BAMM by West Side Story

MAY 31 VOL 1,ISSUE 1 FREE E

V I S LO

EXP

SUMMER

WHAT DO THE STUDENTS AND TEACHERS DO? READ PAGES 8-9 TO FIND OUT!

NEW

PAGE DESIGN BY//AILEEN NORRIS

2012 Girls Tennis Season Comes to an End

Softball

Summer Volunteering

Strief Mama

Save Yourself

Summer

07-09

Amazing Amy

Cartoons

Here They Come

What’s In a Name?

Dear Readers, Thank you for picking up a copy of BAMM, the independent publication run by West High School ninth graders Megan Jans, Megumi Kitamoto, Brittani Langland, and Aileen Norris. Why are we called BAMM? The title of our magazine is a clever combination of the letters in our first names, and it also sounds cool. As the end of the school year approaches, there is one thing on every student’s mind: summer. Because of this, we’ve made that the theme of this issue. Throughout these pages, we will cover ways that West High students and teachers are spending their summers this year, along with opportunities for summer activities like volunteer work.

Four the Win

Dead Celebrity Forecast 15

COVER COMPILED BY//MEGUMI KITAMOTO PICTURED ON COVER//KAMI MARCUSSEN AND MACKENZIE NOVOTNY

PHOTOS BY// MEGUMI KITAMOTO

In addition to summer, we will also cover topics relevant to the next school year, 2012-2013. Not only do we have articles about the incoming freshmen, but we also cover why self-defense should be offered in PE next year. In this issue, we’ve also done profiles of two unique individuals: Mrs. Strief, an American Studies teacher who just had a baby, and gifted student Amy Xiong. But the May issue of BAMM is not totally serious; included are also several fun articles, such as a forecast for dead celebrities and an article about how cartoons have gotten worse in the past ten/fifteen years. Once again, thank you for picking up a copy of BAMM! We hope you enjoy reading our magazine and buy our next issue once we come back in September--we need a summer break too.

Megan Jans, Editor-in-Chief

Softball BY MEGUMI KITAMOTO

megumi.kitamoto@gmail.com Swing the bat. Hit the ball. Run around the bases. HOME RUN! Now, what sport does this go with? The majority of people may answer baseball, but another possible answer is softball. Softball is a summer sport at West High, going from May to the end of July, and has about 20 people on the varsity team. When you are on the team, how much better can your summer get? You spend time with friends on the team, and there’s no school to get in the way of hanging out with friends. “Since softball is in the summer, you get closer to your teammates because you don’t have to go to school. We also sometimes go swimming,” said Lauren Larson, ’13. Teamwork is an important aspect in softball, and the relationship of the players is described as being “like sisters,” and the amount of friendship on the team is very obvious. Members of the softball team also have a strong love and commitment to the sport. “[I like softball] because you have something to do over the summer, and you get a pretty good tan,” Michaela Just ’14 said with a laugh.

2012 Girls Tennis

Season Comes to a n End

BY MEGAN JANS

jans.megan@gmail.com At the beginning of the 2012 girls tennis season, it was uncertain how West’s team was going to perform this year. With a young, new coach replacing an experienced one, and with the loss of several talented seniors, things weren’t looking too bright. However, with a record of 16-3, a victory at state, and a trip to state, the team seems to have had quite a good season. “[The] season’s going really well,” team captain Olivia Lofgren ‘12 said. “With our new coach, I was kind of worried. But we’ve done well.” Lofgren has performed well this year with a record of 11-4 in singles and 10-1 in doubles. She and her doubles partner, Elena Wilson ‘13, are even headed to the state tournament after placing second in doubles at regionals. “Elena and I always get along really well,” Lofgren said. “We laugh off our mistakes. Addy Riley ‘13 was placed in the top singles spot and top doubles spot this year, with records of 9-8 and 8-2 respectively. Her doubles partner, Megan Jans’ 15, also plays fifth singles and has a record of 19-1. The team’s third doubles duo, which consists of Brittani Langland ‘15 and Jenny Clark ‘13, has a record of 5-3; Langland’s record in fourth singles is 12-4, and Clark’s record in sixth singles is 11-3. With skilled, capable players, and good chemistry between them, the WHS girls tennis team has had a successful 2012 season.

