free Aug 08 issue 94

A HARINGEY YOUTH PUBLICATION

£0.00

FIRSTSMOKE?It’s a mission

DEARLY DEPARTEDWhat it’s like to lose a close friend

PLAYGROUND CULTUREWho to avoid at lunchtimes

04

The RSPCA Young Photographer Awards 2008 are giving young photographers the chance to have their work showcased in London in front of thousands of people later this year. Anyone who will be under the age of 19 on the 1st September can enter their wildlife and animal photos into the competition for the chance to win one of many top Olympus cameras and the chance to join the RSPCA on an exclusive photo shoot. To fi nd out the rules and all the information you need, visit the website at www.rspca.org.uk/ypa.

By Rebecca Craig

RSPCA Young Photographer Awards winning entry by Alex Worthington, aged 10

Snap Happy

05

rebe

cca

ram

el

The Tottenham Carnival was launched in 1997 as a way to celebrate the spirit and diversity of the community.

This year the carnival began on a grey Saturday morning, not the kind of weather that promotes party atmosphere. Despite the miserable start, processions began parading down the Tottenham streets from 11am, the echo of the steel pans could still be heard long after the fl oats had gone. And the vibrant, lively atmosphere

Did you know that Exposure has its own Music Factory? We do. We make music videos for young

musicians from Haringey. It’s funded by the Youth Opportunity Fund and this is the 2nd year we’ve worked with Haringey’s young budding musicians to make high quality videos. To have a chance of qualifying to have your video made you must be between 13-19 and have a demo already recorded. We want to work with three unsigned artists and the music can be of any genre. Once the video is complete,

Exposure Music Factory

Tottenham Carnival

continued on into Bruce Castle Park, where a variety of activities had been set up as the heart of the Carnival.

Throughout the day performances from young local singers and dancers fi lled the three different stages. Elsewhere a basketball tournament raged, a Tottenham Hotspur sponsored kick about took place. There was also a funfair to keep the young kids entertained. The tight security allowed the day to run smoother than expected, and at 7pm the 2008 carnival came to an end.

Exposure will help to publicise your video through Myspace, Youtube, as well as approaching music channels like Channel U. You can also get involved in the production of these fi lms; we’re looking for young people who want to learn how to edit, direct and write for fi lm. It’s all free, all you have to do is get in touch.

Ring or email Flo on: Email: Flo@Exposure.org.uk

Tel: 02088830260

by Ramel Boyce

06

BüyükyilmazThe

Reel

IRON MANIron Man is the latest big screen comic book adaptation from Marvel Comics. It’s an action-packed story of the millionaire industrialist, Tony Stark. While promoting his latest technology in weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East, he is victim of a terrorist attack and suffers a near-death experience. He is captured and imprisoned; but, to his surprise and ours, he manages to invent a robotic suit of armour to save himself and free him from imprisonment. I found the movie extremely long and my bum was swelling on my seat. Wait to rent.

07

josh

SUPERHERO MOVIEAfter being bitten by a genetically altered dragonfl y, high school loser Rick Riker develops superhuman abilities. Rick decides to use his new powers for good and becomes a costumed crime fi ghter known as “The Dragonfl y” - in the way of his destiny is the villainous Lou Landers. This fi lm just seemed like a really long trailer with a few spoofs of comic book movies like Spiderman, X-men, Fantastic four and (the rubbish) Batman Begins. Don’t go and see the movie; don’t rent the DVD; wait till it comes on TV...if it ever does.

CHARLIE BARTLETTCharlie Bartlet is an unruly rich boy who gets excluded from private school for making fake IDs. He is forced to go to a normal high school, unfortunately his smart look makes him a target for bullies, but soon fi ts in by offering prescription drugs to the students. To his delight he fi nds the girl of his dreams, the girl also happens to be the principal’s daughter. This fi lm is better than other teenage fl icks as it focuses on genuine issues that effect young people while being extremely funny. Better laugh than cry is my motto!

