The Northridge Reporter December 2015

Northridge High School 2901 Northridge Road Tuscaloosa, Alabama 35406

est. 2003

THE DECEMBER 16, 2015

NORTH RI D GE

www.northridgereporter.wordpress.com

REPORTER

The student voice of Northridge High School

VOLUME 13 ISSUE 4

TERROR IN PARIS Photo from MCT Campus

Students, teachers shocked, saddened over French ISIS attacks

AVERY HESTER and FATEMA DHONDIA STAFF WRITERS

Nearly 130 people were killed in terrorist attacks in Paris on Friday, Nov. 13, 2015.

The attacks shocked many people all over the world, including English teacher Mary Ruffin Moore.

“The first thing I said was ‘wow.’ I was sad and scared for our world,” Moore said.

Attacks occurred over Paris and a northern suburb Saint-Denis. Near the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, three suicide bombings occurred. These bombings were followed by mass shootings in cafes, restaurants, and music venues in Paris.

Over the next couple of days, the French media

released more information, giving the world an inside look on what really happened. Moore said the more she learned, the more saddened she became.

“As I learned more about it I got mad that this happened to innocent people,” she said.

Some have blamed Syrian refugees for the attacks, but Ethan Sneckenberger, freshman, doesn’t think that the Syrian refugees are to blame.

“The Syrian refugees shouldn’t be held responsible for it, because ISIS is who bombed France,” Sneckenberger said.

On Sunday, Nov. 15, France responded to the attacks by dropping 20 bombs in Raqqa, Syria.

Many people around the world were surprised by how quickly France acted in defense, including English

teacher Chelsey Moore.

“They acted more quickly than the U.S. would have responded,” Moore said.

As of now, the United States has not yet used military force to react to the attacks, but soon might.

Sneckenberger thinks that the United States should use military force against ISIS. “The United States needs to intervene before ISIS grows. The U.S. has been through terrorist attacks and many remember and can empathize with France,” Sneckenberger said.

Please visit our Opinion and Beat pages for more coverage of the Paris tragedy and related issues.

REST IN PEACE French citizens gather in mourning outside La Bataclan theatre in Paris, one of the sites of the Nov. 13 deadly terrorist attack that left nearly 130 dead.

High school orchestra celebrates ten-year anniversary Monday Dec. 7 was the tenth annual Strings in Schools winter concert. All city middle and high schools played in the concert.

Stephen Finley, orchestra teacher, has taught strings at the school for three years.

Planning for this concert started around a year ago.

“We had several meetings with other strings teachers around the district and with Dr. Anne Witt from the University of Alabama. We threw around a bunch of different ideas and repertoire selection,” he said.

Planning for the concert involved determining who would conduct, who would play what, who would speak at the event, and how to get people from out of state.

“We had a meeting maybe every two months to discuss the progress,” Finley said.

This year the biggest issue was that there were too many people in the concert hall.

“There were more middle schoolers than we anticipated; there’s like 310,” Finley said.

This year the concert went better than expected, even though before the concert two students became sick and were sent home.

“I had to replace the principal cellist with [sophomore] Jessie Kate Joiner; she stepped in last minute and took over,” Finley said.

“This is our ten-year anniversary concert, so there was a lot of hype and publicity. Also, there were so many middle schoolers so if each of them brings their whole family...

On top of that, our winter concerts are usually well attended just from people in the community.”

Hunter Harris, sophomore, said that the concert “went great” and was “exciting.” He said that “they prepared the same way they Photo by Mayci Hartley do for all of their concerts.”

BRAVO! The Tuscaloosa City Schools High School Orchestra performs under the direction of “I’ve played in a lot of concerts so this Stephen Finley at the Strings in Schools winter concert Dec. 7. The concert, held at the Moody wasn’t much different,” Harris said.

Music Building, celebrated ten years of the Strings in Schools program.

AT A GLANCE PROFILE: DJ WILLIAMS pages 4-5

“ page 8

REVIEW: SPECTRE

It’s a win-at-all-costs game; the Capitol is littered with traps for the invaders, and the rebels, who Everdeen belongs to, are perfectly willing to do what it takes to acheive victory.

“

MAYCI HARTLEY STAFF WRITER

See review on PAGE 9

2

OPINION

THE NORTHRIDGE REPORTER DECEMBER 16, 2015

OUR THOUGHTS

Fear shouldn’t destroy holiday spirit

T

he world was deeply disturbed and grieved when the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) claimed responsibility for the recent terrorist attacks in Paris. Americans were shocked even further when a radicalized couple shot 14 people to death in San Bernardino, California.

Unfortunately, this demonstrates that though the ‘War on Terror’ has been declared over by our government, the battle against terrorism continues. Questions abound right now that no one seems to have the right answers to. What will be more effective: war or or no war against ISIS? Should we invest more time and money in the Middle East? These and related questions are for our elected leaders to answer, and there seems little that we ourselves can do.

In the light of these immense problems, it is easy for us to fall into the trap of overwhelming fear. Terror is called terror for a reason, and ISIS would love nothing more than for the paralyzing fear of what they can do to us to grip our country and grind our daily lives to a halt. In this regard, we cannot let ISIS and their allies prevail. As the world becomes increasingly dangerous in this regard, we as American citizens would do well to remember the blessings of liberty we enjoy, while not neglecting to remain vigilant towards those who wish to destroy us.

This holiday season, let’s show the world that we will not allow fear to dominate our lives. Perhaps this is the best way to display the Christmas spirit in these tumultuous times.

[

staff members...

AGREE.....22 DISAGREE.....0

Art by Rebecca Han

[

Columnist compares, contrasts American, Dutch lifestyles

FATEMA DHONDIA STAFF WRITER

A

lmost five months ago, I moved from the Netherlands to the U.S. It all started on Jul. 23, the day I moved to Alabama. A lot of people warned us and told us that Alabama was poor and that we had to look out, but when I came here it didn’t really look poor to me, and I loved it. We were surrounded by a lot of nature. In the Netherlands we had some nature but it was mostly meadows, and some trees. It was also very warm here, and I wasn’t really used to all the heat, so the first few days we used to try to stay inside or somewhere in the shade.

Starting school was also very different, of course. The school was a lot bigger, but there were also a lot of other things.The first thing which was very different to me was that I could choose my own extracurricular activities.

In the Netherlands, we could only choose a direction in which we wanted to go in tenth grade. It was all based on your future and what you wanted to study later.

The second thing was that children here start high school later than children in the Netherlands. I started high school there in seventh grade. Even back to school shopping was kind of different because we got our own textbooks, and with those we had to choose our own notebooks and all different kinds of things.

I also noticed that the school hours were different here. Every day we have the same lessons, and have school from 8 a.m. until 3:20 p.m., and then we go home or have our clubs or sports. In the Netherlands, every day I had different times and lessons. Some days, school used to start at 8:15 a.m. and end at 3:15 p.m., and some days it would start at 9 a.m. and end at 1:45 p.m. Some days I used to be in school from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m.

In the Netherlands we also never used to have a school bus. We used to bike to school, take public transportation, drive with a friend, or our parents used to drive us. We also didn’t have any sports teams and clubs—those things we did outside of school, and we mostly used to meet with different people.

I went to a Dutch school, so switching from Dutch to English was a bit difficult, but I’m getting used to it. Moving to Alabama was a big change for me but also a new adventure, and I’m happy that I came to America and Northridge.

est. 2003

THE

NORTH RI D G E

REPORTER

The student voice of Northridge High School

Northridge High School • 2901 Northridge Road • Tuscaloosa, AL 35406 • (205) 759-3734 ext. 295

Managing Editor Rebecca Griesbach** Feature Editor Rebecca Griesbach** Sports Editor Camri Mason** Asst. Sports Editors Nate Hester, Jordan Hutchinson* News Editor Destiny Hodges*

Entertainment Editor Sumona Gupta* Opinion Editor Rebecca Han Asst. Opinion Editor Bert McLelland* Copy Editor Thomas Mullins Infographics Editor Sumona Gupta*

Letters to the editor: It is the policy of The Northridge Reporter to publish all non-obscene, non-libelous, signed letters to the editor, regardless of the opinion expressed in them. Submit letters to Rhonda Lane in room 109 or email to rlane@tusc.k12.al.us.

