The Trojan Issue 4 February 2016

THE

TROJAN

When the Ball Drops Many students at PHHS chose to tackle the new year using the phrase ‘New Year, New Me’

Super evolution After 50 years, the Super Bowl has evolved from a championship football game to a national holiday of televised sport, live music, and commercials.

knocking out the stigma The idea of glorifying and romanticizing serious disorders such as clinical depression, generalized anxiety disorder, or self harm have become tragically confused with the movement to de-stigmatize them.

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About the Cover:

Issue Four

February 2016

Photo By: Keeley Myszka

Freshman Carter Gosling wrestling against PHS. The PHHS Wrestling team took home an overwhelming vicroty with a score of 70-0 on Jan. 26, 2016.

About the back Cover: Photo By: Mia Tyler

Sophomore Ronnie Bell defends the ball during the Varsity basketball game against Liberty. The Trojans suffered a devasting loss after being tied at the start of fourth quarter.

1- Photo by: Delaney Noland 2-Photo by: Keeley Myszka 3-Photo by: Keeley Myszka 4-Photo by: Delaney Noland 5-Photo by: Keeley Myszka 6-Photo by: Mia Tyler

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LETTER FROM THE EDITOR Dear Readers, The fourteenth of February is just around the corner and it seems to be filling everyone with a bitterness almost as harsh as the cold of these final winter months. I’ve noticed this idea that if you don’t have a significant other to give flowers, chocolates, or giant teddy bears to then you must be unworthy of love at all. That simply isn’t the case. Being single does not make you look desperate or uncool and it certainly does not make you unlovable.

I know what you’re thinking, “Delaney, you’ve been with the same guy for almost all of high school, you can’t relate to my situation at all.” But I have dealt with people that I felt I was in a one sided relationship with and I do know what it is like to not always feel adequate unless a specific person tells me that I am. I get that without reassurance or maybe a little extra attention it can be easy to slip into these kinds of negative thoughts.

It’s upsetting to me that “Love yourself because no one else will” is the mindset of so many people. Loving and caring for yourself should be a priority, not a last resort. I think we put a lot of pressure on both ourselves and the people we try to date. We expect them to fix us, along with every problem we have. The trouble with that is we can’t expect someone to do something that we aren’t willing to do ourselves. Obviously, as teenagers, we aren’t always going to know the best way to deal with other people. In fact, many adults never get it right either. But I think strong relationships work because both parties typically have realistic expectations and love themselves enough to where it pours into the couple as a whole.

So if you are someone that gripes at the sight of happy couples, or is having a hard time coping with being single, use this period of time to focus on who you are and what you want in life. There are so many people that care about you and your well being; please do not overlook them because you’re focused on what you do not have. Maybe this Valentine’s Day, honor the people that are already in your life. Treat your best friend to a night out or give your mom flowers. This time in your life is only a season, so don’t waste it by sulking and instead better yourself for yourself.

15-16 Staff: Editor-in-Chief: Delaney Noland Design Editor: Keeley Myszka Copy Editor: Andrea Tenney Story Editor: Pierce Klempnauer Reporters: Ali Ball - Lucas Bruce - Kyleigh Conkling Abby Hostick- Chelsee Tirmai- Mia Tyler - Alec Wormington

The Trojan, published monthly during the regular school year, is the official publication of Park Hill High School, and is printed by Antioch Printers in Kansas City, MO. All unsigned editorials represent the opinion of The Trojan staff. Editorials do not necessarily represent the opinion of the faculty or administration including the adviser. The student body receives this paper free of charge to encourage readership, promote awareness of school and community events, and issues, and to showcase student journalistic work.

The Trojan welcomes letters to the editors. All letters must be signed to be published, but may be anonymous if the author chooses. Letters may be no more than 350 words and must be delivered to room 350 ten days prior to publication. The Trojan staff welcomes comments, questions and opinions.

Send comments to berans@parkhill.k12.mo.us, 7701 Barry Road, Kansas City, Mo 64153, or call 816-359-6238.

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Girls vs. boys basketball

The numbers are some to compare when looking across the stands at girls and boys basketball games, while some are full from the first row going back, there are others where crickets could be heard from the bleachers.

Super Bowl 50

After 50 years, the Super Bowl has evolved from a championship football game to a national holiday of televised sport, live music, and commercials.

Saying Goodbye to legends

Urban Legends have crossed the minds of many when David Bowie, Rene Angelil, Alan Rickman, and Dan Haggerty all recently died of cancer.

