NHSOmniscientOct2017

Points of Interest

Sara Heilman/The Omniscient

LEAH WILHELM uses her passion for dance to guide students of all levels. pg 10

Madison Clark/The Omniscient

THE MOUSETRAP is the world’s longest running stage play. Audience members are sworn to secrecy and must not reveal who the killer is to those who haven’t seen the play.

Joshua Eisner/The Omniscient

CYCLOCROSS comes to Chatham County for the first time. pg 17

Northwood’s Theatre Department presented “The Mousetrap” Oct. 19-21. “This couple is starting a guesthouse, and they have all these guests coming in,” said junior Jesenia Schwankl, who played Detective Sergeant Trotter. “At that time, [the guests] are getting the news of this murder. [Trotter] is just trying to figure out which person is going to be the next victim and which person is the murderer.” Junior Abby Goyea played Major Metcalf. “I [was] mostly excited this year for everyone to see the show and for everyone to be surprised and shocked and laugh a lot,” Goyea said.

O MNI SC IEN T - THE NORTHWOOD -

EDITORS Sara Heilman Editor-in-Chief

Sam Fuelleman/The Omniscient

CHATHAM COUNTY’S lack of middle school football is detrimental to the high school team. pg 20

Chloe Maynard Online Editor STAFF WRITERS Tanner Althoff Madison Clark Heather Drake Joshua Eisner Sarah Fowler

Samuel Fuelleman Bella Goupil Ava Johnson CC Kallam Chase Miller Georgia O’Reilly Garrison Parrish Athziry Peralta Emma Pollard Emma Quasny Colin Revels

Jonathan Robbins Zoe Willard Riley Wolfgang 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.

Ava Johnson/The Omniscient

ABIGAIL BARNHILL is one of the many interesting people of Pittsboro. pg 11

Page 2, The Omniscient, October 2017

Front Cover: This is the Omniscient’s first ever Halloween issue. Stories start on page 13.

Photo Credit: Ava Johnson

Taking Care of Business: Student Entrepreneurs

By Ava Johnson Staff Writer

In 1965, at the age of 17, Fred DeLuca borrowed $1,000 to start Subway. He started the restaurant as a way to earn money for college and it blossomed into a chain with 32,041 locations making $9 billion in sales yearly. There are many instances of young entrepreneurs being successful, including ones closer to home.

Northwood alumnus Jerry Silvestri started Atlantic Allure, a t-shirt company, in 2015. In addition to Atlantic Allure, Silvestri has ownership of multiple Twitter accounts that he uses for social media marketing, but he considers his first authentic business venture to be his t-shirt company.

“In the past six years I have grown, bought, and sold over 50 accounts on Twitter,” Silvestri said. “It is an incredible business that the average person doesn’t even know about. For about four years, I did marketing for other companies, websites, apps, things of that sort…. I decided it was time to take it to the next level. Why advertise for companies and make a small percentage, when I have this entire audience that I can use to grow my own brand?”

Every business has to begin with an idea. Silvestri’s idea came to him after sustaining a back injury while playing soccer and returning to the U.S. from Italy.

“I sat down and put together a list of possible stores I would be interested in running, what would be the most sustainable, cost efficient, profitable and most important of all, what’s a brand I could build that will last,” Silvestri said.

“T-shirts is what I ended up going with. Everybody loves t-shirts, everybody needs t-shirts. It’s a piece of clothing that will never go out of fashion, at least for a while.”

Silvestri offered some advice for young entrepreneurs looking to launch their own businesses.

“Don’t try and copy others, don’t try and follow the

money, don’t do something because your parents think it’s a good idea,” Silvestri said. “Create a business that you are 100 percent invested in. Your business needs to be your baby…. It comes with a lot of stress and hard work, but when the success comes, it makes it all worth it.”

Hempsmith, a sustainable hemp clothing company, was also founded and continued by Northwood alumni. Coming to fruition in 2014, Hempsmith’s goal is to “provide fine, ethical products and work to protect this garden planet by returning hemp to the people.”

Class of 2016 graduate Arlo Estill is currently the company’s driving force.

“We sell a lot of t-shirts, we do a lot of printing and embroidery and a ton of tie dye,” Estill said.

His passion for hemp and his brand is evident.

“I found that pretty much everyone has a clothing company, but other companies just put plastic dyes on 100 percent cotton, and it’s not really competitive,” Estill said.

“My brother and I wanted something that could differentiate Hempsmith. [Hemp] is very sustainable, versatile and it’s going to change the world.”

Hempsmith inspired Estill to study textiles at North Carolina State University to further his understanding of the quickly growing business. After college, he plans to make Hempsmith his full-time job.

“I can’t wait to hit the road and start touring festivals and selling shirts all the time,” Estill said.

On a smaller scale, juniors Jaela Harris and Anisha McFadden recently began J and A Tops, a business for handmade, crocheted “bohemian-chic” tops and headbands.

They began the business this past summer for reasons many students can relate to.

“We didn’t have anything else to do, and we wanted to make a little money,” Harris said.

McFadden and Harris primarily utilize their Twitter ac-

count, @TopsnThings, to advertise to their customers.

“We were very successful at putting our name out there, thanks to Anisha,” Harris said.

Starting a business as a young person does come with its struggles. In a primarily adult-oriented world, obstacles seem to become much bigger for teenagers with no formal training or education in business.

“Time management is definitely hard, because tops take a long time to make, and another thing is people put in an order, but they don’t necessarily pay for the order, which makes it difficult to continue making tops,” Harris said.

McFadden shared Harris’ sentiments.

“Another thing people don’t understand is that we actually have to buy the yarn and hand make them for people,” McFadden said. “It’s not like we are going to pick up the tops and resell them. It’s definitely a quality thing, and [our tops are] better than Forever 21. I think people need to understand and respect business, even something as smallscale as this.”

Atlantic Allure ran into problems in its early stages too.

“The biggest problem I came across when starting the company was finding a good screen printer,” Silvestri said.

“In two and a half years of running the company, I have had five printers. They want to nickle and dime you, push you around, act like what they’re doing for you is more than what you’re doing for them. Of course, being a teenager only escalates this, as people see a chance to take advantage of you.”

Despite the hurdles, being a young entrepreneur can be very fulfilling both financially and through the experience that can be gained.

“I started Atlantic Allure with a $1,700 investment and now carry over $50,000 worth of inventory,” Silvestri said.

“If you put in the time, do your research and stay on top of things, the rewards will come.”

1. Have an....

According to Startups, one in five 18-34 year olds have a business idea.

Think about what you’re interested in or what your community needs.

2. Test the market.

How to start YOUR Business 3 steps to success

Do your research!

Ask your friends, parents, mentors and teachers if your idea seems plausible and how you can improve it.You can utilize resources like the Small Business Administration. Know your customer and your competition.

3. Launch your business!

Whether you’re using your own money you’ve saved up or you’ve established a few investors, you can’t start a business without cold hard cash.

Network with business owners in your community to establish your presence.

Think about where and how you want to advertise.

In this digital age, it’s important to have an online presence.

Create a website and make sure you have social media dedicated to promoting your business.

October 2017, The Omniscient, Page 3

Photo courtesy of Ashelynn Burt-Jones

ASHELYNN BURT-JONES spends time with her boyfriend and their daughter.

Full-time Mom: Senior juggles high school and motherhood

By Chloe Maynard Online Editor

Page 4, The Omniscient, October 2017

Many students find themselves struggling to keep up with their schoolwork while juggling a part-time job.

Most students could not imagine juggling their schoolwork with a full-time job, much less a full-time job and a 2-year-old daughter, but that is the norm for senior Ashelynn Burt-Jones.

Burt-Jones gave birth to her daughter during her freshman year when she was 15 years old. Her daughter is now almost 3 years old, and Burt-Jones is a senior set to graduate with her class in June. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), only 50 percent of teen mothers receive a high school diploma by the age of 22, as compared to the 90 percent of women who do not give birth in high school.

“Yeah, I think I do [defy stereotypes],” Burt-Jones said. “How? I don’t know. A lot of girls drop out of school or a lot of girls put the baby on their mother.

None of those are things I’ve really done, like my mom doesn’t do anything for my daughter—I do everything.

I go to work after school, and I’m full-time at work [at Waffle House].”

Burt-Jones does not plan on stopping at her high school diploma, and she intends on continuing to higher education.

“My plans for school haven’t changed at all,” Burt-Jones said. “I’m still going to go to Georgia State University, but instead of me being able to live on campus, I’m going to get my first apartment with [my daughter], so that’s exciting. It hasn’t changed at all.”

When Burt-Jones first revealed her pregnancy to her family and peers, it attracted criticism from some.