SEX AND THE CITYSex and the City is back with more of Carrie and her girls living in Manhattan. I never really watched the TV show but it continues on four years after the fi nal series ended. I thought the fi lm was a defi nite ‘chick-fl ick’. So If you or your mum, or whoever, love Sex and the City then I’m sure they’ll love the movie because there’s lots of S.E.X in you know where.

The playground – it could be the safest or the scariest place in the whole school, depending on your status. I’m taking a look at the funny, the sad and the just plain weird culture of the school yard.

It’s seems that, since you started school, there has been a natural order. Every person is part of a group and each group has a different place in the hierarchy.

First up are the ‘footballers’ – the only thing that they think about is... football.

Their main territory is the school playing fi elds. They’re usually quiet and keep to themselves. Come to think of it, there isn’t one time that I haven’t seen them without a football! But I don’t blame them. The playground is as dead as a graveyard. And that’s the problem. It’s so dead other groups have nothing do to but harass and interfere with the football game. Often the only ball left to play with is a tennis ball!

Next up is the ‘wonderers’. These guys just stand around and do nothing.They try to look good, fail and usually observe other groups.

Nathan Clarke on why school break time isn’t all fun and games...

Then, not far from them, are the ‘smokers’. These guys are the lowest of the low. Their main hangout is the back of the lockers. But I don’t see the point of it. All smoking does is shorten your life, give you bad breath and eventually give you lung disease. And they do it just for a bit of ‘satisfaction’.

Next up are the ‘populars’. These guys are the most selfi sh, manipulative and just down right mean people in the playground – yet they’re the most popular. They have this special ability to convert anyone with potential to become one of them into one of them, so watch where you step at break time. Their hangout is the main bench in the central playground. These guys literally control the whole area and if they say ‘jump’, you jump – I’ve seen them do it.

“The bullies are one of the most feared people in the whole school”

08

it’s a jungle

out there...After them is the ‘scammers’, the people who try to trick you into buying a 50p chocolate bar for two pounds. Well in that case the fi rst word that should come out of your mouth is NO!

These mini-entrepreneurs are all over the playground and usually target the younger children, just to turn a quick profi t. If you see them come to school with fi ve pounds worth of crisps, sweets and drinks, at the end of the day they will go home with ten pounds at least. So if you encounter someone with a JD bag full of ‘reduced price’ products, step away quickly.

Next are the ‘bullies’. These low-lifes feed off the fear of the weaker, less athletic group of kids who just want a quiet education. The bullies are one of the most feared people in the whole school. Why? Because their constant threats and continuous fi ghts put them in an intimidating position.

If there is a new kid they will be the fi rst take advantage of them. But things like anti-bullying programmes are being set up so soon there will be no need to worry... (yeah, right).

Last and defi nitely the least we have, at the bottom of the food chain, well I haven’t got a name for them yet so lets just call them the ‘prey’. They are the most picked on people in the school, life for them is just about surviving. As time goes on things might change for the better...might!

Well that’s it. I have fi nally reached the conclusion of my research. I have learned just how the playground operates – how groups of people in a school make up the crazy culture of the playground. But I just need to ask you one question: where do you fi t in?

09

nath

an

For advice on this or any other issue see the list of local services in the directory on p27.

10

Smoke

co

lsum

a

Colsuma Begum experiments with cigarettes.felt like was having a coke at McDonalds; the straw just smelt a little funny. A black shiny lighter appeared.

The fl ame reminded me of my fi fth birthday. Dad was smoking in the garden and I remember thinking how fun it looked, like a Broadway show with smoke effects, and my dad was the star.

I was the fi rst to take a drag. It was horrible. The smoke was suffocating and automatically I coughed and spluttered. My head was spinning and all I could hear was the cackle of my friends. They had no problems smoking and it made me wonder if this really was their fi rst time. They showed me how to hold the cigarette and take a drag, and before we knew it, we were putting them out, blowing bubbles and spraying perfume. I knew I had a grilling waiting for me at home, but I didn’t care: I had smoked.

Of course there was no way of getting up to my room without being interrogated. ‘Where have you been? Didn’t I say six? It’s now seven!’ Mum didn’t notice me slip away.