Knocking out the stigma

The idea of glorifying and romanticizing serious disorders such as clinical depression, generalized anxiety disorder, or self harm have become tragically confused with the movement to de-stigmatize them.

Lookin’ for love

Take a look at the top bachelors and bachelorettes at PHHS as the Valentine’s season slowly approaches, giving ample amount of time to slide into those DM’s.

4 CAMPUS

LOOKIN’ FOR LOVE By: Kyleigh Conkling and Ali Ball

Match the Bachelor/ BachelorettE: Kentrez Bell @_TREZZYBOY

1.Which Bachelor’s favorite pick up line is “Girl are you from McDonalds because I’m lovin’’’ it”

Madi Massa @MadIMassa4

2.Which Bachelorette’s best quality is her butt?

3.Which Bachelor says that his best quality is his deep voice?

Landon Browns @Lbrowns

4.Which Bachelorette is competitive gymnast who also like photography, watching sports, and going to games here at PHHS?

Ginna Dammann @Ginna_Dammann

5.Which Bachelor’s favorite hobbies are playing football, working out, and when he has time playing video games?

Devin Haney @DevinHaney_15

6.Which Bachelorette is looking for a tall, smart, funny, and athletic guy or really just anyone?

7.Which Bachelor plays football, basketball, and baseball and feels he stands out because he’s also very smart?

Sophia Lane @Sophia_Lane3

8.Which Bachelorette is a cheerleader and her favorite pick up line is “Are you a library book?

Because I want to check you out.”

Davis Suppes

Photos By: Reed Portrait Group

Riley Brady @RileyBrady_

Helpful Hands By: Mia Tyler

Northland Miracles is lending a helping hand in the Park Hill School District. This new, non profit organization in Platte County has created a Helping Hands Pantry at PHHS. The pantry is stocked with food items, clothing and shoes, hygiene supplies, and school supplies all donated by people in the community. If any student or family at PHHS is in need of items from the Pantry they can see Karen Calonge, the social worker, or Jane Metzger in the counseling office. This will ensure that no student goes without needed items.

The Pantry can benefit many students at PH. Focusing on the food aspect of the pantry, students won’t have to worry about being constantly hungry throughout the school day. It could improve student’s work if they had substantial food every day and weren’t only thinking about how hungry they are.

“Kids can focus more in class because they aren’t hungry all the time, and it could improve their health too. Just make sure that a student isn’t lying just so they can get food whenever they want even though they don’t need it,” said sophomore Lauren Szala.

While dishonesty is a possibility, the advantages of the Pantry override the disadvantages of it. The Pantry gives PHHS a community atmosphere where people look out for each other.

It lets each student know that they won’t be neglected if they need something.

“It’s amazing that Park Hill does this, and it’s a good companion to our Clothing Center. It’s a way for Park Hill to show that it cares about the well being of students more than their test scores. We have good students, parents, teachers, and

administrators at our school, and it’s nice for that goodness to filter out into the community in many different ways. I think this idea will catch on as long as it’s publicized,” said sophomore Deanna Eberhart.

Northland Miracles understands that all financially struggling families don’t have the option of public assistance. They want to guarantee that all families do not go without food, hygiene, and school supplies because of a financial situation.

“I think this is a really beneficial idea. You can’t really control what’s going on in a student’s home life, but you can always help them at school to the best of your ability,” said sophomore Lauren McCollum.

Northland Miracles does not want students to be stressed and fall behind in school because they lack food or hygiene items. They understand that many families struggle each week to have sufficient food, proper hygiene items, and clean clothes. That’s what they are striving to eliminate in the community.

Northland Miracles’ mission is to create positive change for youth and their families who are disadvantaged by their economic situation. They encourage people within the community to get involved and help make a difference in these families’ lives.

6 FEATURE

knocking out the stigma By: Delaney Noland

Mental illness is becoming less of a taboo in today’s world, but society is still confused on how to feel about it. Anyone that logs on to Twitter, Tumblr, or Instagram at some point has probably come across something such as a smudged sharpie quote handwritten on a paint sample about feeling alone, broken, or having a low self-esteem. Some may repost this in an effort to fit their “soft grunge” theme or because the feelings expressed are relatable to their own current situation. The idea of glorifying and romanticizing serious disorders such as clinical depression, generalized anxiety disorder, or self harm have become tragically confused with the movement to de-stigmatize them. This can be dangerous for both those with or without a diagnosis.

PHHS DECA took to their own to try to eliminate the current stigma that still exists by conducting a survey of high school students and dedicated a week to Mental Health Awareness.

