March 8, 2012 • Volume 9 • Issue 6 Northridge High School • 2901 Northridge Road • Tuscaloosa, Al• 35406

Trent ClantonNews Editor

Information Now (also called I-Now), a grading program used across Ala-bama, underwent updates in February to include a new feature with which parents can view their children’s grades online.

Jackie Hudgins, guid-ance counselor, said as long as they come to get their I-Now password, there is no reason why parents shouldn’t know how their child is doing in school.

“Some students don’t like to take progress reports and reports cards home, and now we can ensure that par-ents will know what kind of grades their students are making,” she said.

The I-Now program, cre-ated by the STI company, was required to be placed in all public schools across the state by the Alabama State Department of Edu-cation before the end of the 2011-2012 school year and cost $5.3 million dollars.

Though it offers useful features, like online access for parents, various teach-ers have had issues with the new grading program.

Pat Newman, Stu-dent Database Manager at the T u s c a l o o s a City Board of Education, said there were a lot of enroll-ment problems at the beginning of the year.

“We have also had many reports of teachers not be-ing able to use the grading function of the program. There are sometimes bugs in the system, too, but STI usually fixes them,” she said.

Though I-Now has its issues, Newman said there are advantages to the pro-gram, such as the fact that it is web-based and oper-

ates as one database that is accessible

state-wide. R i c h a r d

N o w e l l , c e r a m i c s t e a c h e r , said the I - N o w sof tware

d o e s n ’ t work as well

as it could.“I think that they didn’t

test it well enough before it was mandated to be in all schools,” he said.

Quincy Collins, English teacher, said he doesn’t have any trouble with ev-eryday use of I-Now, but runs into problems some-times with specific step-by-step tasks.

“If I have issues with it, I’ll usually ask another teacher if they know how to fix it, or I can Google it to see if I can find an answer,” he said.

Collins said he liked the idea of I-Now, but not its implementation.

“The original intent was for teachers to have access to their grades from any-where, but it seems like

it was just thrown on the teachers without any prepa-ration,” Collins said.

Some students have fluc-tuating or incorrect grades because of the program, like Sarah Cassel, junior.

“It has made some of my grade averages higher and lower than they should be, and slows down the grad-ing process because some teachers have to do grades by hand,” Cassel said.

Newman said the State Department of Education will likely continue to use I-Now.

“As long as the state re-quires its use, we don’t re-ally have a choice. They’ve put a lot into this program, and I think STI will be able to make it better in the fu-ture,” she said.

Jane YuEntertainment Editor

The United States has over $15 trillion of national debt according to usdebtclock.org.

The United States started to accumulate national debt for the Revolutionary War. The debt for the war was $75 million, but it was paid off quickly.

The amount of debt has increased a great deal since then.

Jared Lotfi, junior, said he condemns the government for causing this tremendous debt.

“Poor government spending causes the debt,” Lotfi said. “As our debt increases, our credit rating goes down.”

He said bailouts and wars are the two big obvious reasons that we have prodigious amount of debt.

Scott Johnson, math teacher, said tre-mendous amounts of debt started when we started to borrow money for entitlement social programs.

“Government should not spend money on social programs,” Johnson said. “[We need] self- reliance.”

He related debt problems with lazy peo-ple who are reluctant to work.

“We have 40 million on food stamps, and one fifth of the nation is unemployed,” Johnson said.

He said the laziness passes to the current students’ generation.

“This generation will be the first genera-tion to be worse off than the generation be-fore,” Johnson said.

He said former generations were taught better work ethic, whereas students these days play too much and are exposed too much to social media.

Johnson said a link exists between in-creasing college tuition and the United States tax-system.

“Tuition doubles because so many get free rides, not academically or athletically, but socioeconomically,” Johnson said.

He said those exemptions decrease the money colleges take in, thus tuition in-creases.

“How many people are getting privilege

by faking their socioeconomic status?” Johnson said. “Our tax system is messed up.”

Johnson said tax is the most direct and effective way for government to get mon-ey. However, he said only 50% of people pay federal income tax, not including those who are socioeconomically exempt, so less money is available to the government, and people who are taxed are overtaxed.

“We are definitely overtaxed, and gov-ernment should stop spending,” Johnson said.

He said he supports the idea of shrinking the government.

“Small businessmen have to spend so much to keep their businesses,” Johnson said. “We have to reduce regulations on business corporations.”

He also said tax is not the way to fix the debt but spending is.

“One out of four works for the gov-ernment,” Johnson said. “We have too many departments for government, and we spend too much money supplying for military. [That is a] bureaucracy.”

Barbara Beemer, French teacher, too, said she thinks the national debt is caused by the federal government spending more money that the government receives in taxes.

“The federal government has had to borrow money to cover its expenses,” she said.