“I love all my teammates that I am so lucky to play with,” said Mikaela Morgan ’15. State volleyball. State basketball. State track, and a great soccer season. How many more good things can you expect out of the Trojans? You can probably hold high expectations for the softball team as well. Their goals are probably reachable, because last year the softball team went 32-10 last year, and were in state. “I would like to go undefeated and keep trying to gain togetherness as a team,” Just said. “[My goal is] to become conference champs, and go all the way up to state champs!” Morgan added.

03 SPORTS

2012-2013

PAGE DESIGN BY//MEGAN

School Year BY BRITTANI LANGLAND langland.brittani@gmail.com

he freshmen coming to West High School next year are starting to get high school fever as summer approaches. Some students are excited, however most are scared and nervous. They have been told about what high school will be like, from all of their family, teachers, or friends. It is their chance now to see for themselves. But, many are having a negative look on West. West High School is a powerhouse in academics, athletics, and size. It is very intimidating to a newcomer of it. Most incoming freshmen are coming from either North Central or Northwest, which has roughly 400-600 students in it. West High has almost 2000 people in it. That is five times the amount of people. “I hope the school won’t [go] over-capacity,” worries incoming freshman Lauren Gray. The overcrowding controversy in Iowa City is being dealt with. However, it won’t affect this year’s incoming freshmen. So the worry of overcrowding is still a major fear in the newcomer’s eyes. However some students are not fearful for high school. They are truly excited. “I am excited to have more freedom,” said Anna Mabry, an incoming freshman. Being in High School does offer more freedoms in the categories of transportation, lunch, class choices, and much more. Some incoming freshman will even be driving next year. “I will have my school permit, but I am nervous to drive by myself every day,” said Mabry. Even the excited students have things to be nervous about. Then there is the classic fear of upper classmen. This classic fear is brought upon by media portrayals, and television shows. This is when an upperclassman shoves you in a locker, book checks you, or any other act of bullying. “I am nervous I will get trampled by senior guys,” said Jasmin Gu, an incoming freshman. “They don’t really do that,” said Jenna Mabry a freshman at West High, “they are actually very nice.” Mabry explains how

the upperclassmen help you, because they know what they are doing. She also encourages others to help incoming freshmen also. “I know what it is like being a freshman, and having someone help does make a difference,” said Mabry. Instead of being nervous by the size, freedom, and upperclassmen, incoming freshman should be excited about high school. West offers clubs, sports, arts, and much more. It is a chance to make your mark on the world; or at least get a start on it. However, it is the natural feeling to be nervous. “Upperclassman be

“ AFRESHMAN I KNOW WHAT IT’S LIKE BEING

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INCOMING FRESHMAN

This year, you’ve already met all of next year’s sophomores, juniors, and sernios. But here’s your chance to meet the new freshman coming in front Iowa City’s junior highs.

Instead of being nervous by the size, freedom, and upperclassmen, incoming freshman should be excited about high school. West offers clubs, sports, arts, and much more. It is a chance to make your mark on the world; or at least get a start on it. However, it is the natural feeling to be nervous. “Upperclassman be nice to the little guys!” demands Mabry. 200vi Eonei elaur plica oscri eseli sipse enitu ammih mensl quidi aptat rinar u acae ierqu

Meet the Freshman Lauren Gray ‘16 “I’m excited, but a little nervous about the amount of kids going to school there. I hope that the school won’t become overcapacity because that could have a negative effect on my education.”

Jasmin Gu ‘16 COMPILED BY// MEGUMI

“[I’m] Not particulary excited, but still a little nervous. I’m afraid I’ll get trampled by the senior guys.”

Will Scott ‘16 “I’m excited for honors classes and new opportunities.”

David Wu ‘16 “I’m kind of excited to go to West, since I’ll be able to meet new people, and do more things that elementary and junior high schools don’t provide to kids. The only thing I’m a little worried about is grades and tests, but it’s not that bad.”

Ceecee Sheng ‘16 “I’m excited for the hats allowed rule. I have this cool raccoon hat that I want to wear...”

