Volume 85 Issue 2

The Colonel Volume 85. Issue Two. November 2013.

COVER FRONT

The Perception of Self-Harm, Page 15

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

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Twitter: @RHSColonel Flickr Photo & Video: http://www.flickr.com/photos/101494842@N02/ Online Archive of Issues: http://issuu.com/trhscolonel

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Contents

2

Editorial

3

Opinion

Thanksgiving is Being Looked at All Wrong Cell Phones are Ruining Social Scenes

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Arts & Culture

“Gravity” Review “Breaking Bad” Review Accordions: Not Just a Novelty Instrument The Rap Game with Pat Daltorio: A Look at Ab-Soul Chill Fashion: Layering

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10 Student Life

Fall Play Practice Photospread First Amendment Poll Scribbles Coffee Co. Open Mic Nights The Perception of Self-Harm

17 News

Helium Shortage Roger Sidoti Elected to City Council Obamacare: Frequently Asked Questions America Versus the World Outliers in the Gay Rights Movement Equality Spreads Across America A Liberal Dose of Pessimism: A House Divided

28 Sports

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Varsity Winter Sports Preview 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 “Particale” Daltorio Guest Contributor Grant Wang Advisor David Massucci

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Editorial

Thanksgiving is Being Looked at All Wrong Holiday should be more humble, reflective in honor of Native Americans story | The Colonel Staff

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or many of us, the word Thanksgiving brings a pristine image of togetherness to mind. The portrait of the first Thanksgiving in 1621 is nailed to the national consciousness: Plymouth pilgrims enjoying a bountiful harvest with a tribe of Native Americans, all prejudice and violence relinquished for the feast.

The governor of Plymouth Colony at the time, William Bradford, detailed this first “Thanksgiving” in his journal “Of Plymouth Plantation.” Yes, the Pilgrims did welcome members of the Wampanoag tribe to the celebration, but it was only because the tribe signed a treaty with the Pilgrims allowing the Plymouth Colony land to be shared. Even so, the following years would find the Wampanoag succumbing to European diseases and Thanksgiving feasts being held by colonial settlements that were not as friendly to the New World’s natives as the Plymouth pilgrims.

Yet, Thanksgiving is presented by schools and the media as an entirely joyous holiday celebrating cooperation between two groups that was nonexistent in reality.

Television networks focus on the Macy’s Day Parade, cooking tips and football around this time of year, with little or no attention to the oppression native peoples faced and continue to face. The public school system only makes matters worse, as schoolchildren dressing up like Pilgrims and Native Americans makes kids believe things were fine between the two groups. Most textbooks

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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.

November 2013

completely lack a Native American perspective on the holiday. If they did, perhaps it would be common knowledge that a group called United American Indians of New England established Thanksgiving Day as a “Day of Mourning” in 1969 and meet every Thanksgiving in Plymouth. A plaque mounted on a rock at Plymouth’s Cole Hill reads: “Thanksgiving Day is a reminder of the genocide of millions of [Native American] people, the theft of [their] lands, and the relentless assault on [their] culture.” While many folks of European ancestry celebrate Thanksgiving in honor of the safe arrival of the Mayflower, a large amount of America’s original inhabitants do not see colonialism as something to be recognized with football games and the biggest parade of the year, and for good reason.

The holiday should not garner attention for positivity. Commercialization has also had a part in hijacking what should be a humble holiday. Instead of information about why some Native Americans don’t welcome the holiday with open arms, the public gets goofy turkey merchandise and Black Friday. The holiday’s roots are in genocide and robbery; when you remember that, doesn’t the Macy’s Day Parade suddenly seem inappropriate?

We are not advocating the abolishment of Thanksgiving; nothing beats family and gratefulness. However, we are calling for greater awareness of the Native American perspective and for the holiday to be pensive and solemn. Schools must tell children the truth about the Pilgrims and the Native Americans.

The Macy’s Day Parade cannot receive more attention than the oppression that has been going on for centuries. In the days between Thanksgivings, be sure to keep the plight of the Native Americans in mind so you can be reflective on what exactly America means to different people on such a subjective holiday.

The Colonel Volume 85 Issue Two November 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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Opinion

Many people today live through the screens of their digital devices rather than through their own eyes. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.

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How Rude!

Are cell phones ruining social scenes? | Sydney Cannon

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eenagers use their phones for everything, from using the calculator for math class, to looking at cute animals on the Internet, to Facebook stalking their crush. According to a 2013 Pew Research Center survey, 74 percent of teens own a cellphone and 47 percent own a smartphone. Teenagers socialize through their phones quite a bit, with one in four teens using their cellphone mostly to access the Internet.

High schoolers are on their phones constantly, posting to social sites like Twitter, Tumblr and Facebook, but with the rise of apps and sites such as Instagram and Vine, teens have the option to not only tell people what they’re doing, but to show people as well.

In this day and age, it is not uncommon to see cell phones out and recording at sporting events, concerts, shows and sometimes movies or theatrical performances. When people go to a concert at Blossom Music Center in Cuyahoga Falls, they more than likely will see rows of cellphones held in the air recording and taking pictures of the performance. This raises the question of whether people are actually watching the show or mostly just viewing it from their cellphones and not embracing the moment fully.

When the cell phone is put down, people are able to embrace the moment. When someone is completely in the moment of a show or a game, they feel the energy of everyone around them.

They might hear their new favorite lyric to a song at a concert or they get to witness the winning touchdown at a football game. When the phone is put down, no one has to worry about it getting dropped or broken, no one has to worry about ruining the recording. Putting the phone down allows you to fully embrace the moment and to make a memory.

According to www.onlineitdegree.com,

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83 percent of people use their phones to take pictures, which reinforces the thought that people are viewing life through a screen. Many people have pictures to remember the moment but only have the memory of taking the picture instead of creating moments and having fun. When people see life through the camera, it limits their view to a small screen. They are observing everyone else having fun instead of doing it themselves. They want to remember the moment, the fun they had, but they weren’t doing anything other than recording and raising their phones.

This can be perceived as offensive and rude not only by the musician, sports team, etc. but also by other goers to these events. James Lee, a Roosevelt senior, is both a performer and a showgoer. He explained that constantly recording shows and events is rude to both parties. “When I go to shows, I want to move around and have fun but when someone has their phone out in a crowd, it becomes difficult. I have to worry about running into them and possibly breaking their phones, which is no fun.” He then went on to say how phones are rude to a performer: “If you go to one of my shows, I want to see you dancing and moving! People just standing there makes me feel like I’m not doing well on stage. Sure, it’s cool you want to remember or show others but also make a point to move around and actually enjoy the music.”

Recently Glenn Danzig, formerly of the popular horror-punk band The Misfits, ran into some trouble for banning cell phones at his concerts. At a show in Tampa, Florida, Danzig called out a showgoer for recording his show with a cellular device and told the crowd to attack the recorder. Though what Danzig did was extreme, it is a prime example of how performers can be offended by this.

Going to shows and outings is about having fun and making memories. The main focus should not be capturing it all and seeing it through a tiny screen. People should put their phones in their pockets and have a good time. Teens should capture the little things and make memories out of the things people will never forget.

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4 Arts & Culture Gravity

Gravity

The best movie of 2013?

story | Pat “Particale” Daltorio

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he movie begins with Dr. Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock), a medical mission specialist on the space shuttle “Explorer.” The crew commander, Lieutenant Matt Kowalski (George Clooney), is overseeing Stone’s work when they both receive a radio transmission from mission control that debris from a meteor strike is approaching their location quickly. The two are forced to abort their mission and quickly make it aboard the “Explorer” to safety. Dr. Stone insists on finishing her repairs and claims the malfunctioning part she was repairing is still “initializing,” causing the two to argue in the open rain of debris. They are then thrown out into the depths of zerogravity space and lose radio contact with each other as well as mission control. Dr. Stone and Kowalski are forced to find safety in the inhospitable conditions of space alone.

I have to say, some of the camera work is excellent. The scenes shot in the first person point-of-view made me feel like I was Dr. Stone trying to enter the International Space Station.The filmmakers successfully achieved putting the audience in the position of Dr. Stone. Most of the film was actually created with computer-generated images. Before seeing this movie, CGI in most movies was more of a negative as it would bring down the immersion and realism. “Gravity” brings the world of computer-generation to a new era. It actually fits in well in this film. I highly

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recommend seeing this movie in the 3D format because of this; but be weary, some parts are very disorientating, such as when Dr. Stone is detached from the shuttle and spinning out of control. That being said, the spinning camerawork conveyed the constant struggle of trying to move quickly and efficiently in zero gravity throughout the film quite well.

