December 2012

theroar the roar December 2012

Plus: BLUE RIBBON ROBBERY

BIASED AGAINST PUBLIC SCHOOLS?

JOHN DIES AT THE END

INTERVIEW WITH THE AUTHOR

www.westshoreroar.com

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theroar Voice of the Students

Vol. 15, No. 3 December 2012

Sports

Opinion 4 Inbox

20 Secret Dancers

Letters, surveys, tweets and more

Dance team supports soccer players

5 Staff Editorial

Testing policy overlap makes students’ load heavier

21 Cat Tales

School’s athletics impress despite early expectations

6 Biased Standards

New testing standards have a negative message

News 12 Opposite Day

Technology changes the classroom dynamics

14 The End?

Board member suggests closing choice schools

16 Blue Ribbon

The school receives award for the second time in a decade

18 Drivers’ Ed

Texting while driving is a hazard to the roads

ON THE COVER: Illustration by Jack Dickens for The Roar

After winning third place in the United States in chess, the West Shore ninth grade chess team — Coach Milos Bajsanski, Austin Smithe, Evan Cooper, Lev Freeman, Billy Macom and Nick Moore — stands victorious.

Photo credit: Special to the Roar

22 Reign Check

Soccer team strives to defend its state crown

Entertainment Features 8 Game Over Mayan end of the world sparks controversy leading up to Dec. 21.

by Carleigh Walter

19 Unsocial Media Teens increasingly held responsible for expression in the virtual world.

by Valerie Ferretti

23 John Dies at the End The Roar interviews best-selling author David Wong on his growing success.

26 Sally’s Hope

Cancer-charity band plays in honor of senior’s mother

29 Ke$ha’s Return

‘Warrior’ album revives pop artist’s career

30 Old School

‘Red Dawn’ plot appears irrelevant in modern context

by Nicholas Baker

THE ROAR West Shore Jr./Sr. High, 250 Wildcat Alley Melbourne, FL 32935 (321) 242-4730 ext. 255 FAX: (321) 242-4740 Adviser: Mark Schledorn Publisher: Carleigh Walter Editor in chief: Brittany Cho Managing editors: Millie Rosasco, Nathaniel Curtis Business manager: Nithya Sheshadri News editor: Felicia Solazzo Opinions editor: Aalekhya Tenali Sports editor: Sam Lack Entertainment editor: Madison Dimond Web manager: Dana Brown Staff writers: Sarah Day, Krunal Patel, Nicholas Baker, Jessica Blanco, Danny Dolnik, Valerie Ferretti, Andrew Lim, Lauren Youngson, Stephanie Shaw, Jack Dickens, Stephanie Everest, Lindsay Gorham, Tania Martin, Keiran Sheridan, Brianna Silvestre, Sydney Saunders, Sarah Brusca, Konur Oyan, Micah Weber, Brady Kelsey, Jack Moore, Liam Wixted, Joseph Crown

Please recycle this magazine

yourturn

surveysays

What do you think of the PSAT?

72%

It’s a good way to practice.

14%

I hate taking tests.

9%

It gives me a chance to nap.

5%

It’s a waste of time.

What do you think about the jazz band playing at lunch?

42%

I really like the band and wish they played more often.

26%

I like the music but wish it wasn’t so loud.

26%

I sit inside.

6%

Inbox

According to Assistant Principal Jim Melia, the administration would reject the idea of a student uniform because it might further public perception that West Shore is an elitist school.

Take it like a student With the first semester coming to a close, homework and tests pile up very quickly. I, myself, was thrown into a whirlwind of duedates. Some students feel overwhelmed by the amount of homework and projects, but the truth is, teachers understand our dilemma. I constantly hear students complaining about how they have this assignment and that project due on the same day, and how frustrated they are with the work they have. I too have felt like this on some days, but it all comes down to your attitude towards handling it.

After six years at West Shore, having taken numerous AP classes while involved in various clubs and sports, I have seen my share of stress that such a schedule can offer. However, I have never had more than three hours of homework a night. Despite my busy life, with a little planning, I am always able to make time for various extracurricular activities and for my friends, with plenty of downtime for myself.

All in all, do not be discouraged or fearful that you cannot manage the stress of high school. Just start early. The time-management skills you will acquire will aid you in many future endeavors. Do not complain and whine about having three or four assignments due on a single day, because we all do. The key is how you choose to handle it.

Jaclyn Martin, 12th Grade

I don’t like it.

twittersays How do you feel about uniforms?

57% They’re awful.

15%

They’re cool.

15%

They’re okay.

13%

I don’t really care.

You know Geofrey and I are THAT couple when guidance puts all our papers in the same folder.

Desiree Corbin, 12 Mr. Pustay played @jakeowen this morning in psych so it’s obviously going to be a great day. #2days Sierra Purden, 11

Photo: Rachel Kershaw

Show Some Leg Jeans, leggings and shorts are among the most popular bottoms worn at the school campus.

Leggings aren’t scandalous Pants (noun): an outer garment used to cover legs from waist down or so. It may seem silly to look up the definition of pants but it has tended to leave many students’ minds lately. Jeans, sweats and trousers are all considered pants because what they do is said in the definition of course. But when girls have worn leggings to school, the definition suddenly is altered.

Leggings, if worn correctly, do not show skin and are covering the same areas of skin as do jeans or any other pair of pants. Jeans today have transformed into “jeggings” meaning a cross between jeans and leggings. This article of clothing is just as tight as normal leggings are, and the only true difference between them is the zipper, button and pockets. If I were to sew pockets onto a pair of blue leggings, one would assume that I’m wearing pants from far away. In elementary school, leggings were worn under skirts and dresses, as were jeans (though the recollection may be unfortunate given today’s fashions). Leggings should not be confused with tights and they meet the requirements for pants. Just because they are coming into style doesn’t mean they’re scandalous. Ask most girls who wear them, it’s all about comfort.

Jenna Winter, 11th Grade

VISIT WESTSHOREROAR.COM TO: vote for “Survey WRITE TO US Send a letter: to Room 3-104 Says,” view the photo of the day, catch up on the latest news, Send an email: OR or to your English teacher communicate with the staff or stay up-to-date on sports. theroarletters@gmail.com The Roar recognizes itself as a public forum and encourages letters from West Shore students and members of the community.

The Roar cannot print ads promoting activity illegal by Florida law, ads opposing any religious beliefs, ads written in poor taste, ads with racial or sexist comments, ads considered inappropriate by the staff, advocacy advertising or ads containing libel.The Roar is not responsible for web sites viewed through links found on pages mentioned in the publication. The Roar values letters from our readers: the maximum length for letters is 200 words. No more than one letter a semester will be published from a writer.

Letters and columns are edited for length, content and clarity. The Roar maintains the right to edit all submissions for poor taste, length, grammar and libel. Views expressed in the “Opinions” section do not necessarily represent the views of the Brevard County School Board, the West Shore administrators, faculty, student body or The Roar staff.

4 l theroar l december 2012

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Illustration: Jack Dickens

staffeditorial

Testing policy overloads students

“I have four tests today.” Similar refrains aren’t exactly uncommon on campus, even though designated testing days are supposed to prevent such things. Why? The days overlap and result in multiple tests. Add other factors and students end up with an untenable workload.

What are the testing days? There aren’t supposed to be any tests on Monday. Tuesday and Thursday are for English, science and world languages, while math, social science and other electives test on Wednesdays and Fridays. This list makes the issues with the policy clear: the overlap makes it easy for students to have multiple coresubject tests on the same day. The only real way to correct this is to give each subject only one testing day. This may place a burden on teachers to schedule tests effectively, but isn’t it reasonable to expect no more than one test or major project for each class per week? If each core subject had its own testing day, test overlap would be considerably reduced, even though other departments would still have

to test on the same days as core subjects.

Another option is to eliminate testing days altogether.

What chaos! This would allow teachers the needed flexibility, but would it exacerbate the problem of students having multiple tests on the same day? It might if, say, many teachers find it convenient to test on Fridays. But it would also allow teachers to communicate with each other and students to potentially prevent these test-heavy days. Teachers are being encouraged to work together; that’s why there are early release days this year. Without wishing to burden teachers any more, test planning is an area where teacher cooperation could really help students.

Prohibiting tests on Monday is a good idea, but students might be better off without the rest of the testing policy.

Overall, the testing policy really does more harm than good. It needs to be modified or removed entirely to lessen the load on students and improve the school’s general environment.

december 2012 l theroar l 5

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Aalekhya Tenali Racial Profiling

lurking variable is being ignored.

Socioeconomic factors play an enormous role in determining the academic success of an individual.

Research conducted by Donald C. Orlich, professor emeritus at Washington State University shows a startling 0.97 correlation between parental income and standards in Florida. According to the student scores on college entry exams.