She said, “If a family spends more mon-ey than it has earned, the family has to borrow money to live and to pay the bills. If that practice continues, the family goes bankrupt.”

She said one huge expense for the fed-eral government is paying Social Security to retirees.

“The workers have been putting mon-ey into the Social Security Trust Fund throughout their career,” Beemer said.

“However, the federal government has bor-rowed money from that Trust Fund to pay for other programs, and now there is not enough money left in it to continue paying what has been promised.”

She said that is why we have to borrow huge sums of money from China to meet the government our obligations to fund its program.

She said she strongly believes that the federal government has to cut spending and eliminate waste and corruption.

“As painful as it may be, the govern-ment may have to raise taxes,” Beemer said. “Cutting spending is not easy because the public expects a lot from the govern-ment.”

She said her outlook for our future is grim if the federal government continues to bor-

row more money, and the debt continues to be out of control.

“Our credit will be downgraded, again, and that will cause the government to owe more in interest on all of those loans,” Beemer said. “That increases the debt

further.”She said the public will have to be bur-

dened with heavy taxes, and the federal government could go bankrupt.

“If we want a preview of that possibil-ity, we can watch what is happening in Greece,” Beemer said.

Andrew Lattner, senior, said he does not think there is that much of a debt problem.

“Something rarely known is that debt is actually necessary for the government to function properly,” Lattner said. “The gov-ernment and the world economy are based on the sale of treasury bonds, which are forms of debt.”

He also said he thinks the Alabama State debt could have much more of an impact on students than the national debt.

“It will take dozens of years to get close to Greece which had excessive debt and major government cuts,” Lattner said.

5

10

15

20

25

30

National Debt$15,410,000,000,000

$49,215Debt Per Citizen

Population313,101,231

Unemployed23,054,654

3,824,812,630

What could be bought with the National Debt?

Super Bowl tickets

58,000,000average houses34,545,482,137Lady Gaga ticketsInfographic designed and compiled by: Alex HauserInformation from usdebtclock.org and abcnews.com

Poor government spending

causes the debt. As our debt

increases, our credit rating

goes down.“”-Jared Lotfi, junior

Parents can now view grades online with I-Now; program still has bugs

http://northridgereporter.wordpress.com

Graphic by: Alex Hauser

Infographic designed by: Alex HauserInformation compiled by: Jah’meka Baxter

Teachers, do you like I-Now?

Number of Teachers

Yes No

Allison GabrielPage 8

Black history monthpage 6

Government spending, laziness blamed for debt

2 3The Northridge ReporterMarch 8, 2012 EntertainmentOpinion The Northridge Reporter

March 8, 2012

Editor-in-Chief:

Opinion Editor:

Feature Editor:

Entertainment Editor:

News Editor:

Sports 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*

Raiha Bajwa*

Nick Motz*, Tyesha Pinnock, Sarah Katherine Barnes*, Rand Schille*, Candace Wiggins

Sara Beth Hartley*, Renu Pandit*

Trent Clanton*

Jane Yu*

Ja’’’’’’hmeka Baxter*

Rand Schille*

*Denotes state, regional and national award winners

Adviser: Susan Newell*, Spring Assistant: Ashlee Frazier

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*, Sara Beth Hartley*, Ebony Hughuley, Emma Jackson*, Maddie Mayfield, Nick

Motz*, Cece Partlow, Tyesha Pinnock, Brianna Shaw, Keith Spencer, Aasiayah Sullivan*, Marcellus Taylor, Reagan Walker,

KeamBria Washington, Candace Wiggins

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)

James Roberts

Staff Writer

It’s times like this when I get exceptionally in-furiated with the immaturity of certain students (as if I needed anything else in my life to get aggravated over.)

I mean, really? You’re going to smoke in the school? And even though you picked the bathroom there’s a consequence you either did not fore-see, realized it and didn’t care, or you thought you could pin it on the next person, which is downright diabolical.

Here’s the story: one morning in Febru-ary I went to the bathroom and was immedi-ately struck with the smell of cigarette smoke.

I admit it would’ve been wise to just go to an-other bathroom so that what happened to me after-wards wouldn’t have happened, but then again it was an emergency.

I went into one of the stalls, and what would’ve been a time for me to catch a little peace of mind was ruined by the odor of cigarettes. Then it got worse.

A policeman walked in and saw my feet under the stalls, while minding my own business.

He ruined my chances of catching a quick break from school by asking me to get out of there to make sure I was not the one smoking (May I add I was not ex-actly in the position to get out of there at the moment?) I told him it wasn’t

me. I got frisked; he found nothing that would make him suspicious, asked

for my name and that’s that. It doesn’t seem like much, but I’d rather

have not become a temporary suspect of juvenile smoking because I don’t smoke, drink or anything for that matter. I actually want to live a long, hap-py, successful life here on Earth instead of wasting away the gifts I was born with. That is all.