“Our goal is to educate everyone here at school about ways that they can address mental illnesses positively and to stop the negative view of them,” said DECA officer and senior Shelby Jarrard.

DECA will be taking this project to a competition in early February including a 30 page paper written by club members on everything they found out throughout the awareness week. They chose to use boxing gloves as their logo to fit their slogan, “Fight Together.”

Junior Alex Lober has suffered from anxiety, a panic disorder, and depression throughout her life. For her, it can sometimes be hard to be vulnerable about her condition and to carry out normal relationships with her peers.

“We can’t talk about it openly without being judged. Not a lot of people are open about it and if you tell someone, they’ll treat you like a piece of glass, like you’re so fragile. I’m often asked, ‘Oh, am I triggering something?’ but I’ll actually be fine. I have a chemical imbalance but it doesn’t make me any different. They put me up on a pedestal but I just want to be treated the same,” said Lober.

The results from the mental health survey conducted at PHHS were alarming.

“We [surveyed] about 100 students from each grade, 50 girls and 50 boys. There was an outstanding amount of students that said they had thought about harming themselves and that they would not seek help,” said Jarrard.

Mental disorders are often highlighted in books, movies, music, and now most commonly on social media. This can be a way for people that are going through similar situations to relate to each other or perhaps to characters from fictional stories that may hit too close to home.

“I follow To Write Love On Her Arms on Twitter and stuff like that helps. I appreciate different stories to help bring awareness and to support those dealing with things like self injury. Mental illness is taboo still so you feel like you’re alone until you hear a story that you can resonate with and not feel so alone,” said Lober.

“I think [having discussions about mental health] is great.

So many people suffer from disorders of different varieties. The media and conversations are bringing light to the topic and are not only making people more aware but it is giving people who suffer a safer place to try and deal with their problems,” said junior Ziah Richardson.

While many sites and resources are available for that purpose, there can be unintended consequences. Young people may not seek professional help but instead only the help of online support.

Phrases such as “I stayed up all night, my insomnia is really bad,” or even “You look so anorexic” are tossed around without a second thought by those not associated with the disorder.

The discussion of mental disorders are so common to stumble upon online that some people have become insensitive to the point where they do not realize the actual effects it has on those battling everyday.

“Mental illness on social media is definitely glossed over. It’s taken lightly but it needs to be taken seriously. When serious subjects like this are joked about it becomes normalized,” said Lober.

“The staff here at school wants to help and most students want to as well, but most students do not know how. We are trying to teach ways as to how they can help and handle those issues.

Our slogan is ‘Fight Together’ and we want them to know that everyone is there for each other,” said Jarrard.

“If you really want to raise awareness go to homerooms and talk to kids about what it’s really about. Find ways to make the school better to aid people with problems like mine. It would be nice if we could have like a specific counselor on hand for situations like if I have a panic attack at school and don’t know where to go,” said Lober.

“Posters on the walls aren’t going to do anything.

Everyone’s just going to pass them without reading them.

The best way to educate people about mental health is to bring it up, have real conversations with people,” said Richardson.

DECA is looking to continue the conversation by having Kevin Hines, an award-winning suicide prevention and mental health advocate visit PHHS on Feb. 8th.

“We will be reminding everyone about mental health awareness one day a month leading up until April where we will

“Mental illness on social media is definitely glossed over. It’s taken lightly but it needs to be taken seriously.” said junior Alex Lober.

conduct a post-survey,” said Jarrard.

8 COMMUNITY

Saying Goodbye to Legends As life goes on, lives end. It’s just the natural cycle of living. But when a huge celebrity like David Bowie, Rene Angelil, Dan Haggerty, or Alan Rickman passes away, it’s a much bigger deal. Recently all four of these men passed away due to cancer. The news of their deaths spread across the world in a matter of minutes, causing plenty of upset. Whether they were a die-hard fan or just appreciated their work, most everyone was distraught to hear about their passing.

Tragic times like these tend to bring people together.

“People come together on the Internet. They post pictures about it and talk about it, and use quotes and song lyrics. It dies down in the next week unless you really loved the person that died,” said sophomore Maya Kincheloe.

Old friends reminisced on the days they sat in their rooms listening to Bowie’s newest album, or fans over social media came together to mourn over the death of their favorite Harry Potter character.

“People memorialize them and make it a huge deal, it’s outrageous. Then the next week it’s not a big deal, that’s how it was with Robin Williams,” said sophomore Rayven Barry.

