Points of Interest
Photo courtesy of Justice Mansour
TEACHERS from across the state gathered in Raleigh May 16 to advocate for their rights. pg 10
Grace Lake/The Omniscient
Courtney Wolfe/The Omniscient
SENIOR SKYLER HERRICK has traveled the country, meeting celebrities and furthering her love for dance. pg 15
Dr. Justin Bartholomew accepted a position as superintendent of Pentucket Regional School District in Massachusetts, and he turned in his resignation as principal of Northwood High School Monday, May 21. Bartholomew attended school in the district from kindergarten to senior year of high school before attending both Boston University and Northeastern University. He then moved to North Carolina while earning his doctorate in education leadership from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. “There are only two places you’d ever want to have [the superintendent] position: the place you grew up, and the place where you spent a huge chunk of your time,” Bartholomew said. “It is really exciting for this opportunity to be at home.” As his five years at Northwood come to an end, Bartholomew reflects on his time spent with the faculty and student body in a positive way. “I want to give a big huge thank you to everyone that has given me these opportunities and to all of the students I’ve been able to work with,” Bartholomew said. “Everyone around [Northwood] has been a huge support to me and I hope I’ve been able to give back just a little bit of that to everyone else.”
O MN I S CIEN T - THE NORTHWOOD -
Art by Sierra Blackwell
SIERRA BLACKWELL and other students showcase their work in Northwood’s first AP art class. pg 14
EDITORS Sara Heilman Editor-in-Chief
Chloe Maynard Online Editor STAFF WRITERS Madeline Conte
Ava Johnson Grace Lake Jeffrey Marcin Chase Miller Davis Palermo Harper Johnson Lanna Read
Rachel Stoner Sam Vanolinda Zoe Willard Courtney Wolfe
ADVISER 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. Chase Miller/The Omniscient
SOPHOMORE AARON ROSS is the only Northwood student who plays four sports. pg 22
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Front Cover: Senior Chris Drake, a national park enthusiast, sits on Mount St. Helens. Photo courtesy of Chris Drake
Northwood’s Favorite National Parks
CHRIS DRAKE sees the views at Zion National Park.
Photo courtesy of Chris Drake
It’s Worth the Hike: Siblings travel across the country to visit national parks By Lanna Read Staff Writer
advantage of all the things the park has to offer. “It’s always worth the hike,” Kate said. “Our family believes that you don’t really get what Standing atop an approximately 25-foot you’re meant to out of the park if you just go there overhang at Crater Lake National Park, senior to get your book stamped. You have to actually see Chris Drake turns to face his family, questioning the park for why it was made into one.” whether or not he should take the leap in front These views are why Kate believes her family of him. His sister Kate pulls out her phone and enjoys national parks so much. records Chris’ scream as he plunges into cool “We try to go to the parks because they’re re55-degree water. ally beautiful,” Kate said. “It’s really humbling to For the Drakes, visiting national parks is a see how vast the world is and feel so small when family tradition that began as a plan to travel more you look at truly awe-inspiring views.” frequently, alternating trips between park and city For Chris, his favorites of these views are the locations. However, the family quickly realized Grand Canyon and the Redwood Forests due to which of the two their sheer size. they preferred, “You cannot and they becapture it in a gan to focus on picture,” Chris checking nationsaid. “If you sat al parks off their there for hours bucket lists. looking at [the “It’s all any Grand Canyon], of us ever want you’d never stop to do,” Chris finding things to said. “It’s pretlook at. It’s the ty much just same with the agreed upon that Redwoods. You we try to hit up cannot compre[as many] nahend them with tional parks as a picture, and we can.” so being there Chris and to walk through Photo courtesy of Chris Drake them gives you Kate, along with parents Jen and KATE, JEN, CHRIS and JOE DRAKE (left to right) hike at complete and Joe, have visited Grand Canyon National Park. total perspective a number of national parks, including Bryce Can- on how vast everything is.” yon, Redwood, Crater Lake, Grand Canyon and Being a Girl Scout, Kate supports environGreat Sand Dunes. mental reform efforts. This experience has only According to Kate, a sophomore, these trips are furthered her admiration for the beauty of national exactly how a person’s time should be spent. parks and pushed her to encourage others to expe“The best part about living in this world is all the rience the parks as well. cool places you can go and all the cool people you “Most of the time, when you just go to a park, can meet,” Kate said. “It’s kind of a waste… if you you’re barely scratching the surface of how cool it just sit there doing nothing for your whole life.” truly is,” Kate said. “The farther outside of your When encouraging others to visit parks as her comfort zone that you go, the more rewarding it family does, Kate stresses the importance of taking will usually be.”
SKIP THIBAULT does blah
Photo courtesy of Skip Thibault
SKIP and MELISSA THIBAULT have visited eight national parks together. “I’d never seen anything like [Zion National Park]. When you go to Zion, you’re standing at the bottom, and you’ve got these sheer cliffs that shoot up hundreds of feet. The rock formations, the hiking, the views—it was like nothing I’ve ever seen. My favorite part was when we hiked to a plateau for three hours and only saw two other people.” — Skip Thibault
Photo courtesy of Caroline Lougee
DENNIS and CAROLINE LOUGEE watch the sunrise at Acadia National Park. “My favorite national park is Acadia. There’s a mountain called Cadillac Mountain that is the first place you can see the sunrise in the United States, and it was the prettiest sunrise I’ve ever seen. Also, in Acadia I climbed my first mountain with my family.” — Caroline Lougee, senior
Photo courtesy of Rachel Cullen
RACHEL CULLEN and HER MOM, FRAYDA BLUESTEIN, bond at Yosemite National Park. “My favorite national park is definitely Yosemite. Every time [my family] gets together we hang out there. We picnic, we kayak and we hike mountains. My mother, her three brothers and her whole family grew up right near there, and so they would go almost every weekend that they had a chance. They didn’t have a lot of money, so it was a big part of their family tradition, and now they continue it with me and all my cousins.” — Rachel Cullen, senior
June 2018, The Omniscient, Page 3
Oh, the Places They’re Going!: Seniors go far and wide to attend college Graduation is just around the corner, which means high school seniors across the country will spend the next few months in anticipation of their next great adventure: college. While some Northwood seniors are content to stay in the great state of North Carolina, others have plans to travel far away from home. According to Niche Ink, 58 percent of high school graduates attend college within 100 miles of their hometown, 72 percent stay in-state and only 11 percent of students venture more than 500 miles from their hometown. Below is a map of some of the out-of-state places Northwood seniors are going next year. — Compiled by Ava Johnson
“My stepfather attended Furman University, and when I went on the tour, the campus was beautiful, so that was the main thing that I liked. It’s a very small school with the class size around 15 students, which I thought could be either really good or really bad. I like the smaller atmosphere and being able to connect with my teachers, and Greenville is a growing community with a lot of opportunities.” — Cooper Patterson, Furman University “D.C is a really good place for making connections, especially if you’re going into law like I’m planning to.” — Lauren McDonnell, American University
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Colleges Included in the Map Below
Georgia State University- Atlanta, GA Brigham Young UniversityProvo, UT University of Tennessee- Knoxville, TN Savannah College of Art and DesignSavannah, GA University of South Florida St. Petersburg- St. Petersburg, FL Grove City College- Grove City, PA American University- Washington, D.C.
“I chose to go out of state because I’ve grown up in North Carolina my whole life, and the school that I really wanted to attend in North Carolina is UNC, but UNC is 5 minutes from my home, and I’ve spent my whole life walking around the campus. I felt like if I went to UNC, I’d just be going to high school but with harder classes. I wanted to really push myself, and I thought that college was such a great time to do so, because you have a safety net. You know where you’re living, you know what you’re doing everyday and you don’t have to really pay bills yet. I can push myself, go somewhere else and live in a big city, which will definitely be a different experience.” — Rachel Cullen, Northeastern University
Furman University- Greenville, S.C. Clemson University- Clemson, S.C. The University of AlabamaTuscaloosa, AL University of South CarolinaColumbia, S.C. George Washington UniversityWashington, D.C. Northeastern University- Boston, MA Bridgewater College- Bridgewater, VA
“I find myself to be a city person so being in the heart of D.C. is something that appealed to me. George Washington is in the middle of the city, blocks away from the White House and the monuments. I just felt that the school fit me.” — Jesse Singh, George Washington University “My parents both went to Tennessee, so I’ve been kind of brainwashed to go there my whole life. It’s always been my dream school despite it being out of state. I love Knoxville. They have concerts all the time and they have tons of cool places to eat.” — Megan Walker, University of Tennessee
From Chat Room to Dorm Room: Students discuss the process of finding a roommate By Madeline C onte S taff Writer With the end of the school year fast approaching, many seniors have already been accepted to a university and now face the new and daunting obstacle of finding a college roommate. “The hardest part is putting yourself out there, because these people are going to live in the same room as you, and you want to find someone who you can spend a lot of time with,” said Alexis Rolka, a graduating senior who will be attending Shaw University in the fall. Today, social media has become an integral part of the roommate-finding process, and many students have turned to various social media platforms to find roommates that aren’t so random. “I am currently following Instagram accounts that have people posting stuff about looking for roommates, and I am able to see what they are into and what they’re majoring in,” senior Austin Nykamp said. “Without social media, there is no telling who you could get roomed with and it really lets you find someone that’s just like you.” Multiple colleges even have sites that help match students with common interests. “Appalachian State University has this website that’s basically like a dating profile where you put up a bunch of stuff about yourself, and it will find you matches and requires you to reach out to them on social media,” senior Macie Marsh said. For students attending college outside the state, social media can be especially helpful in meeting potential roommates. “[Social media] definitely helped me a lot since I am going to a school in a different state, so I don’t exactly know who is going there,” said Shelby Reich, who will be attending the University of Tennessee. “There are two other people from this school going there, but I wanted to branch out and meet new people.” Though the process of finding a college roommate has evolved since the time Northwood teachers went to school due to the rise of social media, some things never change. Hearing the chatter of concerned seniors often causes memories of college days to resurface in teachers. “One year we had a suite, which meant we had our own rooms but had a connecting bathroom,” social studies teacher Erin Hull said. “I was a sophomore in college at the time, and my roommate was a senior. She would sometimes come into my room through the suite when I
wasn’t there and go through my closet and wear my clothes.” Like Hull, theatre arts teacher Kayla Sharp experienced the struggles of rooming with fellow college students. “My sophomore year, my roommate and I roomed with two other girls who we kind of knew, and the two girls wouldn’t clean up their dishes from a party they had the night before,” Sharp said. “I then asked them to clean their dishes because my room was closest to the kitchen and it smelled terrible. The next morning I realized all the dishes were not in the sink, so I thanked them and recognized that they cleaned the dishes. However, that night when I was cooking meat lasagna and turned my oven to 425ºF, all of a sudden smoke started coming out. It turned out, instead of doing the dishes, they just put them in the oven so I wouldn’t see them. The fire department came, and they had to take my whole stove top and oven all the way down the two floors and put it outside while it was raining.” Having a messy roommate is a common issue that students are likely to encounter during their college career, and social studies teacher Nicholas McAlister feels messy roommates are the hardest to get along with. “The worst was when someone was not clean and not taking care of the day-to-day cleaning activities around the house, like doing the dishes and what-not,” McAlister said. “We did have one roommate that was just super, super messy and was hard to be around as a result.” Though social media and the internet have restructured the way roommates are found, Hull says that living with a roommate still teaches young adults the same lessons it always has. “Having a roommate is a fun and annoying experience, but it is good in terms of stepping up into adulthood and trying to figure things out on your own,” Hull said.