Throughout the film, I couldn’t help but feel like I was viewing some type of modern Hollywood version of Stanley Kubrick’s “2001: A Space Odyssey.” The scenes without sound or music where Dr. Stone is struggling to move and operate in the zero-gravity atmosphere are very similar to scenes of Dr. David Bowman floating into space. Most movies focus on the loud intense music to add to the suspense, but “Gravity” does not need music to express its suspenseful moments. This silent technique is rare nowadays but quite effective.

However, the movie is not perfect. Honestly, it’s not a very good movie if you aren’t interested. Most parts are predictable and there really isn’t any clear motive to the story. It doesn’t elaborate enough on the main character’s background. You are only provided with minor details.

“Gravity” is overall very suspenseful. It is kind of boring and uninteresting to watch at times, but still somehow catches my attention from the cinematography perspective. The visual effects are very interesting and seem to be produced well enough to provide viewers with a feeling of realism. There are many emotional and saddening scenes in the movie that are very touching. The actors are involved in the story, and make this movie as immersive as it is hyped up to be. It is also one of Alfonso Cuaron’s more notable, high-profile works since “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.” If you are into action or thrillers, I recommend seeing it as there is plenty of action and suspense in this film. I give this movie two out of five stars.

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Arts & Culture

If You Haven’t Broken Bad Yet, it’s Time

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The thrilling series came to an end in 2013, but its impact will live on story | Danylo Lavrentovich

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n the 2014 edition of the Guinness World Records, AMC’s “Breaking Bad” will be featured as the highest rated TV series of all time with a score of 99/100 on Metacritic.com. The show is also currently the highest rated television series on Internet Movie Database (IMDb), with a score of 9.5 on a 10 point scale (largely driven by users), ahead of other critically lauded series such as “The Sopranos” and “The Wire.” Many critics call today’s state of the small screen the Second Golden Age of Television. With many acclaimed dramas like “Boardwalk Empire,” “House of Cards,” “Downton Abbey,” “Mad Men” and “Homeland,” “Breaking Bad” is the crystal blue champion of them all.

Vince Gilligan, a former writer and producer of “The X-Files,” is the mastermind behind “Breaking Bad,” and he came up with the show in early 2001. The series pitch was originally turned down by television giants like HBO, FX, Showtime and TNT for seeming too bleak and depressing. AMC, already having great success with “Mad Men,” agreed to produce “Breaking Bad.” The risk paid off, and the show would later become what many critics call the greatest drama series in history.

“Breaking Bad” is the story of Walter White – an Albuquerque, New Mexico high school chemistry teacher diagnosed with terminal lung cancer – who, after noticing the high cash payoff, resorts to cooking crystal meth to leave money for his family after his death. His home situation is also dicey, as his wife Skyler is pregnant with another child, his son has cerebral palsy and his brother-in-law is a Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) officer. White partners up with Jesse Pinkman, his former studentturned drug dealer to start the business venture.

“Breaking Bad” is a gripping, dark drama that affects the audience in profound ways. It expands on several ideas, questioning the concept of family, illuminating the desire to create an alterego and showing the extent to which never-beforerealized urges can be reached. The show also excels visually with stunning camera angles, beautiful, scenic shots of New Mexican desert and tastefully timed montages with satisfying music.

“Breaking Bad” is also helped by its strong cast. Walter White is played by Bryan Cranston,

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who was previously known as Hal in “Malcolm in the Middle.” Aaron Paul (Pinkman) won two Emmy awards for his supporting role as Jesse, and Anna Gunn (playing Skyler White) received the 2013 Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress. Each character is complex and developed through the five seasons of the show, and the dialogue throughout the show feels genuine, not just scripted.

The show is laden with criminal activity and unapologetic depictions of violence and drug addiction, yet part of its major appeal lies in its roots in science, something many other series are reluctant to approach. A high school chemistry class is a setting common to nearly every viewer. While the show does have minor flaws (some chemical processes are exaggerated for dramatic effect, and pure crystal meth is transparent and glassy; trust me, I would know), Vince Gilligan and the writing team excel in scientific accuracy and give remarkable attention to detail.

Albuquerque has even seen a tourism boom because of the show, with trolley tours of popular show landmarks in the city attracting fans of all types and novelty stores selling blue rock candy and official show merchandise.

The show’s biggest asset is its devotion to narrative; each episode serves as a subsequent step in the story rather than simply a new situation for recurring characters.

“Breaking Bad” goes into great depths to develop each character and provide emotional whirlwinds that often lead to agonizing cliffhangers. With the availability of Netflix and DVRs however, today’s television audience is able to binge-watch the series straight through and enjoy “Breaking Bad” as a gripping epic until the show’s conclusion in “Felina,” episode 62.

“Breaking Bad”’s excellent writing, beautiful cinematography and attention to detail transcend the show into elite television status. The show has collectively won ten Primetime Emmy Awards (without taking into account the latter half of the final season).

Many series seem to taper off in originality and plummet in ratings as new seasons are added (take a look at “Dexter”), but “Breaking Bad” has improved each year.

From Season One to Season Five, the show’s scores on Metacritic increased from 74 to 99. The series concluded on September 29, with 10.28 million viewers tuning in.

If you haven’t begun breaking bad yourself, it’s time to respect the chemistry.

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Arts & Culture

This full size accordion has 120 left hand buttons and 41 right hand piano keys. Photo by Maddie Otterdaughter.

Not Just a Novelty Instrument The decline of the accordion in modern society | Sydnie Barnette & Danylo Lavrentovich

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he accordion is viewed as a somewhat elusive instrument. Not many people have physically seen one or even know how to go about learning to play it. Accordionists are few and far between, especially classical ones. More and more we see the accordion adapting to modern music’s needs and changing from the traditional instrument once played robustly on hillsides into a quirky pop attraction.

The accordion is an imitating instrument, with various reed options changing the pitch of notes. Accordion sheet music will often indicate whether to use master (full-sound accordion), violin, clarinet, oboe or other reed ranks to produce desired sound ranges.

The instrument has also been remodeled and reengineered many times in history to better serve musicians around the world. While a piano is common to nearly all musical cultures, the accordion has evolved separately in different international tastes ranging from Argentinian tango, Bohemian polka and Italian saltarella.

Standard accordions in the United States feature narrow piano keys for the right hand and an array of buttons for the left hand (rows of single notes and corresponding chords – major, minor, dominant seventh, diminished seventh). The accordionist must compress and expand the bellows of the instrument to produce sound. In eastern Europe, the bayan is a popular version of the accordion, with the right hand pressing

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buttons rather than playing piano keys.

Local piano and accordion teacher Anna Rickert commented on the state of the instrument in the United States: “Now to say you play classical accordion brings a strange look from the person you are speaking with. Most people think the instrument is only meant for polkas and dance music.”

Around 50 years ago, several universities offered accordion as a major to study classical pieces. As the instrument has the capacity to produce several different sounds as imitations, very few composers wrote strictly for the accordion. According to Rickert, “classical music for the accordion has to be transcribed for the instrument and that is a major reason it declined in the universities.”

The instrument has since found a niche in the U.S. as a novelty in folk bands. The obscurity of the accordion in a classical instrument sense leads to a feeling of amazement and wonder from audiences who do not typically see the instrument in real life. Local musician and accordion teacher Ben Shuber says that “the accordion is not exactly the most popular instrument, but when played properly [it] is very respected.” Classical accordion teachers are hard to find, and American accordion competitions are largely hidden from the public eye, yet the instrument serves as a unique complementary piece to bands like They Might Be Giants and The Decembrists.

The accordion is currently regarded as a novelty, and its deep historical roots are overlooked. Its reputation has perhaps diverged the most out of any other instrument, from the public’s initial opinion to its current one. What was once a well respected and popular instrument is now obscure and almost humorous.

While the future of accordion playing remains a bit of a mystery, hopefully there can be a rise in popularity and, with assimilation into more bands, a coinciding rise in legitimacy and appreciation for players. Ben Shuber concludes, “I believe myself and other players like me will change the shape of accordion music to come into [something] no one ever expected!”

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The Rap Game with Pat Daltorio

Arts & Culture

The Book of Soul

An exploration of Ab-Soul’s unique music

story | Pat “Particale” Daltorio

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erbert Anthony Stephens IV, more commonly recognized as Ab-Soul, is part of the rap group Black Hippy.

Black Hippy is made up of Jay Rock, Kendrick Lamar and ScHoolboy Q. Although the members of Black Hippy have all produced their own independent studio albums, they continue to show up together in their own music. Ab-Soul, however, has his own unique style. His music has a very calm foundation and is similar to jazz or soul music. His mellow beats and intelligent lyrics, such as “Manipulating minds/Reciprocating

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time spent on my amazing rise,” keep the listeners interested in his messages. It isn’t too powerful or overloaded with loud drum beats at ear-popping frequencies. He explains in his raps how life was for him growing up in a lower income neighborhood in California.