PHOTOS BY// MEGUMI

Streif Mama

PAGE DESIGN BY BRITTANI LANGLAND

BY BRITTANI LANGLAND Langland.Brittani@gmail.com After endless months of waiting Stacey Striefs American Studies classes finally get an answer on her new baby. Kinley, Streif’s new baby girl is healthy and well. “Kinley and I are doing great. She is beginning to develop a personality and I enjoy seeing her achieve new milestones,” Strief said. Currently, Kinley is learning how to smile alongside her new mom. While, away Streif’s sub Alex Weise has taken over. “My substitute, Mr. Weise, and I communicate often regarding how class is going and if there needs to be any adjustments made to the schedule,” Streif said. Although she does miss school, she enjoys not having to worry about it. Streif did come back to help with prom however, so she has gotten to catch up with a few of her students. “It was fun getting to see so many students,” Streif said. Although Streif has been enjoying her time with her daughter she is ready to come back. “It is bittersweet when I think about returning to school. While I have loved every minute Kinley and I have spent together, I am looking forward to seeing my students and co-workers,” Streif said. You can look for Streif on the 29th of May when she returns.

PHOTO BY STACEY STREIF

Amazing Amy BY AILEEN NORRIS aileen.m.norris@gmail.com

DRAWING BY BRITTANI LANGLAND

A small girl sits at her desk and slowly twirls her pencil. To the common eye, it is baffling because she does it with such ease, but that is all. However, Amy Xiong ’15, is doing much more than twirling pencils. She is off in her own world, with her dragons. That’s right, dragons. Maybe today she’s flying with her orphaned black Western dragon that breathes fire and is “intense” according to Xiong, or maybe her dark red male dragon. Either way, Xiong truly loves dragons. “They’re awesome! They breath fire, they can fly, and they’re really powerful and they’re magical and they don’t exist, which makes them that much cooler,” Xiong says happily. Xiong’s talents don’t lie only with dragons and pencil twirling, however. As a freshman, she is in two honors classes, as well as Symphonic Band and multiple art classes. Her favorite class thus far has been Spanish II Honors. Next year, she will be taking all honors and AP classes along with Wind Ensembe. She is excited about this because it is a faster pace and will be more of a challenge for her. She is especially looking forward to Chemistry Honors next year. Xiong is originally from San Antonio, Texas along with her older sister, Linda Xiong ’12. Her parents’ originate from China though. Because of this, Xiong goes to school to learn Chinese along with her regular studies here at West. The first thing she learned about China when she was little was it is “shaped like a rooster.” This summer, Xiong and her family will be going to China for two or three weeks when her dad goes to a business conference. This will be nice for Xiong because she will be able to visit her family. Xiong is reaching for new heights. Despite being “short” tall, she is someone to be reckoned with. Her willingness to become so involved academically is really a feat. Along with that, she has an amazing imagination that lead to great stories adventure and untold heroes. Not to mention her pencil twirling skills. When she grows older, she will learn every pencil twirl trick in the book. She adds in that she hopes her fingers will be long enough to do so. Xiong is quite the gem. She says that she has always wanted to fly, but with her talent, she already is.

Expl o and t re what s o e over achers w me stude ill be n break doing ts .

SUMMER

BY MEGAN JANS AND MEGUMI KITAMOTO jans.megan@gmail.com and kitamoto.megumi@gmail.com Ever wonder what how your teachers and classmates spend their summers? Here, BAMM explores what both adults and teenagers do over break.

TEACHER SUMMERS In our minds, we have made summer as a time that doesn’t have school. We also have an image implanted into our brains; that the teachers live at the school, and do nothing but teach the entire year, all day every day. For the majority of the time, that is an incorrect assumption. However, that can be true in some cases. James Kirpes, math teacher, said that he teaches some math during the summer, but mostly he tries to spend time with family and friends, and be outdoors and stay active. While Kirpes tries to stay active, Kathy Bresnahan, physical education teacher is active in another way; through the school. She is at West High for three to four days a week for volleyball practices. “I also like to garden and go on bike rides with my dog Charlie,” Bresnahan added.

“afreshman i know what it’s like being

and having someone

help

does make a

“

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In addition to working in her garden and enjoying the summer as much as possible, Carolyn Walling, science teacher, tries to travel as much as possible. In past years, Walling has traveled to China and South Africa. This year she and her family are planning to travel to Tasmania. ELL teacher Kelsey Jacobs takes the easy route and takes a break during the summer. “I stay at home and organize,” she said. “I have also worked for Iowa Testing Programs and a copy store.” Summer? Relaxing? Not for Jeff Finn, English teacher, because he may be having a stressful summer. He is going to move into a

new house, and take care of his baby. “I get to go to the beach with my family, and I will attempt to surf and fail. My brother and I are also planning to do ragbrai,” Finn said. Students at West High have diverse summers. They go all over the place. Now you know that the teachers go to interesting and do interesting things. After all, the teachers need a break, too!