The Northridge Reporter reserves the right to edit letters and verify allegations. The newspaper is distributed monthly.

Art Editor Rebecca Han Head Photographer Camri Mason** Asst. Photographer Rebecca Han Video Editors Seth Cunningham, Nate Hester

Rhonda Lane, Adviser James Niiler, Editor-in-Chief

Visit us online at northridgereporter.wordpress.com Follow us on Twitter @NHSReporter Opinion disclaimer: The opinions in The Northridge Reporter Follow us on Instagram @thenorthridgereporter are those of the students and not of the faculty or administra- Visit our Facebook page, ‘The Northridge Reporter 2015-2016’ tion of Northridge High School or the Tuscaloosa City Board Check out our YouTube channel, ‘The Northridge Reporter’ See our paper ONLINE at issuu.com, ‘The Northridge Reporter’ of Education. * indicates state award winners ** indicates national award winners

OPINION

THE NORTHRIDGE REPORTER DECEMBER 16, 2015

3

WAR ON CHRISTMAS?

* * *

Columnists weigh in on the holiday season’s hottest topics.

IS GIVING DEAD? Students should give out of kindness, not reward

the red cup

Cup controversy much ado about nothing

CAMRI MASON HEAD PHOTOGRAPHER

‘T

is the season of not giving. It feels as if the will to help the less fortunate has plummeted throughout the years. Every year when some organizations, such as SGA, hold a charity event for the underprivileged, some students feel as if they always have to get something in return just to donate. During almost every charity event, a student asks the same question: “Will we get bonus points?” It is completely ludicrous as to why one should have rewards for giving.

During the time of the annual canned food drive in Skyland Elementary, it was always a simple rivalry between Alabama and Auburn fans. The school raced to see which team could collect the most cans, having the mindset that we were not doing this as just a rivalry, but to help those in need too.

It appears that the younger one is, the more they can focus on helping others. Now that everyone is older and independent, we tend to forget that there are others in poverty and are struggling to find shelter and food. There are those few people who would do anything for the needy out of the goodness of their heart, but not as many as there should be.

In today’s society, the majority of the population has developed a sense that they should receive and not give. It is not hard to pass over clothes one does no longer wear, or to give up a few cans of food. Giving should not always be a pat-on-the-back, but a humble opportunity to help those in need.

KRISTEN LOPER STAFF WRITER

S

ince 1997, Starbucks has issued its annual,personalized red cups,signifying that the holiday season has arrived.

This year, the company has chosen a twotoned ombré look with no design or holiday symbols for their cups,which has caused much commotion throughout the United States.

It all started when a Christian evangelist, Joshua Feuerstein,posted a video on Facebook calling Starbucks out on “hating Jesus” due to the plainness of the cup, hoping that this would get other Christians to take a stand.

Many people took this as a sign that Starbucks hated Christ and Christmas.

Starbucks then explained that this year they wanted to be able to have plain cups so that people can tell their own stories.

Jeffrey Fields, the company’s vicepresident, said Starbucks wanted to welcome more of its customers. “We’re embracing the simplicity and quietness of it. It’s a more open way to usher in the holiday,” he said.

I agree with one of the most popular trending hashtags towards this subject: #ItsJustACup. It is irritating to hear so many people get offended over the smallest things just to make trouble of something.

Some students, including sophomore Tyler Salekin, do not like this change. “It actually makes me really sad that there is no Christmas on their cups this year,”Salekin said.

Some are literally not affected by this at all. “I guess it’s sad but it doesn’t really bother me because I’m color blind,” sophomore Jackson Ryan said.

People seem to neglect the fact that Starbucks continues to sell Advent calendars and Christmas blend coffee in all stores.

These plain cups are simply a new approach, not a hate protest against Christianity.

I would think that most people do not go to Starbucks for a religious fix, but instead to buy good coffee. This situation just proves it is nearly impossible to please everyone and avoid offending someone, because there is always someone that wants to make a big deal out of nothing.

U.S. has moral obligation to accept refugees

BERT MCLELLAND ASST. OPINION EDITOR

“S

end unto me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free; I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

These words, inscribed on the Statue of Liberty, define a great pillar of American exceptionalism. We are the New World, the free world, the land of refuge and opportunity for the oppressed peoples of the world, for all those longing to be free from tyranny, to have the chance to build a new and better life.

As children we all knew this, but today it seems that many of our nation’s leaders want to shrug off the mantel of freedom and Christian compassion that has defined America (at least in spirit) since its birth.

Within a week of the brutal Nov. 13 attacks in Paris, 31 U.S. governors had declared their states closed to the ten thousand refugees

which America had previously promised to shelter from the hellscape of the Syrian war.

First, let’s get the facts straight: the refugees who will be resettled in the United States have been identified as the ten thousand most vulnerable of a pool of over 4 million (based on the figures of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees), of whom 50.5% are women and 38.5% are under 12. Many of those involved are also Syrian Christians, Yazidis, and Kurdish and Shiite Muslims whom ISIS would see exterminated.

As for the suggestion that ISIS agents might slip in with the crowd, in order to be granted refugee status in America, applicants must first be vetted separately by The UNHCR, the FBI, the State Department, the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Defense. This exhausting process takes anywhere between 18 months and over two years.

With this in mind, it is perhaps unsurprising that of the 784,395 refugees the United States has accepted since 9/11, exactly zero have committed acts of terrorism.

The situation in France was entirely different. In Europe, the Shengen system (a part of European Union) allows anyone to pass from one EU country to another without having to show their passport, so once a refugee or militant gets past Greece

and Turkey (where they are typically fingerprinted and waved on) the only thing they need to get to the center of Paris is space on a train.

By contrast, the State Department ranks these ten thousand Syrian refugees as “the most heavily vetted group currently allowed into the United States.”

I understand the instinctive fear that ISIS might try to smuggle a terrorist in amongst the refugees, but when you think about it, why on Earth would they? Up to this point, ISIS has made use of native militants in its attacks on Western countries, and if they really wanted to get a man in from the Caliphate it would be far less risky and time consuming to have him smuggled across the border from Mexico or Canada.

This may be an argument for tighter border security, but it is not a reason to turn away the families, orphans and elders begging for safety in our green and pleasant land.

And with all these facts in mind, I can see no legitimate reason for so many of our governors to behave with such hostility toward these few poor refugees.

Perhaps there is some reason known only to them, but based on the evidence I am forced to conclude that this is a classic case of cynical politicians whipping up fear and hatred to score points in the opinion polls.

Not least because governors actually have

no legal power at all to stop refugees being settled in their states. In essence, they’re grandstanding. They’re a pack of bullies hurting people too weak to fight back.

We, the American people, must not be fooled by their fearmongering. It is our duty, in this time of crisis, to resist our base urges and hold tight to our American values.

In 1939 it was out of fear in that America turned away the MS St. Louis, and its cargo of 900 German Jewish refugees. It was out of fear that we rounded up 120,000 Japanese-American citizens in 1941, in one of the most infamous moments in modern American history. It was fear of German espionage that led us, in 1940, to deny refuge to Otto Frank and his much more famous daughter, Anne Frank, who, according to American University historian Richard Breitbart, “could be a 77 year-old woman living today in Boston.”

We must not let ourselves be frightened into dishonor by this rabid band of fanatics.

Now is the moment when we decide whether America will keep her oath to the world, whether we will endure as that shining city on a hill and defender of tired, poor and huddled masses. The men, women, and children driven from their homes by ISIS have come to us for shelter. Let’s give it to them.

4 FEATURE

SON

THE NORTHRIDGE REPORTER DECEMBER 16, 2015

OF

LIB

Former student enters Marine Co DESTINY HODGES and JAMES NIILER NEWS EDITOR and EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

H

E WALKS INTO THE NEWSROOM for his interview, his face serious, set in stone. No longer a carefree senior, he’s become toughened. No-nonsense, allbusiness. He jangles his keys thoughtfully while answering questions.