“I didn’t face any criticism from my friends to my face, but I did from my family,” Burt-Jones said. “They believed that I was better than that, and I was about to go to the North Carolina School of Science and Math and that jeopardized that, so I just came here to Northwood. That was really the only criticism I got.”

However, Burt-Jones did not let this impact her negatively.

“I thought [the criticism] would affect me a lot more than it did, but it actually didn’t affect me,” Burt-Jones said. “It actually motivated me much more than it affected me. I’ve taken about 12 honors classes since freshman year and three AP classes.

I’ve been able to study and take care of her. I actually make her study her ABCs and stuff like that.”

Although a typical day for Burt-Jones is likely different than a typical day for most students, starting with taking her daughter to daycare before heading to school and ending with putting her to bed and doing homework until well past midnight, Burt-Jones does not want to be treated differently than other students.

“When I was first pregnant with her, a lot of teachers told me I was able to eat in class but other students weren’t and other stuff like that... but I didn’t want me being pregnant or me having a daughter to change [things],” Burt-Jones said. “I didn’t want to be the outcast in class, so I always did what the other students did. If I was hungry, I would wait until after class while I was pregnant with her. Even now when they’re like, ‘Oh, you can turn it in Monday,’ I’m like, ‘No, I’ll make sure I have it in on the due date,’ because I don’t think that’s fair.”

According to the CDC, in 2015, 229,715 babies were born to women aged 15–19 years, for a birth rate of 22.3 per 1,000 women in this age group. Although this is 8 percent lower than 2014, the United States still has one of the highest rates of teen pregnancy of Western industrialized nations.

As for Burt-Jones, she believes the only way to handle a situation like her own is to take responsibility.

“Don’t give up, and don’t make excuses,” Burt-Jones said. “I do this by myself. Her dad is definitely active in her life 100 percent, but as far as my parents, they don’t really do anything for her, so I don’t think an excuse should ever be an option, like ‘Well, I didn’t finish high school because I had a daughter and I didn’t have anyone to take care of her.’ I mean, there are so many resources out there for girls. You just have to talk to people. Really letting people know what’s going on is the best thing I’ve learned.”

FAFSA: How to navigate, apply and submit

By Zoe Willard Staff Writer

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, is a government run source of financial aid open to nearly every student planning to go to college. Every year, FAFSA supplies around $120 billion in grants. It helps students who may have a little trouble going to college without the proper funding.

Step 1: Don’t wait. The application isn’t short and sweet, and once FAFSA money runs out, it runs out. Since the Department of Education sets aside a certain amount of funding for financial aid every year, once it dries up, it’s gone for good. This year, FAFSA applications opens Oct. 1.

Step 2: Get your FAFSA ID. You can obtain this when you create a FAFSA account at www.fafsa.ed.gov. Your parent or guardian will also need a FAFSA ID—If you have an older sibling in college who applied for FAFSA, they most likely already have one. Creating the account is fairly simple—you just need a username and password. The additional information is a little lengthier, but your FAFSA ID can be obtained pretty quickly.

Step 3: Gather all the information you will need, and sit down, it’s going to be a wild ride. The list includes your social security card, driver’s license number, 2016 W-2 forms, income tax return, bank statements and untaxed income statements. Then, you will need all that information again, but for your parent or guardian. If you are not a US citizen or an independent student, the list varies a little—but all or some of the documents previously listed will still apply to you.

Step 5: Compile a list of colleges that interest you.

And while you’re at it, look into their FAFSA application deadline to see when they stop accepting. FAFSA provides specialized codes to help you find and access your schools of interest from their website.

Step 4: Answer all the questions required. These will include your parents’ marital status, citizenship information, and more about your home life. They’re all pretty straightforward, but they help determine how much or little funding FAFSA is willing to provide for you. There are also a few questions about an IRA—you will probably need help from a parent, guardian, older sibling or counselor.

Step 6: Submit your FAFSA information to all of the schools you are applying to. Doing this as fast as possible will help the entire process ease along—your financial position will be determined faster this way, and you can know earlier what your fiscal outlook will be.

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October 2017, The Omniscient, Page 5

The Freshman Schedule Change

By Sarah Fowler Staff Writer

Instead of having four periods a day, the hybrid schedule includes six. The hybrid schedule splits the freshmens’ first and second periods in half, leaving each one with 40 Roughly 100 randomly picked freshman students minutes instead of 85. During this time, students are takare following a hybrid schedule this year, proposed by ing their main four core classes: English, math, science principal Justin Bartholomew. and World History. The freshmens’ fifth and sixth periods consists of their two elective courses, which remain 85.

This isn’t Northwood’s first time attempting a hybrid schedule. In previous years, it has established the ‘FX’ schedule, which also cut class times. This year’s version is a combination of long and short classes.

The hybrid schedule was introduced this year as an experiment to see how it would impact and affect the school’s learning program overall.

“It is just another route to seeing the way teachers can teach, and the way that students can learn,” English teacher Terrence Foushee said.

Freshman Erika Seils was introduced to the hybrid schedule this year and has found it helpful with her transition from middle school to high school.

“Sometimes I am overwhelmed about it, but I like it better than the regular four block, because I am only in class for 40 minutes, and it’s easier to concenIllustration by Bella Goupil/The Omniscient trate,” Seils said.

Page 6, The Omniscient, October 2017

Fellow freshman Kayla Page agreed.

“At first I thought it was going to be overwhelming, but now I’m starting to like it, because you have more time [throughout the year] to learn,” Page said.

Freshman Tyler Blanford dislikes the schedule.

Blanford wants to have the ability to double up on core classes and be able to experience the full 90-minute class period.

“I don’t like how it’s really short, because you can’t really take your time and do [your] work in class, and the teachers can’t really go over the work,” Blanford said.

World History teacher Erin Hull has noticed a change in behavior in her students between a four block schedule and a hybrid schedule.

“You don’t have a lot of down time, so there is not a whole lot of busy work,” Hull said. “It is kind of hectic because it is so quick, but again, you have a lot less behavior problems, and students are working on what they need to work on in that class period.”

In regards to experiencing the hybrid schedule firsthand, Seils thinks it may be a good idea for freshmen, but she hopes the hybrid schedule does not continue next year.

“I want the full high school experience, and I feel like the schedule does not give me that,” Seils said.

Whether Northwood will continue to use the hybrid schedule next year it is not certain until Bartholomew sees the final effects of the program on the school.

“I would strongly guess that our [academic] growth that we will experience will be much higher than what we [have previously] had,” Bartholomew said. “We will see how the results will turn out.”

The Heat is On: Our Generation vs. Climate Change

By CC Kallam Staff Writer The temperature of the Earth has been increasing over the last 35 years. Over the past several decades, the polar ice caps have been thinning and shrinking in size due to the increase in global temperatures.

Science teacher Sarah Robertson discusses the effects of climate change.

“I mean good grief, look at California right now, it’s on fire—the entire west coast is on fire,” Robertson said. “Have we had a bazillion hurricanes? Yes, and they’ve actually been increased in intensity and they are fueled by all the things that climate change is creating. We are noticing melting ice caps, we are noticing diseases spreading northward that used to be southern hemisphere diseases. So yeah, there’s so much evidence supporting climate change that anybody that says otherwise obviously has not been paying attention.”

Politicians continue to debate the causes and seriousness of climate change, in a poll of 121 Northwood students, 68 percent of students surveyed said they believe climate change is real, that it is a pressing issue and that human activity is speeding it up.

Among the 32 percent of those who do not agree with all three statements, three percent have no opinion toward the existence of climate change, if it is a pressing issue and if human activity is speeding it up.

Freshman Rachel Covington has a straightforward view of climate change.

“Climate change is obviously happening—one

day we’re all going to die because of climate change, and it’s not a good thing,” Covington said. “I hate climate change.”

Sophomore Ava Sorgman believes that this generation will be the first to be affected by climate change and that it is a pressing issue.

“We should be concerned about climate change, because this generation will be the first to actually experience it,” Sorgman said. “Climate change was brought by the generations before us, but we’re going to be the first generation to have to live with the consequences.”

Science teacher Philip Cox commented on the differences in opinions on climate change between generations.

“I would say it’s a pressing issue. Maybe not for a lot of the old people because, you know, they’re gonna die off, and hey, they don’t care,” Cox said.

“For those of your generation, it’s going to be an interesting ride.”

Robertson says this generation should be aware of the climate changing and should care about how it will affect us.

“There is no doubt in the scientific community that [climate change] will affect your generation and your kids and grandkids,” Robertson said. “There have been so many studies backing this up, it’s ridiculous. In fact, any of the studies that were done by scientists that argue that it is not affected or caused by humans… are not even legitimate studies. When you throw out the flawed studies, you’re essentially looking at 100 percent of scientists agreeing that it is man made. [And] it is definitely going to affect your generation and every other generation following.”

