Volume 85 Issue Three

The Colonel Volume 85. Issue Three. December 2013.

COVER FRONT

The History of Roosevelt’s Drama Department, Page 18

Theodore Roosevelt High School 1400 N. Mantua St. Kent, Ohio

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Twitter: @RHSColonel Flickr Photo & Video: http://flic.kr/ps/2xFSNJ Online Archive of Issues: http://issuu.com/trhscolonel

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Contents

2

Editorial

3

Sports

In Code We Trust All Eyes on Sochi 2014 Ohio State Bowl Game Preview Special Olympians Swim Through the Winter Special Olympics Practice Photospread

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Opinion

Bull vs. Moose: Minority Studies Are You Paid What You’re Worth?

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12 Columns

A Liberal Dose of Pessimism: The Assault on Choice Bite the Byte: YouTube Millionaires The Rap Game: IAMDONALD

17 Student Life

Roosevelt Dominates Academics, Athletics and Aesthetics History of Roosevelt’s Drama Department

20 Arts & Culture

Album Review: “Bad Blood” by B∆stille Album Review: “The Constant One” by Iron Chic R5 – Pass Me By

23 Leisure

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Crossword 2013: A Year in Review STAFF Editors-in-Chief - Sydnie Barnette & Marc Blanc Content Editor - Danylo Lavrentovich Copy Editors - Audra Grimm & Kelsey Raabe Layout Editor - Maddie Otterdaughter Photo Editor- Maddie Otterdaughter Staff Writers Briann Barton Sydney Cannon Pat Daltorio Guest Contributor Grant Wang Advisor David Massucci

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Editorial

In Code We Trust Computer science is the solution to America’s STEM woes

editorial | The Colonel Staff

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Code.org is a non-profit organization that echnology is a train accelerating rapidly along encourages the recognition of computer science as the rails of progress, but the majority of its a part of required math/science curricula across the passengers are being left behind. High schools United States. It recently unveiled a new initiative, are simply not doing enough to prepare the Hour of Code (similar to the previous example), American students for science, technology, with support from tech giants engineering and mathematicsBill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg related career paths. and Jack Dorsey. Elementary, According to Code.org, there middle and high school teachers are projected to be one million across the country encouraged more available computer students to view tutorials on jobs than computer science the language of programming students by 2020, equating and play interactive games. In to around 500 billion dollars a single week, students wrote in revenue. The economic a total of 500,000,000 lines of potential of computer-based code, with 15 million students jobs is growing wildly, but writing at least one line. there are simply not enough qualified candidates to take We encourage similar positions in programming. practices to occur within Secondary schools must Roosevelt. The College Board equip our citizens with the Computer science empowers our youth and encourages creative think- offers an Advanced Placement basic tools to function in the ing. Even so, Roosevelt does not offer an elective computer science (AP) course in computer class. world, but many people are science, but it is only offered discouraged and fearful of the in around five percent of American high schools. As esoteric nature of technology. Students are left on their recently as ten years ago, Roosevelt offered classes own to merely consume technology rather than being such as Introduction to C++ (a popular programming empowered to create technology by schools. language that is slightly out-of-date today) and different levels of Cisco (introductory networking).

With the impending necessity of the basic With technology labs available in nearly every hallway knowledge of code, websites and applications are and high school students constantly using phones, being created to teach people various methods of tablets and computers, reasons to dive into computer code quickly and easily. One website, CodeAcademy. science indeed exist, yet rigid computer science com, has a mobile app called Codecademy: Hour of courses are not available at Kent.

Code. Members of The Colonel staff tried the simple, easy to use app. It has a cute interface that walks the We call for Roosevelt to offer a computer user through the basics of coding in one fun hour. science course as an elective. Programming literacy The questions and prompts the app present engage improves logical thinking and shapes students’ ability the user, making learning what is basically a foreign to understand computers on a processing level. language much more enjoyable than just picking up Exposing different programming languages and basic a Coding 101 textbook. The members who tried the computer organization will open doors to career app are eager to use it more and further expand their fields and encourage a deeper understanding of the knowledge of coding. technological world around us.

Send press releases, guest columns and letters to the editor to:

The Colonel c/o Theodore Roosevelt High School 1400 N. Mantua St. Kent, OH 44240 All published material is protected speech adhering to the legal definitions of libel, obscenity and invasion of privacy.

December 2013

The Colonel Volume 85 Issue Three December 2013

The Colonel is an open forum of student expression. It is not reviewed or censored by school officials prior to publication. Published material does not necessarily reflect the views of the Kent City School District or the publication as a whole.

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All Eyes on Sochi 2014

Sports

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A look at the preparations and criticisms of the most expensive Olympic Games in history story | Danylo Lavrentovich

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ext February, the 2014 Winter Olympics is planned to kick off in the coastal city of Sochi, Russia. This is assuming the sporting tournament won’t be moved to another country or completely cancelled because of the international outcry against Russia’s governmental policies. The road to the 2014 Olympics has been marred with gay rights violations and political corruption. According to BBC News, the 2014 Games were originally estimated to cost $10 billion, but they will end up costing more than $50 billion, setting the record for the most expensive Olympic Games in history, dwarfing the 2012 London Olympics ($19 billion) and edging out Beijing 2008 ($40 billion).

Sochi itself is the largest resort city in Russia and is famous for its warm summers and mild winters because of its location on the Black Sea coastline. The region has only started to accumulate snow for the season, and many of the Olympic festivities will be held in the Caucasus Mountains that span from the Black Sea to the Caspian.

On July 4, 2007, the subtropical city was narrowly voted over Pyeongchang, South Korea (whose bid later won the rights to the 2018 Winter Olympics) and Salzburg, Austria to win the rights to hosting the 2014 Games. The International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) choice was somewhat surprising with Sochi’s reputation as Russia’s “summer capital,” its proximity to the Georgian border (the site of heated political conflict) and its lack of modern development.

IOC chair Jean-Claude Killy revealed last February that about 85 percent of the infrastructure had to be built from scratch.

After Sochi’s victory in 2007, then-IOC president Jacques Rogge remarked that Sochi’s bid was persuasive because of the “well-known quality of Russian sport … the total commitment of the Russian government and President Putin and the legacy [the] project is going to leave for the city and the region.”

The 2014 games will be the first to be held in a (former) Soviet republic since the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, where the United States and 64 other countries boycotted and refused to attend mainly due to the Soviet Union’s military involvement

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in Afghanistan. For Sochi, many LGBT activists have called for nations to boycott the 2014 games because of Russia’s recent anti-gay legislation.

Last June, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed into law a complete ban of “propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations,” which was passed nearly unanimously by the country’s legislators. The law is written in vague language, but it essentially imposes heavy fines for providing information about homosexuality to people under the age of eighteen. This extends to banning all public gay pride events and displays of prohomosexual lifestyles.

Many gay rights activists are signing petitions to urge the IOC to move the games from Sochi or to convince nations to boycott the Sochi Olympics because of the Russian government’s homophobia. The committee released a statement describing its commitment to keeping sport as a “human right … available to all regardless of race, sex, or sexual orientation” and that it has “received assurances from the highest level of government in Russia that the legislation will not affect those attending or taking part in the Games.”

Concerns over Russia’s openness to the press has also discouraged much of the international community. Russian police have received allegations of harassing world journalists who criticized the country’s preparations for the Games, notably detaining and questioning two Norwegian journalists.

The ceremonial path of the torch from Athens, Greece on October 6 to Sochi during its Opening Ceremony on February 7, the longest in history, has amassed heavy derision with its extravagance and many failures. The torch has been to the North Pole, the International Space Station and the bottom of Russia’s Lake Baikal, the deepest lake in the world.

Within the torch’s first six days, it was confirmed that its fire had died eight times. On November 29, one of the torchbearers, former bobsledder Piotr Makarchuk, caught himself on fire after drops of liquid gas fell on his jacket.

The Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics will be held from February 7 to February 23, broadcast on NBC in the United States.

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Sports

Script Ohio on The Ohio State University’s football

Ohio State Bowl Game Preview The Buckeyes go forward to the Discover Orange Bowl story | Briann Barton

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n the first year of bowl game eligibility after the player tattoo and memorabilia debacle in 2011, Ohio State makes plans for their game against the Clemson Tigers. This year they will be traveling to Miami to play in the Orange Bowl. The game is scheduled for January 3.

Following last year’s record of 12-0, this year has been another productive one for the Buckeyes, finishing the regular season 12-1. They were just one game away from being the likely opponent to Florida State in the national championship game. They had a winning streak of 24 games. Ohio State is currently seventh in the BCS standings after moving down from second with their loss to Michigan State in the Big 10 Championship.

The Buckeyes’ games have all been high scoring.

One of the best games being the 76-0 win over Florida A&M on September 21. Another good game was the nail-biter against rival Michigan on November 30 in Ann Arbor. The final was a 42-41 Ohio State victory.

This was the third game in a row that the Buckeyes stumbled and didn’t play their best but were still able to pull out victories.

This year’s edition of the Ohio State-Michigan rivalry game also featured a fight among some players.

The Buckeyes lost their starting right guard Marcus Hall and kick returner Dontre Wilson. Hall and Wilson were flagged with unsportsmanlike conduct and had to leave the field. Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer made Marcus Hall sit out the Big 10 Championship because as he headed into the locker room after being ejected he flipped off the Michigan fans.

Ohio State has a strong offense. The Buckeyes are the top ranked rushing offense in the country. However, they do not have the strongest defense. The defense has allowed 21.3 points per game.

Their all-time bowl record is 20-23.

Clemson’s record this year is 10-2.

Clemson is currently in the ACC (Atlantic Coast Conference), in which they play colleges like Florida State and Syracuse. Some of their top scoring games were against Syracuse (49-14) and Wake Forest (56-7).

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The Tigers’ offense is ranked 13th nationally in scoring and average 40 points a game. They have one of the best passing games. They also have a strong defense. The Tiger defense has a total of 16 interceptions. The defense has allowed 21.1 points per game.

Their all-time bowl record is 17-18.

Clemson and Ohio State have only played each other once before and Clemson won 70-15, in the 1978 Gator Bowl. The Orange Bowl will be the first time since the 1990s that Clemson will play a Big 10 team.

Two years ago, Clemson was in the Orange Bowl and experienced a 70-33 loss to West Virginia.

Last year Clemson won the 2012 Chick-fil-A Bowl game (25-24) against LSU (Louisiana State University).

Unlike the Tigers, Ohio State lost their last bowl game appearance 24-17 in the Gator Bowl against the Florida Gators on January 2, 2012.

Ohio State is vying to give Meyer his fourth 13-1 record and Clemson is trying to finish out the season like they did last year, with an 11-2 record.

The Orange Bowl can be considered a consolation prize for both teams, as each were looking and hoping for the BCS National Championship game.

Now Clemson is looking to redeem themselves from their last Orange Bowl appearance and Ohio State looks for their first bowl win in three years.

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Sports

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Special Olympians Swim Through the Winter Athletes close out most successful season to date, attention begins to shift to spring story | Marc Blanc

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o! Go! Go!” “Come on, push it!”

Friends motivated their peers over splashes that filled the school natatorium during the Special Olympics time trial on November 19. Current Roosevelt students and alumni alike tested their speed in stroke races such as the breaststroke, butterfly and backstroke as well as in relays to prepare for the final state meet at Ohio State University, which took place from December 13 to December 15. The swimmers, comprised of both a Portage County team that is largely Roosevelt graduates and a team that represents the school, brought over twenty medals home from Columbus.

Thus ended the most successful swim season in the history of RHS Special Olympics, a tradition that dates back to at least the early 1990s. This season also boasted the highest number of Olympians and student volunteers in Coach Jake Ferlito’s memory.

Ferlito, whose mother started the Special Olympics at Kent, started helping with the program at age 12 and has been committed ever since. In his time he has seen dozens of athletes compete in state meets and at least one student make the varsity track team.

“The competitive nature is very high [at meets] but also very friendly. Being able to see our athletes and all Special Olympics athletes have the chance to compete and achieve high levels of success is one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve ever had,” he said.

The harmonious mixture of competition and kindness is part of what makes Special Olympics dear to many. Ferlito recalled a recent swim meet in which a Roosevelt student, who had garnered around 15 gold medals in his time and two during that meet alone, intentionally placed second in a race so an opponent could win his first gold of the meet.

Despite the triumphant season, Special Olympics is still only on the back of many students’ minds. The number of student spectators at practices and local meets this season could always be counted on one hand.

“I don’t think [the Olympians] receive enough attention,” student volunteer and junior Sarah Henning said. “They are such incredible athletes and kids. It would be great if people knew more about the program and get

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involved.”

While interest within the student body has a lot of growing room, the morning announcements do let the school know when the Olympians are about to head off to a meet and efforts to publicize the need for student volunteers have clearly been successful, as 30

teers alike. Photo courtesy of Jake Ferlito.

students helped swimmers train and lent a hand in the general functions of Special Olympics this season. However, with track approaching in April, the need for volunteers is rearing its head once more.

“We could use all the help we can get,” Ferlito said.

Swimming has been the more popular of the two sports offered, but both leave a lasting impact on parents and athletes’ lives.

According to Ferlito: “We have had students achieve physical and mental success that in many cases were levels that many said were impossible for that student athlete to reach. We have had parents overcome with emotion express they never felt their child would have the opportunity to have people cheering [for them].”

“All around it is an awesome experience to be around,” he concluded.

On the next two pages: photos taken at a Special Olympics practice in November.

December 2013

Special Olympians Swim Through the Winter

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Opinion

Minority Studies

Bull vs. Moose

Should history and issues pertaining to minorities be a required course?

story | Audra Grimm

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o. History is not just about white men, as we can all agree. However, studies on specific minorities including those on women and African Americans should not be established into mandatory classes for students.

Yes, these minorities are important and prominent in today’s society, but what makes it necessary that it is a mandatory semester or year-long class? It is better suited to be a possible elective option for those who wish to learn further about it.

The things stated in our textbooks are the factual basis of history we must know, and although information is included already, there could always be more to learn, but in the format of an elective.

In United States history, we learn important dates, amendments, figures and more that are more pertinent to our country’s history. This includes talk about minorities, but only that which is prominent in history, because that’s what it is - United States history.

Not women’s history, not African American history, but our country’s history. Within this course work, the units cover important and powerful figures in the fight for racial equality such as Booker T. Washington and Martin Luther King, Jr. We learn of their contributions not only to the fight for their race’s rights, but the contributions and impact they had on society as a whole, an impact which continues today and helped to shape our country then. As for w o m e n’s suffrage, we learn about Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton as highly regarded figures and the Seneca Falls Convention.

As many s t u d e n t s including myself notice, teachers are often rushed through class in order to fit in all the information w e will need to know for AP or state standardized tests. Even with the considerable time crunch and the occasional piece of information being left out, the material sometimes does not get covered as it should. It is unreasonable to add these classes to our course base, and actually a bit unfair.

What about the other minorities?

You cannot discriminate against the discriminated. We can’t forget about the prominence of Muslims, or the Native American history in America. It would be

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difficult to include certain minorities just because they are supposedly more important than the rest. It must be taken into account that this issue will never end, with each group wanting their own class. The demographic of schools and communities also has to be considered, as it may make sense to have one class offered as an elective more than another.