“Without social media, there is no telling who you could get roomed with.” — Austin Nykamp, senior
Practice Locally PBO yogagardenpbo.com
How did you find your roommate?
Social Media 22.1% Random 41.6% Friend/someone you know 36.4%
June 2018, The Omniscient, Page 5
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Wonder Women: Students give something back — Compiled by Chase Miller Liliana Arias Mallory Storrie According to the North Carolina State Center for Health Statistics, as of late 2017, Mallory Storrie has been dancing for more than 11 years at Dancer’s Workshop ten percent of the population of North Carolina, over a million people, the majority of in Sanford. In this time, she has formed very close relationships with the other those being Hispanic or Latino, were girls in her company. Being an only without any form of health care. Vidas child, Storrie says she’s found “sisters” de Esperanza, a nonprofit organization there. Among these is 10-year-old Ella, operating out of free clinics in Siler who has multiple immune disorders, City and Durham, is determined to help including alopecia, which causes hair counteract that deficit. Opening once a loss. Ella had lost significant portions week on Saturdays and sporting bilinof her hair before, but last year, she lost gual staff, it provides free basic dental it completely and was told there was and medical care to their communities. little chance of it ever growing back. Freshman Liliana Arias is there every This was not only a cosmetic concern, week as a volunteer. but a creative one as well. “I mostly take patients’ blood pres“As a dancer, it’s really hard to sure and sugar and enter patients’ data portray something without your whole into the system for the doctors,” Arias body,” Storrie said. “To a lot of peosaid. “I love helping out around there.” ple, your hair is something that really Arias’ father, a Mexican-American gives you a lot of character. That was Photo courtesy of Mindy Storrie Photo courtesy of the VidasNC.com immigrant, started the organization in very important to her.” MALLORY STORRIE gives Ella a wig. 2004 in response to hardship in his home- VIDAS VOLUNTEERS construct a Storrie refused to watch her friend’s town of Ixmiquilpan. It was years later free clinic. confidence in their shared art form suffer due to her condition and decided to help when he decided to expand the Vidas vision beyond their original outreach plans and start out in the only way she knew how: She cut 16 inches off of her hair and raised focusing some of their efforts closer to home. Arias herself has been helping out since over $1,600 in donations to have a wig made for Ella. she was very young; she and the organization have matured side by side. “Now, she wears it and she loves it,” Storrie said. “And I told her, ‘Wear it “I wanted to get involved [because] I really like helping people,” Arias said. “That’s really when you want, don’t wear it when you want. This is for you, and you’re beautiit. It’s not because my dad runs the place.” ful without it,’ but she deserves to have it. She’s a wonderful girl.” Arias seeks to further her interests in medicine and pursue a medical career when she’s Storrie is happy that Ella can now perform at her fullest. older, following in her father’s footsteps in improving quality of life for the overlooked and, “I’m not somebody who usually gets emotional about watching people dance, as the Vidas website reads, “breaking down social and cultural barriers.” but if you watch her dance, it’ll make you cry,” Storrie said. Anisha McFadden Saving the world is no easy feat, and yet, junior Anisha McFadden works with a group aiming to do exactly that. Healthy Girls Save the World (HGSW) is a summer camp and program being instituted in many middle schools across the state that aims to teach good habits to the next generation of women. After an injury brought UNC basketball player Camille McGirt’s career to a halt, she decided to take a gap year in Washington, where the model for HGSW was inspired by her White House internship under the Obamas. She founded the non-profit with her sister Rachel the following summer (nearly seven years ago), garnering partial funding from her former college. Their website reads that “the mission Photo courtesy of Khadijah McFadden of Healthy Girls Save The World is to ANISHA MCFADDEN stands outside provide transformational experiences the HGSW campus. and education on proper nutrition, the benefits of physical activity, and overall healthy lifestyles so that girls will be knowledgeable and enabled to make healthy choices in their lives.” McFadden, a camper turned counselor, describes their goals similarly. “Healthy Girls Save the World is a program where they encourage a lot of healthy lifestyle choices, like drinking water, meditation, working out, having extracurriculars,” McFadden said. McFadden attended the camp twice during middle school and first started volunteering there over the summer before her ninth grade year, when she was still too young to be an official counselor. Returning every summer after, she’s since been promoted and enjoys the impact she gets to have on young girls, especially racial minorities like herself. “I feel like a lot of our young, black girls or Hispanic girls or any underrepresented minority… many of them don’t have the right home background,” McFadden said. ”And they need that encouragement—a camp to go to where they see older girls who can be their role models.”
Morgan Simmons There are few feelings in the world like that of a child opening presents. When you’re a kid, you want all kinds of crazy things, and the excitement that comes with the possibility of getting them is incomparable. Senior Morgan Simmons has always liked presents just as much as the next girl, but every year for over a decade, she’s refused them. “When I was in first or second grade, I told my mom I didn’t want anything for my birthday,” Simmons said. “I still asked for presents, but I asked for donations to Toys for Tots.” That was Simmons’ first birthday without gifts, but it wouldn’t be her last. She’s kept on the tradition of asking for donations to underprivileged children instead—and not just on that one day a year. Photo courtesy of Christopher Lupoli “It expanded from there,” Sim- MORGAN SIMMONS (left) and mons said. “My sophomore year, I COURTNEY WOLFE (right) participate was in sports marketing, and I sug- in the Pittsboro Christmas Parade. gested that we take up Toys for Tots as our class project. I got so much support. There were kids in the class who joined and also asked their friends to. My junior year was when it was fully developed into a club.” Simmons is the founder and current president of Northwood’s Toys for Tots club, which she believes is causing a lot of positive change. She originally wanted to get involved because of a need she saw in her hometown of Moncure. “Moncure can be an underprivileged area, so I had a lot of friends that didn’t have nearly as much as I did,” Simmons said. “They were missing meals, having to stay home to take care of their siblings. Realizing how close to home it all was really impacted me.” Simmons greatly enjoys the more interpersonal side to her service that comes with the distribution of toys. “You can actually see where your change is occurring and it’s really nice,” Simmons said. “Toys for Tots grows every year, and it’s really making a difference.”
June 2018, The Omniscient, Page 7
Davis Palermo/The Omniscient
59 PERCENT OF HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS admitted to cheating on a test in the past year, according to The Josephson Institute Center for Youth Ethics in 2017.
To Cheat or Not to Cheat: Is that the question? By Davis Palermo Staff Writer You are sitting at your desk, sweating through your shirt as the teacher passes out the test. You didn’t have time to study last night and you need a good grade. You take one look at the questions and recognize absolutely nothing on it. You start to freak out, so you decide to take a glance at the person’s paper sitting directly to the right. After all, it’s not going to hurt anybody. At least, this is the perspective of some students. Cheating is a problem that occurs at every level of education all over the world. According to a survey done by The Josephson Institute Center for Youth Ethics in 2017, 59 percent of high school students admitted to cheating on a test in the past year. This has become an issue at Northwood as well. “For every test you take, I would say at least three people cheat on it,” an anonymous senior said. Tests are not the only thing that students at Northwood cheat on. Homework, classwork, projects and other assignments can be cheated on as well. Many students, however, still do not take part in cheating activities. “No, I do not [cheat],” an anonymous junior said. “I work hard for my grades, so there is no need for me to cheat.” Others are very open about their cheating habits. “Oh, 100 percent [I cheat],” an anonymous senior
said. “Almost every test, assignment, anything. Cheating is just a form of people beating the system—it’s success, it’s people doing what is necessary to get a good grade.” Teachers and students can have different interpretations of what they consider cheating to be. “Cheating can be in degrees,” social studies teacher Holly Roper said. “It can be copying homework because you didn’t do it, or it could go to something much more complicated and serious, like intentionally writing down answers or information to be used on a test or larger exam. Everything between that falls into cheating as well.” Math teacher Jack Hunter has encountered countless episodes of cheating in his classes. “Every year, every semester and [in] almost every class, I have cheating incidents,” Hunter said. English teacher Jill Jackl believes part of the reason for this is the use of technology. “I think that cheating with the use of the internet has become almost a paradigm of public education,” Jackl said. “Shared Google docs, the ability to just look something up instead of just learn a concept, to think you can just separate one from the other in this modern teaching form is totally a ludicrous thought.” Spanish teacher Christopher Lupoli also believes that technology has added to the issue of cheating, and he discourages the use of translating applications in his classroom.