Poll of Northwood students on climate change

CC Kallam/The Omniscient

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STUDENTS in online classes have to manage their time.

Athziry Peralta/The Omniscient

Distance Learning or Early Dismissal: Are online classes effective?

By Athziry Peralta Staff Writer Northwood gives its students the opportunity to take online courses in order to provide additional learning opportunities and give students a chance to earn college credit if they earn a C or higher in the class. When taking online college courses, students must be independent and aware that they are on their own. Some students think online classes are better because they can work at their own pace, but others say they need teachers to guide them. Time management is also a problem with some students because they have after school activities or work, and they end up doing their online work late at night.

Senior Elizabeth Perez is taking General Biology, American History II and Art Appreciation online, and she struggles with biology at times.

“The classwork isn’t that hard, but me finding the time to do the labs is, and that affects my grade,” Perez said. “But honestly, I think it is effective, because as long as you pass the class, you automatically get college credit.”

There are students who feel like online classes are not for them, because they prefer the guidance of a teacher. Senior Kathy Hernandez does not take online classes because she says she is a visual learner.

“I don’t think online classes help,” Hernandez said. “Me personally, I need a teacher to help me get the concept of the material.”

Students take their online classes in the school’s cafeteria, classrooms and sometimes the library. They have the option to leave campus, but only after the two first weeks, and the student is required to have at least an 80 or higher in the class in order to do so.

Senior Brenda Ruto prefers doing her online work at home because it is a better environment for her.

“When I do my online work, I’m usually at home, because it’s more quiet,” Ruto said.

“Classrooms are kind of loud.”

Ruto manages her time differently so she can feel more comfortable when taking her online course.

“Online classes are really cool, but I don’t feel they’re that effective for me, because I feel like it’s more of a time for me to catch up on other classes,” Ruto said.

Junior Jacob Hilliard also has an online course and does his work, but the courses are not as helpful to him.

“It’s kind of like you do your work and then you turn it in and you get graded on it, [but] you don’t really learn anything,” Hilliard said.

Taking an online class means having the responsibility of doing work and making sure you are caught up, because there are no teachers to help push you along.

Senior Joanna Estrada says she has to help herself in order to get the material but benefits from the class by gaining college credit. Any online college course gives you a credit if you pass the class, so it will not be an extra class to take when going to college.

“Online classes are basically having to guide your own self,” Estrada said. “If you do not understand something, you can’t really ask your teacher. You mainly have to do the research yourself and figure things out for yourself. I like it because it’s not hard as I thought it would be, and you get a college credit, so I guess it’s worth it.”

April Hammonds is the career and college adviser, and her job is to help high school students take online classes and get free college credits. She guides students to higher education and success.

“If students make a grade of a C or higher, then they’re getting that transfer credit, so if they take Intro to Sociology here, then that’s going to transfer to UNC as that class, so it’s really eliminating a lot of the general educations, and they are getting them completely free,” Hammonds said.

Hammonds describes the students taking these classes.

“The majority of the students do pass,” Hammonds said. “I mean, there are going to be a few outliers that do not pass. With an online class, there’s a lot of motivation that you have to have within yourself, like being organized and staying on task and doing what you need to get done.”

Hammonds said past students have appreciated the opportunities of online classes.

“I have talked to students who’ve graduated who took online courses, students at ECU, UNC-G, UNC, and they discuss how being in an online class really gives them what it’s like to be in a college class,” Hammonds said.

October 2017, The Omniscient, Page 9

Sara Heilman/The Omniscient

LEAH WILHELM prepares her students for the upcoming Winter Dance Concert.

Dance teacher Leah Wilhelm shares her story

By Garrison Parrish Staff Writer A young Leah Wilhelm arrives at the dance studio and strides over to the barre to warm up. Her Russian instructor observes that her posture is incorrect. Suddenly, Wilhelm is rapped on the back with a wooden ruler. Disappointed, the teacher says, “No, Leah, no, no.”

Wilhelm, who has been the school’s dance teacher for 12 years, credits dance to shaping her life and impacting her own students. Although she had a bittersweet experience during her middle school years, her experience with dance in high school inspired her to make dance her career.

Wilhelm’s experience with dance began at the age of three. According to her mother, after watching a Sesame Street episode featuring Big Bird dancing in a tutu, she told her mother that dance was what she wanted to do. Her mom signed her up for her first dance classes, sparking what would become her passion and career.

In middle school, Wilhelm had a difficult experience with ballet under the instruction of her demanding teacher. While she gave Wilhelm lead roles, she did not approve of her in class.

“In ballet, there is no interpretation; it is either right or it is wrong,” Wilhelm said.

In the studio, punishment was regular for Wilhelm.

“She would hit me with a yardstick all the time to make me a better dancer,” Wilhelm said.

Wilhelm recalled a painful memory where she was given the lead role in a Nutcracker performance. After the show, the teacher was very complimentary, but then told her she would never be a professional dancer. “[She told me] my neck was too short, my legs were too short, my arms weren’t long enough,” Wil-

Page 10, The Omniscient, October 2017

helm said. “All this stuff just broke me down.”

Wilhelm’s view changed when she met her high school dance teacher, “and then the lightbulb clicked.”

“She showed me it doesn’t have to be so mean, so serious,” Wilhelm said.

The teacher introduced her to modern dance, which Wilhelm took deep interest in. She says she enjoys it because of its lack of rules and emphasis on artistic expression, which, she says, fit her rebellious personality. The teacher became her mentor and role model.

“She is the reason that I sit here today, and it’s not because of her technique or what she taught me for my technique,” Wilhelm said.

“She taught me more to recognize why I dance.”

Inspired by her teacher, Wilhelm knew she wanted to pursue dance education as a career.

“I knew that I wanted to try to make people feel… the way she made me feel as a person, as a student, as a dancer,” she said.

Wilhelm went to East Carolina University and majored in Dance Education, becoming certified to teach K-12 dance. After graduating, she taught at her old high school, East Alamance High School in her hometown of Mebane, for the first three years of her teaching career. She then started her job as Northwood’s dance teacher a little over 12 years ago.

During her time at Northwood, Wilhelm has been amazed by her students’ development as dancers under her instruction. She says that one of the greatest parts of her career has been transform-

ing unenthusiastic students into dedicated dancers and watching them mature as they take higher-level dance classes, or in her words, “take a ‘can’t’ to a ‘definitely I can.’”

“To see their growth is one of the great parts of my job,” Wilhelm said.

She says dance “gives students a break, a release in their day; high school is super stressful at times.” With the hectic schedules and deadlines of high school life, Wilhelm believes that dance helps students unwind.

“I think it’s needed for mental health, for a release throughout the day, just a good break,” Wilhelm said.

Wilhelm enjoys modern dance because of its lack of definite rules and emphasis on creativity.

“I have learned later in life that I am not one to really follow the rules on many occasions, so it worked very well with my personality,” Wilhelm said.

Dance is Wilhelm’s medium not only for enjoyment, but also for artistic expression.

“It’s emotion-driven and it’s emotion-based, for me at least, and I really respond to that, because I enjoy telling stories and conveying emotions with each of the pieces I’m either choreographing or dancing,” Wilhelm said.

Ultimately, dance is what makes Leah Wilhelm who she is. “[Dance] has helped heal me in many times of craziness, and it always makes me smile, so I dance because it is a part of me,” Wilhelm said. “It’s not something I do—as cheesy as it sounds, it is me.”

“[Dance] has helped heal me in many times of craziness, and it always makes me smile, so I dance because it is a part of me.”

— Leah Wilhelm

People of Pittsboro Steve Garrity of Circle City Books in Pittsboro, NC “I like turtles—I saved a big turtle a couple of years ago. We have a creek behind our house, and a big snapping turtle was close to the road, so I picked it up, and it came around and tried to get me. I couldn’t believe it. I almost dropped it, but I put it in the back of the pickup and I drove it down to the creek and set it free.

I used to be a biologist at the Smithsonian, so that’s why I like critters.

I spent most of my time in the country of Panama doing marine biology. I studied snails, crabs, fish and seaweed, and how they all interacted. Then what happened was the marine lab where I was working on the Caribbean Sea was affected by a big oil spill, so they hired me to study all the animals that got [injured] by the oil spill and how soon the environment would recover. I helped them get a lot of money from the oil company.

My wife and I did that for three years. We went to Hawaii, we went to the American Samoa, we worked in Florida for ecological disasters, and we’d document the damage that was done when these idiots would spill oil and the government would slap them with a multi-million dollar fine to clean it up.”

