restrictions on her personality. “If you miss it one day, you will be nauseous and you feel gross. It makes you feel really quiet and it doesn’t allow you to be yourself,” she said. Jane offers insight to other teens that may be experiencing anxiety. “I would say everything’s going to be okay and to stay positive because there are other people who are going through the same thing.” Anxiety is only one disorder that is common among
teens. Depression is another crippling disorder that can also affect the daily lives of teens. “It makes it hard to focus; feeling too upset to focus in school and to study, not wanting to do anything because of how down you feel,” said an anonymous senior. When another student, senior Amanda Smith, which is not her real name, first started experiencing depression, she was not sure how to handle it, so she turned to her mom for advice. “I randomly, out-of-the-blue started getting depressed and I said, ‘This isn’t right, what’s happening?’ And then I talked to my mom about it, and she helped me figure out that, ‘Oh, you have depression, but you can overcome this,’” Smith said. Depression can be associated with self-harm and suicidal thoughts, which means one has the direct intent to cause injury to their body. “Images of harming myself [go through my brain]. Like wanting to just end it, pistol through the brain, anything,” Smith said. If gone unnoticed, this kind of behaviors could become progressively worse. According to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, suicide is the third leading cause of death for 15-24 year olds. “To me there is nothing more frightening than a student who has suicidal thoughts because you are so young and you have so much life ahead of you and it is only a one time moment in your life,” Hunter said. “There are ways to get through it, there are people out there to help, there are all kinds of options and resources for students who are feeling that way.” When Smith thinks of self-harm, she thinks of her friends and tries to battle her destructive thoughts. “I still think about [committing self harm], but then I think of my friends and how they don’t want me to harm myself, so I’m like, ‘I’ll do it for my friends,’” Smith said. Smith finds it hard to talk to a therapist. “I hardly trust new people, so I didn’t talk to [my therapist]; I just sat on the corner of the couch and just looked at her and tried to ignore her,” Smith said. Since it was hard for Smith to turn to a therapist to deal with her problems, she turned to her friends for support. “I went into this shell of sadness and my only happiness was when I was with some of my friends,” Smith said. Depression can cause drastic mood changes and affect the lives of the teens who face it. It causes Smith to act differently at school and around her friends. “It worries my friends, like my mood will be super hyper and then all of a sudden I’m not wanting to talk to anyone and I put my head down on the desk and just don’t want to be there right now,” Smith said. Although talking to friends can be beneficial, Hunter recommends talking to an adult. “We want to talk to our friends because they are our friends and we want to put those burdens on them, but you never know what your friends are also dealing with. Talking to an adult is different because they have been through situations that maybe you haven’t or your friends haven’t,” Hunter said. Anxiety and depression are serious issues in teens that need to be dealt with as soon as symptoms occur. “Some times things happen in our lives and we don’t know how to deal with them,” Hunter said. “We haven’t been given the tools or we’re not sure how to deal with them or we don’t want to come face to face with what is real compared to how we want things to be.”
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A second chance: Stories of adoption By Ellie S aksa S taff W riter “Parents are the people who feed you, clothe you, bathe you and love you, not really the people who gave birth to you. If your parents are the ones who gave birth to you and love you, then it’s fine. It just really matters who really loves you and cares for you,” freshman Tessa Sheets said. Sheets was adopted from Siberia, Russia at age two. She has known she was adopted ever since she could understand what adoption meant. Sheets does not know her biological family or anything about them and has many unanswered questions. “I would ask them about the living conditions when they had me or, if they even wanted me,” Sheets said. Some people hide the fact that they were adopted, but Sheets embraces it. “[Being adopted] makes me unique; it’s just cool to say, ‘I’m adopted,’ especially from a different country,” Sheets said. Unlike Sheets, senior Africa Mason knows both of her biological parents and was adopted last year at age 16. Mason and her siblings were taken by the Department of Social Services (DSS) when she was 12 years old. Mason unwillingly went to foster homes and cried when the DSS took her. Her first foster home was in Florida, she lived with eight foster families before she found a secure home. “The last thing my mom said to me when we were taken that day was, ‘Why are you crying? It’s all your fault,’ I never got that out of my head. I became really depressed,” Mason said. Originally, she was against adoption. Mason said she finally opened up to adoption after eight unfit and sometimes abusive foster homes. “I decided I want to be in one home, I want to start my life and get out of high school and every thing. I want to be stable and I want to be happy,” Mason said. However, before the adoption, Mason was scared. She says she got bullied throughout middle school. “I got picked on a lot because my mom was white [classmates] were like, ‘Oh you’re adopted, you’re adopted.’ I used to cry myself to sleep because I thought being adopted was so bad,” Mason said. After her adoption last spring, Mason’s opinion changed. “I think it’s amazing Graphic by Valentina Moreno/The Omniscient
The Omniscient
to be adopted. I don’t like being just like everyone else,” Mason said. “I got a second chance at picking a family and I’m grateful for that. So I am perfectly fine with being adopted.” Mason is in contact with her biological mother and sees her on occasion. When they get together they keep the conversations light. Mason knows her biological father, but does not often communicate with him. After the DSS took her and her siblings, her father moved to Michigan. “He’s not a father to me; he’s just a person who made me,” Mason said. Mason is almost 18, which means if she hadn’t been adopted, she would soon be eligible to “ageout.” Aging-out occurs at age 18 when a child has to choose to stay in foster care for three more years or leave the system. Statistics show the children who age out are more likely to have financial, educational, health and behavioral problems than children with stable families. Mason met her future brother at a summer camp. She was his camp counselor and he went home every day telling his family how much he liked her. “His parents met me in person and they started speaking with the camp director about adopting me,” Mason said. “I got to hang out with them to see if I liked them, I got to stay weekends with them and then I started staying weeks with them. I got to finally move in after four months.” Mason had dreamed of an non-traditional family with two mothers. “They came in and I thought ‘That can’t be right, your wishes just don’t come true,’” Mason said. “They are everything—they’re young, they’re two women, I have younger brothers, a dog, two cats and I’m happy.” Mason has been living with her “amazingly perfect,” family for nine months. Freshman Mara Klein was adopted from Dayton, Ohio when she was 11 hours old. Klein’s biological mother had her at age 16 and before Klein was born her biological parents split up. Klein is uncertain about wanting to meet them. “I would ask them what they were like when they were 16 because that’s a couple months older than me,” Klein said. Klein is struggling to sort out her feelings about her biological parents. “In some ways [I’m mad at them] because I feel like they left me,” Klein said. Klein knows little about her biological parents but says her biological mother would have terminated the pregnancy if her mom and dad had not adopted her. “The adoption agency called my [adoptive] mom and told her, ‘There’s a healthy 16 year old who’s
January 2014
pregnant, and you could talk to her and maybe she’ll decide to have the baby for you,’” Klein said. “My mom called her and convinced her to have me.” Knowing what her mom did makes Klein appreciate her even more. “It makes me think where I would have been. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for my [adoptive] mom. She literally saved my life,” Klein said. Coming from this background, Klein feels passionate about adoption. “I feel like adoption is a really good thing because a lot of people who want to have babies can’t and a lot of people who don’t want to have babies can,” Klein said. Unlike Klein, senior Alex McLaurin knows one of his biological parents and was involved in the decision to be adopted. McLaurin was adopted by his stepfather and is currently being raised by him and his biological mother. “I was six when I remember going to court with my mom. I had to stand up in court and testify and say that I accepted my [stepfather] as my father and I took his last name,” McLaurin said. McLaurin had no father figure for the first four years of his life. His biological father left his mother when she found out she was pregnant. At age four, McLaurin’s mother started dating his soon-tobe stepfather. His stepfather, known to McLaurin as “Dad,” was excited to have McLaurin become his son. He began the long process of adoption even before he and McLaurin’s mother were married. “He had to sign a lot of papers stating that he would take care of me; he had to take on my father role both on paper and in real life,” McLaurin said. McLaurin has access to contact information for his biological father, but chooses not to communicate with him right now. “I’ve thought about it a few times over the years and think once I’m out of college and I’m an adult, ready to more grasp the situation, I might finally contact him,” McLaurin said. The fear of rejection from the father who left him contributes to McLaurin’s decision. “I would announce myself by my current name and then I’d let him know I am his son. I’d just let him know how far I’ve come and inform him what’s going on, that is if he wants to talk to me,” McLaurin said. McLaurin feels fortunate to have been adopted by his stepfather. “I’m glad things turned out the way they did,” McLaurin said. “If they hadn’t, I wouldn’t be here. I don’t have any regrets.”