Roberts

Sarah Katherine Barnes

Staff Writer

My frustrations start the mo-ment I awake.

I wake up in the morning just like any other teenager, unwilling to peel my-self from the com-fort of my bed.

By the time I finally get up, it’s later than it should be, and I skip breakfast to make it to school on time.

There’s just one problem: I’m a girl, and I missed a very important part of the morning in my haste: makeup.

Luckily for me, I keep my makeup bag in my backpack, and I can just put it on in the bathroom mirror at school.

I walk into school and head for the first bathroom I spot, which is right there, conveniently placed next to the entrance of the

school. I reach out to push open the door and…

It’s locked. Understandable doors to lock

in a school: meeting room, utili-ties room, locker, teacher’s room

after the tardy bell, sup-plies closet, or a safe.

It was hard for me to understand why anyone would lock a bathroom door.

Think of all the reasons to keep a

bathroom door un-locked. Yeah, that’s

what I was thinking too. I couldn’t wrap my head around why anyone would walk out of a bathroom, turn around and lock it.

I was actually so upset over this phenomenon of bathroom door locking that it actually drove me to addressing the mat-ter in the newspaper.

I marched myself upstairs to Mrs. Box’s office and made a

complaint. To my surprise, she actually

had a few good reasons for lock-ing those doors; I was a bit em-barrassed.

Mrs. Box said she does have control over these doors, and she locks them for valid purposes.

Sometimes there are malfunc-tions with commodes. By locking the bathroom door, she’s sparing students from getting surprises when they flush the toilet.

She also said some students smoke in the bathrooms, and she has to lock the doors to those bath-rooms until the smell clears out.

There’s also someone vandal-izing the inside of the bathrooms near Mrs. Torain’s room with profane language, and the doors had to be locked until that was cleaned up. The police are still working on identifying the cul-prit.

Mrs. Box said she tries to keep all the bathroom doors open for the convenience of the students.

Barnes

Locked outInaccessible bathrooms explained to student

Use of illicit substances in bathrooms irks sophomore

Our ThoughtsRespect goes a long way

Black History Month honors the various African-Americans throughout history who sacrificed so much and worked hard at gaining equality between different races, making it a very important time of

the year for many. The staff and students of Northridge work hard at preparing

a special Black History assembly each year for students of each grade.

This assembly includes performances from the chorus group and individual monologues from chosen students, as well as a guest inspirational speaker.

But some students see it as a waste of time and just an opportu-nity to get out of class.

This results in rowdy behavior among these students in the audi-ence during the assembly, which presents the school in a very bad light in front of guests such as members of the school board.

Whether or not the topic pertains to you, simple etiquette in-cludes being respectful about it instead of loudly criticizing every-one on stage. This is something that everyone is capable of.

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Art by: Trent Clanton

Behavior at program needs to improve

2 3The Northridge ReporterMarch 8, 2012 EntertainmentOpinion The Northridge Reporter

March 8, 2012

Sara Beth Hartley

Staff writer

What was known as a historic bath house has now been transformed into a museum illustrating the history and background of Tuscaloosa and West Alabama.

In May 2005, The Alabama Department of Transportation awarded the city a grant to convert the facility into a museum. The Mil-dred Warner Westervelt Transportation Mu-seum opened its doors Tuesday, Dec. 13.

Marcellus Taylor

Staff Writer

Stealing an idol and getting chased by monkeys is more fun than it sounds. The new game “Temple Run” found in the free app section of the app store for iPods, iP-hones and iPads, has become cool to some students at school.

Samantha Burroughs, freshman, said she plays “Temple Run” every day after school.

“It’s fun and all my friends are playing it,” Burroughs said. “It’s like an arcade game because you run from monkeys and jump over obstacles.”

Daryl Pham, freshman, said he plays “Temple Run” every day.

“It’s super fun and full of action. I al-ways try to get a higher score,” Pham said.

Kayla Pate, freshman, said, “Temple Run” is about collecting coins.

“It stimulates my mind, and I play every day because it’s so addicting,” Pate said.

Photo captured by Jane Yu

The main point of Temple Run is to run away as far as you can and gain as

many coins as possible while being chased by zombie monkeys.

UNIVERSITY ORTHODONTICS

Robert C. Haraway, Jr., D.M.D., M.S.

CHILDREN & ADULT ORTHODONTICS

University Orthodontics, PC

641 Helen Keller Boulevard

Tel: (205) 553-2524

Fax: (205) 553-6617

rharaway@dbetch.net

“Your Orthodontist On The Black Warrior River”

P. MIKE UPTON, DMD, MS

752-4343Go Jaguars!

