December 16, 2011 • Volume 9 • Issue 4 Northridge High School • 2901 Northridge Road • Tuscaloosa, Al• 35406

Alex HauserEditor-in-Chief

Because of the new schedule the city school system implemented, a new exemp-tion policy was in order.

Some students have up to eight classes per semester and have been waiting for their senior year when they get the oppor-tunity to exempt all of their exams.

Classes that only meet every other day haven’t finished their courses yet, and aren’t in need of a final exam until May.

Isaac Espy, principal said, many of the requirements for exemption are the same.

“Students still need to earn the needed grades and meet the attendance and behav-ior standards, including tardies and ISI sus-pension referrals,” he said.

“On Dec. 20 and 21, ‘final’ exams will be administered in courses that conclude with the issuing of a credit [i.e third and fourth block classes and year-long AP classes].

Fourth block exams will be administered during 4th black class on Tuesday, Dec. 20, and third block exams will be administered on Wednesday, Dec. 21.

On Wednesday, students will report to

third block as usual and stay in there for the rest of the day.

The most drastic change that was made was the exemption policy.

“Last year’s block schedule allowed en-rollment in only four courses per semester, and thus the greatest number of exemp-tions that a school could grant a student was four. Further, the student’s grade level will continue to dictate the number of ex-emptions that a school may grant [them],” Espy said.

Freshmen get two exemptions each se-mester, sophomores get four, juniors get six and seniors get eight.

Kyle Anderson, junior said that he wasn’t upset that the policy came out so late be-cause it “takes time to come up with the best solution that is fair to everyone.”

“I will receive six exemptions, as a ju-nior, and I’m only taking five classes this semester which means I can exempt all of my classes,” Kyle said.

Taylor Goodall, junior, said he is “super stoked” about the new exemption policy.

“It’s pretty awesome,” Goodall said. “It’s like being a senior early, except I’m cooler.”

In the news

Emma JacksonStaff writer

Childhood innocence is lost when teens lose faith in Santa.

Johnathan Carlisle, soph-omore, said his favorite Christmas was the first one he remembers. His parents made him go to bed early and did other things to make him believe that Santa was really coming and that San-ta came the next day.

“I got everything I want-ed that year, and I really thought it was Santa.”

Davis Byars, freshmen, believed in Santa Claus un-

Brianna Shaw

Staff writer

As the students past the vending machines on their three minute break they can’t resist the many different kinds of chips, rice crispy treats and fruit roll ups, but do they stop to think if they are healthy?

Estefania Estrada, freshman, said she thinks most of the snacks in the vending machines are

healthy, such as the fruit gummies and waters.

“The other candies, po-tato chips and soda pops that aren’t as healthy are there so we can satisfy our hunger between classes. I personally enjoy the snacks in the vending machine because, just a simple bag of Sun chips can get me through the 100 min-ute classes or until I have lunch,” she said.

Health teacher David Akins, said the snacks in

the vending machine are “healthy” because they are approved by FDA (Food and Drug Admin-istration), and they have nutritional value.

“The revenue from the vending machines pays for a lot of the things the stu-dents do not see,” Akins said.

He said, “The vending machines also give an op-portunity for the students to get a snack between class-es. In today’s society our

Ebony HughuleyStaff Writer

“Create” can mean a lot of things. It can mean how dif-ferent we all are or how cre-ative and unique we are as a school and as individuals.

That’s what the editor of the yearbook Nick Pappas said. That’s why he chose “create” for this year’s yearbook theme.

But everyone has their own meaning to the word like Letitia Sidje, freshman yearbook editor, and Troy Yancey, junior editor.

Letitia said create means “your building something that comes not only from your mind but your heart.”

Troy said it means “to make something beautiful out of nothing.”

This yearbook is kind of like last year’s book because it is chronological.

The cost is $75 now and must be ordered by Jan. 31.

Books may be purchased in room 109 or online at Jostens.com.

til he was about ten years old. He said he still thinks Christmas is just as fun even though he can’t look forward to Santa’s arrival.

“Thinking Santa is com-ing is one of the things that kids remember most about their childhood,” Byars said.

Some teens like John Aus-tin Higginbotham, fresh-men and Natalia Aranda, junior grew up not believ-ing in Santa, so it wasn’t a big deal when they were told that Santa didn’t exist.

“My dad just flat out told me Santa wasn’t real. I guess he wanted me to

know the truth from the beginning,” Higginbotham said. “I’m okay with it be-cause it really didn’t change my childhood. I still got presents like everyone else.”