WRITTEN BY//MEGUMI

STUDENT SUMMERS What’

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of su

favori

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“Hanging out with my friends.” Sean Richardson ‘14

“I’m moving to Washington, Iowa.” Richardson “Not having to wake up early in the morning and being able to do whatever I want, whenever I want.” Callie Linebarger ‘15

“I’m life-guarding and baby-sitting.” Callie Linebarger ‘15

“I like summer because you can be free and can hang out with friends more.” “My family might take trips to Chicago or somewhere close.” Ritchie

PAGE DESIGN BY//MEGAN COMPILED BY//MEGAN

Sarah Ritchie ‘15

PAGE DESIGN BY BRITTANI LANGLAND

Four the W nd

Four of West High’s most astounding individuals; Joshua Chen’15, Lushia Anson’15, David Ryu’15, and Neil Wu’15 show that they can balance schoolwork, extracurricular activities, and cello practice in their everyday lives. BY MEGUMI KITAMOTO Megumi.Kitamoto@gmail. When you walk into the West High orchestra room during second period, you can hear many string instruments. The high notes of the violin. The deep rumble of the bass. But the most prominent voices of them all are probably the cello, with four strong players that play together in a quartet. All of the members started at different times, and each have their own reasons for liking the cello. “Cellos have a big range. [You] can play both high notes and low notes,” said Joshua Chen, ’15. Lushia Anson ’15, Chen, David Ryu ’15 and Neil Wu ’15 are the members of the cello quartet in West High’s concert orchestra. Anson, Ryu, and Wu participated in the All-State Orchestra as freshmen. “I think that All-State is a really good experience, and gives you a taste of the real world,” Anson said. However, they are not only talented in the cello, and they all do many other extracurricular activities. Wu swims on the high school boys swim team the swimming club ICE and debates, while Ryu takes art classes and is in a cello choir at Preucil School of Music. Chen does track, piano, debate, jazz band,

ARTWORK BY MEGUMI KITAMOTO

and volunteers at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. Anson plays the piano, and is applying to be on the West Side Story staff. as a designer or a writer.

“[I practice] 2-3 hours per day. Less on weekdays, and more on weekends,” said Ryu. “I practice for 30 minutes on weekdays, because it is hard to balance two and a half hour swim practices,” said Wu. This quartet is working, or more like playing its way to the top.

“There are millions of people out there who are classically trained in cello, which is cool too, but in addition to that, I want to do something a little out of the ordinary with cello, like cover pop songs on the cello and piano,” said Anson. “I hope to be a four-year AllStater by the end of high school, and I hope the quartet continues,” said Wu. With the things they have accomplished, and the goals that they have right now,who knows what good things they could do.

Getting Involved

DESIGN BY BRITTANI LANGLAND

Summer volunteering helps some students stay active, and keep busy.

“I love being able to give back to the community” PHOTOS BY MEGAN JANS BY MEGAN JANS