Ava Johnson/The Omniscient

Abigail Barnhill of Blue Dot Coffee in Pittsboro, NC “The thing that I’m most looking forward to in my life is that my mom is taking my family on a cruise in January. [A relative] got diagnosed with cancer in February. When they first found it, the doctors thought it was sarcoma, which is really deadly, but then they found out it was actually testicular cancer which is still bad, but it’s way better than sarcoma. He’s been going through surgery and chemo. My mom booked the cruise in anticipation of all of us finally going on a family vacation. The idea is that [he] will be better by then, and it’s giving [the family] something to look forward to while [he] is going through chemo.”

Ava Johnson/The Omniscient

Ian Michael Patrick Hopper of Cafe Diem in Pittsboro, NC “My given name is Ian, but I go by Ducky…. It’s kind of a long story, a Pretty in Pink sort of thing.... I’m a barista, but I’m also a musician, a poet and an artist, kind of a jack of all trades. As far as that goes, [making art] is kind of like making coffee, I just like creating things.…

It’s the same thing with music and poetry, you just kind of grab components and make things out of it.

My best advice is just to be confident—don’t take too much to heart.

Listen to what people say so you can examine where it’s coming from.

That’s definitely some advice I would have given a younger duckling: to have faith in yourself.”

Ava Johnson/The Omniscient

— Compiled by Ava Johnson & Riley Wolfgang October 2017, The Omniscient, Page 11

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13

Entertainment

Masks Off: Why is no one trick-or-treating anymore?

By C hase Miller S taff Writer It’s that time of year again.

Across the nation and the world, kids are donning masks and costumes to celebrate Halloween. And yet, many Northwood students express they have better things to do or simply plan to stay home this year. It begs the question: what happened? Junior Abby Johnson had an answer.

“I think it just reaches a point where you think ‘this is for little kids,’” Johnson said. “The last couple Halloweens I’ve been busy, so now I just hand out candy to kids.”

Though she’s sure she won’t be going door-todoor, she said she’s unlikely to dress up at all.

She went on to say that she “definitely wouldn’t go,” even if she was without other plans. Her younger sister, freshman Emi Johnson, had a similar mindset.

“It’s kind of creepy to me,” she said in regards to her classmates’ continued participation in the “immature” activity. Though she doesn’t actively deter her peers, she herself won’t be taking part.

Not every student feels this way, though.

“Although, it does depend on the amount of homework on school nights and stuff,” sophomore Grace Miller said. “The dressing up is a nice, relaxing thing to do nowadays, with school being so heavy.”

She finds trick-or-treating to be “completely appropriate,” and she encourages her friends to join her this year.

“It’s not so popular anymore,” Miller said, “It’s more popular to throw a party or something like that.”

But Miller defends the holiday tradition and goes so far as to say that “it’s actually more fun now,” saying that “it’s more about getting together with your friends and celebrating than going out for candy.”

Sophomore Ella Hammond, another trick-or-treating enthusiast, doesn’t understand why she’s one of few.

“I don’t know why everyone’s not doing it anymore,” Hammond said, “I think it’s really fun,” she said.

Despite this, she might stay in this year as well.

“It really does appeal to me,” Hammond said. “It’s just, you know, I’ll do it if my friends do it. I don’t want to do it alone.”

This is yet another frequent deterrent for aging trickor-treaters.

Sophomore Elena Shipp said why she’s been on the fence since middle school.

“I love it,” Shipp said, “It’s always really fun. You just get to be stupid with your friends.”

“My mom doesn’t like that I go out on Halloween,” Shipp said, going on to say that her parents have been trying to turn her off of trick-or-treating since before she hit her teens. This hadn’t stopped her yet, though, as she “always had a great time” on that last night in October.

“I think we should just be allowed to hang out with our friends and dress up,” Shipp said, planning to adopt another “ridiculous” costume come Halloween, and hoping to see people of all age groups out too.

“They’re either staying home and binging horror movies or partying.”

— Sophomore Ella Hammond

Chase Miller/The Omniscient

While SOME TEENAGERS lose the Halloween spirit as they mature, others still find joy in dressing up for the holiday.

Trick-or-treat /’trik ‘,ôr ‘,trēt/ Noun

A children’s Halloween practice of asking for treats from door to door under threat of playing tricks on those who refuse. The term was coined in 1927.

According to History.com, Halloween’s origins date back over 2000 years to the ancient celtic festival of Samhain, which was associated with life, death and the end of the harvest. October 31st accommodated many celebrations over the centuries to follow, picking up various multi-cultural practices along the way. The holiday made it’s way to America in the mouths of English settlers and Irish immigrants, becoming popularized nationwide nearly 200 years ago.

What are your plans this Halloween?

Freshmen

Sophomores

Juniors

Seniors

Key: Purple - Hanging out with friends Orange - Trick-or-treating Grey - Dressing up Black - Staying home

Halloween DIYs: Mummy Mason Jar Luminaries 1. Gather your materials and lay some sort of protective cover over your workspace—this part can get messy.

2. Cover the entire outside of the jar with a generous coating of decoupage glue or watereddown Elmer’s school glue.

Materials:

1. Canning/mason jars (any size) 2. Roll of gauze (½ width works the best—if you have wider pieces, cut down the middle) 3. Decoupage glue / watered-down Elmer’s glue 4. Craft brush 5. Googly eyes 6. Tealights or candy (whatever you plan to fill these with)

3. Starting at the base of the jar, wrap the gauze around the jar. Overlap and criss cross as desired. Add another generous layer of glue over the gauze.

It’s okay if some of the gauze frays or folds down. Let dry.

4. Glue the googly eyes to the jar. You can use the decoupage glue for the eyes too. (If using watered down glue, I recommend using undiluted glue for this step.)

5. Add a tealight to your jars and light them up, or fill them with candy to enjoy later!

Are you heading to a costume party tonight? Do you still don’t know what to dress up as?

Try these last minute ideas: “Cereal” Killer Costume Materials: -Box of cereal -Fake knife

Bag of Jellybeans Costume Materials: -Clear shower liner -Miniature balloons -Ribbon

The easiest way to get away with not having a costume is with this simple trick. Just grab a box of your favorite cereal, and add some fake blood if you’re feeling fancy. No costume, no problem.

If you have a bit more time to spare, whip up this sweet costume to match your Halloween candy. A few balloons and a clear shower liner will have you looking like a snack.

— Compiled by Heather Drake & Sara Heilman

Page 14, The Omniscient, October 2017

Fears Over the Years: How horror movies have changed over time

By Madison Clark Staff Writer

Psycho, The Shining and all the Saw movies are all defining movies from their respective decades.

But what caused the drastic change in story and horror content? Was it the development of technology to make gore scenes more gorey, or are there new things to be afraid of?

“Horror movies reflect our culture and our society’s beliefs,” English teacher Sabrina Beasley said. “Back in the ’50s, you had fear of nuclear war, [and] you had fear of the unknown, which is why you had so many aliens landing on the planet. [In] the ’90s, people were afraid of being kidnapped and murdered, which is why you had so many slasher films. Nowadays, the movies are either really really gross for entertainment effect, or they’re very frightening in terms of psychological fright.”

The top horror movies of the 2010s include The Conjuring, The Babadook and It Follows. All the movies share one quality in particular: an unknown monster. Fear of the unknown describes this particular era of horror.

“Horror movies thrive on the unknown parts,”

junior Hannah Yule said. “My mom gets scared easily, and I tell her, ‘The scariest part of the movie is the sound.’ So if you go through the whole movie with your ears covered, it won’t be as scary. But, if you went through the whole movie with your eyes covered, it would be terrifying. The ambience, the sound and the music and who’s directing it all work together to make you scared out of your mind.”

Technology, such as Computer Generated Imaging [CGI], has also made an impact on the horror genre.

More realistic effects can be achieved without actors spending hours putting on makeup. “[Horror has gotten] better in the gore category, because they have more access to CGI,” senior Sam Watson said. “You can actually have arms ripped off, bit off, sliced off you can actually see someone get sliced in half.”

In Beasley’s opinion, gore is unnecessary when it’s only included “for gore’s sake.”

“I think the movies nowadays, again it depends on the director you’re watching, but I think it has crossed over the line to ridiculous,” Beasley said.

“Gore for gore’s sake. ‘Hey, we can have someone

cut their arm off? Let’s show it.’ To me, that’s not real horror. Real horror is thinking, ‘Oh my goodness, someone’s about to cut off my limb.’ I think we’ve gone for shock value. I think we’ve compromised our ability to truly scare one another for our ability to shock one another.”

Quickly developing technology and a changing demographic will lead to a new era of horror. It is unclear whether the horror genre will backtrack and continue remaking classics or begin a new, undefined decade.

