Wingspan Issue 4; 2012-2013

Race to the Top

With the United States falling behind other countries in math and science, new STEM schools focus on improving curriculum and instruction

Wingspan WEST HENDERSON HIGH SCHOOL

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3600 HAYWOOD ROAD

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Page 4

HENDERSONVILLE, N.C. 28791

Volume XXXII, Issue 4

March 25, 2013

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BATTLE U.S. military leaders lift ban on women in combat roles n

Lauren Stepp,

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junior editor

weat trickled down her back between her shoulder blades, and her stiff combat boots cut into the tender flesh around her heels. She was in a small town located halfway between Nuremberg and Munich, Germany. The shouts of German and American soldiers echoed around her. It was 1984.

Col. Karen Helmeyer’s muddied uniform hid the fact that she was the only woman among the 20 soldiers preparing to make the annual 120-mile march between German and American headquarters. She would be the first woman to ever complete the trek.

“After the march, I was really quite proud of myself. It wasn’t easy for any of us, but I had that extra pressure of being the first woman. When we finished there was a military ball in honor of the German-American partnership. We were a little nervous about putting on our formal uniforms, specifically about Personally, I am how we were going to walk in our dress ecstatic that women shoes,” Col. Helmeyer said. “The team was are now allowed into introduced, and we all walked in wearing combat. As long as our formal dress uniforms, but I was the they are tested to be only one walking in heels. I’ve never been physically and menthe trailblazer type, but I felt good that I tally capable to do as succeeded and set an example for others. I well as their fellow broke down one little barrier, but I can look soldiers, it is a great back now and say that was part of the big decision. picture.”

Katie Welch In January, Defense Secretary Leon Junior JROTC cadet Panetta brought down yet another barrier as he made an official announcement reversing a 1994 policy that called for excluding women from serving in combat units. Panetta said he would give units until 2016 to formally implement the new policy. Women are currently barred from more than 230,000 combat positions, though they currently make up 14 percent of the 1.4 million active military personnel, according to CNN. Reaction to the military’s shift in policy has been mixed.

“Personally, I am ecstatic that women are now allowed into combat. As long as they are tested to be physically and mentally capable to do as well as their fellow soldiers, it is a great decision,” junior Katie Welch, a JROTC cadet, said.

“It is controversial because typically men surpass women when it comes to strength. In my opinion, as long as a woman can pass all required tests, it’s a great thing. People are starting to notice that women are very capable.”

Critics are honing in on the physical demands of the combat duty. According to American Medical News, the average 20-year-old woman only has the strength of the average 50-year-old man.

Also, as Jennifer Ackerman mentioned in a National Geographic article, the arrangement of a woman’s pelvis causes a 10 percent slower running speed compared to that of men.

Many are concerned that in an attempt to compensate for such physical differences, the military will lower training standards. In September 2012, the Marine Corps’ infantry course, a rigorous three-month training program, was opened to women. Only two of the 80 women who qualified actually volunteered to participate. Neither of the two actually completed the course.

“Physically, it is a known fact that men are generally stronger than women. n See “Women in Combat,” Page 2

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Early Release — March 29 Easter Sunday — March 31 Spring Break — April 1-7 April Fool’s Day — April 1 Jury Night — May 23

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Are you traveling more than 50 miles away for spring break?

Yes

No

43%

57% (based on a survey of 380 students)

“Girls don’t have peeing utensils.”

Leanna Raquer, biology teacher (discussing male and female anatomy)

H H

eard

in the

all

Apps lead to new obsessions

“I want to marry a Pope.”

Hannah Green, senior (on Pope Benedict’s retirement funds) “It’s not like you want to have sex with your mom and dad.”

Matthew Parent, English teacher (on Oedipus Rex) “Take this and be happy on the outside and bleeding on the inside.”

Amy Zalevskiy, chemistry teacher (talking about depression medication)

Obsessed Obsessed

Obsessed

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Page 6

2News Flight

Wingspan n March 25, 2013

ALL TOGETHER NOW

In

Young Frankenstein cast members perform in a teaser show during first period on March 14. ( Photo by Lacey Carnes)

Foreign language students compete Foreign language students in levels III and IV competed at the Foreign Language Competition at Western Carolina University on March 12.

In the Spanish competition, students placed third in their skit performed by seniors Ellie Gillon, Tatianna Nelson, Jason Piotrowski, Marissa Treible and Aaron Turpin and junior Matt Rice.

In Spanish music, seniors Collin Armstrong, Zach Chokr, Candice Holden and Erick Martinez and juniors Jackie Antiveros, Hunter Denney, and C.J. Reguyal placed third.

Gillon placed third in the Spanish poetry competition.

Senior Tori Black placed first in Spanish extemporaneous speaking, Level III. Junior Jackie Antiveros placed first in Spanish native speaker poetry.

In the French competition, sophomore Kourtney McCarthy placed third in show and tell. n

The Anime Club is holding elections for a new club president. Candidates who have signed up will be assigned a day to lead and present. After everyone has presented, club members will vote. See club sponsor Alexsandra Lawson for more information. n

Prom will be held on May 4 at the Crest Center and Pavillion in Asheville. Only juniors and seniors and their guests may attend.

See Teresa Davis for more information. n

Jury Night for spring semester graduation project presentations will be held on May 23, beginning at 6:30 p.m. n

The annual Arts for Individuals talent show has been scheduled tonight at 7 p.m. in the auditorium.

The cost of tickets is $5. and proceeds will benefit the Monty Parker Scholarship Fund. n

Health Occupations Students of America members raised $300 in their lollipop sales. The money will help provide blankets for dialysis patients. n

Fine arts department presents spring musical, Young Frankenstein n

By Natalya Lunsford, feature writer

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fter spending months rehearsing and preparing, sophomore Jacob Shoemaker nervously waited for the opening night of Young Frankenstein to begin.

“If you mess up everyone will know you messed up; then you’ll be very self-conscious. You have lots of friends there, and if you mess up, they’ll tell you that you did great anyway. Everyone is actually really supportive about it,” Shoemaker said.

Shoemaker played Victor Von Frankenstein and Bob in this spring’s production Young Frankenstein March 14, 15 and 16. The musical, based on the Mel Brook’s movie Young Frankenstein, tells the story of a young brain surgeon who inherits a castle from his grandfather, Dr. Victor von Frankenstein. He discovers a book filled with his grandfather’s experiments and theories, and believing they might work, sets out to recreate them.

Choreographer Resi Dolbee said that the association with the movie and the Broadway play made Young Frankenstien an attractive option.

“Young Frankenstein is a favorite movie of many folks, especially for older folks,” Dolbee said. “We’ve wanted to do something very different for a while now.

The show just came off Broadway, so it’s relatively new to the stage.”

Involvment in the musical was not limited to just the theater department. Many of the set designs were painted by members of the Art Club, including sophomore Alex Ginn.

“Everyone had their own little part to paint,” Ginn said. “Everyone put a lot of effort into making it happen.”

Director Kelly Cooper said a lot of work went into creating a good production.

“You want to have a good production, and you have to be a perfectionist to make sure everything goes as planned,” Cooper said. “A lot of people came to help me.”

Cooper said that watching the production was a great experience. “There’s nothing like seeing a play and being an audience member,” Cooper said. “There’s just a unique connection between the cast and the audience.”

(Photo provided by Lifetouch)

The Mock Trial Team participated in the Wade Edwards Regional Mock Trial Competition on Feb. 9 at the Buncombe County Courthouse. The team won two rounds.

Junior Anna Yarbrough won a best attorney recognition and senior Diane Gromelski won a best witness award. n

Monster Mash

LEADING MAN

Junior Andrew Murray performs as the lead character, Dr. Frederick Frankenstein, in the spring musical. “Playing my character was fun, but it was also a lot of work. It was more lines than I’ve ever had , but I enjoyed it,” Murray said.

Online trend ‘catfishing’ causes a stir around the country for social media users n

By Sabrina Russell, feature writer

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t was game day, and Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te’o, 22, had a heavy heart. His team was about to face Michigan State, and he had just learned that his grandmother had passed away. Within hours he received a second phone call informing him that his girlfriend, Lennay Kekua, had also died.

Te’o went ahead with his plan to play the football game, giving his team a moving speech before they went onto the field. He led his team to a 20-3 win and three months later was named a finalist for the 2012 Heisman Trophy.

After an investigation by Deadspin.com, it was revealed that Lennay Kekua was a fabrication created by a man named Ronaiah Tuiasosopo. Te’o had been “catfished.”