“I never actually believed in any of it: Santa, the Tooth Fairy,” Aranda said. “My parents were never be-lievable I guess. They still write ‘from Santa’ on gifts even though I’m 16. I don’t even know if they think I still

students do not eat healthy anyways.”

Estrada said that every now and then she dozes off and daydreams about food.

“The snacks in the vending machine do not affect us in a bad way be-cause if we stay in class for 100 minutes we forget and become brain dead from our hunger. So, the snacks affect us in a positive manner,” Estrada said.

Vending machines sell unhealthy snacks; students not disturbed

Theme ‘created’

Believing in Santa brings back memories

Year students stopped believing in Santa

You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown

highlights

New exemption policy delights students

0

10

20

30

40

50

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

Number of students who knew the exemption policy on Dec. 8

Number of students taking

midterms

yes

yes

nono

Exams

believe in [Santa]. They’ve never told me he wasn’t real.”

Information compiled by: Jah’meka Baxter

Infographic designed by: Alex Hauser

Jingle Bells

“Photos by: Beth Allaway

Fast food hangoutPage 6

Skateboarding

Page 7

Information compiled by: Jah’meka Baxter

Infographic designed by: Alex Hauser

Charlie Brown was presented Dec. 9 and 10.

website: http://northridgereporter.wordpress.com

2 3The Northridge ReporterDecember 16, 2011 EntertainmentOpinion The Northridge Reporter

December 16, 2011

Visit us on Facebook and check out our website. Look for Sarah Katherine Barnes story about two homeless men she met in Min-neapolis.

Jane YuEntertainment Editor

It was a beautiful morning in Minneapolis, MN.

Half of our newspaper staff got awards, and we were at the end of our jour-ney in snowy Min-neapolis.

We had time left before the flight, so we decided to get some coffee.

When others went into Starbucks to get some coffee, I zoned out and wandered off to another section of the skyway.

There was a gigantic window between me and the group.

“Hey, do you have ten for us or a hundred,” a man said.

As I turned around, I saw two men who sat at a table in the sky-way.

One man stooped down and fiddled with his hand, while an-other man sat straight and talked to every person who passed by.

In confusion, I turned right and saw classmates on the other side of the window.

Susan Newell, advisor, told me to come and stay with the group, and Sarah Katherine Barnes, freshman, asked me what hap-pened.

I said nothing.Maybe that’s why our group

just happened to sit right in front of those people who wore layers of clothes with Nike hoodies.

The man who sat straight kept saying, “God loves you.”

A few minutes before, that man asked me for money, and now here he was praising God.

Dumbfounded, I looked at the man next to him and saw him dozing off.

The word ‘pathetic’ came across my mind.

The two men looked old enough, old enough to have a stable life.

It looked pitiful to ask for mon-ey and drowse outside Starbucks.

So I started to read the copy of The Onion I had gotten on the street.

Time passed.Sarah Katherine who sat next

to me said she wanted to inter-view those people.

She even said she want-ed to provide them

food.I did not like that

idea.However, she

obstinately wanted to do the interview,

and she listened as the man rambled.

We do not know their names because the sleeping per-son kept sleeping, and the other man started to talk about the Vietnam War.

He said he strangled someone.No, he said his friend killed

someone.He gibbered continuously.He reminded me of two sol-

diers my friend met on Veteran’s Day.

One soldier asked my friend if she was Chinese.

My friend answered no and told them that she is Korean.

“Ko… Korea….. Korea…,” said the soldier looking in the air.

The other soldier closed his eyes.

The two soldiers my friend met escaped from the war but still held some unimaginable memories within them.

However, this man failed to escape from Vietnam.

He kept saying he was sorry and asked for forgive-ness.

Then he started to talk about the Bible, which he understood through his heart.

When he talked about Bible verses and God, his eyes lightened with joy.

Then I saw the man next to him.

When I saw him up

close, I figured out that his hand was infected by bacteria and had gauze on it.

I was embarrassed by my judg-mental attitude.

The fact that I had avoided them gave me a blush.

I started to admire Sarah Kath-erine who is compassionate and stepped up to do an interview.

So I wrote a letter to be respon-sible for my arrogant attitude.

I wrote him that God had for-given him and that everything will be better.

Right before we left, I gave him the letter.

He opened my letter, and his eyes were fixed.

After looking at my letter for about two seconds, he asked if he could give me a hug.

I stepped toward him, and he hugged me.

He smelled like an old dark chocolate.

One tear dropped because he smelled so bad.

Two tears dropped because his eyes did not move.

Three tears dropped because of his extensive knowledge.

And I cried because I know his tomorrow will not be better than today.