Abby Wahling’15

be helping out at many of the read- are even announcements about voling program events that I helped to unteering during advisory. “That’s jans.megan@gmail.com plan.” She’s also going to help with where I found out about the Penn This summer, you probably have plans to sleep, eat, and stay a program that teaches preschool Elementary tutoring,” Walling said. Paul Breitbach, a guidance counat home all day. What if, instead, kids arts and crafts, putting the selor at West, also knows of several total number of hours she’ll spend you could participate in someat the library at five per week. And places that allow student volunteerthing that improves your coming. Nursing homes and retirment it doesn’t end there--every week, munity, allows you to meet new homes are always looking for young she will be volunteering with the people, and helps you become a I Heart the Arts and Sand in the volunteers, according to Breitbach, better person? Look no further City programs in Iowa City and and most churches, mosques, than volunteering. and religious establishments offer will be travelling with her family to In Iowa City, there is no shortopportunities for members of the Australia to help teach English to age of opportunities for teenagcongregation to get involved with native children. ers to volunteer. Just ask Abby But travelling to Australia to vol- volunteering. And it doesn’t end Walling ‘15, who, throughout unteer probably is not an option for there. the year, volunteers at several everybody. Fortunately, students do “We have students who volunteer locations: she shelves books and helps plan reading events at not even need to leave Iowa to find at the hopsital,” Breitbach says. However, the process of getting the Coralville Public Library, she student volunteer work. involved there is “a little more “There are many volunteering optutors students at Penn Elemenportunities for students in the city,” complicated.” tary School, she helps out with Walling said. “The libraries always Volunteering has many positive fundraisers and other events at effects for students. According to Horn Elementary School, and she need more help shelving books.” Walling also says that volunteers are Walling, it also serves as a “someworks a booth at the Summer always welcome in IC’s Summer of thing fun to do in [her] free time.” of the Arts and Sand in the City “Volunteering has benefitted me the Arts programs. events every summer. And this Students can even find volunteer- because I love being able to give summer, her volunteerwork isn’t work right at West. One of West’s back to my community,” Walling going to end. pages on Facebook--the West High said. “I have...met many new people “I plan to volunteer at the while volunteering and I have many 1440 Interact page--posts about library for many hours this volunteer opportunties, and there more friends at West because of it.” summer,” Walling said. “I will

Breitbach also agrees that volunteering has benefits for students. “Getting involved with your community at a young age is valuable,” Breitbach said. “It teaches you to give back.” However, doing volunteer work may not necessarily add much to a college application. “I don’t think it [volunteering] makes or breaks you,” Breitbach said, adding that colleges will always look at grades and schoolwork first. However, it still helps students to become more “well-rounded” and “put things into perspective.” “A lot of great things are achieved through volunteering,” Breitbach said. To find specific opportunities for volunteering, you can also vist 10000hoursei.org.

When 3D first came out, it was new and exciting, but with seemingly every new movie having a tag of “in 3D” attached, has it become boring? Do you remember the first time you saw a movie in 3D? The rush and excitement of having things jump out at you. Maybe a fireball will be thrown in your direction, or an explosion will envelop you. You will be part of the movie. You don’t have to just watch, now you can interact with the actions occurring on screen. The thrill of such things must have been exhilarating. Standing in line to purchase that special ticket that will grant you entrance into a whole new world. Entering the dark theater and putting on the old red and blue glasses, waiting impatiently for the adventure to begin. A few years ago, 3D movies were special, precious. They were a whole new experience altogether. Now though? It seems every big box office movie comes out with a tag saying “in 3D” at the end in bold big letters. Round of applause for you, movie company. You just released another movie “in 3D”. It’s not like every other movie in the theater right now has that same tag or anything. Feel free to rejoice in your new and original idea that is sure to bring in the big dough.Yet another big money maker. The other thing about 3D movies that I have started to see a trend in is the fact that there will be places, even whole scenes, where it is made specifically for 3D watchers. Take Despicable Me, for example. That whole rollercoaster scene? So boring without the glasses. Plus the whole glasses thing gets kind of old. They try to make them look stylish, but in all reality they’re just annoying. Plus if you want to take them off, you can’t watch the movie anymore because it’s too blurry.You “need” the 3D glasses if you want to be able to see a thing. Then there are people like Johnny Depp who have some kind of eye problem so they can’t even process the 3D movie. It is believed Depp has stereoblindness, which prevents him from seeing properly in 3D, whether in a movie or not.

Others might be cross-eyed or side-eyed. How fun would that be? Having to sit through the whole movie not seeing anything because the 3D doesn’t process correctly in your brain, that would just be joyous. What’s the point? Plus there’s the motion sickness. You could be sitting in the theater, enjoying your 3D movie with all of the special effects when all of a sudden one of the little kids says something to their mother, and proceeds to heave all over the theater floor. Ew. No thank you. Prices. They seem to be a big concern for kids our age, especially during a recession. It can be pretty expensive to buy a movie ticket in 3D every time. If all you want to do is see the movie, why pay the extra dollar or two to wear annoying glasses and have things jump out, scare you, and make you throw your candy all over the floor. Am I the only one who finds it kind of annoying that now the theater industry is not only releasing new movies in 3D, but also re-releasing old movies with 3D added. Great, now we can watch lightsabers clash in front of us “in 3D” as if that makes it so much better. And, of course, the all-famous Titanic. It’s the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, so to celebrate let’s release it in 3D, where the ship can sink right into us.Yay... The first time you saw a 3D movie was different. It was something special. Now it has become normal. The EDITORIAL BOARD magic has been lost. Those kids that Britanni Langland go to their first 3D movie should be Aileen Norris able to feel that same excitement and Megumi Kitamoto wonder, not a sense that 3D is just Megan Jans normal for movies.