“A lot of people think the hardest part about training would be being away from your family for all that time and stuff like that. For me, it wasn’t. The hardest part of my training was just...adapting to an environment,” he says, hesitantly. “I mean,

everything I did there was new. I mean, I’ve never fired a weapon before; I’ve never done any of that stuff before, and like, going in the woods and stuff like that, so adapting to stuff like that was new to me. And I mean, seeing your family for the first time in a few months...it was amazing, because you see the look on their faces and you know…” he said, trailing off, filled with emotion.

In his former life, he used to say his entry into the military would tear him down and build him back up again. And that’s exactly what’s happened.

Meet Demetrius ‘DJ’ Williams: Northridge graduate. Track star. And now a U.S. Marine.

F

ROM HIS CHILDHOOD, Williams dreamed about serving in the most elite of the American military branches.

“Growing up as a kid, the Marine Corps it was the best thing to do. It was awesome.

To me the Marine Corps is better than any branch, so that’s what I wanted to do,” he said.

Williams attended Verner Elementary and Rock Quarry Middle Schools. By the time he arrived at Northridge in the fall of 2011, he was a gifted athlete. During his high school career, he participated in track, football, cross-country and baseball. Track, however, always remained his favorite sport, in which he excelled as a middistance runner. He also enjoyed playing video games.

“I always thought he was gonna be a video game player when he grew up. That’s all he did. I feel like now he’s actually doing something with his life,” said junior Ojay Gibson, Williams’ cousin and track athlete.

“I am proud of him because he’s actually doing something for the country.”

“Demetrius to me most of all - he’s just a friend, and he was also for a good part of track a leader on the track team, since he was always the leader of the pack,” said senior Jacob Martin, a former track athlete.

“I don’t remember my first time meeting him, but I remember my first time running with him, when it was just a short twomile run, but he was going way faster than I was. It showed me how hard of a worker he was, and how much effort he put into just training.”

Martin had fond recollections of both running and racing with Williams.

“I’d certainly say he helped me achieve many of my best times in races because he was always, you know, pushing me during the training. He was always there for you, and he was always there for motivation and races, and was a good person to talk to on long runs.

“When we ran the four by eight...we always kind of had him as our anchor,” Martin said. “He was literally our anchor leg, but he was figuratively our anchor - he was keeping us rooted in the race; he was always our foundation. He helped us come through in the end.”

U Photo by James Niiler

HE’S BACK Demetrius Williams, Marine Corps private, returned for a visit to Northridge Nov. 10.

PON REACHING AGE 17, Williams enlisted in the Marine Corps, finally fulfilling his lifelong ambition.

“I was 17 when I enlisted, so my parent had to sign the papers for me, and I stayed in Delayed Injured Program for about a year before I went to boot camp,” Williams said. “Right after my junior year, I went to the recruiter’s office and talked to him about joining, and I took some tests and

went to Montgomery, and the next year I exempted most of my classes and left for boot camp early.”

Despite his being in the Delayed Injured Program, Williams completed his senior year of high school. He ran his last successful seasons of cross-country and track, competing at the state level in both. He would often work out with other recruits at the recruiter’s office.

Williams finally arrived for basic training at the Marine base of Parris Island, South Carolina on May 18. He had missed his high school graduation. But boot camp, he said, “was life-changing.”

“Boot camp, whether you’re a male or a female or whether you think you’re the strongest person in the platoon, it is gonna change your life because it affects everyone differently, and the drill sergeants, they’re just there to break you down and build you up with good discipline. I feel like I have been broken down and built back up as a great Marine,” he said.

Williams said there were three phases in boot camp, the first of which was intensive training.

“The first phase is where they basically focus you most of the time. That’s where you got really messed up if you were like a class clown or whatever. That was when they IT’d you. IT is insensitive training, and that’s where you either have the sandbox or the IT mat. The sandbox was outside, and the IT mat was in the ***scarbet, and he’ll tell you to strip, which means take your blouse off, and you get on the quarterdeck and you get IT’d for a while, and that’s how they put good discipline in you,” Williams said.

Williams said the second phase of training focused on firing weapons and teamwork.

“When we got to second phase, it was basically rifle range where we did grass week where we basically prepped for the rifle range. We learned how to shoot the rifle and everything that we needed to know to be able to fire the weapon, and we learned the fire positions. We sat in fire positions for a while, and after that we actually got to shoot our weapons,” he said.

“I believe team week was the last part of phase two. Team week was basically when we worked around Parris Island. We went in details, and everybody in the company basically went in different areas where there was laundry, hotel, or whatever. You cut grass or whatever. You did work.”

Williams said the last of the three phases was basic warrior training (BWT).

“Phase three was basically the last phase of boot camp. The beginning of phase three was the BWT. BWT is where you learn

FEATURE

THE NORTHRIDGE REPORTER DECEMBER 16, 2015

BERTY

5

Photo from Instagram

orps, changes life

us our eagle, globe and anchor, and most people cried. He held out our hand, and put it in our hand, and we closed it, and he told us, ‘Congratulations, you earned it,’ or whatever he wanted to tell that Marine.

“They called us ‘Marines’ for the first time and it was just...it was amazing. They always say ‘if you make it,’ and we made it. They talked to us like we were normal human beings. They didn’t scream at us and yell at us. If we didn’t know something, we could ask them, and they wouldn’t get mad at how you asked, and just...it was great.”

H

AVING COMPLETED HIS BASIC TRAINING, Williams has now moved on to his military job.

“I’m an infantry mortarman. I work on mortar systems. I’m an ammo man right now, and I’m looking forward to becoming a gunner on the gun line. I already got trained at Camp Geiger [North Carolina].

We did basic infantry training, which everybody goes through after boot camp, and after that if you’re an infantryman, you stay on Camp Geiger, and if you were not infantry, you left and went to your actual job,” he said.

Currently stationed at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, Williams is preparing for his deployment, “sometime late next year after summer,” he said.

“We’ve got field ops coming up in Virginia and California, and Virginia it’ll be a couple weeks, but in California it’ll be at least two months. Right now, we’re going to Japan next year. We’re going to Okinawa, Japan, then Korea. We’ll be in South Korea [to] help train those Marines,” he said.

Williams arrived back in Tuscaloosa during a brief leave of absence Nov 10.

He participated in cross-country practice with the Northridge team and visited track coach Jeff Sparks one last time.

A man who’s watched Williams grow and mature since his early high school years, Sparks said he’s happy Williams went to the military.

“I got to know him pretty well over four years. I’m very happy for with the decisions he made going into the military,” he said.

“I’m happy for him and I think he’s on a good track for his future.

“As a freshman, he was skinny, small, and to watch him grow and change and come home a few weeks ago as a Marine and knowing someday not only his country, but his comrades might call on him to not only defend our country, but someone else’s life,” he said. “From this scrawny, paper-thin boy evolved a man.”

Sparks commended Williams for his perseverance and character.

“He worked really hard for us and

“

i think the decision to join the marines was the best decision of my life. it was something i

- i told people i wanted to do it, and really wanted to do

regardless of whether they

“

land navigation. You had obstacle courses like barbed wire and stuff like that that you had to go under and do,” he said.

Williams described a typical day in boot camp.

“You wake up at 3:45 in the morning, you get yelled at, you line up on the line, the drill sergeants tell you to put your trousers, blouse, boots, and put everything on. They’ll tell you what to put on, and you get your weapons, you go drill, or you go do some type of training activity that they have planned for you that day, but mostly with phase one, it was you getting discipline put into you, so it was constant drill and constant IT. You get IT’d all of the time, and you had classes. We had a class at the end of phase one, you took a test, and we had a class at the end of phase two or three. Those were basically classes on everything that you were taught about Marine Corps history and stuff like that,” he said. “Everything it focused on had to do with the Marine Corps or a war the Marine Corps was in. If it’s talking about World War II, it specifically talked about what the Marines did in World War II: Iwo Jima, Chosin Reservoir, places like that.”