“Cheating is just a form of people beating the system— it’s success, it’s people doing what is necessary to get a good grade.” — Anonymous senior
Page 8, The Omniscient, June 2018
“What I want my students to do is demonstrate what they are learning,” Lupoli said. “Not what a computer tells them is correct Spanish. I expect them to make mistakes, I want them to show me what they are learning, and technology like Google Translate does the exact opposite.” Jackl also thinks that part of the blame can be put on the methods of teaching. “The biggest problem lies in the assignments that teachers give,” Jackl said. “If you are just going to be using a test you have been using for the past 15 years, guess what, that bad boy is online somewhere. Teachers that take their lesson plans off of the internet have to understand that their student can also go [online] and find exactly what they are looking for. The problem is not just in the student who has also been taught since the onset of internet and smartphones that [if you] don’t know answers, you just look for answers. So basically, to stop the cheating that we have today, you have to alter the way our assignments are. You cannot just have them look up and regurgitate. It’s the nature of the assignment, it’s the nature of the beast. You can’t slay the cheating beast now, so you have to find a way to create alternative assignments that will impede stealing someone else’s work.” Lupoli believes students are responsible for themselves and need to take action instead of resorting to cheating. “I think students don’t speak up when they should,” Lupoli said. “Sometimes students, instead of putting effort into it or asking for clarification or help, they make excuses and they cheat. There are times in life when you are not going to do well and there are times in life where you need to ask for help, and sometimes students don’t speak up, and then they justify their dishonesty wrongly.” Cheating can be a complicated issue, and in some
cases, students believe that it can be warranted. “[Cheating is warranted] maybe when your teacher doesn’t give you any of the materials to prepare for an upcoming test and you have no clue what it’s on,” an anonymous senior said. “And you need to pass to keep going and keep your grades up. Cheating is still bad—just because some cheating can be justified doesn’t mean it’s good.” Hunter can also understand why some students decide to cheat. “Everybody has a breaking point,” Hunter said. “You don’t consider yourself a murderer, but is there a point where you would kill to defend yourself or protect your family or someone else who is vulnerable? There is a point where everybody would say, ‘This is so important to me that I would break my moral code,’ and I think that’s what happens with cheating…. I understand motivations: they just want to get good grades and they feel that is their best hope for getting a good grade. I have sympathy for them, but I still try to stop the behavior when I can, in a healthy way.” Roper, on the other hand, does not believe any form of cheating can be justified. “I don’t think [cheating can be justified],” Roper said. “I think there are a lot of avenues you can take in order to make yourself feel better about your performance, and [by cheating], you are really cheating yourself out of a grade, you are possibly setting yourself up for major consequences and you aren’t really learning anything.” Students have different reasons and motivations for cheating themselves. Some students believe other students cheat because they see others doing it.
“Everyone wants to have a good grade, and if one person sees someone cheating, they say, ‘Why not cheat?’ themselves,” an anonymous senior said. “I think the people at the top of our class cheat because they want to have the best grades, and I think the people below them cheat as they see the best are doing it, so they think it’s an easy way to the top.” Others see it as a result of the stress high school puts on the students. “Either the person didn’t prepare, or they feel like they need to do it to get good grades,” an anonymous junior said. “School puts a lot of stress on students, and for many, cheating can act like a get out of jail free card.” Jackl believes there are two main reasons that students cheat. “Number one [it’s] laziness, and number two [is] the self imposed anxiety,” Jackl said. “GPAs are inflated, the whole systems inflated, and it is so [focused on grades] that it creates this stress and this anxiety that is hard to lather if you are a student.” Lupoli believes that those who cheat now will have it come back the bite them in the future. “I can say that people who are dishonest now will suffer consequences late in life,” Lupoli said. “Dishonest people will eventually meet their fate, and if it is not brought to their attention now, at some point it will be.” Jackl has one last message for potential cheaters. “Cheating is a risk you take, like speeding or doing something illegal,” Jackl said. “If you get caught, you have marred your reputation. And it’s hard to get that reputation back once you are labeled a cheater, so be careful before you make that choice.”
June 2018, The Omniscient, Page 9
March for Students, Rally for Respect: North Carolina teachers advocate for their rights By Madeline Conte Staff Writer
and Meagan Shirlen are a few educators that had the chance to speak with Representative Robert Reives and Senator Valerie Foushee at the North Carolina On May 16, the North Carolina Association of Edu- legislative building. Teachers who spoke with the legcators (NCAE) hosted a march in Raleigh where an esti- islators conveyed a sense of optimism for the future of mated 19,000 people rallied together to bring awareness the public school system. to the lack of classroom funding and budget cuts to the “[Representative Robert Reives] was very symNorth Carolina public school system. The march began pathetic and supportive of more funding for education, at 10 a.m. in front of the NCAE Headquarters and teach- and he actually said that there is a way to provide the ers assembled in the legislative building, demanding funds for the things that the teachers were requesting,” respect from lawmakers for their profession and better said Bartholf, an Exceptional Children’s teacher who resources for students. met with Reives. “[The rally] is not only about teacher salary,” said According to the NCAE website, North Carolina Kathleen Greenlee, an English teacher who attended is one of the lowest ranked states in the country in the the march. “I think the big misconception is that people amount spent per student, approximately $2,400 behind think teachers just want more money, and of course in the national average. North Carolina also ranks 37th out any profession most people would love to have more of 50 for teacher pay and is about $9,600 a year behind money, but it’s about dollars per student, the perception the national average. of teachers as a whole and funding for public schools, These statistics only highlight a few of the myriad of not just the teachers.” problems affecting teachers and students across the state, It was decided in a unanimous 5-0 Board of Educa- and Tracy Miller, a teacher at Horton Middle School, detion vote that Chatham County Schools would join the tails the decline in educational funding she has observed more than 30 other school disover the last several years. tricts that canceled classes due “Class sizes are larger, to the number of teachers takthere are fewer jobs in educaing personal days to participate tion, teaching assistants have in the “March for Students, been slashed, funding for speRally for Respect” movement. cial needs programs have been Northwood teachers who supcut,” Miller said. “School nursported the rally said that this es, school psychologists and somarch was an opportunity for cial workers have been cut and issues regarding public educathey are much needed. There is tion to get some attention from less and less funding for edulawmakers and the surroundcational necessities like texting community. books, technology upgrades, Some lawmakers, like Reextra-curricular programs, publican representative Mark clubs, field trips and more. Brody, vehemently disagree. Playgrounds and facilities are Chase Miller/The Omniscient “The hypocrisy is that crumbling; without massive loTEACHERS gather in Raleigh advocating they say they are supporting cal funding efforts we would be for students and their profession. the students,” Brody said in a in a terrible condition.” recent Facebook post. “One less day of instruction does Many teachers have expressed their concerns not help the students. Teaching our children that it is okay about North Carolina falling behind the rest of the to not show up for work does not set a good example.” country on national averages and the negative effect it Theatre arts teacher Kayla Sharp holds a dissent- will have on students. ing opinion. “There’s a lot of good teachers that are going to “I think if you just say you support it and you’re leave the profession or go to another state to work, just being very passive about the issue, it can be brushed which is bad for North Carolina kids,” social studies under the rug very quickly,” Sharp said. “Even though teacher David Orphal said. “Ultimately, that’s how I see this may disrupt the school day or people’s lives, it will it. If you want the best talent, then you have to offer betmake them stop and think why are they doing this and ter compensation.” the issue might get some attention from people who are According to WRAL, teacher pay has risen by 4.2 not educators.” percent in the previous year, but some educators argue Some teachers who participated in the rally were this is not enough to combat the effects of the recession. amazed at the size of the crowd and left feeling invigo“If you look at how the schools and student popularated by the experience. tion has grown and compare it to the cost of living, we “The solidarity to me was just amazing and I had no really haven’t made up for the period of economic deidea the size of the crowd until I stopped and looked at cline,” Burwell said. an aerial view of the amount of people that were there,” While there are many factors that may have given Greenlee said. “A lot of students were lined up on the side rise to the rally, Edward Walgate, a teacher at Horton and held up signs in support of teachers. There were also Middle School, shared his thoughts on the matter. parents in the crowd, spouses of teachers and other com“Brave teachers in Kentucky, West Virginia, Colomunity members, so it was overall a positive event.” rado and Arizona reminded us teachers that direct acOne of the main objectives of the rally was for tion has to be taken at times,” said Walgate, referring educators to have the opportunity to express their con- to protests and strikes in other states. “We can’t always cerns to North Carolina representatives and senators. rely on the media, government representatives and votNorthwood teachers Leslie Burwell, Carol Bartholf ers to act for us.”