The topic of these men, all close in age, dying within one week of each other of the same condition

caused some suspicion. It’s obvious to anyone, that urban legends aren’t always relevant. There aren’t really alligators in sewers, that piece of gum swallowed is now long gone, and Slenderman is in fact not stalking people. But when it comes to coincidences, the world has its fair share. Many will argue that the urban legend, ‘people don’t die in threes’. A fair amount of people have unfortunately passed away, and that number ranges on any scale.

However, the legend hasn’t gone away and there is still fair argument on the topic.

“I find them [Urban Legends] very interesting. I watch videos over them, and they are actually really fascinating if you read or watch things about them,” said Barry.

Within a week of each other, all four of these men passed on. Each of them had been battling with cancer, and their ages within a five year range of each other. It is mere coincidence that they died this way, and they each had a role in the entertainment world. An actor and two musicians that will be dearly missed by their fan bases.

By:Abby Hostick and Chelsee Tirmai

By: Alec Wormington

kansas c Kansas City is no New York of business and it’s not the Milan of the fashion world. However Kansas City is home to The Plaza, the first mall ever built in the country, and plenty of other malls – and one of them is about to get a makeover.

Whether you habitually venture downtown to shop or seldom make the trip for occasions such as senior photos, the Country Club Plaza is a hallmark of Kansas City. Vineyard Vines, North Face, and Lululemons are just a few of the many businesses on the Plaza that have contributed to being the epicenter of Kansas City. The Plaza has been under the same ownership since its construction in 1922, but as of January 4, the Country Club Plaza will be sold.

The Country Club Plaza is commonly referred to as the finer side of Kansas City, generating $31 million of profit in 2015 (which probably doesn’t mean too much to a lot of people, but it’s a lot of money). It has never fully changed ownership, however the original builder and owner, J.C. Nichols, merged with Highwoods Properties in 1998. Opinions are mixed on whether the exchange will be profitable for the Plaza, will change just about nothing, or be a disaster.

“The only problem with putting it in the hands of these big companies is losing the fact that it’s a unique outdoor mall to Kansas City. Big companies like this move in a bunch of chain stores, so The Plaza will just become another outdoor mall instead of featuring shops and restaurants unique and loyal to Kansas City,” said philosophy teacher Troy Snelling.

Another change in Kansas City culture and economics is the restoration and reimagining of Metro North Mall. Demolition was among the possible outcomes for the 1.3 million square foot indoor mall,

ity hanges

however Kansas City developer IAS Partners, Ltd. proposed a nearly $200 million plan, to not only restore Metro North but to also add on, that was approved last month. Included in the plans were hotel, apartment, and movie theater development.

Yes – Metro North will be home to a hotel if things go according to plan.

Skateboarders have a bit of a different view on the restoration of Metro North, however; the mall was a hotspot for skaters since its official closing in 2014.

“There were a lot of nice places to skate around in Metro North – ledges that were waxed up by other skaters, wooden ledges. It was kind of a big deal to go too because it gave you an adrenaline rush sneaking in there and eventually being chased out,” said Junior Hayden Polling, “So I am kind of sad about losing the skate spot, but I understand there are much more important things.”

Kansas City isn’t known for its extravagant shopping or exquisite restaurants, but it’s still unique from the rest of the country. The downtown area has always been rich in Kansas City culture, however changes to The Plaza may turn it into just another downtown district of a city. On the other hand, because of the plans being approved, Metro North’s restoration and major additions could bring some of the uniqueness back to Kansas City.

10 SPORTS

SUPER EVOLUTION

January 15, 1967 at La Memorial Coliseum, The Kansas City Chiefs and the Green Bay Packers went head to head for the first ever Super Bowl, the Green Bay Packers walked away with the victory.

The attendance was minimal compared to the attendance today, one could grab a ticket for $12.00. During halftime, there was not a popular celebrity taking the stage, but one could find a University band or two taking the field to entertain the crowd. As the Super Bowl has evolved, so have all of the elements around it, turning it into a national holiday of football.

The year of 2016 marks the 50th Super Bowl, and within those 50 years, it has become not just a championship football game, but a concert in itself during halftime. The Super Bowl Halftime Show has become a staple of the Super Bowl, drawing various A-list celebrities to entertain the crowd as the teams prepare for the second half. While it is just a halftime show, the game provides a platform to performers that is unlike any other. There is nothing limiting the performers from turning this into a large performance event.