A Brief History of 3D • The first presentation of 3D film in front of a paying audience took place in New York on June 10, 1915. The viewers wore red and green spectacles, and unfortunately it was not a success. • The most recent movie released in 3D as of May 31, 2012, was Men in Black 3, which was originally released in 2D but was released in 3D on May 25, 2012. • The Hobbit: There and Back Again is the latest movie to be scheduled to be released in 3D, with the release date planned for December 13, 2013.

2011-2012

Should 3D be used more sparingly than it has been recently?

3-1 The BAMM editorial board voted against using 3D excessively. PAGE DESIGN BY//AILEEN NORRIS

12 EDITORIAL

Cartoons used to be great, but have they gotten worse in recent years? Curled up in a blanket watching Saturday morning cartoons used to be bliss, but now it has been a constant struggle with the remote. Cartoons have gone downhill since we were kids. As a kid we found cartoons to be creative, funny, and overall more entertaining. These are key aspects to a cartoon, and modern cartoons aren’t fitting it. Remember when you wanted to be as adventurous as the kids on Rugrats, or live in New York, like Arnold from Hey Arnold. Cartoons like these were role models for us. Cartoons now have tall skinny girls who wear little amounts of clothes. Don’t believe me? Look at any cartoon made in the last year about fairies and princesses. Those women don’t compare to the strong and independent trio called the Powerpuff Girls.

Humor in a cartoon also is based upon age. If a character made a “bathroom joke” your younger self would laugh for days. If you saw that same joke now you would probably sit there with a straight face. Well, maybe you would burst out laughing, but more more likely not. It is not that cartoons when you were younger were funnier, it is simply you yourself were younger. The humor is based on age.

“This situation isn’t

This situation isn’t new. Our parents think that our favorite cartoons are bad, and their parents thought their favorite cartoons were bad. They always remind us that they had better shows, than Spongebob, Hey Arnold, or Powerpuff Girls. How could they critic the cartoons that shaped my life. Our passion for our generation cartoons is so thick that

new.”

The jokes on shows like spongebob or animaniacs really could brighten up anyones day. As kids, when we were feeling down, a bowl of ice cream and some cartoons made it better. It was the simple things that counted. However, the cartoons today don’t seem to relate to kids. The connection is missing, and this make our generation disappointed. All we remember is cartoons being everything; not nothing like the kids today are treating them.

Cartoons now seem to be boring to you, and this is upsetting. How will you spend your Saturday mornings now? There are many solutions to this eternal problem. One is to start watching cartoons aimed for your generation. They take some time to find, but they are out there. Also reruns are very popular on certain shows. But, we will never fully get the same experience as we did when we were young.

On the other side, the creativity of a cartoon is based on our prior knowledge. As a kid, all cartoons were original and creative because we had never seen a cartoon before. Now having years of cartoon watching experience, we can see a connection to all the cartoons. We are able to predict what will happen in the cartoon. This makes the cartoon less interesting for us to watch. Like when watching X Men or Power Rangers, the ending surprised us every time. Modern hero cartoons have the same endings. This makes the comparison unfair.

SOME GOOD 90’s CARTOONS 1. Rugrats 1991 2. Tiny Toon Adventures 1990 3. The Animaniacs 1993 4. Doug 1991 5. Hey Arnold 1996 6. Rocko’s modern life 1993 7. Powerpuff girls 1998 8. CatDog 1998 9. Pinky and the Brain 1995 10. X Men 1992

Were cartoons better when we were kids?

4-0 The BAMM editorial board voted in favor of old cartoons.

