OPINION
How Much is too Much?
By: Genevieve St. Jean
News Editor
As admission to universities gets more competitive, colleges expect students to be challenging themselves in the rigor of their classes. They threaten with statistics for GPA and ACT/SAT scores that are out of this world; scaring the applicants into striving to be better and do more. Then on top of that, that admissions officer who has already sent the crowd into a stroke informs the already solemn group that they want students to take 4-8 AP classes over the course of high school and get A’s in all of the classes without the honors points. Plus there are extracurricular and social activities to worry about.
So how can all of this be possible? If a student gets no sleep and then goes insane, then maybe they can compare to these impossible standards. The best solution: focus on the subjects and activities that are interesting or beneficial to you.
The advantage of having about 20 AP classes at the Park is that anyone can find an advanced class in the subject they want. However, many feel the need to conquer as many AP classes as they can in order to impress colleges. They should not have to take as many as they can, but only take the ones they are interested in.
A student should not waste away his life doing outlines for an AP Physics class when they want to become an English teacher, for the sake of being able to get into a certain college. Students learn better in a challenging subject area of importance to them and it will help expand on their skills to use for the career path they intend to go on.
Another reason to select AP classes wisely is the amount of time that has to be sacrificed in order to complete homework and, most likely, that time is found by taking a cut from designated sleeping time
Think about it; students spend eight hours of the day in school, more than two hours on sports and clubs (which students want to do to reduce stress and colleges want to see on their resume), about an hour on eating, an hour and a half in the car, and then there is that awkward in between time. That adds up to over 13 hours in the day. This does not even include the homework, any time to relax, or spend time with friends and family. When a student has multiple AP, advanced and honors classes, they can spend over five hours a day completing all the tasks of the day because even if one teacher gives nothing, two give half an hour of homework, two classes where it takes an hour and spending over two hours a day on one class, everything adds up.
Councilors, parents, teachers, coaches and admissions officers tell us to lead balanced lives but also get eight to 10 hours of sleep. That is just not possible without 36 hours in the day because all those hours of running around leaves about six hours or less of sleep.
The stress from constantly thinking without reprieve can drive a person insane by itself. Everyone needs a relaxing period so they do not burn out and can increase their productivity.
The solution lies in only doing what is worth your time. Doing a couple things you are passionate about trumps putting a tenth of your heart into twenty things. It can be hard to hear this, but do not let an admissions officer, who will look at your application for ten minutes, determine what you do with four years of your life.
Valentine’s Day: the season of love, happiness, and, if you’re single, disappointment. A lot of people make a big deal out of the holiday, buying their loved ones chocolates, flowers, and stuffed animals that weigh more than they do. Though I am not the biggest fan of Valentine’s Day, I do enjoy cuddling up in a blanket and watching romantic comedies with my dog. In case others would like to spend the day in a similar way, here are my top ten favorite romantic comedies found on Netflix.
10. Bridget Jones’s Diary: Based off of the famous book, Bridget Jones, a thirty year old woman, is struggling to find her place in the world. As a New Year’s resolution, Bridget decides to take control of her life, and her boss begins to find an interest in her.
9. Maid in Manhattan: Marisa Ventura is a single mother that was raised in the Bronx New York, and is currently working as a maid in a five star Manhattan hotel. She meets Christopher Marshall, who believes she is a guest at the hotel. When he finds out the truth, they realize they are from two different worlds.
8. Silver Linings Playbook: Pat Solatano is sent to a mental institution for beating his wife. When he is released, he is diagnosed with having bipolar disorder and moves back in with his parents. He refuses to take his medicine, and believes he can get by simply by living a healthy life. He tries to get back together with his wife, but along the way meets Tiffany, and a relationship begins to blossom.
7. Legally Blonde: Elle Woods, a sorority girl, is crushed when her boyfriend Warner breaks up with her. He transfers to Harvard Law School and tries to find a more sophisticated and educated girl. Elle goes on a mission to get into Harvard and show Warner just how intelligent she truly is and win him back.
6. Hitch: Alex Hitchens is a dating coach that helps men and women find each other. He is faced with a challenge when Albert, a bumbling client, falls for the famous Allegra Cole. While coaching Albert, Alex finds himself in the middle of his own romance.
5. 50 First Dates: Playboy veteran Henry beings falling for a girl named Lucy. Their romance begins to blossom, until he finds out she has short term memory loss and each day forgets ever meeting him. Henry tries everyday to woo her over again and finds ways to help her remember again.
