ODYSSEY Volume 10, Issue 6, May 2013

ODYSSEY

LET’S TALK ABOUT EQUAL RIGHTS A TALE OF

Featured Stories:

Farewell to Pauldoe

Exploring a seven-period day

Hola, Costa de Jalisco

VIEWPOINTS

14

Legalize it

Under the Defense of Marriage Act, same-sex marriage remains illegal under federal law.

BY ROBERT WALKER

NEWS

20 Adding electives

For the 2013-14 school year Clarke Central High School will offer three additional electives.

BY RADFORD BROSIUS

28 Looking at seven

CCHS will transition to a sevenperiod schedule for the 2013-14 school year.

BY HANNAH DUNN-GRANDPRE

FOCUS

34

Advocating local

Local businesses in Athens gain support from the community.

BY LOUISE PLATTER

REVIEWS

38

Healing with health

The documentary Hungryfor Change addresses the growing obesity epidemic in America.

BY TIERNAN O’NEILL

VARIETY

48

Recording history

Wuxtry Records continues to please the Athens music community after more than 30 years.

BY SARAH HOYT

SPORTS

52

Living inpiration

Retired head football coach Billy Henderson continues to be an influential figure.

BY LORAN POSEY

Cover Story

The U.S. Supreme Court case questioning the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act has sparked discussion throughout the country, as well as among Clarke Central High School students.

Left: RISING TO THE TOP: Freshman golfer Michael Palmateer works towards his goal of attending the University of North Carolina after graduating from Clarke Central High School, and strives to receive a scholarship through improving his golf talent.

Right: PASSION FOR PLANTING: Senior Molly Tully and sophomore Jeremy Smith work at the West Broad Market Garden through the Youth Entrepreneurship Program. The WBMG provides the Athens community with unique opportunities to buy local produce and educates on buying and cooking nutritional foods.

Photo by Chad Rhym

Photo by Gabrielle Saupe

Photo by Porter McLeod

Cover photo by Porter Mcleod

Cover design by Porter McLeod

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

K-Zone

The readership thought that “K-Zone” sufficiently covered junior Patrick Matthews’ skill and history within the sport of baseball. They also felt that his baseball skill was well depicted in the layout and pictures that accompanied it. However, some thought that other parts of Matthews’ athletic journey could have been explored further.

Life lessons

I read “Still learning from Eve” by Dory MacMillan. I feel that this article is very well written and thoroughly expresses the personality of Eve Carson. It is an extremely moving article.

-- Maddie Defoor, 8th grade, Burney-Harris-Lyons

Building Bonds

I read “Breaking her Bonds” by Louise Platter. This article is very inspiring and motivational. I can relate to this article because I have friends and family who grew up living in foster homes. I saw how this process damaged one of my good friends by tearing her emotionally. She became depressed too. My favorite quote in the article is “I’ve been depressed for 26 years, but I refuse to live another day like that.” It makes me proud and glad that she is my mentor. This shows how powerful and courageous a black woman can be and how important it is not to look back at your past, but focus on your future.

-- Natasha Maddox, junior

Learning about Bonds

The story I liked the most was Ms. Bonds’ story. I didn’t know she went through a lot, but at the end she came through it. It is really helpful for the ODYSSEY to put these kinds of stories because I didn’t know that about her, but it was the most admirable story I read.

-- Ismael Huato, sophomore

Well deserved praise

I really like the article “Some new drama” by Tiernan O’Neill, considering I was part of one of the productions stated in the article. It feels very good to be recognized. I enjoy that it also states the upcoming shows, which is a big help to the drama department.

-- Donovan Melnik, freshman

“ The article about Patrick Matthews talks about his success as a baseball player, and explored many areas of Patrick’s life, although there could have been more.

-- Terrance Jones, junior ”

Corrections/Omissions

April 2013

On pg. 3, “adviser” is misspelled.

On pg. 6, “contributing” is misspelled.

On pg. 19, “challenging” is misspelled.

On pg. 19, “challenging” is misspelled.

On pgs. 21 and 30, Tiernan O’Neill’s last name is misspelled.

On pg. 22, Ashley Goodrich’s title is social studies department head.

On pg. 29, “iliad” is misspelled.

On pg. 31, “Macklemore” is misspelled.

On pg. 35, The event occurred on March 17.

On pg. 36, The picture was taken by Chad Rhym.

On pg. 40, Alexandria Martin’s name is misspelled.

On pg. 41, Luke Skobba’s name is misspelled

On pg. 46, “courage” is misspelled.

Hard work pays off

I read “The Fresh Voice,” I like how Claire isn’t ashamed of what she loves doing. She is a hard worker when it comes to something she loves to do. Sometimes, things you love to do can teach you a lot, and can get you through stuff you’re going through. I like how she included personal things like what she feels about her favorite activity.

-- Leslie Mendoza, freshman

Helpful Optimism

The “Our Take” was an awesome and inspiring article and gives people courage. Those without hope will get hope when they read this. Also, it tells you much about what people go through but have been successful. Life comes with struggle and also life is not easy. So, I think is a very nice article and people should read it. I think the cartoon is very nice, too.

-- Priscilla Badu, senior

Fitting Idea

I read “Activating Change” by Ethan Crane. What you have displayed is a wonderful idea. I think that we should have more physical education classes put in, therefore more student athletes would start to participate in more sports. It also helps students prepare for a more physically fit life if they plan on playing sports at the next level, because I know I do. That’s why I think we should look into this wonderful idea.

--

Jamonte Smith junior

Effective control

I read “Tardy control” by Robert Walker. I liked the article, I feel that detention does not serve as a punishment. But I think it’s better than sitting in ISS all day missing class time.

--Anthony Evans junior

The ODYSSEY is published monthly. Published opinions do not necessarily reflect the views of anyone other than the staff.

The ODYSSEY is a student produced newsmagazine, published with the intent to inform, entertain and give voice to the Clarke Central High School community, as well as to educate student journalists. Each issue is an open public forum for student expression under the guidance of a faculty adviser.

Student journalists are provided with opportunities to investigate, inform, interpret and to evaluate: all traditionally accepted functions of the press in America.

The ODYSSEY staff is committed to reflect the mission statement set forth by Clarke Central High School. The goals of the staff are to provide fair, accurate news and commentaries, as well as to serve the interests of the school and Athens’ community.

Advertising must conform to the guidelines set forth for editorials. Publication of advertisements does not indicate an endorsement by CCHS or by the ODYSSEY

Students pictured in advertisements are not given monetary compensation. All advertising rates are available upon request from any ODYSSEY staff member.

The ODYSSEY is a member of the Quill and Scroll Honor Society, Georgia Scholastic Press Association, Columbia Scholastic Press Association, National Scholastic Press Association and Southern Interscholastic Press Association.

Corrections of errors and omissions will appear in the next issue.