Charles Lane, Sean Miller, and Colin Hammond: 1st place in Short Film

Nicholas Pappas: 2nd place in Solo Male Acting

Nick Motz and Alex Stella: 3rd place in Duo Comedic

The museum features artifacts, replica-tions, photographs and iPad displays of Tuscaloosa’s history; reflected through riv-ers, roads, rails and other forms of trans-portation.

With today’s 21st century technology, the museum adds a “high-tech” touch while still delivering a historic and surreal look and experience.

As for the younger visitors, the museum obtains a child-friendly area—which is all hands-on so that the younger generation

can learn as well.The display area for artifacts and exhibits

in the museum has features of the original shower stalls, and the walls that were re-moved from the original design have been retained in the form of black lines on the floor that mimic the original floor plan of the bath house which was used from 1943 to 1989.

This facility will definitely benefit the community and will educate us on our city’s history.

Travel to the past: The Transportation Museum chronicles local transportation.

Transportation museum opens in Tuscaloosa

Temple Run becomes new craze

Sara Beth Hartley

Staff Writer

The theatre department will be perform-ing Once Upon a Mattress in April as their spring musical.

Craig First, junior, said he thinks the play will be enjoyable.

“[The play] is a comical retelling of the story of The Princess and the Pea,” he said.

First said when they are deciding plays, they have to think of the students.

“We have to take into account how many people would audition, the appropriateness of the play and what people will enjoy,” First said.

McCall Robinson, senior, said she thinks students and faculty will love the play.

“This show has a lot of re-ally great characteristics, and the music is great. It’s also really fun-ny with a lot of that teenage humor thrown in. Anyone who likes ‘The Princess and the Pea’ sto-ry is bound

Drama students place in Thespian contest

to love it,” Robinson said.Robinson said she auditioned for the

play.“Well, ideally, I auditioned for the

Queen,” she claimed. “But we didn’t really specify which role we wanted.”

Once Upon a Mattress will run April 27-28 at 7:00 p.m. in the auditorium.

Nick Pappas, senior, SaVannah McLaugh-lin, sophomore, and Caroline First, fresh-man, are also in the cast.

Drama department will present Once Upon a Mattress

Graphic by

Jane Yu

Photos by: Sara Beth Hartley

Photo by: Sara Beth HartleyA Moundville Indian paddles a canoe.

4 5The Northridge ReporterMarch 8, 2012 FeatureFeature The Northridge Reporter

March 8, 2012

Nick Motz

Staff Writer

In the coming 2012 presidential elec-tion, the same question is on everyone’s mind… “Who do you support?” Some say Gingrich. Others Ron Paul. And some say Obama should be re-elected.

However, what makes this election different from the others is that many high school students around us will be

eligible to vote by the time the polls open. This can be an unnerving thought. Just how politically involved are the eighteen year olds of this generation?

Connor Woodruff, senior, said, “I was never really into politics at all until Her-man Cain got big. It was really impressive to me that he was such an average guy

who could make a difference.”Interestingly enough, it ap-

pears that most students

don’t support any candidates. Not because of involvement or ignorance, but because there are simply no supportable candi-dates.

Colt Wrobel, junior, said, “This just may be the worst election ever, and I know that I don’t have the greatest understanding of politics, but it’s sad because I know more than most people.”

Some say that political involvement is not an important attribute.

Victoria Camp, freshman, said, “Poli-tics is important to an extent, but as

high schoolers we shouldn’t be too involved in anything like that.”

In the 2008 presidential elec-tion, hundreds of students dedi-

cated their support to Barack Obama.

Obama mainly won support for his charis-

ma and

youthful appeal. However, in 2012, the same following may not accompany him.

Mackenzie Underwood, senior, said, “I don’t support anyone just because they’re youthful or good looking; I support them for their views. But even then I find it hard to support anyone because they all do crooked things, and every politician seems to become consumed by greed. Even when I support someone’s views little is ever done by them to enforce these views.”

Anna Schwartz, chemistry teacher, said, “I feel that lots of students are very eas-ily influenced by those around them, and rarely know how they truly feel about mat-ters of importance.”

Many high school students, politically active or not, will all eventually turn eigh-teen, and therefore become eligible to vote. Every citizen in the United States of America has a right to vote, which was bought in the blood of the founding fathers of our country.

Demopublican? Republicrat?Newly eligible voters consider presidential possibilities

Artwork by Renu Pandit

Party

Religion

Stem cell research

Same-sex marriage

AbortionRepublican

Pro-Life

Against

Roman-Catholic

Republican

Pro-Life

Let states decide

Let states decide

Baptist

Democrat

Pro-Choice

Approve

Approve

Protestant

Republican

Pro-Life

Against

Against

Mormon

Republican

Pro-Life

Against

Against

Roman-Catholic

Against

Rick Santorum Ron Paul Barack Obama Mitt Romney Newt Gingrich

Main candidates and their views

Designed by Renu Pandit. Photos from MCT Campus. Information from www.findthedata.com.