“I got a second chance at picking a family and I’m grateful for that.” — Africa Mason
The Omniscient
January 2014
The Flipside: An adoptive parent’s view
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400,540 children in the U.S. have no permanent home
In 2011, more than 9,000 were adopted by U.S. families
There are 153 million orphans in the world
Source: www.ccainstitute.org/why-we-do-it/facts-and-stastics.html
Photo courtesy of Darian Cork
Q: Does she know she’s adopted? If so, how did you tell her? A: We started talking about it Q: Why did you and your wife since day one, when she was too decide to adopt? young to even know what that A: We couldn’t have children. meant. Q: When did you adopt her? Q: Does she know her birth A: It was Election Day 2008, parents? it was a teacher work day and A: She knows of her birth parI was out with another teacher ents, the birth mother has chosen digging fossils. We came in for at this point not to contact us. Evlunch and [after] coming into cell ery year we try to make contact, signal range I got a phone call we send information. So she’s saying: “You got a kid.” aware of Shayla, but Shayla’s Q: How old was she when she never talked to her. was adopted? Q: Would you and your wife A: We were able to hold her the ever consider adopting again? day she was born. A: We are currently talking to Science teacher Darian Cork explains his family’s adoption story of their daughter, Shayla.
another birth mother to adopt. Q: How does Shayla feel about the possibility of another adoption? A: She talks about a baby brother or baby sister, I think she wants a baby sister, but she’s okay if it’s a baby brother. Q: What is your favorite part of having an adopted a child? A: It’s the same as being the father of a child, there’s all the joy and emotion and everything else that’s there. It’s funny how many people say “Well bless you for adopting a child,” and the reality is it’s a completely selfish thing on my part. There’s nothing that makes me sacrifice here.
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Discovering the Purpose of High School By John Dunning Staff Writer If you live to be 100 years old, high school will only have accounted for four percent of your life. Think about that, then ask yourself how significant those four years were or are to you. Mandatory secondary education comprises over half of our teen years, but only a small fraction of our overall life. Classes offered at Northwood allow students to expose themselves to a variety of knowledge and information. “[High school is about] how to begin to develop the world beyond yourself. As children the world is all about us, we’re the epicenter. We can’t help it though, we’re built in narcissists,” English teacher Jill Bone said. “I think high school provides the transition where you start to morph from ‘The world’s all about me’ to ‘Oh my God, I’m part of this larger universe.’” Upon coming to the conclusion that they are “part of this larger universe” students will often seek out their role in society. Some students will know where they fit into the bigger picture, while others will have a bit of learning to do. “People that are wired to have one idea and go straight forward are very successful in doing that, but I find when you give yourself opportunities to explore new things and grow in new areas, you can be given a better understanding of who you are,” art teacher Leslie Burwell said. Civics and AP Government teacher Roddy Story’s high school experience was one that represents the second type of student Burwell described. “I changed my mind a bunch of times about what I was going to do and it took me being exposed to a variety of different classes, interests and people before I was able to make a choice,” Story said. Sometimes a specific class or academic experience will spark an interest that changes a student’s plans for the future. “I didn’t really know what I wanted to do coming into high school. Everybody would ask me and other freshmen what we wanted to do in the future and where we wanted to go to college, but I never really had an answer,” junior Grayson Bryant said. “This year I started taking Auto-Tech and it’s been really fun. I like working on cars and fixing stuff. It’s definitely something I’d like to go to school for.”
Regardless of what each person gains individually, one goal of high school is for all students to graduate and receive a diploma. “I feel like the purpose of high school is to obtain the knowledge you need to go onto the next level of school or into the real world,” guidance counselor Telisa Hunter said. “Right now, without a high school education, there’s not a whole lot you can do. A high school education provides you with the opportunity to go to a two-year college, a four-year college or even just to get a job.” While learning is universally considered productive, it can be argued which type of information is most useful post-high school. “I think the purpose of high school is more so to learn skills than to learn content knowledge or facts,” Story said. “Students take standardized tests based on whether you know facts. To me, that’s totally pointless because you can look facts up on an iPhone, you can then look up on the Internet; they are literally key strokes away.” Some people believe that standardized testing has affected the way teachers choose lesson plans and interact with students. “I would be lying if I said I didn’t think standardized tests didn’t play a part in the way teachers educate their students. Any time a teacher is being judged by a test, not at any fault to the teacher, they’re going to have to look at what is on that test in order to prepare the students,” Hunter said. “I think a lot of our teachers do some of that, but most feel very strongly that there are other things that students need to learn before they leave that will just be good life lessons.” One difference between private and public schools are state-mandated standardized tests. “I went to a private high school and we didn’t have any standardized tests,” Story said. “There was no pressure on teachers to teach us dates and facts and other sorts of trivial knowledge that teachers in North Carolina are pressured to. As a result, they taught me how to be a pretty decent writer and they did a great job of teaching skill-based stuff. Graduating from high school, I felt I could have gone into a bunch of different careers.” Theoretically, students are assigned homework because homework provides practice, and practice should cement the information into a students mind. Facts are easier to forget and to some teachers “lesser knowl-
“[High school] educates people, informs people about what has happened, what’s currently going on, what we currently know in the sciences, building on peoples’ skills and trying to train new ones.” —Henry London, sophomore
edge,” because they cannot be applied or practiced in everyday life. “Students would be much better off with skills rather than knowledge they’ll probably forget over the summer anyway. There will be questions asked on the Civics test that will have no impact on the future success of a student,” Story said. “On the other side of the argument, it can be really hard to evaluate whether a student actually has those skills. I do think standardized testing is necessary, I just feel like teachers and students are held accountable for the wrong type of information.” The CTE, or Career Technical Elements, program has begun to develop classes to teach skills specific to certain careers. At Northwood, students are offered courses in health sciences, physical training, business and marketing. “The reality is not every student goes on to college, so I think it’s very important that high schools do offer the opportunity for kids to narrow down career tracks,” Story said. Parallels can be drawn between vocational tech schools and the CTE program. Vocational tech schools are schools that teach specific skills. “It’s the age old argument of vocation versus education. Back when I was a kid they used to have special schools called ‘Vocational Tech Schools’ that were designed specifically to teach skills in various careers from an aircraft mechanic to a hairdresser,” Bone said. “I feel if it’s not fluff and fodder, it’s good stuff. Learning skills that some kids don’t get at home or in the average classroom is very productive for students; I would like to see the CTE program continue to develop.” Some students will be exposed to a person, class or experience that will send them down a set path. “High school absolutely affected my career choice and future. As a student I actually decided I wanted to be a guidance counselor because of the counselor I had; my teachers encouraged me and the high school was able to open up doors so that I could attend a four-year college, then attend a grad school and then get my job,” Hunter said. For others, high school is nothing more than a stepping-stone. “High school didn’t affect my career choice even remotely,” Bone said. “All I discovered in high school was I liked to write, I liked to read and I liked to think beyond the obvious. I had a good time and I was a great skier.”
“[High school] prepares you for the workforce, teaches you life lessons, like business techniques and prepares you for having a job.” —Evan Seagroves, senior
The Omniscient
January 2014
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Where should you invest your time? 218 Northwood students were asked which classes are most worthwhile.