Basic training culminated with an event known as the ‘crucible,’ Williams said. After the crucible followed graduation, in which the new Marines were presented with the eagle, globe and anchor - the emblem of the Marine Corps. Williams graduated with his platoon Aug. 14.

“The crucible was the two- or threeday event that we did that was basically challenging us and everything we did in boot camp, and basically focusing on teamwork, and everything we did in boot camp was put into those couple of days, and it was on us to complete it as a team. The drill instructors didn’t do anything during team week. They mostly observed and let us do all the work. It rained, it sucked, it stormed, and it was really hot outside,” Williams said.

“After the crucible, we had a hike back, about 12 miles. We stopped at least two or three miles before we got to the parade deck, and the sergeant major talked to us and told us, basically, what we were about to go through - that’s why we came to Parris Island. He told us when we first got there that some people weren’t going to be there at the end, but most of us (would be). It was going to be worth it. We hiked the two or three miles back as the drill instructors did cadence, and when we got there, they basically lined us up by platoons and then each column in the platoon...there was a drill instructor in the platoon who went [to us] one by one. It was a ceremony to give

believed me or not, i still did it. and i’m a marine.

DEMETRIUS WILLIAMS PRIVATE, U.S. MARINES

helped our team achieve a lot. He helped his indoor track team finish fourth and third in [the outdoor state championship],” Sparks said. “He became one of our top guys in cross-country and his senior year helped lead the team to the cross-country state championship.

“I find one of his outstanding traits is his loyalty. Not that anyone else starts off this way, but he became a pretty hard and dedicated athlete. He overcame a lot of adversity,” Sparks said. “I would say he was not as much of a character, but someone who shows character. He got a lot of respect from his teammates because of his commitment to work hard and his training.

He tried his very best no matter what event he was competing in. Against all odds he did the decathlon. There was nothing he wasn’t willing to try.”

Sparks said Williams went to the military to find out who he was, and who he needed to be.

“I think he realized it was exactly what he needed. It’s a way to further his education and get some discipline in his life that he

felt he needed,” he said.

“T

HE TITLE ‘MARINE’ [MOTIVATED ME]. I mean, I earned the eagle, globe, and anchor in boot camp. When we went during boot camp, me and my buddy and my peers...we went through boot camp together and we earned the eagle, globe and anchor together. So in the next step that we had, in the next training that we had, we weren’t going to let anybody, anything take that away from us,” Williams said. “That was our motivation - earning the eagle, globe and anchor and basically, you know, showing why we deserved it, I guess.

“I think the decision to join the Marines was the best decision of my life. It was something I really wanted to do - I told people I wanted to do it, and regardless of whether they believed me or not, I still did it. And I’m a Marine. There’s nothing, you know, that cannot hold me back from becoming a Marine, because I made it, and now all I gotta do is do my job right and stay out of trouble.”

6

FEATURE

THE NORTHRIDGE REPORTER DECEMBER 16, 2015 PASS ME THAT WRENCH Senior Ben Lattner adjusts an ellipsoidal on the catwalk just before the drama department’s final “Number the Stars” performance.

fixture guide

MEN IN BLA LIGHTING WITH LATTNER

Griesbach, Mason reflect on catwalk experience

WORKING

IN THE BACKGROUND

Graphic by Rebecca Griesbach

As student after student piles onto bus 10-16, bus driver Tavoris Wright never fails to issue a warm greeting.

“Hi,” he says to me every day as I begin to board, his wide smile lighting up the bus.

Though shuttling high schoolers from one destination to the other may seem like a rather mundane task, Wright said he likes his job.

REBECCA GRIESBACH & CAMRI MASON MANAGING & SPORTS EDITORS As he thumbed through his “Lighting An easy task for him, whose agile body Bible,” chief lighting technician Ben Lattner scurried up in record time, the climb was gave us the inside scoop on everything from quite daunting for us, not daring to look bars, to PARs, to scrims, to gels, to frames, to down as we firmly gripped the bars, moving knobs, to gates, to lamps, to lenses. at a snail’s pace as we stared into a dark “There’s Eddies, the ellipsoidal reflecting nothingness ahead. spotlights (ERS); Paulas, the PARnels; When we finally hoisted ourselves up onto Christophers, the cycloramas...” he said. the catwalk, we had a bird’s eye view of the “...I don’t think you understand the special stage set for Number the Stars. As we looked relationship I have with my lighting down upon the actors, echoes of their vocal equipment.” warm up filled our ears.

He walked over to his followspot, a Lattner cautioned us not to touch the spotlight adorned with some “excellent duct 500 degree lights, which beamed just inches tape,” a sticker of Frozen’s Elsa and a piece above our heads. of yellow electrical tape marked “Psychedelic He fiddled with a fifteen pound ellipsoidal, Steve.” perfectly aligning it for the show. Moving Fitted with a couch and a convenient water quietly as to avoid distracting the actors heater for hot chocolate, the booth felt like a below, he slinked down the ladder as quickly second home. But his real second home, we as he came up. would come to find out, was the catwalk.

“When you work a technical role in theater, “My job is really dangerous, but I love your measure of success is how much your what I do. So I keep on doing it,” Lattner work doesn’t take away from the actors,” he said after we climbed up a thirty-foot ladder said. “There’s a reason we wear black...You’re onto a steel grated platform concealed above there to make the actors look and sound the ceiling panels of the auditorium. good. You’re not there to outshine them.”

“I like transporting children back and forth,” he said. “…the hardest part of my job is probably trying to remember everyone’s name.”

He doesn’ t fall short, however, at making his passengers feel welcome.

“I wish people knew how good a person I am,” he said.

DHONDIA WELCOMED BY FRIENDLY BUS DRIVER FATEMA DHONDIA, STAFF WRITER

Graphic by Rebecca Griesbach

WRIGHT Photo by Fatema Dhondia

FEATURE

THE NORTHRIDGE REPORTER DECEMBER 16, 2015

7

‘DRAMA DAD’ Set builder has special ties to theatre SUMONA GUPTA ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR

“Oh man,” Dooley McCutchen sighed, though smiling, “I’ve gotten out of here at midnight a lot of times. We’ll do a full rehearsal, run it through twice, do the whole set change, everything on stage, run it two or three different times, and then that’s not to mention the afterhours time that I’m here building the set and all that during rehearsals.”

Photo by Rebecca Han

building a set. “...and after that I was the ‘original drama dad,’” McCutchen said.

Following the split of Central High School, McCutchen worked for the Tuscaloosa Children’s Theater and Bryant High School before ending up at Northridge, reuniting with Wright again four years ago.

Since then, McCutchen has been behind all of the Northridge drama department’s performances, working with donated leftovers and a tight budget to produce and recycle set pieces for each production.

A unique task for McCutchen was the staging of “Little Shop of Horrors” in Nov. 2014, when each set piece was designed to be twosided, one made to look like New York City, the other, the sewers

below. Another was “Cinderella” in May 2014, when the sheer amount and size of pieces required for each set change presented a challenge for crew members.

McCutchen, however, takes these challenges in stride.

“I’m a problem-solver,” he said, “So if something comes up, ‘we need this,’ ‘how are we going to do that,’ I have to go and say ‘OK, let’s try this, let’s try that.’”

The stage, is an “illusion,” he said, created by the combined efforts of lighting and sound technicians, set manipulation, and actors.

“When everything’s working in unison, everything’s working together flawlessly, that’s when we have it, a successful production,” he said.

Audiences, according to McCutchen, don’t always realize the enormous amount of time

os by Phot Cam

ES

“

THEY’VE GOT NO APPRECIATION FOR MONEY. WHEN THEY GET OUT OF HERE, THEY’LL UNDERSTAND.

and effort it takes to stage a play.

He compared the set crew to a NASCAR pit crew, snapping his fingers as quickly as he said each member must realize their cue and rearrange parts and props.