PAGE DESIGN BY//AILEEN NORRIS

13 EDITORIAL

Save yourself

Self defense is often overlooked-but it’s time we start considering it. BY AILEEN NORRIS

aileen.m.norris@gmail.com The summer of sixth grade, I signed up for TaiChi at College for Kids. I expected to learn cool yoga poses, ways to meditate and find “inner balance.” Granted, we did get to do some of that cool stuff. However, the thing we focused on the most was a wake-up call for me. We learned how to defend ourselves. At first I was reluctant. What young girl wants to learn how to hold keys so that you can blind an assaulter if they try to attack you while going to your car, or how it’s a good idea to try to rip off your assaulter’s ear so that they have to go to a hospital and you can get DNA evidence under your nails? But as the lessons progressed I realized the importance of knowing this kind of stuff. No one wants to think that anything bad will happen to them. No one thinks they are going to become a victim. Unfortunately, many are put into these horrible situations. I’m not a big fan of statistics, but numbers can sometimes help us grasp the effect of something though, so I’m going to point a few out. The following statistics are from RAINN, the 15 OPINION

Rape Abuse and Incest National Network. One in every six American women and one in every 33 American men have been the victim of attempted or completed rape in their lifetime. That’s right guys, this is about you too. Out of every 100 rapes, only 46 are reported to police, and only three out of every 100 rapists spend a single day in prison. Victims of sexual assault are three times more likely to suffer from depression, six times more likely to suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder(PTSD), 13 times more likely to abuse alcohol, 26 times more likely to abuse drugs, and four times more likely to contemplate suicide. These statistics scare me. This is a real problem. And I can’t help thinking to myself, why aren’t we doing something about this? This affects us. These statistics could become so much more. A classmate. A close friend. I don’t want to keep hearing about this problem, when we really could be teaching ourselves how to prevent this kind of thing. Why not teach self-defense in P.E.? I mean, it can’t be that difficult. Spend a week on it in elementary school or junior high, even high school. I don’t know about you, but I feel like knowing how to stay safe is a lot more important than playing another game of flag football or ultimate frisbee. Yes, I get that sometimes learning this kind of stuff can be a bit boring. I remember having to learn water safety in 7th and 8th grade. The second time we watched a video of a

man purposely putting himself into freezing water to demonstrate how to get out safely I tuned out half of it. But I would prefer to be safe and be a bit bored couple of days than spend the rest of my days recalling a harrowing experience like a rape. So let’s do something. I don’t want anyone at this school to become another statistic. I don’t want anyone to become another statistic. Let’s learn how to use self-defense. It’s worth it. WWW.WSSPAPER.COM

Log on to find out how to defend yourself with an

What’s in a Name? BY MEGUMI KITAMOTO megumi.kitamoto@gmail.com

Hopefully you got that. My name is Megumi Kitamoto. Megumi means “blessing” in Japanese, and Kitamoto means “North Book” in Japanese. No, I am not joking. North Book is the correct translation. According to 5gobiz.jp, a site that ranks names based on popularity, Megumi was the 38th most popular name for girls (as of 2012). Did I mention that Megumi was the most popular name in Japan in 1982? And not to mention that Kitamoto is the 1311th most common last name in Japan in 2010, according to dion.ne.jp. When people see my name

on an attendance sheet or in written words, they usually stare, fail to pronounce it correctly, and ask me what it means or if it is common in my country of origin. So there. All your questions about my name are answered. Thanks to my name, I have received interesting attention and interesting nicknames. Some nicknames include Megumi Komodo Dragon, Megumi Kita-tomato (courtesy of my BASP coordinator in elementary school), The Goominator (courtesy of my fifth-grade class) , and Megumi Gaddywompus (courtesy of my fifth and sixth grade teacher). There also were people that high-fived me in the hallway, yelling “Gooms!” and successfully embarrass me and make my face go red. Great memories. When I was a little kid I

used to dislike my name because everybody would butcher it. “Is it Mee-gumee? Or Meh-Goom-Eye? -Eh?” People make about 20 different variations of the pronunciations of my name, and I got tired of correcting people. I even engraved “I don’t like my name” onto a plate. Now, as I think back, I wonder why I did that. Sure, it is hard to pronounce, and yes, it may have a little too many vowels. But people remember my name faster, and people compliment my name a lot, about how it “flows nicely” or “sounds like a flowing river.” A reason to be thankful for my name came up when we had to do a speech on our names in 8th grade language arts. At first, I was reluctant to ask my parents why they named me Megumi, because I was expecting such a cheesy

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story about life and all that. I mean, my name means BLESSING. But I was wrong. They said that the name Megumi meant blessing, and my parents wanted me to be blessed with lots of happiness and joy, and so I can give my blessing to other people. Aww…how sweet. I also found out later that Kitamoto was also the name given to the servants of a samurai. Cool! Not to only do I have a name with great meaning, I am descended from a samurai ‘s servant! My name could actually be kind of awesome and worth bragging about!! This name business could also be an important life lesson. If there is something you hate, there just might be a touching story behind it that can change your opinion on it.

