Jan2512

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TheYoungtownEdition COUNTY COLLEGE OF MORRIS AWARD-WINNING STUDENT NEWSPAPER

VOL. 88, NO. 1

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 25, 2012

RANDOLPH, N.J.

Gold Medalist, 2009 Columbia Scholastic Press Association • First Place General Excellence, 2010 NJPA

“May all your troubles last as long as your New Year’s resolutions.” -Joey Adams

The world is ending, do I still have to go to class? Acting managing editor

HTTP://VOLTA.ARTLOG.ORG/EXHIBITOR/22

Money talks........ like a crazy person with pamphlets.

Index

January 2012, a new year, a new semester, and a chance for everyone to wipe the slate clean and start off fresh. Almost a whole month has gone by and while some of CCM’s students have abandoned their new year’s resolutions complete with planet fitness keychain IDs, others are busy hoarding away canned goods and bottled water in their fallout shelter. The year 2012 is finally upon us. For years the media has been monopolizing on the fact that the Mayan calendar ends on December 21, 2012. Why do we care when the Mayan calendar ends? Well the Mayans were a civilization that was extremely technologically advanced and possessed uncanny degrees of knowledge ranging from mathematics to astronomy. The fact that the Mayan calendar ends with such little explanation is almost as mysterious as the fact that no one really knows what happened to the Mayan people. It appears the Mayans just disappeared leaving very few relics from which to gain insight to their way of life. What is known is that conspiracy theorists and doomsday prophets have had a grand old time predicting the end of time. Theories range from the probable to the “are you smoking crack?” extremes. But since you may not be as cunning as John Cusack, or as good looking for the New World Order to choose you for breeding purposes, a little foresight may come in handy when fire begins to fall from the sky. A popular theory is that toxic gases have polluted the atmosphere so heavily that soon no living organism will be able to survive on this planet. That is where our heroes step in, no not the environmentalists, the aliens!

Features 3 Opinions 2 Entertainment 4

They will help us by using their advanced technologies to help rid the atmosphere of several gases that could wipe out the human race. These aliens will then reveal themselves as our new leaders and feed off the sweet, sweet nectar that are our glandular secretions. Phil Schneider, an ex-military alien whistleblower, has said our glandular secretions are like cocaine to the aliens. There is also the popular Nibiru theory that deals with aliens hiding behind some planet destined to collide with the earth causing an Extinction Level Event reminiscent of what killed off the dinosaurs. Regardless of how crazy the alien talk may seem, sightings have increased over the last year. A YouTube search for UFO sightings will bring up various clips from reputable news organizations covering mass sightings worldwide. Are they starting to reveal themselves? Others believe the end of the Mayan calendar does not mean the literal end of the world, but the end of the world as we know it. In other words big changes are coming. Conspiracy theorists believe it is the Illuminati, a secret society often linked to the Freemasons, which will bring about this change. The idea is that the Illuminati have been secretly working within the upper echelons of govern-

ment. On December 21, they will initiate martial law and send all the rebels to death camps while allowing all their followers to live and be part of the New World Order. What is the New World Order? Just pretend Lex Luther and Hitler got together to form the most villaintastic take over the world has seen. Seriously, look it up. The fact that President Obama recently signed the NDAA Martial Law Bill does give the theory a little bit to go on though. The bill allows for the indefinite imprisonment of anyone, yes even US Citizens, believed to be engaging in terrorist activity without a trial. Well at least they haven’t starting building the death camps, or have they? A YouTube query for FEMA death camps may be a little unnerving. On the religious side, churches all over the world are preparing for all sorts of events involving their God. The most common idea is that of a rapture-like event that zaps all the believers to heaven and leaves the rest of the world to suffer through the end of days. Either way, whether the end is near or far the world will be watching that calendar like it is Y2K all over again. If you need me, I’ll be underground somewhere reading the Bible and the Qur’an front to back guarding every gland I have that secretes.

MOLINELIBRARYTEENS.WORDPRESS.COM

Aliens? Illuminati? Nope, my vote goes to Zombie Apocalypse.

News 3 Roving Reporter 2

Today’s Headlines

EDDIE VILLABON

Study shows video games may be messing with gamers’ heads

BRITFA.GS

Warning! Too much video game play can do this to you. Scary.

Violent video games may affect the brains of players, according to a study conducted in November by the Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis . For years, many people have argued that playing violent video games negatively affect those who play them, but little scientific evidence has proven such claims. This evidence has been found due to a study that was presented at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America said Yang Wang, the assistant research professor in the Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences at the Indiana University School of Medicine. The study consisted of 28 adult males, aged 18 to 29, with little to no past exposure to video games. All the participants took a preliminary functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scan. The group was then randomly assigned into two smaller groups of 14. The first group played an undisclosed shooting game for 10 hours at home for one week. They were to then refrain from playing any video games for the following week. The second group did

not play any video games during the two-week period. Follow-up MRI scans were conducted after the first and second week of the test. During the scans, participants completed an emotional interference task, in which they were asked to press buttons according to the color of visually presented words. These words were a mixture of both violent and non-violent action words. The results showed that after a week of playing video games, the first group showed less activity in the left inferior frontal lobe compared to their original scan and the scans of the second group that did not play any video games. The left inferior frontal lobe controls an individual’s cognitive flexibility and attention. The scan after the second week showed the first group’s brain activity beginning to return to their original states and was closer to the results of the second group’s scans. “These effects may translate into behavioral changes over longer periods of game play,” Wang said. Though the study showed that violent video games do indeed affect the brains of players, the long-term effects are still unconfirmed.

CCM student excels in New Pfizer Internship Program

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THOMAS RUSSELL Contributor

Yury Rincon overcame obstacles to achieve her dreams. Page 3

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