He compared all members of each production to a basketball or football team, “because everybody has to know their part, they have to do their job, and if anybody drops the ball (metaphorically), it gets noticed.”

McCutchen chooses to spend his time working on sets and at extended rehearsals for a reason, saying he does it because he “loves it.”

“Just seeing the kids going from being in their little shell to being actors and actresses in their own right, seeing them develop over the years, that’s always fun, I enjoy that,” he said.

FIL

ACK MCCUTCHEN

McCutchen, though often working full-time hours, is not paid. He volunteers his own time, building sets for the theater department, but also designing them, working as a backstage manager, a director, and sometimes even dabbling in acting.

“A lot of times, stuff that you don’t see, that’s me,” he said.

His start came in 2000 at Central High School, when his daughter, taught

by Northridge drama instructor Donna Wright, urgently asked for his help

“

ason

ri M

scrawlings from a lighting tech’s “second brain”

LISA FILES, CUSTODIAN Photo by Rebecca Han

CLEAN UP YOUR ACT Custodian asks for respect from students

REBECCA HAN ART EDITOR

TA TE

“

Photos and quote by Camri Mason

[BEING A CROSSING GUARD], YOU EXPERIENCE THE FACT THAT THE STUDENTS SEEM LIKE THEY DON’T CARE TO BE LOOKING OUT - THEY SHOULD SHOW RESPECT TO OTHER DRIVERS. WILLIAM TATE, CROSSING GUARD

“

Holding up a cup of brightly colored pens and pencils, custodian Lisa Files sorted through the diverse collection, holding everything from snapped pencils without tips to large, ornate pens with multiple buttons.

Such an assortment is a typical find for all custodians. On an average day, she finds everything ranging from ballpoint pens to packs of lead to high capacity calculators, like the one sticking out of her shirt sleeve.

She knelt to the floor with a scraping tool in one hand.

“I hate bubblegum on the floors,” she said. “If you look under some of the desks in the classrooms, they’re everywhere. I mean, why do y’all do that?”

The assortment of belongings she finds on the floors daily includes loose coins; she mentioned picking up a quarter earlier in the day.

“They just don’t want to pick it up,” she said, shaking her head.

“They’ve got no appreciation for money. When they get out of here, they’ll understand.”

On a daily basis, Files sees everything from paper towels thrown in the toilets to spilled

sodas in classrooms.

“Don’t throw paper towels in the toilets,” she said. “It stops them up. It would help us a lot if everybody would flush. If you’ve got one that’s stopped up, please just let us know. And, please, no sodas.”

Recounting her own experiences at Northside High School, Files described herself as “a nobody.”

“I wasn’t in the ‘it crowd’,” she said, “it was just about three or four of us, and we weren’t in the popular crowd. My favorite subjects were Typing I and II.” December is the sixth month Files has worked at Northridge; she became a custodian in June.

Describing herself as a “friendly person,” she only asks for more respect among students, who often treat the facilities with little to no care.

“I’m funny, I get along easily with anybody, I like to have fun,” she said while chuckling.

Outside of Northridge, Files enjoys a wide range of hobbies, including fishing, camping, and church related activities.

“I’m a friendly person,” Files said. “Just respect us. And we’re doing this for [the students] for their safety.”

8

ENTERTAINMENT

THE NORTHRIDGE REPORTER DECEMBER 16, 2015

‘SPECTRE’ IS A SPECTACLE

Lord

Craig’s final stint as 007 follows same formula

of the

Rings

J.R.R Tolkien

REBECCA HAN ART EDITOR

The 24th installment of the James Bond series, “Spectre,” starts off with a bang in the nooks and crannies of Mexico City. Bond doggedly tracks down his terrorist target through the bustling crowds celebrating Dia de los Muertos, a chase that culminates in a dazzling helicopter fistfight. The entire scene is well done, fast-paced, and riveting, keeping the audience’s blood pumping and adrenaline high. The rest of the film, however, falls short of the excitement of its introduction.

In Daniel Craig’s fourth and final turn as 007, British intelligence service MI6 faces a merger with neighboring agency MI5 under the new leadership of M. Meanwhile, played by Ralph Fiennes. Still reeling from the loss of Judi Dench’s M, Bond is sent across the world on a quest to uncover the secret behind a shadowy, omnipotent organization known as ‘Spectre.’

The cast features newcomers and familiar faces alike with the characters of Bond girl, Dr. Madeleine Swann (Léa Seydoux), Lucia Sciarra (Monica Bellucci), MI5’s conniving leader Denbigh (Andrew Scott), and mysterious villain Franz Oberhauser (Christoph Waltz). Naomie Harris and Ben Whishaw again assume their roles as Eve Moneypenny and Q, respectively.

After seeing the immense praise and attention lavished on the casting of Bellucci, a woman of Bond’s own age, it was odd and enormously disappointing only to watch her on screen for all of a couple of minutes. After a quick fling, she is quickly discarded for the younger Swann, never to be heard from or spoken of again.

“Spectre” is no starting point for newcomers to the Bond films, drawing heavily on information established in “Casino Royale,” “Quantum of Solace,” and “Skyfall,” the last three 007 movies.

Recollections of past Bond films share the screen with contemporary elements of government surveillance and international conspiracy.

No time is wasted in establishing this nostalgia; the opening credits sequence includes glimpses of Javier Bardem, Eva Green, and Judi Dench, actors in previous Bond films.

Photo From MCT Campus

SHAKEN, NOT STIRRED Daniel Craig resumes his role of James Bond for the fourth and final time in ‘Spectre.’

The locations and set pieces seen throughout the movie are, no doubt, grand and sweeping; one moment, Bond races through the snow-covered mountains of Austria, and the next he’s investigating secret hideouts in the Moroccan desert. Yet these rapid transitions feel hollow and vapid much of the time. Things just happen with no definite connection or meaning.

The story, chock full of undercover organizations and global conspiracies, does not progress, but simply plods along from city to city, scene to scene.

“Spectre” boasts spectacular scenery and plenty of high-tech gadgetry, but they don’t make up for its undeveloped plotline. Plot twists and shocking reveals feel incredibly ludicrous, especially in the case of Oberhauser’s setup and lackluster payoff. Efforts to link the film with the previous Craig installments feel cheaply done and hurriedly tacked on; it’s a plot device that’s hyped to no end in advertising and through the film itself, but ends up feeling ridiculous.

The Bond movies have never been about realism in any sense, but in the series’ most recent installment, this romanticism becomes more distracting than anything.

Nothing a character does in the film carries weight, actions have no consequences.

High-speed chases and getaways are resolved smoothly and almost too easily.

Oftentimes, I assumed Oberhauser meant to make his plans be so easily foiled, but such is not the case. Improbable scenes and crazy plot devices contribute nothing to the atmosphere of the film, instead leaving an assortment of questions in their wake.

Character development is largely absent in “Spectre,” which devolves into a basic formula: action scene, action scene, then a poorly written side conversation intended to explain a plot point or give some

character depth. Bond and Swann converse on a train about the reasoning behind his actions in a scene that’s supposed to portray their transition from enmity to love. Swann herself is one of the most dull and useless Bond girls to date, often taken out of the action early on to get her out of the way. When that’s not happening, she’s maintaining her hatred of Bond and his ways, then rushing back to proclaim her love for him.

Early advertisement of the film centered on Oberhauser as the sinister villain. Yet, through no fault of Waltz’s, his character ultimately falls short, paling especially in comparison to Raoul Silva of “Skyfall,” played by Javier Bardem. Oberhauser is little more than a cardboard rehashing of every calm, psychopathic villain in many action movies today. And, spoiler alert, his presence in “Spectre” can be summed up quite simply: show up, smile at Bond allknowingly, show Bond his evil lair, explain in detail his motive for all the pains he went through (basically just because of daddy issues), create a final, ‘impossible’ trap for Bond, then proceed to be defeated.