Yu

Our ThoughtsNew exemption policy allows

more exemptions than previous

Each change brings about another one, and with the new schedule in place this year, a revised ex-emption policy was also to be expected.

There was much anticipation about the outcome of the policy, with many students worried about not getting enough exemptions per semester. After much time and thought put in, the Tuscaloosa City School Board finally decided on a new exemption policy for this year.

With most students carrying the load of double the classes this year, as compared to last year, the new policy also grants students double the number of exams that they are allowed to exempt; starting with freshman who get two a semester, sophomores who get four, juniors with six, and seniors with eight.

The way the policy works, juniors who have every day classes first or second block now have the luxury of the option to exempt all of their exams, before even officially becoming seniors.

The wait to find out exactly what the new policy would be might have been hard on some, but The Northridge Reporter believes that it certainly doesn’t disappoint and is fair to all students.

agree (19) disagree (0)

Homeless war veteran impresses juniorBlessed:

Art by Jane Yu

Minneapolis, footsteps in the snow. Photo by Sarah Katherine Barnes

NSPA 1st Place Best of Show 2011 • NSPA 5th Place Best of Show 2008 NSPA 8th Place Best of Show 2008 • NSPA 9th Place Best of Show 2006 CSPA Silver Medalist (2003, 2004) • CSPA Gold Medalist (2005-2010)

SIPA All-Southern (2003, 2005–2011) • ASPA All-Alabama (2003–2011) NSPA All-American (2004, 2008, 2011) • Best SIPA Newspaper in Alabama (2003–2007)

NSPA News Story of the Year (2005) • SIPA First Place News Story (2007) SIPA First Place Review (2009) • Rick Bragg Award for Feature Writing (2009)

Editor-in-Chief:

Opinion Editor:

Feature Editor:

Entertainment Editor:

News Editor:

Sports Editor:

Beat Editor:

Business Manager:

Photographers:

Copy Editor:

Art Editor:

Artists:

Infographic Editor:

Web Master:

Alex Hauser*

Raiha Bajwa*

Renu Pandit

Jane Yu*

Trent Clanton*

Alexandra Stewart

James Roberts

Raiha Bajwa*

Nick Motz, Sarah Katherine Barnes, Rand Schille, Candace Wiggins

Renu Pandit

Trent Clanton*

Jane Yu*, Parker Evans

Ja’’’’’’hmeka Baxter

Rand Schille

*Denotes state, regional and national award winners

Northridge High School2901 Northridge RoadTuscaloosa, AL 35406

(205) 759-3734 ext. 235

Tuscaloosa City Board Policy: It is the official policy of the Tuscaloosa City Board of Education that no person shall, on the grounds of race, color, disability, sex, religion, national origin, age or creed, be excluded for participation in, be denied the benefits of or be subject to discrimination under any program, activity or employment.

Advertising and Subscriptions: Contact The Northridge Reporter Staff at (205) 759-3734 ext. 235 or snewell@tusc.k12.al.us to advertise in or subscribe to The Northridge Reporter.Editorial Policy: The opinions in The Northridge Reporter are those of the students and not of the faculty or administration of Northridge High School or the Tuscaloosa City Board of Education. It is the policy of The Northridge Reporter to publish all non-obscene, non-libelous, signed letters to the editor, regardless of the opinion expressed in them. All letters must be submitted to Mrs. Newell in room 109 or emailed to northridgereporter@gmail.com. The Northridge Reporter reserves the right to edit letters and verify allegations.

Staff Writers:

Sarah Katherine Barnes, Parker Evans, Ebony Hughuley, Emma Jackson, Nick Motz, Tyesha Pinnock, James

Roberts, Brianna Shaw, Aasiayah Sullivan, KeamBria Washington, Candace Wiggins, Rand Schille

Adviser: Susan Newell*

2 3The Northridge ReporterDecember 16, 2011 EntertainmentOpinion The Northridge Reporter

December 16, 2011

Blues project captures interestsJames Roberts

Beat Editor

Every Thursday afternoon after school, Jimmy Hill, junior, goes to First United Methodist Church of Tuscaloosa and gets the blues. He deals with it by playing his heart out on his harmonica and saxophone.

He’s far from depressed. He is simply participating in The Ala-bama Blues Project, a nonprofit organization that preserves blues music and teaches it to new gen-erations. Thousands of students have seen its presentations, and hundreds have taken music les-sons in Tuscaloosa, including a handful from Northridge.

“The Blues Project is fun,” said Hill, who has been a member since mid-2010. “You make a lot of friends doing it, and we play great music.”