Editor-in-Chief: Chloe Hargrave

Digital Managing Editor: Hannah Dunn-Grandpré

Print Managing Editor: Jenny Alpaugh

Junior Copy Editor: Aaron Holmes

Viewpoints Editor: Dory MacMillan

News Editor:

Loran Posey

Variety Editor: Chloe Alexander

Sports Editor: Gabrielle Saupe

Photography Editor: Porter McLeod

Business and Public Relations Manager: Haley Hunt

Sarah Hoyt

Web Master: Austin Defoor

Graphics Editor: Radford Brosius

Staff Writers:

Brittney Butler, Fear Churchwell, Susanna Conine-Nakano, Ethan Crane, Gabe Evans, Gabe Harper, Hanna Harper, Geneva Hinkle, John Hubbard, Whitney Letman, James Lumpkin, Tiernan O’Neill, Louise Platter, Chad Rhym, Makayla Richards, Henry Scott, Alicia Thomas, Sam Thompson, Maria Velasquez, Robert Walker, Isabella Zaccaria-Jeffers

Adviser:

David A. Ragsdale

ODYSSEY NEWSMAGAZINE

Clarke Central High School

350 S. Milledge Avenue

Athens, Georgia 30605

Phone: (706) 357-5200, Ext. 17370

Fax: (706) 357-5269

www.odysseynewsmagazine.net

Our Take

In October, the Clarke Central High School administration released the plans for a new schedule. They announced that a seven course offering would replace the current 4 x 4 block. This plan consisted of seven classes that lasted all year, rather than four per semester, and the classes would rotate depending on the day of the week.

These plans were met with cries of outrage and dissatisfaction from inside and outside of the school. Students in particular, were furious that they would not have the opportunity to earn as many credits and were convinced that there was no way the new schedule would be able to support dual enrollment, internships, Athens Community Career Academy and any other complications in students’ academic lives that the block schedule currently supports.

After a vague explanatory assembly at the end of the first semester, which left students more confused and irritated than ever, teachers were instructed to take questions and concerns from their advisees.

Students pelted their advisers with questions and many teachers were poorly equipped to provide solutions for these potential conflicts. Teachers promised that the questions would be passed on to the administration, but weeks passed and teachers were still at a loss. So much was still up in the air, that it was impossible for all students queries to be answered satisfactorily.

Fueled by this uncertainty, resentment for the new schedule increased. Students, feeling betrayed, closed their minds to the seven course offering and mourned the loss of their eight credits a year and off campus classes.

Time passed and students gave up. The majority of formerly outraged students replaced their anger with dejection, however, that time had allowed the administration to adjust the schedule to fit the complex conflicts that had before seemed insurmountable.

But by the time the administration had worked out the kinks in the schedule and were ready to answer student questions, students did not want to listen. After writing the new schedule off as defective, students did not want to reexamine their positions. Once their minds were made up, students abandoned their questioning and sulked.

Even though potential conflicts, like dual enrollment, have been resolved, and research supports shorter periods, students refuse to get the answers they wanted earlier in the year due to lingering resentment.

However, despite stubbornness, the administration has the answers, and whenever students are ready to hear them out, they will find that the seven course offering will more than likely be able to accommodate their situations, regardless of the initial confusion.

Above: EMPTY EXPECTATIONS: After the unveiling of the new seven course offering, Clarke Central High School students were dissatisfied with the administration’s inability to answer their questions.

Cartoon by John Hubbard

News briefs

Above:

Daring to DREAM

Students, teachers, politicians and community activists gathered at Clarke Middle School on April 20 for DREAMFest, a locally-organized event that aimed to raise community awareness of immigration reform and immigrant rights issues.

DREAMFest, which lasted from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., featured six panels that discussed current immigration issues. The event was organized by senior Julia MacMillan

Speakers at DREAMFest ranged from State Rep. Pedro Marin, D-Duluth, to Jesse Zimmerman, the Academic Director of the Athens Latino Center for Education and Services. CCHS parent Bertis Downs was pleased with the range of speakers that were present.

“As a parent and supporter, I was happy to see it turn out so well,” Downs said. “It provided some education for people on all matter of issues wrapped up in the immigration situation in the U.S. and Georgia.”

Some students who attended DREAMFest felt that the panels were informative and motivating.

“After DREAMFest, I feel that I’m really interested in immigration reform. It helped me realize how important it is,” sophomore Nick Dawe said.

Parade of nations

On April 18, Clarke Central High School’s International Club presented International Day in E.B. Mell Auditorium.

The event began with students, each representing their nation of heritage, crossing the stage with their country’s flag in hand.

According to junior and International Day master of ceremonies Baylor Ward, planning for International Day has been going on since January. Science department teacher Dr. Nripendra Bhattacharyya, the sponsor for International Day, aided in the production of the event.

“He encouraged us, and gave us a lot of support,” Ward said. “He gave us a lot of space to do what we wanted to do, so we could put our own creative twist on it, but he made sure we stayed focused.”

There was a wide variety of student response to the event from those who were in attendance. While the general reaction to International Day was positive, some viewers felt as if it could be improved upon, and gave suggestions for how to improve International Day next year.

“I think International day needs more cultural acts, because at time it feels as if International day is more of a talent show,” sophomore Brendy Capcha said. “But I enjoyed most of the talents.”

Other students held more positive responses to International Day, with some describing it as a fantastic display of all of the various cultures that are represented in the CCHS community.

“It was great to be a part such a wonderful event celebrating different cultures around the world as well as the diversity at CCHS,” senior and International Day performer Maria Orlando said.

-- Radford Brosius, Graphics Editor

Chorus Performance

On April 23, the Clarke Central High School chorus performed in the E. B. Mell Auditorium.

“The chorus presented a variety of music from Brahms, to an opera selection, to a selection from The Wiz and two spirituals,” fine arts department teacher Dr. Anthony Rucker said.

In addition, members of the choir who participated in Central Showbiz performed such musical numbers as “Greased Lightning” from Grease, “Officer Krupke” from WestSideStory, “Seasons of Love” from Rent and “And all that Jazz” from Chicago

Chorus singer and freshman Cameron Loyal believes that the performance held both strengths and weaknesses.

“I think the choir performance went well, but the second (musical number) half didn’t go as well as it could have,” Loyal said.

However, Loyal believes that Rucker carried out his role as director.

“He’s always very professional,” Royal said. “He’s a very good director.”

Incredible charity

The Relay for Life club will host the third annual Mr. Incredible all-male pageant on May 10 in E.B. Mell Auditorium. Instead of being sponsored by the Key Club as in the previous two years, the event will be hosted under Relay for Life adviser Dr. Meri Blackburn

“(Mr. Incredible) is a fun and entertaining way to raise money for Relay for Life,” senior and Mr. Incredible organizer Harrison Boza said.

The 2013 Mr. Incredible participants span throughout every grade level. However, males applicants who have not participated in the event before were considered first.

“This year we gave priority to new applicants if we had enough for that grade level,” Boza said. “Unfortunately, we couldn’t include everyone who wanted to participate, but I think we have a good group (this year).”

The event consists of three parts, answering the question, “What makes you incredible?”, a talent show and modeling. The 2012 event raised approximately $1,500 for Relay for Life, this year’s goal is to raise the same amount or more.

“I just want to have a good time with everyone else in the show,” senior and participant Patrick Humphreys said.

INTERNATIONAL CONNECTION: Seniors Kyara Mejia and Emmanuel Reyes-Garcia perform Yo Te Extranare, a duet by Dominican pop group Tercer Cielo at the Clarke Central High School International Day celebration on April 18. The celebration included performances representing 37 countries.

Photo by Gabrielle Saupe

Above:

Changes to come

Following the Clarke County School District SPLOST Commission’s decision to move forward with a SPLOST-4 construction grant for Clarke Central High School, the Atlanta architect firm Collins Cooper Carusi was chosen for the project.

Between April 10 and April 18, Mike Collins, the head architect for the project, held forum meetings with CCHS students and teachers. Collins expressed that the construction would overlap with the academic year.