At the age of ten, Ab-Soul contracted a rare skin disease called Stevens-Johnsons Syndrome, causing him to become sensitive to light and acquire dark colored lips, which is where his nickname “Black Lip Bastard,” now changed to “Black Lip Pastor,” originates. Throughout junior high and high school Stephens was teased for his black lips and everpresent sunglasses.

“I was quite peculiar,” Soul admits in an interview with Complex Music. Growing up in Carson, California, he took a large interest into video games and basketball. He even mentions in one of his songs, “Terrorist Threats,” that “before [he] pushed rhymes like weight, [he] used to want to play for the NBA.” 2012’s “Control System”, one of his most recent studio albums, provides more of a strengthened background on AbSoul and his life. Some of the tracks focus on his association with Black Hippy while others will go off on mindless rants on the death of Alori Joh, his girlfriend who committed suicide months before the release of the album. It’s almost as if we are experiencing his very own emotions and insecurities, like we are hearing what Soul thinks he could have changed or done to prevent her death.

One song, “The Book of Soul,” goes in depth about his feelings towards Joh’s death as well as how he contracted SJS, and what he experienced growing up to become what he is today. Ab-Soul did not become more widely recognized until “Control System” dropped.

An album that has become very popular over a short span of time is Lamar’s own “Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City.” Kendrick Lamar’s quick growth on the charts has gained him a title of being the “Boss of Black Hippy.” Soul retorts this in a recent BET interview clarifying Soul’s intent on quitting the group, saying “My boss is not Kendrick. Kendrick didn’t sign me.

Kendrick didn’t add me to his group. This was a collective.

Long before it was Black Hippy, we were all together. Don’t get the wrong idea. We’re not band members or something like that. We don’t just stand in the background and like, dance when Kendrick raps.” Despite the confusion Soul is still with the Black Hippy group.

Ab-Soul’s ways of self-expression and personal views are presented to us in strange but effective ways. This exposes his raw creativity and talent. His lyrics alone are more intellectual than almost any other mainstream hip-hop artist out there today. His educated vocabulary could originate from all of the AP honors classes Stephens was enrolled in as a high school student. Ab-Soul’s rap elaborates on this greatly. He is not as unintelligent as some may make him seem.

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Chill Fashion: story | Maddie Otterdaughter photos | Maddie Otterdaughter

With the arrival of Thanksgiving, red leaves and pumpkin-spice everything comes the chilly wrath of Ohio weather. November is that in-between time when we can experience summer, fall and winter all in one day. To cope with the fluctuating fall weather, Ohioans and Kentites in particular are faced with a dilemma. They seem to be limited in clothing in the following ways: they dress for one weather condition (which will likely change in an hour), make an outfit change halfway through the day or, the often more preferred option, layer.

Layering is a simple way to wear everything you want, be warm and look great all at the same time. As opposed to simply donning a hoodie or a varsity jacket, which most students do, layering gives off a more pro-

Senior Stewart Blackwood

Shoes: Black Converse Low-Tops – Amazon, $36 Jeans: Levi’s 510 Skinnies in Blue Canyon – UrbanExcess, $108 Shirt: Projek Raw Plaid Shirt – Buckle, $59 Sweater: Jack & Jones Premium V-Neck – Jack & Jones, $33 Coat: H.E. by MANGO Wool Blend Peacoat, $180 Scarf: Jack & Jones Sensation Scarf in Black – Jack & Jones, $20

: Layering

fessional and put-together vibe. However, there are some guidelines to follow if you don’t want to appear as if you are wearing everything you own.

Layers work best when you give them space to breathe.

The layer closest to you should be the smallest and the sizes should get slightly bigger as you work towards the coat or jacket. You can prepare for layering this season by buying a coat or jacket that’s bigger than what you typically wear.

When considering a sweatshirt with an outfit, opt for the crewneck or sweater instead of the hoodie. Crewnecks and sweaters have a cleaner design and you’ll avoid the hunchback look that a hood sticking out of your coat creates. Prepare for bipolar weather and be ready to take off the top layers at any time to adjust to the temperature.

Dress classy. Layer light.

Senior Michelle Vavra

Shoes: Steve Madden Troopa – Amazon, $60 Jeans: Skinny Jegging in Dark Wash – American Eagle, $35 Layering Tee: Merona Tee in White – Target, $6.80 Sweater: Cable Knit in Purple – American Eagle, $25 Coat: North Face Osito in Frosty Blue – Amazon, $90 Scarf: Sing the Sea Scarf – Billabong, $32

You Didn’t Say It Was Haunted

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Student Life

Do You Know Your Rights? Students Sure Don’t Roosevelt teens are polled on the First Amendment and don’t do so well

story | Audra Grimm

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any Roosevelt students cannot name their rights, but without a doubt use them every single day.

Stated in the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, citizens of the country have freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly and petition.

The Amendment is stated below in its true form: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

“44 percent [of students] knew On June 21, 1788, the Constitution was ratified and the government beneath it began on March 4, 1789. On December 15, 1791, Virginia, the tenth state out of fourteen needed to ratify changes, approved ten of twelve suggested amendments, later to be dubbed the Bill of Rights. With Virginia completing the two-thirds majority rule, these amendments became the first to be passed in history. The ratification of the Bill of Rights would prove to be a revolutionary act, used to protect the individual liberties of the citizens of the newly formed country.

Designing a new government for the United States was a task in itself, a process made even more difficult by opposing political parties and opinions: There were Federalists, who believed in a strong central government, and their opposite party, the Anti-Federalists, who wanted a smaller central government.

Federalists realized that in order to keep everyone happy, it must be agreed to add a Bill of Rights. The Anti-Federalists were concerned that because the Constitution was geared more towards a strong central government, their individual rights, as well as state rights, were being threatened. Leaders of their party insisted upon a Bill of Rights being November 2013

added to the Constitution in order to protect individuals and ensure that the central government, although formed in such a way that its power was kept in check, would not infringe on certain rights. Therefore, the first ten amendments of the United States Constitution came to be.

The most well known of the amendments, the First, is one that is simple, and lists the basic freedoms of individuals living in the country. It states that we, as citizens, have freedom of speech, press, religion, assembly and petition.

Freedom of speech is the most commonly known, as it allows us to speak as we please with some discretion. This part was made mainly to allow opinions to be stated without fear of consequences created by the government. Its original intentions stand as is, but what you say requires prudence, as certain offensive comments are are punishable if they induce panic or other unlawful action.

Freedom of press allows two or less rights.” the same thing as freedom of speech, but not only can an opinion be stated, it can be printed and distributed without consequences. Again, it has turned into a right we must use with discretion.

Freedom of religion is one part with extreme importance, especially in today’s age, when our society has become much more diverse in regards to religious beliefs than it was in the 1700s. Citizens living in the United States may practice or preach whatever religion they please, rather than exclusively Christianity, which was the main religion of the 18th century. It was looked down upon to not practice it, and certain states had punishments for those who did not follow the teachings states’ governments asked before this freedom materialized.

Freedom of assembly is a freedom many individuals may not realize is stated in the Bill of Rights, but they know that they can assemble a group if they please. They may peaceably form a protest or any other sort of gathering, once again, without consequences by the government, as long as it does not incite riots or any other law-breaking acts.

Freedom of petition allows citizens to complain or seek the help of the government without punishment. The automatic thought would be a list of names seeking to make a change, but this petitioning goes on to different levels of involvement as well.

As citizens, we hold these rights close, and know what we are able and unable to do, directed by the law. However, these freedoms may be taken for granted. Are they even known by all residents of the United States, or do we just know that we can say and do what we want? The thought that we put these rights into practice every day, but may not know exactly that they are stated for a fact is disheartening. We should not just assume we have The Colonel

Student Life

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freedom of speech, press, religion, assembly and petition. Citizens should realize that our Founding Fathers long before us fought for these rights, and the least everyone can do is be able to list off the five basic freedoms given over 200 years ago. The First Amendment is vital to us, whether we realize it or not.

You may know you can say or do something, but do you know why? In school, students learn the background of their basic rights, and continue to gain more information throughout their years. It should be a given that they can all list off all five of their basic rights with no hesitation by the time they are in high school, shouldn’t it? Maybe not.

A poll of the student body here at Roosevelt was taken out of 729 kids. 99 students knew all five rights, 156 knew four, 156 knew three, 194 knew two, 77 kids knew one and 47 kids knew none of the rights named in the First Amendment. 56 percent – only a little over half of the students polled – knew three or more of the rights we acquired so many years ago. The remaining number, 44 percent, knew two or less rights. Figure out where you stand with your knowledge of freedom. Do you know you have it and why, or do you just assume you have it?