4. Beauty and the Briefcase: Lane, a fashion journalist, is hoping to find a job for Cosmopolitan magazine. She is offered the job if she can write a story about finding the perfect man that fits her checklist. She goes undercover at a business magazine in order to find him, but ends up falling for someone that isn’t exactly the business type.
3. Grease: In this famous musical taking place in the 1950’s, high school students Sandy and Danny are caught in the middle of a summer romance. However, when summer is over and they are forced to go back to school, their relationship struggles when they are part of different cliques that don’t really get along.
2. 13 Going on 30: Teenager Jenna is sick of the struggles of junior high and wants to become an adult. She is magically changed overnight into a 30 year old woman, but finds out life isn’t as great as she was hoping. She no longer has her friends, family, and struggles to find her place in society.
1. High School Musical: In this Disney musical, Troy Bolton and Gabriella Montez meet for the first time at a New Year’s Eve party. When they think they will never see each other again, Gabriella transfers to his high school, and their relationship begins to grow. While Gabriella is attempting to fit in with the crowd and Troy tries to please his dad by playing basketball, the two are also fighting for a spot in the winter musical.
Top Ten Rom Coms for Valentines Day
By: Miriam Sponsler
Editor-in-Chief
Are reality television and celebrity media teaching our children morals and values they should remember for life? The answer is no. Children in American society should be focusing on their studies, making it to college, finding a job and helping to solve issues to support the future of this country, like solving the national debt problem, pollution, equality, etc. There are more important things to see and read about than what a majority of us focus on today.
But what are they focusing on? Young ladies should not be focused on how they can make their lips look like Kylie Jenner’s or make their behind’s look like Kim Kardashian’s because it might finally get her attention from the cute boy she has a crush on. Instead of preaching purchasing Kim’s new app, people with popular influence should be focused on how teens view their bodies, how their insecurities may cause anxiety, etc. They should be taught that for a nice boy to like and care about you, you should respect yourself and be who you are. That doesn’t include pushing your breasts up to your chin just because you saw a celebrity walking down Sunset Boulevard like that. Some girls may not even have the breasts to physically do that, but that’s 100% OK - you know why? Because that is who she is and she should embrace it, not change it to look like someone else.
This isn’t a problem just for women; look at men in the media. Almost every girl drools over an actor with amazing abs and biceps that probably took him a year and hours a day to get. That probably doesn’t make the next guy feel good about himself either.
However, looks aren’t the only issue. From watching grown women/“housewives” fight each other to the daily battles between Snooki and whomever, the focus should be on becoming a better person. You get what you give. Ezekiel Ansah, a player for the Detroit Lions donated 94,000 water bottles to the Flint Water Crisis and that’s probably something not many of us will hear about otherwise, but we will hear about what the Kardashians did yesterday, which is probably irrelevant. Selena Gomez and many other celebrities have donated their time in poorer countries or have even donated some of their earnings to support others. But all you hear about is how racy Selena’s dress was at that one irrelevant award show.
There are more important things to focus on. Instead of wasting your time on watching Steve Harvey announce the wrong Miss Universe, watch the video of a boy who woke up crying after a heart transplant because it felt so great to be alive. Get your priorities straight, America.
Get Your Priorities Straight, America
By: Liz Perry
Sports Editor
Tuesday, February 9, 2016
Tuesday, February 9, 2016
Thursday, February 11, 2016
Much like healthcare in the 2008 election, Democratic candidates for president seem to have settled on education reform as the hot button issue that will define the 2016 cycle. To the dismay of the GOP and establishment Democrats alike, both Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton have released so called “debt-free college” plans. Many students are ecstatic about the possibility of a future not crushed by college debt, but despite the tremendous potential of these initiatives, as students and as voters it is important to take them with a grain of salt. Some of the most ambitious acts of reform since the Roosevelt years will not be established without significant resistance, and both plans appear to be overly optimistic in more than one area.
Hillary’s plan, as outlined in her “New College Compact” release, appears vague. The release said, “Colleges and universities will be accountable to improve their outcomes and control their costs to make sure their tuition is affordable and those students who invest in college leave with a degree.” It ends by claiming that these measures would be fully paid for by limiting “certain tax expenditures by high income taxpayers.”
Bernie Sanders’ long time stance on education was recently made clear in a plan issued by his team. It is much more radical than its counterpart issued by the Clinton Campaign. On his website, Sanders outlines a six step plan. The first step is to make tuition free at public universities and colleges. The next several are a series of relatively minor reforms that, as standalones, would resemble the Clinton plan. The last point is by far the most interesting: to finance these measures by putting a tax on Wall Street speculators. The release claims similar a tax has been implemented in some 40 other developed countries, and the website boasts that this tax is supported by “more than 1,000 economists.”