Catfishing is the practice of building a fake online personality to fool other users.

After the Te’o story hit, some students realized they had also been catfished. During the summer of 2011 someone created a profile under the name Jake Wyant

and said that he would be attending the school when the fall semester began.

“Jake Wyant, or whoever it was, messaged me on Facebook and asked me all these questions about West and volleyball. It wasn’t ever anything like, ‘Oh, I like you,’” junior Savanna Austin said. “He was telling me where he lived and sent me a picture of this big mansion that was supposedly his house.”

One of Austin’s friends was suspicious, so he typed in the email that was on Facebook using the name Jake Wyant as the password and gained access.

“He had messaged like 50 girls from the school and some of them he had even planned to hang out with, but he wasn’t even real,” Austin said.

Catfishing first became known when the movie Catfish came out in 2010. It followed a man named Nev Schulman delving into the story of his online girlfriend, Megan. Many believe the story to be fabricated. Morgan Spurlock of the documentary Supersize Me said, “It was the best fake documentary I have ever seen.”

The popular television network MTV also released a show titled Catfish: The TV Show that films people

meeting the person they have been in an online relationship with. Most times people do not turn out to be who they say they are.

“I watch that MTV show Catfish all the time, and it just makes me laugh because people are stupid,” Austin said. “You shouldn’t do that because you’re lying to people and that’s not right.”

Officials at the University of Michigan recently catfished their athletes in an attempt to teach them the dangers of social media. A consultant came in and had a secretary message the players.

After every catfishing revelation, the people who were lied to ask the same question: Why? “This wasn’t a prank to make fun,” Ronaiah Tuiasosopo’s lawyer Milton Grimes said to the New York Daily News. “It was establishing a communication with someone. It was a person with a troubled existence trying to reach out and communicate and have a relationship.”

Catfishing is not strictly against the law. Some states prosecute offenders for impersonating someone online, but not impersonating a fictitious person. The issue may raise First Amendment questions in the future.

Women in military (Continued from Page 1) Certainly there are some women who are stronger than some men. But on the general side, I think that men are just a lot stronger. There may be a time when you need a little more strength in certain areas. If she is not capable or able to do what needs to be done, there will be a problem,” Lt. Col. Randy Lytle, JROTC senior instructor, said. “However, I think the training standards will stay the same. The standards now are set in place where women can be successful just like a male. Men and women, certainly, are physically different, so women have their own standard and men have their own standard. I don’t think that they will change the women’s standard just because they are going into combat. If anything, they should make the standards tougher.”

Recent modifications in policy suggest that standards are becoming stricter. The Marine Corps is now expecting women to complete pull-ups during the physical training test, rather than the flexed arm hang

alternative. Both men and women must complete two to pass.

Some critics are concerned about how mentally prepared women are for hand-to-hand combat.

According to studies administered by the American Psychological Association, while males have a higher risk for traumatic events, women suffer from higher Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) rates. Considering that 11 to 20 percent of the Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans have PTSD, some fear that these numbers will increase with more women in combat.

“I think that it is the wrong move if the whole idea is to make women equal to men in the military,” Lytle said. “War is scary. No soldier wants to go fight. They do it because they have to; it is their duty. If called upon, I will do the same thing. But I can’t think of anyone who wants to go out there and face that type of thing.

Therefore, I don’t think women are mentally prepared

for such a gory perspective. It’s bad. War is never pretty.

It is an ugly, nasty thing. Women are more emotional.

My unprofessional opinion is that it would really hit a woman worse than it would hit a man. Now we are dealing with more PTSDs. Those are the type of things that run through my head.”

Although the policy changes are just beginning to be implemented, more than 280,000 women have already served in combat zones in which there was little distinction between front lines and rear support, according to Time.

“It’s not about women being prepared. It’s about people being prepared. It’s about people being able or unable to handle things,” Helmeyer said. “I know a man who passes out at the sight of blood. I know a woman who is a trauma surgeon. I’ve seen both men and women cower when mortars were landing, and I’ve seen both tend to injured people.”

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Opinion 3

Wingspan n March 25, 2013 n

Staff Editorial

Women should be required to register for military draft

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Should women have to register for the draft when they turn 18?

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gument is no longer valid. The law that is in place now is inherently discriminatory as it requires something of men that it does not of women.

If women’s rights advocates are going to continue to crusade for equality between men and women (as they should), they must also accept that women have to take

on the same responsibilities as men. If men are going to put their lives on the line in the defense of their country, then women should have to also.

We are all Americans, regardless of gender, and we should all be expected to participate in the same civic duties.

“If women are going to have to sign up for the draft, then they’ll have to make everthing that separates women and men equal, like paying men and women the same wages. But I doubt the government is ready for that.”

“From an equal rights standpoint, yes, butconsidering the fact that women are needed for reproduction, there could be a major problem with a population decrease if they were drafted. It could go either way.”

“The draft really isn’t all that necessary right now, but if it did become necessary, I don’t think women would need to sign up. There are enough men already signed up that it would be unnecessary for women to sign up.”

“Nobody should have to be drafted.

I think everyone should have a choice, but if they’re going to continue making men sign up, then I guess they should make women sign up too, just to be fair. ” Ryan Decker sophomore

Alexis Whiteside freshman n

Graham Duncan junior

Candice Holden senior

Viewpoint

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Should the minimum wage be increased?

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or most people, the words “minimum wage” evoke images of n his 2013 State of the Union address, President Barack Obama teenagers taking orders or bussing tables for money to pay proposed raising the minimum wage from $7.25 to $9 an hour by for car insurance or movie tickets. Now, however, the Great 2015.

Recession has forced millions of adults to regress back into minimum In reality, such a move would ruin the chances of teenagers wage positions or prevented them from moving forward into highergetting jobs and in the long run increase inflation, an unnecessary paying positions. waste of time for Congress. It would ruin the U.S. economy.

Currently, the federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour. Someone According to philly.com, 15 million American workers currently who earns minimum wage and works full time at 40 hours a week, earn minimum wage, making about $15,080 for 2,080 hours per year, weeks a year would earn $15,080. This is less than the federal just $50 below the poverty threshold.

Katie Miller Marissa Treible 52 poverty rate for two people, meaning that a single parent could Fewer jobs would be offered by companies if they had to finance work full time year round with no vacations and still find his or her family living in workers at a higher minimum wage. Isn’t that destroying the original intent to add poverty. more jobs to the economy? This would raise the already astounding 7.7 percent In an ideal world, parents wouldn’t have to raise children on a minimum wage unemployment rate, according to beaumontenterprise.com. salary. Unfortunately, we don’t live in an ideal world, and people do find themselves There would be a decrease in skilled workers seeing how they wouldn’t need to in situations where they have to raise a family on whatever they can, such as $7.25 an get a higher degree in their profession to get pay raises. This means that low wage and hour. Recent economic times have only made the prevalence of such circumstances low skill workers ages 16 to 19 are more likely to be let go before an adult at the new much greater. minimum wage.

President Barack Obama recently commented on the issue in his State of the Almost 50 percent of employers already report having trouble filling crucial higher Union address. He called on Congress to increase the minimum wage to $9 an hour. level jobs. This number would only rise with an increase of the minimum wage.

He also proposed adjusting minimum wage with inflation, which would guarantee “I guess I’d like to get more money, but by a raise or something like that. I don’t that as the cost of living goes up, so will worker’s wages. need to get more money for doing the exact same thing I’ve been doing. Anyway, if the “Let’s declare that in the wealthiest nation act is passed, it’ll be helping adults with minimum wage who should on earth, no one who works full time should be getting the promotions to higher level pay, not the teens who get have to live in poverty,” Obama said in the 2013 n and keep their minimum wage jobs,” junior Matt Rice said.

State of the Union address. “It could mean the A teenager’s first job is the critical first step in the job world. difference between groceries or the food bank, These minimum wage jobs are vital for teens to get experience and rent or eviction, scraping by or finally getting references for future more intense jobs. Unemployment rates ahead. For businesses across the country, it for teens 16 to 19-years-old are already at a high of 23.8 would mean customers with more money in percent, and it doesn’t need to be increased further. their pockets. In fact, working folks shouldn’t The price of paying workers more would be higher have to wait year after year for the minimum product prices, reduced profits and lost jobs. According to wage to go up while CEO pay has never been GazetteXtra.com, most companies decide that they can get higher.” by with fewer workers versus paying higher wages.