“Spectre,” Daniel Craig’s swan song as Bond, makes an incredible effort to tie together the past films, the result being a messy, seemingly thrown together mishmash which reaches too high and to no avail. Visually, it’s a striking film, one that places much emphasis on style over substance and contains some decent, entertaining sequences. By no means is it the worst movie of the year, either; “Spectre” is just a poor excuse of a Bond movie that has grand ideas, but doesn’t know what to do with itself. But hey, with the exit of Craig (who plays a fantastic 007) comes room for the franchise to re-invent itself, something it has proven it can do time and time again.

Mullins enjoys classic Tolkien novels

THOMAS MULLINS COPY EDITOR

Two Christmases ago, my mom gave me a 75th Anniversary Edition set of J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Hobbit” and “The Lord of the Rings.” Those things collected dust for about two years. I loved the gift, but in tenth grade, reading that series would’ve been an investment of my time and attention I wasn’t ready to make. Two years later, however, I am so glad I got those books.

Released in the fall of 1937 as Tolkien’s first work set in the fictional universe of Middle-Earth, “The Hobbit” tells the tale of Bilbo Baggins, a homebody that wants nothing more than to enjoy a pipe and a cup of tea by the fire every evening. On a day that seemed no different than any other, a wizard and twelve dwarves shove him into an unexpected journey full of goblins, dragons and gold that he could never have prepared for – and of which he unexpectedly becomes the hero.

“The Hobbit” provides an inside look at the inspiration to nearly every single fantasy book that’s been written since its release. Series like “Eragon” and “Harry Potter,” even video games like “The Elder Scrolls” and many others take inspiration from “The Hobbit,” the book that genuinely made fantasy ‘cool.’ The book deserves that kind of reputation. As every chapter took Bilbo (and me) deeper into the heart of Middle-Earth, I felt more and more of an understanding of that world – and of Bilbo. I found myself rooting for him as each challenge came, and faithful that no matter what happened, he would come out on top. Any book that can so quickly attach me to a character has surely been written well.

Reading “The Hobbit” not only put me in the middle of a wonderful adventure, but also gave me a view of its writer that could only be found in his literature. In the summer of 1916, Tolkien’s battalion of the British New Army was sent to France to fight against the Germans. Tolkien had only been trained for three weeks before his deployment, and he believed that he might not come back from that foreign land to his wife in England. Bilbo’s constant longing for peace during his journey to foreign lands (and foreign threats) regularly showed me the thoughts and desires of Tolkien in that time – that like Bilbo, Tolkien desired peace, not war. He desired contentment, because he saw firsthand the desolation that came in the wake of selfishness. And, even though it took wild bravery to be where he was, deep down he really did face fears everywhere he went.

“The Hobbit” was genuinely fun to read.

I’m so excited to go further in this series and see more of what Middle-Earth has to offer. Like Bilbo, I’ve been pushed into a journey I never expected, and I’m okay with that. If Bilbo’s unexpected journey has told me anything, it’s that something even better is right around the corner.

ENTERTAINMENT

THE NORTHRIDGE REPORTER DECEMBER 16, 2015

‘Number the Stars’

9

put on by theatre department

SETH CUNNINGHAM VIDEO EDITOR The theatre department put on a production based on Lois Lowry’s 1989 novel “Number the Stars” from Nov. 12-14. Overall, the play was a successful adaptation of the book that reached its emotional potential. The crew did a miraculous job setting the scenes using lighting and sound.

A slow sad violin solo by freshman Will McLelland introduced the play; the choice of playing the “Schindler’s List” theme set the scene and mood immediately.

The play then went forward, introducing the two Johansen sisters Annemarie and Kirstie (junior Emily McGuire and freshman Xan Wright) and their Jewish friend Ellen (junior Riley Thomas) as they were about to race each other.

In this scene, the director chose to have the actors run through the audience, a technique I quite like, having the world of the play surround the audience instead of just on the stage.

The race was then interrupted by a German soldier referred to by the children as ‘The Giraffe’ (senior Bert McLelland); the character stole the stage every time he appeared.

The play then moved on to more exposition-oriented scenes within the Johansen household. Instead of just feeding the audience information, the actors naturally incorporated it with the development of their characters and relationship. These scenes with the family felt very authentic, with most of the dialogue and movements feeling motivated and natural.

A particularly noticeable detail was that every actor actually acted their age. For example Kirstie, the youngest child, was very spry and talkative while Papa (junior Will Henson) would put more effort into his movements and chose his words more carefully. The play started to speed up once Ellen moved in with the Johansen’s to avoid being arrested by the Nazis.

This lead to my favorite scene of the play, in which the Giraffe searches the Johansens’ house. The acting was expert during this scene; from the distress of the family to the intensity of the Giraffe, the tension was

Photos From MCT Campus

Photo By Seth Cunningham

Kirstie (freshman Xan Wright) comforts her sister Annemarie (junior Emily McGuire) as Uncle Henrik (senior Jarrod Worley) tells her that the Jews were smuggled out safely thanks to her. almost palpable. The scene’s emotion steadily elevated without ever dipping, something that can be difficult to achieve.

During the second act, the children and their mother (senior Sally Ozment) go to hide with Uncle Henrik (senior Jarrod Worley) out in the country.The audience goes on to find that Henrik is helping to transport Jews out of Denmark into Sweden. This lead to a scene where Henrik, accompanied by Peter (junior Luke Seale), used the excuse of a funeral to gather Jews to hide in Henrik’s boat. In this scene, we saw another intrusion of a Nazi (senior Jessica Ballard). Though it was not as tense as the earlier one with the Giraffe, It was still very well performed, with the mother’s fear and the Nazi’s hate feeling very authentic.

After this encounter, Peter gives a package to the group saying it is imperative that Henrik gets it. As you can guess, the package wasn’t delivered the first time, and Annemarie, the oldest sister, volunteered to take it. As Annemarie ran through the woods to take the package to Henrik she encountered the notorious Giraffe. This scene had an excellent mixture of suspense and tension, with a nice touch from the sound department portraying the character of the dog. The Giraffe eventually finds the package and gives it to his comrade, sending Annemarie on her way to Henrik.

Once Annemarie gets to Henrik, we find that the package was actually used to interfere with the dog’s sense of smell, distracting them from the hiding Jews. The Epilogue follows this scene, and unlike most scenes in the play, it felt very rushed, especially the line revealing Peter’s death, a character who was supposed to be very close and beloved by the family. All in all, I applaud the actors, stage crew, and lighting and sound department for such a professional outcome.

THE FINAL FIGHT Katniss Everdeen ( Jennifer Lawrence) leads a team of rebels through The Capitol to defeat Panem’s tyrants in an epic conclusion.

G A M E

O V E R

‘Mockingjay: Part 2’ ends

‘Hunger Games’ series with a bang JAMES NIILER EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Four years ago in the eighth grade, as I watched the first movie of the “Hunger Games” series, I realized I would be a high school senior when the final installment in the series debuted. That day has now come, and for me and millions of others, “Mockingjay: Part 2” is a dream come true.

Jennifer Lawrence returns for one last stellar performance as Katniss Everdeen, and Donald Sutherland as her archnemesis President Coriolanus Snow. The trauma Everdeen has endured, especially over the past two years of her life, is clearly visible. She is a broken individual, and Snow still hasn’t relinquished his role as her chief tormentor. Abused and manipulated, she has learned to trust only a few, and even then, her strongest relationships are cast into the shadow of doubt.

Everdeen’s increasing distance from her best friend and potential lover Gale Hawthorne (Liam Hemsworth) is such a shadow. Her growing, genuine attachment to Peeta Mellark ( Josh Hutcherson) despite his Capitol-induced derangement, coupled with Hawthorne’s increased cynicism, inspires an interior battle within her. “She’ll choose the one she can’t survive without,” Mellark tells Hawthorne.

Ultimately Everdeen chooses wisely: Her own attachment to Hawthorne leads only to heartbreaking tragedy.

In this final installment of the franchise,

the districts, led by the now-revealed District 13, are closing in on the Capitol for their final assault on Snow’s tyranny.