“New York Times,” currently only 38 According to Orlich, up to 80 percent of a percent of blacks and 53 percent of student’s score on the ACT or SAT can be Hispanics have a grade level reading accounted for by their parents’ income. ability, as compared to 69 percent of As per the “Washington Post,” a 40 whites and 76 percent of Asians. By 2023, point gain in SAT scores is visible for FLDOE aims to bring up “all” students every $20,000 increase in parent income.

— i.e. the respective percentages of each Experts also claim exposure to summer racial group as given above — to grade camps and private lessons give a huge edge to students.

Since the opportunity exists only for the affluent, those unable to afford such extracurriculars suffer a disadvantage.

The FLDOE mistakenly attributes this gap to be a product of racial differences, which is the plan’s biggest flaw. With such overwhelming evidence showing socioeconomic factors to be the biggest contributor to the achievement gap, it is ridiculous to pretend that the Source: Creative Commons FLDOE’s justification of this level. This plan has a twofold goal of atrocity holds up. Let’s call this new sliding decreasing the racial achievement gap scale as what it really is: a superficial while increasing the overall number of attempt at a solution to decreasing the students on grade level. achievement gap, by putting a Band-aid on However, the means do not justify the the symptoms instead of treating the root end in this case. Regardless of superficial of the problem. arguments in favor for this idea, it sends a Melissa J. Erickson, president of the disturbing message to African-Americans parent-driven advocacy organization Fund and Hispanics; a message saying “you’re Education Now, captures the unfairness of not good enough or smart enough to be the situation most eloquently in a letter to held to the higher standards that Asians the federal Department of Education. and Caucasians are.”

“Setting goals on skin color implies it While it is true that the trends show somehow affects what is being measured,” Hispanics and African-Americans to Erickson said. “I believe our nation long perform at significantly lower levels than ago abandoned this type of view.” the other racial groups, an important

State’s new achievement standards imply ethnic inferiority Ever since I can remember, I have seen the following slogan on most school materials: “It is the policy of the School Board of Brevard County to offer the opportunity to students to participate in appropriate programs and activities without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, handicap, marital status or age, except as otherwise provided

by Florida State Law.” I took this to implicitly mean that there will not be any sort of ethnic or racial bias in the school system, but I guess I need to learn to not be so naïve. Recently, the Florida State Board of Education greenlighted a plan that sets minimum grade level requirements of proficiency based on students’ race. This graduated sliding scale hopes to bring 90 percent of Asian students, 88 percent of their Caucasian counterparts, 81 percent of Hispanics and 74 percent of African-American students to at least grade level.

“I’m somewhere between complete and utter disgust and anger and disappointment with humanity,” Palm Beach County School Board vicechairwoman Debra Robinson told CBS Tampa Bay. And I couldn’t agree more. By setting achievement goals based on a student’s race, what message are legislators communicating? The fact that this proposition has already been passed so quietly goes to show to what lengths the Florida Department of Education is willing to go, in order to be in compliance with the 2001 federal No Child Left Behind Act. On paper, the rationale for this proposition seems to be the perfect solution to the dreadful education

6 l theroar l december 2012

By the Numbers Mean SAT Scores by Family Income

1800 1600

Average SAT Score

1400 1200 1000 800 600 400 200 0

0-20

20-40

20-60

60-80

80-100

100-120 120-140 140-160 160-200

Total Family Income (in thousands of dollars)

Average Annual Income

$81,434

Caucasian Source: US Census Bureau

$52,930

$54,070

Black or African American

Hispanic

200+

Source: Dome SAT

$101,097

Asian and Pacific Islander

Mean SAT Scores by Ethnicity

1800 1600

Average SAT Score

1400 1200 1000 800 600 400

0

Asian and Pacific Islander

Black or African American

Mexican or Mexican American

Puerto Rican

Ethnicity

Hispanic, Latino, or Latin American

American Indian or Alaska Native

Caucasian

Source: College Board

Graphic: Aalekhya Tenali

200

Believe it – or Not

Science makes Mayan theory hard to swallow

By Carleigh Walter

Graphic: Jack Dickens

News Feed End of the World

O

ne may find it difficult to imagine what it would be like to live through the termination of civilization as we know it, and even harder to know the day that it was coming. According to Mayan predictions, this day — Dec. 21, 2012 — will soon be upon us.

“My grandmother used to tell me that when the apocalypse was about to happen, God would sink Ireland into the sea, having mercy on the Irish people,” fine arts teacher Maureen Fallon said. “As far as I’m concerned, until I see Ireland begin to go under, the world isn’t ending.”

The current doomsday theory is rooted in the prediction that Mayan calendar ends Dec. 21, 2012.

Even after numerous end-of-the-world predictions already have been proved false, a fascination with the prophecy prevails.

Still, history teacher Kirk Murphy remains skeptical.

“First of all, the calendars have not really been too correct over the several hundred years since the Mayans. We have no way of knowing that the world will end in December 2012 as predicted,” Murphy said. “For all we know it could be November of 2013, or it could have even been June of 2011.”

Perhaps it’s because people are conditioned to stay on a set schedule with set tasks, that the end of the Mayan calendar can sway them to believe the implausible. But that’s not the case for senior Jimmy Carroll.

“Just because the Mayan calendar is coming to an end, there is no evidence to say that the entire world will explode,” Carroll said. “It just simply doesn’t correlate nor make any sense.”

That calendar, dating back to six years before the birth of Christ, has been said to be so accurate that it could predict solar and lunar eclipses thousands of years into the future, being more complex and precise than calendars used today.

“Even if the Mayan calendar is as accurate as they say, there have been other apocalyptic predictions before,” history teacher Robert Sarver said. “Who’s to say this one’s right? I’ve lived a long life, if the world does in fact end on December 21, by December 22 I’ll be dead anyway.”

What makes this prophecy different from the rest and what continues to draw massive attention is the repetition of the prediction throughout different cultures. The Incan as well as the Egyptian calendars, and predictions from Nostradamus and the Hopi Indians all came to the same conclusion: The world will end in December 2012.

“Once people hear about something as alarming

10 l theroar l december 2012

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How Will the World End? Students vote on the apocalypse at The Roar’s website Nuclear

36% War 28%

20% 12% 4%

Disease Epidemic

Global Warming

Other

Natural Disaster

K

Y2

Cr

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Disasters Over the Centuries

Graphic: Timmy Widere, Jack Dickens

as an event like this, they immediately begin to consume all their time researching and asking questions about the phenomenon,” Murphy said.

“It’s absurd the amount of attention given to an unknown occurrence when there are far more important events happening in the world.”

Media coverage has included a variety of books and movies, both entertainment and informational.

“I tend to stay away from doomsday or conspiracy theories, books and movies. I know of movies like ‘2012’ and ‘The Last Day,’ but I never saw them,” Murphy said. “I am sure we will be inundated with all types of History Channel, A&E, Smithsonian and Discovery Channel shows as we get closer to the date.”

NASA, on the other hand, prefers not to encourage doomsday scenarios.

“There apparently is a great deal of interest in celestial bodies and their locations and trajectories at the end of the calendar year 2012,” Don Yeomans, NASA senior research scientist, states on the NASA website. “I for one love a good book or movie as much as the next guy. But the stuff flying around through cyberspace, TV and the movies, is not based on science.”

According to NASA researchers, the worldending catastrophe all began when the Sumerians thought they had discovered that the supposed planet Nibiru was headed towards Earth, though initially it was estimated to make contact in 2003.

When that prediction failed to happen, the date was moved back to December 2012, creating the link with the Mayan calender.

“Just as the calendar you have on your kitchen wall does not cease to exist after Dec. 31, the Mayan calendar does not cease to exist on Dec. 21, 2012,” the NASA website states. “For any claims of disaster or dramatic changes in 2012, where is the science? Where is the evidence?

There is none, and for all the fictional assertions ... we can not change the simple fact. There is no credible evidence for any of the assertions made in support of unusual events taking place in December 2012.”

The predictions are made and the theories set.

All that’s left to do is wait.

“It’s hard to say what I’d do if I was certain of the last day of human life on Earth,” Carroll said. “The good part of me wants to say that I would try and spend as much time with my family as possible.

Yet, another side wants to say that I would run up huge debt eating like a pig and going to all kinds of exotic places.”

december 2012 l theroar l 11

News Feed Education

Upside-down Classrooms

Technology enables an educational revolution

By Stephanie Everest

S

mart phones, YouTube videos and podcasts, all of which may seem like simple technological additions to excite learning, could change the traditional classroom setting forever. More teachers in Central Florida are using technology to turn to the ideas of the “flipped classroom,” and West Shore students are already feeling the effect.

The flipped classroom takes the traditional teaching methods and inverts them. Rather than listening to a 30-minute lecture in class, students participate in online discussions and watch videos outside of class, reserving class time for one-on-one help from the instructor.

“I use schoology.com which is like a Facebook equivalent for school,” English and senior seminar teacher Amanda Kopp said.