There isn’t one thing Hill doesn’t like about participating in

the Alabama Blues Project. “There are tons of friendly peo-

ple, and all of our talents push us to strive for the best,” Hill said.

Hill is in a blues band with Jameson Hubbard, junior, who also is a participant in the Ala-bama Blues Project.

Hubbard plays the harmonica, and loves playing the blues.

“The blues is a cool kind of mu-sic, and it’s fun to play and listen to,” Hubbard said.

Another student participating in The Alabama Blues Project is Kanjalla Dancer, sophomore. She’s been playing guitar for the Alabama Blues Project for five years.

“It’s a great outlet. The teach-ing environment is easy,” Dancer said.

One teacher is guitarist Stuart Bond, who started with the Blues Project in 2008.

“I really hope at the end of ev-ery semester the kids get more out of it than I do,” Bond said. “I

sometimes feel selfish that they teach me so much. I wish I had something like this when I was growing up playing music. You get to work with so many incred-ible musicians, and it makes me respect (the blues) a lot more.”

Bond said that many of the in-structors write their own music.

“We try to encourage our kids to grow up and do the same thing,” Bond said.

Bond said each semester of lessons at the Blues Project are over too quickly, and that find-ing financial support can be chal-lenging. One of its fund-raising events was a benefit concert on Dec. 10 at Rooster’s Blues House in downtown Tuscaloosa.

What Bond likes about the blues is that it’s the heart of American music.

“We wouldn’t have most of anything that you currently hear on the radio today if it wasn’t for the blues. Also, it’s one of the most pure and honest forms of

music. It’s three chords and the truth, and from Robert Johnson to Muddy Waters to Gary Clark Jr. and to The Black Keys; it all trick-les down to artists like the Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin.”

Linda Mills, the programs/events manager, started working for the Alabama Blues Project in 2006. She likes how the program is an opportunity for at risk kids who have an appreciation of mu-sic.

“The program is scholarship-based, and we get grant money for letting these kids come here for free,” Mills said. “There’s not one thing I dislike about working here. This is probably the best part time job I could have, and the reason I took this job is that I love giving back to the community.”

Mills loves the blues because of the rich history and because of what it’s done for people in the best of times and worst of times.

“I like how it’s a way to share and connect with other people,

and I also find it fascinating that the blues originated from church hymnals.”

As of now, the Alabama Blues Project is still looking for more young people to participate.

“We’re getting a lot of kids in-terested, but we’re wanting more. Tell your friends about us; we’re always recruiting,” Mills said.

While Mississippi might be better known for blues, the Ala-bama Blues Project wants people to know about famous blues mu-sicians from this state. They in-clude:

Alabama Blues History* W.C. Handy of Florence,

known as the Father of the Blues.* Big Momma Thornton of

Ariton, whose version of “Hound Dog” came three years before El-vis Presley recorded it.

* Johnny Shines, known as one of the last of the Delta blues players. He died in Tuscaloosa in 1992.

Photo by Nick Motz

Stewart Bond, a former Northridge student, describes The Alabama Blues Project. Bond has been involved in The Alabama Blues Project since 2008.

http://www.panamconsultants.com/

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CHILDREN & ADULT ORTHODONTICS

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Tel: (205) 553-2524

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Alex Hauser

Editor-in-Chief

After portraying his famous character, Harry Potter, for ten years, Daniel Radc-liffe takes on a new role in the new thriller, The Woman in Black, which hits theatres Feb. 3, 2012.

The Woman in Black is based off of Susan Hill’s book of the same name. The story was adapted into a stage play as well as a TV movie.

Radcliffe plays Arthur Kipps, a lawyer who was called to a secluded town in Eng-land to attend to the death of Alice Drab-low.

While looking through Mrs. Drablow’s papers at Eel Marsh House, he suffers

through strange acts of paranormal activity and realizes there was more to Alice Drab-low than he originally understood. The Woman in Black haunts him with her story of her failed attempt of saving her drown-ing son.

And in a twist of fate, Arthur Kipps must save her child to ensure safety to his own.

This role is very different from what Radcliffe is used to portraying; his charac-ter being a father and older man. His son is played by Radcliffe’s real-life godson, Misha Handley.

Giving Radcliffe a sense of familiar-ity is Ciarán Hinds, who played Aberforth Dumbledore in Harry Potter and the D e a t h l y Hallows: Part Two.

Forget cute, young boy Harry Potter,

Daniel Radcliffe becomes Arthur Kipps

Photo from imdb.comThe Woman in Black poster

Daniel Radcliffe talks to journalism students at the National Scholastic Press Association convention in Minneapolis, Minnesota about The Woman in Black.