Page 10, The Omniscient, June 2018
Parents in your pocket: New technology creates more ways to locate teens B y C ourtney Wolfe S taff Writer “I don’t realize how fast I’m going until she texts me,” senior Harleigh White said in reference to her mom, who uses an app called Life360. Life360 can be used to monitor things like location, but for White, it has become a speed monitor. Once, while on 15-501, she was going 22 miles over the speed limit. When she reached her destination, her mom texted her to tell her not to speed. White didn’t think much of her mom checking in on her, but the next day, she was speeding again and ended up getting a ticket. White feels that her mom’s use of the app can be “demeaning.” “It feels like she doesn’t trust me that much when she should,” White said. “I’m not worried about the Life360 because I don’t lie to her about where I’m going. But her looking at it and checking up on me and how fast I’m going makes me feel like I’m untrustworthy to her.” There are many students like White, and with the growth of technology, parents are finding new ways to track their kids’ locations. In order to go out, some teens have to share their locations with their parents. In a poll conducted by the Northwood Omniscient, 28.2 percent of juniors and seniors get tracked by their parents. One of those students is junior Shayla Baldwin. Despite doing it to please her mom, she finds it unfair and irritating. “I understand where my mom is coming from [with tracking my location],” Baldwin said. “She uses it to see where I am and if I’m lying to her about where I am. But I’ve never done anything to lose her trust and to have her to do that, it’s irritating at times just to feel that she doesn’t trust
me, and it’s kind of put a strain on our relationship a little.” Although some students like Baldwin think tracking is unfair, senior Jonathan Robbins doesn’t mind being tracked. “I don’t really care,” Robbins said. “I don’t lie to my parents that much. It’s all in the best interest of me. It doesn’t really hurt my feelings that they’re trying to figure out where I am. They’re not looking to make sure I don’t have fun, they just want to know where I am.” Senior Emma Taylor says having her location on makes her feel as if she’s never on her own. “It makes me feel like they don’t really trust me,” Taylor said. “I’ll say I’m going somewhere, and I know an hour after I leave, they’ll be checking my location. Even though they’re not there, they’re watching me. You’re never quite on your own. It’s that feeling of being watched from a distance because they’re always there and always know where you are.” Although Emma feels as if she isn’t trusted, her dad, Jeff Taylor, says that is not the motivation for tracking her. “A lot of it is out of curiosity of where they are and safety,” Jeff said. “It’s to make sure they’re okay. I should be familiar with where they are and if it’s in correspondence with what they told me. I [trust my kids], and I think it’s just for me. It’s something that helps me feel better late at night when I know where they are.” Teacher Sarah Robertson, a mother of two, feels that teens being tracked is a good thing because it could prevent future issues. “One of the reasons it’s so important is because I’ve personally known multiple students who have gone missing and were missing for days,” Robertson said. “If they had a tracker on their phone, it would’ve been a lot easier to find out what happened.” She says that tracking is more of a safety precaution than an issue with control. “It’s just a safety precaution, pure and simple,“ Robertson said. “Sometimes you guys get into situations you’re not able to get out of on your own. It’s best to have a safety net.” Some students, like junior Sean Foye, have turned their location off. For Foye, this created a ripple of issues with his parents. “Almost every weekend [there are problems with me turning my tracker off],” Foye said. “About three weeks ago, I was at a friend’s house and [my parents]
“She doesn’t realize that I’m almost 18 and going to college. She’s neglecting to see that I’m growing up and not a little kid anymore.” — Shayla Baldwin, junior
Illustration by Harper Johnson/The Omniscient
came and picked me up at one in the morning. I wasn’t at the place I was supposed to be, and my tracker was off.” If the teenager isn’t getting into trouble, Robertson says that there should be no issues when it comes to being tracked, but for some kids, the tracker may be necessary. “Parents, unless they’re actually worried, shouldn’t be snooping on their kids,” Robertson said. “If the kid’s…where they’re supposed to be, then it’s fine. Now, if you’ve got a dishonest kid on your hands, maybe you should be checking on them every once in a while to make sure.” Baldwin feels she deserves more trust because of her clean reputation throughout high school. “I feel that I’m a very reasonable person, so I try to reflect and think of where my mom is coming from, but at times it’s more than just the parent knows best,” Baldwin said. “I feel that’s why teenagers rebel, because they just want some source of freedom. I, being a teenager, [have] never done something like sneak out of the house, or do drugs or other bad stuff. She doesn’t realize that I’m almost 18 and going to college. She’s neglecting to see that I’m growing up and not a little kid anymore.” Robbins believes that in spite of some teenagers not wanting to be tracked, they should be okay with it. “I see no issue with [parents tracking their kids],” Robbins said. “Especially if they’re paying for the phone, paying for the gas to get there, the car. It’s their job to make sure we’re okay.”
June 2018, The Omniscient, Page 11
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Entertainment
Zoe’s 101: She will make you see all of the things that you can be
Welcome to Zoe’s 101 where I, Zoe Willard, will dip into my crystal ball of a mind to provide advice for whatever life crisis you’re dealing with. Whether it be relationships, grades or taking over the world, I’ll provide insight to all life’s hurdles and hoops. So hold onto your hats and turn on your listening ears, it’s about to get dramatic. Hello. So I have a friend who has hurt me in the past and now I am friends with them again. Is this really a good idea? So far they have been good to me, but I am afraid they are going to hurt me again. What should I do? Dear Backstabbed, Toxic friends are the worst. We have all been there. The thing about toxic friends is that when they’re great, they’re great. And when they’re not great, they’re really terrible. I like to live by the motto “forgive, but never forget.” If you are willing to take your friend back this one time, I don’t think that’s the worst idea in the world, so long as they actually continue to treat you kindly. If you haven’t already, talk to them about how bad they made you feel, and ensure that something will change. However, keep your guard up. If they start to show signs of betraying you again or falling back into their old ways, distance yourself to avoid getting hurt. If you think you are about to get hurt again, drop them like they’re hot. You don’t need negativity in your life, and you’re probably better off without them anyway. What do I do if the person I am dating doesn’t seem interested anymore? We have been dating for almost a year, but it seems like we are just friends. He won’t hold my hand and hasn’t said ‘I love you’ in person, only through text. What should I do? Dear Dump Him, This guy is really not worth your time. Relationships can really be great when they’re done right — this relationship is not an example of that. Your guy sounds uninterested for sure. Talk to him, see what’s up, and try to come to a solution. If he claims to be interested but continues to act bored, maybe he’s just boring. Either way, it sounds like it’s time to find a new guy. Say bye bye to Mr. Just Friends and find someone worth your time—you’ll be so glad you did. How do you take over the world? Dear Doofenshmirtz, However you do it, bring me with you. Hey, how are ya? I need some advice, some football coaches have been telling me to do football A LOT, but I do marching band and I love it as much as I love football. WHAT DO I DO?!?!
Dear Conflicted, I’m doing well, thanks for asking. I’ve heard that you can participate in both at once. However, you wouldn’t be able to commit your time to just one or the other, so this still can be a sticky predicament. If you love the two options equally, consider what you can see yourself doing more of in the long run. If you were to go to college for one of the two options, which would you pick? If you were to pick one, which would you succeed more in? I am a big believer in doing what makes you happiest. If marching band is your calling, then kiss football goodbye. If you really like the Friday night lights, then throw that trumpet away. Also, even if you can’t do both activities at the high school level together, you can always join a recreational team for whichever you don’t choose. If I had to give one deciding factor, I would consider which feels more like home to me. Consider which one would give you more of the ‘family’ feeling, and which you would wake up to every day excited to participate in. I am struggling on finding a balance between my school work, and having fun? Dear Busy Bee, Here are some tips I use to keep my sanity while juggling it all: • Study dates are a great way to get school work done and meet up with friends. • Limit the amount of time you spend on school work per day. Too much will drive you crazy and is frankly unhealthy. Prioritize what stuff is due the soonest, and work your way through it every day. I typically stick with an hour, but depending on your workload you may need to alter this. • Keep your weekends open. Try to finish everything you can before Friday night so you have nothing to worry about over your weekend. This can mean finishing assignments before they are due, but you will thank yourself in the long run. High school is crazy and busy, but it can also be one of the most fun times of your life if you do it right. Keep your grades up, but don’t neglect your social life. Good luck! Hello Zoe! Recently, one of my closest friends, a person who I used to hang out with nearly every day, has started to rub me the wrong way. Just the things she says in general and how she reacts to my problems seems to irritate me and it has caused me to not hang out with her nearly as much. I know that I love her and
I want us to have the relationship we used to, but I can’t seem to move past this. Should I suck it up and work harder to mend the relationship? Or is the fact that we just don’t seem to get along anymore a sign that it’s over? Dear Drifter, Consider how your friend may be feeling as well. If you guys are just drifting apart, that’s one thing. But it’s always possible that your friend feels the same way about you, or something deeper is going on with her that is causing her to act differently. As humans, we tend to jump to conclusions or make assumptions rather quickly, and we should take more time to find real causes behind problems. This sounds like it was a rather rapid change to me, so it could certainly be a big life change or adjustment for this person that is causing her to act out. Talk to her, but go in with an open mind and kind heart. It is always worth a try to mend a relationship, but sometimes, especially in high school, relationships just tend to drift apart. Baseline, yes, I do think you should give this friendship another try. If things don’t change or go the way you’d like them to, let the natural course of this friendship ensue. How do I not fail Chemistry? Dear Scientist, Some of us are just not good at certain subjects. Study a healthy amount, review for tests and quizzes, ask for help in class, but remember to not let a class grade determine your worth or make you feel bad about yourself. As long as you are doing as much as you can, you should feel satisfied with your work. One class grade will never determine your future, and you will find success despite that course’s outcome.
Illustration by Ava Johnson/The Omniscient
Chase’s Choices:
Justice In Jersey While riding his bike home from school, an AfricanAmerican 15-year-old is hit by a distracted off-duty police officer who leaves him for dead. The ensuing botched cover-up by the Jersey City PD and legal firestorm against them causes socio-racial tensions to skyrocket. Written like a murder mystery with the mystery taken out, the gritty anthology Seven Seconds is a timely and relevant take on a broken justice system, corrupt police force and sensationalized media. It follows the devout, grieving family of the victim, the guilt-wracked perpetrator of the crime and the drunken mess of a prosecutor overseeing the case. These characters are lackluster and flawed, the plot they follow jagged and spiraling; this is a show without regard for the played-out tropes of its genre. The layered and uncompromisingly dark narrative encourages a sense of discomfort to its audience. Speaking to issues of discrimination and accountability, Seven Seconds leads a discussion on the struggle to survive in urban America initiated a young boy’s failure to, and is a must-watch of today’s TV.
An Imperfect Union Political rivalries, tawdry affairs, government secrets. The political powerhouse House of Cards is centered around the career of Representative Frank Underwood, whose charismatic demeanor and southern drawl mask dangerous ambitions. Having served faithfully in the House for many years, Frank was promised the office of Secretary of State by the presidential candidate he helped put in office. When this goes awry, he is polite and accommodating, but he and his wife, an environmental entrepreneur, swear a secret vow to dismantle the administration one member at a time. The ensuing tale of revenge is elaborate and electrifying, reflecting many of the realities of politics with much more dramatic appeal. Interweaving the meteoric rises of a disillusioned young journalist, cocaine-addicted fellow representative and the president himself, House of Cards is a seamless blend of scandal and stateship, and the unyielding fast-paced progression of events is enough to have you inventing Congressional conspiracy theories. Most of its star-studded cast, save for former star Kevin Spacey who was severed from the series amid sexual misconduct allegations, will return for the sixth and final season this Fall, and the finale will package dozens upon dozens of episodes ready for binging.