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Making Bank
make more money.” He sold this first account for $4,000 and created another account called “topinventionss.” This account tweets pictures of creative inventions, such as a trampoline bridge or a waterslide in a closet. It has over 243,000 followers and is growing each day. Silvestri has bought and sold others, including his current account “truckp0rn,” which only tweets pictures of different types of trucks. This account, for truck fans, has over 107,000 followers. Silvestri recently bought his third anonymous account called “chiliesttweets” which has over 134,000 followers. “A lot of people know you’re making money from this and they don’t like that, but if you keep it relevant to what your account is about, then you get more money from it,” Silvestri said. When Silvestri started his first account, he ended up losing $800 dollars to advertisers who said they would promote his account if he paid them. “When I first got started I was trying to get people that would promote my account,” Silvestri said. “I ran into someone who ended up taking my money and didn’t give me anything, so I lost $500 and I did it again and lost $300… after that I found good people.”
Top Tweet:
9,000+ retweets 7,000+ favorites
money he saved from working with his dad over the summer, Silvestri started his own anonymous account “I make $800-$1,000 [each on Twitter. He then paid other Twitter week],” junior Jerry Silvestri said, accounts with a lot of followers explaining how much money adverto promote his account. Once he tisers pay him to tweet. reached 50,000 followers, he could Silvestri owns three popular sign up for Google Adsense, a webanonymous accounts on Twitter with site with advertisers who would pay thousands of followers. He spends him for tweeting what they wanted. about 30 minutes to an “You have to hour each day managtrade with other ing the accounts and accounts to get a making sure they are bigger audience; updated. He spends say I know an some of the money he account that has makes, but also saves 150,000 followers, for college. I would say, ‘Hey “At first I took all if you retweet the money that I made three of my tweets, and put it back into my I’ll do the same account so I could get for you,’” Silvestri more followers, but said. “So you’re now I just spend it on engaging other clothes,” Silvestri said. people’s accounts Almost two years and getting your ago, Silvestri was tweets out to a scrolling through his good amount of Twitter list when he people.” Taylor Maloch/The Omniscient discovered a website With his first JERRY SILVESTRI makes that was being paid to money just from tweeting. account “Unlucky post funny pictures. Brian” becoming After researching how popular, Silvestri this was possible, Silvestri decided said it “motivated him to keep on to test it out for himself. Using the going, try to get more followers and
Jerry’s Favorite: Jerry’s Favorite:
2,000+ retweets 2,000+ favorites
Top Tweet:
Interested in creating your own account? Step 1: Create something appealing to a group of people. “You have to have something interesting that people are going to like, like funny stuff or interesting stuff so you keep people’s engagement,” Silvestri said. Step 2: To gain followers, invest into advertisers such as Google Adsense to promote the account, making it more popular. “You will need at least $1,000 to get started… you have to come up with a good idea that’s going to make people want to follow you,” Silvestri said. Step 3: Update the account daily and find new ways to get followers. “You have to be dedicated to it and keep up with it every day; you have to know people that can get you into it because it’s hard to get started on your own,” Silvestri said.
Follow @truckp0rn on Twitter Followers: Over 107,000
Jerry’s Favorite:
1,000+ retweets 1,000+ favorites
By Taylor Maloch Social Media Editor
7,000+ retweets 5,000+ favorites
A student makes money by tweeting
Follow @topinventionss Followers: Over 243,000
January 2014
The Omniscient
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–Graphics by Kenya Lee/The Omniscient
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January 2014
The Omniscient
REAL LIF Walk Again Project
Photo courtesy of Kemp Remillard
The first kick of the 2014 FIFA World Cup may be delivered by a Brazilian teen paralyzed from the waist down. The teen might be able to walk across the soccer field and kick the ball with the assistance of a mechanical exoskeleton controlled by the kicker’s brain. All thanks to the Walk Again Project, this might be possible. The Walk Again Project, lead by Dr. Miguel Nicolelis and his team at Duke University, is a multinational project that includes other research centers around the world. All the research centers share a common goal of creating a brain-machine interface (BMI) that would allow people to walk by directing artificial devices with their thoughts. “This type of technology is already being used to help people communicate basic spelling or sentences to their doctors or family; when it comes down to it the BMI really improves people’s quality of life,” Duke student Peter Ifft said. For the World Cup, a motorized metal brace- tested on monkeys-will provide support and movement for the kicker’s legs. A backpack worn by the teen will contain the battery to power the BMI, while German-made sen-
sors will relay feelings of pressure when the kicker takes steps. “We want to inspire people, and show them what’s possible in the future for rehabilitation,” Ifft said. In the 1990s, Nicolelis’ team worked to create the first real-time BMI. The brain-machine interface functions by custom microchips, called neurochips, implanted in the skull. These neurochips read the intended movements from the brain then communicates the information to an artificial device. The artificial device executes the physical action and operates in real-time as the user has the thought for movement. Basically, when someone thinks about walking, walking happens. “The brain is typically unharmed by spinal cord injuries,” Ifft said. “So where we tap into as engineers is, how can we extract information from the brain to write the software to decode this information and then think of clever ways to use the output of these algorithms to control these limbs in an easy to use, intuitive way?” A wide variety of artificial devices can be used on humans or animals with the BMI technology,
from prosthetic arms to full-body robots. But until a safer way is found to implant the neurochips in human brains, testing will remain more focused on animals. “The question we have to ask ourselves is how invasive will this [nuerochip] get without becoming a safety concern,” Ifft said. “The more electrodes you put into the brain, the more the body is going to react and the more dangerous it gets.” In 2008, Nicolelis’s team carried out an experiment where a monkey made a five-foot robot walk on a treadmill, using only her brain activity. The monkey was at Duke, and the robot walking on the treadmill was in Kyoto, Japan. It was the first time brain signals were used to make a robot walk. Right now, the Walk Again Project is working to make the neurochips safe to implant in humans to prepare for the 2014 World Cup. “We do not promise that it will happen immediately, but let’s say 10 years from now this will be huge,” senior research scientist Dr. Mikhail Lebedev said. “This will be a revolutionary treatment for many neurological conditions, not just the paralyzed.”
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Photo courtesy of Peter Ifft
During the 2014 FIFA World Cup, the first kick may be preformed by a paralyzed Brazilian teen with the help of a brain-machine interface (BMI). Duke University’s Walk Again Project is constructing the BMI, which is currently being tested on monkeys.
Photo courtesy of burgermac on Flickr
Shattered iPhone screens may not be a problem anymore. A possible use of Stanford University’s self-healing skin could be electronics that repair themselves when broken.
Photo courtesy of Air Combat Command on Flickr
The future of war technology could include invisible Marines and drones. Although Duke University’s invisibility cloak can currently only “cloak” microscopic objects, who knows what the future holds.
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The Omniscient
January 2014
Page 13
FE SCI-FI
By Chloe Gruesbeck Staff Writer
Invisibility Cloak
Photo courtesy of Dr. John Hunt
Attention all Harry Potter fans: scientists at Duke University have created the first invisibility cloak that masks centimeter-scale objects. But don’t get too excited, you’re not ready to sneak away with Ron or Hermione quite yet. Using a modified form of a substance called metamaterials (pictured left), Dr. David Smith and his team have taken the idea of guiding a light wave around a “cloaked” object, and returning it to the path it was traveling originally, to create perfect invisibility. The mathematics behind cloaking, called transformation optics, can be applied to all sorts of waves, not just light. From cloaking magnetic fields to acoustic cloaks that hide from sound, the possible uses for the wavebending technology are endless. Promising future uses include
metamaterial-enhanced noise-canceling headphones, concert halls with flawless acoustics and faster internet speeds. Metamaterials are an artificial type of matter, not typically found in nature, made of various materials like gold and copper arranged in different shapes and patterns. These materials have the ability to cloak the object to the human eye because the light waves are not being refracted, as they would be naturally. Using the metamaterials, the light waves return to their initial path without even a shadow cast. “Different materials have a different index of refraction…. It’s the variance between different materials that causes light to refract,” team member and Duke student John Hunt said. “If you are spear hunting for a fish, you never throw the spear to where the fish looks like it is; you have to throw it at a different position because the light from the fish is being refracted through the water interface.” While other invisibility cloaks have been created, they have all refracted or bent the light waves, which in return makes the “cloaked” object visible.