Photos by Jane Yu

Caffeine rich substances make rest and relaxation a thing of the past

4 5The Northridge ReporterDecember 16,, 2011 FeatureFeature The Northridge Reporter

December 16, 2011

Jane YuEntertainment Editor

The library is always filled with the fragrance of coffee.

Patsy Lowery, math teacher, goes to the library almost every day during her second period class, AP Calculus.

She enjoys the delicious, comforting smell of coffee in the library and makes her own.

“I was a hot tea drinker before I got married,” Lowery said. “My husband is a big coffee drink-er, and he got me into drinking coffee when I was 24 or 26.”

Lowery said she drinks one cup of coffee while getting ready, another cup of coffee on her way to school and one or two more in the classroom.

“I do not drink coffee after 10:30 or 11 a.m.,” Lowery said. “Or else, the coffee will keep me awake at night.”

But she laughs and admits one ironical fact.“At night, I drink tea which definitely has more

caffeine than coffee,” Lowery said, “but it does not keep me awake.”

As a “not hard core coffee drinker,” Lowery said she neither likes real bitter black coffee nor wants more than one cup of coffee at a time.

“Until two years ago, I drank instant micro-wave coffee because I wanted a cup of coffee in-stead of a whole bunch in the morning,” Lowery said.

She showed her resentments toward her past coffee makers which made a bunch of coffee in-stead of a cup.

“But two years ago, at Christmas my sister gave me a KEURIG,” Lowery said.’

Lowery said KEURIG is the best coffee maker for her because she can get one cup of coffee at a time.

“I still have to get K cups, special cups for KEURIG,” Lowery said. “They are rather expen-sive, so I get them from Amazon.”

However she said she still enjoys coffee from outside of her house.

“I do not go to the Starbucks,” Lowery said. “I am rather a Donut shop coffee person,”

Lowery said. “I love their French Vanilla.”Amelia Tooson, junior, too showed favoritism

toward a Vanilla flavored coffee.“I love Starbucks’ coffee and McDonald’s,”

Toosan said. “Especially, I love Skinny Vanilla Latte from McDonald’s.”

She said she also likes coffee from her own hands.

“Before I was ten, my mom got me to drinking coffee,” Tooson said. “And now, I drink [coffee] to wake myself up in the morning.”

Tooson said coffee is now part of her life and can be found in her hands about three days a week.

She holds her coffee in the morning while she talks to her friend as she heads to her first period- Mrs. Darnell.

“I still remember it,” Tooson said. “The first coffee I had tasted like bitter chocolate milk.”

Ashley Ray, senior, also described the taste of coffee as bitter chocolate milk.

“I thought my mom’s old cold coffee was a hot chocolate,” Ray said. “Not pleasant.”

Ray said she started drinking coffee about freshman year.

“I had a whole bunch of homework one time

that I could not start until late at night,” Ray said. “And I figured I can get through the bad taste if it would keep me up.”

But after a sip, she figured out that it actually tasted good.

So now she always has her coffee in her hand even though she is late to school.

Ray said she makes her own coffee every morning.

“I put tons of sugar and cinnamon in it,” Ray said. “It is my own special way of making cof-fee.”

Photo by Nick Motz

Anna Kate Hughston, senior, drinks a frozen

coffee from McDonald’s in her first period class.

““I drink three cups a day, ”” Hughston said. ““The caffeine keeps me awake.”””

Coffee addictions vary in grades and staff

WH NEEDS SL P?

Do you drink

coffee?

“I’ve been drinking coffee ev-ery morning for two years. I

get it from Publix,” Colt Wro-

bel, junior, said.

“My dad has always brewed

it for me, but I’m not addicted.

I’m starting to drink Christmas

blends now,” Maani Kamal, se-

nior, said.

“I’ve been drinking coffee for two years, ever since my aunt

got me into drinking it. I get

it at Publix,” Evontaye Cannon, junior, said.

“I’ve been drinking coffee for a year, and I drink it every

morning. I get Hazelnut from

Dunkin Donuts,” Maddie May-

field, junior, said.

Photo by Nick Motz Photo by Nick Motz

Photo by Nick Motz Photo by Nick Motz

Kamal

Cannon Wrobel

Mayfield

Hughston

Caffeine rich substances make rest and relaxation a thing of the past

4 5The Northridge ReporterDecember 16,, 2011 FeatureFeature The Northridge Reporter

December 16, 2011

Renu PanditFeature Editor

For those who are neither coffee nor soft drink addicts, there are other solutions for

turning into a nocturnal, sleep-deprived beast.