— Compiled by Chase Miller All
photos courtesy of
IMDB.com
Love, Laughs and Flightless Birds Most teenagers feel misunderstood by their parents. But because Sam is on the autism spectrum, he feels misunderstood by nearly everyone. Atypical is a dramedy that follows Sam as he navigates his senior year of high school. His recent desire to date, implemented in part by his well-meaning but naive therapist, soon leads to a cascading series of awkward, tragic and heartwarming events that transform his life and the lives of his family members, including a high-strung helicopter mother and scrappy track-star sister. Sam’s warm personality, social setbacks and often verbalized fascination with Antarctica makes Atypical especially memorable. He’ll have you laughing one minute and crying the next, all the while teaching you lessons about empathy and humanity that you never knew you needed to learn. The show is a significant milestone for neurodivergent representation in television, painting people with mental disorders as, in fact, people, rather than problems to be solved. But more so than that, Atypical is a sweet and funny story about growing up and staying true to yourself when the world tries to tell you who you’re supposed to be.
Netflix Hidden Gems
Blast (Off) from the Past Loosely based on a 1965 television show and 1998 movie of the same name, Lost In Space is a sci-fi saga set sometime in the near future. The show opens as the Robinsons, a family of five, crash land on an unfamiliar planet after being forced to evacuate the space station delivering them to a better life on an extraterrestrial colony. The tense atmosphere with which it begins doesn’t let up, as threats alien and human alike arise. Each lengthy episode delivers a new series of setbacks for the Robinsons as they try to survive using their various educational trainings on a punishing, unpredictable landscape. The plot thickens when a spaceship stowaway currently calling herself Dr. Smith commits a swath of on-screen identity thefts to ensure her survival and is then rescued from her own craft’s crash. She hops between groups, victimizing the generosity of strangers and inventing new personalities as she goes, never staying long for fear her deception will be uncovered. It isn’t long before she falls in with the Robinsons and their newly-acquired robot companion and more danger follows. You’ll find yourself as encapsulated by this foreign world as the characters are, and the first season—the only released thus far—will whiz by you faster than a rocket ship.
Some More Suggestions:
When Penelope, a Cuban-American mother of two, is medically discharged from the army, she has no idea what her life will be like back home. Now an overworked nurse and soon-to-be divorcee, she enlists the help of her loud, loving mother to help take care of her children, and it isn’t long before everyone is butting heads. Penelope’s aggressively progressive daughter tries non-stop to change her grandmother’s old-fashioned ideas of the world, and her younger son is always vying for unaffordable fads. Despite their personal and monetary hardships, the ridiculous antics and general hilarity of One Day at a Time mirror and arguably even surpass that of the long-running 1975 show with which it shares a name and by which it was inspired. The tone is allowed to deviate from the comedic when exemplifying some of the real problems faced by Latin-American immigrants, reintegrating veterans and women in male-dominated fields, but, somehow, humor is often found in these topics, too. This rebooted One Day at a Time has been perfectly adapted for modern, multicultural television, introducing you to a quirky and lovable family that is completely new.
June 2018, The Omniscient, Page 13
ART SPOTLIGHT This year, aiming to grow the arts department at Northwood, visual arts teacher Leslie Burwell introduced the school’s newest AP class: AP Studio Art. Burwell welcomed five students to Chatham County’s first AP art class. The course featured a project-based curriculum in which students spent the
semester preparing their portfolios to be submitted as a supplement for the AP exam. Burwell believes this class offered a helpful look into the future for budding artists trying to discover what they want to pursue. “You get to experience what it is like to do origi-
nal thinking and not have anybody tell you what to think,” Burwell said. “You’re having to forcefully ask yourself, ‘Who am I as an artist?’ and, ‘What do I want to make and say?’ and that’s really a collegelevel idea.” For the complete story, check out nhsomniscient.com.
JOSEPH LORBACHER The 3-D design concentration produced by senior Joseph Lorbacher focuses on famous architecture and how it is reflected in the natural environment. “I chose to use the natural architecture of the world and compare it to what humans have created themselves, just to see how sophisticated architecture in nature is,” Lorbacher said. The body of work intends to relate a message about the complexities of nature so often overlooked. “I wanted to say that we’re part of nature, too,” Lorbacher said. “That we ourselves are animals, and that even though we can create all these amazing structures, so can other parts of the world.”
Photo courtesy of Neal Herbert/ NPS
SIERRA BLACKWELL The work of senior Sierra Blackwell focuses on the effects that mankind has on nature. “We’re literally killing the earth, and it’s happening so much faster than people realize,” Blackwell said. “There are efforts being made, but it’s not enough... and I really want my work to convey that.” Blackwell takes inspiration from Canadian artist Alexandra Levasseur, whose works combine nature and the human body to convey the relationship they share. Just as Levasseur takes inspiration from nature, Blackwell takes it from direct observation. “Just seeing all the stuff that’s happening in the world and in my own backyard [because of] our effect on the environment makes me want to say something about it,” Blackwell said.
RACHEL PONDER The body of work senior Rachel Ponder produced in AP Studio Art centers on feminist themes that encourage body positivity and the empowerment of women. “I want to reach out and spread the message that our bodies are acceptable, that nudity is okay and that we should enjoy how beautiful women are.” Ponder’s work is inspired by the women in her life and through her strong connection to nature. She was inspired to play with the idea of Mother Nature in order to convey her message. “Because Mother Nature is such a strong symbol for the creation and support of mankind, I tried to play with her image in creative ways to convey that women provide the same role,” Ponder said.
Page 14, The Omniscient, June 2018
— Compiled by Lanna Read
Bop Bop Bop, Bop to the Top: Senior Skyler Herrick wipes away her inhibitions By Chloe Maynard Online Editor
“The summer before ninth grade, my dad got a job with the Big ApGrowing up around circus performers, celebrities ple Circus to write the and Broadway performers is not a common experience music for them, and he for high school students, but for senior Skyler Herrick, had to live in New York it is the only childhood she knows. all summer, so I went Although Herrick was born and raised in Chapel and lived with him on Hill, she spent many chunks of her childhood in places and off,” Herrick said. like New York City. Beyond just getting to experience “We became really different places, Herrick was exposed to many differ- good friends with all ent people, including celebrities. According to Her- of the circus performrick, these encounters have left her with many stories ers and the people who to tell. took care of all of the “When I was five, Steve Martin held me,” Herrick animals, and they let said. “Then one of the biggest things is when I was me help them take care seven, my dad did an off-Broadway show…. This guy of the animals. I got named Randy Quaid was in National Lampoon’s Christ- to hang out with all mas Vacation, he’s now a huge criminal but back then he of the circus performwas a star. He basically babysat me—they hired him to ers. We almost adopted be in the show and he would babysit me at rehearsals and a retired circus pig Grace Lake/The Omniscient we have pictures and stuff. He ended up slowly ruining named Newman, but SKYLER HERRICK performs in the Spring Northwood Dance Concert. the show by changing lines and beating [up] the people we couldn’t figure out that were in the show. They had to get bodyguards and how to drive him all Just being around my parents, they’re always having all this stuff. It’s so weird seeing those pictures of him the way back home, so we didn’t do that. That was me do random stuff like sing a little something for a holding me.” really cool actually living with the circus, like running demo that they’re doing, or anything to really exposes More recently, Herrick got to spend time with Mariska away to the circus. It was cool to see how they lived me to the arts.” Hargitay, the actress who plays Olivia Benson on the long- and experience that.” Although her parents chose a musical path, Herrunning NBC drama, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Herrick was able to experience all of these things rick got involved in dance, and she intends on major“[Hargitay] actually took me to go see ‘Hamilton,’” because of the career paths of her parents. Her father is ing in dance and minoring in musical theatre at UNCHerrick said. “I have a bunch of really weird connections. in a band and writes music for different shows or films. Greensboro. After college, Herrick hopes to move to That was really cool, and I got to go backstage at ‘Hamilton’ Her mother is an artist and was also in a band. Growing New York or join a dance company. with her. We walked off the stage afterwards, and since I up around these influences has shaped Herrick’s inter“My dream is to become a Rockette, so I’m going was with her, everyone starting clapping.” ests, as she hopes to pursue dance as a career. to do their summer intensives while I’m in college,” Beyond having connections with people in the acting “My dad is in a band called the Red Clay Ram- Herrick said. “[I want to] do a little of everything: and musical industry, Herrick also spent a summer among blers, but he also writes music for musicals, so he ba- dance companies, maybe musicals, but I really want the Big Apple Circus performers. sically composes music for a bunch of random stuff, to be in New York. The thing about dance is you have whether it’s a musical or a film, anything to be young, so once I hit like 30, maybe 35, I’ll probreally,” Herrick said. “He’s done a few ably teach. That’s the thing about UNC-Greensboro, things on Broadway, especially when I they have a K-12 licensing program, so I’ll probably was younger, so that’s what I was say- end up teaching at a school when I’m older.” ing about getting to live in New York for Herrick has been dancing since she was seven, months at a time. That’s really exposed both competitively and at Northwood. She has gone me to the arts world in general and made to several summer dance intensives through the Jofme realize that’s what I wanted to do.” frey Academy of Dance in New York City and also the One of Herrick’s good friends, senior North Carolina School of the Arts. Caroline Lougee, also attributes Her“When I attended the Joffrey musical theatre inrick’s interest in the arts to her childhood. tensive, I got to go to so many shows and be taught by “I’ve known Skyler since freshman people that are in shows,” Herrick said. “That was so year, and I think that her family and all cool, and they were really inspiring. I feel like knowof her great connections and growing up ing performers that are currently on Broadway and in around two really great parents helped to musicals is really cool because I can get information shape her want to pursue a dance and mu- from them and know what it’s really like firsthand.” sical theatre related career,” Lougee said. Despite her professional training and competitive Herrick can pinpoint her aspirations dance experience, Herrick’s involvement in the dance to a specific moment. program at Northwood has its own benefits. “I remember when I was seven…[my “I love having that dance family [at my studio] parents’] band did a show called the Car- and focusing on my technique, but when I came here, olina Jamboree, and I was really young it was a whole different kind of dance, not the style, and had never really danced before, like but it was about everyone working together to make no professional training or anything like something, not just me as an individual trying to perPhoto courtesy of Skyler Herrick that,” Herrick said. “I would just go sit fect what I was doing,” Herrick said. “I think that LIN-MANUEL MIRANDA, MARISKA HARGITAY, ROBBY at rehearsals and watch the dancers. I showed me how much I love the family of the arts in BROWNE and SKYLER HERRICK (clockwise from left) meet was like, ‘Wow, that’s so cool,’ and that’s general and how creating something together is so exbehind the scenes at “Hamilton” in New York City. when I realized that’s what I want to do. citing. So thanks to Northwood dance for that.”