“There’s going to be noise at times; there’s going to be dust,” Collins said. “At times, there will be a bit of inconvenience.”

Although no official plan for construction had yet been decided upon, Collins emphasized that maintenance of CCHS’ current design would play into architectural design choices.

“We recognize the importance of this building to the community. This building has real presence,” Collins said.

For many students, the upgrades and repairs that the school renovations will bring are long-overdue.

“These buildings are not up to date,” sophomore Bria McIntyre said. “The bathrooms are nasty, the paint is chipping in the classrooms and there are rats.”

Media Center specialist and SPLOST secretary Lindy Weaver said that the process of student and staff meetings was significant to the architectural proposals.

A team from Collins, Cooper and Carusi met with a student group and facilitated the workshops, on April 18. As drawings and plans are proposed, they will meet with all parties again. Also before every SPLOST project can go forward, there is a public meeting.

“I think the renovation is critical,” Weaver said. “Our building is outdated, not safe in places and does not provide the appropriate spaces for collaborative learning.”

According to Collins, an official plan for construction is planned to be released on May 1.

“

I heard that!

I’ve always wished I could sing. I would trade my dashing good looks for the ability to sing well.

”

JACOB REUSE, English department teacher, commenting on his involvement in the Clarke Central High School drama program.

“(CCHS) is an in-town school; you’re not out in the suburbs. It’s really a part of the greater community.

”MIKE COLLINS, head architect of proposed CCHS renovations, reflecting on plans for the renovation of the school starting during the 2013-14 school year.

“

I’m Jamaican, and everyone thinks all Jamaicans do is smoke weed and talk about Bob Marley all day. But there is so much more to Jamaica than that, and International Day helps show that.

”

JACKIE GORDON, senior, speaking about the educational aspects International Day holds.

“I think there’s going to be a lot more work. There will be less time to get to class, too. My main concern is tardies.

”ABBEY FINN, sophomore, on the problems she sees with the Clarke County School District’s decision to switch to seven-period schedules in high schools.

Below: RAISE EVERY VOICE: Members of the Clarke Central High School choir are directed by conductor Dr. Anthony Rucker at a recital that took place in E.B. Mell Auditorium on April 23. The choir performed songs that included gospel hits and classic show tunes.

-- Aaron Holmes, Junior Copy Editor

SONGS FOR A CAUSE: Local musician, Claire Campbell, performs at the DREAMFest-sponsored benefit concert at Hendershots Cafe on April 20. Funds from the concert, which was organized by Clarke Central High School senior Julia MacMillan, benefitted Freedom University, a local non-profit educational opportunity for undocumented students.

Photo by Porter McLeod

Photo by Maria Velasquez

A push for equality

AstheSupremeCourtdrawsclosertoarulingontheconstitutionalityof same-sexmarriage,theClarkeCentralHighSchoolGay-StraightAlliance works towards tolerance within the school.

BY AARON HOLMES Junior Copy Editor

Last month, the Supreme Court heard the oral arguments of a case in which the constitutionality of same-sex marriage was debated. The case centered around Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act, a bill signed into law in 1996 that defines legal marriage as between a man and a woman.

Although the Supreme Court is not expected to rule on the case until June, discussion of same-sex marriage increased throughout the U.S., including in Athens.

“Obviously I think (same-sex marriage) should be legalized,” junior Audrey Spiers said. “Our religious beliefs cannot affect the government, legally. Marriage should be between two people who love each other.”

However, some students expressed that they

do not support the legalization of gay marriage. In most cases, this position was influenced by religion.

“I don’t believe in that; it’s just not a part of my religion,” junior Mikayla Stapleton said.

Spiers, who is the president of the Clarke Central High School Gay-Straight Alliance, considers herself an advocate for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer students at CCHS. She also acknowledges that homosexuality is often a burden for closeted students.

“People do talk in high school. People gossip, people make assumptions and things get out,” Spiers said. “If someone says, ‘I’m gay,’ and that gets out to their parents, they can possibly be homeless. It’s a serious issue.”

According to Spiers, although students are not vocally anti-LGBTQ, hateful speech and name calling are still common at school, and are a burden to

Below: SPEAK OUT: Many students like juniors Gregg Guichard and Audrey Spiers believe

marriage should be a right,” Guichard said.

LGBTQ students.

“I think people, in general, are accepting, but that doesn’t stop hateful language or stereotypes. It doesn’t stop bullying,” Spiers said. “You still hear lots of phrases in the hallways. Even if it’s something little like, ‘That’s gay,’ that uses the word ‘gay’ in a negative connotation, it makes people who are gay feel like it’s something negative.”

Spiers explains that GSA provides a confidential and supportive environment for students of all sexual orientations.

“It provides a safe place where you can talk about anything and you know no one’s going to tell,” Spiers said. “Our biggest rule is, ‘whatever is said in the club stays in the club.’”

Counselor and GSA sponsor Lenore Katz says that her interest in the GSA stemmed from a general interest in students’ well-being.

in rights for same-sex couples locally and nationwide. “In my opinion, gay

Photo by Porter McLeod

“GSA is student-initiated: there were students who just came to me, and I guess I’ve always had an interest as a counselor to hear things from students I know,” Katz said. “And there are (LGBTQ) students who are at risk because they don’t feel safe, or who can’t succeed.”

As Katz sees it, GSA not only provides an outlet for students seeking confidentiality, but also aims to hold a beneficial presence in the greater Athens community.

“We have students of every sexual orientation, and they need a place where they feel comfortable. It’s also just like any other club in that it involves socializing and community service,” Katz said. “In that way it’s just one more club where kids can share common interests and get together.”

As a counselor, Katz also interacts with students on a personal level who feel uncomfortable at school because of their sexuality. According to Katz, these meetings typically yield favorable results.

Yes 67% No 29% No Opinion 4%

“Students refer themselves (to me), teachers refer students and parents may refer students. It’s a place where they can feel comfortable to discuss the issues that surround sexual orientation,” Katz said. “Teachers ask us to come in to a class to facilitate a discussion if the teacher has been hearing name-calling or hateful language. It’s about getting everybody on the same page.”

Regardless of such events, Katz feels that CCHS is, for the most part, an accepting environment for LGBTQ students, despite her heightened standards for the school.

“No place is perfect, and I have very high standards for what I’d like us to look like,” Katz said. “But I can’t think of a time when something has come to our attention that hasn’t been addressed. We speak to students. We do not look the other way.”

Principal Dr. Robbie P. Hooker also feels that CCHS, as compared to other high schools, provides significant support for LGBTQ students.

“We’re probably more accepting than most of the surrounding high schools. To embrace a Gay-Straight Alliance at a high school level is very unusual,” Hooker said. “And we have some students who attend our (GSA) meetings from other counties.”

While Spiers acknowledges the effort made by the staff to ensure a safe environment, in her experience, bullying is usually in the form of offhand remarks. She explains that such casual remarks are worsened by teachers who choose to ignore them.

“If they see it in their classroom, the teachers might say, ‘Be quiet,’ but they

won’t address the issue,” Spiers said. “There have even been a few cases where teachers have said something that makes the student feel uncomfortable about their sexual orientation.”

Junior Gregg Guichard says that, while he believes CCHS to be an accepting environment, he has been bullied based on his sexual orientation.

“In the classrooms, there have been a lot of times when kids will say the word ‘faggot’ out loud and teachers just ignore it. But when they say other cuss words, the teachers react,” Guichard said.