4 5The Northridge ReporterMarch 8, 2012 FeatureFeature The Northridge Reporter

March 8, 2012

Aasiyah Sullivan

Staff Writer

Although the voting process can seem complicated, it can be fairly simple.

Katie Plott, senior, said she is very involved with poli-tics and thinks it’s important for teenagers to know about registering to vote.

“Teens should know about voting because it’s a privi-lege, and it’s a civic duty granted to us. In some countries, someone is voted for you, and you can’t have your own opinion,” Plott said.

She said knowing certain aspects of the voting process is very important. “When teens go out to vote, they should know who they are voting for and what party they are in. Also, they need to know what dis-trict they live in, so they can know the specific place to vote,” she said.

Plott said teenagers need to know all the information about each candidate.

“Before they vote, teens should research each can-didate and see their views on subjects. You can look at their personal web sites, unbiased web sites like The Washington Times, or news channels like CNN or Fox News,” she said.

Plott said watching the debates helps her make a decision on who to vote for.

“It’s important for teens to watch the political debates on TV because in my

opinion, if they are showing it on TV, it’s important. When I watch the debates, I usually look at how the candidate acts, what they stand for and how they will act on a spe-cific subject,” Plott said.

She said teens don’t think about some of the issues that are being talked about recently.

“There are some important issues that teens should know about when they vote. They should think about the ones that affect them personally,

but they should also pay attention to

national and foreign is-

sues,” Plott said.

Demopublican? Republicrat?Election Day nears, new voters begin registration, candidate selection

Along with right comes responsibility

Artwork by Renu Pandit

She said teenagers should talk about candidates with their friends, so they can get each other’s opinion.

“When you turn eighteen, you are basically an adult. You shouldn’t ignore the government, you should be in-

volved,” Plott said.Sherri Shuttlesworth, history teacher, said teens should

know about voting because they will soon make a differ-ence.

“Teens tend to think that their vote doesn’t make a dif-ference, so they just don’t participate. Politicians listen to the people who vote, and those people tend to get what they want or need. If teens want changes in the world, they must start getting involved in voting,”

Shuttlesworth said.Shuttlesworth said that register-

ing to vote is a simple process and can be done quickly.

“People can vote in the open primary, closed primary, run-off if it’s needed, a caucus in some states and the general elections,”

s h e said.Shut- tlesworth said this generation doesn’t

know if they are Democrat or Republican, so it makes their decision much harder.

“A teenager will know if they are Republican if they oppose gay marriage, and abortion, and they support gun rights.

If they are a Democrat, they will favor farmers, laborers, labor unions and ethnic minorities,” Shuttlesworth said.

She said there are few qualifications to register to vote.“You must be a citizen of the United States, you have to

reside in Alabama, and to vote in Alabama, you must be at least eighteen years old and must not have been convicted of any felony. Once you meet these qualifications, you can register. You can download a registration card at www.sos.state.al.us.” Shuttlesworth said.

Registration seen as sign of maturation

Which candidate do you support? Do you think you are politically active?

Barack Obama

Rick Santorum

Mitt Romney

Ron Paul

Newt Gingrich

22

13

9

14

5

Compiled by Jah'meka Baxter. Designed by Renu Pandit.

63 students polled.

5 2015100

15

20

Compiled by Jah'meka Baxter. Designed by Renu Pandit.

35 students polled.

Yes

No

= 5

The Northridge ReporterMarch 8, 2012News6

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Call 1-866-4AL-KIDS or visit www.dhr.alabama.gov

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Call for free confidential consultation

Sara Beth Hartley

Staff Writer

During his State of the Union speech on Jan. 24, President Ba-rack Obama proposed that all students remain in school until they reach 18.

Lane Rus-sell, junior, said she loves this idea.

“ T e e n s aren’t adults until they are 18, and they don’t have the e x p e r i e n c e yet to be out of school and living on their own,” Russell said.

Russell said she thinks school is the key for all students—no matter what.

“All students should stay in school. If there are students who are hindering the education of others, then they should be put into a different room or written up. Having kids in school keeps them out of trouble,”

Russell said.Davis Jordan, junior, said he thinks it’s

the student’s personal choice.“It’s up to the stu-

dents to decide. Since they are 18, and are now legal adults, they can make their own decisions from then on. If they feel like they want to drop out, they can,” Jordan said.

Beth Gabriel, ju-nior, said she thinks it will help with the future.