June 2018, The Omniscient, Page 15
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O pinion
Briar Chapel doesn’t give a “dam” about the beavers Ava Johnson
Briar Chapel, the neighborhood I live in, brands itself as a “sanctuary” on its website, but for whom? Surely not for the beavers who reside in the Pokeberry Creek on the property. The HOA had intentions to kill the beavers because of the flooding and damage their dams have caused to footpaths and bridges in the neighborhood. After a huge public outcry, the motion to eradicate the animals has been temporarily delayed and other options will be explored, but why was it even discussed in the first place? Although beavers do cause property damage, we are infringing upon their homes, not the other way around. Beavers are very beneficial creatures. There is evidence that beaver dams prevent excess nitrogen and other
toxins from polluting water. They also slow the water evaporation process and have the ability to replenish freshwater wetlands. These wetlands then become habitats for other species that couldn’t reside there before. Scientists have even proven that beavers are a keystone species in America, meaning that they play a crucial role in supporting biodiversity, including 43 percent of our endangered species. The Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife services program spends taxpayers’ money to kill over 27,000 beavers a year. I am not trying to claim that beavers aren’t a nuisance to us, but it is not their fault that they are in the way of our developments and our rapid expansion as a population. I also understand that trapping and moving beavers is much more expensive than killing them, but as a citizen, I would be happy to pay to keep some beavers alive by relocating them to places where they can do some good, or paying to install flow devices, which control the flooding caused by beavers. They are ecologi-
cally valuable animals and they don’t deserve to die. We really should appreciate the beavers more, as they are second to only us in their ability to change their
environments. As humans, we are constantly trying to change the world around us to fit our needs by building things pretty much where we please, and yet we are not killed for it. The beavers are.
Photo courtesy of The National Park Service
NORTH AMERICAN BEAVER POPULATIONS have decreased from 400 million to 12 million since 1988, according to aphis.usda.gov.
Homeless, Not Friendless: The homeless are misunderstood Madeline Conte Your car pulls up to a stoplight, and standing to your left, there is a man with disheveled hair and stains on his clothes. He holds a tattered cardboard sign that reads “Down on my luck, just need food.” You can feel his eyes on yours. You have no cash or food to offer. Your instinct is to look ahead and hope that the light turns green, but what if it was different? Would you be bold enough to get out of your car and talk to this homeless man? A few years ago, my uncle had the courage to do exactly that. Today, he has been able to form a close relationship with a man who is merely down on his luck, lost his job and has
no family to fall back on. All the basic needs many of us take for granted, he does not have. My uncle visits him every Sunday, bringing clothes, offering money or just sharing a meal with him. Through my uncle’s experiences with the homeless, I have become passionate about following in his footsteps and doing what he refers to as God’s work. When I was younger, I fell victim to the stereotype that people who are homeless made poor decisions in their life, such as not finishing school or doing drugs and alcohol, and as a result, created a miserable life for themselves. While some of these situations may be true, my uncle has shown me that this is often not the case. The stark reality is that homelessness can happen to anyone, and that as humans, it is not our place to judge people in unfortunate situations. Coming up with possible reasons why these people got to this position in life or assuming that the
money you give is going to be used for the wrong reasons is simply creating excuses for yourself not to help or act. Conforming to society’s misconceptions holds you back from doing what is morally right. My uncle has told me that often times the homeless don’t even want your money, they just want to be treated like human beings; for someone to acknowledge that they exist. Their situation has indeed created obstacles in their life, but as Maya Angelou once said, “We are more alike, my friends, than we are unalike.” Mother Teresa has been a figure of inspiration for my uncle, as she lived among the impoverished in Calcutta, India and devoted her life to helping others. She could have easily stayed within the walls of the comfortable church but felt that by going to areas where there was great human suffering, she was closer to God. In some towns and cities, the homeless are hidden due to the
negative presence that is associated with this population. Society tries to paint an unrealistic picture of how the world really is. They chose to cover up suffering instead of trying to confront the fear and stigma around being homeless. It is hard for me to grasp why towns and society as a whole deliberately cast out the homeless and walk away from people who are hurting. Society has failed to live the golden rule of treating others the way you would want to be treated. People become too wrapped up in the comforts of their own lives and forget to think about those who have nothing. My uncle has opened my eyes to an issue that is ubiquitous, but so often overlooked. Meeting and talking with the homeless is a humbling experience I challenge others to try. You not only learn to appreciate the simple things in life but form relationships that are unlike any other.
Harpoon Harper: Fighting my fear of whales size is the scariest part. Blue whales (the worst kind) are usually around 100 feet long and weigh about 200 tons (which is roughly the same as 2,500 Harpers). To put that in perspective, that means they are really, really big. On land, I could probably assert my dominance over whales, but in the waMy name is Harper Johnson, I am ter, whales are the kings of the world. 17 years old and I am currently fighting Once, I was watching Animal Planet, a fear of whales. This is called cetapho- and a whale purposely hit a diver with bia. Many people say that cetaphobia his tail. We knew it was intentional beis an irrational fear, but it is very ratio- cause the narrator explained that the nal. Whales are the largest animals on horizontal movement was out of the Earth, and they can swim, both charac- whale’s normal vertical tail movement. teristics that I do not share. I think the The diver was knocked unconscious and had to be rescued by his friends. This act of aggression was just a glimpse of the power whales possess. It terrifies me to think that animals that could eat a school bus without blinking could be lurking in the ocean. Many people believe that whales don’t frequently make appearances in most people’s everyday life. The people that believe this are correct. I usually do not see whales, but every now and then, Pacific Life rudely interrupts my tranquility and positive state of mind. Sometimes, “friends” of mine entertain themselves by showing me a cool video on their phone which turns out to be an uncool video of whales. I have attempted to conquer my fear by forcing myself to watch clips of whales in their natural habitat, but so far, I have not made much progress. At this point in time, I empower myself by wearing Vineyard Vines shirts. In a way, I believe that by bearing the friendly version of the intimidating whale on my chest, I am taking a small step toward victory. Illustration by Sara Heilman/The Omniscient
Harper Johnson
Learning to Cope: How I deal with inescapable anxiety
My thoughts are running in circles, my heart is racing, my hands are trembling, I can barely catch my breath, I’m beginning to break a sweat and I’m sick to my stomach. If I’m being completely honest, this could describe me at any time of the day, from when I wake up to when I go to sleep. I’ve always been this way; I think way too much about others’ opinions, I’m terrible at giving presentations and I exacerbate the little things into problems that feel completely insurmountable. A few words said in the wrong tone, hearing that a rumor about me is going around, seeing my best friend spend a lot of time with someone else or worst of all, seeing those dreaded texts from other girls pop up on my boyfriend’s phone—all of these things can drive me over the edge, inspiring irritability, excessive worrying and, oftentimes, nausea. If you were in a class with me in elementary school, you might remember how every time we took an EOG, without fail, my stomach made loud, gurgling noises that led to weird looks sent in my direction and drove me to worry more about pressing on my stomach to stifle the noise than taking the test itself. In middle school, I pushed myself to run for a leadership position in National Junior Honor Society, and while making my speech, I experienced one
of the worst anxiety attacks of my life. I vividly remember the events of that day and how I skipped over a huge chunk of my speech to keep myself from crying on stage. Yes, I realize that I sound like one of the most over dramatic and overreactive people in the world, but the things I feel and the symptoms my body exhibits are simply inescapable, and no matter how hard I try to shrug things off, they persist unrelentingly in my everyday life. Until a few years ago, I genuinely believed that these were normal problems the average person faced every day. I wasn’t able to ascribe my emotions to anything beyond simply labeling myself as “tense,” “fretful” or “antsy.” Getting up the courage to talk to my doctor about my symptoms, I was diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) and put on an anti-anxiety prescription that I was promised would help. It’s two years later, and I continue to have days when I feel buried by my anxiety and can’t leave my bed. I continue to have trouble concentrating in class because my mind wanders to worrying. And more than ever, especially due to my terribly real case of senioritis, I have all-day stomach aches expedited by worrying about how I will ever finish the mountains of homework from my AP classes. A lifetime lived with GAD has given me many tools for dealing with anxiety. By learning to take time for myself, pushing myself to situations outside of my comfort zone and finding real friends who simply listen, I have bettered my situation and strengthened myself for the inevitable sources of anxiety in my life.
the top 10 spaces, they can choose the students who are in the top 5 percent of their class. However, this does not eliminate the struggle of choosing a valedictorian. It has been the tradition at Northwood, as well as many schools across the country, that the senior with the highest GPA is honored as valedictorian at graduation and allowed to deliver an inspiring speech. Now that that highest GPA could be shared among
several students, a system should be implemented where these top-ranking seniors should have the opportunity to apply to speak at graduation by submitting a speech to school administrators. It is then the job of the administrators to select the best of the speeches to be given at graduation. Although not all of the top students will be able to speak at graduation, they should still be given recognition during the ceremony.