These studies should most definitely become electives in which students can choose to take them or not. As an Ohio graduation core requirement, all students must have taken three history credits: world history, American history and government. This leaves a full year-long class empty for a student’s choice, which many choose to fill with sociology and psychology.

If not one of those for a fourth history credit, then students may select another class which interests them or another core class or elective to take up that space, which would fulfill their requirements for a diploma.

A fourth history credit (one of minorities) is outside of the Ohio graduation requirements and excludes other worthwhile topics students need, therefore making minorities studies impractical as a mandatory course.

As for the LGBT community, what does someone’s sexual orientation matter to their place in history? Would a political figure turning out to be gay really matter? It would not change what they did in their term, because sexual orientation does not change factual information. This should not matter in a public sense, although we’ve turned it into something that does. You don’t have to be gay in order to support rights for that group, and this shouldn’t matter publicly. The opinions one has on the matter of course have an impact on people, but being part of the LGBT community should not.

Oppression of a group is not a sufficient basis for a mandatory history course. Oppressed groups must also have historical significance in order to include the class in the curriculum. For example, Native Americans have been oppressed for centuries, yet there is no mandatory class for them, even though their existence has had a great impact on the course of our country’s history. LGBT would be an interesting elective, but it is not necessary to make it a required course.

We are already taught about minorities in history classes to the point that we have general knowledge of these groups, the best we can do from there is to offer a class that further increases the learning experience for students who want it. You cannot exclude other groups by adding a class for these minorities, as it would contradict the inclusion argument presented. The United States is a melting pot in which countless groups intertwine, and having a narrowly focused course would be discriminating against other minorities. The inclusion of minorities which pertains to our already required classes and that which is needed to graduate is already in the curriculum. Therefore, minority studies should be offered as an elective and not a required class.

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Bull vs. Moose

Opinion

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Theodore Roosevelt formed the Progressive Party in 1912 after disagreements within the Republican Party. Roosevelt remarked that he was “fit as a bull moose” to be president, and his party was then nicknamed the Bull Moose Party. The Colonel has named this pair of opposing viewpoints in honor of Roosevelt’s independent faction. story | Marc Blanc

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es. Most women will struggle with body image insecurities at some point in their lives if they haven’t already. Racism still runs in our nation’s veins, quite intensely, and the proof is in the comments section of YouTube and countless other sites. How is society to attack such rooted, monstrous problems? While media plays a huge part, public education is the most lethal tool we have in the fight against ignorance and oppression.

Our school currently offers a women’s studies class as an elective, but the course won’t fulfill its potential until every student is required to learn its curriculum. The same goes for African-American studies (known as African-American Literature when it was at Roosevelt), a course that is not being offered this year for the first time since before 2010. Classes like these offer insight into minority culture and history that regular history and English courses lack and have had a drastic impact on students locally and nationally, proving them as society’s best chance to instill empathy and civil rights values in young people.

They offer too much to stand idly by as electives.

Feminism is arguably the most misunderstood movement in the United States today. Mrs. Harr’s women’s literature class debunks preconceived notions of the most influential female-focused philosophy and teaches the real goal of feminism: achieving political, social and economic equality between genders. A perfectly just cause is constantly misrepresented because people are not educated about it. Not only would students benefit from being enlightened about it, but feminism itself would improve as more people learning what it really is would step up to replace those who do not understand the movement and are giving it a bad name. The fact is, Women’s Studies opens minds.

“Growing up in a generation when calling each other derogatory terms (such as the ‘B-word’ and the ‘N-word’) is considered a friendly greeting, we often don’t stop and think about what it is we are really saying,” senior Women’s Lit student Abbey Thomas said. As long as students go in willing to learn, they will come out with new ideas and fresh perspectives.

As history teacher Mr. Markulis said of the effect of minority studies courses, “Light bulbs will go off for many.”

Although African-American studies is currently unavailable at Roosevelt, its effect could be similar to Women’s Lit. The standard history classes undoubtedly leave students in the dark about many details of the African-American experience, as most only present the African-American perspective through events like slave revolts and the civil rights movement instead of looking through the eyes of the oppressed in more specific, ongoing contexts.

In some respects, history classes are responsible for the preconception that racism is no longer relevant, as they tend to shelf the issue after covering MLK’s

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assassination.

Samuel L. Jackson put it succinctly: “People know about the Klan and the overt racism, but the killing of one’s soul little by little, day after day, is a lot worse than someone coming in your house and lynching you.” How can someone who isn’t black understand exactly what Jackson is talking about if they don’t study African-American history through African-American eyes? How can progress move any swifter than a snail’s pace if students aren’t presented the subject in their second home, the classroom?

While most history and some English classes include lessons or even units on minority issues, the crusade for social consciousness is ultimately hurt by the practice, as devoting just a few weeks to them enforces the notion that they are not as important as the hundreds of pages of whitewashed, testosteronefilled history. The stories of women and AfricanAmericans in the United States are centuries old, incredibly pertinent and involve a wide range of topics, from the political (suffrage, segregation) to the cultural (relational aggression, stereotyping); from the historical to the current. Therefore, the most viable option is to establish a year-long minority studies class separate from any other social studies classes in order to devote considerable time to issues pertaining not only to women and African-Americans, but to groups whose stories don’t get as much attention but are no less important, like Native, Asian and Islamic Americans and the LGBT community.

Students need to be required to take the class, but the freedom to enroll at the start of any year in high school can feasibly be left up to individual schools.

The responsibility falls on the national government to endorse such education, the state to enforce it and the students to be the source of its success.

Without a doubt, the class must be mandatory, because the public school system is partly responsible for the public atmosphere it creates through the citizens it produces.

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Opinion

Are You Paid What You’re Worth?

If you’re working minimum wage, then probably not story | Kelsey Raabe

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ccording to sources such as CNNMoney and CBS, approximately 50 million out of 314 million Americans were living in poverty in 2012. A full 8 million people go to work fulltime and still don’t have enough to make ends meet, according to the Los Angeles Times. This is, in part, due to the low federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour

that simply isn’t enough to keep up with rising costs and inflation. The Bureau of Labor Statistics states that the average yearly cost of living for an American is $20,194, well above the $15,000 or so that the average full-time minimum wage worker makes. As a result, an unacceptable amount of families working on the minimum wage find it very difficult to afford basic necessities such as food, clothing and insurance.

The minimum wage was first established in 1938 as part of the Fair Labor Standards Act under Franklin Roosevelt, and it has risen incrementally ever since. While the purchasing power of the minimum wage peaked in the 1960s, it has declined ever since as the cost of living has increased with wages not keeping pace, exacerbating the yawning income gap in America (the Huffington Post even states one out of December 2013

every four private-sector jobs in America pays under $10 per hour, below the cost of living). This is in no small part due to the federal government’s refusal to raise the minimum wage.

Raises have been attempted in both the House and Senate as of late, but they have been voted down every time since the last increase in 2009. After President Obama announced his support for a minimum wage of $9 during his 2013 State of the Union address, House Speaker John Boehner and his caucus flatly refused.

According to Boehner, “When you raise the price of employment, guess what happens? You get less of it.” However, the Speaker’s position neglects two simple realities. There are many studies, including one conducted in 2013 by the Center for Economic and Policy Research, state that higher minimum wages do not adversely affect employment rates.

Many countries such as Australia (which has a minimum wage of $15 per hour) actually have higher employment rates than in the United States. Secondly, it’s simple economics that higher wages lead to increased consumer spending, which will help increase the GDP (gross domestic product, a measurement of the strength of the economy) and create more jobs. This is supported by an Economic Policy Institute study that found raising the minimum wage to $10.10 by July 1, 2015 would increase the GDP by $32.6 billion, create 140,000 net new jobs, and benefit 30 million workers, 88 percent of which are above the age of 20.