“The halftime show is the best part,” said Senior Payton Dishman. “It’s like a shorter version of a concert. You can pay attention to the 10 minutes or 20 minutes and not like the hour and a half of a full concert.”

The half time turns out to be a concert in itself, featuring big names, fog machines, and lights, as well as back up dancers, making it something that entertains the crowd. While it features big lights and a large display, the names of the performers always match up to the event, as big names always seem to make the halftime show list. It did not start out with big names for half time at all, but instead, college marching bands and drill teams took the field to entertain the crowd. In the first Super Bowl, The University of Arizona and the University of Michigan marching bands performed during halftime. Over time, it has become more of a concert. Well known performers such as, Michael Jackson, Christina Aguilera, The Black Eyed Peas, Madonna, Nicki Minaj, and Katy Perry, have made the halftime show almost as popular as the game itself.

“I honestly just see that as a publicity event. It helps to bring on viewers to watch the game during their airtime so they make more money. Of course, I enjoy watching if I happen to like the artist or even the genre of music. But in all honesty, the NFL did not intend for the half time show to cater to the wants of

the committed football fans,” said senior Josh Smith.

While big names take the stage during halftime, during commercial breaks, the Super Bowl commercials have been known to get the viewers talking. The Super Bowl is the most watched event in the world, advertisers see this as a window of opportunity for successful advertising. Since 1990, the Super Bowl viewing has grown to 80 million viewers every year, with a mix of both football and nonfootball fans, making this a prime time to advertise.

“I feel like for the Super Bowl, advertisers can get away with a lot more than they could on a regular day just because everyone looks forward to the Super Bowl commercials and you’re under a lot of pressure to make them good and I feel like sometimes you can slide things underneath the radar that you couldn’t any other day,” said Dishman.

Companies see the separate entities, social media and the Super Bowl, as opportunities to get their company in the spotlight. Companies have combined the Super Bowl and social media as ways to funnel their desired message to the public. Past Super Bowls have spawned the hashtags #Likeagirl, #staypowerful, and #empowering. The Super Bowl is an event that brings in a wide range of viewers.

The average commercial time during the game is a measly 30 seconds, and those 30 seconds do not come cheap. Companies pay on average 4.5 million for a 30 second slot. Companies take advantage of every second of airtime they get to leave a lasting impression on the viewer’s. Super Bowl commercials tend to be humorous or highly entertaining to draw in their audience, to not only sell the product but the company itself to the viewer.

There have been many companies that have been successful with their Super Bowl commercials, including in 1984 when Apple Computers introduced their launch of Macintosh and told America they would see why “1984 won’t be like 1984”. From Betty White getting tackled for a Snickers because she isn’t herself when she’s hungry, to a little Darth Vader using the force to stop the 2012 Volkswagen Passat, it is those commercials aired during the Super Bowl that go above and beyond to grab the attention of the 80 million viewers glued to their televisions.

“From a marketing perspective the 1984 Macintosh commercial goes down as the most recognizable and successful ad ever, but my favorite of all time is the Budweiser Clydesdales paying tribute to the 9/11 victims,” said Marketing teacher and DECA representative, Matt Magnuson.

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Denver Broncos

5 0 By: Andrea Tenney and Pierce Klempnauer

Carolina Panthers

12 12 LIFE LIFE

Each sports season, boys and girls are divided and separated into not only different teams, but different seasons as well, even when it’s the same sport. The exceptions to this system are Track & Field and Basketball.

One might think that would result in great hype and turnout for both sports, but that’s not always the result.

Both women’s and men’s basketball takes place during the winter season. For some it’s what they wait for every year. For others, it’s a filler sport between the fall and the spring to keep up the exercise. Whatever the case may be, people come to see them run across the wood floors and score as many baskets as they can against their respective opponents. Both teams train after school, practice their layups, and partake in scrimmages. With so many similarities, one may wonder why there’s a clear division in the crowd that comes to see the guys play and the crowd that come to see the girls.

“Boys get more attendance because it’s more intense and competitive. A bigger crowd effects more on performance because it’s more support and more people to play for.

More happens in boys games like dunks; anything can happen,” said Boy’s Basketball Manager and Senior Davion Tyler.

Not only is this an issue for the high school level, but also for college and professional level basketball.

“I think boy’s basketball draws a bigger crowd, because the global exposure for men’s ball in the higher levels creates excitement at the high school level,” said sophomore and PHHS basketball player Eli Phillips.

“However, I believe it should be important to have large crowds for girl’s ball at this level to support school unity.”