The project has received funding from several government agencies, which have all shown interest in the technology. “There are not commercial products out there right now, but there is definitely a lot of interest, mostly for communications in radar,” Hunt said. “We are a long way from being able to cloak a jet or a Marine.” There is a catch. Metamaterials can’t cloak anything much bigger than their wavelength. For light waves, which are only a few billionths of a meter in size, only objects that are not visible to the human eye can be effectively cloaked. This means it could take some time before larger items can be hidden. Other waves like microwaves, radio waves and infrared have larger wavelengths and are easier to be cloaked but can’t be seen by the human eye anyway. “If you want to go to something like a Harry Potter type cloak or to cloak a jet, then you’re going to need something that has cloaking sizes of billions or trillions of wavelengths, and getting to that point will be very difficult,” Hunt said. “We are trying to push it to that point, but it’s a long way off.”
Self-Repairing iPhone? Imagine having a cell phone with a self-healing touch screen display. No need to worry about scratches or cracks, it will repair itself in minutes. Thanks to chemical engineer Zhenan Bao and her team of material scientists at Stanford University, this technology could be coming to a store near you soon. The first of its kind, Bao and her team have created a repairing polymer that combines both sensitivity to touch and self-healing properties to form a skin-like dermis. This substance can be used for many purposes, like with the repairing touch screen display. “Self-healing is achieved by incorporating bonds in the material that can easily break and reform,” said Alex Chortos, a student at Stanford University and member of the Bao Research Group. “By putting unique nanostructured metal particles inside of the self-healing plastic, the material could be made conductive. By optimizing the concentration of metal particles, the material could also be made pressure sensitive, similar to human skin.” In a different application of the self-healing skin, the dermis can be used over prosthetics for a more realistic version of a real limb. “Human skin lasts a lifetime because of its abil-
ity to heal itself,” Chortos said. “Using a similar concept… the self-healing materials would allow the device to repair itself in the event of damage.” Bao and her team are now working on a transparent plastic version of the repairing skin. This would increase the potential uses dramatically. Before we know it, our tablets and smart phones could have self-healing touch-screen displays. Previously, self-healing skins were required to be exposed to high temperatures in order for their repairing properties to activate. But at room temperature, Stanford’s synthetic skin can heal itself to almost full conductibility. This whole process can take under a few minutes. In the future, Bao and her team hope to make the substance more skin-like. This would be achieved by incorporating flexible “mini-solar panels” like organic solar cells that the group invented to power the substance. They also anticipate making the synthetic dermis more elastic in order to help the skin be more prosthetic friendly. Additionally temperature sensing abilities and a pressure range closer to that of the human skin would be included. Boa and her team are hopeful about the progression of their self-healing dermis. “There are still quite a few issues to resolve Photo courtesy of Alex Chortos
before these types of functional prosthetics will be widely implemented in patients,” Chortos said. “But the field is making steady progress.”
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The Omniscient
January 2014
By Valentina Moreno Staff Writer
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Junior Jessica Mann also had a great experience at a Bon Jovi concert in early November. “It was so amazing, You sit in your seat even in the rafters. You and look up at the can still feel the excitestage ahead, waitment and the energy the ing for the show to place gave off. He did not start. Around you the leave anyone feeling left crowd murmurs to out. The whole arena was their neighbors, but sold out; even behind the stop as the colorstage there were seats ful lights dim to the people sat in,” Mann point that you cannot said. see the rows ahead Some students have of you. For several even met their favorite seconds it is silent, band members. Sophountil a light appears Meredith Norman/ The Omniscient more Anne Barone met behind the band on One direction performs June 22 at the PNC the guitarist from Blink stage, creating silhou- Arena in Raleigh. 182. ettes of each member. “[It was] the best The crowd starts to roar in excitement, some start moment of my life. He had painted this poster to chant and others squeal their lungs out. and we all got copies of it and he signed mine The experience of going to a concert can be with my name. He was really nice to me; I was thrilling and unforgettable. freaking out but he was nice about it,” Barone “Paul McCartney told the crowd that this said. “I told him that he was one of my favorite would be the first time that he performed this musicians; he was really flattered even though song since the 1960s. When he told us that he was they are famous and they have been together for about to perform this song that he had not done like 22 years.” in many decades, the whole entire crowd was on Sometimes at concerts a portion of the audithe edge of their seats,” senior Shea Wood said. ence shows up drunk or high. “Then, out of nowhere, we hear the piano chord “There was an insane amount of drunk people. and everyone started screaming because we knew They were four rows in front of me, I was having it was ‘Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da.’ We all started danc- a hard time focusing on Bon Jovi a couple of ing and having a good time, the lights were yellow times because they were always screaming and and green. It was amazing.” yelling and swaying like crazy because of how Wood continued talking about the scene. drunk they were,” Mann said. “Then he did ‘Live and Let Die,’ which was It is not the crowds that people go to see, it is probably the most impressive part out of the the band that they like. whole entire concert, because that is when he used “Every concert is an experience,” Mann said. pyrotechnics. When he got to the last line before “It does not matter who you go to see. The people the chorus, fireworks just shot out of the stage and around you, you like feel like kindred spirits. You there were flames; the whole entire room was just can make new friends when you go to concerts red. You could feel the heat from where I was.” that you love.”
Valentina Moreno/The Omniscient
Northwood:
Pop Culture:
*The new Vine app is created
*Mr.Blice leaves & Dr. Bartholomew becomes new principal
*Corey Monteith passed away
*Charge-Up Time begins
*Iron Man 3, top movie with $408,992,217
*Marching band earns All-Superior season *Moved from 2A to 3A
Photo courtesy of mctcampus
*Miley Cyrus’ “Wrecking Ball” video is fastest to reach 100 million views
Savannah Raynor/The Omniscient
* The Northwood Omniscient news magazine debuts
Photo courtesy of Nancy Kaszerman/Zuma Press/MCT
Wrapping Up
2013 World News:
U.S. News:
*Royal baby born *Carnival cruise ship stranded *Chemical weapons used in Syria *Pope Francis elected
Photo courtesy of David Carson/St. Louis Post-Dispatch/MCT
*Typhoon in the Philippines
*Red Sox win the World Series
Photo courtesy of Stephen Lock/i-Images/Zuma Press/MCT
*Boston Marathon bombing *Colorado wildfires *Government shutdown
— Compiled by Lauren Merrill & Savannah Raynor
Photo courtesy of Maurizio Brambatti/Ansa/Zuma Press/MCT
Page 16
The Omniscient
January 2014
Musical Futures B y Emma R einberg S taff Writer For many students at Northwood, music is the center of their lives. It helps them release their emotions and cleanse their minds. Some of those students would like to major in music in college and are devoted to their work. “[Playing the clarinet] is the only thing that I do in my life that I really enjoy a lot,” senior Kelsey O’Daniel said, a member of the symphonic and marching band. “I practice about six times a week at home for about an hour every day.” “People don’t recognize how much work [musicians] put into playing music. It takes a lot of work; we don’t just magically know how to play a piece of music. It takes a lot of practice and effort,” O’Daniel said. Junior Emily Huneycutt is also a musician at Northwood, but instead of pursuing a major in music performance, she would like to study a different field in music. “I want to get a degree in music education. My grandmother was a teacher and I’ve just always been inspired by teachers. I have a lot of respect for them,” Huneycutt said. “I’d like to be a college professor. I definitely want to get my masters in music education and go back to school to get my PhD in musicology.” Sophomore Tommy Lorbacher also hopes to pursue a career in music education.