For Sarah Cassell, junior, and Anna Poist, senior, homework is the most nat-ural way to stay awake.

“There are simply not enough hours in the day to finish [homework],” Poist said. “I’m up until around 12 or 1 be-cause of it.”

Poist said she wishes she could get more sleep because when she doesn’t she is “in a bad mood the next day,” and has to drink tea in the morning to stay awake.

“I have a theory that tea keeps you in a good mood,” Poist said.

Cassell said she is also up late because of homework.

“I don’t drink coffee or take anything to keep me awake,” Cassell said. “But I still stay up until 10 to finish my home-work.”

Elizabeth Monk, sophomore, said her homework is the reason she stays up, but she sometimes uses 5 Hour Energy drinks to actually stay awake.

“I stay up really late doing homework, and I need something to make sure I don’t fall asleep,” Monk said.Monk said

she prefers coffee, but 5 Hour En-ergy is faster and keeps her awake longer.“It works, but

I’m not sure it’s healthy,” Monk said.

“So I make sure I only use it when I really have to stay awake.”

A student who preferred to stay anony-mous said that she takes Red Bull often to finish her homework.

“If I don’t drink it I wake up to see that I fell asleep on my books,” she said. She said that taking Red Bull to stay

awake has become a habit that she “just can’t quit.”Dr. Arti Pandey, physician, said that she

strongly objects to teens using energy drinks like Red Bull and 5 Hour Energy for staying awake.

“They increase your heart rate and blood pres-sure, which puts unneces-sary strain on your heart,” Dr. Pandey said. “They also cause sleep depriva-tion which causes irrita-bility, anxiety, depression and lack of concentra-tion.”

Instead of energy drinks, Dr. Pandey said

she suggests that teens “plan ahead, and do their homework before a certain time, eliminating the need to stay up late.”

“I’m not saying cut it off completely,” Dr. Pandey said. “I mean, I have an occa-sional coffee or tea myself, but you have to take these things in moderation to stay healthy.”

“There are simply not

enough hours in the day to

finish [homework’].

“” -Anna Poist, senior

Homework overload causes students to miss out on sleep

Caffeine ContentInformation from energyfiend.com

Compiled by Jah’meka Baxter Designed by Renu Pandit

Num

ber o

f stu

dent

s tha

t pre

fer e

ach

drin

k

5

15

20

0

10

Do you think energy drinks are healthy?

Yes: 12No: 23

Total of 35 students questioned.

Compiled by Jah’meka BaxterDesigned by Renu Pandit

25

69 mg 54 mg 41 mg 35 mg

23

1820

4

WH NEEDS SL P?

Caffeine content in favorite soft drinks

Diet sodas present health issues

Raiha BajwaOpinion Editor

Carbonated and catenated drinks are generally harmful for your health, but diet sodas are even worse.

Kathleen Oatts, food and nutrition teacher, said diet drinks are the worst for your body because of the harmful chemicals in them.

“What people don’t realize is that it’s better to drink more regular sodas than to drink a diet soda be-cause they are so harmful for you,” she said. “If you need caffeine, tea’s probably the best way because it’s the most natu-ral.”

Anna Poist, senior, said she drinks sodas, not for a caffeine fix but simply because she likes the taste.

“I only drink it because it tastes good,” Poist said. “It doesn’t have any effect on me.”

Some people give up soft drinks to get healthier.

Darrin Spence, Dean of Stu-dents, said he traded in sodas for coffee.

“Carbonated water makes your belly fat,” he said. “Coffee makes it soft.

Surprisingly, I had some withdrawal problems at first, but coffee gives you a good boost.”

Taylor Goodall, junior, said he cuts down on his caf-feine intake during track season to keep his performance up.

“I try not to drink it at all, but I usually

drink about one every other day during track,” he said. “I gotta run, so I drink more water and milk.”

Over the summer, with no sports ob-ligations, Goodall said he isn’t as strict about his caffeine consumption.

“During summer I have one to two sodas a day,” he said.

“...It’’’s better to drink

more regular sodas thann

to drink a diet soda...

“” -Kathleen Oatts, teacher

Students, faculty members try to stop intake

The Northridge ReporterDecember 16, 2011News6

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Emma Jackson

Staff Writer

Tuscaloosa Young Life, a lo-cal Christian group, has begun its annual game called Assassins. Each group member has a target person, and the objective of the game is to get the target out with water. The target can be splashed, drenched, or slapped on the back with a wet hand.

Nick Fairbairn, sophomore, is playing for the first time.

“Getting to drench people with water is the best part, but you al-ways feel paranoid, and you kind of have to give up your social life for a while to stay away from people,” he said.