“I can post lectures and discussions that students view at home. They can comment on them, and it looks just like they are writing on a Facebook wall.”

Advocates of the flipped classroom argue that students can watch lectures at home at their own pace, and teachers will have more time in class to answer students’ questions. Kopp says this type of instruction individualizes the learning for the student.

“I just finished my master’s in educational technology,” Kopp said. “We learned about new theories and styles for learning, and the flipped classroom is one of these styles.

They actually call you guys the ‘digital generation.’”

Kopp said the flipped classroom allows students to learn “on the go,” because they can watch lectures on their cell phones on their way to school in the car or on the bus.

“I would think that it makes it easier for students to pick a time and a place that fits their needs rather than the 45 minutes that they are here,” AP Government and Economics teacher Bob Sarver said. “I do a lot of stuff, about twice a week, with interactive chat sessions where we can actually talk to each other after class. It’s

kind of like an extra hour, outside-of-class tutoring session. I try to use it a lot, not necessarily in the class, but to take what we are learning in class and supplement it outside.”

Sarver said that his lectures are still primarily during class time.

“If the information is just on the screen, it is sort of like if they get it fine, if they don’t get it, oh well. To me, that might present a problem,” Sarver said. “I would want to use technology a lot, but I don’t want it to take

Photo: Stephanie Everest

Taking Control Senior Abbie Kellner takes charge of her education using schoology.com on the class iPad.

the place of personal interaction. You can sit there and look at me, but I can tell if your mind is somewhere else and whether or not you are really getting what I am trying to get across.”

Middle school science teacher Linda Johnson said she assigns online activities to help her students absorb information.

“I love Glogster, but now the website wants me to buy a subscription to use it, and I’m not going to pay for it,” Johnson said. “We use a similar website called Popplet now, but I’m sure that’s going to require a subscription soon too. It’s like a game. I’m always trying to find the new best thing.”

Johnson said her students employed Popplet to study astronomy by using the

12 l theroar l december 2012

concept maps on the webpage to input and organize information they gathered about particular stars.

“Tools for technology are exploding,” Johnson said. “It’s hard for us to keep up, but we must because it could help your students learn better. It is especially important because teachers are being evaluated more than ever, and it is important that your kids pass the standardized tests.”

Johnson said she believes interactive activities are the best way to learn new material, but she does not think the flipped classroom model is the way to achieve student success.

“It is still a really old instructional style. It still dumps knowledge on the student, and the student is passive,” Johnson said. “We are at school for eight hours a day already, and there just is not enough time. ” The flipped classroom model forces teachers to devote even more time in order to create an online discussion or share a PowerPoint presentation. This could significantly detract from the material actually taught in the classroom.

However, senior Ciera Misner said she finds the new technology her teachers are using to be helpful.

“Anatomy teacher Sherie Jenkins and Mrs. Kopp use some website that’s set up to text us reminders about when projects, papers or other assignments are due,” Misner said. “It’s a good reminder, especially on Sundays when I forget something is due on Monday.”

Sierra Purden, Junior Class treasurer, said she uses Google Docs much more now than in previous years.

“Because everyone in the class has a Google Docs account through the school, we can share sign up sheets, important dates, and times to be at things,” Purden said. “We can do polls and we are able to share it with every single student, so it’s not a matter of checking Facebook or trying to print out hard copies to give to people.”

Graphic: Jack Dickens

News Feed School Board

Budget Constraints

Board member suggests closing choice schools

By Aalekhya Tenali & Sarah Brusca

Could schools of choice be on the chopping block? School board member Amy Kneessy suggested the idea at the Dec. 11 school board meeting after parents responded to the board’s proposal to close Gardendale Elementary on Merritt Island, Clearlake Middle School in Cocoa, Sea Park Elementary in Satellite Beach and South Lake Elementary in Titusville.

The plan to close those schools comes in response to voters rejecting a halfcent sales tax increase in November, leaving the district with a hole in its annual operating budget.

Kneessy suggested closing Freedom 7 Elementary School of International Studies and sending its 400 students to their neighborhood schools. Other choice schools considered for closing would include West Shore and Edgewood Jr./Sr. high schools along with West Melbourne Elementary School for Sciences.

While the costs to run choice schools would be eliminated from the budget, the plan would dismantle some of the nation’s top performing schools.

“The painful thing about this situation is that there are no winners,” West Shore Principal Rick Fleming said. “It’s discouraging because others would rather bash and discredit us than to face the problem at hand as a united school community.”

Kneessy understands the dilemma.

“I know the outcry of closing a school such as Freedom 7 would create yet another public outcry, especially due to their high state ranking,” Kneessy wrote in an e-mail to Superintendent Brian Binggeli, Kneessy went on to say she finds the simplest and most logical— but not the easiest — way to reduce expenses would be to close schools that require extra costs for busing, faculty and materials. Corridor busing for choice schools, for example,

Photo: Brevard Public Schools

Making Choices At the Dec. 11 meeting, board member Amy Kneessy suggests that closing choice schools might be preferable to closing neighborhood schools.

14 l theroar l december 2012

costs the district $1.3 million annually.

“Do we let choice-school families take priority over local community and city needs?” Kneessy asked. “Do we let 25 percent of our student population take priority over the remaining 75?”

West Shore science Mary Anderson said Kneessy’s plan doesn’t add up.

“Money-wise, it doesn’t make sense at all,” she said. “ The students at West Shore have a great work ethic; they are self-motivated and inspire each other to succeed daily. Together, they create a well-rounded student body and bring the

“It’s discouraging because others would rather bash and discredit us than to face the problem at hand as a united school community.”

school its reputation. There is nothing elitist about it.”

Senior Varun Bansal echoed Anderson’s sentiments.

“The proposal is not good because we need schools that provide for academically advanced and motivated students. Also, the environment at West Shore fosters productivity, acceleration, among likeminded peers, which is invaluable to success.”

Kneessy also said schools of choice do not serve any one particular community, but draw from students all over the county. She contended that school communities have more to gain by remaining intact than by dispersing their students and talent among multiple schools.

Fleming disagrees.

“Our school culture is very connected,” he said. “It is very disheartening when we are viewed as elitist because it’s the hard work of the students and the dedication of the teachers that makes our success possible.”

Although schools of choice hold high state and national rankings in academics, Kneessy argues that traditional public schools offer programs that are equally as rigorous.

“All of our schools offer unique, enriching curriculums. You do not need to attend a school of choice to have enhanced educational opportunities,” Kneessy said.

Despite the benefits and the shortcomings of the proposal, decisions will need to be made in time for the next school year, and Fleming is gearing up for a battle.

“We’re not going down without a fight,” he said. “I intend to stand up for West Shore and do whatever I can to ensure that it will always be here to fulfill our mission statement of excellence and our vision of success for students.”

Address: 401 Ocean Avenue #101, Melbourne Beach, FL 32951 Phone: (321) 725-9720 www.beyondandback.com

“Six Degrees of Separation The Script

december 2012 l theroar l 15

News Feed Accolades

Blue Bloods

National award proves excellence lives in school’s DNA

By Nathaniel Curtis

P

rincipal Rick Fleming’s day suddenly became better than he might have imagined. After sending a letter to Commissioner of Education Pamela Stewart, he recently became informed of West Shore’s new status. Not only is the school one of the top 50 in the country, but it has also been dubbed a National Blue Ribbon School for the second time in a decade.

“I am beyond ecstatic,” Fleming said.

“This is such a big announcement for our faculty, students, parents, and our whole Wildcat nation. We are all past and present, once a Wildcat always a Wildcat, and now we have been named a Blue Ribbon School for the second time.”

The award originated with President George W. Bush’s No Child Left Behind program. Recipient schools have shown sustained academic excellence.

It depends on how many students are recognized as proficient in their grade.

“This is important because it tops all rankings,” Fleming said. “It is the pinnacle of school success. Sixty-seven counties in Florida, with an average of 15 high schools in each. Do the math.

We are the one public high school in Florida to get it.”

West Shore was the only Florida high school to be nationally recognized on Nov. 13. However, as wonderful this news is for students, parents and faculty, it does bring up some political concerns.

“I had to send out a letter to the commissioner of education in Florida, Pamela Stewart,” Fleming said. “I saw that the original list was exclusively private and charter schools and I was... agitated. It seemed to me that we were an afterthought behind these other schools simply because we are a public school.”

The reason for the late announcement is because of a compilation of missed deadlines and waived requirements.

26 states, Florida included, waived the requirements put in place by NCLB.

This is because many administrators at schools believe that the standards are “not realistic” because some students will have trouble learning regardless of what teachers do. On top of that, Florida was one of four states that did not meet the Annual Measurable Objective, which nearly disqualified its schools.

“Needless to say I was extremely irked when I found out we were past deadline,” Fleming said. “That’s unacceptable, and it almost cost us.”