According to Spiers, instances like these led the GSA to organize an annual school-wide anti-bully-

a “sensitivity training” to be better prepared to address bullying and insensitive speech in their classroom.

“I would like that every teacher go through a training so they know how to deal with these issues,” Katz said. “It’s just raising sensitivity, treating every kid with respect especially if you don’t know everything about that kid. So that everyone can be safe and learn, and go on with their lives.”

Spiers believes that CCHS, along with the rest of society, has made strides toward tolerance.

“I can’t think of a time when something has come to our attention that hasn’t been addressed. We speak to students. We do not look away.”

-- LENORE KATZ, Counselor

“If you look at the past, we’ve had the same types of issues with different prejudices, like racism and women’s rights. We’re making that progress now, where homosexuality is becoming more of an out-in-the-opentype thing,” Spiers said. “People have a fear of the unknown, and when you start to learn more about something, you’ll be more comfortable with it.”

ing petition signed by teachers and students.

“We have students sign that they won’t bully people based on their race, sexual orientation, gender, ethnicity or religion and teachers sign a petition saying that they will not allow for that kind of bullying in their classrooms,” Spiers said. “The main issue in our club is that every teacher needs to make their classroom a comfortable environment where everyone can learn.”

Katz said that teachers should also undergo

However, in the future, she hopes to see not only improvements in the treatment of those who identify as homosexual, but also in the treatment of people with other sexual preferences.

“But we aren’t making a lot of progress on other issues, like transgender issues and asexual people. All these people have so many different orientations and gender identities that need to be addressed,” Spiers said. “Gay marriage is just the start.”

Graphic by Aaron Holmes

*On April 24, 340 students polled by Aaron Holmes and Sarah Hoyt

Breaking away from

BY HANNAH DUNN-GRANDPRE Digital Managing Editor

In 2000-01, the Clarke County School District moved from a year-long schedule with six classes each day to a block schedule with four classes each day and a new set of classes second semester. Thirteen years later, CCSD has decided to move away from the block schedule and return to year-round classes.

“At the time, the research showed block scheduling was going to be the cureall. At that point, our students who were not graduating, it wasn’t because of tests, it was because of credits. Giving the students more credit opportunities was a way to help our students graduate,” IB Coordinator/Gifted Collaborator and Scheduler Dr. Meri Blackburn said. “There’s discussion that we shouldn’t be building in recovery options, we should be getting students through the first time. So, the research goes back to how do we teach it right the first time?”

block

The beginning

With the ultimate goal of helping students pass classes in mind, CCSD’s High School Instructional Committee formally began investigating block scheduling and its effectiveness for learning in Sept. 2011.

According to CCSD Superintendent Dr. Philip Lanoue, there were several reasons for the increased popularity of block scheduling in the past 15 years. CCSD officially adopted the block schedule in the 2000-01 school year and replaced the six-period day that had been in place previously.

a traditional schedule were consistently outperforming those learning on a block schedule. This research looked solely at performance on various standardized tests and was not connected to the

An official vote

After the recommendation was made by the High School Instructional Committee to discontinue use of block scheduling, the Board of Education voted in July 2012 and made the decision to move to seven-course offering beginning in the 2013-14 school year. Following this vote, the scheduling committees at the school levels started working to create an appropriate schedule.

“We’re going to have a lot more classes and a lot more homework and I think a lot of people are going to be confused by the schedule,”

“There were only several really key reasons for going to the block: less passing time, maximized instruction time, teachers had less students at once, students had less courses to take and with a 90-minute block you could get deeper into the instruction,” Lanoue said.

From Sept. 2011 to spring of 2012, research was conducted to investigate what was the best choice for high schools in the CCSD. After researching and surveying students and teachers, the committee was recommended that moving to a traditional year-long schedule was the most effective choice.

The research, compiled by University of Georgia professor Dr. Sally Zepeda, showed that while there had been slight improvements, students learning on

-- PRISCILA CORTEZ, junior

survey given to teachers and students.

The final research write-up explained: There is somesupportforimprovementsinstudentgrade pointaveragesanddisciplineunderblockscheduling,buttheresearchdoesnotprovidesupport forclaimsofimprovedtestresults,betterstudent attendance,orchangesinteachers’practices.Given thepervasivenessofstandardizedtestingsince thepassageoftheNoChildLeftBehindAct,the lackofrobustsupportforblockschedulingasa reformthatbooststestscoresmightgivepauseto stakeholdersconsideringadoptingorcontinuing such a schedule.

“We had discussed it at the district level, but we went more in-depth and wanted to do our own research to make sure we got what was going to be in the best interest for Clarke Central,” Principal Dr. Robbie P. Hooker. “The great thing about this schedule is that we didn’t go to a book and get this schedule. It’s a schedule that teachers here at this school developed.”

The scheduling committee researched various schedules from schools across the country. They also looked at several schedules from schools closer to home, evaluating Madison and Morgan county school districts’ schedules in place. However, CCSD schools required a more personalized schedule that had to be created with certain specifications in mind, according to Blackburn.

“After the Board voted to move to a seven-course offering, we changed our focus to look at very

Below: THE DAILY CYCLE: Under the new seven-period schedule, which will be implemented next year at Clarke Central High School, students will take five 70-minute classes per day and a total of seven classes per year. The schedule breakdown as currently planned is illustrated below, with every class taken twice every three days and a GLAD Time/Advisement period taken once every three days.

DAY ONE

Period 1

Period 2

Period 4

Period 5

Period 6

8:45-9:55 a.m

10:00-11:10 a.m

11:15-12:55 a.m

1:00-2:10 p.m

2:15-3:25 p.m

DAY TWO

Period 3

Period 1

Period 4

8:45-9:55 a.m.

10:00-11:10 a.m.

DAY THREE

Period 2

Period 3

8:45-9:55 a.m.

10:00-11:10 a.m.

11:15-12:55 a.m.

Period 7 11:15-12:55 a.m

Period 5

1:00-2:10 p.m

2:15-3:25 p.m

GLAD Time/ Advisement

Period 6

1:00-2:10 p.m

Period 7 2:15-3:25 p.m

Infographic by Robert Walker

specific schedules that would accommodate all of the district’s needs. With the Career Academy and dual enrollment, we have a really weird dynamic. Nobody else has that. There’s a lot of things to think about,” Blackburn said.

Because of these different factors, Blackburn, along with the rest of the scheduling committee, worked to make a schedule that would fill all of the needs of the CCHS and CSHS students.

selors and members from the Board. CSHS also presented a potential schedule for the upcoming year, but the decision was made to proceed with Blackburn’s because it better fit the needs of the schools.

“When you extend the length of time kids are in class, a greater number of kids pass it.”

After creating two potential schedules, the scheduling committee presented them to the CCHS faculty. Teachers were asked to send in any questions they had or potential problems they saw in preparation for the proposal Blackburn would present to the High School Instructional Committee.

“We asked our teachers to send all the possible questions and troubles that they saw with the schedule so that we could troubleshoot, we could come up with solutions for things like dual enrollment,” Blackburn said. “I don’t like to put something out there and then realize later ‘Oh well we should’ve thought of that.’ I like to look at all the problems that are going to come up and at least have a possible solution.”