As high school students who take history and government classes throughout our education, it should be known by now that you have very basic rights that other humans around the world could only dream of. Just as students are expected to know the Pledge of Allegiance, it should also be assumed that we know our rights.

If the Pledge is ingrained in our daily routine since we started school, our first five freedoms should be easily memorized as well. Not only is the Pledge longer than the First Amendment, but our freedoms are used each day, which would make them easier to know. Be able to state them if you can practice them every day with no questions as to why or how.

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Student Life

The back room of Scribbles gives off a comfortable, creative vibe. Photo by Maddie Otterdaughter.

Scribbles Coffee Co. Open Mic Nights

Scribbles Coffee to host weekly open mic nights and stimulate local creativity | Sydnie Barnette

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cribbles Coffee Co. is the independent coffee shop known for its laid-back atmosphere and organic, fair trade coffee. Recently placed under the ownership of Beth Budzar and Jenn Richards, Scribbles is now giving Kent community members a new place to express themselves, with the integration of weekly Saturday night open mic nights.

Scribbles first opened in 2002 in Cincinnati, Ohio, and moved to Kent in 2007. It was founded as a center for local congregation and appreciation for the arts, selling both coffee and hand-screen printed tee shirts, as well as occasionally hosting bands.

Now, local artists from Roosevelt and the Kent community at large come to Scribbles every Saturday night at 7 p.m. to share their feelings, thoughts and ideas through poetry and song. Scribbles’ Facebook page explicitly asks for only original material. The first open mic night was held on Saturday, October 19.

Lila Goehring, a freshman at Roosevelt, told us about her experience going to the open mic nights. “It was a lot of fun,” she said. “It made me feel at home to have a place where my friends and I could all come together to share our favorite songs and poems and perform for each other.” She went on to describe the laid back atmosphere of the coffee shop as well as the friendliness of the crowd. She said she knew most everyone there as well, adding to a welcoming and inviting vibe.

These sentiments were, for the most part, echoed by Kent community member Lydia Leclerc. “It was a really good atmosphere

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with really good people. I just wish there had been more people my own age who were serious musicians. I know it will grow in the coming months, though,” Leclerc said.

Accomplished singer-songwriter Emma Shepard speaks highly of the nights. “I absolutely recommend that people go!”

Shepard said. She continued by saying that during her time at the open mic night, she was inspired by the talent of the other performers and they made her want to create more art. “There is a lot of talent in the area that is best enjoyed over a cup of Scribbles coffee,” she concluded.

This new open mic night will impact Kent’s community greatly. Although places like Ohio Music host weekly open mics and Roosevelt hosts a few of its own, no other establishment provides the laid back and informal environment Scribbles does.

Singer-songwriter and guitarist Alex Jackson, a Roosevelt junior, is excited about the new opportunities presented to Kent by Scribbles. “I think it will have a positive outcome overall because more people will be able to perform and gain local popularity,” he said.

Scribbles has already contributed to Kent’s creative community by covering their tables in paper and providing crayons so customers can doodle while they drink their coffee.

A new feature of the shop since Budzar and Richards have taken ownership is the fact that these doodles are now framed and displayed on the walls in the front of their store. Local artists always had a place to display and show their art created outside the coffee shop on the walls of Scribbles in the past, as well.

Roosevelt’s literary magazine, Perception, holds poetry slams that have also been a mainstay at Scribbles Coffee Co. for years.

Looking towards the future, there seems to be no foreseeable end to Scribbles Coffee’s encouragement of creativity and expression. If any Roosevelt student or Kent community member is interested in publicly expressing him or herself through art, poetry or music, Scribbles should be one of the first places to look.

The Colonel

Student Life

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Perceptions of Self-Harm The thoughts and stories on self-harm stigmas, scars and marks story | Sydney Cannon

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igh schoolers deal with many stresses, like homework, projects, tests, quizzes and other school related activities. On top of that are social stresses teenagers have to handle. There are the stresses of friendships and relationships, what to wear and how to look, balancing family and friends, finding a job and getting a car; the list goes on. Teens are surrounded by stress and they all handle it differently in both healthy and unhealthy ways. An unhealthy way some handle stress is through the use of self-harm.

Self-harm is the intentional, direct injuring of the body. When someone intentionally hurts themselves, the intentions are usually not to kill. Scars and marks can be left on the body after self-harming. A stigma comes along with these scars and marks.

People stare, they make comments that can be rude or hurtful or they avoid the person because they do not understand what self-harm is or why someone would do that to themselves.

An anonymous female student opened up about her personal experiences with self-harm over seven years.

Colonel: When did you first discover or find out about self-harm? And when did you start doing it to yourself?

Anonymous: I never really knew anything about cutting or self-harming before I started to myself. I was 12 when I started and I didn’t know anyone who did. I was really upset one day. I had a pin I was playing with and I started scratching my leg with it and I kept doing it. I didn’t realize what happened

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until about a couple hours later. By the time my mind hit reality again I had scratched up my leg quite a few times and I was much calmer.

C: How do you feel about your scars and/or marks? Are you shy about them or are you not afraid to show them?

A: I don’t ever show any of my scars.

Only two people know about my scars.

I am afraid of how others will react.

People normally see cutting as a cry to attention, a.k.a attention seeking. That is not why I cut at all and I am terrified that if people see my cuts they will think I am just looking for attention.

C: How do you feel when you see other people’s scars? Do you react in anyway?

Does it trigger* you at all? How would/ do you handle if any of your friends did it?

A: One of my best friends cuts. She had and has a ton of scars as well but those don’t trigger me, it’s her open cuts that do. I would go over and help her and it wouldn’t gross me out but trigger me instead because I know what it feels like to have them. Seeing her cuts is a catch-22. I crave the feeling she gets from them and at the same time I become incredibly sad that she hurts so much. *According to www.psychcentral. com, “A trigger is something that sets off a memory tape or flashback transporting the person back to the event of her/his original trauma.”

Two anonymous students, a male and a female, who are not self-harmers were interviewed to better understand outside perspectives held by high school students.

Colonel: What are your opinions about self-harm?

Female Student: Self-harm is something everyone will struggle with or think about. I don’t think it’s something that will help with what you’re going through.

Male Student: I believe it doesn’t have to come to that. I think there are other ways of getting through pain.

C: What do you think when you see people’s self-harm scars?

FS: My heart breaks and I want to hug that person so tight and let them know I’m here and [they] can count on me.

MS: Well if they’re out in the open the first thing I think is that they are looking for attention. Why else wear such skimpy clothes November 2013

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Student Life

if you don’t want people to know? But if they are more hidden and I just get a glimpse I may ask them about it and see if I can help.

Honestly though the first thing that I think is how the [heck] could someone do that to their self? Wouldn’t it hurt?

C: Do you think it’s okay to tell a trusted adult figure?

FS: I do; their guardian or at least school counselor should know something’s going on and to keep a look out.

MS: If you honestly think it would help then yes. Sometimes there’s things adults can do that we as teens don’t think of that may help C: How would you handle a friend resenting you or being angry that you tried to help them?

FS: I wouldn’t take offense to it. I’d question their actions and ask them to give me detailed reasons why they feel they need to damage their body to feel better.

MS: I would let them have their space because I don’t want them to hate me. I may get them help but I wouldn’t push the issue if it wasn’t a big deal. I would want the best for them regardless of myself.

Mr. Hedges, the school psychologist, was also interviewed about his perspective on self-harm.

Colonel: Have you seen any increases or decreases in self-harm while working as a school psychologist?

Mr. Hedges: I’ve been a psychologist for twelve years and for ten at the high school. Overall, it’s been consistent for how often it happens.

C: How do you handle a student who is selfharming?

H: By law, I have to report it to the parents.

The student could be a threat to themselves or be putting themselves in jeopardy. I have to explain to the student that what they’re doing is serious and that I have to notify their parents.

I then tell them that we’re going to look at why and what’s causing the distress. Then they learn alternate, safer coping mechanisms.

C: How do you handle a student who feels resentment or anger towards you for telling their parents or getting them help?

H: I don’t take it personally. They’ll eventually grow up and mature, years down the line they will realize that it probably helped.

C: Are there any misconceptions about selfharm?

H: The idea that the self-harmer is “unstable,” “emo,” “crazy” or “weak” is completely wrong.

People self-harm because there’s a core issue that needs to be dealt with and addressed.

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C: What is the best way to handle seeing someone’s self-harm marks or scars?

H: With a child or student, if you know their family well, talk to their parents about it. Tell them that they should consider therapy or counseling. If you don’t know them very well, tell a teacher or counselor about it. Encourage getting help and being there for them.

Alternatives To Self Harm

compiled by | Briann Barton Many students go through their high school years feeling hopeless, lost and lonely. Some of them resort to self harm. There are a number of other things that they could do, which would make them feel better or even happy, other than self harm.