“I think we’re backtracking,” Yule said. “There was the gorey period with the Saw movies and they’re coming out with Jigsaw. You know there’s going to be a bunch of movies after that, and so there’s going to be a new gore period. I hope that it goes back to the unknown stuff, because that’s what gets me.”

As shown in the past, what society is afraid of defines a decade of horror.

“In the ‘90s it was camping, sleeping, hanging out with friends and those horror movies reflected that,” Watson said. “I’m really excited to see what this next generation of horror does.”

Movies to watch this Halloween:

Photo courtesy of Laika Pandemonium

Coraline: While exploring her new house, a girl named Coraline discovers a door hidden behind her living room wall. This door leads to an alternate universe where everything in Coraline’s life is presumed to be better. All is well until her “other” parents behind the door try to trap her in their universe forever. This clay-animated movie is spooky with some humor thrown into it.

Halloweentown:

Photo courtesy of Amazon

After discovering she is a witch, Marnie Piper is put to the test of learning to control her powers and saving a town full of supernatural creatures. This lighthearted Disney Channel classic, directed by Duwayne Dunham, is an original and is one to be watched during Halloween.

Photo courtesy of Warner Bros.

The Shining: This psychological film by Stanley Kubrick features a family that moves to an isolated hotel, hoping it will cure the husband’s writer’s block. The son, Danny, begins to experience morbid visions, and, the father, Jack begins to discover the deep and dark secrets of the hotel. Jack becomes psychotic and starts to physically assault his family. This movie is terrifying and disturbing as we see Jack unravel into a monster as his family tries to fend for their lives.

Photo courtesy of Emrahozcan

The Babadook: A confused widow and her son discover a monster that has entered their house through the pages of a children’s book and now must find a way for it to leave. Directed by Jennifer Kent, The Babadook is filled with jump scares and a mind-twisting plot that will leave you surprised. Available on Netflix.

— Compiled by Emma Quasny October 2017, The Omniscient, Page 15

A Growing Trend: Your Guide to Backyard Gardening

A recent trend in America has been a return to backyard food gardens. With vegetable prices on the rise and a growing desire for organic produce, backyard farming is seen as a viable alternative to purchasing from the supermarket.

“We don’t use a lot of pesticides because a lot of the kids that are coming up now Getting Started: It’s

important to start small.

Don’t take on more than you can handle. It’s best to consider how many vegetables you can actually use. You can always expand the garden later.

Support: Making sure your plants have the adequate support needed to grow tall and healthy is very important. Especially for plants such as

Seedlings: Young plants are vulnerable to shifts in the weather, pests and other problems. A good way to protect them is to use a transplant system.

These kits come with seeds in preportioned soil plugs inside of a plastic box, which helps maintain optimal

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www.severtsmiles.com Page 16, The Omniscient, October 2017

Weeding: This is

everybody’s least favorite part of gardening, but you have to do it. Weeds will shade out your plants and compete with them for nutrients. When weeding, it is important to remove the root system as well as the above ground portion of the

Know how much space you have for the garden, and plan accordingly. Is your backyard shaded or in direct sunlight?

Research which plants grow well in the amount of sunlight you have.

are allergic to that stuff and get sick,” Agriscience teacher Gale Brickhouse said. “A lot of parents and a lot of people try to grow their own fruits and vegetables to eat.”

This guide will help you with a few tips and tricks to make your backyard garden as productive as possible.

Watering: Different plants

require all different levels of water. Make sure you know how much your plants need so you don’t drown them or kill them with thirst. Automated sprinkler systems can help, but they waste a lot of water.

Just going out with a hose and making sure you’re as accurate as possible goes a long way towards saving water. Other systems, such as a rain collection barrel hooked up to your gutters, can save you a lot of money watering.

tomatoes, proper staking and support is key. Otherwise, the plants will sag under the weight of their own produce, potentially killing the plant.

conditions. Keep the kit inside and care for it until the seeds have sprouted and grown to sufficient size to be transplanted outside. This protects the seedlings during some of their most vulnerable times. These kits can be bought in most garden supply stores.

weed. Most weeds can grow back from just the roots. You can help prevent weeds from growing by putting down landscaping fabric, which blocks them from getting sunlight. Newspaper can also be used, which has the benefit of being biodegradable.

Harvesting: When

it comes time to harvest the fruits of your labor, it is important to be careful with your plants. Oftentimes, a plant will become ready for harvest over

Soil: One of the most important

parts of a garden is the soil. The clay-heavy soil found in the region means much care needs to be taken in making sure plants have the proper nutrients they need. Pre-made soil mixes work fine, but a cheaper and more effective method is to start a

time, with some of its fruits or vegetables becoming ripe before others. Because of this, you have to be careful not harm any of the other growths when you are harvesting.

compost pile. Collecting food waste and kitchen scraps and allowing them to compost can be a great source of nutrient rich soil for your garden. Just be sure to avoid composting any fruits or vegetables with seeds. You don’t want to introduce any unwanted plants into your garden.

— Compiled by Joshua Eisner

Cyclocross off to a rolling start in Chatham County

For the first time ever, Cyclocross has come to Chatham County. The Briar Cross race in September drew 240 participants. Cyclocross is a discipline of off-road bicycle racing originally started by French cyclists racing through farm fields in the off season. It has recently grown in popularity in the U.S.

“It’s important to get more people on bikes and get people out here,” said Judy Rhyne, USA Cycling Race Official. “When people try this sport they fall in love with it. It’s just a matter of getting people out here.”

Full Story at www.nhsomniscient.com

— Compiled by Joshua Eisner

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(919) 682-2115 “A tradition of timeless beauty” October 2017, The Omniscient, Page 17

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O pinion

Flying Solo: How I got out of my comfort zone 9,000 miles from home Chloe Maynard

Despair: that is the only thing I felt boarding my 13-hour flight to Ethiopia alone. My mom embraced me for the last time before sending me on my way through security. I broke down immediately. The months I had spent excitedly preparing for this trip of a lifetime suddenly meant nothing as the familiar faces of my family disappeared in the crowd of the airport.

I landed in Botswana a full 24 hours after my mom last hugged me. I was drained both physically and mentally. Sitting on an airplane alone for an entire day left with nothing but my thoughts, I had convinced myself that this was the biggest mistake I had ever made. I racked up a $600 phone bill begging my mom to

buy me a plane ticket home immediately.

Homesickness might sound like something only young kids at summer camp experience (which I guess in a way I was), but it can be extremely difficult to handle when paired with culture shock. We were forewarned about the apparent stages we would go through as we experienced culture shock, and I spent a fair amount of time in “panic.”

While in the “panic” stage, it was hard for me to realize the value of some of the things I was experiencing, but as soon as I touched back down on American soil I felt differently. Cliché, I know, but all of my life I had been able to count on someone else to help me through difficult times and handle less-than-ideal situations, but while I was abroad, I was forced to rely on myself to get through tough circumstances.

During my time in Botswana, I ate a variety of things I had never been exposed to before, including mopane worms and impala poop. I came face to face with a 12-foot python and witnessed a giraffe fight. I spent three days completely off

Photo courtesy of Abby Case

CHLOE MAYNARD eats a mopane worm in Gabarone, Botswana. According to Maynard, it “tasted like grass.” the grid camping with 10 strangers where we had to take precautions to protect ourselves from three rogue elephants and a small pride of lions in our camp. I came down with a terrible bout of food poisoning and had to go to a local doctor, but finally, I learned the importance of taking

risks and doing things independently.

I journaled every day I was abroad, and the last thing written in my notebook sums up my feelings best: “This trip gave me the opportunity to learn and grow as a person more than my 11 years of education have ever. Thank you, Botswana.”

What Next?: I don’t know what I’m doing with my future Georgia O’Reilly Ever since I started high school just over a year ago, I’ve felt this unspoken expectation of knowing what I want to do. Whether that comes in the form of a question on a first day form or a guidance counselor telling us to start thinking about what we want to do, it feels like it’s always there.

“What do you want to do when you’re older?” That question used to have a simple answer. The answer would usually be a doctor, a teacher, a veterinarian, an astronaut, a soccer player… simple one-ortwo-word answers that people only said because that’s all they knew.

As I got older, though, it became more complex. I found myself and my friends discussing how long you had to go to college to be eligible to be a veterinarian or how teachers don’t earn much of an income. It became less about what we wanted to do and more about how we

would get there. That transition is the reason why it’s so hard for me to figure out what I want to do.

I believe what we want to do is swayed by our upbringing and our surroundings.

