Monthly Archives: January 2012

Facebook: Friend or Foe?

We all know what Facebook is and how it was started. Most people in the U.S.A have one. 5% of the world’s total population has a account and this is a number that is rapidly growing.  Facebook is a way to connect with friends and family, and to make sure that your not out of the loop. It’s intentions are good, but have people turned it into something it’s not?

The age to have an account on Facebook is 13. How many people in our generation have gotten it before 13? The better question is “How many people got it after 13?” Facebook is a scary place for someone under 13. And sometimes parents don’t care when their kid gets a Facebook. On my personal Facebook, I used to be friends with a 2nd grader! This popular website may not seem as good as you think after this next topic. Their have been accounts of people being stalked on Facebook because of the personal information you put on your profile. A person can see where you live, when your birthday is, and obviously your name! And sometimes this is enough for a experienced hacker to hack your email. This happened to my mom once. They broke into her email and sent a letter saying the we were stuck in England and we needed money to get home. This has happened to over 2 million others too!

So is Facebook.com really worth it? Are you willing to take the risks that are attached to being a member. I personally am not and these reasons are why I deactivated my Facebook. You may see no problem with the website and that is totally fine. But next time you are checking out whats going on just think about what could happen.

~Adam Majeski

Eighth Grader Shot and Killed by Police

Two weeks ago on January 5, 2012 a 15 year old boy named Jaime Gonzalez, an 8th grader in Brownsville, Texas was armed with a pellet gun at Cummings Middle School. To the police this harmless pellet gun appeared to be a real handgun. When the police ordered Jaime to put down the gun he ignored their commands and pointed the gun towards the police officers. That’s when two officers decided to fire 3 shots and hit him at least twice, and he was pronounced dead at the hospital. No other students or staff were injured but was it needed to take away a young  man’s life?

I understand that the police had to make quick decisions, but that’s what they were trained to do. They weren’t trained to panic in fast acting situations and fire, especially at minors! It was unbelievable to me that at the start of a new year the police decided to take a 15 year old’s life away. Investigators do not know why he had pulled out the weapon. “We think it looks like this was a way to bring attention to himself,” a police chief said. Yes, Jaime had made beyond bad choices to bring a pellet gun to school and taunt people without taking all the consequences into mind first; but everybody makes mistakes, some are bigger than others, and the police should have calmed him down and been able to effectively handle the situation without death.

~ Sabrina Cuda

Are Smart Phones Really Worth Huge Sums of Money People Pay for Them?

This post was recently highlighted on the Cheshire Patch website

Smart phones such as the iPhone or the Droid are very common these days. But are they worth what people pay for them? I don’t think that they are. Anywhere you go you can find an advertisement for a smart phone or someone bragging about theirs to their friends. I have to wonder though, do these people have them because they need them or because they want to be more popular or were tricked into buying them by flashy commercials.

To answer this question further I asked my friend Nick who has an iPhone. He says that he asked his parents for an iPhone “partially because I thought they were cool and it would make me more popular and partially because my phone recently broke and I needed a new one anyway”. I have to agree.

There are also good things about having a smart phone. Thanks to the built-in wireless Internet capabilities, you can check your bank balance, pay bills, or answer emails away from your computer. Keeping in touch with friends and family is much easier if you can just shoot them a text. The ability to update your social networking accounts is also huge because it lets people tweet or Facebook anywhere, which really helps people stay in touch.

So in conclusion I think that Smart Phones may or may not be worth the money depending on your situation. If you are a kid just trying to fit in then it would probably not be the best time to buy a smart phone. But if you are a person who needs to be able to check their email on the go or have easy access to a GPS, then a smart phone might be the right choice.

~Matt Stayner

 

Twilight Fanatics

Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, Breaking Dawn. Even the names of these four books are absolutely wondrous. Millions are addicted to this Twilight saga phenomenon and I am one of those millions. Harry Potter had its chance at fame, but as that series comes to an end a new one rises to the charts. There’s books, movies,  t-shirts, posters, team Edward, team Jacob, and so much more emphasizing this new addiction. The ultimate question is after the last movie is released will the Twilight craze fade to the back or will Stephanie Meyer continue writing more about this unique couple.