Raising the minimum wage means workers “The higher the price of anything, the less that will be will have more money to spend and will provide a taken, and this includes labor,” William Dunkelberg, chief (based on a survey desperately needed boost that will help stimulate economist for the National Federation of Independent of 223 students) the economy. It will also lessen the amount that Business said. “Raising the cost of labor raises the minimum wage workers rely on welfare and other for employers to find ways to use less labor.” n incentive government assistance that usually comes from taxpayers.

Obama’s proposal would extinguish jobs for One argument against raising the minimum wage is the fear that it will cause younger workers. From 2007 to 2009 the minimum financial hardship on businesses, causing them to further reduce their already limited wage was raised from $5.15 to $7.25. This did nothing significant for the economy in hiring. However, workers who earn more money will be more motivated to work, and the long run. With a gap of only four years, chances are nothing significant will happen higher wages should result in less absenteeism, less employee turnover and greater if the minimum wage is raised again. productivity, which will lead to higher profits for the businesses.

The United States seems finally to be coming out of the Great Recession. It is not According to The New York Times, the increase to $9 an hour would be the highest the time to be encouraging business owners to lay off workers or delay hiring. Raising in over three decades. However, if adjusted for inflation, it would be lower than the the minimum wage would only destroy jobs for teenagers and lower the number of minimum wages reached in the 60s and 70s. skilled workers.

PRO 82%

CON 18%

EDITORS-IN-CHIEF Diane Gromelski Hailey Johns MANAGING EDITOR Amy Taylor BUSINESS MANAGER Ashlynn Landreth SENIOR EDITOR Marissa Treible JUNIOR EDITORS Suzanne English Katie Miller Lauren Stepp WEB EDITOR Austin Downing

FEATURE EDITOR Anna Yarbrough ASSISTANT FEATURE EDITORS Shannon Miller ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR Rachel Shoemaker ASSISTANT ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR Amy Turlington OPINION EDITOR Angela Gross

ASSISTANT OPINION EDITOR Andrew Murray GRAPHICS EDITOR Sierra Fender SPORTS EDITORS Tiernan Turner FEATURE WRITERS Collin Armstrong Joel Fennimore Jacob Hensley Natalya Lunsford Polly Phillips Sabrina Russell Olivia Slagle Aury St. Germain

Diatribe Marriage act unconstitutional

cartoon by Evan Philips

wo weeks after her 18th birthday, a girl watches her twin brother fill out a military draft registration card.

She wonders why she too is not participating in this coming-of-age ritual alongside her brother. Why is she exempted from this civic responsiblity just because of her gender?

After outgoing Defense Secretary Leon Panetta announced that the Pentagon would lift the ban on women in combat, the question has been raised as to whether women should be required to sign up for the draft like young men currently do.

Immediately after the end of Panetta’s speech, the U.S. Selective Service posted a notice on its website stating, “Attention: Even though the secretary of defense has decided to allow women in combat jobs, the law has not been changed to include this. Consequently, only men are currently required to register by law with Selective Service during ages 18 thru 25. Women still do not register.”

Now that women are gaining the same military rights as men, they should be prepared to take on the same responsibilities. Men have been required to register for the draft within a month of turning 18 years old since the U.S. Selective Services was established in 1940, a year before the start of World War I, according to www.military.com.

When this legislation was written, women were still viewed as “housewives” who were incapable of doing the same jobs as men. Today, we live in a society where this view is held by a small minority, and women are filling positions that have traditionally been held by men, such as police officers, firefighters, doctors and lawyers.

In 1980, President Jimmy Carter asked Congress to expand the draft to include women. When Congress refused, a legal battle ensued. In the 1981 U.S. Supreme Court Case Rostker v. Goldberg, men argued that the draft was discriminatory and therefore unconstitutional because women are not required to register. The Supreme Court rejected the lawsuit on the grounds that women were not able to fight in combat roles.

Now that women are allowed in combat roles, this ar-

Diane’s

STAFF WRITERS Carlie Gillepsie Isabella Perron Krystan Proctor Rachel Raasch Amanda Southern Emily Turpin MaryKent Wolff Jacob Washington Annalyse Wilkins

Wingspan

Talons & Feathers Feather to junior Joy Johnston for winning the annual Falcon Idol competition.

Talon to the snow day that caused school officials to schedule school on Good Friday, March 29 Feather to senior Lee Fullam for placing first in diving at the state swim meet and to senior Joseph Manzi for placing third Feather to the state for paying for juniors to take the ACT

ighty-three-year-old Edith “Edie” Windsor had been engaged to her partner, Thea Spyer, for 40 years before they finally married in Canada in 2007.

Two years later when Spyer died, Windsor was not considered to be her “surviving Diane spouse” Gromelski by the Internal Revenue Service. It cost her $300,000 in federal estate taxes on her inheritance.

Though Windsor and Spyer were legally married and their marriage was recognized in their home state of New York, they missed out on 1,138 rights denied them by the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), a federal law which defines marriage as “a legal union between one man and one woman” according to freedomtomarry.org.

In December 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear Windsor’s case against the U.S. government in which she will argue that DOMA violates the Fifth Amendment’s guarantee of equal protection.

Oral arguments for the case were scheduled to be heard on March 27.

This case is long overdue. Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Americans have been denied equal rights for too long. DOMA is as blatantly unconstitutional as the Jim Crowe laws that established the “separate but equal” status of African-Americans.

There is absolutely no legal argument for denying American citizens rights based on their sexuality.

We have both federal and state laws protecting people from discrimination based on sexual orientation, and the Supreme Court has ruled that laws criminalizing homosexual behavior are unconstitutional.

Congress has repealed the military’s “Don’t ask, Don’t tell” policy.

It seems pretty clear that Americans are realizing that LGBT community members are facing a grave injustice, yet the federal government and most state governments continue to discriminate against members of the LGBT community by denying them marriage rights.

There is no doubt that we are moving toward marriage equality. We now have a president who publicly supports samesex marriage.

In February, the Obama administration filed a legal brief requesting that the Supreme Court strike down Section 3 of DOMA, the portion of the law which prohibits the recognition of same-sex marriages for federal benefits.

When the Supreme Court finally announces its DOMA decision in June, I will be appalled if it is anything other than marriage equality for everyone.

The student forum of West Henderson High School is published seven times each year by the newspaper journalism class. The purpose of Wingspan is to convey school and community news to the students, faculty, administration and community. Wingspan content is determined by an editorial board of student editors. Wingspan is a Southern Interscholastic Press Association AllSouthern, National Scholastic Press Association Pacemaker and All-American, Columbia Scholastic Press Association Gold Medalist and N.C. Scholastic Media Association All-North Carolina and Tar Heel Award publication. Staff editorials express the opinion of the editorial board. Columns reflect the opinions of the writer. Circulation is 1,200. Printed by Mullen Publications of Charlotte, N.C. 28273. Contact the staff at wingspan@henderson.k12.nc.us.

4Feature Zealot Z-2

You know, girls can do math, too

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wo plus two is five, and four times two is 10, I think?

Some girls are taught from a young age that their brains are more fit for reading and writing than for math and science.

Girls are not cut out to be mathematicians, statisticians Hailey Johns and most definitely not chemists or biologists.

Everyone knows that “boys are better at math, and girls are better at English.” This “obvious” truth has been circulating for centuries.

At one point in time, women simply existed as objects to be put up on a pedestal. Then, the male leaders of their time knew that the female with all of “its” feminine traits and characteristics was only good for several things: cooking, cleaning and making babies.

Since then, we’ve moved on from these demeaning standards to a time where women are only subconsciously thought of as the inferior beings.

Men can no longer demand that their wives be kept only in the kitchen.

Instead, these thoughts are screaming relentlessly in our minds to hold women back from the lab tables and exchange chemical tirations for poems and encyclopedias.

It’s not like women have ever succeeded in the fields of math and science before, right?

Rebellious women like physicist Madame Curie and cytogeneticist Barbara McClintock never contributed much to the world of science. Right?

It’s not like there’s ever been some catastrophic event like Hiroshima or Nagasaki where millions of people died from radiation poisoning.

And since we’re on good grounds with North Korea, what are the odds that it would happen again, really?

Madame Curie, we don’t need your groundbreaking scientific studies; we need a man.

And Dr. McClintock, your weak and frail womanly hands are obviously not capable of studying genetic transposition. We’re not trying to save the world, cure diseases and win Nobels. It’s only logical to assume these topics are only fit for a man’s brain.