Despite this apparent setback, it seems to only be a matter of efficiency for the Florida Department of Education.

“As part of Florida’s application for a waiver from some of the provisions of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, more commonly known as No Child

16 l theroar l december 2012

Graphic: Nathaniel Curtis

Left Behind, we were granted approval to streamline our state’s accountability system and some of the ways we measure school and student academic progress,” Florida Department of Education press secretary Cheryl Etters said. “Since the Blue Ribbon Schools criteria was still based on our previous measurements, we also needed to get approval to use the Annual Measurable Objectives for that program. Once the approval was granted, the schools were notified that they were named a Blue Ribbon School and the U.S. Department of Education posted the schools on their website.”

Etters refused comment regarding a possible focus on charter schools. She did, however, give a name of contact for the U.S. Department of Education. Aba Kumi

Seal of Approval The Blue Ribbon Award program has recognized the country’s top-achieving schools for nearly three decades.

Photo: Department of Education

Special Honor Maryland seventhgrader Nina Todd introduces Secretary Arne Duncan at the November awards ceremony. is the director of the National Blue Ribbon Schools program. After numerous phone calls and emails to her office, no response regarding this issue was offered.

Whether or not there is any political discrimination regarding who wins the award, it ultimately does not matter for West Shore in the long run.

“I believe that this is an incredible feat to be proud of,” senior Andrew Eaton said.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a political motive behind the award, but I don’t care really. I’m just glad we got the award again. This is going to help improve our student body and further move us

ahead of other schools, which can help during college admissions.”

Students may not know about the long and seemingly convoluted process, but something that they do seem to collectively understand is the prestige associated with the award.

“It’s an honor to be part of the only Blue Ribbon high school in Florida,” junior Bailey Coolican said. “I don’t know how this will help me personally, but it’s cool that we all got the award.”

The administration agreed that this was an occasion worth celebrating. A party was planned for Dec. 14 to recognize the school’s award. There were stations for students to visit that included a movie, board games, sports and a jam session.

“The party was a thorn in my side since

Photo: Department of Education

it was held on a test day, but I understand the desire to celebrate,” social studies teacher Kirk Murphy said. “I’m one of the few remaining original members at West Shore, so naturally pride runs deep. There aren’t a whole lot of personal benefits to get from this, but it does stimulate more school spirit. And hey, it looks good on résumés.”

Students, on the other hand, were thrilled at the announcement of the celebration, despite the possibility of not understanding the prestige associated with winning this national award.

Regardless of the reason, everyone has something to be jubilant about because of this title. With fortune and continued effort, this award won’t be the last.

december 2012 l theroar l 17

News Feed

Technology Terrors

Distracted Driving

State considers banning texting on the road

By Jack Moore

Driving north on A1A heading to his girlfriend’s house, senior Scott Adams’ car was rear-ended. While waiting at the stoplight, Adams noticed in his rear-view mirror a Ford Mustang heading directly toward him. Traveling upwards of 45 miles per hour, the Mustang collided with Adams’ Honda CR-V, demolishing the back bumper. The Mustang was totaled.

“When he hit me, I turned the wheel and took my foot off the brake,” Adams

Illegal Driving Thirty-nine states have laws against texting while driving. Florida isn’t one of them. said.

“Then [I] shot off the road to the right, which caused my neck to fling back.”

Terrified, Adams climbed out of his car and ran to see if the person who hit him was OK. The driver was slumped over the steering wheel and unconscious.

“He had his phone in his hand when he passed out,” Adams said.

Adams sustained significant injuries, including a ruptured disk in his neck.

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, 3,092 people were killed in crashes involving a distracted driver in

2010 and an estimated additional 416,000 were injured, leading U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood to call distracted driving “a deadly epidemic on America’s highways.”

The effects of distracted driving have even been compared to those of people driving under the influence. Researchers in London recently found that drivers who texted had slower response times, were more likely to drift in and out of

Photo: Jack Moore

lanes and generally drove worse than those who were driving while under the influence.

“I’ve seen personally, people who text and drive it mimics what officers look for in people who drive under the influence,” School Resource Officer Chuck Landmesser said. “Over the summer I was on traffic duty and in some of accidents that occurred, the driver admitted to texting while driving.”

The results are increasingly clear.

• Deaths on U.S. roads increased 9 percent compared to the first six months of 2011, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

• Texting was reported as a factor in

18 l theroar l december 2012

180 Florida crashes, less than 1 percent of the 25,156 crashes where a driver was distracted, according to the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.

Drivers were deemed distracted in 43 percent of Florida’s fatal crashes.

These statistics have state officials taking a closer look at texting while driving.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott recently asked highway officials to complete a textingwhile-driving study to see if the state needs to take action, but the idea was dismissed because many state agencies don’t have the capacity or resources to track texting-related crashes.

“I think this [would have been] a great idea,” junior Ryan Bellone said. “Studies have shown that texting while driving distracts the mind and causes accidents.”

As of now using a cell phone while driving is legal throughout Florida. In fact, the Florida Legislature has even passed preemption laws that prevent local municipalities from restricting cell phone use in cars. So the only government agency that could place limitations on the practice is the Legislature.

Which is exactly what has happened in 39 of the nation’s 50 states.

In California, for example, cell phones are not permitted while driving.The Wireless Communications Device Law became effective in Jan. 1, 2009, making it illegal to write, send or read text-based communication on an electronic wireless communications device, such as a cell phone, while driving a motor vehicle.

The law prohibits all drivers from using a handheld wireless telephone while operating a motor vehicle, but drivers 18 and over may use hands-free devices such as Bluetooth.

“I think that texting and driving is dangerous,” junior Will Clifton said. “Not only for yourself but others too. That being said, I think that you shouldn’t get pulled over for it like in California rather just get an increase in ticket fee if you were pulled over for a traffic violation and was texting at the same time.”

Verbal Twists

Teens increasingly held responsible for virtual speech

Graphic: Monty Karas

By Valerie Ferretti

On the night before the November election, a group of high-schoolers attacked President Obama on their public twitters using violent and racist phrases. Jezebel magazine saw the posts and decided to report the students to their school administration.

In addition, North Carolina recently enacted a law criminalizing the online bullying of teachers by students.

Harsh electronic communications increasingly are proving to have lasting repercussions, leaving teens to wonder: “Can what I post online really be used against me at school?”

“If it meets the criteria for bullying, harassment or is threatening, the school can take disciplinary action,” School Resource Officer Charles Landmesser said. “They could even support expulsion if the incident is severe enough.”

According to Brevard Public Schools’ policy, the administration can act against cyber bullying no matter the time, place or medium. Whether it be against a teacher, school employee or other student at any given school, administrators have the power to take disciplinary actions against the bullying if the incident is reported.

“I can only deal with what I know about,” Assistant Principal Jim Melia said. “As far as I know, I’m not Facebook friends with any students at our school, so I can’t really scroll through and check their Facebook pages.”

The law that gives school boards the power to monitor cyberbullying outside of school started in 2005 when Jeffrey Johnston, a student in Fort Lauderdale, committed suicide in a video streaming online while his peers watched and encouraged him.

“His parents, coming out of that, went to the local lawmakers and asked if they would sponsor bills to try to get something passed so that this kind of thing would never happen again,” Melia said.

Because of the increase in social network activity, sites such as Facebook and Twitter have taken bullying to new levels, and there is little place to hide. The school board decided to get involved and create boundaries for cyberbullying. According to school board policy, bullying is considered anything from bad language nd cyberstalking to mean or racist comments.

“There have been times when I had a black eye, but I don’t think

about that anymore,” Melia said.

“But something that someone says to you cuts right to the core.”

According to Frank LoMonte, executive director of the Student Press Law Center, no case of student cyberbullying has ever been taken to the Supreme Court. However, schools are more likely to punish students for offcampus speech if it “crosses over into bullying of vulnerable kids”. LoMonte’s best advice to avoid punishment from online bullying is to be subtle and use good judgement.

“Schools definitely can and should educate people about using good judgment and common sense in what they write online,” LoMonte said.

“But they shouldn’t be suspending or expelling people for political speech unrelated to school, even if the speech indicates poor character. Poor character is grounds for a conversation, not a suspension.”

december 2012 l theroar l 19

gametime

Soccer team: ‘secret dancers’ uplifting

By Stephanie Shaw

During the soccer season, students see the varsity soccer players carrying little gifts around school.

Those gifts are given to the soccer players by their secret dancer. A secret dancer is someone on the dance team who wishes their specific soccer player good luck before a game. During the season, on big games such as the one against Montverde Academy this season, the dancers surprise the soccer players with a little good luck in their first period class. It can consist of anything from candy to Powerade to Subway gift cards.

“I like that the dance team gives us goodies,” sophomore Aidan Wixted said. “It’s nice to know that they care about us enough to be there through all the good times and the bad and even the stormy weather. You may ask, ‘well they have to be there’ but those ladies are our saviors.”