If your mother religiously watches Law and Order as you’re growing up, you’re probably going to have some sort of interest in law, justice or other themes that are featured. On the flip side, your career might be determined before you’re even born. A lot of parents place an extreme amount of pressure on their children from a young age to be a doctor, a lawyer or a chemist. My parents have both had jobs in multiple fields, and my mother completely switched industries after 10 years of not working. This has given me an insight into many different careers, but has also fueled my indecisiveness.

When I lived in New York, the school system was very different. Once you got to middle school, you were basically on a set path for what you wanted to do.

When you’re in fifth grade, you have to test and audition to get into a decent middle school, and the process is that much harder when the best high schools only accept as low as two students from each middle school. These processes are stren-

uous to say the least, but they kept me focused. From age 12, I knew I would be essentially grandfathered into a good high school’s drama program, and then soon use that to get into college. But when I moved to a small town in North Carolina, all that guidance just faded into the background. After almost three years of doing the same thing, I no longer wanted it anymore. What if that mindset applies to my real career when I’m older too? What if I just get sick of a job every three years and fear that I’ll fall into the same old routine every day for the rest of my life?

The summer before freshman year, I had my heart set on being a lawyer. I thought law was so interesting and I had a big aspiration to do it. I started researching the best colleges to go to for law and what type of law would be most appealing to me. The more I thought about it, however, the more I became wary of it.

When I told friends I wanted to be a lawyer, the response I got was, “But that’s so boring.” The attraction I once had to law was slowly fading.

At the beginning of this sophomore year, I got an email about meeting with my Career Development Coordinator. I clicked the box that said yes, I did want to

meet with her. But what was I supposed to tell her? That I had no idea what I wanted to do? What if I was taking all these classes to help me seem appealing to a certain college, only to change my mind completely and not have anything built up for this new interest?

For me, it feels like all my peers know what they want to do. They want to be a dental assistant, a historian, a journalist or a makeup artist. Maybe they have an ambition to make it to the NFL or the NBA. Whatever it is, they want it.

It doesn’t help that my family is full of entrepreneurs, medical professionals and innovative minds. It’s not like I’m not passionate about anything, because I am, but they’re not things I would be interested in pursuing as a career. I love photography, but I don’t feel compelled to be a photographer.

As my second year of high school starts, I’m forcing myself to be more open-minded as a way to hopefully find something that I want to do. It’s scary to not know what path you’d like to take when high school only lasts four years. I will continue to expose myself to different opportunities to help myself figure out what exactly it is that I want to do.

Shakes are for Winners: Consolation prizes are useless Jonathan Robbins In my first ever football game, we got destroyed 40-something to 7. On the way home, my mom and I stopped for lunch at McDonald’s, and I asked if I could get a chocolate shake.

“Shakes are for winners,” my mom said.

This lesson my mom taught me at McDonald’s may seem like a silly little thing she said to try and stop me from eating calories that I obviously didn’t need, but it changed the way I viewed life. After that, I didn’t lose a single football game for two years straight, and every week when our team would win, I’d look forward to the shake, not only for the taste, but for the acknowledgement that my team did it. My team won.

It got so ingrained in my head that only winners get shakes that the tradition has carried on to high school. I understood and continue to understand that when my team loses, I don’t deserve a shake, because I haven’t played well enough to earn it. This is what we need our future generations to understand—if you didn’t do something well enough to be the best, you don’t deserve the best reward.

I’ve struggled for a long time with the idea that everyone gets the same reward in youth sports just for trying.

As a kid, I played as many sports as I could, and I was pretty good at them.

No More Tragedies: Gun laws need to be enforced

My team often went undefeated or finished with one or two losses, and every year, we all looked forward to our end of year party where every team got together, ate pizza and awards were given out. But when it was time to get our awards, we would get the same trophy as the team that didn’t win a single game the whole year, and it didn’t make sense to me.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m all for giving kids some recognition for playing a full season and for coming out and competing every weekend, but it’s when the team that didn’t lose a game gets the same trophy as a team that didn’t win a game that I have a problem. Kids develop a certain kind of entitlement that makes them think that they deserve everything that they want, and that they shouldn’t have to work for it. I think that a lot of this can boil down to kids getting the same rewards for not working as hard and not succeeding, but still getting recognition as if they actually accomplished something.

This kind of pampering and making a kid the center of the universe is ridiculous to me. We need to teach our young generations that if you work hard for something and you do better than everyone else, you’ll be rewarded—not telling them that just trying is enough.

I know that life isn’t as black and white as winning or losing a football game may be, but the same logic can be used in most situations. If you do something worthwhile, you deserve an award equal to what you did, not an award that is the same for everyone who tried.

Growing up, I never imagined that my hometown would be a place of tragedy. The cookie-cutter suburbs where I once lived screamed flawlessness, and the people who lived there never once grew suspicion. The crime rate was low, and everyone lived quietly to themselves.

The small town of Sandy Hook, Connecticut was unknown, and if someone had asked, you wouldn’t be able to point it out on a map. My life was fairly average: go to school, go home and attend to my afterschool activities. There were no real big weather events, other than the occasional snowstorm and hurricane, but “Sandy Hook” was never on the front cover of any newspaper—until December 14, 2012.

When I was 10 years old, I didn’t really know what a gun was. I knew they used them in wars and could kill people, but no information other than that was really taught at that young of an age. So when the announcements came on that day in Reed Intermediate School that we had to go into lockdown, most of my classmates sighed.

We sat for hours, waiting on the announcement to come on over the PA system telling us everything was okay. But it never came.

Soon enough, myself and other classmates were being called out to go home. I will never forget the feeling of being escorted into a giant crowd of anxious parents looking for their children to pick up.

I learned that my younger sister’s best friend was killed in the shooting, and I was devastated. The feeling of knowing that someone you knew, who was so happy and had so much life left, had died is the worst feeling in the world. And knowing it could have been prevented is even harder to think about. I always think that if one thing had gone differently, the 20 children would not have died that day.

Right now, gun control laws are messed up. Sure, you may have a different opinion, and I’m not going to fight you. You believe what you want to believe and I believe what I want to believe—I don’t care. But the amount of mass shootings in the U.S. is higher than it should be. Out of the 10 deadliest mass shootings in U.S. history, six of them have happened in the last 10 years, the deadliest happening only a month ago.

Guns are no joking matter.

In the midst of things, gun control laws are a very controversial topic. It’s always “people kill people” versus “guns kill people.” Harsher gun control may not fix every gun problem, but the awareness that guns are dangerous and do more harm than good is extremely important to relay to society. To me, I feel that it’s crazy when normal people like you and me have guns.

I understand if you are a police officer or you hunt, but I feel “self-defense” is not a logical reason. If you use a gun for selfdefense, you risk killing someone.

The United States needs a plan that would enforce better licensing and regulation. Better security, better monitoring and better awareness to the fact than guns are the most dangerous “easily” available weapon on the planet.

will not be able to drop these classes once enrolled. It is meant to keep class sizes manageable and prevent students from creating a logistical nightmare by dropping classes simply because they do not feel like doing the summer work. The current system undoubtedly accomplishes these goals to a certain degree, and while it is good to teach teenagers the importance of keeping a commitment, a lot of students end up in way over their head when they actually enter a course, potentially tanking their GPA and harming their chances of getting into college. The fact is, some kids are just not cut out for AP level classes for one reason or another. Yet they end up in these classes anyway, whether it be due to parental pressure,

undue teacher recommendation or their own hardheadedness. Because of this, The Omniscient staff believes that this signed agreement should be replaced by an optional pre-test policy.

Each AP teacher should curate a simple pretest of their course to offer to potential students before the enrollment process. This test would show students what the basics of a course are and also what their own potential in the class would be. This would help students make a more informed decision on what classes they have the ability to succeed in. According to our proposed policy, the test would be optional when choosing to take a class, but would be required if the student wants the ability to drop a class once enrolled. This way,

if students choose to utilize the resources available to them, they will likely benefit from the decision. If incapable students choose not to take the test and enroll in the class anyway, they won’t have the opportunity to drop the class.

This would prevent students from dropping classes for trivial reasons.

Even so, if an eligible student wished to drop a class, their reason would still need to be reviewed by their counselor.

Furthermore, it would teach students the valuable lesson that if they go the extra mile to use the resources provided to them, they will be rewarded. We believe that implementing this system would be beneficial to both students and teachers and help more students succeed in their future endeavors.

Emma Pollard

Pretests Make Perfect: Drop/add agreements must be changed Staff Editorial

Every year, rising juniors and seniors must decide whether or not they’re ready to sign up for AP classes. Because of recent drop/add policies, these students must also face the dreaded task of signing away their right to drop a class when they enroll in AP and Honors level courses. This agreement between student and administrator forces kids to commit to their classes and their schoolwork; however, it is the opinion of The Omniscient staff that this agreement can do more harm than good, and the process should be changed.