I wouldn’t say that I have failed as a female student to excel in the areas of math and science, and I know that there happens to be an abundance of female students who are also perfectly capable of performing on the same level, if not higher, as a male student in the areas of math and science.

I for one have taken just as many math and science classes as any of my male counterparts.

It’s simple: we just don’t follow the protocol.

Either that, or we are very feminine, teenage boys who like pink, shopping, cupcakes and glitter that can do math, too.

Wingspan n March 25, 2013

down

to a

science

IT’S ELECTRIC

Senior Amy Taylor touches a Van de Graaff generator, an electrostatic generator which releases volts of energy, causing her hair to stand on end.

School club encourages students to pursue math and science related interests n

By Anna Yarbrough,

R

feature editor

eady. Set. Launch! The experiment soared into the air, then fell to the ground, landing softly on the grass as the students cheered. Junior Jennie Battle couldn’t believe what she had created. Using bottles, cardboard, duct tape and glue, Battle had invented a bottle rocket.

“I decided to become involved with STEM club because I really like science,” Battle said. “I don’t like math that much, but I really wanted to become more knowledgeable about technology and engineering, and I thought that this would be the best way to do it.”

Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Club is the new science club that replaced Astronomy Club. The club meets weekly to delve into a variety of science and engineering experiments. Junior Connor Courtney was elected president of the club. Battle and junior Nathan Connor are co-vice presidents.

“Usually we have an experiment of the week or a

main goal that we are trying to accomplish during the meetings,” Battle said. “One time we were looking at the relationship between pressure and space. We stuck someone in a garbage bag and we used a shock-vacuum to take all the air out of the bag. Since there wasn’t any air in the bag, it was just a vacuum in there and the person couldn’t get out.”

Junior Evan Shook said club sponsor Larry Ashcraft really tries to make science fun for its club members by focusing on approaching learning through experimentation. “Projects can range from supersaturated solutions and dealing with chemistry to taking apart computers,” Shook said. “We built bottle rockets one time and tested them out on the football field. We just have all sorts of different things going on.”

Along with building and constructing bottle-rockets, students in STEM club also disassembled old digital video recorders to understand the inner mechanisms of the machines.

“At one meeting we took apart a bunch of hard

drives and DVR players just to look at the stuff that was inside,” Battle said. “We took apart one and just looked inside and tore apart the stuff that was inside and it was really cool.”

STEM Club draws students who are interested in science as well as students who are considering scienceand math-related careers.

“I’ve always been interested in science ever since I was little and my dad got me some science kits. I always had fun with them,” Shook said. “It’s kind of progressed to me wanting to, when I grow up, make the world a better place through science, through engineering and creating better ways for the world to function. That is the career path that I’m taking.”

Ashcraft and chemistry teacher Amy Zalevskiy work with club members.

“STEM Club is a really good thing. It allows you to do fun things that you wouldn’t be able to do in a science class,” Zalevskiy said. “That makes science more interesting.”

U.S. falls behind other countries in science and math n

By Diane Gromelski, editor-in-chief

S

he had always dreamed of becoming a biochemist, exploring the mysteries of the chemical processes of cell biology, but when she entered her introductory college chemistry class, she quickly found herself lost.

Her high school science and math courses had not prepared her for the rigorous course work. A month into the semester, she was forced to drop her introductory science and math courses and switch into a sociology course, abandoning her hopes of obtaining a biochemistry degree.

“I went into college determined to be a biochemist, but once I got into college, I realized that I really didn’t have the math and science skills I needed to pursue such a difficult major,” Stephanie Surbaugh, a 2007 Furman University graduate, said. “Even after taking remedial classes, I knew I needed to switch my major.”

This scenario is becoming more and more common among undergraduates intending to obtain a degreee in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).

Fewer than 40 percent of students who enter college intending to major in a STEM fields graduate with a STEM degree, according to the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST).

American students are ranked 17th in science and 25th in math among the 65 top industrial countries, www.guardian.news.com reported.

# 25

IN MATH

At a time when most American job openings are scarce and the unemployment rate is 7.7 percent, there is an abundance of unfilled jobs in the STEM field.

The need for students graduating with STEM degrees is expected to grow over the next decade. To meet the need, the United States must increase the number of undergraduate STEM degrees obtained by 34 percent, approximately a million more degrees than expected based on current rates, according to PCAST. Even if every American with a doctoral degree in a STEM field has a job, the United States would have 200,000 unfilled STEM positions requiring a doctoral degree by 2018, according to the Partnership for a New American Economy.

President Obama called attention to the issue in his State of the Union Address in January. “Today, more than ever before, science holds the key to our survival as a planet and our security and prosperity as a nation,” Obama said. “Its time we once again put science at the top of our agenda and worked to restore America as a place as the world leader in science and technology.”

Chemistry teacher Amy Zalevskiy said students often struggle in science. “We need to put more of an emphasis on math and science, and maybe even teach them together,” Zalevskiy said. “Instead of having a math class and a science class, we should teach those subjects together because they really lend themselves to one another so well.”

South Korea

Switzerland Canada

Finland Japan

Netherlands New Zealand Belgium Austraila Germany Estonia Iceland Denmark Slovenia Norway France Slovakia Austria

Poland Czech Rep. Hungary

Sweden UK

# 17

IN SCIENCE

Finland

South Korea

Canada

Japan New Zealand

Austraila Germany UK

Poland

Estonia Netherlands Switzerland Slovenia Ireland

Belgium

Luxembourg

Hungary

U.S. U.S. (According to www.guardian.news.com)

STEM schools provide opporunities for students to prepare for related careers n

By Shannon Miller, asst. feature editor

C

ourses named Classical Genetics, Polymer Chemistry and Molecular Biology fill a typical day for Mallory Carnes, a first year student at the School of Math and Science in Durham. After finishing all her work, she heads to sports practice or to participate in activites sponsored by the more than 100 clubs offered at the school. Then it’s back to her room to finish about six hours of homework before finally going to sleep around midnight.

“At NCSSM, we use a hands-on approach to learning through weekly labs, and we work out formulas instead of teachers giving them to us. We operate on a college schedule, as well as having more difficult courses and

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more course work to handle,” Carnes said. “Also, there is a very open and community-minded group of peers here that is willing to help at all times.”

With the recent drop of U.S. schools in math and science eduation when compared to other countries, Carnes said she believes things are looking pretty dismal for the country’s STEM workforce. To combat the statistics, leaders in education have increasingly looked to dedicating schools, such as the School of Science and Math in Durham, to preparing students for jobs in these science, math, engineering and technology fields.

“I decided to attend NCSSM because I felt that I would not be academically challenged at my home high school during my junior and senior years,” Carnes said.

“I only had one math course left to take and two or three

science courses, and I wanted to further my education.”

The trend has spread to Buncombe County, where the school system is currently renovating the Career Technical Education Center on 175 Bingham Road for the opening of a nontraditional high school that will focus on a hands-on science and math education in Fall 2014. The new facility will enroll 80 to 100 freshmen and about 20 sophomores in its first year, and has the potential to accommodate up to 400 high school students in the future.

“It just makes my heart beat a little faster to think that we’re going to be able to give these kids this opportunity,” Buncombe County School Board Member Ann Franklin said. “And also to do something so special to prepare them for these types of high-tech careers.”

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After school jobs cause students stress n

By Patrick Martin,

S

asst. web editor

he unties her apron, pulls it over her head and puts it in the back seat of her car for her shift the next day. It’s 11 p.m. and there is still a research paper, Advanced Placement psychology homework and three acts of Macbeth waiting on her at home.

As she inserts her keys into the ignition, she is suddenly overcome with feelings of stress from her seemingly unbearable workload. For senior Sarah Wood, having to balance work, school and softball has become too much to handle.

“It’s really overwhelming when you’re working in order to put gas in your car, but at the same time you know you have so much homework that has to get done after you get off,” Wood said. “School and work combined put a lot of pressure on me because I have to make good grades and earn money.”

As students progress into high school, they are forced to deal with the ever-growing pressures, including their grades, friends and thoughts of future career plans. With the stress that comes from school and work, many students find that their health is being negatively affected.

Junior Spencer McMinn, who is currently employed at Ingles as a part-time cashier, has experienced the negative effects that come from trying to balance a busy schedule.

“My normal day after school would be to go home to get dressed and leave for work,” McMinn said. “I used to work 40 hours a week, Monday through Friday, until one day I wound up in the hospital. The doctor said it was stress related and that I needed to cut down my hours.”