“I think the pro-posal is a great idea because if they stay in school, people will end up having a better life with bet-ter jobs to go along with it. Having a high school di-ploma can get you more job opportuni-ties than you might

think,” Gabriel said.Gabriel said she thinks this will cre-

ate more jobs.“The more students the school has,

the more teachers are needed,” Gabriel said.

Regan WalkerStaff Writer

Black History Month is about the people who have fought and sacrificed their lives so that everyone, no matter their race, gender or ethnicity, can have equal opportuni-ties in life.

The meaning of Black History Month differs among peo-ple. Some people think Black History Month is just to acknowledge black people that have played a major role in history; others take Black History Month to another level and remember all the events and people that are not so famous in history.

Quincy Collins, English teacher, said Black History Month is very important because it raises cultural awareness for the African American community.

“It gives younger generations the oppor-tunity to realize the importance of the strug-gles that African Americans had to endure,” Collins said.

Collins said Fredrick Douglas is his favor-ite person because he first had the idea that there needs to be a sense of equality for all.

“[Fredrick Douglas] was an abolitionist,” Collins said. “He realized the importance of education, but most importantly he was a visionary because he wanted things for Afri-can Americans, that other African Americans didn’t think was possible.”

He said the first thing he thinks of when he hears “Black History” is the celebration of the im-portance of African Americans.

“I think of what Black History means to me personally, especially growing up in the Black Belt of Alabama,” Collins said. “I also think of how personally I am able to witness the barriers that I break being an African American male teacher; I think I am a product of Black History.”

He said he thinks the most important events in Black History is the Selma to Montgom-ery walk and Bloody Sunday because of the national attention they brought to the Civil Rights Movements.

“The Selma march caused a lot of events to transpire for the fight for equality,” Collins said.He said that people that don’t take Black History Month seriously are depriving them-

selves of a unique and motivating experience.“[Black History Month] is not just isolated to African Americans, it is a part of U.S.

and world history,” Collins said. “People who are not knowledgeable about Black History will eventually find themselves facing the same things that African Americans faced.”

Maddy Ingram, sophomore, said the most monumental event in Black History to her is the movement led by Martin Luther King, Jr.

“[His movement] changed history,” Ingram said.Ingram said her favorite person in Black History is Rosa Parks.

“I think she made such an impact in society,” Ingram said. “She made people respect her and showed she wasn’t afraid to stand up for what she believed in.”

Erin Baggett, history teacher, said Black History Month is a time for celebration.“In one month, people in the U.S. are able to learn about historical events that have ultimately contributed to the successful development of our country,” Baggett said. “It

is also an opportunity for people to reminisce about the journey that African Americans have endured in the walk for equality.”

Baggett said Condoleezza Rice is her favorite person in Black His-tory because she symbolizes strength.

“She is highly educated in various areas. She is also capable of dealing with foreign affairs, which is quite stressful and at times controversial,” Baggett said.

She said when she hears “Black History,” she thinks about the things she learned after she visited the Civil Rights museum in Memphis this past summer. She said she was able to see another side of the Civil Rights movement.

“I saw and heard accounts of many African American men and women who personally sacrificed so much,” Baggett said. “They struggled every day, but were willing to do anything to get rid of the discrimination and prejudice they faced, even die.”

Baggett said she gets very aggravated when people question why there is a month highlighting any cause.

“I feel it shows a lack of interest on the [person’s part], but it also displays how selfish and ignorant people can be in today’s society,”

Baggett said.D’aira Branch, senior, said Black History Month means a lot to her.

“It’s the month that we can celebrate and have a good time with one another,” Branch said.Branch said her favorite person in Black History is Rosa Parks.

“She was a very strong black woman, that was willing to fight, without vio-lence, for what she believed in,” Branch said.Branch said that Black History Month is the one month out of the year that African

Americans are really noticed for their accomplishments and their role in shaping today’s society.

Black History Month sparks interest, helps teach about important historical events

President proposes new drop-out age

Condoleezza RiceImage from MCT Campus

President Obama addresses requiring students to stay in school during his State of the Union Ad-dress. Obama will be running for president again in the 2012 election.

Image from MCT Campus

Law would require school until 18 years old

Lacorey Pratcher, sophomore, recites the poem "Phenomenal Man" at the Black History Month program on Feb. 23. He was preceded by Aasiyah Sullivan, senior, who recited the poem "Phenomenal Woman." Dr. B. Joyce Stallworth from the University of Alabama also spoke at the program.

Photo by: Aasiyah Sullivan

"Phenomenal Man"by Sidney Watson

7The Northridge ReporterMarch 8, 2012 Sports

Jane Yu

Entertainment Editor

Thomas Arnold was the No.1 high school tennis player last year.

Playing tennis since the age of ten, Ar-nold said he is really strong at serving and forehand.

Arnold said he sometimes faces hard-ships playing tennis.