Lanna Read
Cutting Class Rank: Students should be classified by percentile Staff Editorial
When Northwood moved to the 10-point grading scale, students breathed a sigh of relief. That frustrating 92 in a class would now be considered an A, effectively boosting GPAs across all grade levels. However, with more students receiving As or Bs in their classes, their GPAs became more similar, and for many that were underclassmen at the time of the change, their GPAs became the same. This raises the question: What do you do when it’s time to choose junior marshals or the valedictorian? When 15 students have the same GPA, they can’t all be valedictorian and speak at graduation. It is the opinion of
The Omniscient staff that Northwood should move from exact class ranking to percentile ranking and have top students apply for the honor of speaking at graduation. As of now, class ranking works by giving students an exact rank out of the number of kids in their grade. This number is on transcripts and reported to colleges. When faced with the issue of having multiple kids ranked at every spot, exact class rank can become a little blurry. By moving to percentile ranking, it allows students to still see where they place compared to their peers, but it also eliminates the issues the school faces when choosing how to handle positions such as junior marshal. Instead of choosing the kids in
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RANDY COX mentors the lacrosse team against Asheboro High School in May.
Randy Rocks: New lacrosse coach leads Northwood to success By Sam Vanolinda Staff Writer Two-time national champion with UNC-Chapel Hill, North Carolina Sports Hall of Famer, a top 50 all-time ACC lacrosse player (according to the ACC office), member of 1986 USA world championship team and now Northwood varsity lacrosse coach. Randy Cox has taken his past experience as member of the UNC lacrosse team and interjected it into Northwood, helping the Chargers achieve their best regular season record in the program’s history, before falling in the 2nd round of the playoffs. Cox’s lacrosse story started in the seventh grade when he discovered the sport, and it quickly became love at first sight. “I put a stick in my hand, and it’s been lacrosse ever since,” Cox said. That passion for lacrosse continued into his high school days, with Cox winning a state championship in 1979, and then being offered a scholarship to play at UNC. Cox played four years in the lacrosse program, winning championships in 1981 and 1982. “That experience—a national
championship and then a second national championship back to back— I’m 55 years old and still today people talk to me about it,” Cox said. Years later, Cox still has a strong connection with his UNC teammates. “All those players that were part of it,” Cox said. “There is a bond that makes us who we are today, when we get back together some 35 years later, it’s electric.” Cox’s championship mentality is something that rubs off on the players. “It’s pretty cool to have a head coach who is a two-time national champion,” senior captain Jonny Robbins said. “He reminds us a lot that he has been to the highest stage in lacrosse, and he knows what it takes.” After college, lacrosse stayed in Cox’s mind, as he won the 1986 World Lacrosse Championship with the United States national team. After finishing his playing career, Cox became a score keeper for the UNC lacrosse program and eventually delved into coaching, picking up the job at Northwood. “Northwood High School had an opportunity for someone to step in to help the existing coaching staff and take lacrosse at Northwood to the next level, and so Coach McDaniel,
myself... [and] the administrators [thought] the timing was right and the environment was right.” Cox said. “It seemed like the perfect storm, so here I am today.” Cox has implemented a team-oriented style of play that led the Chargers to an 11-4 regular season record. “This year we are working much more as a team,” junior and top point scorer Lars Hoeg said. “Last year was all one-on-one, no teamwork. This year, if you look at the stats, we are playing as a team, and that is definitely the best thing [Cox] has implemented.” The Chargers were the top regular season assist team in the nation, with 180 assists in 15 games, according to maxpreps.com That team-oriented style of play has lead the Chargers to their best record in program history, and in the playoffs they made it to the second round before being defeated by the number one seeded Northern Guilford Nighthawks. The 11-4 regular season and 2nd round playoff finish will be something for the Chargers to improve on. Sophomore and JV Captain Andrew Walden has bright hopes for the future with cox in charge. “Randy has a lot of experience
in the game, playing all his life and winning titles,” Walden said, “Northwood’s JV and Varsity teams have done better than ever, making the playoffs, so I think the future is bright for the team, and I’m excited for it.”
Davis Palermo/The Omniscient
SENIOR LIAM WALSH winds up a shot against Asheboro High School in May.
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Parents in the Stands: Comments cause frustration and motivation among athletes By Rachel Stoner Staff Writer
As she races down the sideline with the soccer ball at her feet, junior Kenzie Kremer can hear her teammates cheering her on and parents screaming her name. As she heads for the end line to cross the ball in front of the goal, she is tripped from behind by an opposing player. The parents from both teams erupt in anger, yelling at the referee. Crowd commentary from the sidelines is always an inherent part of sports, but some people worry that these comments can be taken too far when high school students are involved. “When parents from the other teams yell at a bunch of 16 and 17 year olds, it is really unprofessional,” Kremer said. Senior Riley Koch has played lacrosse at Northwood for four years. “At our [game against Orange], some dude was cussing at me from the stands because I hit someone in the throat and they didn’t call it,” Koch said. Similar to some other athletes in the school, Koch dislikes the occasional remarks from parents in the stands. “I think parents should never say anything during a game; it’s not their job,” Koch said. “There’s a coach for a reason.” Kremer’s mother, Kristi, tries to keep her comments to an appropriate minimum during Kenzie’s time on the field. “I’ll yell ‘go’ or ‘run’ when it’s clearly time to do so,” Kristi said. “I yell, ‘Use your space’ and the occasional ‘Shoot it’ if within range. I’m no coach, but I’ve sat on the sidelines for 10 years, and feel I can at least get away with that.” JV softball coach Jacqueline Sculli dislikes hearing comments from parents during games. “Everyone is a coach on the opposite side of the fence,” Sculli said. “It’s always easier on the opposite side of the fence when you’re not in play.” Softball is one of several sports at Northwood that has a policy enacted by means of their handbook that allows comments to be made by parents to the coach only after the game has ended. “Our policy for softball is that if you have a question about something that we did during a game, wait 24 hours before you contact us,” Sculli said. “Calm down and get yourself together, because
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things are always said in the heat of the moment.” The policy was put in place nine years ago and has since made a positive change in the atmosphere at softball games. “We have a good group of parents at softball,” Sculli said. Girls’ soccer coach David Holub is thankful for parents in the stands in certain situations. “I like parents in the stands when they’re there to support the team and to cheer for the players,” Holub said. “I don’t like parents in the stands when they don’t appreciate the rules of the game or understand them as well as I think they should.” Senior basketball player Abe Omar likes to hear the crowd get rowdy during heightened moments in a game. “Sometimes I like when parents yell and get really into the game, but only when the game is intense,” Omar said. “Otherwise, it distracts me and puts a lot of pressure on me.” Bryce Davis, a senior baseball player, appreciates his parents’ constructive criticism when he is at the plate. “I don’t mind it, as long as it isn’t distracting my teammates,” Davis said. “If my dad has something to say to me, I don’t mind turning my head and glancing at him for him to motion what I am doing wrong.” Senior softball player Anna Goldman has been on the varsity team since her freshman season. Her mother, Robin, says that she only decides to be vocal during Anna’s games when she has good intentions. “Unless I have something positive or encouraging to say—unless I thought someone was going to get hurt—I don’t say it,” Robin said. “I would not want to be a distraction to Anna or a liability to a potential outcome.” Greg Hubbard is a parent of sophomore Julianna Hubbard, who plays on the girls’ soccer team. “I, as a parent, have to understand that the coach is providing direction,” Greg said. “Encouragement is what I believe the parents need to provide and not direction.” Essentially, most parents are vocal in hopes of motivating their child as they play their sport. “I’ve seen kids certainly get that extra burst of speed when everyone is yelling for them on a break and they can feel the energy,” Kristi Kremer said. “The kids can feel it when the crowd has their back.”
Sam’s 2018 World Cup Guide Every four years, the excitement grows around the world as we get close to another World Cup, which begins June 14. Despite the USA men’s team not qualifying for the competition, there are still plenty of reasons to watch and enjoy “the beautiful game” this summer. You may be wondering: “Who should I watch? Who should I root for? Who are the most exciting players?” Well, I am here to try to guide you through your World Cup experience.
— Compiled by Sam Vanolinda
Players to Watch
Photo courtesy of Дмитрий Голубович/Wikimedia Commons
Photo courtesy of Rozmiar podglądu/Pixabay
Mohamed Salah, Egypt: Ever since Mo Salah joined Liverpool in the English Premier league, he has been tearing up the competition. A year ago he was an unknown winger for Roma in Italy, but now he is leading the EPL, the biggest league in the world, in goals, and has won PFA Player of the Year. Salah is fun to watch because of his pure skill and ability to excite the crowd. With his short 5-foot-9 frame, he has the ability to control the ball like it is on a string and can score goals with ease. Make sure to tune into Egypt’s group games to see Salah slicing up defenses on the biggest stage. Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal: Ronaldo has conquered almost everything that a professional soccer player could, winning multiple Ballon d’Ors, Champions league trophies and even a European Championship in 2016. At the same time, however, Lionel Messi has been generally considered equal or better than Ronaldo, with plenty of trophies and awards to boast for himself. The one common denominator is that neither player has a World Cup medal, and the race between these two players to achieve this goal is pure entertainment. A World Cup win for Ronaldo could solidify him as the greatest to ever play the game.
Team to Root For
Iceland: Iceland was the European Championship’s Cinderella story. The smallest country ever in the European Championship (with a population of only 334.252), Iceland made it through the group stage and upset my team, England, in the round of 16. Everyone watching was rooting for the underdog Iceland, and they come into this year’s World Cup in that familiar underdog role. They are a team that has plenty of interesting players, and it is hard not to root for such a heartwarming story.