Although McMinn reduced his hours, his regular day remains stressful as he tries to balance honors courses and classes off-campus at Blue Ridge Community College.

“Before I cut my hours, I slept about five hours per day, if I was lucky. Most of the time I don’t get to do homework until the next morning.

Now that I cut my hours down, I have parts of Monday through Friday for free time, but it’s still very stressful.”

Stress can be detrimental to a student’s health, but it can also impact his or her academic performance. With students becoming more and more competitive regarding their grade point averages and class rank, competing for the top spots in the class has become increasingly stressful.

For Wood, having a spot at the top of her class has forced her to sacrifice the hours spent at her job for more study time.

“Maintaining AP courses, sports, the yearbook and a part-time job is way too much for a 17-year-old to take on,” Wood said. “The worst part is when you have so much to do over the weekend, but you have to work two doubles on both Saturday and Sunday. I’ve had to give up a lot of my hours in order to keep up my grades.”

According to a study done by the University of North Carolina, students who were employed experienced a much greater level of stress than their peers who did not work.

“The more time spent at work, the less time a student spends studying,” researchers said.

“Finding the time to work a full or part-time job and take it as seriously and also maintain focus on academic studies can be perceived as stressful. Being exhausted from working the night before can cause a poor attendance record and also give a student less time to study, resulting in a poor academic performance.”

Some people believe that having an afterschool job helps a student develop a sense of responsibility. However, junior Marianne Hoppe, an Etowah Pharmacy employee, said there are some detrimental consequences.

“Having a job will help me in the long run because I want to get into a pharmacy program at a good school,” Hoppe said. “But from time to time having a job gets pretty stressful and takes away time I could be dedicating to school.”

Students take ‘fandoms’ to new extremes n

By Joel Fennimore,

A

feature writer

fter a long day of anxious waiting at school, sophomore Adinda Acosta was finally able to go home and check the Twitter of her favorite celebrity: Justin Bieber.

As she scrolled through her feed, she was alarmed to discover photos of teenage girls cutting themselves with the hashtag “#CutForBieber.” This new hashtag appeared as a form of backlash after the media released photos suggesting that Justin Bieber was smoking marijuana at a party. The cutting behavior was intended as a protest against Bieber’s drug use.

“Horrified. I was absolutely horrified. How could anyone go that far for a celebrity they don’t even know?” Acosta said.

Many people have expressed concern about this extreme behavior, including several celebrities. Film and music star Miley Cyrus, retweeted a post from the “Official Cancer” Twitter page: “#cutforbieber? Cutting is not something to joke about at all. There are people who are actually suffering from self-harm, this is so disrespectful,” reads Cyrus’ Tweet.

Because some doubted the stories to be true, newsgroups tried to track down the origin, and it was finally uncovered that the whole thing was a hoax. The photos and tweets were from a group of people wanting to use the situation as a prank.

Even though the Bieber fan obsession was a hoax, Acosta said there is little doubt that many of today’s teenagers take celebrity obsessions to an extreme.

“I would say I have an obsession, not an unhealthy one, but I am obsessed,” Acosta said.

“Justin is my idol.”

Whether it is spending money on People magazine or constantly checking Twitter, many get drawn into the lives of celebrities. While most celebrity “obsessions” are harmless, some can lead to detrimental behaviors, such as stalking.

T f o U O HAN D

Feature 5

Wingspan n March 25, 2013

Time magazine recently did an interview with Shira Gabriel, a psychologist at the University at Buffalo, who had conducted a series of studies on celebrity worship, focusing especially on how it affects self-esteem.

“Celebrity worship can decrease a person’s self-esteem because the endless admiration and yearning for a life and lifestyle that are out of reach may end up cementing one’s feelings of isolation and inadequacy,” Gabriel said.

Though there are risks involed in celebrity worship, Gabriel said there are some aspects of it that can be beneficial to fans.

“Because people form bonds in their mind with their favorite celebrities, they are able to assimilate the celebrity’s characteristics in themselves and feel better about themselves when they think about that celebrity,” Gabriel said. “And that is something these individuals can’t do in real relationships because their fear of rejection keeps them from getting close to people.”

Acosta said she does not view her obsession with Bieber as harmful, and she finds support in her connection with other fans.

“Bieber is a big interest to many people, even my 25-year-old sister likes him,” Acosta said. “After going to his concert last June in Greensboro, I saw just how many others were obsessed with him, too. Most of them were probably younger than 12, all screaming like crazy, and I was screaming with them. I don’t see how something like this can turn into a bad obsession. It makes me very happy.”

Sophomore Sabrina Prezas said she views celebrity obsessions as a positive influence in her life.

“Celebrity obsessions can be a positive thing,” Prezas. “Many of my friends can get pretty depressed, but if they get into a certain celebrity or band it can help bring them out of their depression. They can get away from everything that is upsetting them.”

21

million American children suffer from depression

20%

of teens will experience severe periods of depression before they reach adulthood

3 % 8 6

million Americans engage in self-harming activities

of teen stress is derived from school work (Information from www.teenhelp.com)

While popular with students, social media has negative effects school must handle

By Olivia Slagle,

that I had to follow through with,” Taylor said. “But because of social media, it became this big dramatic thing, and we would reshman Hannah Jackson scrolled down her Twitter feed on not have had that in the classroom to begin with if she had not her iPhone and read the hateful words that been using social media in a way that she was not appeared as posts between two of her good supposed to in the classroom, through texting and friends. tweeting. I got wrapped up in it, and I got pulled Bullying is a real issue The “Twitter fight” that she was observing into this thing that was happening, and I had to for teachers and wasn’t surprising to her. Jackson, who said she put a stop to it.” administrators in the spends six or seven hours of her day on social

Online bullying concerns the administration classroom and online. networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Kik and faculty, and they are taking action. and Tumblr, had seen similar arguments before.

“We as teachers and administrators see issues We as teachers and “(I see fights online) all of the time,” Jackson that involve social media bullying every day. We’re administrators see said. “There have been plenty of Twitter fights talking about bullying in our school improvement issues that involve between two of my really good friends who can’t meetings, and a big part of that is the tweets that social media bullying stand each other, and they’re back and forth and are going out, and the way information spreads every day. they’re just so hateful to each other, but I can’t so much faster than it does by word of mouth,” understand why. It’s probably because when Taylor said. “I think that that is the biggest danger. you’re insecure, you put people down.”

Students just need to protect themselves.”

Jennifer Taylor Teachers are witnessing bullying and online According to Jackson, the Internet is not only Teen living teacher fights as well; they are being brought to the a place for tearing people down; it is a place that classroom. Jennifer Taylor, teen living teacher, said she ran into a people help others feel better about themselves and to get to know problem with social media drama during the first semester. people.

“I had a student who came up to me and asked me a question “I try not to judge people and how they feel, and most of the that concerned me, and she brought to my attention something time if they’re feeling insecure about themselves I try to correct n

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that, make them feel better and post statuses that make them feel positive,” Jackson said. “I think it’s easier (to talk to people after seeing them on social networks) because you can understand their personality because usually when you are around people face to face, they don’t act like their real selves, but when they’re at home and they’re just with their natural environment and their family they’re the way they really are.”

Taylor agrees that social media can be a good thing, but there are lots of dangers that teens need to be aware of, especially with apps like Snapchat.

“The biggest thing I hear about that is students saying, ‘Oh, well it is gone in 30 seconds; they cannot see it again.’ But I have heard now that they can save it to their screen with a screenshot.

Nothing is ever gone, and they need to know that. If I wanted to get into my child’s phone and find out what she’s been taking pictures of and who she’s been sending it to, I can get that information.

Snapchat still has that information, and they still have that image.

So I think that a lot of kids, especially young women, think, ‘Oh, if I do this thing that is inappropriate, it’s gone in 30 seconds, and it cannot be shared with anyone else,’ but it can, and you are putting your faith into this application and whoever is running it, and they do not even know who that is. I do not know who runs Snapchat. I do not know who that app is through, but they have that information, and they keep it.”

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6Entertainment

Wingspan n March 25, 2013

Amy

Obsessed

Awesome

Stalking is weird, even if it is virtual

Obsessed

S

ince when did “Facebook stalking” become an acceptable practice when you want to get to know someone? Whatever happened to approaching someone, looking him or her in the eye and asking a question?

While we spend all this time on our computer typing 140 characters or less, we are missing out on life. Real life, not this virtual reality our Amy Taylor society has gotten so wrapped up in.

I often wonder how these people end up on the news when they find out the love of their life is actually a 12-year-old boy on the other side of the computer screen.