While the Clinton plan carries her signature weak measures of reform that effectively result in nothing, Bernie’s plan is by no means concrete. The six step plan has drawn criticism from across party lines as impossible to implement with a divided congress. Additionally, policy analyst Kevin Carey suggested that submitting state universities to a strict federal bureaucracy could yield more harm than good. Whether Bernie’s overly idealistic vision for reform or Hillary’s half hearted response, both plans seem to overly simplify the heavily debated issue of student debt in America.
The income from student debt plays an integral part in our country’s budget. It is the reason that this obvious problem in our education system has not been addressed in the past, and now why any plan to solve the problem of student debt will face serious roadblocks. In April 2014, the US Congressional budget office released its ten year projections for the Department of Education, in which the federal government was set to profit more than $127 billion from collections on student loan debts. Massachusetts Senator, Elizabeth Warren, told a crowd at a recent student debt symposium, “The idea that we would ever allow student loan programs to generate extra cash for the government is obscene; we should be investing in students, not turning them into a profit center to pay for subsidies to big agribusiness or to meet the payment of defense contracts.”
While both Bernie Sanders’ and Hillary Clinton’s plans address the issue of our government profiting on student debt, it appears that either candidate is unprepared to deal with the real world consequences of erasing this source of income for the government or prepared to go through the effort to pry these sorely needed profits away from the federal budget in the first place. The fact remains that no matter what promises are made, they are promises made on the campaign trail. Their implementation in a nation where half of the legislature is staunchly opposed to reform and the other half is unenthusiastic at best remains unlikely.
As long as we live in a political climate governed by profit, the higher education industrial complex will remain in existence. Promises of reform from the Democratic Party are as they have always been; either weak like the measures laid out by Hillary Clinton or improbable “Pie-in-the-Sky” policies like those issued by Bernie Sanders. Student debt is a problem that runs far deeper than any measures of reform can fix, even the faux revolutionary reform of Bernie Sanders.
The Problem with Proposed
'Debt-Free College' Plans
By: Benjamin Henderson
Opinion Editor
Monday, February 29, 2016
BigMacs, Double-Whoppers and burritos are a thing of the past. It’s time to man up.
A big sandwich is an understatement when trying to describe the meat monstrosity conjured up in the depths of the local Arby’s. Few have heard of this sandwich, let alone know where an Arby’s is, but regardless, I’m going to shed light on the formation of this hidden animal: the Arby’s Meat Mountain. I must warn you however; this sandwich is not for the faint of heart – literally. If you have a cholesterol problem and you eat this sandwich, you might die. Nevertheless, let’s proceed.
Step 1: Acquire two gloves. The amount of dead animal you will be handling is scary and unless you’re Bear Grylls, you won’t want to touch it.
Step 2: Grab five 4x4 inch portion trays and obtain precisely 1.5 ounces of roast turkey and sliced ham topped with a thick piece of big-eye Swiss, corned-beef, smokehouse brisket and Angus steak topped with a piece of natural cheddar.
Step 3: With all of your portions laid out, toss the trays into individual microwaves and hit button 2: the correct interval of time for the portioned goodness. Once the heated crackling stops, remove your trays and continue on to step four.
Step 4: Drop your Star-Cut bun; don’t actually drop it, I mean put it into the toaster. Retrieve when finished.
Step 5: Grab a box and put the crown of the bun on top and the foot of the bun on the bottom. No sauce is needed for this sandwich, so continue on to the next step.
Step 6: Start the roast beef slicer and measure out a 1.5oz portion of beef.
Step 7: It’s now time to assemble the sandwich. Starting on the bottom, carefully place two crispy chicken tenders then turkey, ham with Swiss, brisket, corned-beef, Angus beef with cheddar, roast beef and finally three half-strips of bacon.
Step 8: You’ve made it! Go ahead and close the box.
Step 9: Finally, pray. Pray for the person who is about to indulge upon this ten dollar, 1300 Calorie, 3500mg Sodium, Devil-spawned sandwich. And if it’s you who’s about to attempt to eat this beast, good luck.
There you have it. If the sandwiches you fancy don’t quite measure up to your size standards, now you have the knowledge to create an artery-clogging Meat Mountain. I extend a special thanks to those who love animals and love to eat them; after all, as Arby’s always says, “A sandwich without meat isn’t.”