Some critics claim that the minimum wage isn’t necessary. Senator Marco Rubio, for example, said in his rebuttal to Obama’s State of the Union Address that “I want people to make a lot more than $9 — $9 is not enough. The problem is you can’t do that by mandating it in the minimum wage laws.

The Colonel

Opinion President Obama’s 2013 State of the Union Address. Photo courtesy of the Washington Press.

Minimum wage laws have never worked in terms of having the middle class attain more prosperity.” In reality, the minimum wage was crucial in digging the country out of the Great Depression. Despite Rubio claiming he wants to see workers making more than $9 an hour, allowing companies and corporations to set wages far lower than the cost of living in the middle of an economic recovery would be a recipe for a disaster, vastly decreasing consumer spending and increasing the already massive number of citizens (47 million) who have to use food stamps and other forms of government assistance to get by. Removing the minimum wage would be like removing the lowest rungs of an economic ladder; for those already at the bottom, it will be all but impossible to climb back up and reach the middle class that we need to remain prosperous as a nation.

An American with a spouse and two children to support, working full-time at a $7.25 per hour minimum wage job, will make far less than $23,021 a year, which is the federal poverty line for a family of four. Many of these families find themselves forced to work multiple jobs just to keep food on the table, to say nothing of other necessities like clothing, healthcare and electricity. It is practically a given that someone making minimum wage will require government assistance such as food stamps or Medicaid to survive.

While the Ohio minimum wage of $7.85 per hour is a touch higher than the federal rate, it is still far lower than the cost of living.

Not having a family to support doesn’t necessarily make things any easier. The Colonel spoke with a local single Kent resident who works full-time (40 hours per week) at a minimum wage retail job to hear his thoughts on the matter. At the beginning of the discussion he stated that being locked up in prison would be preferable to working a minimum wage job, noting “In prison the food is better,” and that in prison The Colonel

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one has access to adequate medical care, something that an individual living in poverty can barely afford.

He stated that while he is able to pay his bills, there is “nothing left after paying.” He described his monthly budget as nonexistent, saying that what he makes is spent on food while the rest is taken by the government in taxes, leaving him with nothing to save.

He also says he has to use government assistance to get by.

He went on to describe his hopes for the future. “I want to have my own company and make my own products,” he said. Of eventually working his way up the economic ladder, he said that making a better living “is not easy . . . it can be done, but it’s very hard to cross over.” He compared it to being caught up in a trap.

Of steps the government should take to get people out of poverty, he suggested that the government “shouldn’t cut everything” from the paychecks of lowearners and that the “[minimum wage] would be one equal to what it takes to survive” and that accounts for inflation. (The Center for Economic and Policy Research study states that at a bare minimum, a minimum wage that keeps with inflation should be $10.52 an hour.)

At the conclusion of the interview, he described how the rise of corporate America has put small stores out of business and created a work environment in which “they run everything.” He compared the proliferation of minimum wage jobs to the “rich building camps, not jobs. It’s like slavery.”

While some states such as California and New Jersey have begun raising the minimum wage to give workers a fighting chance in today’s economy, it may be too little, too late. One thing is for certain: the longer we wait to raise the minimum wage and give working families a fighting chance, the worse poverty is going to get for those trapped in it.

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A Liberal Dose of Pessimism

Column

A Planned Parenthood pro-choice rally in Washington, D.C. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.

The Assault on Choice The War on Women continues unabated story | Kelsey Raabe

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ust days after Texas state senator Wendy Davis successfully filibustered a wave of harsh abortion restrictions in her state, Ohio’s own Governor John Kasich, a group of male legislators at his side, signed a new state budget that includes sneaky provisions that have little to do with the budget itself.

The provisions, all of which took effect October 1, are specifically designed to limit access to abortion under, among other falsehoods, the premise of improving patient safety. In actuality these restrictions, along with many similar bills throughout the country, are designed for the express purpose of suppressing women and catering to extremists. In a country that was founded on the principle of equality, women and men must be on equal footing when it comes to reproductive rights, and now many politicians across the U.S. seek to reverse that equality.

One of the right’s primary goals in both Ohio and the rest of the country is to shut down the state’s abortion clinics and dissuade women from getting abortions altogether — earlier in 2013 Speaker John Boehner said “Let [ending abortion] be one of our most fundamental goals this year” during a pro-life protest. The Ohio budget defunds Planned Parenthood and rape crisis centers, redirects funding to right-wing pro-life crisis pregnancy centers, prohibits clinics from obtaining their mandatory patient-transfer agreements with public hospitals, forces women to undergo statesponsored “counseling” designed to discourage them from having abortions, mandates doctors give patients information about the fetal heartbeat and ultimately makes it more difficult for Ohio women to receive crucial preventative care. The only “upside,” if you can call it one, is the fact that public funding for abortions is still available in cases of rape, incest or if the life of the mother is at risk, as is the case in most states.

Ohio is hardly alone in its crusade against abortion and women’s reproductive rights. In June of this year, the House of Representatives passed a ban restricting abortions to before 22 weeks in a party line vote. Many states, usually conservative-dominated

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ones, have also enacted new abortion restrictions in recent years. For example, Virginia, in direct violation of Roe v. Wade, passed a new law in 2012 that grants the fetus personhood from the moment of conception, essentially banning abortion entirely. In Texas, a new law requiring doctors to have operating privileges at nearby hospitals, which will cause a third of the state’s clinics to shut down, was allowed to take effect by the conservative-dominated Supreme Court.

Nebraska banned abortion after 20 weeks (again unconstitutional) and insultingly requires women to undergo mental health screenings before abortions. In North Dakota and other states, a woman is required to undergo invasive ultrasounds before terminating a pregnancy, a completely non-essential medical procedure designed for the sole purpose of humiliating her into changing her mind.

These outrageous new laws are all part of a carefully calculated move on the part of various conservative politicians to force their own narrowminded religious ideology on the rest of the population.

It’s rather ironic that the party of personal responsibility is so dedicated to restricting women’s ability to make choices regarding their own reproductive systems.

Abortion is a personal health decision, and as such it should be solely between women and their doctors only.

But why should abortion be legal in the first place? According to the National Organization for Women, illegal abortions performed before Roe v.

Wade were unregulated and dangerous, with half of all maternal deaths due to unsafe abortion in the 20th century. Pro-lifers may claim imposing new restrictions on abortion clinics and their medical procedures is for women’s safety, but it has the opposite effect. The past has shown that women will still seek out abortions despite the high maternal mortality rate when they’re done illegally. Unplanned pregnancies are a massive problem in the United States, particularly among young people. The Guttmacher Institute released a study saying that 26 percent of teen pregnancies in The Colonel

A Liberal Dose of Pessimism

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2008 ended with an abortion. Forcing young women pain at 20 weeks after conception is one that has been and girls to go carry and give birth to unwanted scientifically proven to be inaccurate on numerous children is cruel and arrogant on our part as a society, occasions, with the general consensus among the and more often than not they end up shouldering the scientific community being that pain reception doesn’t burden as males often don’t take responsibility for fully develop until 24 weeks, when the neocortex (the children they father. part of the brain involved in sensory perception) forms.