I had a long soak that night. What I did was bad, and it made me feel sick. I had to scrub it all away.

On Monday after school the girls were by the smoking tree at the park. Day by day, they looked less and less attractive: yellow fi ngernails, dry, wiry hair, and the smell of smoke was a smack in the face whenever you walked past them.

‘It’s cool, Colsuma! Have another go.’ Once was enough thanks. I’ve got a brain. If you had one too, you’d stop smoking. See you around.’

That was the last time I spoke to them. Our friendship was over after one week of pleas to quit.

‘Come on, Mum, that’s not fair! You’re joking! How about seven?’ Agreeing on a time to come home with your parents is never easy, especially mums. It’s even worse in the holidays, but this time, mum was right.

It was half term and I‘d spent most of the week with friends. On Friday we decided to do something wild. We didn’t know what. Rob a bank? Murder our Science teacher? Take over the world? No, we weren’t stupid. Something easy to get away with would do. Smoking seemed perfect. It’d be over in fi ve minutes and the smell would be easy to cover: chew gum and spray perfume. Simple. We’d sorted out what to do, how to get away with it, now to see if we were as smart as we thought.

After another battle with mummy dearest, I snuck out to meet my friends.

‘Got the lighters? Good. Cigarettes? Ok. Mina’s got gum, right? Britney Spears’s new perfume? Wow!’

None of my friends seemed worried. They were ditsy and exited. It was me freaking out. Realising I was paranoid, I buried the feeling, stuck on an air hostess smile, and took out the cigarettes.

The golden packet almost seemed sacred. Tearing off the wrapping, a squeal of nervous laughter rippled through us. Lifting the lid, eight eyes sparkled with awe. Four cigarettes were removed from the packet and put to each of our lips. I thought we’d start to feel bigger, but all it

“My head was spinning and all I could hear was the cackle of my friends”

For advice on this or any other issue see the list of local services in the directory on p27. 11

screen

“Such great work. Great outfi t. Great kids and marvellous committed staff”

12Lynne Featherstone on Exposure

Laura Hobbs interviews Lynne Featherstone, the straight-talking Liberal Democrat MP for Hornsey and Wood Green.WHAT DO YOU REALLY THINK ABOUT YOUNG PEOPLE?They have such passion and enthusiasm for life. They are not dull. They haven’t given up. They want to have a good time and they’re fun. Politicians are always banging on saying that young people don’t vote, but I just think that as long as young people are getting on with it and having fun, that’s good enough.

HOW DO DECISIONS MADE BY GOVERNMENT AFFECT YOUNG PEOPLES LIVES?We’ve seen the decline of youth services, even in this borough, so it effects where they can go.

WHAT CHANGES WOULD YOU MAKE TO IMPROVE YOUNG PEOPLE’S LIVES?I think I would make their education less ‘tick box’. I think education is about making you a person who thinks and enjoys life, it’s not all about exams and pressure. People go through a factory now, where it’s all about studying for exams.

WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE LIB DEM POLICY?Well, for young people, I would say the abolition of tuition fees. You could look at it the way the government looks at it, that this is an investment and people who go to university will get better jobs and be able to pay it back. But this is not actually what’s happening. Having to get yourself into terrible debt means that people are being put off.

WHAT DOES YOUR JOB AS ANMP INVOLVE?In the constituency, it’s about visiting organisations, charities, and schools, campaigning, organising groups outside every post offi ce, public meetings, and surgeries [where you can go and speak to your MP]. In Parliament, it’s about scrutinising legislation, speaking in debates, and meeting with people who want to talk about various issues with me.

The culture in Parliament seems very old fashioned to young people, like calling each other ’your honourable lady/gentleman’.

The way they speak in parliament is enough to turn anyone off! My goodness, why can’t you just say ‘you’ or use their name? They make it seem like it’s stuck in the land that time forgot. And it can be the most dreadful example of behaviour. I mean, if we say that we want young people to behave and you see politicians booing, pointing and jeering, it doesn’t set a very good example. It’s based on the old boys public school.

WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE MORE WOMEN IN PARLIAMENT?I’d be all for 50/50. Other countries have done it. I would like to see a modern chamber, that’s round.

FINALLY, WHAT DID YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU WERE OUR AGE? An actor. That’s long gone though.

“Parliament is stuck in the land that time forgot”

service

13

laur

a

Send your artwork to: The Bigger Shoe Box, Muswell Hill Centre, Hillfi eld Park N10 3 QJTel: 020 8883 0260, Fax: 020 8883 2906, Mob: 07947 884 282, Email: jon@exposure.org.uk

GALLERY

By Rebecca Craig

14

By Victoria Opyrchal

15

My friend had so much to live for. He hadn’t even fi nished school. He was part of a football team and a youth centre. It hurts me more to hear that the boy accused of doing it was friends with his older brother. And I knew the boy who did it too. It’s made me feel so much hate because it was over something so little: a tune my friend made.

The funeral hasn’t happened yet, but when it does I think I will attend. I know it will be very sad and will be packed because my friend was loved by everyone - at his memorial more than 200 people attended. Everyone held candles praying and singing in remembrance of him. There are fl owers and posters lying for him in Edmonton, with at least 200 bunches of fl owers sent by young people from Enfi eld and Haringey.

2007 was a year of violence for teenagers in London. Police offi cers describe it as the worst in memory. 27 young people were killed, 18 stabbed, eight shot and one beaten. 2008 looks like it’s going to be even worse.

At the time of writing there have been 16 teen murders in London so far this year. Of these fi ve were in Edmonton, where I live. Three of them I knew, and one of them I knew very well. He was a really good friend and a lovely boy who didn’t deserve to die at 16. He avoided trouble. He was the joker of the group. He died from a fractured skull. Police believe he’d been hit over the head during a brawl two weeks earlier but hadn’t reported it. An 18-year-old is due to appear before magistrates later, and police are still quizzing a 21-year-old and a 15-year-old.

16

Lost a Friend Gained An Angel

Yasmin Rose on the teenage violence that killed her friend.

ram

el

yasm

in

-

For advice on this or any other issue see the list of local services in the directory on p27.

He asked me if I knew where someone was, I said no, he smiled and winked and walked off. I never knew that this was goodbye.

What can solve street crime? Nothing. There have been many talks in my area about street crime, and young people have come and joined in the discussions but still go out there and do this madness. Everyone should stop the fi ghting because no one deserves to die young like my friends.

Many of his closest friends got a tattoo saying R.I.P. with a cross, and some others made a song for him.

I have cried many times. Crying won’t make him come back, but talking about it helps sometimes. Writing this I have had a tear in my eye at least twice. When I got the phone call to say he was dead I couldn’t believe it. My fi rst words were ‘no, you’re lying!’ The fi rst thing I thought of was his family, especially his older brother who was a good friend of mine, because they were very close. I thought if my older sister died, I wouldn’t be able to live.

I remember the last time I spoke to him. I was at the bus stop and he called my name in a funny voice he always used.

“He was the joker of the group. He died from a fractured skull”

17

\A big argument is coming- so don’t be selfi sh, try helping at home, being understanding towards your friends or they won’t be happy about you.

18

Sep. 23 - Oct. 23LibraLying today will get you in a lot of trouble, which will have some very bad consequences for you, so be prepared for the worst.

Aug. 24 - Sep. 22VirgoA relationship will begin to fall apart today, your partner is hiding something. It is bothering them - you have done something they are not happy about.

Jul. 24 - Aug. 23LeoA bad exam result or a test score will arrive, so be prepared. Try not to blame anyone, this happened because you were lazy.

Horoscope By Marijah Plavska

Cancer Jun.24 - Jul. 23

19

llew

elly

n

orla

ndo

cam

ila

tony

jano

s

Mar. 21 - Apr. 20AriesJust when you were thinking life couldn’t get any worse - things are about to get nasty and tearful - this will last for a while.

May 23 - Jun. 23GeminiGlasses will break, sandwiches will fall out your hands, plates will crash - this will be a very messy day. Try to concentrate more on what you are doing.