Anything goes as long as its wa-ter. Targets can be “killed” in their house, in their car, at a friend’s house or in a random park.

Taylor Goodall, junior, is play-ing assassins for the first time.

He said he likes to get really into it and pretend it’s real life.

“I ‘killed’ two people within two or three seconds,” he said.

According to the club leaders the game started off with about 125 people this year. By the next Friday only 70 people were left standing. And on Dec. 5, there were only 30 left.

Davis Byars, freshmen, didn’t know who had him as a target.

“I think it’s better not knowing because it makes it more fun, but it would be easier to know be-cause I could avoid my person,” Byars said.

The other object is to avoid get-ting out of the game by the per-son who has them as a target. It’s basically a big circle, but no one should know who has each other as a target.

Kathleen Kennedy, sophomore, is not playing but has made a list of people and their targets. She said she had about 15 Facebook messages asking for her help. The list has gotten so big she calls it “My Assassins Book. Keep Out.”

Target eliminatedAnnual Assassins game starts again

Pulling up to the drive-thru window, Reagan Walker, senior, leans her head out of the window and places her order for chicken nuggets at Chic-Fil-A.

Walker said she eats here about once ev-ery two weeks. She is one of many students who enjoy fast food after school.

Richard Hamner, senior, said he eats fast food about three times a week.

“I like to go to Zaxby’s and get the buf-falo chicken fingers with ranch. It makes me feel special,” Hamner said.

Some students go to the McDonald’s on Rice Mine Road just down the street from the school after school, like junior Delarreyon Grace.

“I go to McDonald’s every day. I always get a quarter pounder with cheese,” Grace said.

Grace said he thinks fast food has a lot of fat and calories.

Jasmine Starkling, senior, works at the McDonald’s on Rice Mine. Starkling said high school students always come to McDonald’s for various reasons.

“They come to eat with their friends or family, to have tutoring or studying sessions, to hang out with their friends or to just sim-ply meet up,” Starkling said.

Starkling said there are a lot of students that come into Mc-

Donald’s after school on a moderate basis, and

not all of

them come there just to eat. “There are a number of groups that come in

every day. For some of them, I know when to expect them. A well-known group called Young Life meets at McDonald’s every Monday night around 8:45,” Starkling said.

Walker said she thought fast food was okay to eat, in moderation.

Donald McNabb, health teacher, said fast food can be unhealthy when not eaten in moderation.

“Fast food is usually real high in sugar content and is mainly carbohydrate ori-ented which means that it turns to sugar really fast and if not used immediately, it will be stored as fat,” he said.

McNabb said fruits and raw veggies are always good alternatives to snack-ing on fast food.

Some fast food chains have actu-ally expanded their menus to include healthy side items, like apple slices and other fruits, as well as yogurt and salads.

“The FDA and the USDA have mandated that all fast food places that get federal money must com-ply with the new code [to include healthier items on the menu]. I think this is good, particularly for the kids,” McNabb said.

Trent Clanton

News Editor

Photo by Nick Motz

Quick and easyFast Food:

Teens eat, hang out at fast food restaurants after school

Art by Trent Clanton

Wesley Strickland, junior, holds his water gun, ready to attack. He is playing the annual Assassin’s game created by the Christian group Tuscaloosa Young Life, which involves taking out targets by spraying them with water.

7The Northridge ReporterDecember 16, 2011 Sports

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Parker Evans

Staff Writer

The April 27th tornado left desolation in its path, but presented opportunities for a skatepark that Tuscaloosa is in need of.

With the debris cleared, concrete foun-dations have been left all over the city. They’ve evidently been abandoned, and some will no longer serve any purpose be-cause the businesses that once sat on them have been relocated.

Jack Aured, junior, said they would be perfect for a skatepark.

“There’s a group of skaters in Tusca-loosa that doesn’t have anywhere to go. We’ve built wooden structures around town, but they always get torn down. The [abandoned] foundations would work be-cause we’ve built things on torn-down buildings before,” Aured said. “If we had funding we would make it work.”

The closest skatepark to Tuscaloosa is one in Greensboro, about an hour away.

There is also a skatepark in Birming-ham.

Alex Shealy, senior, said skating is a community activity, but without a skatepark close by, not many people get together to skate. Shealy has been skating for three years.

“Driving to the parks in Birmingham and Greensboro takes a long time, and gas is very, very expensive,” Shealy said.

Harrison Aslami, senior, said “skate-

boarding is a good way to be social. When I started skating I met all these people. Skating is an activity for all ages, and it’s a good way to get out of the house. It’s a cheap way to have fun.” MacKenzie Underwood, senior, doesn’t skate, but said she enjoys hanging out with people that do.