“The mental part is the hardest side of tennis,” Arnold said. “I get really frustrated when I play tennis.”

“It is so frustrating because no one can play his or her best all the time,” Arnold said. “No one always plays well.”

Arnold said he gets frustrated when he loses to someone he should have beaten.

“I really get mad and my reaction af-ter the game just depends on how bad the game was,” Arnold said.

Arnold said that during the game he calms himself with “deep breaths.”

“Once I was losing by 6-0, 5-0, and I came back and [beat] some guy from Loui-siana,” Arnold said. “That was my best match.”

David Arnold, Thomas’ brother, said Thomas is “smart, athletic, but sometimes shy.” But most of all, he contributes greatly to the tennis team.

Another star of the tennis team is David Cooper, senior, from Texas.

“My intensity keeps me working as hard as I can,” Cooper said.

Calling himself “competitive,” Cooper

said his first experience with a tennis com-petition was when he was twelve.

“It [the competition] was the first time to lose,” Cooper said, “so [at twelve years old] I started to cry.”

He said the best match he ever played was a match which he lost.

“I was a sophomore, and it was the semi-final,” Cooper said. “I played against the No.5 kid in Texas.”

Cooper said that although he lost, he learned a lot and tried his best.

Cooper said losing is hard on everyone and, he is no exception.

“Whenever I lose, I definitely like to be left alone and sometimes say things that I should not say,” Cooper said. “But later, I try to think of a way to be better next time.”

Cooper said, losing just reminds him of one simple fact: in tennis there is always someone who is better than you.

“You always have to work to be better,” Cooper said. “You get what you put into it.”

John Cain, tennis coach, said he thinks the boys tennis team has the potential of being the strongest team in several years.

“The majority of the team from last year came back,” Cain said, “and they have been working hard off season also.”

Cain said Thomas has been playing for Northridge since he was in 8th grade.

“Thomas has been an epitome of a lead-er,” Cain said.

Cain said, “He [Cooper] will make ev-eryone stronger, if he does what he is ca-pable of doing.”

David Cooper, senior, makes

a serve at practice. Cooper

moved here from Texas this

year and has been playing

since his freshman year.

Arnold, Cooper bring experience to team

Sara Katherine Barnes

Staff Writer

It was just six years ago when Faith Lan-caster, senior, began playing basketball for Tuscaloosa Middle School. Now, the high school standout has accumulated over 1000 points for the Jaguars.

She said she hopes to continue her career at the college level either at the University of Georgia, Mississippi State or the Uni-versity of Alabama, which is her father’s alma mater.

Senior Sarah Stuart praised her team-mate.

“She’s smart and pretty with a bright fu-ture,” Stuart said. “She’s such a great play-er, and she’s been making awesome shots since seventh grade.”

Head coach John Cain said Lancaster is

Outstanding Athlete:Faith Lancaster

a model student and athlete.“She is a fitting example of what my

daughter should strive to be,” Cain said.Lancaster seems to be following right

in her father’s footsteps. Her father Bry-ant Lancaster winner of the 1991 Alabama “Mr. Basketball” award, played basketball for the University of Alabama.

Mr. Lancaster said he believed being a former basketball player influenced his daughter to play basketball. He said that he’s been practicing with her since she was six years old.

Teammate Aerial Horton, junior, said that Lancaster is a huge asset to the team.

“She is motivating with a great sense of humor that keeps everybody going dur-ing practice,” Horton said. “Since seventh grade, she has never had a negative atti-tude.

Bright future ahead for motivated senior

She’s smart and pretty with a bright future. She’s such a great player, and she’s been making awesome shots since seventh grade.

“

”Sarah Stuart, senior

Thomas Arnold, senior, hits a forehand while return-ing a ball during practice. Thomas is the number two seed for the team. He has been a member of the high school team since eighth grade.

Girl’s soccer checkpointSeason Stats:Wins: 4

Losses: 2 “This year we are more like friend’s than ever before,” Mary Leigh Derry, sophomore, said.

Photo by: Beth Allaway

Photo by: Nick Motz Photo by: Beth Allaway

Faith Lancaster, senior, sets up to shoot a free throw at the NHS vs. TCHS game on Jan. 13.

Served

Photo by: Blake Benson

Graphic by:

Trent Clanton

March

8, 2012 Volum

e 9 Issue

6

8Beat

The Northridge Reporter

March 8

, 2012

Alex

Hauser

Edito

r-in-Ch

ief

Passing the exit examsA

llison Gabriel, senior, never

quits.She said she “tries to do every-

thing a hundred and ten percent,” w

hether it is basketball or study-ing for classes.