It’s a win-at-all costs game: the Capitol is littered with traps for the invaders, and the rebels, who Everdeen belongs to, are perfectly willing to do what it takes to achieve victory, even if it costs them their humanity.

Much of the film consists of Everdeen leading a small band of friends and rebel warriors through the deadly streets of the Capitol and the horrors of its subterranean tunnels on a mission to assassinate Snow.

Despair awaits them at every turn, however.

Many well-loved characters perish, and the band is ruthlessly pursued by not only Peacekeepers, but the Capitol’s mass media.

By the time Everdeen realizes who the real enemy is, and still achieves victory against Snow, she has lost everything.

Unlike its more militaristic prelude, “Mockingjay: Part 2” is more introspective and reflective of the horrors of war. Despite being on the side of justice and freedom, the rebels, under the leadership of the psychopathic President Alma Coin and negative influence of Hawthorne, are led to commit atrocities that ultimately render them no better than their Capitol oppressors. The mass media broadcasting of the war, an obvious critique of our own society’s practices, is a running theme throughout the “Hunger Games” trilogy, and it reaches its most terrible realization in this installment.

The passing of Philip Seymour Hoffman also casts a shadow though this climatic film. His character of Plutarch Heavensbee, when he appears, still achieves his intriguing combination of both cunning and grace — a testament from beyond the grave of Hoffman’s acting prowess.

Despite the death and despair rampant throughout the film, rays of hope manage to shine through its darkness. Finnick Odair and Annie Cresta’s wedding, the love and dedication Everdeen shows to her sister, friends and supporters, and the film’s final, beautiful scene that promises a better future show that despite the most trying of circumstances and most terrible of losses that the characters endure, the goodness that exists within humans still manages to redeem them.

Director Francis Lawrence’s continued faithfulness to the novel and beautifully shot cinematography are some of this film’s many wins, as well as the powerful motifs it contains. One might even say they are life lessons. Resisting tyranny and fighting evil.

To love and cherish your friends and family, as the next time you see them may be your last. And, finally, to always remember that no matter how dark life appears to be, hope always springs eternal.

10 SPORTS

THE NORTHRIDGE REPORTER DECEMBER 16, 2015

‘MAMA T’ ADMIRED BY MANY DESTINY HODGES NEWS EDITOR Taking off the brace and extending the athlete’s leg, she feels around to identify the injury.

“Relax,” she said.

After a rub here and a rub there, she comes to a conclusion.

“Your MCL is just fine,” she said.

Growing up on a farm in Mobile County, AL as the youngest and only girl of four children has molded Mary T Long, athletic trainer, into the woman she is today.

“I really grew up tough,” she said. I had to fend for myself, and I got beat up by my brothers being the only girl.”

Playing four sports, Long became a strong and competitive athlete at Mary G Montgomery high school.

“I was the only sibling who ended up paying sports. I played volleyball, basketball, slow-pitch softball, and track,” she said. “It was a blast, and I loved every minute of it.”

Long was offered a scholarship to play softball and volleyball at Chattahoochee Valley Community College in Phenix, AL and became the first in her family to attend college.

Long played softball and volleyball at CVCC until she was injured sliding into base.

“I went into the Sports Medicine Hougston clinic and saw Dr. Houghston who taught the famous Dr. Andrews,” she said. “I was impressed with everything going on, and how much they knew.”

Long decided to pursue her dream job of being a coach.

“I transferred to Livingston University or what is now known as UWA [University of West Alabama] after that because I wanted to be a coach. I just knew that’s what I wanted to do,” she said. “I didn’t really know what athletic training was [then].”

Long received a scholarship to play softball at Livingston and walked onto the volleyball team.

“When the volleyball coach saw what I could do, he said, ‘we want you on the team’, and I walked on,” she said. “I was putting myself through college. My parents couldn’t do it with me being the last child… By the third [volleyball] practice after seeing what I could do, they had a volleyball scholarship for me. We won the Southern Conference Championship in [1988].”

Long participated in numerous intramural sports.

“I remained the arm wrestling champ a couple years in a row,” she said.

Long said what impressed her about athletic training was when she met Dr. Robert T Floyd.

“He was the most amazing human being.

He was a walking encyclopedia. He could tell you exactly what you did by asking you what you did and when, and he never touched you yet. When I saw him and his program I knew right there. There was no doubt in my mind that that was what I wanted to do,” she said. “I asked him if I could come in and take athletic training classes because I thought it would be cool.

It didn’t take long before I found out I was really good at it. I was really good at science and anatomy. [Athletic training] was like the icing on the cupcake.”

Livingston University was the first college in Alabama that had an approved athletic training curriculum. Long was the first to complete the curriculum.

“I double majored in athletic training and health physical recreation. We only had graduation once a year, so I completed the curriculum in 89’, but I couldn’t walk until

1990,” she said. “By then another student had completed the course in the spring, so it was two of us that walked.”

After college, Long got a job at AMI Sports Medicine, West Alabama Hospital.

“I worked there from 90’ to 92’. Then I went back to Livingston as their assistant athletic trainer. DCH (Druid City Hospital) took over AMI in 92’, and I started working with DCH full time in 99’.

I’ve been with DCH for about 23 years,” she said.

Jeff Sparks, track coach and a close friend of Long, said Long is more than an athletic trainer.

“She’s a mom. She’s a caretaker for all of those athletes who come through that door,” he said pointing towards the front of the school. “She has passion and compassion. She goes beyond the normal duty to perform and do her job.”

Sparks said Long has even helped him with his own personal injuries.

“She helped guide me through my knee replacement surgery. I tore my ACL on the field throwing javelin with my son. I went upstairs and she said, ‘yep you tore your ACL’,” he said. “I think she has seen each and every one of my kids for one injury or another.”

To Long, athletic training is more than just discovering injuries and helping an athlete heal.

“You have to have it all. The ability to take an injured athlete and rebuild them physically and mentally to that pre injured state is miraculous to me,” she said. “You fix them physically and emotionally. You have to get them back out there. I know how much it killed me to be out for a couple of weeks as an athlete. It’s such a weakening thing when you’re out for six months. I’ve been there, done that. I realize how horrible that is. If I can get to you early, you won’t be all banged up like I was in high school [without an athletic trainer].

You won’t be forty and still hurting from an injury you got in high school. Some athletes get told anything by people who don’t have a specialty in sports medicine.

Not to discredit any physician. Sometimes an injury I can evaluate and have them back out the next day could have [had them] out for weeks.”

Long says people constantly ask her why she still works for DCH. “I come here every day and people are like ‘you could work for the Olympics. You could do all these things. Why do you stay at DCH?’ [I stay] because I believe in their vision,” she said. “We can provide some much better health care for these younger athletes and we can improve the health care system over a period of time. We can improve that by being there for athletes while they’re athletes.”

Sparks said Long is indeed over qualified.

“Although she performs a very useful job for all of us at Northridge and DCH Sports Medicine, she’s way over qualified intellectually for her job,” Sparks said.

“She’s full of knowledge.”

Sparks said he has complete confidence in Long.

“I’ve been other places where we had to tend to our athletes’ needs, but I don’t even think about it anymore. I just say, ‘go see Mary T.’ I know she’s gonna take care of them,” he said.

Sophomore Deilo Richardson said Long is super woman. “[She’s] someone that’s always there when you really need help, and nothing’s impossible to her,” he said. “It’s always a good feeling to know that you won’t be hurt for long with her as a trainer. You can

Photo by Camri Mason

LIFE SAVER Mary T Long unbandages varsity player Shamarkus Kennedy’s ankle during the home game agaisnt Homewood Dec. 12. never say she hasn’t taken care of you.”

Richardson said Long has been helping him out since his eighth grade year. “[I met her] towards the end of my eighth grade year when Northridge had spring training for football. At the end of each practice, she’d come say what she had to say. She’s like the teacher of my life lessons,” Richardson said. “When I broke my wrist my freshman year, she’d buy me food at games because she said I needed protein, and now I tore my ACL and LCL, and she’s been doing rehab with me and making me feel good.”