While there may be a difference in crowd turnout, that doesn’t stop the girls from being successful in their sport.

“The guys obviously attract a larger crowd than the women’s team for sure, but the women’s team is just as good as the boy’s team. The boys play faster than us, and that could be a reason why they attract more people; that maybe they can see a dunk or something like that, but

we’re good too,” said senior and women’s basketball player Mackenzie Jones.

Here at PHHS, boys and girls basketball are close to equal in skill level. 2014-2015 girl’s basketball won districts and made it through the first round of playoffs, which was further than the boys had made it. Students should take a chance and go to a girl’s basketball game every once in awhile.

Girls Vs Boys

By: Lucas Bruce

OF AN ILL hUM RK H

PA By: Lucas Bruce Senior Amanda Alexander has recently signed to the college of Culver-Stockton, a private school in Canton, Missouri. She is in DECA, runs varsity track.

Amanda has been playing competitive basketball since the sixth grade, and has grown up playing it through her years at Park Hill as well, where she’s been on the school basketball team since she was a freshman.

Amanda joined the varsity team her freshman year, and has given it her all throughout her high school basketball career. Amanda has also taken part in DECA throughout high school and has ran varsity track since her freshmen year.

Touring multiple colleges along east Missouri, Amanda found a great interest in Hastings, a liberal arts college in southern Nebraska. She had plans of trying to get into their basketball program for a time, until she

was eventually offered the scholarship with Culver-Stockton, which, along with being similar to Hastings, offered a closer distance to home. The college often plays games in the area or around it, and seemed the best choice for being able to get the college experience while still being able to be close to family and friends.

When offered the chance to play basketball at a liberal arts college like this, Amanda had no hesitation. “They showed me the papers and told me about it, but I just asked if I could sign right then. They said sure!”

If that didn’t show it, Amanda is very excited to be starting next year on the Culver-Stockton Women’s Basketball team next semester, and furthering her education.

14 FEATURE

When the BaLL Drops By: Keeley Myszka Most people wake up on Jan. 1 planning to lead a new life by following an act of self-improvement to better themselves throughout the new year. But just like a cake in the oven, a New Year’s resolution can easily be forgotten.

During the last week of Dec. people will think of ideas to help them strive for a better year; most resolutions being to eat healthier, to lose weight, or even something as trivial as graduating. According to Statistic Brain Research Institute, only eight percent of people are successful in achieving their resolutions. “[My new year’s resolution] is to start working out more,” said senior Lily Young.

Young works out two days a week with her soccer team and plans on being consistent throughout the year.

“It begins with the small goals, if you give up now you won’t amount to the bigger goals you have for your future. [My New Year’s resolution] makes me feel a lot better emotionally, physically, and mentally. I chose it because it helps me relieve a lot of stress,” said Young.

The idea of having a resolution hasn’t always been a worldwide phenomenon . It started out during the times of the Babylonians; they made promises to their gods at the start of each year to pay all debts and return all the items they borrowed. Then the Romans heard the idea, and decided to start making promises to their god Janus. It moved around the world, until the Jewish people put their own twist on it. They wanted to reflect on their wrongdoings over the year and seek for forgiveness. Their sole purpose for changing it was to reflect upon themselves and make some self improvements, which is what many people do now.

Over Twitter, the hashtag ‘New Year New Me’ is full of memes, jokes, and the occasionally serious resolutions.

Sophomore Taylor Hartlee is in the 51 percent of Americans who do not make the usual New Year’s resolutions.

“The ‘New Year, New Me’ stuff is stupid. You aren’t automatically going to be a better person just because the clock struck 12; you have to work for it. I also think the ‘I’m leaving you in 2015’ trend is weird. You can still be friends and not talk to a person every day or always be on the best terms with them. I see it when I scroll through twitter and get annoyed but there’s also some great jokes and tweets about it too,” said Hartlee.

Sophomore Judiann Mcmahon is a photographer and her New Year’s resolution is to take one well composed photo every day, whether on her DSLR, phone, Polaroid, or any other device.

“I hate that saying. I mean yes it’s a new year, let’s hope you can be a better you,” said Mcmahon. “I think [resolutions] are good in the sense of you should always strive to be a better you but I personally prefer more internal solutions than external. That saying is overused and seems more just like a show when you post that everywhere,” 49 percent of Americans make resolutions, and 92 percent of them fail to succeed or follow through with them.

“I feel like people don’t really follow through with them so I don’t make resolutions. I just try to do new things, and better myself,” said Hartlee.