If you perform self harm or think about doing it, the most important thing is to talk to someone about your feelings to get them out in the open. Telling someone, like a friend or a trusted adult, about what is going on can make you feel better. When you feel like someone out there understands what is going on that sometimes makes you feel better. To get help with this you can go to Children’s Advantage in Ravenna, talk to your guidance counselor here at school or the school’s psychologist Mr. Hedges.

Mr. Hedges and a counselor from Children’s Advantage Behavioral Health Services provided The Colonel with some healthy replacements to self harm. Other alternatives are from www. siriusproject.org/alternatives: 1. Hang out with friends. Plan to go somewhere or do something during the time you usually harm.

2. Go for a run, walk or ride. Exercising is proven to help to relieve distress.

3. Talk to people that make you feel better. Surrounding yourself with different people that love you can make you love yourself more.

4. Release yourself through art or writing. This involves using your hands to do something that isn’t destructive of yourself, but creative and expressive.

5. Find a hobby. Doing something that you are good at and doing that in your free time is helpful.

6. Cook or bake your favorite things.

7. Listen to music that lifts your mood.

8. Go to the movies.

9. Read a book for intellectual stimulation.

10. Play a musical instrument.

11. Focus on your breathing.

12. Throw ice cubes at a bath tub, wall, at a tree, etc.

13. Tear up paper (old phone books, newspapers, etc.).

14. Put ice on the spot you want to harm. You receive the same sensation that you would if you had burnt yourself.

15. Draw on yourself with a red felt-tip pen. You are seeing the marks without it being permanent. However, this is not the best thing to do since you are still doing the motions.

16. Draw on yourself with a henna kit and the next day peel it off.

This is good to do if you cut to have scabs then pick the scabs off.

17. Squeeze ice hard.

18. Slap a tabletop.

19. Snap a rubber band on your wrist. It gives you the painful sensation without leaving scars.

The Colonel

News

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Helium Shortage Has it ballooned into more than we expected? | Audra Grimm

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he world is in the midst of a helium shortage that is causing disaster as we speak. Most of us know helium as the element which makes balloons stay up in the air, and also as what raises our voices when we inhale it. Few realize what an impact helium has on our lives, maybe not an immediate one, but a vital one nonetheless.

After hydrogen, helium is the most abundant element in the universe. It is a colorless, odorless, tasteless inert gas that occurs naturally but is hard to find and store for the uses we need. Most of the helium on Earth is created by the natural decay of heavily radioactive elements. The majority of helium escapes into the atmosphere and the supply we do have has quickly diminished due to extraction from underground reserves.

The United States currently produces 75 percent of the world’s helium, with half of that being held in the U.S. Federal Helium Reserve near Amarillo, Texas. The government is trying to encourage more private industries to supply helium rather than the government itself. In the 1990s and early 2000s, new facilities developed around the world, including major ones in Algeria, Poland, Canada and Russia. Algeria became the second leading country in helium production in the mid 2000s, trailing behind the United States. During this time, helium prices doubled due to an increase in both production costs and consumption, which is now causing the shortage.

Helium is used in many ways, not just for balloons and voice alteration for the

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amusement of people. It is very practical in the medical world, namely in cryogenics (the production of lowering elements to extremely low temperatures). The liquid form of it is used in this process, which is the largest use of helium.

The most noted part of cryogenics in the medical aspect is that helium cools down the superconducting magnets used in Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scanners, which are immensely strong X-ray machines through which doctors can view the body in detail. Without the abundance of helium, we face a problem in finding something else to cool down the MRIs. Helium is the only element on Earth which can effectively keep the magnet at the cold temperature needed while also allowing high field strength and stable, balanced magnetic fields. Without the scanners available, it can be a drastic effect on patients. With an extreme reduction in the helium supply, hospitals face either replacing expensive MRI magnets or restricting patient access to them.

Other, more minor uses include powering certain types of lasers, mixing with heavier gases for thermoacoustic refrigeration (an environmentally friendly type of refrigeration system), making telescope lenses clearer, cooling certain metals, detecting industrial leaks and welding gas tungsten arcs.

Helium is thought to only be produced in the reserve in Texas for approximately five to six more years. By 2020, usable helium levels are predicted to be virtually gone in the main reservoir.

Physics teacher Mr. Killius explained his thoughts on the shortage the world is going through: “This will become a very critical situation in the next 20 years, and we must stop wasting helium. There is no practical way of getting it, we must make it, as it is mainly created by radioactive decay. There are both scientific but also medical uses, so for medical, liquid helium is critical. It should be considered very much like a non-renewable resource, and we’ve just got to stop wasting. We need to wake up.”

November 2013

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Roger Sidoti Elected to City Council The former principal and his successful campaign for Council-at-Large

story | Marc Blanc

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urrently an administrator at Rootstown’s Bio-Med Academy, former Roosevelt principal Roger Sidoti says he misses Kent Roosevelt “every day.” He remains an active member of both the Roosevelt and Kent communities, attending football games and visiting the school; he has spent the past 20 months serving as an appointee to the city Council-at-Large seat and was elected to serve his own term in the past general election.

Sidoti took first place on the November 5 ballot, earning 30 percent of the vote and one of three available Council-at-Large seats. Sidoti was one of four candidates vying for the seats. His opponents were fellow Democrats Michael DeLeone and Melissa Long, along with independent candidate Doria Daniels.

Sidoti, who holds a bachelor’s degree in political science and taught U.S. government at the high school level, was appointed to Council-at-Large seat in February 2012 to finish a term left halfserved by his predecessor Erik Valenta. After Valenta stepped down because his business relocated to the southeastern United States, Sidoti applied to fill the position, along with 13 competitors.

“I thought I should model what is important for citizens to do: give back to the community. So when I retired I thought, ‘I’ll throw my hat in the ring,’ and I applied for the position and I was very humbled I got it,” he said.

A Councilperson-at-Large is different from a ward councilperson in that the former has to represent and make decisions

November 2013

that directly affect the entire community (like downtown revitalization), while ward council members are primarily responsible for their respective neighborhoods.

The city council’s most obvious accomplishments since Sidoti began serving have concerned planning the downtown revival, such as choosing which areas of Kent do and do not undergo development and deciding what roads to fix with how much tax revenue. Sidoti has made a presence by proving he isn’t afraid to propose unique thoughts: Last August, he was the only councilperson who suggested the historic Wells-Sherman house might be better off staying at the end of East College Avenue instead of the lot in between The Vinyl Underground and Scribbles Coffee Company, where it now stands. Although Sidoti did receive support from then-Councilperson-at-Large Rob Turner, his thought was not necessarily a stance, but an “idea” to get people thinking.

“I know better than to make a motion,” he said of his suggestion to kent.patch.com. “I just wanted to plant the seed.”

When the term he was filling in for was coming to end, Sidoti started a campaign to be a elected to a Council-at-Large tenure of his own. He said he wasn’t planning to run until multiple members of the community, impressed with his performance, asked him to do so. He placed first in the primary election in May, which gave him the right to run in the general election.

Sidoti was confident in his campaign, saying, “After living in Kent 38 years, being active in the community and being principal [of RHS], I’d like to think [the citizens] trust my judgement.” However, he said he would have ‘truly O.K.’ had voters decided otherwise.

“I believe it’s about service; the chances are in the hands of the people,” he added. The numbers did point in Sidoti’s favor, as he won the primary in May with 1129 votes compared to the runner-up’s 922, which translates to 32.24% of the vote. Sidoti’s name is also well-known and revered by many Kentites. He was Roosevelt’s principal from 1998 to 2011 and left what some have described as a “legendary” mark on Kent City Schools. He was Secondary Campus Director for Stanton Middle School, as well.

“Selfishly, I would have been principal until I was 90 years old, but that wouldn’t be right. Kent Roosevelt is more important than Roger Sidoti; it’s important to let new perspectives in.”

The Colonel

News

19

Obamacare: FAQ Answering inquiries and dispelling myths about the landmark law

story | Marc Blanc & Kelsey Raabe

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ealth care reform was one of President Obama’s earliest campaign promises. Five years later the implementation of Obamacare has reached its most critical step, but misconception and confusion still surround the law.

Q: What is Obamacare?

A: Obamacare, officially known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA, often shortened to just ACA) is a law designed to make health care more available to all Americans. It includes numerous new standards and regulations, among them a requirement that everyone in the country obtain health coverage or face a small penalty.

Q: Why does it exist in the first place?

A: The intention was to provide affordable and comprehensive health care coverage to as many Americans as possible. A study published by the American Journal of Public Health in 2009 stated that there are 45,000 deaths per year due to lack of coverage, and according to PBS about 44 million Americans The Colonel

are uninsured and another 38 million lack adequate coverage.

The Affordable Care Act addresses this growing problem and provides some solutions.