Dead Celebrity Forecast BY MEGAN JANS

jans.megan@gmail.com

two, may soon collapse upon itself. Rick Santorum: I don’t think this requires too much of an explanation. It’s simply not possible for a man who is as full of hate as he is to not make at least one person want to assassinate him. Justin Bieber: The release of his latest single, “Boyfriend,” has attracted the attention of The International Save-Music Assocation (TIS-MA, spoken as “tɪs mɑ”). Because of the alleged excessive amounts of horribleness in “Boyfriend,” TIS-MA has devised a detailed, very complicated plan for removing Bieber and his music from the world. The plot, which TIS-MA hopes will be completed by the end of November, involves kidnapping and murdering Bieber, who TIS-MA refers to as “the beaver” in order to keep things as confidential as possible; the plan

is referred to as Operation Blue Tomato. Clearly, 2012 has been and is going to continue to be quite an intense year, filled with death, murder, and assassination. Will our world be able to survive, or

ART BY//TOSHI KITAMOTO

As of recently, the media has been flooded with stories covering the passing of some of society’s favorite celebrities: Whitney Houston, Mike Wallace, Dick Clark, Joe Paterno, Michael Jackson, Farrah Fawcett, Amy Winehouse, etc., etc., etc. The list is expansive, along with the variety of causes for the deaths, which range from drug overdose to lung cancer. This raises an important question: which celebrities will be the next to go? I’ve devised what I consider to be a fairly accurate system for predicting which famous figures will go

next, and I’d like to share with all of you my first results. 2012 Forecast One Direction: That’s right, folks, the world may soon have to say goodbye to these beloved contestants from X Factor. With the population of rabid 1D fangirls increasing exponentially, it seems quite likely that Zayn, Liam, Harry, Louis, and Niall will not last much longer. There is no doubt in my mind that, soon enough, all preteen fans will gather together with their t-shirts, pitchforks, and screams of “TAKE OFF YOUR CLOTHES!” and assault and kill these poor young boys. Kanye West: Because a person’s head can only become so big before it explodes. Alternatively, his hooking up with Kim Kardashian may end up killing all of us: the universe, unable to handle the coupling of two-people as self-absorbed as these

15 OPINION

THE

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BY MEGUMI KITAMOTO megumi.kitamoto@gmail.com

CLARE LANAGHAN ‘15

K ALIKES

Picture this. You are walking down a street. La Dee Da Dee Daa. All of a sudden, you see somebody. Not just a regular person, but they look exactly like a puppy. BAMM tried to find people that look like celebrities and animals. Can YOU see the connection between the two?

MIA WASIKOWSKA

“The real question is, why does SHE look like ME?!” Clare Lanaghan ‘15 on looking like Mia Wasikowska from Alice in Wonderland.

EMILEE BENEDICT ‘15

FOX

Sleathy and sneaky might be some words to describe Emilee Benedict...and a fox also. “I don’t think I look like a fox so I’m not sure whether I should be happy or offended,” Benedict said.

MAGGIE SMITH ‘15

DREW BARRYMORE

Maggie Smith ‘15 is hot and burning as she looks like Drew Barrymore from Charlie’s Angels. “I don’t think I look like Drew Barrymore...at least she [Drew Barrymore] doesn’t look that bad so I am OK with people saying I look like her,” Smith said.

BEN NELSON ‘15

JEREMY SUMPTER

Maybe Ben Nelson ‘15 could make some magic with his resemblance to Jeremy Sumpter from Peter Pan. I guess I feel flattered and attractive that I look like Peter Pan,” Nelson said.

ART BY// TOSHI KITAMOTO PHOTOS BY// MEGUMI KITAMOTO