Allison’s m

om, Susan G

abriel, said that passing the graduation

exam w

as just another goal to ac-com

plish, and they had God be-

hind her. “That w

as just my goal for her,

to graduate. I knew G

od was go-

ing to let her. For her to get where

she is, she works hard,” Susan

said. A

llison passed her last portion of the exit exam

s, the history por-tion, during the first sem

ester of her senior year.

“I felt absolutely amazing, and

when I passed it, I thought I w

as sm

arter than anyone, which I am

, because I’m

a senior,” she said, laughing.

Her m

other said “she likes to study. She likes to w

rite. She w

rote facts over and over again. That’s how

she passed the history part.”

Allison’s

sister, B

eth, said that she w

as really ex-cited w

hen Allison passed

the history portion.“I know

she’s a hard worker

and all of her hard work paid off,”

Beth said. “She has a really good

mem

ory. She remem

bers ev-erything. I knew

she could [pass] it.”

Relationship with God

Allison

said she

knew

she would pass it because she

had God on her side.

“My m

om told everyone to

pray that I would pass the exit

exams, and G

od answered our

prayers,” she said. “I really want-

ed to graduate, so it was im

por-tant that I passed. G

od helped me

with that.”B

eth said Allison prays for ev-

erything, “big or small.”

“I pray because I feel like I’m

talking to G

od about

what

is going on in m

y life. I know H

e cares. H

e always helps m

e with

my struggles and gets m

e out of darkness,” A

llison said.A

llison even prays for her bas-ketball team

, who w

ent 25 and 6 this season.

Senior strives towards excellence despite lim

itations“I ask G

od to help us win all

the games. That’s w

hy we had a

great season,” she said.

BasketballA

llison has been playing bas-ketball since she w

as six and played on the school’s girls bas-ketaball team

.“I’ve been playing for a long

time, but I’m

ten times better

than when I first started playing,”

she said. “It helps me m

ake new

friends, and I like having some-

thing to focus on.”Susan said A

llison practices all the tim

e when she is at hom

e.“She has alw

ays liked playing. In sixth grade she got a basketball clipboard and w

as researching basketball plays,” Susan said.

Allison is an encourager to her

teamm

ates and they encourage her in return.

“I try to keep the team m

oti-vated w

hen they feel down be-

cause they do the same for m

e,” she said. “W

e all love each other like sisters, w

e’re a Northridge

family.”

Susan said she had the team be-

hind her, and their support helped her score three goals during the season.

“The whole team

cheers her on. W

hen she scored, they jumped up

and high fived her. They encour-age her during practice, too,” she said. “She’s a good cheerleader. She has confidence in everyone. They can do anything. She gets discouraged

because she

can’t run as fast as anyone, but it’s just because she’s 4’ 10”.”

During a gam

e at Hillcrest, the

coach called her to go into the gam

e, but she had to take off a bracelet she had on after a C

hris-tian conference.

“I didn’t want to take it off be-

cause I wanted to tell m

y friends about the next conference. It w

as a rem

inder,” Allison said. “M

y m

om yanked it off m

y arm. She

knew I w

as going to score. And

I did.”Beth said she loved w

atching A

llison play during the season.“She’s

really enthused

about playing. It’s her senior year and she’s excited to play. You can just see that she’s having fun,” she said. “I get so nervous [w

hen I watch

her play]. Whenever she gets the

ball I get an adrenaline rush. I w

ant her to score so badly.”

FriendshipsA

llison said she has a “really strong relationship” w

ith her sis-ter, and they don’t fight, they just pick on each other.

“We don’t fight nearly as m

uch as other sisters do. W

e get along really w

ell,” Beth said.

Allison

and Beth

encourage each other in everything they do.

“I just feel that I’m glad to

know

that som

ebody’s alw

ays there to support m

e. I like know-

ing she’s always there for m

e. She’s m

y biggest fan,” Beth said.

Susan said that Allison has a

“heart like Jesus” and is friends w

ith everybody.“She’s very friendly. She loves

being around people and knows

everybody’s name,” Susan said.

Beth said that A

llison is a big role m

odel because she is very forgiving and loves everybody.

“Allison is that type of person

that know

s everyone,

whether

they know her or not. I tell every-

one that you could go punch her in the face, and she w

ill still love you. She never holds a grudge, even

when

she should,”

Beth

said.A

llison said that she was m

eant to be friends w

ith everybody.“G

od told me to be friends w

ith people, so I am

,” she said.Susan said that her philosophy

is not to set limits, to try it and

fail, instead of not trying at all.“W

hen it comes back to it,

we just used w

hat was given to

us. We w

ould focus on what she

needed to work w

ith,” she said.

http://northridgereporter.wordpress.com/

Photo by: Beth Allaw

ay

Allison

Gabriel,

senior, guides

her team

to

victory against

Hillcrest on Jan. 2

0. The team

went

on to

beat Hillcrest

71-

50.