Q: So how does this affect me?

A: If you already have health care coverage, then not at all. If you don’t (or if your current plan isn’t adequate), then you’ll be able to purchase insurance at the online marketplace http:// healthcare.gov or get an exemption. Additionally, young adults up to age 26 can remain on their parents’ plans and insurance companies are no longer allowed to deny coverage to people with pre-existing conditions or illnesses such as cancer, sickle cell anemia, AIDS or pregnancy. The roughly 14 million people with individual health plans may be at risk of losing insurance if said plan doesn’t meet the ACA standards; a new plan will likely cost more than the previous but cover more.

Q: Isn’t it my right to go uninsured?

A: Technically it is, but you have to pay for it, as validated by the Supreme Court. Anyone without insurance will have to pay a small penalty (or tax) starting in January 2014: $95 or 1% of their annual income, whichever is greater, as well as $47.50 per child.

The penalty will also increase greatly over the next few years.

Medical procedures are also extremely expensive in the U.S. — according to the Washington Post, the average American spends $7,960 (in 2008) on health care annually while Canadians spend November 2013

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$4,808 and the French spend only $3,967.

As American medical bills are increasingly expensive, being insured keeps these costs down for them and provides protection from bankruptcy in the event of a costly emergency.

Q: So what do I do if I’m not insured but want to be?

A: There is a federally-run marketplace at the website http://www.healthcare.gov, on which tax credits are available for low-income earners. Additionally, Ohio is one of the states that accepted an expansion of Medicaid, which is mostly to extend coverage to lowincome adults.

Q: Isn’t healthcare.gov too glitchy to use?

A: For most users it may be very difficult to sign up, browse plans and enroll, but it isn’t impossible. One of the reasons the site is so buggy is due to many states (Ohio included) refusing to operate the exchanges, forcing the federal government to operate them for hundreds of millions of Americans. The Obama administration has promised that the site will be fully operational by the end of November, and maintains that the issues are being worked out by independent contractors.

Q: Wasn’t there a Supreme Court case about this a while ago?

A: The court case was National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius in 2012, which called into question the constitutionality of the individual mandate (a centerpiece of the ACA) as well as that of a requirement that all states expand Medicaid coverage or face loss of all Medicaid funding.

In its majority opinions, the court ruled that the individual mandate was constitutional as a tax under the Commerce Clause and it was illegal to penalize states with loss of funding for failing to comply.

Q: Is it true that Obamacare is socialism?

A: No. Greg Pason, national secretary for Socialist Party USA, told the Huffington Post that “Obamacare cannot be considered socialist in any way.” Obamacare relies on private insurance companies to insure Americans, while the socialized model is a national health care system publicly funded November 2013

through progressive taxation, and in fact does not employ health insurance at all. Canada and Italy are among a number of countries that use the “socialist” system.

Q: So how does the U.S. system compare to other countries?

A: Most developed nations employ universal health care, which means every citizen is guaranteed the right to health care or insurance. In Canada and many European countries (Denmark, Sweden, Spain and others), insurance is not prevalent, as the health care system is entirely public, funded by tax revenue.

Germany, Japan and France combine public and private funding with the “multi-payer system,” which is still universal health care.

The U.S. has never had universal health care, and Obamacare does not guarantee each American the right to health care either; it requires citizens to obtain health insurance and stops companies from dropping clients or raising rates because of “pre-existing conditions” clients may have.

Q: Why are Republican congresspeople trying to defund Obamacare?

A: This depends on which Republican you talk to. Libertarianminded party members claim the federal government is overstepping its boundaries with the law, while fiscal conservatives see it as too expensive. Former Republican Ron Paul expressed both objections on CNN in August: “Just because you’re for Obamacare and for the government taking care of us cradle to grave doesn’t mean anything if you can’t pay for it.” The conflict over Obamacare is thought by many political scientists to be (at least) somewhat responsible for the partial government shutdown, as Congressional Republicans temporarily refused to continue funding the government unless the ACA was repealed.

Q: What do doctors think of Obamacare?

A: The American Medical Association officially supports Obamacare, but the AMA only represents roughly 40 percent of American doctors. The reaction is split. According to Forbes, 55 percent of doctors surveyed in October 2012 said they intended to vote for Mitt Romney, who opposed Obamacare throughout most of the election despite the similar health care bill he championed while governor of Massachusetts.

Q: What does the American public think of Obamacare?

A: Between September polls run by The New York Times, Huffington Post, CNBC, Pew Research Center and Kaiser Family Foundation, 42 to 56 percent of citizens surveyed opposed defunding Obamacare, while 37 to 39 percent favored cutting funding off. An NBC-Wall Street Journal poll conducted in October found that 38 percent of Americans approved of the law and 50 percent opposed defunding it. Conservatives are not the only ones who oppose the law; according to a CNN/ORC poll, 16 percent of those surveyed thought Obamacare “isn’t liberal enough.”

The Colonel

News

Mr. Lambert’s 7º class works on an assignment. Photo by Maddie Otterdaughter.

21

America Versus the World

A comparative look at educational systems in the United States and around the world | Danylo Lavrentovich

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ccording to the 2009 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), the United States ranked 17th in the world in math performance and 25th in science.

The examination is administered to 15-year-olds of several countries to test reading, math and science literacy. The United States is infamous for its relatively poor position compared to China, South Korea and Finland, who consistently rank high in math and science competence. The Colonel interviewed a group of graduate students who grew up in Mexico, Ukraine (part of the Soviet Union until 1991), Iran, China and South Korea to gain a better understanding of educational systems across the globe compared to the United States. Listed below are the major differences in educational styles.

Class Freedom

The ability to choose one’s courses is a uniquely American idea. In the case of Roosevelt High School and the majority of public secondary schools in the United States, while they may consult with guidance counselors, students have the right to build their own schedules from a few schoolset regulations. Students have the option to change difficulty level from college-preparatory to collegesimulated (such as AP) classes.

Each international graduate student responded that it was never possible to choose courses. Generally, students remained with the same group of peers and teachers allotted to them, which is the opposite of American students traveling to different classrooms.

Grade Privacy

In the United States, report card results and interim grades are mailed home to families, and teachers typically do not publicly announce results for each assessment. Graded exams are often The Colonel

delivered face-down to keep results confidential.

Each foreign respondent knew who their best performing classmates were, and complete lists of students and test scores were always on display. “Our teachers would make a list in detail (including the score of every course and the total score, and the rank of every course and the rank of total score both in class and grade), and paste it on the wall,” one Chinese graduate student responded.

Brute Memorization

In America, students are expected to know the Pledge of Allegiance. Rather than having to read and memorize passages, students in the USA are expected to know enough information for an exam, and then move on to the next topic.

In the other countries, students have to memorize passages, namely poems from acclaimed writers.

Fear in the Classroom

In high schools across America, instructors typically promote positivity and reward their students with supportive statements for correct answers.

Discussion, not strict lecture and interrogation, is encouraged. In many classes at Roosevelt, the day after an exam is graded, teachers spend a large amount of time discussing frequently-missed questions. Some questions are thrown out, and others are converted into free points. If many students fail to correctly answer a question, the instructor may curve the exam.

All students from Iran, China, South Korea and Mexico indicated that there was always an element of fear in the classroom, mainly stemming from the instructor. Students in many of the countries remember dreading watching their instructor’s hand moving through the class list for questioning. Fear of failing to answer a question correctly was the “main driver to prepare for the class and to do homework,” according to November 2013

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an interviewed Ukrainian graduate student.

A missed question was the student’s fault, and incorrect answers would not be open to debate, just given a poor grade. One of the Chinese respondents noted that teachers would often comment “you are careless” or “you didn’t work hard enough” on exams.

There are obvious differences in educational approaches between the United States and other countries. The American system reduces stress levels on the student November 2013

and encourages a more positive environment. However, this might come at the price of a weaker curriculum and overall lax educational standards compared to other nations. Despite this, the US is home to many of the world’s greatest universities, where the top students are comprised of both American and international citizens. Research opportunities are available to students of all backgrounds. American higher education keeps close ties to the development of new technologies and opportunities in job creation. With regards to primary and secondary school education, it remains to be seen which methods are most effective.

The Colonel

News

23

Outliers in the Gay Rights Movement

Transgender and asexual individuals find trouble attaining equal ground within the gay community story | Marc Blanc

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ivil rights movements have displayed a bit of unfortunate irony throughout American history: They have excluded groups even more oppressed than they from their activities, effectively employing the same discrimination they sought to destroy.

In the 1910s, many suffragists blocked African American women from their crusade for the vote.

Roughly fifty years later, lesbian individuals had to fight to exhaustion just to be acknowledged as part of the second-wave feminist movement by their straight counterparts, because lesbianism was a “sexual issue, not a political issue.” Today, the most prominent civil rights action is the gay rights movement, and some activists are following suit with the trend of exclusion.