“It’s hard to find a place to watch people skating legally,” she said. “It’s just hard to find a place to go that isn’t a sketchy area.”

Opportunities for skate parks arise with tornado clean up

Photos by Nick MotzHarrison Aslami, senior

Harrison Aslami, senior Alex Shealy, senior

Harrison Aslami, senior

Flips and Tricks

Alex Shealy, senior

Seniors Harrison Aslami and Alex Shealy show off their skills outside the school and in the parking lot. Shealy said he started skating three years ago. “Skating is an activity for all ages, and it’’s a good way to get out of the house. It’s a cheap way to have fun,“ Aslami said.

http://northridgereporter.wordpress.com/

December

16, 2011 Volum

e 9 Issue

4

Pg. 4-5

8Beat

The Northridge Reporter

Decem

ber 16, 2011

Christmas: season of nostalgia

alex

andra stew

art

sports editor

As the w

ind blows cold w

ith w

ishes for snow, and Christm

as decorations are put up, students and teachers rem

inisce on their favorite holiday m

emories.

Shea Mills, English teacher,

said she remem

bers going to her grandparent’s house every year on C

hristmas m

orning. “[I rem

ember] getting up at

about five in the morning and

opening our presents and then driving

to m

y grandparents,

who

lived out

of state,

for lunch and seeing all m

y cous-ins. M

y mom

had 12 broth-ers and sisters, and w

e would

all get together and exchange gifts,” M

ills said. “I rem

ember getting m

y first cabbage patch doll,” she said.

Mills sm

iled as she remem

-bered her favorite present.

“Last year, my husband gave

me an autographed copy of a

series of books that I like to read,” she said. “H

e drove all the w

ay and stood in line to get this author to sign the book for m

e. Mary C

aitlyn Wilhite, junior,

said that she remem

bers her fa-vorite present being a surprise.

“One year, m

y parents sur-prised us by telling us that w

e w

ere going to see our Great

Aunt and U

ncle, and then they

actually took

us to

Disney

World,” she said.

Ashley R

ay, senior, said that w

hat she remem

bers most is

singing songs around the piano as her m

om played. She said

she remem

bers waiting to open

presents and the breakfast cas-serole that her m

om m

akes on C

hristmas m

orning. “W

e all wait at the top of the

stairs for mom

and dad to “get coffee” and until they are ready for us to com

e down, and the

whole fam

ily opens our pres-ents at the sam

e time. A

fter-w

ards, Dad reads the C

hristmas

Story in the Bible, and w

e leave for Tennessee the next day,” R

ay said.

Mary

Catherine

Vail said

she remem

bers one year when

she woke up on C

hristmas to

find her sister, who w

as living in South C

arolina and was not

supposed to arrive until the next day, standing in her living room

. She said she rem

embers the tra-

ditional mem

ories as well.

“[I remem

ber] sitting on the side of m

y stairs, looking into the living room

and trying to stay up to see Santa, and then finally going to bed w

hen my

mom

told me to and w

aking up at the crack of daw

n to see my

presents,” Vail said.W

ilhite said she also gets up early on C

hristmas to open

presents.

“I alw

ays rem

ember

my

brothers and

sister w

aking m

e up at the crack of dawn to

open presents that would still

be there in three more hours. I

wanted to sleep,” W

ilhite said.W

ith all

the traditional

Christm

as m

emories,

also com

e the mem

ories unique to our fam

ilies.“Every

year m

y husband

cooks some different, unique,

strange kind of meat. H

e has cooked goose, duck and cor-nish hen. It’s alw

ays some-

thing different, and we have

people over for it,” Mills said.

Teresa Meissner, B

TA teach-

er, said that when her children

and grandchildren come over,

she likes to have a non-tradi-tional C

hristmas m

eal.“Since w

e are all tired of C

hristmas m

eals, we have a

Christm

as m

eal to

get over

Christm

as meals. I usually try

to make som

ething Italian, like pasta,” she said.

She said

that her

favorite thing about C

hristmas is the

stockings.“M

y favorite

part [about

Christm

as] is that I love mak-

ing the

Christm

as stockings.

I start shopping early because I love to get different, unique things to put in them

. One year,

I even had a stocking for my

grand pup,” Meissner said.

Mem

ories of students, teachers reflected upon

Seniors Amy K

athryn Reddoch, Courtney Plott and A

shlyn Sunseri

help decorate SGA sponsor A

ngela Shaw’’’’’’’’’’s door.

Photo by Nick M

otz

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