How to Craft a Meat Mountain
By: Adam Hastings
Staff Writer
Monday, February 29, 2016
In recent years the use of so-called “Enhanced Interrogation” methods by the American government has become a hotly debated issue. Among the techniques that draw the most controversy is the technique commonly referred to as waterboarding. This method is used to elicit the physical sensation of ‘dry drowning,’ and has proven highly successful at extracting information - the validity and soundness of the information obtained as well as the humaneness of the method itself are often called into question. It can also provide unreliable information from the person in question.
Waterboarding is a relatively simple process, and has been in use since the sixteenth century during the Spanish inquisition. It begins by restraining a subject on their back at an incline of ten-twenty degrees, while keeping the feet slightly elevated. A thin cloth or sheet of plastic is then placed over the forehead and eyes. Then, cold water is applied in a controlled manner as the cloth is lowered over the mouth and nose. As of 2002, it was common to keep the cloth covering the mouth and nose for between twenty and forty seconds, during which water is continuously applied to the mouth and nose area from a height between one and two feet. After this period of up to forty seconds cloth is removed and the subject is allowed three to four unimpeded breaths before the procedure is repeated, during which time they often will expel mucus, vomit and blood from both nose and mouth. The total time of the session normally does not exceed twenty minutes.
The biological effect of waterboarding is the prolonged sensation of drowning. As the head is tilted back and water is poured into the upturned mouth or nose, eventually the subject can no longer exhale additional air or cough out water, the lungs are collapsed and the sinuses and trachea are filled with water. The recipient effectively is drowned from the inside, their body filled with water from the head down while the chest and lungs are kept higher than the head so that coughing draws water up and into the lungs while avoiding total suffocation.
In addition to the extreme pain, waterboarding can result in lasting physical and psychological injuries as well as, if not practiced with adequate caution, death. Oxygen starvation caused by the procedure can damage brain tissue as well as the lungs and circulatory system. Also, subjects risk heavy aspiration of vomit that can result in asphyxiation and death. Bones are often broken as subjects struggle against the restraints. Waterboarding’s power lies in that while creating the sensation of drowning, the subject is not relieved by unconsciousness, but rather experiences every reflex, every instinct and every alarm bell for extremely prolonged periods of time. This results in an experience not much unlike that of Prometheus, a torture that does not end. CIA officers who have undergone waterboarding capitulated after an average of 14 seconds. As Lieutenant Grover Flint said during the Philippine-American War, the suffering “must be that of a man who is drowning, but cannot drown.”
As often as the morality of such a method comes into question, so does the intelligence gathered. It is speculated that subjects often give false confessions in order to avoid further waterboarding. During the Vietnam War, American airmen held prisoner by the Viet Cong subjected to waterboarding frequently made up locations that America planned to attack in China. In line with other “advanced interrogation” techniques, the information produced is unreliable at best.
How Humane is Waterboarding?
By: Benjamin Henderson
Opinion Editor
Monday, February 29, 2016
The Importance of
Black History Month
By: Amy O'Brien
Staff Writer
Things that usually come to mind when I think of February are always the lovey-dovey feeling of Valentine’s Day and the candy that comes along with it. However, I always fail to think of Black History Month until the very start of the month. The month itself really does not get the amount of attention that it should as the only time I see anything about Black History Month is during short commercial breaks while watching TV or the Snapchat filter that show s up when you swipe right. I’m Asian and in no way considered a black person, however I still find this month to be incredibly important.
A lot of people argue that it’s unfair to have a Black History Month when there are not months dedicated to things such as white history. In all honesty, white people are celebrated every day. I hear about the Founding Fathers such as Thomas Jefferson and George Washington more in a month than I do about any black historical figure in the span of three months. The fact that black people get a month in the first place should be a good point to the fact that there isn’t a White History Month. They have been given one month for the community to heavily recognize their history and their culture for that time span and then it is barely touched on for the rest of the year. Even when it is Black History Month I don’t hear much talk about the history of this strong group of people, but rather more complaints from other groups that there isn’t a White History Month.
It’s good to hear about Black History Month; to celebrate and honor those amazing people that had an impact on black culture and history. Reflecting on the past makes people realize the privileges that were gained because of the people who worked so hard to get such a large community to where they are today. Things are still not perfect, but with the coming generation and the awareness of today’s social issues that surround them, I think that things can really improve from here on out. Black history is history and history should be known and appreciated by everyone.
Monday, February 29, 2016