In Oct. 2012 Blackburn presented the schedule she had created to the High School Instructional Committee. This committee is comprised of CCHS and CSHS principals, associate principals, coun-

Students who plan on leaving campus must either spend their morning or afternoon block of time at their respective locations. However, students enrolled at the ACCA, as well as other colleges, will remain on the semester system. Students must dual enroll during both semesters and take at least two classes each semester.

-- MARY THIELMAN, Associate Principal

The new schedule was released to CCSD faculty and parents on Oct. 16, 2012. Following this, Blackburn held assemblies with each grade level, excluding seniors, to explain what the 2013-14 school year would look like. The Program of Studies for the 2013-14 school year was updated to match the new seven-course offering in January.

Tough decisions

As the transition to the new seven-period schedule began, concerns from students, parents and teachers have been addressed to try and avoid further conflict in the future. Students’ major concern was how the schedule would support off-campus activities such as internships, dual enrollment or classes at the ACCA.

“When you look at the way the new master schedule was built, you ended up with a rotation cycle in the morning, a rotation cycle in the afternoon and then the consistency of fourth block,” Thielman said. “If you were in an internship or you were dual enrolled and you were going to UGA and you wanted to only do it in the fall, there would not be a mechanism for you to come back to Clarke Central in the morning or afternoon in the spring.”

Students also have other concerns about adapting to the new schedule.

“I think its going to be a lot more complicated because we’re going to have a lot more classes and a lot more homework and I think a lot of people are going to be confused by the whole schedule,” junior Priscilla Cortez said. “People are going to focus less on each class. With four classes we can focus more because there is more class time and less classes to have work in.”

Above: THE MAN IN CHARGE: Clarke County School District superintendent Dr. Philip Lanoue speaks on CCSD’s decision to switch high schools to a seven-period schedule for the 2013-14 school year. “At some point, if it’s not working, we need to fix it,” Lanoue said.

Glossary

4 x 4 block: a schedule in which students take four classes first semester and a new set of four classes second semester; each class is 90 minutes long. The Clarke County School District has been operating with a 4 x 4 block since the 2000-01 school year.

Contact hours: the number of hours spent in the classroom used for instructional time. On the current block schedule there are 130.5 contact hours. On the schedule next year there will be 140 contact hours per course.

CCHS scheduling committee: At the beginning of the 2011-12 school year, IB Coordinator/Gifted Collaborator and Scheduler Dr. Meri Blackburn started the CCHS scheduling committee. This committee was responsible for doing research and later creating potential schedules to present to High School Instructional Committee in Oct. 2012.

High School Instructional Committee: HSIC is consists of personnel from Clarke Central High School, Cedar Shoals High School and districtlevel officials such as Superintendent Dr. Philip Lanoue. From each high school the principal, associate principal and counselors are present.

Passing time: the amount of time spent in class change. With more classes each day, more time was spent in the hallway resulting in less overall time in the classroom; block scheduling tried to combat that with only four classes each day at 90 minutes each.

Program of Studies: a guide which is updated each year to the different courses, extracurricular activities and enrichment opportunities available to students in the CCSD.

Traditional year-long: in a traditional schedule students take the same set of classes year-round; usually students take six to eight courses each year with classes from 40 minutes to 70 minutes. This schedule is usually tailored to each school that uses it to meet the needs of each school.

Students on the block schedule, at any given time, were responsible for the workload of four classes. On other schedules that the scheduling committee looked at, such as the modified block and the year-long schedule CCHS will move to, students are responsible for an entire year’s worth of classes at once.

“The challenge is for students who like to take five to six APs in a year, that means its going to be that much at one time. They’ve just doubled their workload,” social studies department head Ashley Goodrich said. “Even though it’s going to be spread out, I think that’s going to be a challenge. Students are going to have some tough decisions to make as far as what they can really handle.”

A stronger relationship

Despite the heavier workload for both students and teachers, Blackburn feels the year-long schedule will still have positive effects on classes.

“(Teachers) know they’re going to have more students not over the course of the year, but at one time,” Blackburn said. “One of my favorite things about year-long (scheduling is) I knew my students so much better after having them for a whole year. It was like having a real family.”

In addition to building class bonds, according to Goodrich, the new schedule will help teachers connect with students because of the

amount of time they will work together during the year.

“Developing relationships with your students is the most important part of our job. With some students, it’s challenging to figure out how you can best connect with them and there’s maybe those three or four students every semester who I finally have gotten to that point with at the very end and then it’s over,” Goodrich said. “I feel like this will give us more time to develop those relationships and when we get to the midpoint, we’ve got that relationship and we still have a whole other semester together.”

One of the reasons for switching to a year-long schedule was the increased number of contact hours, or number of hours spent in the classroom. On the current block schedule, there are 130.5 contact hours. On next year’s schedule, there will be 140 contact hours per course.

“With AP US History, it’s just a burden to try and get through that curriculum in that amount of time,” social studies department teacher Harry Cooper said. “Having hours back will be a significant help. I’m looking forward to bringing back in fun activities that we just don’t have time for now and I think students will be very happy.”

AP courses that had previously taken place in one semester, such as AP Statistics, will now last the length of the entire year. The prerequisites, such as Microbiology before AP Biology will be eliminated.

“At first I was kind of iffy about (the new schedule) because I liked having the semesters so I could get a lot done and be done by my junior year,” sophomore Hanleigh James said. “But, this seven-period year, it sounds like it makes a lot more sense, especially since I’ll be taking AP classes where I don’t have to rush each semester.”

Escaping the “cycle of failure”

With the new seven-course offering, students will have the opportunity to earn 28 credits over four years, four more than the graduation requirement of 24 credits. On the 4 x 4 block schedule students were able to earn 32 credits over the course of eight semesters, eight more than the graduation requirement.

“On one level it doesn’t sound like much, going from eight options to seven and for kids who do well and do what they’re supposed to do, that loss of one course in a given academic year should not be an issue at all,” Thielman said. “If you’re perpetually caught in the cycle of failure though, that becomes problematic.”

On the current 4 x 4 block schedule if students failed a course in the fall, they were given the opportunity to retake the class virtually via education2020. This system allowed students to remain on track with their required courses and move on to the next grade level if they had failed a class.

“(Block scheduling) allowed at-risk and off track students to recover credits with the opportunity to graduate on time. It also allowed students an opportunity to take more classes in other to explore their interest and to prepare for post secondary plans,” one of the comments from the teacher survey said in response to the question “What are some advantages of the current high school schedule?”

According to the research done by the district, two shorter spaced classes would be roughly two times as effective as one longer block of instruction with regards to students’ ability to retain information.

“(The new schedule) certainly should have a positive impact on the graduation rate. When you extend the length of time kids are in class (over the course of a year) then I think you end up having a greater number of kids take it once and pass it,” Thielman said. “Now, are there kids in transition that are going to have some challenges? I think so.”

Of the four core subject areas, math, English, science and social studies, math is the only subject in which the courses must be taken sequentially, meaning you cannot take the next level until you pass the first and the courses cannot be taken at the same time. If a student fails a math course, because four are required over four years, there are limited

options for credit recovery.

To ensure that students are getting as much help as possible to pass their math courses, weak math students will take a math support class in addition to their other course so that students never go a day without a math course.

“If you’re not a strong science kid, you’re probably not a strong math kid. Those go hand in hand. So, if you need as a sophomore, say if you didn’t pass Physical Science in ninth grade and you choose to take it next year in e2020 while you’re taking Biology and while you’re taking Geometry with support there’s four of your classes just to math and science. So, then you have English, social studies and you have to have a foreign language. So, you’re done and if you don’t pass two, you’re in a whole lot more trouble,” Blackburn said.