No wonder we have to create shows like “To Catch a Predator.” The Internet definitely has its blessings, but it comes with a lot of curses.

Out of the 54 million singles in the United States, 40 million reported trying online dating. Today, you can customize your dating pool down to the religion, race or interests of your potential partner, but you still have no idea if they really are who they say they are.

Recently, a young woman met a 37-year-old man, Sean Patrick Banks, through the seemingly innocent dating website christianmingle. com. Little did she know that she would be date raped by Banks. There are many dangers that go along with meeting someone in the virtual world.

Not only are there dangers that come along with all this new technology, it also affects our personal relationships with real human beings.

Working in a restaurant gives me plenty of opportunites to observe many different kinds of people.

There is one thing that they all have in common: they are all on their cell phones. I see families all on their phones tweeting, texting and, most importantly, not talking to each other.

People who spend all of their time on Twitter, Facebook and other social networking websites are wasting their time. This is time that could be spent with family and friends.

It is wonderful that technology has made everything so accessible from the weather to unlocking our cars at the touch of a button, but we have to put things into perspective.

This stuff is meant to enhance our lives, not run them.

onceuponasign.net

Obsessed

Obsessed

Obsessed

Make it snappy: n

By Jacob Hensley,

feature writer

H

is fingers quickly unbuttoned his jeans and pushed them onto the cluttered floor. He quietly locked the bedroom door and fumbled for his iPhone. He carefully tapped the Snapchat application icon.

The use of Apple’s new Snapchat smartphone app for sexting purposes is growing in popularity.

“I wouldn’t say that I sext on a daily or even weekly basis, but I have sexted. Prior to Snapchat, I would send the pictures as a message. But I am always afraid that someone may pick up my phone and go through my messages, which would not be the best thing to happen,” a student who requested that the Wingspan staff not use his name said. “The pictures you send via

Snapchat app may prove to be more than just a harmless quick pic

Snapchat disappear after you look at them.

This just makes sexting more convenient.”

Created in May 2011 by Stanford University fraternity brothers Evan Spiegel and Bobby Murphy, the application allows users to send picture messages to friends.

Users can choose the amount of time that the receiver can view the picture, after which the picture self-destructs and can no longer be seen by neither sender nor receiver. With more than 60 million “selfies” or quirky messages being sent through the application on a daily basis, it is obvious the technology has appeal.

“Snapchat allows me to catch up with what my friends are doing, but in a fast and fun way. There isn’t any pressure about looking like an idiot or sending an unflattering picture. It is just fun in general,” freshman Jonah Van Doren

Websites encourage users to ‘want, need, love’ because ‘pinning is winning’‑

Instagram transforms photography

By Angela Gross,

opinion editor he opened the door and smelled the familiar, sweet aroma of Starbucks coffee. After a short wait in lien, she ordered her usual, a frozen caramel frappuccino.

When her name was called, she quickly took her seat at the nearest table, careful not to disturb the condensation on the side. She took out her phone, snapped a picture and uploaded it to Instagram with a caption reading “#Starbucks #frapp #yummy #drinkporn #love #obsessed #coffee>people.”

With “Man Candy Monday” and “Throwback Thursday,” Instagram has quickly become the next big thing.

It has all the photo-storing benefits of Facebook with 40 million photos uploaded each day and 90 million monthly active users, according to socialfresh.com.

“Instagram is so addicting; I like to scroll down and see what other people are doing,” sophomore Claire Holland said. “It’s a lot better than Facebook, but what isn’t? There are no annoying statuses, no opinions and no drama.”

It’s obvious why Instagram has become an addiction. “When people get ‘likes,’ it makes them feel accepted,” senior Adam Greer said. “It’s like a high.”

Kevin Systrom, a 28-year-old entrepreneur, co-founded Instagram two years ago. “We went from literally a handful of users to the number one free n

S

n

A picture of Howard Knob in Boone, N.C. photography app in a matter of hours,” Systrom said.

Though it is popular with many, not everyone is a fan of Instagram.

“Instagram is just an excuse for girls to put a million pictures of the same exact thing every single day, and if you’re a guy with one, you are basically signing on and telling everyone that you like creeping on girls’ pictures or taking pictures of yourself, either of which are weird,” Greer said.

In April 2012, Facebook offered $1 billion in cash and shares to buy Instagram. Soon after, Instagram accepted the offer, but also announced a change in terms of service that would allow the company to sell users’ photos to advertisers without compensating the user.

After Instagram users objected, the company apologized and retract the controversial terms.

Holland said that even if Instagram had gone through with the new terms, it would not have affected her use of the app.

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feature writer

ophomore Arielle Blake sat on her bed and felt very bored. With a sigh, she pulled out her white iPhone for the fourth time that day to see what was new on Wanelo. Before she realized it, an entire hour had gone by.

“Every chance I get in my free time in class or at home, I go on Wanelo to look and see what’s new,” Blake said.

Wanelo is a website that organizes unique products into an online catalog, and it is taking off with both men and women all over the world. This website provides the link to buy the item and displays everything a person can “want, need, and love” as their slogan says.

This social networking service allows individuals to follow different people, brands, stores and products and save them to a wishlist. Others can look at the wishlist and save items onto their own lists. Wanelo’s official website describes this as “a social store curated by the community.”

Blake admits she spends large amounts of time on this website, and she is not alone.

Wanelo has more than 100,000 saves a day, “But that’s just strapping the surface,” according to Deena Varshavskaya, CEO of the website.

Another popular site is Pinterest.

Similar to Wanelo, this site is described

A phone case on Wanelo

by Pinterest’s official website as “a virtual pinboard.” Users can browse other pinboards for inspiration, re-pin images to their own collections or like photos. Pinterest has more than 27 million users worldwide.

Sophomore Graham Galloway said he uses Pinterest on a daily basis.

“I enjoy looking at different pictures of photography and innovative ideas for art projects. My aunt made all our Christmas gifts from ideas she found on Pinterest,” Galloway said.

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As young people become increasingly aware of the permanence of social media, Snapchat seems to offer a pressure-free and temporal environment.

“It isn’t that I am ashamed of it; it is just that what is sent is what is sent. It is for the receiver and the sender, no one else.

So, yes I use Snapchat to sext. However, I also use it for other purposes,” the student said. “Simply because some ‘misuse’ the technology does not mean it is negative in its entirety. Also, simply because some ‘misuse’ the technology does not mean that an innovative app deserves such a negative connotation.”

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7Sports

Wingspan n March 25, 2013

Briefs Soccer team preparing for conference play JV

JV soccer team off to 3-1 start

he junior varsity women’s soccer team is currently 3-1 for the season with an opportunity to improve their record on April 8 against North Henderson Sophomore Tyra Faulkner said that the team has already developed chemistry.

“We have started really well, and I think we will win a lot this season,” Faulkner said. “We need to improve on our passing and ball control the most.”

”

T

he junior varsity baseball team has started the season with a six game win streak.

Against Madison the team won the game 30-2. Sophomore Grant Anderson attributed the huge win to the hitting performance from the team.

“We are looking to finish first in the conference,” Anderson said.

JV softball looks to improve in conference

3-3

A

Baseball March 29 at Brevard

9-1

April 2 at Tuscola

Advancing the ball in a game against Erwin, Junior Hunter Denney runs up the field and beats her opponent in a game the Lady Falcons won, 4-0. “We really played hard that game. We all came together and perfomed at a high level,” Denney said.

n

By Angela Gross,

I

opinion editor

t was the third match of the season, and the Falcons were playing against North Henderson, East Henderson and Brevard.

Sophomore Nathan Ball prepared to tee off on the second hole at Connestee Falls, his favorite course, with his seven iron.

Ball focused in as he swung and watched as his ball bounced past the flag. He stared in disbelief as it spun back and slowly rolled into the cup for his first hole-in-one.

“The hole before, I made a par so I was feeling pretty good,” Ball said. “I didn’t think it was even close, and so I was very surprised and excited when it rolled back into the hole.”

Team members said they would like to place in the top three teams at the regional tournament to qualify for the state tournament. Ball has the same goal, but if the team doesn’t qualify, he hopes to go to state as an individual.

“We have improved a lot since last year.

We are all more dedicated. We know what we need to do to get to state,” Ball said. “We all play our own game and just worry about ourselves. I hope the rest of the team follows through.”

Senior Adrian Brinkley said he agrees that going to state is a goal for the team.

“To go to the state match would be cool,” Brinkley said. “We probably won’t win, but going to state would be nice.”