Now, if you’ve been living under a rock I’ll tell you a little about what these master pieces are about. In the first book Bella moves to Forks, Washington and falls in love with the vampire Edward who saves her from another evil vampire. In the second book, Edward leaves Bella knowing how unsafe their relationship is. Bella goes to her best friends Jacob for help, who just so happens to be a werewolf. When Edward thinks that Bella died he goes off to the all powerful Volturi ( the leaders of the vampires) asking them to kill him. In the third book, Bella and Edward’s enemy creates an army of new born vampires. In the final book of this amazing series Bella becomes pregnant and has a vampire/human child, who brings up some conflict with the Volturi.

These books and movies are perfect for everyone, they have the romance for the girls, but plenty of gore and action for the boys. Now most of the stereotypes out there will make fun of how absurd it is for romance with vampires and werewolves, but let me tell you most of the people who say this just do it to be cool and have actually never seen the movies or read the books.  About 8 out of 10 people who have either read the books or seen the movies, love it.

Now will Stefanie Meyer continue the Twilight series? She has already written background books, like about one of the vampires in the new born army in the third book. She also has made a graphic novel and insiders guide. She attempted to write another book Midnight Sun which was parts of Twilight from Edwards perspective, but when it was illegally published onto the web, Stefanie Meyer was so upset she is not sure if wants to continue with this book. Personally, I don’t think that  Stefanie Meyer will keep writing about the Twilight saga, but instead start a new series. No matter what happens though, the Twilight Saga still is one of the best series that I have ever seen!

~Sami Bellina

Dodd & 1/2 Days

As you all know students from schools walk home from school on half days or meet at a specific location. But what the people who are picking them up don’t know is what they are doing before they get to them. They either vandalize, run across streets in packs, or just break most of the laws. There is no way for people to prevent this from happening because people can’t stop them. People on the streets stop and tell them off, but they don’t care they will just do it again the second they leave. Also the most common place the students go is the Maple Croft Plaza. After they eat, usually at Subway, they either leave or just throw their trash onto the ground. Lately I saw that two girls who got a shopping cart, one got into the cart and the other one pushed her/him. Also when the students are done eating they usually walk to the Getty Mart. If they want to get there they have to cross Route 10. When they do cross they usually run in packs and not on the cross walk they just run for it hoping cars will stop for them as they cross. This is an issue because this could effect how Dodd students are treated later on in the school year.
~Mike Roke

Today’s Politicians

Irresponsible! This day and age has brought along a group of people that I consider to be a joke. These so-called “politicians” can’t make up their own mind, relinquish social missiles towards each other (especially within their own parties), and are “real great” with the simple fact of remembering their own three promises; which most of them as president won’t even follow through with. And it’s both parties too! Both Democrats and Republicans lack a great consistency of knowledge. One of the possible 2012 candidates claims they’re ready to nuke Iran if he is elected for the four year stay in Washington. Great right…

You would think with around 250 years as an independent country we might stay united within at least our own political parties, or maybe gain a better perspective of everywhere and everything from our neighboring states to countries across the globe. What this country needs is somebody who’s dedicated to running it. Somebody who presents intellectual ideas beneficial to us as a country, who stands by their decisions and takes full credit for their actions, who is decisive in a positive manner, who supports their colleagues and peers, and one who can hopefully count to three (not to name anyone ^). Hopefully whoever is elected this coming November can suit the necessary requirements.

~Zach Feldman

Truly Talented

I think it’s fair to say the Baltimore Ravens are one of the best performing teams in the National Football League. With star quarterback Joe Flacco, league lead rusher Ray Rice, and Pro-Bowlers Terrell Suggs and Ray Lewis, they’re virtually unstoppable. And that’s just a small part of their team. Together this season, the Ravens, I feel, earned their usual respect from beating other superior teams such as the San Francisco 49ers and the Pittsburgh Steelers, twice. John Harbaugh has once again put together a great team that consists of an outstanding offense who are good friends with the goal line, and a well-known, grid-iron-tough defense that plays every down like it’s their last, the way the game is supposed to be played. And Right now, they’re looking better than ever!