Classifying a fetus as a person opens up a Another well-circulated myth is the idea that abortion whole can of worms in its own right. Before viability is more dangerous to the mother than pregnancy. (generally in the mid-20 weeks of pregnancy, which According to a study led by Dr. David Grimes of the is the period when Roe v. Wade no longer applies) University of North Carolina School of Medicine, the embryo and eventually fetus is an entity with the pregnancy causes 14 times more maternal deaths than potential to give rise to a living human being, just like abortions. And the idea that abortions cause breast sperm and ova, neither of which anyone considers a cancer is completely ludicrous and utterly detached person, as Garry Wills points out in a Los Angeles from reality, with the American Cancer Society stating Times article. He also notes that most embryos don’t that “At this time, the scientific evidence does not even make it to the womb wall to begin with. “Nature support the notion that abortion of any kind raises the is like fertilization clinics — it produces more embryos risk of breast cancer or any other type of cancer.” than are actually used. Are all the millions of embryos One more factor, often overlooked in the that fail to be embedded human persons?” To consider abortion debate, is the fact that closing clinics it human at all stages of growth would be to relegate disproportionately affects poorer women. Women women to the role of a vessel, subservient to the needs under the poverty line are far more likely to seek of the fetus inside their wombs. That sounds more like abortions; according to the Guttmacher Institute, slavery than “protecting the unborn.” Why not go a women below the federal poverty level have over 40 step further and also require women who have been percent of all abortions in the U.S., with non-Hispanic raped to have their children as well? After all, the fetus black and Hispanic women having higher rates than is innocent, so wouldn’t aborting it be just as bad as white non-Hispanic women. The reason poorer aborting one that resulted from consensual sex? If the women have abortions more often is due to higher answer to that question is even slightly ambiguous, unwanted pregnancies, lack of access to adequate then a fetus must not be considered a person. The health coverage and lack of money to raise a child rights of the mother have to override the rights of the (meaning said child will grow up in poverty, with the fetus. cycle most likely repeating), and when abortion clinics Much of the soshut down, they are the first called pro-life position “Nobody is ‘pro-abortion.’ Abortion is to suffer from it. Wealthier has its roots grounded in something that should never, ever be taken women almost always have religious dogma. Many access to private physicians religious evangelicals on lightly under any circumstances by anyone.” so these laws barely affect both sides of the political them. Restricting access to aisle oppose abortion simply on the grounds that it is abortion clinics is just another facet of a concentrated forbidden by the Sixth Commandment, “Thou shalt Republican effort to make life harsher for poorer not kill,” despite the ambiguity of the phrase. The citizens.

Catechism of the Catholic Church states that “human Nobody is “pro-abortion.” Abortion is life must be respected and protected absolutely from something that should never, ever be taken lightly the moment of conception,” and many politicians share under any circumstances by anyone, especially the this religious viewpoint and let it influence legislation. women who must make these extremely difficult But we are a country founded on the separation decisions. But the fact of the matter is that none of between church and state; allowing religious teachings the anti-choice laws enacted around the country or to write our nation’s laws is simply unacceptable from here in Ohio actually have women’s best interest in a moral and ethical standpoint. Vice President Joe mind. They are designed to hurt poorer people, have Biden, in his debate with Rep. Paul Ryan, said that as the effect of forcing young women to have unwanted a Catholic, he believes life begins at conception, but babies and have little basis in scientific fact. These that “I do not believe that we have a right to tell other restrictions put women’s lives in danger by cutting off people that — women they can’t control their body. access to safe medical care. Above all, if women don’t It’s a decision between them and their doctor.” Other have equal reproductive rights, then they aren’t truly politicians ought to take a leaf out of Mr. Biden’s book equal to men. Let’s keep the issue of abortion out of and get their religious agendas out their public policy. the hands of the state and back in those of women Lies and distortions are a huge aspect of the where it belongs. “pro-life” argument. The idea that a fetus can feel The Colonel

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Bite the Byte

Column

Calling YouTube a community is an understatement. Illustration by Maddie Otterdaughter.

YouTube Millionaires

Starting a YouTube channel is a challenge to the Hollywood moviestar dream story | Maddie Otterdaughter

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he cord has been cut on entertainment. The popularity of cable television and scheduled entertainment has been challenged.

Competing against television shows are YouTube channels created by real people who make their own content to bond with their audience, called “subscribers.” The rags to riches dream has been spun on its head with people young and old becoming infatuated with the goal to become “Internet famous” and get rich doing so. According to Celebrity Net Worth, at least 25 YouTube stars make $1 million every year from YouTube alone.

Content and photo sharing sites were taking off in the early 21st century. YouTube founders Chad Hurley and Steve Chen noticed a small problem: Ways to capture video were booming, but there wasn’t a good way to share the videos. On Valentine’s Day 2005, Hurley registered the trademark, logo and domain of YouTube.com. In October 2006, Google noticed the growing corporation and suggested a partnership. The deal was settled one month later. Today, YouTube is the largest video sharing platform in the world and the third most visited website overall, right behind Google and Facebook.

What used to be a social circle for viral clips and cat videos, much like we used to see on “America’s Funniest Home Videos,” has come to be much more.

YouTube is now a community of content creators and media consumers alike. “I wish more people took the time to plunge into it and created an account, and realized it’s not just cat videos,” Mitchell Davis, who creates stream of consciousness videos under the name LiveLavaLive, told CNN in October.

YouTube offers more diverse options in videos and channels (home pages for YouTubers’ content and biographies) than television. 50 percent of the website is made up of people who do daily or semidaily “vlogs” (video blogs usually showing what the YouTuber did that day), sketches, challenges or participate in collaboration channels as their second channel, according to social media statistics site SocialBakers.com. The average YouTuber has between one and four channels, referred to as main channels, second channels, daily vlog channels and occasionally even gaming or other specified channels. The other 50 percent of YouTube is made up of sports, news, December 2013

science, music and, inevitably, cat videos.

Subscribers

The fanbase that YouTubers have been able to generate is what has turned YouTube into a gamechanger. What can start as ranting or joking around in front of a webcam to three subscribers can grow into hit videos viewed thousands of times. For a handful of YouTubers today, the number of people that loyally watch them has reached the millions.

2013 saw a 300 percent increase in subscribers across YouTube from 2012. In August there were 382 out of the hundreds of thousands of creators on the website with at least one million subscribers. Each of these 382 creators makes at least $100,000 a year, and at least 25 of them make $1 million or more a year, according to Celebrity Net Worth. In August, Global Head of Content Operations Tom Pickett and Chief Marketing Officer Danielle Tiedt announced at VidCon, an annual gathering of YouTubers and subscribers in Anaheim, California, that YouTube has been taking several steps over the past year in order to increase subscriptions across the website. Among these steps are optional paid subscription services and the new Fan Finder tool, which allows YouTubers to promote a commercial they make for their channel to subscribers who are looking for new content to view.

Success as a YouTuber is ultimately dictated by the quantity of subscribers and the views their channel receives. When a YouTuber monetizes their videos, every view, like and subscriber counts. That being said, the road to Internet stardom isn’t an easy one-step, overnight process. Director Dan Dobi points out that most people on YouTube are not “one-hit wonders” in his documentary called “Please Subscribe.” This documentary examines the hardcore YouTube community, telling stories of the struggle and success that surround the Internet stars.

Grace Helbig started out making videos about her part-time waitressing gigs under the channel name DailyGrace, which puts out a video every day Monday through Friday, until online comedy network My Damn Channel stumbled across her talent.

Today, DailyGrace serves as a spokeschannel for the network and has a loyal following of roughly 2,291,000 subscribers. With around 369,000 views on her videos every day, it’s estimated that Helbig makes $475 a day, The Colonel

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Bite the Byte or about $175,000 a year.

Taking home the award for the first account to hit 15 million subscribers is YouTuber PewDiePie. Also known as Felix Arvid Ulf Kjellberg, the 24-yearold Swede makes “Let’s Play” videos, gameplay videos, video game spoofs, vlogs and more. His last million subscribers were accumulated in November at the frequency of 34,482 subscribers per day, 1,436 per hour, 24 per minute and one new subscriber every two and a half seconds.

Kjellberg will make more than $6.1 million this year from videos alone.

Paychecks

YouTubers earn a profit from the views on their videos by enabling video “monetization,” a feature available to any YouTuber, in the advanced settings panel of their channel. This turns on Google AdSense, which sells advertising space on videos and video pages.