The men’s golf team has performed well so far this season. The Falcons defeated A.C. Reynolds, 148-165, Brevard, 153-190, and Hendersonville, 196-205, at home matches at Etowah Valley Country Club.

Last year, the team finished fifth in regionals. Coach Jay Young is confident that the team will find success.

“If we play like our scores have indicated so far, we Record: would have qualified in regionals already,” Young said.

6-0

Varsity baseball players pick up 6 wins to start the season

Softball

n

April 3 vs. Enka

By Shannon Miller,

W

Outdoor Track & Field April 8 at East Henderson

(Photo by James Blake)

Men’s Tennis

April 9 at East Henderson

By Aury St. Germain,

feature writer with tennis has been a major factor in their early success. Lugo said the expes strong March winds blew across rience of the team members is the reathe courts at Enka, senior Collin son that the team is doing so well this Armstrong, seeded fifth, won his season. match in 20 minutes, the shortest of his “With the seniors on the team, we have really developed a lot of chemishigh school career.

“We played really well that match. try. We help the younger guys out a lot Even though the weather conditions with practice and teach them how to be weren’t the best, we came out and a real ‘West Henderson Falcon,’”Lugo played our hearts out,” Armstrong said. said. “The guys have really come to“We have had such a successful season gether and made this my favorite year of playing tennis.” this year.”

The men’s team won the match, Greer said the team’s goal was to 9-0. have an undefeated season. Although The tennis team’s current record is the team has lost one match, he still 9-1, with their only loss being against believes they can end the season well.

Brevard. The top five of six tennis play- “With the matches to come, I reers on the team are seniors, Armstrong, ally expect to rally back from the BreMatt Lugo, Adam Greer, Landon Rim- vard loss and win the Record: bault, Cody Martin and junior C.J. Re- rest of them if everyone continues to improve,” guyal.

The players’ previous experience Greer said. n

NextUp

Women’s Soccer

PLAY IT FORWARD

Tennis team counts on experience Golfers hope to challenge for trophy

T

he junior varsity softball team has started the season with one loss, but freshman Taylor Houck is optimistic about the rest of the season.

“I really feel good about the rest off the season,” she said. “If we continue to grow closer as a team and we practice hard we will have a good season.”

(Photo used with permission of Lifetouch)

“

JV baseball team undefeated

April 9 at Pisgah

asst. sports editor

I

T

April 8 at North Henderson

By Tiernan Turner,

we move the ball around very well, which lets us possess and control the pace of the t was an early-season away game for the game.” women’s varsity soccer team. The Lady Junior Jenna Sharrits believes the losses Falcons had traveled to R.S. Central. have helped the team learn about their skills Sophomore Samantha Holmes was drib- and abilities as they prepare for conference bling down the middle of the field with 15 play. minutes to go in the second period.

“The game against Patton was really With teammates on each side of her, she tough. We lost 2-1, and it was hard to keep headed toward the goal box, but as she pre- our heads in the game since the referees pared for a pass, Holmes was slide-tackled were making inconsistent calls for both and fouled by her opponent. Setting up a teams,” Sharrits said. “During the first half, free kick and an opportuPatton got a penalty nity for the team to score. kick against us giving We all have individual Holmes started her run them the early lead. We toward the 18-yard box. had to stay calm in the talent with foot skills, As junior Hunter Denney second half and try reand we move the ball took the kick, it was comgrouping to score and ing in fast and too high for make up the deficit. It around very well, which Holmes to kick. Leaping wasn’t our best game, lets us possess and into the air, she made direct but we improved, and control the pace of the contact with her head, drillI was extremely proud ing the ball into the right of all my team.” game. side netting.

Holmes said the

The team won the game, Falcons have stayed Samantha Holmes ahead of the compe3-0. sophomore With seven seniors, tition through fitness nine juniors and three sophomores, the var- and rigorous practices. The team makes an sity team is young, but because many of the effort to emphasize the basic fundamentals sophomores on the team are returning from of soccer.

“We temporarily lost a few of our key last season, the team is benefitting from their experience. The Lady Falcons currently defensive players, Jenna Sharrits and Natahave a 3-3 record. lie Ciaramitaro, to injuries,” Holmes said.

The team has won several games “We have a very strong team without much throughout the second win came against a drama, and most of our positions are Buncombe County rival, Erwin. The losses filled but our defense was a weak spot for came against Franklin, Enka and Patton. awhile.”

“We are very close as a team, which is reSharrits said the Lady ally paying off for us, increasing almost all Falcons are determined to Record: aspects of our play,” Holmes said. “We all make a run for the playoffs have individual talent with foot skills, and this spring. n

asst. feature editor

hen Storm Edwards stepped up to the plate at a tournament at North Carolina State University, getting a scholarship was the farthest thing from his mind. Edwards knew he needed to get a hit. His first hit was a foul, going far into left field.

On the second hit, the bat made firm contact with the ball and soared far to the back of the stadium.

“I played a tournament at N.C. State over the summer, and they talked to my coaches and told me to call them,” Edwards said. “I went on an unofficial visit to tour the campus and talked with the coaches. I came back home for about two weeks to think about it, and then I called and gave them my answer. I’m very excited to commit to State.”

In August, Edwards was the only junior on the team to verbally commit to playing at an Atlantic Coast Conference school.

Last fall, seniors Lane Grant and Cameron Crisp verbally committed to play at Mars Hill College next year.

Edwards, Crisp and Grant have all contributed to the varsity SAFE AT SECOND As he slid under the tag, Junior Storm Edwards slides baseball team’s 6-1 record. into second at a home game against Chase, which “Crisp stepped up big for us last year and this year. He’s a the team won 10-0. “The team really hit the ball well,” hard worker, and he’s always helped us out a lot,”Coach BranEdwards said. “We’re hoping for a good year.” don Ball said. “And Grant’s worked so hard to get to where he’s

at today. I’m very proud of him.”

In each of their wins, the Falcons have won by at least nine runs. Their loss came in a nonconference game against A.C. Reynolds, 1-6.

“I think in the A.C. game, we came out not expecting them to be as good as they were because their two best players transferred to T.C. Roberson, but they surprised us by playing really well,” Grant said.

The Falcons faced their first conference opponent, North Henderson, on Tuesday winning 12-2 in six innings. Crisp struck out 10 of 22 batters he faced.

“Our best game was definitely against North,” senior Hunter Lawton said. “We came out with a lot of intensity because we all knew it was a big game with a big crowd. From the first pitch, it was pretty obvious we were going to win. Cameron was having such a great game, and Josh Carter got a home run in his first at bat. I think we have more talent this season than we’ve ever had before, and we’re definitely playing much better baseball.”

Despite their success, Edwards said the Falcons still have room to improve.

“Sometimes we don’t necessarily come toRecord: gether and play like a team,” he said. “We need better field chemistry, and we definitely need to work on camaraderie.”

6-1

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Sports WEST HENDERSON HIGH SCHOOL

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WINGSPAN

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Get the Ball Rolling

PAGE 8 n MARCH 25, 2013

Women’s soccer team picks up win over nonconference Erwin for strong start to the spring sports season n

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Story Make a Splash It’s Aury’s

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junior editor

enior Lee Fullam waited at the edge of the diving board for his turn. He was next in line as he began to go through the motions for one of his 11 dives. He knew he could beat C.B. Ayncock’s Devin Hall, who had beat him for the past two years at the state competition.

It was a part of his muscle memory, and it was what he had been training for for the past three years.

Fullam won the diving state title in the 3A division at Pullen Aquatic Center in Raleigh on Jan. 31.

“When they were announcing the last few divers, I knew that I had it,” Fullam said. “(Hall) had good stuff, but I guess it wasn’t that good. I got second the two previous years behind him, so I was really pumped up and wanting to beat him. I did. ” Fullam had been diving for three years and had won the 3A West Regional competition all three years. At state the past two years he had finished runner-up to Hall. At this year’s regional competition he finished with his personal best score of 373.9. At the state championship meet, he finished with a score of 348.65, securing the state title.

Because of the number of competing divers, Fullam didn’t get to warm up for his last three dives, but he was still able to compete and perform at his best.

While Fullam has become accustomed to diving meets, he said he’s most nervous when learning new dives.

“I usually don’t get adrenaline because I’m used to diving and I know what I’m doing,” Fullam said. “I usually don’t get scared, but when you’re learning something really hard and you smack so hard, you don’t want to do it again. It’s

probably the mental game that’s the hardest.”