This tradition started 5 years ago when the dance team started performing at the soccer games. The girls realized that not many people came to the games. The boys started getting better and the dance team wanted to wish them good luck in a fun and creative way.

“[My favorite part is] listening to the boys trying to guess who their dancer is and laughing because half of the time, their dancer is sitting right next to them,” sophomore Erin Sheridan said.

Even dance team coach, April Shaw, has a soft spot for the soccer team. The gifts were originally her idea to bring up the moral and spirits of the soccer players. “After the games it’s always nice to see the boys carrying around their gifts,” Source: Jack Dickens coach April Shaw said. “Hearing how excited those boys are after they get their gifts is such a good feeling and knowing that my girls helped with that is great.”

Dance team has never revealed who their secret soccer player was until this past year when the soccer team won state.

“I really like having the secret dancers because it allows us to grow connected with the dancers,” senior James Bocinsky said.

“The dance team is always there for us and being supportive.

Walking into our first period class on certain games day like the important ones, we get little treats which are always a pleasant surprise. I know them being at the games cheering for us really helps us and it helps with morale support and they are always at our games even when no one else is.”

scoreboard 8-0 4-0 1-2 4-0 1-0 2-2 0-0 10-0 3-3 1-1 3-0 2-0 1-2 12/14 1/7 1/9 1/11 1/15 1/17 5-1 9-1 1-1 10-0 3-0

Trinity Prep 2-1 Satellite 2-1 Space Coast 8-0 Atlantic 12-0 Titusville 3-0 Harmony 2-2 Master’s Academy 1-0 Berkeley Prep 5-2 Edgewood 2-1 Viera 12/14 Vero Beach 1/8 MCC 1/10 Rockledge 1/11 Boys’ Basketball Brev. Christian 61-49 Satellite 46-59 Master’s Academy 55-38 Edgewood 48-44 Astronaut 57-40 St. Edwards 38-46 Space Coast 72-55 Cocoa 12/13 John Carroll 12/14 Cocoa Beach 12/21 Bronson 12/27-29

20 l theroar l december 2012

TBA Cocoa Beach Space Coast Astronaut Satellite Covenant Christian Cocoa Edgewood Brevard Christian John Carroll Master’s Academy

1/4-05 1/11 1/14 1/17 1/19 1/22 1/23 1/25 1/29 1/31 2/1

Rockledge Palm Bay TBA Space Coast Cocoa Satellite Edgewood Astronaut Covenant Christian Eau Gallie Bayside

12/14 12/20 12/21 1/9 1/10 1/14 1/17 1/18 1/22 1/23 1/25

Girls’ Basketball Edgewood MCC Satellite Heritage Merritt Island Merritt Island Master’s Academy Cocoa Beach Cocoa Beach Cocoa Space Coast M.I. Christian Astronaut

56-16 33-34 71-43 59-44 52-35 46-32 50-26 44-46 32-40 30-29 41-18 67-19 12/12

Most points Sophomore Lydia Kline scored 13 against Cocoa on Dec. 5.

Photo: Dean Stewart

Boys’ Soccer Space Coast East River Montverde Trinity Prep Astronaut Cocoa Beach MCC Atlantic Vero Beach Treasure Coast Edgewood Berkeley Prep Sebastian River Holy Trinity Cocoa Satellite Melbourne Gateway MCC Girls’ Soccer Cocoa Beach Astronaut Edgewood Cocoa Sebastian River

gametime

Cat Tales

West Shore Athletics hacking off stereotypes

By Sam Lack

For all you fanatics anxiously awaiting your opportunity to prove yourself to me, we’ll kick this edition off with some more trivia.

The end of the college football season fast approaches, and with its conclusion comes the annual award show that brings as much suspense and intensity as the Oscar’s, Emmy’s and VMA’s combined. The Heisman Trophy Presentation.

This year’s top candidates included Notre Dame’s defensive animal Manti Te’o, Kansas State’s polished passer Collin Klein and Texas A&M’s freshman sensation quarterback Johnny Manziel, who became the first freshman to win the prestigious award.

My mission, should you choose to except it, is to tell me Manziel’s nickname. Is it Johnny Phantom, Lil’ John, or something even far more creative than that? You tell me.

We’ll take a brief pause as you google Johnny Manziel and I’ll reveal the answer at the conclusion of this piece.

Now for the real stuff.

At the inception of this school, there was little thought of any form of prestigious athletic program, as the Photos: Dean Stewart, Creative Commons, Jaclyn Martin earliest administration, the self-coined Sports-centric Sarah Day, Johnny Manziel and Alaina Warshowsky and Abbie Kelner.

“Daring Dozen”, gave little thought to anything other than academics.

Toni Pressley graduated from West Now though, we the Wildcats are Shore in 2008, and she currently is playing changing the way people look at our semi-professional soccer for the Women’s little “nerd school”, and the student body Premier Soccer League, having played for couldn’t be more excited. the Florida State Seminoles in college.

Last year, the Cinderella story soccer Former West Shore swimmer Mike team came out of nowhere to capture the Schill actually walked on (for those of school’s first state championship. Now, you who are curious, that means playing less than a year later, senior cross country without a scholarship) to the Seminole prodigy Sarah Day is going to commit to football team, having never played football run at the University of Florida, a Division in high school.

I school, on national signing day, Feb 6.

So sure, West Shore has had a handful There haven’t been many Division I of Division I athletes, but now, as some of athletes from this school, certainly none as the soccer and volleyball team players are heavily recruited as Day. being recruited by smaller schools as well,

the Wildcats are changing the guard, establishing themselves as a legitimate sports school.

The work is not yet done though. We are far from finished in changing the way people look at West Shore, and it starts with you, my loyal readers. No longer can athletes play for half-full gymnasiums, lackluster crowds, or solely unenthused parents and lonely cheerleaders. Show up. Fan support means more to an athlete than anyone who’s never been in that position can understand. The presence of a full gym can change the outcome of a game, without a doubt.

Granted, not all fault lies with you.

West Shore administration and faculty needs to understand that athletics at this school are equally as important as drama and music. I am certainly not requesting preferential treatment in the least, but the recognition of the school’s sports program is requested. At least put athletes on the same level as musicians and actors. No disrespect is meant to them, I enjoy a good concert or musical in my free time, but give our sports similar respect.

Perhaps take down the banners displaying academic excellence in our gym, and replace them with pennants displaying various athletic achievements. The academic banners can go elsewhere. Our gymnasium and our fields are a place for sports domination.

But seriously folks, we need your help.

Come to athletic events, show your support, you might even learn something.

And if you learn something, conveniently enough, you can use in next issue’s sports trivia.

How many of you guessed his nickname was Johnny “the Man” Manziel? If you did, you’re, unfortunately, wrong. Johnny Football is what they call this prodigious Heisman winner. So there’s your useless sports fact of the month, use it wisely.

december 2012 l theroar l 21

gametime

Reign Gear

Boys’ soccer team prepares to defend state title

By Lindsay Gorham

After seemingly coming out of nowhere to be crowned Class 2A soccer state champions last February, the boys’ soccer team can no longer be considered a Cinderella story. From winning only two games in 2008 to a 22-5-0 season last year, the boys hope that a championship hangover won’t cloud this season.

“Everyone expects a lot from us,” senior Liam Wixted said. “We have a big target on our back because everyone wants to beat the state champs from last year. It’s taken us awhile to adjust because everyone expects so much but we are now shifting and becoming more aggressive.

We were always used to being the underdogs and that’s not the case now.”

The team consists of seniors James Bocinsky, Jimmy Madden, Tyler Moscrip and Liam Wixted; juniors David Almeida, Danny Dolnik, Richard Dujovne, Brandon Duncan, Jimmy Murren and Ryan Robidoux; sophomores Steven Tenbusch, Darshan Ghayal, Sam Kundrat, Brad Mooney, Noah Quinonez and Aidan Wixted; freshmen John Hogan, Allan Joyner, Robert Madden and Brandon Sepulveda; and eighth-grader Sam Leighton.

“We have higher expectations about this year coming off last year’s season,” head coach John Krehbiel said. “We should be states material again, and how far we go in playoffs is dependent on how hard we are willing to work. And it also includes a little bit of luck.”

The team has already suffered a couple of serious injuries this season. Sophomore Darshan Ghayal bruised his tibia, had fluid in the knee and had a possible MCL strain from a blow from an opposing playing during a game against Astronaut.

“Somebody wrapped their leg around my right knee and it made me fall and my knee popped out and twisted awkwardly,”

against competition, but at the same time it was an emotional game. It gave us a chance to improve on our mentality and hopefully benefit for later in the year.”

The game included a header into the goal from junior Jimmy Murren during the first half and another header from Moscrip, the team captain, assisted by Bocinsky in the second half.