The YouTuber who hosts the ad receives a portion of the profit generated by the ad sale. AdSense on YouTube pays for both views of video content and click-throughs (of still ads and videos). The payout rate for views is a small fraction of the click-through payouts. In general, most YouTube channels will average $100 in AdSense revenue per 100,000 views. That means in order to make $1,000 on ad revenue, that video needs one million views.

Many people begin to wonder how somebody can sit in their bedroom talking to a camera and make a living. YouTubers with 100,000 or more subscribers are likely to be able to live off of the Google AdSense profits from their videos alone, and many choose to do so. YouTube has given many people the opportunity to get away from menial, low-paying jobs and start a creative lifestyle that can be high-paying. YouTube is what you make of it.

Earning revenue through the YouTube and AdSense partnership is even easier if the videos created are associated with specific products. For instance beauty gurus, who get makeup and hair ads, or video game reviewers who get video game ads will get paid more because the viewers are more likely to click the ads, which pays the YouTuber more than if they just had the ad hosted on their video with no click-throughs.

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This allows corporations to make even more money by starting up simple YouTube accounts. Some of the most visited YouTube accounts belong to musicians’ Vevo accounts. Vevo is a music video platform which used to post all of their musicians’ music videos to one account. Now any musician associated with Vevo has their own account, which allows the company to make even more money. One Direction Vevo alone has roughly 10,118,000 subscribers. In November, One Direction released a music video for their song “Story of My Life.” Within two days, the video had 15 million views. In those two days, Vevo made $15,000 off of that video alone.

Although many YouTubers choose not to disclose how much money they bring in yearly, it is easy to estimate such amounts by using the average Google AdSense payout per view number.

Community

While there is the option of monetizing videos, it is safe to say that the majority of the YouTube community creates videos for their subscribers and not just for the money they earn while doing it.

Through meetups small and large, such as DigiTour, PlayList Live and VidCon, the audience and the stars are given the opportunity to connect even more. YouTubers have been quoted saying that they draw their very inspiration from the power the YouTube community holds. Laina Vasquez gained her fame from her alter ego “Overly Attached Girlfriend.” “I had no idea before I posted that first video that there was anything even close to it out there.

I’ve met people and made friends that motivate and inspire me to make better, more creative videos every time I get to spend time with them. It’s a wonderful thing, really,” Vasquez told CNN. YouTube as a whole, including its community, is revolutionary. The website is so big that it has gone beyond the term “community.” “Calling YouTube a ‘community’ in 2013 is like saying rock ‘n’ roll is a ‘community.’ The term is too small,” expressed Tay Zonday to CNN, who was brought to fame in 2007 by his song and video “Chocolate Rain.”

For those who want to pursue a dream, connect with millions of people and enjoy creating original content, becoming a YouTuber is a reasonable answer to the age-old question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?”

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Column

The Rap Game

Childish Gambino at Squamish Valley Music Festival 2013.

IAMDONALD Donald Glover’s endeavor from television to hip-hop

story | Pat Daltorio

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onald McKinley Glover, better known as Troy Barnes from the hit NBC sitcom “Community,” has been strengthening his place in music. After releasing albums such as 2010’s “Camp,” Glover’s music has risen.

Glover graduated from Lakeside High School in his hometown of DeKalb, Georgia, and went on to earn a degree in dramatic writing from New York University’s Tisch School of Arts. In his early life, he was not entirely interested in music, but writing. It was not until college that he decided to kickstart his career in music.

In addition to rapping, Glover is also a television superstar, being a writer for 23 episodes of the hit television sitcom “30 Rock” as well as writing for “Saturday Night Live.” Glover has cameoed in over 14 television shows, including “Regular Show,” which airs on Cartoon Network.

Glover stumbled upon his stage name Childish Gambino from a Wu-Tang Clan name generator. The word “Gambino” appears in several lyrics from WuTang songs. “I think it was like sophomore year of college. We were all hanging out, chilling and drinking and then we were like, ‘oh, Wu-Tang name generator, let’s put our name in,’” Gambino said in an interview with late night television star Jimmy Fallon.

“Because the Internet,” Glover’s second and most recent studio album, released in October, December 2013

brought not only old, but new listeners to his music.

The album is different from his past tracks in the sense that it creates an upbeat atmosphere. The tracks are still rap, but more effort was put into creating a melody, something his other songs usually lacked.

When “ROYALTY,” a mixtape produced by Gambino, was released in 2012, Gambino went for more of an underground, southern feel. One song, “Toxic,” samples parts of Britney Spears’ song of the same title.

Childish Gambino’s music has always been different from other rappers of the same genre. His music is sophisticated, eloquent and profound but also profane. Scott Heisel of Alternative Press describes Gambino as “taking the Odd Future approach to music.”

“Unlike the Los Angeles horrorcore troupe, though, Childish Gambino’s music is far classier, forward-thinking and pop-minded,” he said in his review of “Camp.”

Although, what “ROYALTY” has that “Because the Internet” and “Camp” do not is SKYWLKR. SKYWLKR is a producer that is part of the “Bruiser Brigade,” a rap group associated with Danny Brown, whose work is similar to Gambino’s. SKYWLKR is known for his talent in creating beats for artists and sampling music in the modern hip-hop scene. What I would mention is, quite frankly, this type of music is not immediately appealing. It is an acquired liking.

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Student Life

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The rider silhouette, pictured here by the front entrance, has been with RHS since at least the 1940s. Photo by Maddie Otterdaughter.

Roosevelt Dominates Academics, Athletics and ... Aesthetics A look at the history of the symbols of RHS story | Danylo Lavrentovich

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ompared to other high schools across the nation, Roosevelt holds a unique identity. RHS emblems and insignias are not derivatives of outside graphic design, as our school has built its spirit through original work. Kent’s high school was named in honor of 26th President Theodore Roosevelt in 1922, and its students have since been the Rough Riders (a volunteer cavalry led by Roosevelt in the Spanish-American War).

The Rough Rider silhouette is our school’s central symbol, which most students directly pass by near the front entrance of the building each morning.

The silhouette is the backbone of Roosevelt, as it is seen in the circular official seal. The rider and horse have lived for nearly the entire duration of our school’s history, even making appearances on student booklets from the 1940s.

The most widely-used instance of the Rough Rider today is atop the Roosevelt R, which is primarily used to identify our school’s sports teams. The logo is ubiquitous, seen everywhere from school t-shirts to Rider Pride lawn signs around the community.

Many other high schools use generic logos (take a look at the bulldogs of Stow-Munroe Falls and Woodridge) or use derivatives of professional logos (the Latin teacher John Phillips created the Field Falcons’ logo largely resembles that of the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons and even uses the same color scheme), but Roosevelt stands apart with its unique, instantly identifiable emblem.

Latin teacher John Phillips designed the logo in the early 2000s. After noticing a block R in the office of then-athletic director Ernie Rutzky on a sheet of graph paper and a print of the traditional Rough Rider silhouette in another area of the room, Phillips recalls having a “moment” of merging the two symbols together. He compared the creation of the logo to a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup commercial, describing his vision as a “‘Hey you got your Rider on my R!’ …‘You

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got your R on my Rider!’” instance. Phillips drew it up on Adobe Illustrator later that day, and the rest became history.

“Next thing I knew, it was everywhere,” Phillips recalls.

Student organizations are free to use the Rider logo for identification purposes, but the issue becomes rather dicey when fundraising is involved. According to student activities coordinator Heidi Jurging, the Rider Zone is the only body that can sell Roosevelt spirit wear and use the Rider logo to represent the school. Clubs may use the logo in merchandise if the profits are specific to the club. For example, the Class of 2014 may sell a shirt using the Rider logo if the funds are used to only benefit the class.

Roosevelt’s red, white and black color scheme is not completely unique, as it is also shared with Portage Trail Conference Metro Division foes Norton and Field. Crestwood and Springfield also use red as their primary color, but they feature gray accents as well.