Most students who sign up for these higher level classes understand the purpose of the agreement and that they

October 2017, The Omniscient, Page 19

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S ports

Football team copes with lack of middle school football

By T anner Althoff S taff Writer

same offense and defense as Orange.

“That’s what all the good teams do,” Harrington said. “The head high school Orange, Southern Durham, Chapel coaches have clinics for their middle Hill, Cedar Ridge, Northern Durham school coaches and teach them how they and Hillside. Yes, those are the six coach football. By the time the kids come teams in Northwood’s conference, but to high school, they know what they need they are also the teams in the Big Eight to do. [If we had it], our kids would know 3A conference that have middle school how to play Charger football.” football in their county.

One of the other benefits with having Chatham County still falls behind middle school football is implementing in the world of middle school foot- team chemistry at an early age. ball. Every other team in the conferFreshman Malachi Ees, who plays on ence having it poses a potential dis- JV, says that teamwork would be better advantage to the Chargers. According had they played football in middle school. to varsity football head coach Brian “We would all already know how to Harrington, half of the current junior play with each other,” Ees said. varsity team has never played football Along with team chemistry, middle before or had only played ages 6-10. school football would get kids accusAccording to Pollard Middle School tomed to more competition that the athletic director, Aaron Kivette, there recreational leagues fail to provide. have been board meetings about add“Middle school is a bigger deal than ing middle school football to the coun- rec because you are playing for your ty. However, the Board of Education school,” freshman Trey Robinson said. decided to table the “It would give guys discussion about heads up for high “I have found out that the aschool adding football and football.” wrestling to middle kids in athletics are the Harrington said school until their adding middle ones who do not cause that 2018 retreat. For school football would now, the football problems in school, also simply give kids coaches at Norththing to be graduate on time and another wood must do the involved with. best they can with “I love athletics,” have discipline.” who they have.

Harrington said. “I — Coach Brian “[The young playhave found out that ers] really haven’t the kids in athletics Harrington had the experience are the ones who do of tackle football,” Harrington said. not cause problems in school, graduate “We have to teach them tackle foot- on time and have discipline. Athletics ball. Indirectly, [not having middle does more than just entertain on Friday school football] affects varsity because or Tuesday nights. Just being on the it takes them two years to figure out, team requires the student to pass their and we really don’t know what their classes. I just wish they gave football a full potential is until it’s too late.” chance at the middle school level.”

Harrington added that the biggest hoop So why does Chatham County for the new players to jump through is still not have it? According to Kivette, the fear of getting hit. He believes if they Chatham County having 700+ acres of had experience in middle school, they land would make it difficult. Long diswould be able to get over that fear faster. tances between schools is the reason The difference between full contact with the county has several small middle kids who are 12-14 is much different schools. This would then force teams than contact with kids who are 5-11. to be made up of two schools, making Other teams in the conference are practicing challenging. Beyond logisable to implement their playbooks into tics, the main reason for the lack of the middle school system, so the play- middle school football is cost. ers coming in already know the plays.

Football is the most expensive sport For instance, at Orange High School, for the school to provide. Helmets run the head coach makes sure that the anywhere from $200-400 and pads middle school teams run the exact can be $100-300. There are also pants,

Sam Fuelleman/The Omniscient

EAST CHATHAM CHARGERS KIDS pose for a picture before watching the Chargers play Charlotte Country Day Sept. 15th. socks and jerseys. Football requires more coaches and time than any other sport. Practice equipment, like tackling dummies, can be upwards of $1,000.

Despite these high costs, Harrington says that football at the high school level turns a profit and is even able to provide financial assistance to other teams at Northwood. However, Harrington is unsure whether middle school football would be able to draw in enough ticket and sponsorship sales to stay afloat.

Currently, Chatham County has a youth football program called the East Chatham Chargers (ECC). These teams practice three times during the week and have games on Saturdays where they play surrounding area youth football teams. The league offers teams for ages 5-6, 7-8, 9-10 and 11-12. The program does not offer any football for kids over 12 years old and players cannot be over 155 lbs.

Robinson feels ECC helped him prepare for the high school level.

“I have more experience than some of the people who [didn’t play ECC],” Robinson said. “I know the game of football better.”

Since the program costs money out of pocket, there is a greater emphasis on equal playing time than on a schoolsponsored team. This takes away from some of the factors that high school football brings. “[High school football] is more intense,” Ees said. “ECC is just boring and too simple.”

With this lack of a middle school age group, kids in Chatham must either travel to other counties to play or take a break.

Senior Dylan Hamer traveled to Durham to play with the Firebirds because there was not an age division for him in eighth grade.

“The competition was better with the Firebirds,” Hamer said. “With the Chargers, we only played against teams in the region, but with the Firebirds, we went all around the state. We eventually were able to play in Orlando, Florida for the National AAU championship.”

The break that ECC forces the kids to take can be harmful to their skills or even cause them to quit football altogether. Harrington has noticed kids picking up different sports in that time and then sticking to those sports without venturing out.

“You get a kid that age,” Harrington said. “He can’t play football, so he says, ‘Well, I’ll play lacrosse.’ Then once he gets to high school, I’ll ask him if he wants to play football, and he tells me, ‘No, I play lacrosse.’ They don’t realize that they can do both, or even three sports.”

Despite the setbacks the football team faces due to the absence of middle school teams, Harrington is proud of the Chargers’ efforts.

“I think the coaching staff here does a very good job,” Harrington said. “We are beating teams that have middle school football.”

Floyd, second in state, leads golf team to conference championship

By Georgia O’Reilly Staff Writer

“She does an excellent job of assisting others and helping and trying to make everybody better,” Amy said.

For the school golf team, Floyd Sophomore Kat Floyd has spent practices everyday after school and the past several years of her life puthas workouts in the morning two to ting most of her time and energy into three times a week.

Amy was aware of golf.

Floyd’s rankings prior to him becom“[At one practice], she ended up ing the coach. spending an extra hour to get five “She is part of the reason I wantperfect shots,” girls’ golf coach Jason ed to become the next golf coach,” Amy said.

Amy said.

That work paid off when Floyd finOne of the reasons Floyd pursues ished second in the state championship golf so seriously is because of the feellast week, shooting a 73 and a 70. ing it gives her. It allows her to feel “States had a great atmosphere and superior often times and is an outlet for it was a good finish to the season,” her stress.

Floyd said. “Amy was a big help this “You have the feeling of being whole season, especially at states.” better than everyone else,” she said.

Floyd also won sixth place in the “Golf is my way to relieve pressure USKids World Championships Girls from school and other stressful parts 15-18 and was the top finishing Amerof my life.” ican player. Floyd was also named Being on a school team doesn’t 2017’s Player of the Year for the Big change much from being an independent 8 Conference. player for Floyd, and her private coach, She started playing golf almost Dona Lerner, believes that participating 10 years ago when her dad introduced in a team is beneficial for her. it her after several years of watching “I think being able to work within both her parents play. the template or structure of a coach’s “[My parents] are my biggest supvision will be invaluable for Kat in her porters,” Floyd said. “They bring me quest to play collegiate golf and evento all my tournaments and pay for my tually professional golf,” Lerner said. clubs and clothes.”

Amy enjoys having Floyd on the As well as being on Northwood’s team, though it does come with some golf team, which has five members, she also practices privately at Brier Creek obstacles for him.

“She needs to be challenged and with a coach. Her accelerated abilpushed harder than the other girls,” ity and expertise provides the school’s Amy said.

“So it’s almost more difteam with an advantage. ficult because her ability is so good that we have to find ways to challenge her.”

Floyd is very passionate about golf and this is obvious to Lerner.

“There is a burning desire in [Floyd] that makes her want to win and be willing to expose herself to failure in an effort to attain the goal of winning,” Lerner said.

This is obvious to Amy as well when Floyd plays for the school. “[The team] noticed that Kat is more driven to perfection than most people,” Amy said. “She places a lot of stress upon herself to be the best because she knows what it takes to be the best.”

Floyd is a huge helping hand to her teammates Photo courtesy of Jason Amy as well.

KAT FLOYD and JASON AMY won Conference “She just spreads posiPlayer and Coach of the Year. tivity,” Izzy Smith, one of

Photo courtesy of Jason Amy

THE GIRLS’ GOLF TEAM successfully won conference this year.

Floyd’s teammates, said. “It’s never intimidating to play with her because we look up to her and watch her to learn.”

Floyd sets goals for herself and shares them with her coaches.

“When I asked her what her goal was, she said to win states,” Amy said.

“Whatever her goal is, is my goal. I don’t set the bar for them; they create their own goals.”

The team achieved their goal of winning conference this year and four of the team’s members continued to regionals.