Approaching a paradigm shift

One positive aspect of block scheduling that had been initially considered was the opportunity for students to make up classes they had failed within the same academic year, and therefore stay on track for graduation. However, as CCSD moves away from block scheduling, this idea has been reexamined.

“If you have a population of kids that have historically said, ‘Well, if I fail this it doesn’t really matter, I can take it again,’ there’s going to have to be a paradigm shift. We’ve said to kids, ‘What happens if you don’t pass math this year?’ and ‘What happens if…’ It changes the conversation,” Thielman said. “This is just human nature, until people have gone through that transition phase, there are some that will continue to operate as if the old system were in play.”

As CCSD moves to the new system, the transition period may be difficult due to the complexities of the schedule, according to the Thielman, however, students still have every opportunity to be successful as they did on block.

“It may take us a year, it may take us two years, but at the point at which the kids internalize ‘I better take this once, pass it and get on with it, because if not then I’m not going to be able to graduate with my class.’ Kids will step up and do what they need to do to be successful and it will take care of itself,” Thielman said.

To try and keep students from falling behind, administrators and counselors have made a point to talk to students to plan their schedules and decide what the most effective and beneficial path will be for them.

“I’d like to believe the conversations have staying power once (students) go back to class, but if someone says, ‘I’m just going to go back to my old habits,’ then being in that transition group doesn’t really matter because you’ve made other decisions that are keeping you from being successful,” Thielman said. “I think we have systems in place that will encourage kids that are currently not being successful to be successful and we’ll still try and figure out what’s the best way to realistically achieve a goal and if that means staying in our system longer, so be it.”

Options for students that fall behind include summer school and e2020 as well as zero and eighth period, time before and after school where students can take virtual classes. As CCSD moves to the new yearlong schedule, teachers, administrators and counselors will continue to advise students and work with them to stay on track, according to Thielman.

“I’m absolutely confident about the decision to go off of the 4 x 4 block and to go onto this new schedule because in the long term, it is in students’ best interest,” Thielman said. “Are there going to be individual failures here or there? Yes. Are there going to be some anxious moments as we transition? Absolutely. But, I think if we’re sensitive to that, proactive in our thinking, there’s a resolution for everything.”

Analyzing answers

The surveys, which were released in Jan. 2012, had 196 teachers from CCHS, Cedar Shoals High School, Athens Community Career Academy and Classic City High School participate; 179 of those that completed the survey were from CCHS or CSHS. There was also a survey released to students that 137 students completed from the same schools.

The survey given to teachers included six main questions about teachers’ preferences on different aspects of scheduling. Questions about frequency of students meeting with teachers, period length and student engagement. Additionally, teachers were asked if they felt they had adequate time to both cover and go deeper into the course material, as well as what scheduling methods with different number of credits offered would be the best.

When teachers were asked if they felt they were able to engage their students for the entire lesson during the entire class period, 76.1 percent of teachers agreed or strongly agreed that they could keep students engaged in the lesson. Additionally, 62.05 percent of students agreed or strongly agreed that teachers kept their attention throughout the whole block. However, according to Lanoue, this wasn’t always the case.

“I don’t think we captured the 90-minute block, might’ve gotten to 70, but we didn’t get to the full 90 and we didn’t actually change instruction. Some teachers did a really good job with it, others said ‘I was just done when I was done, use that extra time for homework.’” Lanoue said. “At some point if it’s not working, we need to change it.”

Of students that responded to the survey, 51.1 percent agreed or strongly agreed that teachers had given them class time to work on homework.

Also included in the teacher survey was how often they needed to meet with students in order to maximize student performance. Meeting every day, as opposed to at least three out of five days or two out of five days a week, had 67 percent in agreement as the best option.

One of the final questions asked of teachers was pertaining to what would be the best method of scheduling given the current graduation requirement of 24 credits. Sixty-one percent of the staff felt that 32 credit opportunities over eight semesters was the best option either as a block schedule or traditional, but that 32 credits was the optimal choice no matter what. Of that group, 47.2 percent, felt 32 credit opportunities over eight semesters specifically as a 4 x 4 block schedule was the most effective method of scheduling.

Below: DIFFERING OPINIONS: In a student survey, in response to a question asking how many classes per year should be offered, more than half of respondents said that they preferred eight classes. Of the students, 51 percent attended Cedar Shoals High School and 41 percent attended Clarke Central High School.

How

many classes per year should students take?

Seven - 12%

Six - 30%

Eight - 58%

Attention all teenage girls: forget JB, throw out 1D. The ultimate heartthrob, Justin Timberlake, is back and better than ever.

With his new album, The20/20 Experience, released on March 15, girls across the nation are swooning. Timberlake’s smooth, signature falsetto voice is featured in every song, none of which is less than five minutes.

Songs such as “Pusher Love Girl” and “Mirrors” exhibit the unique neo-soul style that nearly the whole album encompasses. However, songs such as “Blue Ocean Floor” take things down a notch as compared to their upbeat, jazzy predecessors.

Even the album cover instantaneously pulls in the listener. Its black and white image is aesthetically pleasing. Its abstract, artistic qualities add an extra, captivating element that provides a starting place for listeners to delve into the music. It’s mysterious.

It’s interesting.

It’s as if every part of the record was meticulously crafted to come together to result in a synchronized, deserving, high-rated return.

Timberlake’s previous comeback, the release of “Sexy Back,” didn’t necessarily live up to its name. The20/20 Experience, while unexpected, is a pleasurable audio experience that for sure brought the sexy back.

--ChloeHargrave,Editor-in-Chief

Cultural Buzz

Psycho snoozer

Bates Motel fills in the holes where they should have been left empty.

The creepiest elements about Alfred Hitchcock’s 1960 classic Psycho were those left to the imagination. Sure, the audience watches the murder victim scream moments before her death, and they see the blood running at her feet, but they didn’t see the actual murder.

Hitchcock, with his twisted and talented mind, left it up to the audience to discern for themselves what had happened. And while the depths of the imagination can produce nightmare-worthy images, it was this creativity in film that made the horror real.

This is what Bates Motel fails to do, and it is for this reason that the show is a disappointment.

Bates Motel is just another creepy, crime-filled television show with too many plot lines and little authenticity.

BatesMotel premiered March 18 on A&E and features veteran actors Freddie Highmore and Vera Farmiga as the show’s stars, Norman and Norma Bates. It is offered as a prequel to Psycho , though, confusingly, it is set in the 21st century. At the end of Psycho , Norman Bates is incarcerated for murder, and this show intends to offer information about how he developed the mental illness that caused him to kill.

It’s an interesting plot line, but this show fails to deliver.

Nothing is left to the imaginiation. Instead of the hints about Norma and Norman’s weird, slightly-incestuous relationship in Psycho , BatesMotel all but spells it out, and the deaths -- which had already begun occuring midway through the first episode -- are gruesome and gory. Not to mention, additional supporting plots have been added to include marijuana fields and human trafficking. Simply put, the audience doesn’t need to see all that.

Instead of following in the footsteps of a mind-bending horror classic, BatesMotel is just another creepy, crime-filled television show with too many plot lines and little authenticity.

Tell everyone and their mother: stay away from Norman and his mother.

-- Dory

Released on April 12, the sports drama 42, directed by Brian Helgeland, takes a typical approach to the subject of civil rights in film.