“[Music] is something that I enjoy every day, mance and graduated in 2009. and I really want to be a mentor to other people and “I didn’t realize that I really wanted to mahelp them find joy in it as much as I do,” Lorbacher jor in music and do this for the rest of my life said. until about my sophomore year [of college]. Matthew Hanson, the guitar and vocals teacher I didn’t take practicing serious until then at Northwood, shared some insight on majoring in either,” Anagnost said. “I’m glad I majored in music education. music, because I was able to join [Lost in the “I chose to major in music education to have an Trees] and tour all over the world with the band. opportunity to share the It was a great experi“People don’t recognize how ence.” wonderful gifts that music gave me with students. people do much work [musicians] put into not Many I had many inspirational pursue music as playing music. It takes a lot of a major because they teachers growing up from private piano lessons and musicians are work; we don’t just magically believe being in the school band,” not paid enough money know how to play a piece of Hanson said. “I started for the amount of work out in music performance into their jobs. music. It takes a lot of practice they“Iput and got a degree in that. I understand that and effort.” began teaching private lesI’m not going to get sons after that, and that’s paid a lot, especially — Kelsey O’Daniel where I really fell in love going into teaching. I with teaching.” don’t agree with it, but Band director, Eugene Cottrell, gave his advice I understand where people are coming from,” on majoring in a music field. Huneycutt said. “I know that people don’t have “It takes a lot of hard work. [Musicians] dedicate money to pay musicians like they used to and it’s more of their time to perfecting their craft more not as important.” than other students will seem like they’re doing to Lorbacher is not worried about economic probget their bachelor degrees,” Cottrell said. “When lems either. you have to practice eight to 10 hours a day, it gets “I’m not really concerned about financial pretty difficult.” issues. If I’m doing what I love doing for a job, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill I’ll be happy, and I think everything will work alumnus Andrew Anagnost majored in music perfor- out,” Lorbacher said.
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January 2014
Page 17
The Omniscient
— Compiled by Morgan Yigdal
Visual Arts
Morgan Yigdal/The Omniscient
THE CCCC ART SHOW featured student work and work by artists in the community. Art teacher Leslie Burwell put in honors art student work, as well as some work of her other art classes. TOP (LEFT to RIGHT): Jordan Pollard, sophomore; Moli Eddins, senior BOTTOM (LEFT to RIGHT): Hannah Holloway, senior; Samantha Yigdal, senior
Dance
Jessica Clayton/The Omniscient
THE DANCE DEPARTMENT’S Winter Dance Concert was held Dec. 13-15. Dance I, II, III and Ensemble all performed in the concert. The concert featured seven student-choreographed dances with three duets and one solo by Kirsten Coleman. The end of the concert was a performance of all the classes featuring the seniors of the dance department.
Vocals/Band
Theater
Photo courtesy of Samantha Yigdal
THEATER ENSEMBLE’S production of James and the Giant Peach was a success, attracting children and adults to come and see the show. The next production that the school will produce is Hairspray. LEFT to RIGHT: Carter Smith, senior; Jeremiah Hartsock, senior; Adrienne Clemens, sophomore; Emma Korynta, senior; Chelsea Korynta, senior; Jeremiah Smith, senior
Ally DeJong/The Omniscient
THE BAND AND VOCALS I AND II classes performed together in their Winter Concert. Band teacher Eugene Cottrell and Vocals teacher Matthew Hanson decided on a conjoined concert based on the success the two had last year. Senior Cameron Ward conducted vocals in place of Hanson, who was ill. Senior Chelsea Korynta directed the band for one piece.
Page 18
Reviews
January 2014
The Omniscient
THE HOBBIT: Desolation of Smaug
Movies Coming soon:
The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug is the second movie in the Hobbit trilogy, which is based on The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien. The Hobbit is the prequel to the well known trilogy The Lord of the Rings, also based on the books by J.R.R. Tolkien. Just like the movie trilogy The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit movies will all be directed by Peter Jackson. Continuing from the first movie, Desolation of Smaug follows the journey of Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman), a band of 13 dwarves and the wizard Gandalf the Grey (Ian McKellen), as they work their way toward reclaiming the dwarves’ home of Erebor from the dragon, Smaug (Benedict Cumberbatch). In DOS, the group is forced by a band of orcs into Mirkwood, home of the Silvan elves. Thranduil, the elvenking, his son, Legolas, who Photo courtesy of thehobbit.com is also a main character in The Lord of the Rings, and a she-elf named Tauriel are the main elven characters to appear in Desolation of Smaug. Though Tauriel was not in the book version of The Hobbit, she was surprisingly a favorable addition to the cast. I personally was very excited about this installment of the Hobbit trilogy, specifically because of the look into the Woodland Realm. In the Lord of the Rings trilogy, we get to see the ways of the High Elves in Rivendell and Lothlorien, but until now we had yet to see the home and culture of the Silvan elves. Desolation of Smaug is the first look we get at Mirkwood and it interests me greatly to experience things such as their architecture, their language and their overall environment. — Courtney Cleveland The show “New Girl” captured the attention of audiences all around the country with laugh-outloud comedy and quirky characters. The show is in its third season as it follows a group of five friends that have very interesting experiences and somewhat interconnected romances, while trying to find their respective places in the world. — Savannah Raynor
Guess who’s back again? Eminem is and he is better than ever. As always, his songs are clever, catchy and obscene with a dash of deep, inspiring lyrics. I would recommend you pick up MMLP2 and listen to it. There are songs that you can jam out to and songs like “Beautiful Pain” that you can vibe to. He clearly establishes himself as a rap god, as one of his songs is appropriately named: “Why be a king when you can be a God?” — Jessica Clayton
Miley Cyrus is back, and bigger and better than ever, with her new album Bangerz. I’ve been a Miley fan since the beginning, when she was a Disney star on Hannah Montana. People will criticize and judge, but they can’t deny that her album has risen to the top and is number one on the charts. It includes the number one hit singles “We Can’t Stop” and “Wrecking Ball.” The songs on the album tell a story describing the failure of her love life with ex-fiancé Liam Hemsworth. Each song reveals a small part of her and allows the listener to feel the emotion she puts in her art. I love Miley Cyrus and cannot wait for her Bangerz tour coming in April. — Dana Walker
Which would you choose?
Robocop — February 12, 2014 An injured cop becomes a cyborg to introduce world-changing technology.
Winter’s Tale — February 14, 2014 A thief who falls in love with a dying girl he robbed.
The Wind Rises — February 21, 2014 Follows the journey of Jiro Horikoshi and his dream of flying away.
Sigur Rós’ new album Kveikur has taken a new direction – one that is noticeably more aggressive and darker than their past albums. This album has more of a post-rock feel, with gradual yet dramatic buildups and falsetto vocals of the vocalist and guitarist of the band, Jónsi. Although the lyrics are in a mix of Icelandic and a made up language (Hopelandic), you can still feel the emotion in the music. — Emma Reinberg
Xbox One • Internet connection required for initial set up of the console • $60 annual fee for Xbox live gold • 40 new controller updates • Controller takes regular AA batteries. Rechargeable batteries sold separately • Partnership with NFL to allow sports exclusives on Xbox One • Smartglass feature • Have to pay annual Xbox Live Gold subscription to access some apps (Netflix, NFL apps, Hulu, etc) along with the separate subscription fee required by the application • Cloud storage • No Bluetooth • Voice command • Livestream • Blueray DVD • 13 new Xbox One exclusive games • Offers two free games every month •Run multiple applications with snapmode •Partnered with Skype •Console price: $499.99
PS4 • Internet never required to use or play the console. • $50 annual fee for PS plus subscription • New touch pad and share button • Rechargeable batteries • Partnership with Gaikai to create the best possible online gaming platform and layout design • PS Vita • Access to applications (Netflix, Hulu, Facebook, etc.) for free; Application subscription still required to be paid if necessary • Cloud storage • Bluetooth • Voice command • Livestream • Blueray DVD • Five new PS4 exclusive games • Offers one free game every month along with discounts up to 75% on online games. • Cannot run multiple applications • Partnered with Facebook •Console Price: $399.99
If you haven’t seen Catching Fire at least twice by now, you’re doing it wrong. Join the rebellion. The movie was a step-up from the first movie with action and plot twists. The movie does an amazing job by illustrating the plot, scenery and character development of the book. The acting was phenomenal, as always. More so than the first, Catching Fire was visually pleasing with the elaborate costumes and tragically twisted. When I felt Photo courtesy of www.catchingfire.org like the movie was ending, I was on the edge of the seat THE CATCHING FIRE cast and crew at the movwanting more. Catching Fire is definitely a cliffhanger. ie’s premiere in Rome. — Savannah Castor
STAR WARS
Will the force be with you December 2015?