Photo: Rachel Kershaw “It was a big test for us,” Moscrip said. “It was an emotional game, and it was great to see our team Photo: Rachel Kershaw keep its composure throughout Walk the Plank Freshman Robert the whole game. The plan is to get Madden charges the ball in a 2-0 victory better with each game we play, and I over the Berkeley Prep Buccaneers. think we’ve done that for the most part.

We still have a long ways to go, but this Ghayal said. “After we got all the results win was definitely a step in the right back from the MRIs and X-rays, we were direction.” glad that it wasn’t an MCL tear. We have The team has quite a legacy to live up many good players who can come off the to as recent graduates John Bocinsky bench and do a great job, so it wasn’t a and Kevin Kurtz play collegiate soccer at major setback for the team.”

Florida Tech and cite West Shore soccer Sophomore Aidan Wixted also suffered experience as a key to their success. from a separated shoulder during a club “The whole journey from my freshman tournament in North Carolina during the year to the state championship season weekend of Nov. 16. helped me to become mentally strong in “Pretty much what happened is I got any situation,” graduate Bocinsky said. fouled and fell, and when I fell my arm “The West Shore team, as a group, has a extended outward to my side and I put winning mentality that is willing to go up too much pressure on it,” the sophomore against any challenge, and I tried to take said. “My elbow then locked and then that never-give-up spirit to college.” collapsed in. We got into an urgent care Both Bocinsky and Kurtz were accepted after I had popped it in myself, and the to Florida Institute of Technology and doctor accidentally dislocated it again. play on the Panthers’ men’s squad. After Our injuries have provided an opportunity playing together in high school and now for the younger players to really step up.” college, Kurtz said it is refreshing having Injuries aside, the team recently an old teammate on the field. recreated its big night when it took on the “It does make it a lot easier having John,” Berkeley Prep Buccaneers on Dec. 8, in a he said. “We are teammates on the field rematch of last year’s state championship and friends off it. We work together well match, winning 2-0. and our FIT coach definitely recognizes “I think it was great game for us in a that. We both understand the game well couple of ways,” Robidoux said. “They’re and are able to offer each other ways to a great team, and it’s always good to play improve our performances.”

22 l theroar l december 2012

Culture Shock

John Dies at the End Interview with author / Sally’s Hope Senior’s Band Honors Mom / Deconstructed Ke$ha’s Back / Spiders Sequel Succeeds / Red Dawn Remake Falls Short / Love/Hate

David Wong’s house of horrors

Graphic: Jack Dickens

Next chapter for best-selling author: big screen

By Nick Baker With illustrations by When he began Matthew Greathouse writing his episodic Halloween series 11 years ago, Jason Pargin had no idea it would lead to a published novelization, much less the production of a major motion picture. Now his 2007 novel, “John Dies at the End,” is already published in hardcover, along with its sequel, “This Book is Full of Spiders.”

Publishing online — under the pseudonym David Wong — was like having an audience tailor-made to fit his writing style and humor. He felt like few people in his tiny Illinois hometown understood his writing. So when he began sharing his writing online, he found the perfect outlet for his

seemingly endless stream of ideas, a place where they could be appreciated, by a like-minded audience.

His yearly tradition of writing small Halloween horror stories eventually birthed “John Dies at the End.” The story was picked up by the indie publishing company Permuted Press and sold a few thousand paperback copies. One of those copies happened to fall into the hands of movie producer Don Coscarelli, who purchased the film rights for the story. Soon a larger company, Thomas Dunne Books, published that book as well as its sequel, “This Book is Full of Spiders,” in hardback.

Pargin recently agreed to an email-based interview with The Roar.

december 2012 l theroar l 23

cultureshock Where did your writing career start?

What caused you to start writing?

What led up to John Dies at the End?

the series, or any new series, in the future?

Both of those things will happen! I can offer no details beyond that though.

I had failed in my career by 1998 and at age 24 just spontaneously started writing things on the internet as a way to cope. My college degree was in broadcast journalism and it turned out I wasn’t any good at it, so I worked in a series of offices and in my spare time wrote

comedy essays on whatever subject I could think of (movies, food, politics, whatever). Then, every Halloween I would write a ridiculous scary story, and John Dies at the End was born from those. The comedy writing eventually got me my job at Cracked. I never intended to build a career off of either, I was on the verge of going back to community college to learn databases when Cracked called with the job.

Where do you get your ideas and inspirations?

I get this question a lot but the reason most writers can’t give a straight answer is that this part kind of comes first.

Meaning, I only started writing because I had a bunch of ideas I wanted to get out of my head. If I had to try to make it happen, like if I decided I wanted to be a writer first and then tried to make ideas appear, I actually wouldn’t know how to do it. I write because I have to, all of that stuff has to go somewhere. So in most cases, asking a writer where they get their ideas is kind of like asking a heterosexual guy how he makes himself find women attractive. The question won’t make sense to him because the reality is that women are on his mind 24 hours a day whether he likes it or not. Creating those urges isn’t the challenge - the challenge is figuring out what to do with them.

Will there be any future books, from John Dies, or perhaps a new series? Do you have many plans for

What inspired your pseudonym, David Wong?

On the internet in the 1990s, everybody chose ridiculous usernames, like Drag0n5w0rd187. So I thought it would be funny to just pick a very boring name that would seem to belong to a random elderly Asian man.

Is there a real John Cheese? What’s the story behind him?

That is the pseudonym for a real person named Mack Leighty, who writes an extremely popular column at Cracked and who I’ve been friends with since the early 1990s. The version of him that exists in the books is of course a ridiculous exaggeration, no real person like that could be allowed in society. However I can say that many of the things John says in the books are things Mack has actually uttered in

24 l theroar l december 2012

everyday conversation.

Why bratwursts?

It’s just a funny word.

What has been the best part of becoming a published author?

There is a legitimacy to print that doesn’t come with writing on the internet, even when the audience is smaller. I could tell friends and family that I wrote a Cracked article that got two million views and their eyes just glaze over (after all, aren’t there YouTube videos of farting toddlers that get that many hits?) but showing them an actual printed book that’s on the shelves at book stores means something. Then having that book get turned into a movie starring famous people meant about a thousand times more than that.

What is your influence/inspiration for John Dies? What is your source material?

I was always a fan of horror, I grew up in a small town with no book stores so my reading list was all paperbacks I could get at the grocery store - Stephen King, Dean Koontz, etc. But I’m also a comedy writer and in fact that’s the only kind of writing I know, so when I sat down to write horror I was drawing on all of the hundreds of horror stories I had read, plus all of the comedy (for instance, if you’ve read JDatE, you’ll find a similar unimpressed narrator in Douglas Adams’ Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy).

What made you choose mythology and demonology as material, in the cases of Legion(rods) and shadow people?

I came from an evangelical religious background, so I think I was raised to be afraid of demons and evil spirits. So it seemed natural to go there. But I also think there is a primal fear of them in everyone - both of things that lurk in shadows and of our own horrible urges that seem to whisper to us from elsewhere in our weak moments.

cultureshock Our brains evolved to see demons everywhere.

What is it like being Senior Editor of Cracked.com?

I do the job from home, so it’s a strange job in that I have no supervisor looking over my shoulder, yet continually have several dozen deadlines looming over my head at all times. So I’m basically always on the clock, which can be exhausting. It’s still the best job in the world, though. And the team they assembled there is the best in the world at what they do. It’s amazing just to interact with them.

How did you get to that position?

By 2007 I had a fairly popular web site and so I had the background for it. I had worked with the guy who held the job before me, and one day he got hired away to write for Valve, the game developer (his name is Jay Pinkerton, and he went on to help write Portal 2). He put in a good word for me and that got me an interview.

No idea why they picked me over the other guys who interviewed.

Is anything in either of the books based on your real life?

It’s impossible to not bring at least some of your past into a story, and in this case I can say I know very well what it’s like to be directionless in an economically depressed town with little hope of escape. I’ve definitely felt Dave’s ennui and cynicism.

What are your expectations for the movie?

I really had no expectations, I followed the industry closely enough that I knew beforehand that the vast majority of movies that get written never actually get made, and that the vast majority of the ones that do get made never get released, and that the vast majority of the ones that get released don’t make money. So even when I got the news that somebody wanted to make a movie out of JDatE, I just assumed it would go into somebody’s desk drawer. But then news kept coming in - They told me the movie had gotten funding, and then that Oscar nominee

Paul Giamatti was on board, that they had scheduled filming, then that they had finished filming, and finally that it was going to debut at the Sun dance Film Festival. I never in a thousand years thought any of those things would happen.

Disappointment is impossible now, it has already come further than I had any right to expect.

Did you have a hand in the screenplay or production of the movie?

No, I wouldn’t have known where to start.

The structure of a screenplay is just so different from a novel, especially this one.

What was it like working with director Don Coscarelli and Paul Giamatti?