Senior Shamarkus Kennedy, varsity basketball player, said Long is the best athletic trainer ‘ever’.

“She does it better than anyone else. I hate getting my ankle wrapped by anyone else because they do it wrong,” Kennedy said. “My sophomore year when I had just joined varsity [and on] my first day of practice, I rolled my ankle really badly. I did

therapy with her for three weeks.”

Many athletes call Long ‘Mama T’.

Kennedy said Long is his mama.

“She always makes sure I‘m alright,” Kennedy said. “Every time I get hurt, she’s the first person out there. Every time you need something, she’s the first person to get it.”

Long said she enjoys being looked at as a maternal figure by athletes.

“I love it. I think caring and having a child is the greatest gift and responsibility.

I already have two children and threehundred and something athletes I raise.” she said. “My two kids, who are handicapped, can’t compete in sports. As a former athlete, you would love to see your kids play sports. It’s like every single year we have a new crop of kids come through, and it’s like I’m seeing my two kids compete, and I give them advice. It’s the same thing I would have done to my kids.”

SPORTS

THE NORTHRIDGE REPORTER DECEMBER 16, 2015

11

Basketball team dominates area, falls against Birmingham teams

JORDAN HUTCHINSON ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR

The basketball team lost to Bessemer City 97-77 on Tuesday, Dec. 8.

“Bessemer is very good. We were not ready for them. We will be ready next time,” Coach Bob Brantley said.

The home record improved again Dec. 7 with a 56-54 win over in-city rivals Hillcrest High School.

“It was the best atmosphere we have ever had,” Brantley said.

Shamarkus Kennedy had eight blocks and fifteen points shooting 88% from the field.

“Shamarkus has been playing out of his mind,” senior center Ross Hardin said.

“Hillcrest is going to try and duplicate the atmosphere,” Brantley said.

The team had a great start against in-city competition in the regular season, beating Bryant on Nov. 20.

The Bryant game ended with a 72-53 win. Demarcus Jernigan scored 20 points, making seven of his twelve shots.

However, there was another game the day before that had not been played in many years. The team faced off against the Central Falcons, a school not more than 15 minutes away.

“It was about time. The community was very excited about it,” coach Bob Brantley said.

This anticipation showed in the ticket booth, as both games sold out.

“We had a lot of people come out and the student body has been showing up to support us,” Brantley said.

The team made their fans proud as they beat Central in their home opener 56-45.

Defense was a strong point for the team as Shamarkus Kennedy, senior center, had three blocks in the first quarter alone.

Kennedy ended with five blocks. On Dec. 12, the team played agaisnt Homewood.

The team faced another lost with the final score being 57-53.

DUNKED ON Senior Demarcus Jernigan makes a shot during the Homewood game Dec. 12.

Photo by Camri Mason

SPORTS COLUMN

Hester confident in SEC Championship predictions NATE HESTER ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR

With the college football regular season now complete, the post season playoff stage is pretty much set for most people.

At the time I was writing this, Alabama still has a date with Florida at the Georgia Dome in the SEC Championship, Iowa and Michigan State haven’t yet met for the Big Ten Championship, and Clemson hasn’t yet squared off against their potentially sneaky opponent in North Carolina in the ACC Championship game.

Additionally, the consensus opinion of the college football universe is that Oklahoma is a “lock” for the playoffs being that they are the undisputed Big 12 Champions.

Now, in my opinion, the playoff picture is set in stone.

There are four teams who have proven they are the best four teams, and they will be the teams headed to either Miami or Dallas come this Selection Sunday.

However, they aren’t necessarily the four teams most people see taking the field on December 31st.

The playoff committee has proven on multiple occasions they believe Clemson is the best team in the country. In fact, most people consider the Tigers a lock for the no. 1 seed.

But that isn’t the case. I don’t see Clemson being the no.

1 seed. Honestly, I think they will lose to North Carolina on Saturday.

For starters, the Tar Heels are quite possibly the most underrated team in the country.

Yes, they have a weak schedule. Yes, you could argue they aren’t battle-tested. But something nobody seems to realize is that North Carolina is a huge threat to win that game.

They are led by a record-breaking quarterback. They have a great coach. And they are on fire.

Since their only loss, in which the Heels were held to 13 points, no team has succeeded in holding them under 25 points. Oh yeah, and they have scored over 30 points on nine occasions.

I believe that North Carolina will come out red hot and run away with the ACC Championship. But Clemson will still make the playoffs, and they are the team who comes in as my no. 4 seed.

Next, the team I believe will be the no. 3 seed, Michigan State.

The Spartans are led by a great defense that has held all three of their last opponents under 17 points. And because of that defensive strength, Michigan State will beat Iowa in the Big Ten Championship game and earn the third spot in this year’s playoff.

Now on to the team who I think will earn the no. 2 seed and face Michigan State in one of the semi-final games, the Oklahoma Sooners.

I understand that they have an awful loss to Texas. But you cannot deny that their performances in the other 11 games they’ve played in is anything less than impressive.

Baker Mayfield is an exceptional quarterback and a great leader. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Sooners were one of the two teams in the title game this year.

And finally, the team I believe will be the no. 1 seed. You guessed it, the Alabama Crimson Tide.

Since their loss to Ole Miss back in September, Alabama has been virtually unstoppable.

They have played lights out; mistake-free football and they have been the same Alabama team everyone is used to seeing dominate the conference.

They have the best front seven in the nation, and will dominate Florida in the SEC Championship.

Not only that, but they will dominate Clemson in their semi-final game and follow that up with a win in the national championship against Oklahoma.

Many people thought this was the year Alabama lost its strangle hold on college football. Unfortunately, all of those people will have to wait, because Alabama is still here and they are just as strong as ever.

12

BEAT

O

Photo illustration by Seth Cunningham

n Nov. 13 in Paris, France, seven the dirt on the ground. tragic terrorist attacks happened at The question I have for them is why?

9 p.m. The devastating attack left Why kill people? over 129 people dead and 59 in intensive care, Why separate people from their families? leaving the city of Paris and the entire world Why take away from others that haven’t in shock. done anything to you?

Days following the attacks, many countries Why waste your life bombing yourself for a showed their support for the grieving country guy who’s a cold-blooded killer? by donning France’s flag colors at their capitals Is it because they are from a different ethnic and prominent cities. background, or is it because they The tragedy left the world believe in a different God? questioning who could have This is a terrible thing to do. It been the culprit. To everyone’s just isn’t right. dismay, ISIS claimed I can’t see how anyone could responsibility for the attacks. acknowledge the feeling of Formed in 1999, the Islamic waking up every morning just State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) knowing that they’re going to is a well-known terrorist group kill another thousand, and come who most recently started to back and go to sleep that night conduct deadly attacks on knowing what they did earlier vulnerable countries, killing that day.

CEDRIC BROWN thousands.

This just isn’t human.

STAFF WRITER ISIS has executed many ISIS needs to check itself and terrorist attacks recently, and place itself in the situation it it seems they have become more ruthless and places others in. aggressive as time passes.

What if ISIS fighters were the ones getting The attacks range from computer hackings held in camps, or had their children dying, and firing squads, to most recently suicide or were being murdered by someone because bombings. they didn’t fit a perfect persona?

After the Paris bombing, ISIS issued a This needs to be stopped immediately. message to the public, warning any country These “saviors” need to save themselves from that wishes to attack their stronghold that their own inventible destruction. they “will suffer the same fate as Paris.”

ISIS is a stain on human culture that needs These so-called “saviors of the upcoming to be wiped away. apocalypse” are nothing at all.

This reign of terror ought to go away I believe these attacks were quite soon, and all who have either supported or pathetic because if you bomb and have done these attacks should be punished kill innocent people for no apparent severely. When this does happen, it will be the reason, then you’re nothing more than death of ISIS.

ISIS’ violence unfathomable

THE NORTHRIDGE REPORTER DECEMBER 16, 2015

Photo by Camri Mason

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DECEMBER 16, 2015 VOLUME 13 ISSUE 4