The seventh episode of Star Wars is coming to theaters December 18, 2015! Disney studios have announced a sequel trilogy after purchasing the rights to Star Wars for 4 billion dollars from Lucasfilms. J.J. Abrams, film director for the new Star Trek films, Mission impossible 3, and many other popular titles, has agreed to direct the first film. Several of the characters from episodes iv through vi are rumored to be in the film. The beloved droid R2-D2 is also going to be in episode VII and is fan made! — Vanessa Jones
Photo courtesy of StarWars.com
Opinion
“Learning in the Valleys”
Chloe Gruesbeck When my older sister, Anna, was officially diagnosed with Autism in 2000, it didn’t come as a surprise. The warning signs had been there for years; my parents had known Anna was different for some time. Honestly, I don’t ever remember anything different. Her noisy late night arguments with my parents, rushed trips to the psychiatrist and that pesky feeling of being a second priority were all just part of daily life. Autism is a cognitive impairment present from early childhood that affects the brain’s normal development of communication and social skills. People with this disorder typically have a difficult time forming relationships in addition to learning abstract concepts, like math. My sister is at the higher end of the spectrum. While she can still do some ageappropriate tasks, she will probably never
be able to live independently. Everyday jobs along, I will always be there for her. Last like tying shoelaces, getting yourself ready summer, when she was rushed off to the in the morning and driving a car are tasks ER after a bad reaction to a new medicathat Anna can’t do. tion, an incredible feeling of protectiveness As a child, I washed over me. remember being As I sat in an close to Anna, empty hospital but as we have waiting room gotten older, the on the Fourth of distance between July, I worried us grows larger. about the years This gap is filled to come after my with yelling parents pass and matches and how I will care slammed doors. for her. I suppose this is This wasn’t typical for two the first trip to the teenage siblings, hospital either. Photo courtesy of Chloe Gruesbeck but what I see in GRUESBECK AND HER SISTER at her graduation. I have been our relationship through what is different than others. I don’t understand seems like a lifetime of staying at friend’s her interests and thought process. I will houses or home alone while my parents never grasp how she doesn’t have the ability seek help for her. Every time I am reminded to comprehend all that my parents do for of how lucky I am to have such supportive her, when I would be elated to receive even friends and family. half the attention my parents give her. Even though there are difficult times, the Even though my sister and I don’t get good always outnumber the bad. Even with
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a cognitive impairment, my sister worked hard and was able to graduate high school. On her graduation day, my whole family and all her friends came over to celebrate, and there wasn’t a moment where she was not smiling. I’ve never seen my parents look so proud. My grandma once told me “you do your learning in the valleys.” And from these experiences, I have learned to be independent, and not to rely on others. From Anna, I learned to always keep people at a safe distance because nobody’s perfect and they will always let you down one way or another. I grew up at a very young age and realized the world wasn’t a fair place. My whole life I have questioned why this happened to my family. Why was it my sister that had seizures as a baby, cutting off the air supply to her brain and causing cognitive impairment? I always wonder what her life would have been like and what type of relationship we would have if she didn’t have a mental disability. But I try not to think about the “what ifs” because there is only what is. And this is my family’s reality; maybe someday I will accept this.
Catching a buzz: Should the drinking age be lowered? Staff Editorial
Teens often argue that the drinking age should be lowered to 18, to match the voting age and the age you can join the military. This seems like a preposterous proposal when underage, illegal drinking already accounts for 5,000 deaths and 190,000 serious injuries a year, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Teenagers are simply not mature enough to handle or process the effects of drinking. Mixing bad driving, emotionally unstable teenagers with legal alcohol sounds like chaos waiting to happen. The most apparent risk of lowering the drinking age would be the health risks associated with underage drinking. One effect alcohol has on the brain is the incapacity to form new lasting memories. Since the brain does not mature until your 25th birthday, teens are more susceptible to the damaging affects of alcohol (teenbrain.drugfree.org.) Our frontal cortex, the area of the brain that controls logic and thinking before we act, is not fully developed, meaning that we are not completely capable of making sound judgments
and are more likely to act on impulse. Lowering the drinking age would also form bad coping methods if every time we had an emotional meltdown, which, let’s be honest, is every day, we would pick up a bottle and drink our problems away. Teens already drink illegally, so to make drinking legal to us would mean
a whole new range of users and abusers. On top of that, teens that already use alcohol illegally would drink even more because it would be more accessible. This would also cause a ripple effect because younger teens, especially in high school, would have easier access to alcohol. An 18-year-old would be more likely to buy younger
classmates alcohol than a 21 year old who is already disconnected from high school students. Teens already binge drink and drink and drive, so by making the drinking age lower, society is telling teens these actions are okay. According to the Center for Disease Control, teens drink and drive about 2.4 million times a month. Adults were said to drink and drive 112 million times in 2010. If teens already drink and drive illegally, lowering the drinking age would make it seem okay to do, causing the number of teens who drink and drive to go up. It is a given that most teens will at some point try alcohol, but it becomes a lot more serious when they put other people’s lives in danger by drinking and driving. So while it may sound good to teens to lower the drinking age and “turn up,” it is actually a disaster waiting to happen. We may believe that we are responsible and mature enough to handle drinking, but the truth is we are not. There is already a societal overload of alcohol related problems, why add teenagers into the mix? The drinking age should not be lowered for the good By Valentina Moreno of America.
Page 20
A Few Short Seconds:
The Omniscient
How one Mistake Changed My Life Jordan Dalton Do you ever have those days where you feel as though everything is going to go perfectly? When I woke up April 20, I felt like I was going to have one of those days. It started off with the completion of a few hours of community service at Habitat For Humanity in Pittsboro. The experience at Habitat was uplifting and it left me with a positive outlook for the rest of the day. Upon arriving home from community service, I set out to spend the rest of my Saturday kayak fishing with a friend. I was even fortunate enough to catch two fish while fishing on the pond. After a few hours, my friend and I decided it was time to load the large red kayak into his pick-up truck. From that moment on I have little recollection of what truly happened on that Saturday. I have been told several different stories, but they all end the same. I suffered a severe, near-fatal skull injury that will haunt me for the remainder of my life. It’s simply amazing how one ordinary day can be turned to disarray in a matter of a few short seconds. It really goes to show you that every decision you make in life is precious and could mean the difference between life and death. One careless mistake I made of holding onto a kayak in an effort to prevent it from sliding off the back of the truck resulted in me falling
from the back of the truck and my head hitting the pavement. A fall that may have cost me my ability to play contact sports, a decrease in intelligence and a possibility of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) in my future. Of all the adjustments I have been forced to make as a result of my skull fracture and brain trauma, the biggest has been giving up football. Football has always been a huge part of my life and I have always stayed very involved with the sport. When I found out that I wouldn’t be able to play football as a result of my injury, I was devastated and at a complete loss for words. Finally I managed to ask the question on everyone’s mind: “Isn’t there something we can do?” But I knew the answer before the words left my mouth. The answer was no and it always would be. Some athletes may be familiar with the feeling of being on the sideline because of a broken leg or arm, but do they really know what it’s like to be on the sideline knowing that they may be there for the rest of their athletic career? There is no way to truly determine whether I have fully recovered from my injury or if I ever will. Recent results from cognitive tests have helped to provide a glimmer of hope to my situation. The results indicate that the symptoms from my brain trauma are nearing their end and that I am almost back to my previous state. At the end of the day, I really just need to make the best of my situation and try my best to get back to where I was just one year ago. The moral of this story: Don’t get into the bed of pick-up trucks.