Don was just a huge fan of the book, so at every stage it was about trying to make the movie as faithful as possible, there was no conflict on anything whatsoever. I never went to the set of the film so I didn’t get to meet Paul until the screening at Sundance, but he and the rest of the cast were full of nice things to say.

What impact did the work of Don Coscarelli, including Bubba Ho-Tep and Phantasm, have on you?

Phantasm was one of the first horror movies I ever saw, I think I was only nine years old at the time. But the way it’s so insanely unpredictable and the way the plot just keeps going further and further off the rails - it’s not hard to see its influence in JDatE. How does it feel to be compared to H.P. Lovecraft?

movie release?

I still live in rural Illinois, so I’m very detached from all of this. I’m not attending Hollywood parties or red carpets or riding in limos. I conduct interviews by email. So it’s just like before -- I’m staying out here in my little house in my quiet neighborhood and typing things on my computer and driving my Honda Civic. Not all at the same time obviously.

Do you have any advice for prospective young writers?

Today, the only thing in between you and success is becoming good at writing. This isn’t like when I was a kid, when being an aspiring writer meant toiling alone for years and sending out your work to various publications and agents only to hear absolutely nothing back, not even a form rejection letter. Now, if you’re good, you can get your work online and read by millions at zero cost. So the only barrier is getting good enough at writing so that you stand out from the crowd, and that takes practice.

That means writing every day - on a blog, in a journal, wherever you want to put it.

It means being willing to do that for years until you get polished enough to impress strangers. Then, and only then, do you have to worry about the much easier part (ie, how to promote your writing and gain an audience). If you’re good, the audience will find you and they will share you with their friends - the internet is nothing but a gargantuan content-finding machine.

Produce great work, and the world will find it. But first you must learn how to produce great work.

I do not allow such talk. We’ll see if anyone remembers me 100 years from now. *Do you expect your life to change at all, as a result of the

december 2012 l theroar l 25

cultureshock

Photo: Rachel Kershaw

Senior Andrew Derrick’s band helps mom battle cancer

By Micah Weber

“I

t was so scary for my children to see me, especially my 9-year-old daughter Brooke,” cancer survivor Sally Derrick said. “She heard the doctors tell us how serious the situation was. Every day she would make me pinky promise that I would not die while she was at school; this was so heartbreaking. My son Grant, who is 12, would sleep every night by my bed and get up at least three times in the night to make sure I was still breathing.

Andrew would also just sit with me, sometimes he would need to leave school early just to come be with me. It was a hard time for all of us.”

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the credit for why I am still here. I know that he directed me to Sitting with his critically ill mom wasn’t enough for senior the right hospital, the right doctors. Even when things were really Andrew Derrick. But he wasn’t sure what else he could do for her until he was approached by Randy Wouters, a friend from church bad and we were given zero hope and I was told to tell my family goodbye, God was there. As hard as this was to go through, my who had the idea to form a band. family was able to witness incredible things.”

“We knew we wanted to make music,” Andrew said. “It was just In addition, Sally has found a purpose a matter of having a purpose, like raising in her suffering. money.”

“This experience has really helped me Sally's Hope — named for Andrew’s boldly tell of God’s grace and goodness,” mother — is a Christian band that aims to she said. “I have met so many hurting help cancer affected families through the people out there and it has allowed me power and passion of its music. Its members to share and again offer hope when all have a desire to uplift financially devastated seems hopeless.” families through the sale of their music and She offers advice for those battling related merchandise. All profits go directly cancer like she did. to those families.

“I would tell anyone battling this “I remember the night Andrew told me monster that God is bigger and miracles about this project and how he wanted to not happen every day,” Sally said. “I refer to only help me but honor God and offer hope cancer as the little c and Christ is the big to all who are fighting this horrible disease,” C. I also have a great support system.

Sally said. “Sally's Hope means everything to My family and friends carried me when me. It is my way of paying it forward. When I could not take another step. Enjoy I received my diagnosis, everything I was every day and remember that hair is told or read told me I was going to die. Now overrated.” we can be that beacon of hope for all.”

Although Sally’s illness and treatment In July, doctors found a tumor in Sally’s have been difficult, she maintains a pancreas. Since there is no facility for Photo: Rachel Kershaw positive outlook. pancreatic cancer treatment in Melbourne, “Sally's Hope means “The biggest surprise about this whole Sally traveled to the Mayo Clinic in everything to me. It is my journey is how amazing it has been,” she Jacksonville, where tests revealed that Sally said. “It has showed me that there are also had cancer in her lung and spleen. way of paying it forward. still really amazing and caring people in Shortly afterward, doctors removed half of When I received my this world and that nothing happens by her pancreas, the left lobe of her lung and diagnosis, everything I coincidence. her spleen. was told or read basically “Every doctor visit, every chemo Andrew and Wouters quickly set out to treatment, every surgery that I had, raise money to finance the recording of the told me I was going to placed me in the path of people that band’s first album “Visions of You,” which die. Now we can be that either I needed or they needed me. I features big guitars, catchy melodies and beacon of hope for all.” have so many wonderful new friends soaring harmonies. Other musicians — including 2010 West Shore Graduate Jordan — Sally Derrick and amazing stories to cherish.”

Andrew said the band’s mission and Olesiak — joined the duo two weeks before its ambition have only just begun.

CD release party at Melbourne’s King Center on Nov. 16, where “I hope we can help a bunch of people and hopefully make this the band’s performance raised approximately $4,000 for families a full-time thing for all of us,” Andrew said. affected by cancer.

The “Visions of You” album is available for purchase from “The thing that has surprised me the most about this whole iTunes, CD Universe and on the band‘s web site, so the band’s thing is how everything has come together so well,” Andrew influence already is reaching beyond Brevard County. said. “People have been so generous and we have raised so much “Sally's Hope is just a name. You could put anyone’s name on money already.” it and they can relate to its message of love, hope and God’s Sally gives all the credit for her overcoming three possibly promises,” Sally said. “I hear from people around the world terminal cancers to God. looking for hope and telling me their stories and how Sally's “My faith has always been strong, and I do not doubt for a Hope has made a difference.” second that I received a miracle from God,” she said. “He gets all

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Reviews Well-spun web. Second novel in ‘John Dies’ lives up to the hype.

By Nicholas Baker With the release of the “John Dies at the End” sequel, “This Book is Full of Spiders: Seriously Dude Don’t Touch It,” David Wong, senior editor for Cracked. com senior editor David Wong, whose real name is Jason Pargin, has revitalized his fanbase, and now looks forward to the release of the movie based on his first book, and the prospect of continuing this series, and starting others.

Jason Pargin’s latest novel “This Book is Full of Spiders” is certain to please fans of “John Dies at the End,” but it is by no means a rehash of the original. It retains the same combination of horror and humor, but readers will quickly take note that Pargin’s writing has matured, and his style refined.

“John Dies at the End,” though labeled a horror novel, is really an episodic adventure packed with humor, puns and one-liners. While “This Book is Full of Spiders” continues this style, it places greater emphasis on horror. Unlike “John Dies,” which retained the chronicling style from it’s web serial origins, “Spiders” narrows to one event from the David and John universe.

One major shift from the first to second is the character development. In the first book, there was less focus on individual characters, as many would change or be replaced from story to story. Eventually, “John Dies” begins to convey a feeling that nearly every character is expendable. In addition, few have a chance to gain much depth within the confines of their own stories. By focusing “Spiders” around one event, a shorter cast of major characters is needed.

The growing emphasis on characters also helps develop the horror aspect, in that readers care far more for them. When

they fall into trouble or terror, readers can empathize for them more than in the first book.

Any quantity of humor that may have

been lost in the series’s maturation is more than made up for in depth. “Spiders” draws upon darker themes, constantly bringing up topics of philosophy and psychology, often seeming like it’s about to bring about some profound universal idea or revelation concerning humanity and morality. In the first book, the solution, or next step in the story line is always something chaotic and obscure. The answer to defeating the monster is always something unorthodox and humorous.

“Spiders” on the other hand, gives the bad guys a much darker role. While their methods for fighting them are still just as obscure, David and John’s encounters

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with evil have shifted from humorous excitement, to scary, nail-bitting, and sometimes disturbing anecdotes. In “John Dies” demons are often put at bay by means of baseball bats with the Holy Bible duct-taped to them, and improvised covers of Sweet Child ‘o’ Mine. By contrast, in the sequel, the characters are constantly on the run from demons and zombie hordes, using conventional methods to fight back -like actual weapons-. The book’s serious tone is increased by the added opposing force of mass hysteria and mob mentality, the same that is identified in most zombie lore.

“Spiders” has left it’s mark on the web, with web sites, videos, and even songs canon to the story available.

Pargin continues to innovate in internet-based promotion for his books, with the development of an alternate reality game. These games, known as ARGs, have been popularized by notable companies such as VALVe, which uses them to promote their video game releases.