With only four teams left in the playoffs, Baltimore, coming off of a nice win over Houston, is playing the New England Patriots in this Sunday’s playoff match-up. With what I feel to be a more balanced team, I think the Ravens chances are pretty outstanding. With the Patriots ranking close to last in total defense, and a quarterback who has become somewhat inconsistent in the past few weeks, I’m looking forward to this match-up. A win gets them a ticket to Indianapolis. If you think about it, Baltimore’s not too far away from another Lombardi to hoist in the air. I hope to see my team win it big this weekend, it would simply be making close ends meet.

~Zach Feldman

Whats Happened to Schools!

When you think about school, what do you think of? I bet anyone 13 years old would say learning. But what has come to my attention, is what kids actually have in mind. I know for me, when I get home from school the last thing I’m worried about is getting my homework done. For most girls, were thinking about what were gonna wear tomorrow, or how were going to wear our hair. Like most kids, I find myself doing my homework at 10 at night everyday, but yet my clothes for tomorrow and note to go on my friends bus is all ready sitting in my room. In addition, when everyone gets to school, all the teachers seem to be saying is “ wah wah wah wan”. If any teen is reading this, I bet I got you so far. Instead of caring when to use a comma, guys are thinking “ yea, I want pizza for lunch, and when I get home, mw3! Yea buddy!” While most girls are thinking about how they look, or what their doing after class.

With that being said, I don’t really think of school anymore as a place of learning, but more as a place of horsing around. Go figure! Even for students who do focus in class, with all the chattering going around, you start to wonder if the true meaning of school has changed. In my honest opinion, I feel like I learned and understood 1st grade more than I have in 8th. I wonder if things are going to start to change after more people start to realize that less and less learning is going on. Also, I don’t feel like our teachers push us to actually focus. I’m not going to lie, I talk a lot in class, but I’ve noticed that I rarely find myself getting in trouble for it, even when the teachers staring at me talking to my friends on topics not even closely related to ours. In contrast, teachers yell at kids in the halls for hugging friends, and talking. I think the halls are the time to be talking and having a little fun before class, rather than in class. I believe teachers should start putting more effort into trying to grab students attention. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want teachers screaming at me for every time I open my mouth, but even if they don’t do that, they should at least do things to get students more interested in the topic. In conclusion i think schools have greatly changed over the last few years, and not always for the better.

~Brianna Mariano

The Fight for Popularity

In these days, popularity is a search for being wanted. Although everybody would like to be wanted, popularity is not always the right answer. Once people get a taste of popularity, they can’t get enough. Some kids will do whatever they are asked in order to stay in that clique, even if that means doing the wrong thing. Sometimes kids, or even adults, are just seeking attention. They’re desperate for it. Once they get the attention they are searching for, it’s like their whole world has changed.

In my opinion, popularity is not how to survive in school. Although it would be nice to be popular, it’s not a vital need. In all schools, there is always the one popular clique. In some TV shows or movies, they portray the wrong message about popular people. The message they are sending is power. When kids see that power, they want it and they think it is their way through their years in school. I personally think that even though being popular is a nice thing to have, you do not need it to survive throughout elementary school, middle school and high school.

~Lillian Graham

Pretty Little Liars

The series Pretty Little Liars is about four girls: Alison Dilaurentis, Hanna Marin, Spencer Hastings, Emily Fields, and Aria Montgomery and how they are all keeping big secrets from each other. The girls keep receiving notes from someone called A, threatening to tell their friends and family their secrets that only their dead friend Alison, knew.

I would recommend this book to people that like drama and mystery because the girls are also trying to figure out what happened to Alison, how she died and if someone killed her. I liked this book because I like mystery and once you read the first book you can’t wait to read the second book, you get hooked on right after the first page. My friend showed it to me and I can’t wait to read the third book.