January 2014
Looking up, I only saw one Life with a single mother
My 18th birthday just passed, and I’m sitting in the driver’s seat of a life that I would not have ever expected to have. From my great friends and few family members, to my football career and my biggest fan, I call her Mama. Lisa Renee Williams is probably the only As a kid I remember seeing his face and person in my life that knows what moves hearing his voice, but never was it permaI’m going to make before I make them. nent. My mom and dad got a divorce when I For 14 years she has been on the sidelines was three years old. People don’t understand cheering, laughing, crying and worrying. how hard it is for a teenager to have a single She has never missed a game. I don’t know parent at times; as a young man, I found and where I would be without the person that I find myself looking for answers from him, call mom. but he was never there. I watch some of my There comes a time when you have to closest friends struggle with the same thing. buckle down and suck it up, even when you I love my Dad. I never told him that know nothing is going your way, you have though, because it’s hard to say it when I to push yourself through it or you are going feel like I don’t mean to be down forever it at times. I rememand that, in itself is ber when my mom the one thing my would take me to go mom has taught me. meet him so I could My mom is a saint spend the weekend and fighter who will with him. We did the do everything for same thing almost someone else before every weekend: Go to she does anything a movie, eat and talk. for herself. When I For the most part, it try to do that, I fail. Photo courtesy of Jay Williams I still don’t realwas nice, but it wasn’t JAY WILLIAMS and his father. enough. When the ize how good of a weekend was over parent she is. But I we would meet back do know one thing, up and I would go home with my mom. I my mom will stop at nothing to love me and cried every time I left him, but to this day, I support me and make sure I have everything couldn’t tell you why. I need to continue living the life that I have. But I couldn’t just let him and the situWe’ve had our fights and arguments, but ation control my life. If I wanted to know everyone knows that it’s different when how to become a man I would have to get you’re arguing with a parent. Give it 150 out and do it myself. I’ve made the mistake percent she tells me all the time, on and off of thinking that I was right, but that is just the field. Wherever I go, when I come back, life. Trial and error. I’m getting her out of Chatham County.
Jay Williams
Minimum wage affecting Americans Kenya Lee It was another night at work as I stood behind the cash register scanning barcodes and chatting with customers. The next customer handed me a single loaf of bread and slid her card hastily, trying to get home in a hurry. As I hit the payment button, the register beeped and gurgled and the word ‘declined’ flashed across the register screen. She sighed with a worried expression on her face, digging into her pockets, hoping to find cash, with no luck. I had seen this woman at her job earlier in the week unpacking boxes and shelving merchandise at a job that pays the federal minimum wage.
I dug into the pocket of my khaki pants hoping to find change leftover from lunch and just my luck, I found enough money to cover the cost of the bread. When I first heard that the federal government is proposing raising the minimum wage by a couple dollars an hour, I did a little happy-dance around my kitchen. I currently earn minimum wage, which is $7.25 an hour. A couple hours per week, usually Fridays and Saturdays, you’ll find me at a cash register scanning barcodes, punching in produce codes and bagging groceries. I’d like to say that I’m rolling in cash, but honestly, after gas, insurance and other expenses, I have little left over. It’s sad to think that even if I worked a 50-hour week every week of the year, my salary would still fall under the federal poverty line. If I had to pay rent, buy food, insurance and other necessities, I would be
drowning in debt. I’m sure my situation is like a lot of high school students who work part-time jobs. We like the extra pocket-change, but can fall back on our parents for support when the funds run dry. After my happy dance, I realized that I would still be fine if minimum wage didn’t rise at all. But the sad reality is that some of the hardest working people fall under the federal poverty line because of their low wage. It is ironic how we live in a country that says hard work guarantees success, while some of the people who work the longest hours struggle to meet their needs. The Senate has proposed raising the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour, a $2.85 increase from the current minimum wage. Kenya Lee/The Omniscient Although the cost for basic goods might MANY PEOPLE in America fall below the increase, people that work hard should be poverty line. able to afford their basic needs.
Sports
Powder-Puff Playback
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By Savannah Castor Staff Writer
grade were and did whatchosen for the ever we could football and to win,” junior Wednesday night lights. On the turf, cheerleading Cali Powell one team dressed in pink and the other, teams. It was said. dressed in purple, lined up against each decided that the The cheerother. The “block squad” was hyped upperclassmen leaders perin anticipation. The quarterback yelled girls would formed a “Hut Hut,” and the center threw the play against the halftime show ball to the quarterback. The game had underclassmen that was a fast started. girls. and energetic Photo courtesy of Jacqueline Sculli dance that made Northwood held its first powderTo SENIOR MORGAN OLDHAM tackles puff football game in several years ensure that the crowd cheer freshman Carson Shaner as she catches Nov. 20 raising over $1,800 for Relay the footand applaud in the ball. for Life. The idea came from former ball team excitement. Chatham Central teacher Leanna and cheerleading teams were chosen “The dance consisted of a lot of Sartwell, who had coached powderarbitrarily, founder of Relay for Life, movement, then we got into our stunts puff teams there. Jacqueline Sculli planned out how the and then more dancing, and then some “Ms. Sartwell came into our [Relay teams were picked. jumps and [junior] Ronnie [Godbee] For Life] meeting and said that it had “Mr. Oakley randomly picked from cocked a back flip. Flying was scary for been done at Chatham Central before the bowl. I wasn’t even there,” Sculli me,” junior Tyler Whitaker said. “But and raised a lot of said. I felt like we did pretty good during money for them, so After the unhalftime.” “My favorite part was the we decided to go derclassmen and As the last few minutes of the game bonding experience through with it,” upperclassmen teams passed by and the teams were tied 14-14, between the girls.” senior Courtney were picked, they both teams knew the last play would Lineman said. had a couple of days determine the outcome of the game. — Morgan Oldham Sartwell was able to prepare and learn With about 20 seconds left on the to continue her powder-puff coaching the rules of football. clock, the game had one play left and the career by coaching the underclassmen “We had two practices after school. upperclassmen had the ball. The underteam along with Gale Brickhouse, who We went over plays for offense and classmen had their game faces on, set coached the upperclassmen team. defense, and [we] assigned positions up a defensive line-up and quarterback “We had cheerleading coaches come for everyone,” freshman Carson Shaner Morgan Oldham received the snap as up and help the boys learn how to be said. the buzzer rang and ran the yards for the good cheerleaders and they had pracIn addition to basic offensive and winning touchdown. tices a couple defensive plays, “Honestly I didn’t think I had it in me. times after the upperclassI was like, ‘Is this me?’ But it was really school during men team exciting. I now know why guys like to the week,” learned a couple play football,” Oldham said. senior Manon of schemes for a Despite which team won or lost, the MacAllister successful play. game meant a lot more than just the said. “The “My favorite final score. girls [pracplay was our “My favorite part was the bonding ticed] with Ms. trick play. The experience between the girls in my Sartwell and quarterback grade and the juniors and the playing. Ms. Brickwould distract It was all really fun,” Oldham said. Photo courtesy of Jacqueline Sculli the other team house to Juniors Alexa Bernard, Jamie PalTHE UPPERCLASSMEN football and learn how by talking to ermo and Oldham scored touchdowns cheerleading team pose before the game. our team and to play footfor the upperclassmen team and Amball.” then the center ber Leviner scored both touchdowns The powder-puff game was held would hike the ball to the running back for the underclassmen team, finishto raise money for Relay for Life. and she would run the ball and score,” ing the score 20 to 14. There is said The club’s goal was to raise money junior Taylor Roberson said. to be a rematch coming in the spring to support research to help find a cure Both teams seemed evenly matched between the same upperclassmen and for cancer and raise awareness at the throughout the game. When the upunderclassmen teams. school. They raised money by selling perclassmen scored, the underclassmen food from fast food vendors, t-shirts retaliated. The upperclassmen knew Final Score: Upperclassmen 20 and $5 tickets for the spectators. they had to keep playing hard. Underclassmen 14 Teams were chosen randomly by “We were just really excited drawing names from a bucket. Thirteen throughout [the game] and just really Money raised: Over $1,800 female and 10 male students from each wanted to win. We got really hyped