The idea behind an ARG is to get like-minded fans to work together, exploring released documents and web sites canon to their source material, in order to find content and previews of whatever is being promoted Getting the community involves builds hype, and furthers the word-of-mouth tradition by getting fans to recruit their friends to help.

Pargin’s book is certainly original, unlike any other. This is true, not only in his style, but in his general presentation. How many books, for example, boast their very own trailer? One for the sequel was released on many media outlets on the internet, including Pargin’s web site and Youtube.

Buzz on the series is alive on social media, as well as the forums of Cracked.com, of which Pargin is chief editor.

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over lyrics that are about as deep as a shower, then you will be able to enjoy this as a party anthem for years to come.

Track five is by far the worst on the CD. “Crazy Kids” is boring, trashy and even lacks the heart pounding beats that Ke$ha usually redeems herself Animal with. The lyrics are downright 2010 obscene and aren’t clever. I find Conway Records myself always skipping this track not just because it sounds like it was written by a middle school boy, but because it lacks everything that makes a song decent and worth listening to.

It has no creativity and the beat was subpar. While most of the Ke$ha CD was either good or Cannibal (EP) passable, this song showed me 2010 what other people think when Conway Records they hear Ke$ha’s name.

Track seven is “Dirty Love”, which features Iggy Pop. This seems to be Ke$ha experimenting with a new sound. There isn’t the slurring rap or the blaring synthesizers like in most of her songs, but instead has almost a pop rock No, “Warrior” isn’t anything ground feel. The lyrics once again are breaking or new, but it isn’t meant to be. about as deep as a shower, but there is Ke$ha has never tried to portray herself something more edgy about this song as anything more than a fun singer. She that is greatly appreciated and helps isn’t deep, she isn’t meaningful, she is the listener take the album a bit more fun. If you try to make it more than what seriously. I wish there would have been it is, then that’s just setting yourself up a song or two more with this feeling for disappointment. that could have spared me from the The second track of the album “Die more weak “classic Ke$ha” tracks.

Young” was the first single released So basically, if you are looking for off of the new album and yes, it is a CD that speaks to your soul and controversial. The lyrics of the song understands everything you’re going try to be deep with the idea of living through in life, you are going to be life to the fullest. However, the idea of miserably disappointed with this CD. complexity is pretty quickly squashed You will never find anything amazingly with lyrics like “Oh what a shame that complex and meaningful in an album you came here with someone” and

by Ke$ha. Ever. But honestly, if you are “Wild childs, lookin’ good. Livin’ hard expecting depth from someone with a just like we should”. However, the beat is dollar sign in their name, then is Ke$ha catchy. The song can only be described really the stupid one here? Don’t look as infectious, getting stuck in your head into it, just enjoy the beats for what every time you hear it. If you can get they are: a party CD meant to pump.

Past Albums

Warrior battles mediocrity. Ke$ha’s new album is just meant to be fun.

By Maddie Dimond There is no denying that Ke$ha’s sound is a type of music that isn’t for everyone. Let’s face it: You either love her quirky perpetually party girl sound, or you think it is a grotesque sore on the music industry. There really aren’t a whole lot of people who don’t have an opinion about her, you either love her or hate her: either way, you aren’t wrong.

Yes her music can flirt with the line that separates spunky and trashy, but there is no denying how catchy the tunes are.

I’ve always been a bit embarrassed to admit that I love Ke$ha because of this.

It’s a bit humiliating to admit to your borderline pretentious peers that you adore the pumping beats and sometimes crude lyrics Ke$ha provides. “Warrior” really doesn’t make my life as a Ke$ha fan any easier. It is crude, loud and frankly, noisy but it is also contagious and quirky.

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Reviews Sun Sets on Red Dawn. 80s plot line is not relevant to modern times.

By Lauren Youngson

Despite the amount of hype for the remake of the 1984 action classic “Red Dawn”, movie goers will be pretty let down by this dull movie which really doesn’t make all that much sense.

The original “Red Dawn” became a hit because of its all-star cast and relatability but this film just doesn’t feel the same.

In this film, the night after the big football game that Matt Eckert (Josh Peck) loses by not being a team player, the North Koreans parachute down in their town of Spokane, Washington, invading the United States. Matt and his Iraqi war veteran brother, Jed (Chris Hemsworth), escape to their cabin in the forest with Matt’s friends Robert Morris (Josh Hutcherson) and Daryl Jenkins (Connor Cruise). When the Eckerts’ father is killed by Korean Captain Cho (Will Yun) after telling his sons to fight back, the teens team up and create a guerilla force named after their football team, the Wolverines. After a short, cheesy training scene where Jed teaches the others how to fight, the teens plant bombs across the city in an attempt to get their town back.

When the original came out in the 1980s, the United States was going through the hysteria of the Cold War, so the idea of the Russians taking over seemed plausible. However, the North Koreans invading modern day America feels unrealistic and almost humorous.

Even though North Korea is an enemy

“Red Dawn” in History

The phrase has held various other meanings and uses in the past

of the United States today it is extremely unlikely that it has the capacity to take over, especially considering it is one of the world’s poorest nations. The idea of America sitting by while this weak army takes control is highly improbable.

While the concept of teens teaming up to fight big bad North Korea seems like a good one, the execution isn’t great. As noted before, the training scene is way too short. Viewers don’t get to see how these teens become a dangerous resistance force, which makes the film feel much less realistic, especially since the teens have perfect aim. Also, viewers never really see how the Wolverines set up the bombs they plant. This takes away half of the film’s

1984 Film

The original film which was directed by John Milius

30 l theroar l december 2012

Code Word

Previously used to alert Israelis about rocket attacks from the Palestinians

potential suspense and excitement.

A big positive to the film however is Chris Hemsworth. This actor, known as the title character in “Thor”, is able to take his ludicrous role and make it believable. Hemsworth’s intensity, pure acting ability and presence as the strong, patriotic leader makes him the lead action character the film so desperately needs.

Another actor who makes the movie a little more bearable is “The Hunger Games” star Josh Hutcherson, who plays the tech genius in the film. Hutcherson isn’t featured as much as some of the other actors but when he is, he shines.

Hemsworth and Hutcherson are the only true “star” actors in the film; the rest of the cast is basically nobodies. Tom Cruise’s son, Connor Cruise, plays the mayor’s son in the movie, but adds little to the role and could easily have been left out. An even bigger disappointment is former Drake and Josh star, Josh Peck. Peck plays one of the major characters, but he doesn’t have the qualities of a true action star and almost seems like a joke whenever he tries to be serious. Peck should stick to what he is good at — comedies — because that is what makes him memorable and has the audience yearning for his iconic phrase, “Hug me brother.”

All in all, the remake of Red Dawn is pretty mediocre. Nothing really stands out as all that great nor really horrible. If you honestly want to see how this remake matches up to the original, just wait until it comes out on DVD. Military Operation

Conducted by the U.S., it resulted in the capture of Saddam Hussein Source: Creative Commons

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Fun Features Something Bigger

By Jack Dickens

He’s fixated on this idea that there’s “something bigger out there.”

Jimmy can’t even make it without having an existential crisis ...

LOVE IT

FAN FIGHT “CALL OF DUTY: BLACK OPS 2”

“Every time a new one comes out, it gets better.”

-Jason Nemeroff, 7

“LOCKED OUT OF HEAVEN” BY BRUNO MARS

“PRETTY LITTLE LIARS”

“It’s a catchy song. It has a beat I like.”

— Amaefule Chukwunenye, 8 “The scenes are a bit ridiculous, but the actors execute it perfectly.”

— Kaylee Willner, 9

Perhaps Jimmy has been a little bit too interested in science fiction ...

WHAT IS IT? “Black Ops 2” is a first person shooting game that features future warfare technology.

“Locked out of Heaven” by Bruno Mars is the first hit off of his sophomore album “Unorthodox Jukebox”.

“Pretty Little Liars” is an ABC Family drama about four best friends being stalked by a dead friend.

I told you those programs weren’t good for him Robert ...

HATE IT “Black Ops is getting so repetitive.”

—Kayla Bundow, 11 “I hated it when I first heard it. It’s repetitive” —Michaele Garrison, 11 “It’s pointless. You never find out who the murderer is.”

-Shawn Mckeefery,12

Wildcat Playlist Sarah Tanke, 10th “Six Degrees of Separation” The Script

“On Top of the World”

I was _______ through the halls when I _______ I left my _______ in the _______. Realizing my mistake I ______ around and _______ to retrieve my _______. I was _______ because if anyone found it they would ______ out. When I made it to the _______ the ________ was already gone, so I asked the teacher and she ______ me “__________”.

Imagine Dragons

“Walking the Dog” fun.

“Ho Hey”

The Lumineers

“Do Better” Say Anything

“Down River”

The Temper Trap Photo: Andrew Lim

South Brevard Building Corp.

Since 1963

Commercial buildings & custom designed homes State certified general contractor J. L. Head President

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