Apr. 21 - May 22TaurusYour friends think that you’re very boring so try to do something that will make them laugh or it will get nasty. Who likes boring people?

Aquarius Jan. 20 - Feb. 18Bad things will follow you around everywhere, all the time. Think about changing or they won’t go away. Remember that nobody likes nasty people.

Dec. 22 - Jan. 19CapricornAn item that is truly valuable to you will be lost today, and you won’t fi nd it - don’t even bother looking. You might not even notice!

Nov. 23 - Dec. 21SagittariusA negative force will enter your life today and it’s for the worst. It will take and keep something very important to you.

Oct. 24 - Nov. 22ScorpioIf you want a piercing to look great this summer think again, it will go manky and you won’t like it. Infections are so nasty!

Pisces Feb. 19 - Mar. 20Don’t mess with the sun today - you will get sunburn that won’t go away for at least three weeks. So forget about parties and sunbathing for a while.

Images by Camila Lopes, Janos Papp, Tony Randall, Llewellyn Harrigan and Orlando McKenzie

20

HELL X 10

In 2004 I was diagnosed with attention defi cit hyperactive disorder (ADHD).

ADHD has a large affect on me whether I like it or not. Even something simple, like walking out of my front door, takes a lot of effort. When I have something in my pocket I don’t just forget about it, I am always conscious of it being there. I have to focus on not losing anything and check that my stuff is still there in my pockets.

On a good day, having ADHD is like walking around carrying Wood Green High Road on a Saturday in your head. It’s like suffering constantly from claustrophobia. Imagine how it must feel to go to the West End at Christmas. It’s hell for everyone, but for me it’s hell x10 (although unbelievably I still regularly shop in the West End).

Terry Balson on living with ADHDADHD is mostly present during childhood and is currently considered to be a medical condition to which there is no known medical cure available. Those who have ADHD are not always the most popular because of the effect ADHD has on those around them. Someone with ADHD will fi nd it almost impossible to focus on something that is boring to them. If you have ADHD you tend not to make eye contact with people, which seems like you’re ignoring them and not listening. You are very easily distracted and avoid any form of mental work, like homework, coursework and long school projects.

Another problem is forgetfulness, which means the lost property offi ce is like a second home. Having ADHD can cause problems with peers.

For advice on this or any other issue see the list of local services in the directory on p27. 21

terr

y

This doesn’t mean we are social rejects (we are known to be quite funny) but we tend to talk a lot unintentionally and aren’t afraid to say what we think of people. You can imagine the problems this can cause.

ADHD is a neurobehavioral development disorder - something to do with the brain. Even though it affects 3-5% of the world’s population under the age of 19 not many people even know that ADHD exists, and those that have heard about it can say really stupid things like ‘Oh, you

have a disability’, ‘You’re mental’ or ‘Oh, I feel sorry for you’. Sometimes this really annoys me. I have a disability, so what? I am defi nitely not mental and I hate it when people pity me.

Other people have said things like ‘It’s just a lame excuse’ or ‘Am I supposed to feel sorry for you?’ This is also annoying because it is not just an excuse. People with ADHD do have some problems that others don’t, but it is still not an excuse to do as you want and get away with it.

In the end we are all humans. We have different problems and we deal with them in a different way.

“We aren’t afraid to say what we think of people You can imagine the problems this can cause”

22

By Chris Callegari, Kavaughn Senior, Siqi Ding, Terry Balson

Illustrations by Jonathan Florez, Ramel Boyce, Rebecca Craig, Stephanie Brown

Two weeks ago I realised I was gay. My partner and I decided to tell my mum, because she was more understanding than my dad. But she didn’t understand and started crying and when my dad came home and found out he wouldn’t even look at me. The only one who doesn’t care that I’m gay is my baby sister. I feel worthless and ashamed. What can I do?

How dare you say that! You are not worthless and you defi nitely don’t have anything to be ashamed of. I suggest you listen to: “Can’t help the way that I feel” by the Business Owls. Play it to your parents and if they still don’t understand then I suggest you get them help immediately!