Transgenderism, the social movement seeking rights for people who do not identify with the sex they were assigned at birth, gained footing as part of the gay rights movement and as a faction on its own in recent years. Though represented by the “T” in the acronym LGBTQQIAA, many transgendered people have had trouble being seen as equal by gay and lesbian people.

“Almost all of the unpleasant transphobic remarks [I’ve experienced] have come from cisgender [identifying with one’s assigned sex] gay men,” Bobby P, a transgendered student at the College of Wooster, said. “When I came out to one person, he sort of shrugged it off saying, ‘I used to think I was transgender too.’”

In response to a perceived lack of respect from the gay community and attention from the mainstream media, some transgendered people are advocating greater distance between the two groups.

“The public needs to hear trans stories from trans people. We’ve been ignored long enough,” writer/transgender activist Thomas Page McBee said in a recent New York Times article. Numerous transgender individuals across the globe back McBee’s call for more focus on their individual movement, but transgendered Roosevelt students generally think the “T” belongs in the acronym beside “L,” “G” and “B.” “The T does belong in LGBT because we

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all need the same kind of support and acceptance,” senior Morgan Lund-Goldstein said. Lund-Goldstein occasionally attends GayStraight Alliance (GSA) meetings at school, where he says he feels accepted.

Senior transgender student Kai Matsubara-Rall agrees with Lund-Goldstein’s stance, but he did acknowledge transgendered people face different trials than gay and lesbian individuals and that he can see the argument for having two separate movements.

“Straight transgenders would have more of a problem getting involved in the gay rights movement because it is an issue of identity, not sexuality,” she said.

Transgender individuals are not the only “queer rights” group to feel a disconnect with the gay rights movement.

Though asexual people have representation in the famous acronym as well, their letter comes second to last in the LGBTQQIAA. Asexuality is behind transgenderism in inclusion by all standards as it has taken until recent years for it to receive serious attention, but unlike the transgender movement, the overwhelming majority of outspoken asexuals feel that their letter in the acronym is necessary and justified. Major asexual blogs like www.asexualthoughts.wordpress.com along with the massively active www.asexuality.org mainly display pleasure with their inclusion in the LGBTQQIAA acronym and desire to advance acceptance of asexuality within the gay community.

“I think it’s important to include everyone, though a lot of people think the ‘A’ stands for Ally, which is a totally different story,” Niki Baker, an asexual student at Boardman High School, said. Baker says she has been misunderstood by some students in her school’s GSA. “When I told everyone that I finally found a word to put to it (being asexual), it felt like they started treating me like I didn’t have feelings,” she said, adding they thought she “wasn’t capable of [romantic emotion].”

Both transgender and asexual individuals have struggled to fully be a part of the gay rights movement, though they are at different points of progress. History has proven time and again that excluded groups eventually get their moment despite of continued oppression by not only the majority, but other minorities who would be expected to fight for all civil rights issues.

November 2013

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Gay rights advocates during a march in Washington, on Sunday, October 11, 2009. Photo courtesy of Jacquelyn Martin.

Equality Spreads Across America Gay marriage continuing toward complete legalization | Kelsey Raabe

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ess than ten years ago, it was impossible

for gay and lesbian citizens to marry in all 50 states. Now approximately a third of Americans live in states where gay marriage is recognized, and a majority of the country supports legalization of it. The first state to allow gay marriage was Massachusetts in 2004, and many others have since followed suit.

Today, same-sex marriages are legal in a total of 14 states (California, Connecticut, Delaware, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington) as well as in the District of Columbia. 34 states currently have state laws or constitutional amendments banning gay marriage, but this was a recent development, beginning with Maryland enacting a state law in 1973. One state, New Mexico, has no laws banning or allowing gay marriage — it varies in individual counties. The state’s supreme court is currently reviewing the issue. Oregon bans same-sex marriages, but recognizes those performed out-of-state. Illinois recently voted to approve gay marriage, but it has yet to be signed by Governor Pat Quinn. Hawaii’s November 2013

House of Representatives has also approved gay marriage, but it has yet to make its way into the Senate.

State legislatures have been the driving force behind both the legalization and prohibition of gay marriage. Samesex marriage was approved by state legislation in Delaware, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont.

During the 2012 election Maine, Maryland and Washington approved same-sex marriage by voter referendum, becoming the first states to do so.

In California, Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts and New Jersey it was approved by court decisions. In California’s case, it was legalized by the U.S. Supreme Court in a 2013 decision which reaffirmed a lower court ruling that the state constitutional amendment (Proposition 8) banning gay marriage was unconstitutional.

Some of the states that prohibit same-sex marriage allow civil unions or domestic partnerships as an alternative to marriage, though they do not receive many federal benefits and aren’t universally recognized. Colorado, Hawaii and Illinois allow civil unions, which gives most spousal rights and benefits to same-sex couples. Nevada, Oregon and Wisconsin allow limited spousal rights for couples in the form of domestic partnerships.

Same-sex marriages are currently recognized by the United States government, affording gay couples the same federal benefits as those of heterosexual couples. The Defense of Marriage Act, signed by President Bill Clinton in 1993, both prohibited the The Colonel

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federal government from recognizing gay marriage by defining marriage as between one man and one woman and gave states the right to refuse to recognize same-sex marriages in other states. In 2013 the Supreme Court struck down the former portion of the law in a 5-4 decision. The latter is being challenged in a state-by-state basis, as some same-sex couples argue that it violates the Full Faith and Credit Clause. The issue will likely make its way to the Supreme Court.

Gay marriage in Ohio is prohibited by a state constitutional amendment, which was approved by 62 percent of voters in 2004. However, opinions seem to have changed in recent years, as a Washington Post poll taken in 2012 found that 52 percent of Ohioans support marriage equality.

Marriage equality has made considerable progress in the last decade. Now the most critical portion of DOMA has been struck down, giving federal marriage benefits to same-sex couples, Vice President Biden and President Obama became the first incumbent nationally elected officials to support same-sex marriage, “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” was repealed and the U.S. Senate voted to ban workplace discrimination against LGBT employees. As national support for legalization grows, it looks increasingly likely that more and more states will continue to strike down bans until the U.S. joins countries like the U.K. and Canada that give homosexual couples the same rights and benefits as their heterosexual counterparts.

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News

A Liberal Dose of Pessimism with Kelsey Raabe

A House Divided The reason for our gridlocked government story | Kelsey Raabe

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agenda. For example: the $787 billion economic stimulus package of 2009, despite bipartisan negotiations and outreach attempts on the part of the president (such as his choosing to include tax cuts as part of the package), passed with a total of three GOP votes, mainly due to objections from conservatives that the law spent too much and increased the deficit.

However, just one year earlier, under Bush, 198 Congressional Republicans voted for a $152 billion stimulus package that included $40 billion in new government spending in addition to tax cuts. If that wasn’t enough, the same Senate Republicans who vehemently opposed President Obama’s stimulus bill also voted for an alternate package that was estimated to add over $3 trillion to the debt over a decade in new tax cuts to corporations and high-income earners. In other words, after lambasting the president for increasing the deficit, they were advocating doing so over four times as much on a different proposal. Such actions are hypocrisy at its finest, borne out of a conservative desire to automatically oppose anything that President Obama supports under the guise of false concern over the deficit.

However, that was in early 2009, well before the midterm elections. Even though their opponents refused to vote in favor of any proposal that had the support of the president, the Democrats still controlled the House, which allowed them to pass such bills as the Patient “There is no excuse to automatically resist everything simply Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) even with intense because it has the support of a president you disagree with.” opposition on the other side of the aisle. Nicknamed “Obamacare,” the law was very modest in comparison to what many liberals Nothing sums this up better than would have preferred; a bill similar to the United States National a famous sound bite from Senate Minority Health Care Act proposal of 2003, which included a singleLeader Mitch McConnell just before the payer system, was never even considered. A tumultuous year 2010 midterm elections: “The single most of hearings, negotiations and bargaining ensued, and the ACA, important thing we want to achieve is for full to the brim with conservative components such as a free President Obama to be a one-term president.” market-based exchange system, ultimately passed without a Indeed, the goal of Congressional Republicans single Republican vote, after which conservatives objected that immediately after the 2008 election was just the law had been rammed through Congress. The individual that: to oppose everything the president mandate, another part with its origin in Republican circles, offered at all opportunities, eschew was first proposed by the Heritage Foundation and adopted compromise, filibuster everything from bills

by Republicans during the health care fight of Bill Clinton’s to Cabinet nominees, refuse to pass anything presidency. The idea was resurrected by none other than Gov. without 100 percent Republican support and Mitt Romney as the centerpiece of his Massachusetts health care then blame everything on the president for reform — a law that is the reason for the state’s astounding insured the purpose of taking back the White House. rate of over 98 percent. During his presidential campaign Mitt The party failed to accomplish the latter goal, Romney would rail against the very idea he once championed. but that doesn’t mean they didn’t keep up their Republicans continue to spread lies and distortions of the law, obstructionism. such as the nonsense idea that it includes “death panels” (the Even before the advent of the Tea notion that clandestine groups will decide which elderly citizens Party caucus and when Democrats controlled live or die) or that it increases the deficit (according to the Congress, Republicans were steadfast in their Congressional Budget Office it will actually decrease the deficit devotion to obstructing President Obama’s ow many times have you heard someone say they’re “sick of one or both parties” or “both Democrats and Republicans need to start compromising?” It is conventional wisdom in the media that the two parties in Washington are equally responsible for our current state of legislative gridlock and that both sides are refusing to give any ground, but is this the whole truth?