Fullam said he had an advantage in diving because of his three years of training in gymnastics.

“Gymnastics helped out because I already knew how to do the flips and rotations, but I still had to learn all of the board work, which is a lot of hard work,” Fullam said. “I don’t do gymnastics anymore, but diving is probably my favorite anyway.”

The West team only practiced twice a week at the local YWCA during the season, so to gain extra practice Fullam joined the Clemson Diving Club to add a few more practices into his schedule per week. Even though the high school diving team is done for the season, Fullam still goes to the Clemson Diving Club to improve his skills and abilities.

During his sophomore and junior years, Fullam had the assistance of a private coach to help him learn new dives and perfect his skills.

“Competing with the Clemson club has helped a lot,” swimming coach Tanya Shook said. “Improving with the degree of difficulty has helped him in his scoring. ” Joseph Manzi, Fullam’s teammate, won third place at state meet for the past two years. Fullam said he has benefitted in a number of ways from Manzi’s support.

“They’re competitive with each other, but it’s been very good for both of them,” Shook said.

“Lee and Joe are very complimentary of each other, and they help each other out. It’s like a low key rivalry.”

Manzi finished with a score of 303.7. He had been diving for four years.

“It’s nice having teammates, and it’s like friendly competition. We push each other to do better,” Fullam said. “We just mess around and learn new stuff together.”

(Photo by Heidi Brickhouse)

By Katie Miller,

n

STATE CHAMP Standing in front of the swimming and diving record board, senior Lee Fullam shows off his first place medal from the state 3A diving championship meet. On Jan. 31 at the Pullen Aquatic Center, Fullam competed for the third year in a row. “After I got done, I went into the stands to talk to my parents and they said to me, ‘You got it.’”

Lady Falcon softball team counting on 6 seniors for leadership n

By Collin Armstrong,

A (Photo used with permission of Lifetouch)

BRING THE HEAT At the game at R.S. Central, sophomore Laurel Koontz sends a pitch to the plate in a 9-0 win. “Softball is a great sport because it’s competitive,” Koontz said.

feature writer

fter several weeks of afternoon practice, it was time for the softball team to mentally prepare for their first game of the season against county rival Hendersonville.

The Lady Falcon’s preparation paid off in a first victory by the mercy rule in three innings, 36-1.

Two games later, the team still maintained an undefeated record at 3-0.

“This far we have really played well as a team,” senior Selena McCall said. “We have already seen some definite improvements.”

Team members are not only seeking to improve their athletic skills and abilities, but they also want to keep their winstreak going.

“We are really striving to go undefeated this season,” senior Lauren Norris said. “Since it is our senior year, we really want to make a name for ourselves and make this year really special.”

The team, coached by Mike Matthews, added a new assistant coach, Dana Braznell from Rugby Middle School.

“She is a really great coach and knows a lot about the

game,” McCall said. “She really complements Coach Matthews well.”

The team is already preparing for some tough upcoming games in the season. “We have already worked a lot on our communication. It has been one of the areas in which we have struggled,” senior Kayla Walker said. “We know that some of the conference games later in the season will be tough, so we want to start preparing now to compete to the best of our ability when the time comes.”

The team includes six seniors that have played together all four years. McCall said that the experience has helped the communication between teammates, essentially making them a stronger team.

“The seniors on our team have really bonded over the past four years,” McCall said. “This has definitely been a special group, and we are working to get better and do great things.”

Although the team lost two seniors from last year, Sierra Bishop and Natalie Rice, they have adapted.

“Natalie and Sierra were both huge leaders on the team, and we have really tried to Record: step up and fill those roles,” senior Sarah Wood said.

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Track team looks for another record-breaking season n

By Andrew Murray,

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asst. opinion editor

n a cold and brisk March afternoon, senior Heidi Brickhouse stretched and warmed up on the field at T.C. Roberson. After placing second in shot put at state indoor track meet last month, Brickhouse said that she hoped to find success again during the outdoor season.

“I am focused on repeating what I did in indoor track this year,” Brickhouse said. “The success has really increased my confidence, and I am determined to meet my goals.”

Sophomore Amy Turlington and her 4 x 800 meter relay team that included sophomore Kara Kilby and seniors Angela Gross and Hannah Owen finished fourth in the first meet at North Buncombe.

Last year, Turlington and Gross were a part of the 4

x 800 team that qualified for the state meet. Turlington said that she hoped to compete at the state level this season as well.

“Last year I ran on the 4 x 800 meter relay team, and we made it to state. I was really excited that we made it because we had worked so hard all year,” Turlington said. “This year I am running in the same event, and even though two of the girls who were on the relay team with me are not running this year, my goal is still to repeat our success.”

Sophomore Nathaniel Steffanic said that he is looking forward to gaining experience on the track and trying new events. “I am hoping that by the end of the year I will be able to compete in the pole vault in a meet,” Steffanic said. “All the experienced upperclassmen have helped me prepare myself and given me the incentive to try and set my goals high.”

(Photo used with permission of Lifetouch)

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ighth graders receiving scholarship offers from Southeast Conference football powerhouses? Sounds ridiculous? It isn’t.

This past year Baton Rouge, La., native Dylan Moses was offered a football scholarship from LSU when he was in eighth grade.

He attended a camp at the university to Aury initially St. Germain get noticed. He posted an incredible 4.46-second 40yard dash at the camp and his speed and other abilities earned him a offer from the coaching staff. He has also had an offer from SEC rival Alabama.

Some members of the Class of 2013 do not know where they are going to college for athletics, but already having a university in line before high school is absolutely absurd. Although Moses can’t technically sign until his senior year, he has already verbally committed to the Tigers.

I really was taken back by the fact that a 14-year-old already had this opportunity. He didn’t have to do any of the athletic responsibility that other high school athletics have to complete to get attention.

He didn’t have to send universities any tape or make calls to coaches.

It just happened — a golden opportunity.

Personally, I really do not think that middle schoolers should be offered this opportunity so early on. I am all for sophomore student-athletes being able to talk to coaches and program affiliates to see which schools they like best to make the decision easier, but for an eighth grader that decision shouldn’t be an issue.

There are so many questions that could arise and completely ruin his entire football and academic career.

What if he gets injured?

What if he struggles in the classroom? What if his parents aren’t OK with the situation? These are all questions that remain unanswered. To me, these are not worth a verbal commitment.

Colleges need to leave him alone and let him develop as an athlete and a person.

Eventually, he will get an opportunity to play for a great college football team and become a tremendous athlete.

As college football signing is underway for this upcoming season, student-athletes, 14 year-olds included, are awaiting life-changing coaching visits and phone calls.

Senior diver wins state championship

HOME STRETCH

As she sprints toward the finish line, sophomore Jesi Ayers pushes herself to maintain her spot in second place. The meet was at T.C. Roberson against Buncombe County rivals.

“My favorite part of track is competing in relay races,” Ayers said.

Winter sports teams wrap up season with playoff appearances n

By Aury St. Germain,

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(Photo by Kelly Littauer)

8th graders too young to recruit

TAP OUT

As he tries to pin his opponent, senior Daniel Carroll restrains his opponent’s arm. Carroll won the match. “This season was a success both team and individually; we all did very well,” Carroll said.

133 4th Ave. East Hendersonville, NC 28792

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he winter sports teams finished their seasons with one state champion, a state runner-up and four teams qualifying for postseason play.

The indoor track and field team sent seven competitors to the state meet. Senior Heidi Brickhouse placed second in shot put at the state meet in February. The men’s 4 x 800 team of juniors Joe Chapman and Michael Tang and seniors Conor Kennedy and William Bayless placed fifth, missing fourth place by .02 seconds.

The women’s basketball team lost in the first round of the conference tournament to Franklin and played Freedom in the state playoffs. The team lost, 40-75.

The men’s basketball team lost in the first round of the

conference playoffs to Pisgah. In the first round of the state playoffs, the team lost to Tuscola, 56-87.

After beating Erwin and then losing to Ashbrook in the opening round of the dual-team state tournament, the wrestling team sent 12 wrestlers to compete in the regional tournament. Senior Daniel Carroll made it to the consolation rounds of the state tournament and placed fifth in the state.

The swimming and diving team qualified a men’s and women’s relay team along with four individual competitors for the regional competition.

Junior Conner Courtney and senior divers Joseph Manzi and Lee Fullam moved on to the state meet in Raleigh. Courtney placed 16th in the IM and 18th in the breast stroke with Manzi finishing third and Fullam first in the diving competition.

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