As a team, “[the girls] have done a phenomenal job of working together and achieving goals,” Amy said.

They are a tightknit group of girls that help each other out when needed.

“We’re really good at being there for each other all the time,” Smith said.

“We act like we’re sisters; we’re really just a big golf family.”

The team has developed more than a 50 point stroke lead over their next opponent, which is East Chapel Hill.

They have almost 100 strokes better than most other opponents. Four of the top golfers in this year’s conference are from Northwood, and Kat is the first.

Her average is five strokes better than the next person in conference. They completed their Big 8 Conference with a score of 34-1.

Floyd is passionate about the golf team receiving more acknowledgement throughout the school.

“The golf team definitely needs way more recognition,” Floyd said.

Overall, Floyd is a leader for the other girls on the golf team and the team itself is rising.

“Kat is definitely the person that leads our team, but everyone else on the team has improved so much,” Smith said.

October 2017, The Omniscient, Page 21

The Posse Posse: Sibling duo takes Northwood sports by storm

By Emma Pollard Staff Writer The whistle blows and the players run onto the field. Not too far away, the same tone rings, and swimmers dive into the water. For most people, these sports may seem just like football and swimming, but for Michael and Madeline Posse, they’re far more.

Since they began their respective sports, Michael and Madeline have been dominating. As just a freshman, Michael was placed on the varsity football team after working out with a high school team previously throughout middle school, while also playing for his own middle school. “[Working out with a high school team] was intense,” Michael said. “Football was real big down [in Georgia].”

Michael and Madeline, who moved to North Carolina last year from Georgia, find that some of the athletics are quite different than what they had been used to.

“It’s more serious [in Georgia],” Michael said. “[It’s] much more competitive.”

Madeline, however, had a different experience.

“In Georgia I was on a very small team where I was the fastest and oldest swimmer,” Madeline said. “I enjoy swimming here a lot, and I am very thankful for the team and coaches I have. They spend a lot of time making sure I have what I need to get better, and I feel like I am being prepared to where I can hopefully swim in college.”

Michael, one of the only freshmen on the varsity football team, has played quite a bit this season.

“He’s a young kid with good enthusiasm,” varsity football coach Brian Harrington said. “He is very coachable and very athletic.”

The varsity football team agrees.

“He’s a really good quarterback,” senior Gabe Chavez said.

Coach Harrington says Michael seemed like an athlete as soon as he stepped on the field.

“In one play, there was a pass [where Michael] rolled out in a third-down situation, and he took a sack,” Harrington said. “So the coach told him in that situation to throw the ball away. The next time there was a pass situation, he rolled out and threw the ball away. It’s hard to get kids to learn that fast in that type of situation.”

Photo courtesy of Madeline Posse

MICHAEL and MADELINE POSSE connect with each other through their love of sports.

Madeline, a junior, has been swimming since she was eight.

“I like having a goal and working towards it,” Madeline says. “It’s hard work, but it feels good after a long practice.”

So far in her 9-year swimming career, she has had many successes, winning first in the 50 free and first in the 500 free her freshman year in Georgia, and third in the 50 free and 500 free her sophomore year at regionals on Northwood’s swim team.

“She was an awesome contributor to our team,” former swim team coach Lyn Smith said. “She’s already joined in and doing clubs, team swimming and has gelled with the team really well.”

Amanda Montgomery, a senior and captain of the swim team, believes Madeline to be a great addition.

“She’s a really great asset to the team,” Montgomery said. “She’s very dedicated and really helps us out with our relays.”

While this school may have a less competitive environment than Michael is used to, Madeline believes that the Northwood Athletics Department has a great support system for its athletes. Michael and Madeline Photo courtesy of Madeline Posse continue to excel and support one another in all of MICHAEL and MADELINE POSSE at ages 7 and 9. their athletic endeavors.

Sarah Helen Shepherd/The Omniscient

MADELINE POSSE swims at a meet in January.

Page 22, The Omniscient, October 2017

Chase Miller/The Omniscient

MICHAEL POSSE high fives fans after a game.

Chloe Maynard/The Omniscient

FANTASY FOOTBALL is an online platform where friends can compete while supporting their favorite football players.

Fantasy or Reality: Is fantasy football good for the NFL?

By Jonathan Robbins Staff Writer

Millions of people play it, thousands of people call it their job, the average player spends hundreds of dollars on it every year—fantasy football is a massive industry.

According to a study done by Sports Management Degree Hub, fantasy football is worth $18.6 billion, $6 billion more than the NFL itself. That comes out as $495 per player every year. It’s still growing too, increasing its market share by over 270 percent since 2003 and gaining millions of players. While many say fantasy football brings people together in a fun and interesting way, one of the largest pushbacks against the industry is loyalties lost to NFL teams in hopes of a fantasy win.

In fantasy football, there are “owners” of teams that draft players from every team in the NFL, and depending on how their players do, they get more points. Every week, fantasy owners’ teams are pitted against each other, and whoever scores the most points wins. Because of this scoring system, fans are starting to cheer for individual players every year to boost up their fantasy team, rather than rooting for teams.

“I know guys who will root for the opposing quarterback to put up 50 points against their favorite team, but still hope their quarterback puts up 70,” principal Justin Bartholomew said. “It definitely takes away from the team and focuses on the individual.”

These divided loyalties make it harder for NFL teams to fill up stadiums, because fewer and fewer people are cheering for the teams themselves, and being at the game doesn’t let you see how the rest of your fantasy team is doing. To combat this, the NFL has tried to display stats and highlight players who are owned in many fantasy leagues by having screens and other devices dedicated to fantasy football.

“I wish I could turn off the stats popping up on the scroll at the bottom of the screen,” Bartholomew said. “I just want to watch the game I’m watching, but then out of the corner of your eye, you see one of your guys did something good, and it draws your attention away from the game right in front of you.”

Thousands of hours are spent on fantasy football every week, with the average player spending nine hours per week consuming fantasy football per Sports Management Degree Hub. This causes many to say that the time and money wasted on the game is enough to keep them away from playing when they used to participate.

“I always forget to set my lineups,” senior Mike Barone said. “It’s too time consuming for me to want to keep playing.”

NFL teams still have very large fan bases, and they bring in millions of dollars every year, so people are still watching football to root for their favorite teams. Some players completely oppose the notion that fantasy football may make them root against their favorite team and believe that having a certain player on their team doesn’t sway their opinion at all when watching on Sundays.

“I’ll always rep my favorite team,” junior Thompson Little said. “I don’t care who they’re playing. I’ll pull for the team I want to win.”

Fantasy football can also bring people together who wouldn’t have connections otherwise.

Whether it’s a family member across the nation or friends at school, fantasy football can create friendly competition between people who may not have the means necessary to develop other relationships.

“When I started fantasy football, it was with a school club in 8th grade,” junior Justin Szczypinski said. “It was a ton of fun and we got a lot closer.

We talked smack the whole season, and I’ve been playing ever since.”

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“It definitely takes away from the team and focuses on the individual” — Justin Bartholomew

October 2017, The Omniscient, Page 23

SUPER

CHARGED

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

— Compiled by Tanner Althoff

Chase Miller/The Omniscient

Garrison Parrish/The Omniscient

Derek Cohen

Josh Scott

“Derek attacks each day with an enthusiasm unbeknownst to mankind. He not only pushes himself past the brink of exhaustion, but he is also an incredible teammate.”

— Coach Alex Hart

8 touchdowns, 696 rushing yards, 172 receiving yards, 145 yards per game

Thomas Russell

Sara Heilman/The Omniscient

8 goals, 16 points total, 1.5 points per game

Featured Athletes: Khoury May and Cera Powell Photo courtesy of Northwood Yearbook

Sam Sparrow

CC Kallam/The Omniscient

Sarah Terzotis

“Sam sets the tone for the entire team when it comes to hard work and dedication. Without prompting from me, Sam often takes the time to instruct the less experienced players.”

— Coach Abbie McGee

“Sarah has a work ethic that is unparalleled at the high school level. She leads by example and her determination has elevated our program.”

— Coach Alex Hart

Sarah Fowler/The Omniscient

Jonathan Robbins/The Omniscient

Two time all conference setter/outside hitter

Kat Floyd

Photo courtesy of Kat Floyd

Second in States, first in conference, averages five strokes better than next conference player, 2017 Big 8 Conference player of the year.

Serves points - 215 Attack points - 200 Assists - 330 Receptions - 159 Blocks - 3 Digs - 115

Serves points - 152 Attack points - 286 Assists - 226 Receptions - 161 Blocks - 16 Digs - 59

Chase Miller/The Omniscient

Brianna Stubbs

“Brianna is a great leader and always gives it her all.”

— Shelby Reich, senior