In 2008, then-senator Barack Obama campaigned on a lofty promise of “Hope and Change,” that he would bridge the partisan chasm that continues to separate Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill. Much to the dismay of his supporters, this effort fizzled and died months after he took the oath of office. While one might be tempted to lay the brunt of the blame for this failure squarely at the president’s feet, Republican and Tea Party intransigence also went a long way toward making the last two Congresses some of the least productive on record.

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News over the next decade), illustrating again just how far they are willing to go to oppose the president.

Democrats lost control of the House during the midterms while barely maintaining their hold on the Senate. While divided government has been the norm since 1968, Congress that followed was one of the least productive in history, passing only 561 bills total compared to 861 the previous two years

and 1,101 before that. Over thirty of the bills passed by the House were Tea Party attempts to defund the Affordable Care Act, wasting over $50 million of taxpayer money in pointless political show votes.

In 2011, President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner engaged in bipartisan negotiations to avert the debt ceiling, and the contours of a so-called “grand bargain” began to emerge after the speaker offered around $3 trillion in spending cuts and $800 billion in new revenue. It isn’t hard to see which side the deal benefited more politically, but nonetheless the president, eager to avert crisis, immediately accepted the framework. Later, President Obama requested another $400 billion in additional revenue and the deal collapsed when Speaker Boehner pulled out of negotiations after his members revolted.

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While it would be false to say Republicans are alone responsible for the failure of the deal, it is true that they were the first to pull out of negotiations, the move resulting in the Budget Control Act, which created both the fiscal cliff and sequester. While the former was averted, the latter, which took effect earlier this year, is still hampering our economic recovery and could cause the loss of 100,000 federal jobs within a year, according to a Goldman Sachs report.

Similar dynamics as the ones in the budget negotiations are playing out to this day, making the current House of Representatives nearly ungovernable thanks to the most conservative members of the chamber. Speaker Boehner was unable to control the Tea Party members of his caucus during the fiscal cliff negotiations — astoundingly, members of his own party refused to vote in favor of a conservative bill that would have raised taxes on high-income earners making $1 million and above since it wasn’t regressive enough for their liking. The fiscal cliff scuffle nearly cost Boehner his speakership (he was reelected by a 220-216 margin because Tea Party members tried to remove him), and since then he has been powerless to stop Republican obstructionism. Immigration reform, already passed by a bipartisan majority in the Senate, is supported by most Americans and would even increase Republican chances of winning the White House, but Boehner refuses to allow a vote and maintains he’ll pass a Republican version of it instead. Months have passed, and immigration reform is still barely on the radar.

The prospect of invading Syria to destroy the Assad Regime’s chemical weapons, supported by the president and all Congressional leaders except Sen. McConnell, was left facing certain defeat when many of the same Republicans who had previously supported intervention decided to bail once the president came out in favor of it. The 16-day government shutdown only started because Boehner caved to Tea Party-led demands to defund Obamacare or shut down the government, almost a year after he declared “Obamacare is the law of the land.” The shutdown and the debt ceiling fight only ended when President Obama, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and other Congressional Democrats finally took a stand, refusing to negotiate with hostagetakers until the government was reopened and the debt limited raised.

Gridlock isn’t unheard of in politics. But in a two-party system like ours, especially in a two-party system in a divided Congress, there is no excuse to automatically resist everything simply because it has the support of a president you disagree with. What we’ve seen over the past five years is nothing less than a wholesale rejection of the values that make our democracy function, and we’re all the worse off because of it.

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Sports

Pucks, Water, Pins, Hoops and Mats The winter sports varsity teams preview story | Briann Barton

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ith the beginning of the winter sports season, it’s a good time to get to learn some new things about the teams. The Colonel did this while interviewing the different coaches.

This year the starting line for the ice hockey team is junior Gabe Smith and seniors Mitch Fisher, Dontae Montemayor, Scott Rainey, Gordie Fisher and Nate Grootegoed as goaltender, with Mr. Ben Barlow going into his twelfth season as head coach. The team is part of the Greater Cleveland High School Hockey League Red South Division. Last year the team went 6-3-1 in division play. Their home games are played at the Kent State Ice Arena. Since not many schools have their own ice, some “away games” are also held there. In an interview with Coach Barlow, The Colonel obtained some insight on returning players and their relationship with newcomers. “They form a team bond,” he said. “They have to have chemistry.” For at least the past three years the team has lost at Auburn Township’s “The Pond.” When asked about this Coach Barlow November 2013

chuckled and said, “We call it our House of Horrors.” The teams they play there are tough, like Orange and Kenston. “I believe that we will play well there this year. We all hope to do good.”

When starting goaltender Nate Grootegoed was asked about “The Pond,” he responded, “The game is usually on the weekend and early. We need to play focused.”

It might be cold outside but there are many people thinking about the warm waters of the swimming pool. This year, twelve seniors will be jumping into those waters: Matt Aberegg, Chase Barnwell, Charlie Botzman, Mia Chapman, Josie Cotton, Ellanie Davila, Maggie Grey, Sam Hanlon, Sarah Ludwig, Daniel McIlduff, Frances Rall and Grant Wang. Asked about the two-a-day practices, Coach James Hunt said, “We alternate dry land or swimming everyday, so they get a healthy mix of exercises each morning. The afternoon practices are all swimming.” When senior swimmer Sam Hanlon was asked she laughed and replied, “It sucks. Our dry land involves abs and running.” They adjust to the times and manage that time as best as possible. The boys and girls team’s records from last year were 7-2 and 6-3, respectively. They have a large amount of freshmen and other newcomers coming to the team this year. With the beginning of the swimming season ahead of him, Coach Hunt said, “I am hopeful for a great season.”

Many claim that bowling is not so much a sport as it is a The Colonel

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hobby. However, bowlers have to have tons of mental focus, but it is physical as well. It also has a lot of physics involved. According to senior team member Makayla Dulaney, “Players take great offense when people say it’s not a sport, because it is not as easy as it looks.” The girls’ coach Liz Cawley and Makayla explained: “There are different oil patterns, lane conditions and equipment for different bowling centers.” There aren’t that many changes to the teams for this coming year the it is a rebuilding year for the boys team, with the graduation of four strong bowlers. Their records from last year were 11-3 and 12-3, boys and girls teams respectively.

The varsity boys basketball team is looking forward to improving from last season, head coach Ben Dunlap’s first. “We have a good strong group. I really believe in them,” he said. Some key returning varsity players are seniors Myles Wright and Malik Butler and juniors PJ Grant and Joe Watts. When asked about his coaching style Coach Dunlap answered, “Any coach should improve and adapt to each team. Every team needs to be coached differently,” One thing he always tells the team is “to compete everyday to get better.” Dunlap also said that to improve last year’s record of 6-16, “They need to work hard and gain experience through practice.”

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Junior PJ Grant added, “We are quicker and have more skill.”

The expectations are running high for the girls team to maintain last year’s 14-9 record. Some of the returning members this year are senior captains Justina Fortson, Megan Thomas, Jenn Doershuk and junior Brianna Rock. Coach Craig Foreman said, “We have a great chance [to maintain last year’s record]. We have a culture of winning.” Returning junior Lauren Mckown added, “We have strength. We have a good system on offense and defense, but we have raw talent that we need to harness in.” Brianna Rock, last year’s top scorer, brings her skills. The three other returning players bring their winning tradition.

Along with the boys basketball team, the wrestlers look to improve from last year as well; their record was 5-8. Some returning wrestlers are senior Marcus Carpenter along with Raiden Foris, John Spurney and Andrew Wallace. “Those four young men have been in the weight room and wrestling room all offseason to improve on last season,” Coach Nic Rossiter said. When talking about their relationship to rookies he said, “[The seniors] mentor the younger wrestlers by showing them what it takes to become great.” The team has open mat and open lifting, which also helps the new players.

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