The movie opens in the year 1947 with Brooklyn Dodgers president Branch Rickey proposing the “absurd” idea of drafting a black baseball player -- Jackie Robinson.

As the film progresses, Robinson gradually gains the respect of many of the people who were originally against drafting him.

Despite its inspirational content, 42 soon becomes repetitive. Large chunks of the film are spent on the field with Robinson stealing bases and hitting home runs in attempts to prove himself in the major leagues.

-- Fear Churchwell, Web Writer

Whale Trail, the first game from the digitial design studio ustwo, is a bright adventure in which users play as a flying whale struggling to stay in the air. Free for iOS devices, the game drops users into a kaleidoscopic sky.

To stay aloft, players must continually refill their trail by catching as many colorful bubbles as possible while dodging storm clouds. Users meet a cast of chromatic characters who deposit power-ups and facilitate ‘frenzies,’ making the game incredibly more vivid.

As users lose trail length, the color drains from the graphics, turning the cheerful mood of the game into a psychological horror trip.

Despite its repetitive nature, Whale Trail is colorful and diverting enough to keep users entertained for days.

-- Louise Platter, Variety Writer

42 Whale Trail

Left: AN EXHILIRATING EXPERIENCE: Justin Timberlake makes up for a sevenyear break with his new, artistically crafted record The 20/20 Experience, released March 15.

Photos by Ethan Crane and Louise Platter

MacMillan, Viewpoints Editor

Photo illustration by Maria Velasquez

After a tragic accident tears the First Lady from the president (Aaron Eckhart), secret service member Mike Banning (Gerard Butler) resigns. Soon, he becomes the savior for all of the U.S.

OlympusHasFallen is undoubtedly one of the most action-packed movies of 2013. Butler and Morgan Freeman, who plays the Speaker of the House, are an excellent team, and Eckhart plays his role skillfully.

The only flaws are the cheesy oneliners. The varied exclamations are funny, yet are poorly planned.

Even the slower scenes are satisfying, but there aren’t many. This movie is surely for lovers of action and explosions.

-- RadfordBrosius,GraphicsEditor

G.IJoe:Retaliation was released in theaters on March 28 as a sequel to G.I.Joe:TheRiseofCobra, which was released on Aug. 7, 2009.

The first film in the series, directed by Stephen Sommers, was a disappointment to most fans who anticipated a decent action film representation of everyone’s favorite childhood action figure. It did not live up to these expectations and the second film, directed by Jon M. Chu, follows in its sister film’s footsteps as another complete failure.

The film begins and ends with unnecessary explosions, corny jokes and horrendous acting, all executed by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.

The one and only benefit from spending money to view this film was the two hour nap.

--ChadRhym,SportsWriter

Cultural Buzz

Hungry for facts

Hungry for Change tells the dangers of crazy diets while promoting its creators’ products.

Obesity and poor nutrition are rampant in today’s first world society. The Australian documentary, HungryforChange , examines this epidemic.

Created by directors James Colquhoun and Laurentine ten Bosch, the film revolves loosely around Natalie (Carla Nirella), an unhealthy, middle-aged woman who is insecure about her body. Her main goal is to lose weight so that she can impress Jason (Colquhoun), her office crush.

Natalie’s recovery journey serves as a vehicle by which various experts inform viewers of the dangers of dieting.

Natalie’s recovery journey serves as a vehicle by which various nutrition, health and addiction experts inform viewers of the dangers of dieting and the role that major food companies play in this cycle.

The purpose of HungryforChangeis not so much to inform, as it is to scare the viewers into purchasing the experts’ products, or following their ideas, as ways to cure themselves of obesity.

The filmmakers use different propaganda techniques to try to force the viewer into believing their lofty ideas about nutrition. Experts on film try to convince the viewer to move away from dieting and toward juicing instead, without mentioning that juicing is technically still a diet.

Though the whole documentary feels like an infomercial for the Juice-O-Matic 300, it does address important health issues in modern-day society.

One of the experts in the film, nutrition journalist and author Mike Adams contends that the food industry lures customers in for profit.

“The food companies engineer addictions, I believe, into many of their foods,” Adams said. “If you addict a customer, you have a customer for life.”

Colquhoun and ten Bosch’s HungryforChangeis certainly a mixed bag. Nonetheless, the film raises important issues. Hungry forChangedeserves credit for tackling the obesity epidemic, and for doing so, for the most part, with grace.

-- Tiernan O’Neill, News Writer

Fall Out Boy, the band that inspired so many embarrassing proclamations of love on MySpace and doodles of “I heart Pete Wentz” on middle school binders has unexpectedly returned after a four-year hiatus with their fifth studio album titled Save Rock and Roll, released April 16.

Those eager for the band’s return to the punk of their early years will be sorely disappointed by Save Rock and Roll’s pop-rock essence, a distinct continuation of the band’s later albums. Save Rock and Roll is bombastic, filled with lead singer Patrick Stump’s soaring vocals, each song aimed at maximum possible bravado and attention-grabbing power.

Save Rock and Roll rolls in new ground with a number of guest artists, an element seldom before heard in albums by Fall Out Boy. Big Sean makes an unexpected cameo in “The Mighty Fall.” Courtney Love also makes a discombobulated, nonsensical opening appearance in “Rat A Tat” and Elton John is featured in the album’s melodramatic, yet appropriate closing track, “Save Rock and Roll.”

But criticisms are not meant to misrepresent an album that is obviously a successful comeback for a band that was once so close to the hearts of millions of angsty teenage girls. The album’s number one single, “I Know What You Did In the Dark (Light ‘Em Up), shot up to the number two spot on iTunes within hours of its release.

However, is Save Rock and Roll actually going to do what it title suggests? Of course not.

But it sure is catchy.

--ChloeAlexander,VarietyEditor

G.I. Joe: Retaliation

Olympus Has Fallen

Save Rock and Roll

Right: FREE FALLING: After a four year absence, Fall Out Boy’s surprise comeback album Save Rock and Roll rippled the music world, but in a style far removed from their signature punk.

Photos by Ethan Crane and Louise Platter

Photo illustration by Chloe Alexander

Above: REINVENTING A LANDMARK:

Planned renovations reverberate

Since1967,theAthensHousingAuthority’sJackR.Wellsneighborhood, commonlyknownasPauldoe,hasprovidedhomesforgenerationsof Athenians.Duetoredevelopment,theneighborhoodwillfacechange.

BY GABE HARPER Variety Writer

The 125 units of the Jack R. Wells community are slated to be demolished in May in preparation for the construction of a new, and much larger mixedincome development.

Columbia Residential, an Atlanta housing company specializing in mixed-income development, has taken up the task. Final stages of the project are to be complete in 2016. Until then, all families living in the community will be required to relocate.

“It’s not as if they’re moving out for six months. They’re going to tear everything down and start over,” Clarke County School District Director of Social Work and Clarke Central High School social worker Dawn Meyers, said. “It’s going to be wonderful when it’s done, but it does represent kind of a permanent move for families.”

Construction on the new development’s 375 housing units, including 100 units reserved for senior citizens, will begin in August. Families forced to relocate will be given Section 8 housing vouchers, ultimately given through local housing authorities by the Federal Government.

These vouchers provide assistance to low-income families to find safe, affordable and sanitary housing, thus allowing families moving from Pauldoe to continue to pay the original rates they had paid while living in Pauldoe after moving to their new location. They also present families with the opportunity to move to any housing development within the Athens Housing Authority’s jurisdiction, such as Tallassee and River’s Edge.