Yesterday I found out that I was pregnant when I told my boyfriend he called me a tramp, I haven’t heard from him since. What do I do?

For starters you know that you are not a tramp. Give him time, he is probably scared at what you have told him. He’ll come round and you’ll be able to discuss what to do next - you should try not to make any major decisions until you have spoken to him. You should defi nitely see a doctor to make sure you’re okay.

A ony

terr

y

siqi

ch

ris

kava

ug

hn

23Everyone’s got problems, so for some serious advice, see the Directory on page 27 for a list of support services.

My problem is I can never concentrate on the thing I’m doing! When I’m in lessons, I’m usually thinking about what I’m going to do after school. When I hang out with friends, I start remembering that I haven’t done my homework. It’s really annoying, but I can’t control myself! I can’t concentrate and I’m worried that it might affect my grades.

I used to have the same diffi culties in concentrating as you.............................................................................huh? I realised that I wasn’t getting much sleep, going to bed late watching telly and playing computer. My mum made me go to bed earlier and get up earlier so I felt fresher and found it easier to concentrate. Also remember that teenage years are a strenuous time for your body, so it may be a hormonal thing.

I’ve been going out with my girlfriend for a while now. I bought her a really expensive present for her birthday - which is when things started to go a bit funny. Now she’s always got something else to do when I want to see her. She ignores my calls and texts, in fact, it seems she only speaks to me when I have something for her. I love her but I don’t see her at all - it’s really weird, what can I do?

Why not test your suspicions by buying her another really expen-sive gift and telling her about it? If she turns up, you’ll know she’s probably only interested in the presents.

ste

ph

an

ie

reb

ec

ca

ram

el

jon

oth

an

vic

toria

24

Read m

Alex Michelin on being deaf.When I casually take out my hearing aid to replace a battery, people always ask ‘What’s that?’ I explain that I’m deaf and normally their fi rst reaction is ‘Really!’ or ‘Oh’, or if I’m lucky, ‘Wow, I can’t believe I didn’t know’. Then I have to go through the process of explaining to them all about my ‘impairment’.

Deafness has a stereotype: when people think ‘deaf’ they think of someone who can’t hear a thing and has a problem speaking. I could have been talking to someone for hours but if I tell them I’m hearing impaired, they immediately raise their voice and make wild gestures that they think can help me understand.

I was going with one of my friends to meet up with some of my deaf friends, and he asked if they could hear or talk properly. I punched him on the shoulder and told him to shut up. He was only ignorant, but I corrected him and now he’s more deaf-aware. By the end of the day he’d had fun, thought my deaf mates were ok and knew it wouldn’t be awkward.

My deaf mates and I do normal things. We go out to cinemas, we have girlfriends, we play football - that’s right, you don’t have to have perfect hearing to play in a football team, we’re just more aware of where our team-mates are. When we go to the cinema we ask for subtitles if available, like when we watch TV, or we just lip read. Of course some of us may not be able to hear everything when it comes to the talking scenes or where there’s a massive explosion, but we have just got used to it and enjoy the movie anyway.

Hearing aids are a tool to help us hear better and pick up certain sounds we couldn’t hear before, and are upgraded and improved every month. My hearing aids now have a certain receiver on them which, when facing someone talking to me, amplifi es and reads the sound waves and sends it through the hearing aid into my ears whilst lowering the noise around me.

As well as using hearing aids we lip read, which is reading the movement of a person’s lips when they talk. The brain automatically translates it. When I’m at school we have a lesson dedicated to British Sign Language. We have to keep our mouths closed and cannot utter a single sound or syllable, except when we laugh, of course.

When I’m out and about with my hearing friends we talk as anyone would. We laugh, whisper, shout loudly and they know me so they treat me casually without any exceptions. When I’m with my deaf mates we sign, laugh and talk normally. It’s pretty much the same.

Being deaf is nothing to be sad about. It’s just that some of us can’t hear as well as others.

“When I’m with my deaf mates we sign, laugh and talk normally”

For advice on this or any other issue see the list of local services in the directory on p27.

alex

25

my lips