From 1922 to 1959, during Roosevelt’s time in the building that is now Davey Elementary, the color scheme was green and white. From 1959 to the late 1990s, Roosevelt had been strictly red and white with the Rough Rider silhouette as the main identifying symbol. Towards the end of the millenium, a “black for black’s sake” movement swept across the nation, as professional (most notably the New York Mets in 1998), collegiate and high school teams began to add black to their color swatches even if it had never previously been a team color. In Kent, black began as a supplementary color, but it is now featured nearly as heavily as red.

While the Rider logo dominates athletics insignias, Roosevelt also uses a sketch design of the school building on letterheads and school diplomas.

Theodore Roosevelt’s likeness is represented throughout our school, from the stain-glass window portrait to the Rider silhouette in the agenda planners, clothing and yard signs. Art teacher Judy Atkins remarks, “The symbols of Roosevelt are clean and crisp, and they definitely represent the integrity of Theodore Roosevelt.”

December 2013

18 Student Life The stage set up for the fall play in November. Photo by Maddie Otterdaughter.

History of Roosevelt’s Drama Department Opening the curtain on one of our school’s oldest traditions story | Audra Grimm

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t’s 1971, and Roosevelt students can hear the noise of an auditorium being constructed. To the average student, it’s just an addition to the building. To the drama students, it’s music to the ears, as that new auditorium is much more than a simple addition. It means a place to rehearse, to perform and to express themselves, thanks to the director and founder of the auditorium, Dick Roberts.

Today, Roosevelt’s finest thespians use the auditorium for a fall play, winter musical and spring one-acts under the direction of English teachers Sarah Kaplan and Jeff Harr. Kaplan has been the head director for the past ten years and Harr has been the assistant director for the past eight. Before Kaplan and Harr, Mary Ann Costa was the director for 20 years between 1984 and 2004, and before her, Dick Roberts for 30 years. In his time here, Roberts designed the auditorium the student body is so familiar with, and the hall was formerly dedicated to him in 1995. Roberts was the auditorium manager for 20 years, and directed more than 100 plays, including around 20 musicals.

“Prior to the Richard Roberts auditorium, I believe Davey School housed the high school’s performances, years ago before the high school was built. Once the high school was opened, all shows were performed on stage in the auditorium,” Costa said.

The drama department has been included with the school’s extracurricular activities throughout Roosevelt’s history. The archives start with Roberts as the first director at Roosevelt, but there may be a clear founder further back than we can tell. Drama really

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took off during the 60s, scheduling three shows a year.

Under the direction of Costa, the musical was every other year and in the fall rather than the winter.

“When I was in charge of the drama program, the format was different. It usually was a fall play, winter one-acts and a spring musical every other year. That was the format that existed during Roberts’ tenure also.

It worked so well. Having the one-acts in the middle of the two plays gave some individuals a breather from the rigors of full rehearsal schedules. The original schedule also facilitated the building of the major play sets very well.”

Under Kaplan, the musical was changed to every year in the spring, but eventually switched to the winter. This choice proved to be the best for some, as the athletes involved tended to not play winter sports, so their schedule was freed up for the musical.

Changing the one-acts to the spring was also a wise choice, seeing as the seniors involved tend to be less focused right before school lets out, and the one-acts require less demand than the play and musical.

Kaplan says the support is great, but she would like to see some new auditionees from the student body. “I think the students miss out on what we have to offer because they don’t really know what we do. We try to get new people to try out all the time. I think if students knew what we did they would really like it.”

According to Harr and Kaplan, the amount of students who audition for shows has stayed rather consistent over the past few years, with their experience in drama and show production varying. Some were The Colonel

Student Life involved in the community theater here in Kent at a young age, some have background from the plays at Stanton or St. Pats and some come out for tryouts some time in their high school career with no former experience, love it, and regret not doing it sooner. Many drama alumni go on to study music or drama and praise Roosevelt for the growth in their field. Those who go into theater tend to be involved in directing, stage management, etc. rather than actually acting. During Costa’s 20 year tenure, several drama guild graduates have become involved in theater, in the categories of acting, directing, costume design, production design and even stand-up comedy.

“Roosevelt is very respectful of the drama department and the arts in general,” said Harr.

He went on to explain that the city of Kent loves the arts, and the department has a great budget, bringing in plenty of money from attendance thanks to the community.

Costa added that in her time, Roosevelt had one of the best programs and facilities in the area. Kent’s drama department differs from other schools in that the money and other resources are available to offer students both acting and set design courses. Most schools do not have the money for that and simply have an after-school theater which puts on one or two shows per year, compared to our three. Roosevelt has the uniqueness of having a well-equipped facility and budget to continue putting on performances. Along with having a live pit orchestra with student musicians, RHS also has the luxury of intertwining the curriculum and drama department.

For the musical, the cast always tries to pick a well-known show to put on, as it increases attendance. As for the fall play, they do a little bit of everything, including some new shows. Last fall’s production, “The Election,” was brand new and related to the upcoming presidential election, which increased interest. The one-act plays differ from the other two productions because of their tradition.

The students performing the one-acts both write and direct it for their own groups, rather than Kaplan and Harr being in charge of the productions.

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The entrance to the scene shop with role assignments posted inside on the wall.

students who are members of the International Thespians Society, a prominent and worldwide society into which eligible student actors are inducted. Last year Roosevelt had around 20 students inducted, hopefully with more to come.

December 2013

20 Arts & Culture Bastille plays a concert in London in March, 2013. Photo courtesy of Carsten Windhorst.

Album Review: “Bad Blood” by B∆stille British band’s LP is quick, catchy but unremarkable

review | Sydnie Barnette

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or fans of Fun. and Mumford and Sons alike comes B∆stille, the indie pop rock quartet from London. Formed in 2010, the band came out with their first release the same year, a seven-inch 45 rpm record on an obscure indie label out of the UK. Just 300 copies of the release were pressed. Their most recent and first studio recorded release is called “Bad Blood.” This highly produced opus is a far cry from B∆stille’s humble beginnings. Clocking in at a mere 40 minutes, this 12-track Virgin Records release is sure to please the masses, giving a sometimes dark, sometimes bright, sometimes synthy, always poppy aesthetic known and loved far and wide.

“Bad Blood” runs headfirst into a strong start with “Pompeii.” The song starts boldly with chanting and drum playing. The impressively crafted background music and impeccable vocal arrangements make this song an indisputable pop gem. The complex yet effortlessly pulled off arrangement and inclusion of battle cry-esque “ooh”ing and “ahh”ing backup singers makes this song an unforgettable one.

Not losing any momentum, “Bad Blood” fails to disappoint, delivering a heavy dose of on-the-mark pop songs. Among the definite standouts is “Overjoyed,” a dreamy synth-and-piano number reminiscent of M83.

“Icarus,” an epic homage to the Greek myth, evokes spot-on imagery for an overzealous child, particularly in the chorus. “Daniel in the Den” is the piano-laden allusion to the Bible story. Harmonizing vocal parts, killer percussion and the sparing use of synth make this song a more subdued addition to the album.

“Laura Palmer” gives an amped up, synth-heavy 11th

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track. Rounding out the album is “Get Home,” a soft, sweet number fit to dolefully stare out a car window to.

“Bad Blood” is surely a pop gem, filled with pop anthems, created for pop listeners who dabble in indie rock music. The immaculate musical arrangements and truly magnificent vocals fall just short of simultaneously hiding and sustaining the two biggest downfalls of the album: lyrical banality and the sameness of the songs.

This is certainly not to say that all the songs are lyrically vapid, however some undeniably miss the mark. In “Laura Palmer,” the lyrics are, “This is your blood / Can you feel it ... / Pumps through your veins.”

Certainly these lyrics do little to challenge or even stimulate a listener intellectually, however the benefit of pop music is that it does not necessarily have to.