“I’ve been there since I was nine years old and I grew up there. It’s very hard, physically and mentally, just moving from place to place.”

-- TIFFANY WOODS, sophomore

To students like junior and former Pauldoe resident Tiffanie Sims, this transition will be difficult.

“They waited until now to try and fix Pauldoe, and people are getting moved to the other side of town where they have to switch schools. My family

The planned renovation of the Jack R. Wells housing development, more commonly known as Pauldoe, has displaced its current residents, a transition that has been difficult for some.“Some families have lived there for generations. Pauldoe is a place with familiar neighbors and everyone they know lives there,” Clarke Central High School social work intern Michelle Black said.

Photo by Porter McLeod

now lives in Nellie B (a townhome community managed by the Athens Housing Authority in East Athens) and they’re telling my sister and I we have to go to Cedar Shoals (High School) for our senior year, which is hard. We want to stay at Clarke Central,” Sims said. “I think it’s crazy.”

According to Meyers, of Pauldoe’s 286 public school students, there are 53 in high school, 35 in middle school and 121 in elementary school. The majority of them will be switching to schools in East Athens.

“They waited until now to try and fix Pauldoe. They’re telling my sister and I we have to go to Cedar Shoals (High School) for our senior year. We want to stay at Clarke Central.”

“(CCSD Superintendent Dr. Philip Lanoue) has pledged to kids that no matter where they move within Clarke County, they will be able to catch a school bus to and from (their current) school, (but) this is just through May,” Meyers said.

For the 2013-14 school year, students will have to attend the school for which their new residence is zoned.

To many, neighborhood roots in Pauldoe are deep and present opportunities for growth.

“I was kind of into the Jack R. Wells Community Center, helping out with the kids and mentoring and tutoring,” junior and former Pauldoe resident Quintavious McReed said. “These kids are all loving

and they just need someone they can look up to, like a positive role model. I wanted to

knew I had to be a positive role model for my brother as well.”

Meyers and CCHS social work intern Michelle Black, who have worked with families

been witnesses to reactions to the oncoming changes to Pauldoe.

“Reactions from families in Pauldoe have been a mixed bag,” Black said. “Some people are overwhelmed, and don’t know where to start. They’ve been provided with some options, but it is a really big change.”

For others, the planned expansion and renovation is seen as a positive.

“Other families are really excited. For example, I recently spoke with a mom who is really happy with her new location. She said that the neighbors made her feel very welcomed and she thinks she may not even go back once the new neighborhood is built,” Black said.

Under Lanoue’s direction, the CCSD has been supportive of families weathering this change. One initiative, led by CCSD social workers, includes the application for a mini-grant that would provide new beds for multi-person families.

“As social workers, part of our role is to try and connect school, home and community. So we regularly work with the community,” Meyers said. “We regularly work with agencies such as the Athens Housing Authority, the Health Department, the police and really anyone that helps our families and their kids do the best they can in school.”

For some, connections to Pauldoe are strong enough that they would go through the process of moving again to be back in the familiar area.

“In a meeting, they showed us briefly kind of what it’s supposed to be like,” McReed said. “And to be honest, I think we may think about probably moving back once it’s finished.”

Though the change is positive for some, others find it more taxing.

“I like it and I kind of don’t like it because I’ve been there for a very long time,” sophomore and former Pauldoe resident Tiffany Woods said.

“I’ve been there since I was nine years old and I grew up there. It’s very hard, physically and mentally, just moving from place to place.”

Of all the aspects of this transition, Meyers says the transition from the familiar Pauldoe area to the unfamiliar seems to be the most difficult for residents.

“Moving is a big deal,” Meyers said. “It’s hard on families, and it’s especially hard on the kids. It’s a new neighborhood and a new place. We want to try and minimize the temporary negative effects that moving might have on these families. In the end, I think this change will prove to be a good one.”

-- TIFFANIE SIMS, junior

from Pauldoe, have

Photo by Gabrielle Saupe

Right: HOME NO MORE: The Pauldoe neighborhood sits empty in anticipation of demolition at the end of May. In the meantime, residents of the community’s 125 units had to find their own housing.

Mucho Gusto, Costa de Jalisco

BY SARAH HOYT Public Relations Manager

CEditor

BY CHLOE ALEXANDER Variety Editor

osta de Jalisco, located at 140 Barber St., prides itself on fresh-cut meats and the various Latino food items their store provides to the Athens community.

“Instead of packaging, we get the meat fresh and then we cut it up ourselves,” Assistant Manager Juan Garcias said.

According to Garcias, the benefits of Costa de Jalisco include both location and its small size.

“It’s good for the community and small businesses especially,” Garcias said. “It’s a good location, it’s almost part of downtown, and everybody can get here fast.”

PHOTOS BY PORTER MCLEOD Photography

LAYOUT

“After a while, everybody just learns your name. They’re really friendly and make sure to know what you want.”

-- MARITZA DELGADO, sophomore

5

THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT ROCK CLIMBING

AS TOLD TO GABRIELLE SAUPE BY

ESTHER CONAWAY

PHOTO BY PORTER MCLEOD

1. PROBLEM SOLVING “You do problems. There are different types of routes on a climbing wall, and they’re based on how hard the holds are to hold on to and how far apart the holds are. They’re on a scale from V1 and usually only go up to about V10. You can only touch the holds or plastic rocks that are set for the problem you’re doing.”

2. IT TAKES TRAINING “Training is the same as for any other sport. You try to get better by climbing the same problems over and over again until you get to the top of the wall. We stretch, do some yoga exercises, climb some easy roots and then we progress. The routes get harder and we climb to as hard of a problem as we can. Then we usually cool down for a little bit and do ab exercises and conditioning. It’s not like running where you have to have a lot of endurance.”

3. IT’S COMPLICATED “There are a bunch of different techniques and ways to finish a route. There are a lot of different rock sizes and ways that the rocks are spread apart. A lot of people think that it’s just grabbing onto the rocks, but there’s different angles that you climb at. Some rocks are farther apart, and some are closer together, so short climbers usually do better when they’re upside down, and taller climbers usually do better on bigger moves.”

4. A TYPE FOR EVERYONE “There is five or six different types of climbing. The popular ones are ice climbing, sport climbing, speed climbing, bouldering and natural climbing. Ice climbing is where you use picks, like sharp knife things to get up and over an iced rock wall. Sport climbing is where you clip the rope on as you go. speed climbing is where you try to get up the wall as fast as you can, bouldering is where you climb without any ropes or equipment, except for shoes and natural climbing is with the rope at the top of the wall and you climb at whatever speed you want to go. I’ve done speed climbing and sport climbing before, but I usually do bouldering. I’ve never done ice climbing.”

5. COMPETING “The first thing they base competition off of is who finishes the route, whoever gets to the top of the wall, and then if everyone finishes, they base it off who used the least amount of rocks. If everyone used the same amount of rocks, then they base it off of who climbed the route fastest. Depending on the competition, usually it goes to first, second and third place finishers, but sometimes they give awards up to 10th place.”

Featured page: TOUR DE TWILIGHT: Bicyclists speed through downtown Athens during the annual Twilight Criterium bike race on April 27. The Criterium, which lasted three nights, drew over 150 cyclists from across the Southeast. The Criterium series is a part of the Georgia Champion Bicycle Series.