Contenders Germany: The reigning World Cup champions are one of the most solid and well-coached teams in soccer. They are famous for the “German machine,” their uniform style of play, with little flair but lots of goals and great defense. If they play like they usually do, they are definitely the favorites to win. Some of their best players include goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, center backs Mats Hummels and Jerome Boateng and young player of the year, Leroy Sane. Belgium: Belgium is a team loaded with talent. Soccer fans could tell after the 2014 World Cup that with the amount of young, exciting talent Belgium brought, they would be contenders to win come 2018. Players like Kevin De Bruyne, known as one of the greatest playmakers and minds in soccer, and Eden Hazard, an explosive forward who has been a contender for player of the year multiple times, will need to perform. Others: Spain, Argentina, France, Brazil
Prediction Brazil: After facing the most embarrassing loss in their team’s history at home in 2014, losing 7-1 to Germany, Brazil will be inspired coming into the World Cup. Star player Neymar has become a legitimate top-three player in the world with French club Paris Saint-Germain, displaying dazzling footwork, incredible speed and deadly goal scoring ability. Brazil will also have much improved attack with rising stars Gabriel Jesus, Roberto Firmino and crafty playmaker Philippe Coutinho, as well as a solid defense with Thiago Silva and Dani Alves. These players are much more experienced and poised than the players in the last tournament, and they should have the ability to get their team out of tough situations. The nation that is loaded full of world class talent has been on a World Cup drought since the days of the legendary Ronaldinho and Kaka. With their last win being in 2002, I think it is due time for Brazil to add a sixth World Cup trophy.
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Ross is Boss: Sophomore is the only four-sport athlete at Northwood By Jeffrey Marcin Staff Writer “For me, I just like to stay moving,” Aaron Ross said. “I love moving. Without sports, I don’t know where I’d be or what I’d be doing right now.” Ross is the only athlete at Northwood who plays four sports. The sophomore plays football and basketball, in addition to balancing his time on the baseball and track teams in the spring. Ross’ teammates are impressed with the energy level he brings from season to season. Senior Jack Holeck, a teammate of Ross on the football and basketball teams, is one of those people. “For some reason he’s never tired,” Holeck said. “He’s always going 110 percent, and he never slows down.” Ross starts his yearly athletic journey in the fall as running back and defensive back for the varsity football team. Ross played a small part in the offensive success the team had this past season, but Northwood’s head coach Brian Harrington thinks his role can expand in the upcoming seasons if he can fix one issue. “His confidence was low this year, so that’s why he only had 20 carries,” Harrington said. “As he gets his confidence up, his role on the team will expand.” Harrington is an advocate for Ross playing other sports. “I encourage all of my athletes to play multiple sports,” Harrington said. “In football, we try to develop the whole athlete. We don’t try to have the best football players, we try to have the best athletes on
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the field and turn them into football players.” Once the football season is over, Ross hangs up his football cleats and hits the hardwood for the varsity basketball team. This past season was Ross’ second season on the varsity team. Ross did it all for the Chargers, averaging 12 points, seven assists and seven rebounds per game. As a result of his efforts, he has drawn praise from his teammates. “He’s really good at what he does,” Holeck said. “He’s a really good passer, and he’s by far the most athletic person on the team. He sees things before they happen and it really helps us on the basketball court.” And finally, when spring comes around, Ross splits his time between the baseball field and the race track. Ross starts in right field for the junior varsity baseball team and competes in high jump and the 4x100 relay for the track team. Ross finds it a little tricky to balance the two. “I try to do it half and half,” Ross said. “But most of the time I’ll go to the whole baseball practice then go jump with track for 30 minutes.” No matter what sport Ross is playing or what team he’s on, people love to have him as a teammate. Sophomore Deuce Powell is a teammate of Ross on the football, basketball and baseball teams. “In basketball, he knows how to share the ball,” Powell said. “In football, he knows the plays and helps other people learn the plays. In baseball, he makes everyone happy. He brings a very funny environment. He makes everyone laugh and stay positive.” Holeck agrees. “He’s always finding ways to encourage his
teammates and make them better,” Holeck said. “You always look for that in a leader.”
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AARON ROSS drives to the basket. Ross is the only four-sport athlete at Northwood.
Photo courtesy of Becca Kimock/Elon University
Photo courtesy of Joe Browning/UNCW Sports
NORTHWOOD GRADUATES MATT OLDHAM (left) and CARSON SHANER (right) have both seen playing time as freshmen in college.
Out of the Park: Northwood graduates make a name in college sports By Grace Lake Staff Writer Freshman Matt Oldham began his journey playing Division I baseball this past year as a catcher for Elon University. Starting at a young age, Oldham has strived to take his talents to the next level, his ultimate goal being to reach maximum potential in the sport. “My first steps were on a baseball field,” Oldham said. “As soon as I could walk, I was playing.” The passion for baseball runs in Oldham’s family, so he knew early on that it was the sport he wanted to pursue. “Both of my parents played coed slow pitch softball; that’s how they met,” Oldham said. “My sisters played softball as well, so when I came along, baseball was automatically the sport I was playing. Growing up, I looked up to the older players around the town. They motivated me when I was younger, and I just kept playing to get better.” Baseball has always been a priority for Oldham, and furthering his passion into college was a big factor in the decision making process. “What really made me choose Elon was the opportunity to play,” Oldham said. “I knew I would be playing right off the bat my freshman year, so that was one of the most important things for me.” He says that the hard work has paid off. With a batting average of .246 with eleven doubles, two home runs, 21 runs scored and 22 runs batted in, Oldham is off to a successful start in collegiate baseball.
The dedication and time that Oldham puts into baseball takes out a large portion of his time, and Oldham appreciates every second of it. Being involved with the sport more than ever is something that he does not take for granted. “It’s a never ending process,” he said. “What I’ve been telling myself a lot is that yesterday’s successes are not just because you got lucky, it’s because you worked hard and have put in the work to tell yourself that no one has put in more of an effort than you.” Along with the sport itself, Oldham values the relationships he’s made throughout his career as one of the main elements that has kept him going. “Your teammates are the people that you’re going to see 10 years down the road that you will still be close with,” Oldham said. “As a matter of fact, I recently saw a bunch of my past teammates that I played with for four years in a travel ball circuit and we’re still close. One of them I hadn’t seen in five or six years, so I really think that you can’t compare those relationships with anything.” Oldham continues to strive to play his best at Elon, maintaining his position as a positive attribute to the baseball team and the school itself. Although being an student-athlete is difficult at times, Oldham realizes that baseball isn’t everything and is thankful that the cards have fallen into place. “It can be tiring, but I just have to find the time to get my naps in through the day,” Oldham said. “Keeping my head down and continuing to work toward future success is what I am most hopeful for.”
By Grace Lake Staff Writer Carson Shaner, a freshman who is an outfielder at University of North CarolinaWilmington (UNC-W), has had the dream of playing Division I softball since the age of six. After years of experience, Shaner has finally earned her spot as a Seahawk and continues to progress, always taking the initiative to climb her way to the top. “From a young age I fell in love with the game,” Shaner said. “When I started getting to about 12 years old, I realized that I really wanted to continue to play.” In her later years of middle school, Shaner began to get noticed by coaches from different schools, which gave her an extra push to keep improving. “When I started going to camps in eighth grade and my freshman year of high school, I realized that coaches were interested in me and wanted me to play at the next level,” she said. “That motivated me to stick with it.” Growing up with the sport, it has always been Shaner’s main passion. “Softball is always what I’ve wanted to play,” Shaner said. “I did play basketball, but softball was always my number one. I felt that I was better at it and had a greater interest in it.” Throughout high school, Shaner was a key player to the Northwood softball team. A four-year starter who guided the Chargers to a 74-18 record, she speaks highly of her experiences at NHS. “Representing Northwood was a great feeling,” she said. “My teammates really made it a great experience. Building lifelong friendships with the people you are competing every day with is the best. Everyone has the same goal in mind to pursue the sport they love.”
Shaner was scouted by several colleges and ultimately made the decision to attend UNC-W after being recruited in her freshman year of high school. After looking at other schools in the UNC school system, Wilmington was the place that stood out to her most. “I just loved everything about the school, the campus, the people,” Shaner said. “The softball program and academics are awesome, too, so I definitely feel like I made the right choice.” While the softball program is a priority to players and coaches at the college, academics play a large role as well. “The coaches expect a lot out of you,” Shaner said. “They’re all about maintaining good grades before softball. If any of us have a test or a school related event at the same time that there’s a practice, the coaches make sure that we can make up the practice so that our grades are not at stake. It gave me a great feeling to know that I would be able to balance academics and our busy softball schedule coming in.” Shaner has started in 10 games this season and plans to continue playing throughout her college years. The process has already been very rewarding for Shaner. “My first collegiate hit was actually a grand slam against ECU,” Shaner said. “That was a really big deal for me. We also beat Carolina this year 3-0. A big dream of mine growing up was to beat Carolina, so that was a really great feeling.” Through the hard work and commitment that it takes to be a collegiate studentathlete, Shaner uses the experiences and lessons she learns off the field. “To me, softball is more than a game. It helps build character and lifelong skills that not only help you on the field, but with your career and future life,” she said.
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Supercharged Signings Left to Right: Davis Palermo - Baseball UNC-Chapel Hill Colton Lineman - Baseball Grove City College Jack Holeck - Track and Field University of Mount Olive
“I’m really excited to continue playing basketball in college.... I know balancing the workload will be difficult for me, but I do hope to enjoy basketball and to balance my time between my priorities.”
Left to Right: Erika Nettles - Basketball Bridgewater College Khoury May - Volleyball Bridgewater College
— Erika Nettles, senior
Left to Right: Anna Goldman - Softball Meredith College Mike Barone - Football Elon University Alex Parker - Football Methodist University
“Signing day was exciting because it’s always something you dream of as a high school athlete.... I’m really excited because I’m looking forward to developing my skills in swimming.”
Left to Right: Amanda Montgomery - Swimming Barton College Trinity Ross - Basketball Methodist University
— Amanda Montgomery, senior
Left to Right: Sarah Terzotis - Cross Country UNC-Wilmington Alexis Rolka - Soccer Shaw University
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Not Pictured: Charlie Adcock - Track and Field North Carolina Wesleyan College Cameron Council - Track and Field University of Tennessee Max Hundley - Baseball Wake Technical Community College Jake McNeill - Baseball Wake Technical Community College