While the songs are beautifully arranged, they do little to wow their audience with originality.

Next to that is the fact that, while all the songs are exciting and fun, the album gives little time to breathe and consequently, each song loses the opportunity to have its own spotlight. Subsequently, the songs tend to meld themselves into the one another, creating, if one is not listening carefully, an unmemorable 40-minute pop mash.

Overall, though, “Bad Blood” by B∆stille is an album of quality, upbeat pop songs. These pop rock anthems are sure to be heard and hummed and not quickly forgotten.

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Arts & Culture

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Album Review: “The Constant One” by Iron Chic Lonely lyrics with simple sounds review | Sydney Cannon

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ron Chic is the five piece punk band from Long Island, New York that leans more to old school pop-punk with hints of more hardcore melodies.

“The Constant One” is their second full-length album and one of the best things they’ve put out in a while. In comparison to their first album “Not Like This,” “The Constant One” has much more emotional, personal and serious lyrics.

Though “Not Like This” is a well-rounded album, it falls low in emotional depth and seriousness in comparison to “The Constant One,” which is more fast paced with deeper lyrics. “Not Like This” is more diverse instrumentally but has the downside of random beats or rhythms that don’t always go together. “The Constant One” is more consistent in their instrumentation and rhythm with softer sounds and serious lyrics which make it more intense. They didn’t fall into the typical sophomore slump that some artists face with their second record.

This album is about strength and finding light in the darkness, but it also talks about being lost in the darkness. In their song “Spooky Action At A Distance,” Jason Lubrano, lead vocalist, sings about time passing and losing yourself in it. Lubrano sings, “I’ll breathe when I have to / And I’ll leave when you say so / I’ll burn in the meantime / But only on the inside.” It brings the emotions of no longer feeling intact and struggling with yourself and all that life may bring you.

The album isn’t all about struggling though.

The song “Whatever Happened To The Man Of Tomorrow” is about rebuilding and creating something better even though it all seems bad. “I know this world is a terrible place / At least it seems that way / Even on a good day / We’ll make a new one with our own two hands / No one else is gonna do it for us.” These lyrics are heavy with themes of creating yourself on your own, pulling yourself up by your bootstraps. The song discusses recreating what people might see as dying and overcoming it. “(Castle) Numbskull” also brings up overcoming and finding light but also losing it: “I’ve been lost before / I’ve seen the lights on a distant shore / With a full moon to guide me / And to pull in the tide for me.”

While sharing a common theme, the lyrics are all different in their subject matter and there are at least one or two songs almost anyone can relate to on some level or another. Their tone is open and honest, with most emotions being direct and blunt. A downside to some people would be the vulgar language that is used throughout the album.

Musically speaking, the album’s drum beats

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and melodies are very monotonous with sporadic moments of creativity. Lubrano’s voice is gruff but there isn’t any “screaming” or “growling” in the album which is nice for those who do not like that. His voice can be very soothing and smooth, though the lyrics are sad, he’ll make you want to sing along anyways to the ballads. Some may be annoyed by the repetitiveness of the rhythm and beats that are in the songs. Though the lyrics do change, the beat and melodies sound very similar from track to track.

Though not everyone enjoys punk music, this is a very relatable album. The songs of sadness and overcoming are inspiring and help make people feel a little less alone in the world. This album is recommended for anyone who likes punk or poppunk music even a little. “The Constant One” is also for someone who feels lost in the world, as it can give direction or hope. This album earns three out of five stars. Bottom line: though the lyrics are fantastic, it’s too repetitive in sound. Their record can be ordered from www.b9store.com/ironchic for $10.00 or digitally downloaded from their record lable Bridge Nine’s Bandcamp for $8.99.

December 2013

22 Arts & Culture R5: Pass Me By

Quintet of friendship’s bubblegum single is infectious, repetitive review | Sydnie Barnette

R

5 is the Disney-affiliated pop band formed in 2009 by the four Lynch siblings (Riker, Rocky, Ross and Rydel) and their friend Ellington Lee Ratliff. Their rise to stardom began in 2010 when they self-released an EP, later being picked up by Hollywood Records for the release of a full length album later in the year. In February 2013, the band released

their debut EP, “Loud.” In September 2013, R5 released their first full-length album, “Louder,” the lead single of which is “Pass Me By,” which premiered on Radio Disney, meant for a tween to teen audience.

Beginning like the ubiquitous pop anthems of the early 2000s (Stacie Orrico called, she wants her riff back), R5’s “Pass Me By” kicks off with heartfelt reverie, recalling a trip to Mexico. “Hangin’ with the boys and all your senoritas,” sings a gentleman with bleach blond dyed hair in the video. The scene is serene. The five 20-something-year-old sibling-friend-turned band members stand in a field, playing instruments and generally basking jovially in a gilding sunset. Suddenly the scene cuts to young adults pushing one anDecember 2013

other erratically into a lake.

The song, “Pass Me By,” about a single female, switches lead singers. Bleach blond boy takes a back seat as a Jordan Catalano look-alike wielding an acoustic guitar sings, “I was chillin’, you were with him/Hooked up by the fire.” Suddenly the song explodes into chorus, “Like damn / You could be the one that could mess me up ... / I was solo / Living YOLO [You Only Live Once] / Till you blew my mind.” These individuals (or their songwriters) could use a grammar lesson, but the pure energy and excitement of their music should make up for any grammatical discrepancies … hopefully.

Blondie takes up the role of frontman once more to firmly state that he “was trying to play too cool to get caught up.” The video itself depicts the band members and their cronies in what appears to be a rainforest setting, sometimes paired off with their presumed significant others. Large group shots are shown, one in particular showing a whole lot of teenagers laughing hysterically under a waterfall.

Another shows the group around a bonfire.

Suddenly the Jordan Catalano look-alike takes charge to provide a bridge fit to clap to. The music cuts out except for a pounding drumbeat for a run-through of the chorus, which is simply build-up to allow for an exuberant finale chorus, heavily laden with “oh-oh”s and “yea, bro”s.

Between jangly guitar riffs, harmonizing sibling vocals and a fool-proof pop song formula that has been working for what seems like eons, “Pass Me By” is the kind of earworm song you won’t be forgetting no matter how hard you try. If you’re an avid lover of music, passionate about musical complexity or depth of meaning in any respect, R5’s Pass Me By is not for you. If you’re into repetitive radio pop, then you won’t want to pass R5 by.

The Colonel

23 Colonel Issue Three Crossword Leisure

compiled by | Danylo Lavrentovich designed by | Maddie Otterdaughter

Note: All answers can be found within the issue.

Across 3. Month in which the Boston Marathon bombing took place 4. First name of one of the two founders of YouTube 5. Finish the song lyric: Hangin’ with the boys and all your _________ 7. Creator of the Progressive Party in 1912 10. Last name of the creator of “Let’s Play” YouTube videos 16. Woodridge _________ 17. Television channel where Donald Glover often does cameo appearances (two words, no spaces) 20. State in which a woman is required to undergo invasive ultrasounds before terminating a pregnancy (two words, no spaces)

Down

1. The second word in the title of the song that has the following lyrics: This is your blood / Can you feel it... / Pumps through your veins 2. Coach of RHS Special Olympics 6. Roosevelt’s _________ _________ Auditorium (no spaces) 8. This is the ______-______ volume of the Colonel 9. Lead vocalist of the band that released an album called ‘The Constant One’ 11. Ohio State’s opponent in the 2014 Discover Orange Bowl 12. Host of the 2018 Winter Olympics 13. Country that has a minimum wage of $15 per hour 14. The official seller of school merchandise at Roosevelt (two words, no spaces) 15. President of the Russian Federation 18. RHS drama director during the 90s 19. Women below the federal poverty level have over ______ percent of all abortions in the United States

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