Photos by Jack Teague & Tyler White/The Omniscient
The Omniscient
Page 22
January 2014
Moving Up:
Northwood athletics makes the move from 2A to 3A By Jordan Dalton Staff Writer “The competition is a lot tougher. The teams are a lot stronger. Our team has had to step up and compete,” junior football player Jacob Fowler said. Over the summer, Northwood made the shift from the Carolina 12 to the Big Eight in the 3A conference. The transition came as result of Northwood’s population growth. Some coaches and players say they have taken advantage of the move and pushed themselves to meet expectations. “I like more competition actually, as far as [the players] knowing where they have to be to compete with the best schools,” tennis coach Joseph Kiertekles said. The transition to the Big Eight has been hard on some teams, but coaches and players say it has also helped them to improve and get better. The move was successful in giving players something to prove: they should not be overlooked. “In our move to 3A, we were a big shocker to people because we actually performed the opposite of how people expected us to. We proved them wrong,” senior football player Dimitri Nobles said. “Getting
“It was a big move, but I think it’s also a smart move because it shows Northwood’s a really good school and we’re moving up in athletics.” – Austin Korynta, freshman
moved up didn’t hurt us. It actually helped us. We proved to people that Northwood is something to be reckoned with.” The move to 3A is helping varsity athletes in other ways too. Better competition can often lead to more recognition. Promising athletes in 3A tend to get more acknowledgment for their work due to more competitive opponents. The increased recognition gives players a higher chance of getting their name out and potentially competing for a college scholarship. “In a way [the move] will help with recruiting, but if we stayed in 2A we could’ve gone farther in the playoffs,” sophomore soccer player Angel Rosas said. Some athletes like Rosas believe that the move to 3A is actually holding them back from greater success in the playoffs. The better, more athletic 3A players are proving to be much stronger playoff opponents than those faced in 2A. Both the football and boys’ soccer team suffered early exits from the playoffs this season. The girls’ tennis team had a conference record of 5-7 compared to last year’s 11-3 record and struggled against conference teams like Cardinal Gibbons. The football team, similar to the girls’ tennis
team, now has to face more competitive teams in 3A. “The schools that we’re playing now are a lot more athletic than the teams that we’ve played in the past. If we would’ve stayed in 2A with the talent we have this year I think that we would’ve dominated,” Nobles said. The football and boys’ soccer team each finished in the upper half of the Big Eight Conference standings. Most coaches and players remain optimistic about the move to 3A and have a positive outlook on what the future of Northwood sports will be. “This year we [have] focused on trying our best and actually improving on our skills [and] trying to win our matches. I like the move to 3A. It gives us more competition and it gives us all a chance to work harder,” sophomore tennis player Maya Schuler said. As the school continues to grow, it is hopeful that Northwood’s athletic program will continue to improve with an increased student population. “There is no part of me that wishes we were still in 2A,” football coach Bill Hall said. “People talk about opening a new high school. My philosophy is to let Northwood grow. We have all this land here, add to the building, do what we got to do, but let Northwood grow.”
“Now in 3A we’re playing much better teams with bigger schools. It’s good because it gives us a challenge.” – Nadeem Sbaiti, sophomore
“It’s good because it was a challenge and we were always pushing ourselves.” – Thomas Reynolds, senior
CAREER & COLLEGE PROMISE College Transfer Pathways Humanities and Social Science Business and Economics Life and Health Science Engineering and Mathematics
Earn College Credit (tuition–free) with Central Carolina Community College
Career and Technical Certificate and Diploma Options Automotive Systems Technology Barbering Criminal Justice Technology Early Childhood Education Industrial Systems Technology/Welding Masonry Social Media and Marketing
For more information, please visit your high school guidance counselor.
www.cccc.edu
January 2014
The Omniscient
Coach Hall
Page 23
A Day in the Life
B y R achel B oyle S taff W riter His day starts at seven a.m. when he pulls up to the field house. He has an hour and 25 minutes to chat with his wife or run his daily chores, like washing the football jerseys, before he plops himself into the green chair outside the weightlifting door. Football coach Bill Hall’s days are booked from morning to night with more than just coaching sports. Coach Hall has been Northwood’s head football coach since 1989. Every day before practice, Hall prepares notes from the previous games for the players to work on. “Sometimes it’s just things I feel they need to clean up, and sometimes it’s things I see they do out on the field during a game,” Hall said. “Either way, I get them to Rachel Boyle/The Omniscient work.” COACH BILL HALL instructing his third period weightlifting class to During the school day, Hall do their daily warm-ups. has weightlifting first, third and fourth period. Each week in his weightfootball teams needs. “Every day I have lunch in lifting classes, Hall has his “I leave school around 7 or my wife’s office,” Hall said. students work on something 7:30 p.m. every day,” Hall said. “Today we had Bojangles.” different so they will strengthen The seven managers of the different parts of their bodfootball team say they enjoy ies. working with Hall. “Most of my kids have “After every game and after had this class already or every practice he always says are my football players and ‘We have to keep getting betknow the drill,” Hall said. ter,’” junior manager Summer Hall encourages the Chegash said. players on the football Once the football season team to enroll themselves ends, Hall begins preparing the in weightlifting. He parfootball players for the upcomticularly encourages them ing season. Since this year is this year since he does not the first year for Northwood’s have a conditioning class team to be a 3A team, Hall (a class for football playknows what he wants the team ers to work specifically on to work on for the upcoming football workouts) on his season. Hall does conditioning schedule. after school every day in the During second period, weightlifting room. (his free period,) Hall runs “Come January we’ll start errands and works on his after school lifting for the to-do list. football players and any other “Today I am going to be athletes,” Hall said. “We have counting all the jerseys for soccer, cross-country, basketthe JV and Varsity teams,” ball, baseball and anyone who Hall said. wants to come can.” Every day after school Hall has not only coached Hall has football practice football, but other sports as well. from four to six p.m. He “I have coached pretty much ends up staying later so every sport at Northwood. You he can work on what the name it, I probably coached it.” Rachel Boyle/The Omniscient
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Sports
Every issue we’ll showcase an individual and his/her achievements from an ongoing sport. In order to qualify, one must be nominated by his/her coach for athletic ability, outstanding leadership, work ethic and sportsmanship.
Jasmine Harris girls’ basketball Avg. 4 points a game and 6 rebounds a game.
— Compiled by Tori Nothnagel & Zach Robillard
Ti Pinnix boys’ basketball He’s starting point guard. Avg. 16 points a game during holiday tournament and made Lee County Holiday Tournament team.
charged shot
“She’s a great senior leader and she puts in a tremendous amount of work. She does the little things that make our team better.” —Coach Cameron Vernon
“He’s a very talented, hard worker [and] a good general on the court.” —Coach Brian Harrington Skyler Waugh/The Omniscient
Tori Nothnagel/The Omniscient
Skyler Waugh/The Omniscient
Ceionna Kirby cheerleading “What makes her outstanding is her dedication to the sport and her commitment to succeed.” —Coach DeLisa Cohen
ELIJAH WASHINGTON goes up to block a shot against Bunn on Dec. 10.
Rob Hamlet wrestling Senior Captain His record is 25-10 He won 2nd at the Person High School tournament and 1st at the Jordan High School tournament.
Rory O’Dell swimming
“She works so hard and has really stepped up and took charge of the team. It’s great to see all the time she’s put in has paid off.” —Amanda Peele, Jr.
Skyler Waugh/The Omniscient
“He helps us a lot and keeps us focused. He’s just a good captain.” —Ian Anderson, So. Tori Nothnagel/The Omniscient