By Quinn Kerscher

Co-Editor

“I was 14. I went to a fire tower with a friend, and we sat in their car… we weren’t driving. We just sat there. And the person crushed them up, and then I snorted them. That was the first time I ever did them,” said a former Northwood stu-dent (who, for the purposes of this article, will be called Terry Smith), talking about the first time they got high by abusing prescription pills. Smith was one of several students who was charged with the pos-session of and/or distribution of prescription pills around September and October. “Teenagers—and even adults—are using pills… it’s a growing trend we’re seeing in America and in the schools,” school resource officer Herbie Stubbs said. Students are able to get pills from drug dealers, their own bath-room cabinets or other students. Junior Lane Poag, who has two legal

prescriptions, has been asked by other students to “share” before. “At first I was kind of shocked… then I finally, sort of, manned up and was able to be like: ‘Hey, it’s not safe, and it’s dangerous, and you don’t need to, you know, be doing it. And if you want to, get it from somebody else,’” Poag said. In the beginning, Smith primarily got pills from friends “If my friends have it, then I have access to it. That makes it easier for me to try something I might not usu-ally try,” Smith said. Smith maintains that peer pres-sure did not factor into the use of those first few pills. “I really just wanted to try,” Smith said. Soon after, Smith started buy-ing from drug dealers. Smith was expelled from school earlier this year for carrying out a drug deal on school grounds. Due to the recent up-kick in pill related charges at Northwood and throughout the country, the school

has been collaborating with a group of nine students from the Univer-sity of North Carolina School of Medicine and their professor, Shawn Kneipp, on a pill abuse awareness campaign. The campaign made its debut in the form of a school-wide assembly held in early February. Most, if not all of the students in the group have worked with addicts in the past. One student, Lydda De Guia, was employed at a place where she helped addicts try to regain their lives after rehab. “I had met several people who started as teenagers with prescription drug use…you become friends with these people and… I just remem-ber one day [one of them] ended up leaving [the sobriety program] because his parents wouldn’t pay for it anymore. Within a week he was dead,” De Guia said. Another student in the group, Kai Moreb, witnessed a friend become ad-dicted to pills when he was a teenager. “Until about 10th grade we were really good friends, and then he

started getting into other things… and about a year after we gradu-ated, he went to rehab for the first time,” Moreb said. “He’s been to rehab at least three times since then. He’s currently in jail for armed rob-bery.... He went to go sell pills to a friend of his, and then robbed the guy for his money instead… so, it gets pretty serious.” The physical risks pill abusers face are numerous. According to kidshealth.org, certain pills can cause heart failure, seizure, a decreased ability to think, decreased respiratory function and can induce coma. It is also widely known that repeated pill abuse can cause liver disease. Pills are just as easy to get addicted to as many street drugs—perhaps even more so, because of their availabil-ity—and they are notoriously easy to overdose on. In the US, one death because of prescription pills occurs every 19 minutes (drugfree.org). Smith was aware of these risks, but used pills anyway. Smith attributes

Northwood High School • Pittsboro, N.C. www.nhsomniscient.com

- THE NORTHWOOD -

OMNISCIENT(om-nish-ent) adj.: having infinite knowledge and awareness

march 15, 2013 • Volume 6 • Issue 4

What’s Inside...

Teens have grown up with social networks and are not shy about document-ing their lives online.

Page # 3

Sharing your whole life

What Influences You?

The Omniscient looks at what influences teens at Northwood.

Page # 6-7

The new a cappella club is part of a grow-ing vocals program.

Page # 8

NHS vocals expands

Senior Year: Big news, tough decisionsBy Ally DeJong

Co-Editor

This year The Omniscient has been following three seniors, Monte Smith, Diane Thompson and Pedro Becquer-Ramos, on their journeys through senior year as they prepare to gradu-ate and attend college. This is part two of the three-part series. To see the beginning of these students’ stories, go to www.nhsomniscient.com.

Diane Thompson “After riding 45 minutes from Pittsboro to Northern Durham, I really had to use the restroom, so I decided that I would go to the restroom. Just keep in mind that I had been continuously checking my email all day await-ing an email from the scholarship program,” Thompson said. “So I went to pee and I was just refreshing [the page] because I’m bored on the toilet and I saw that I had a notification, so I saw it and it said “Congratulations” and I just started screaming... I probably scared the whole soccer team.” On March 8, just after arriving to Northern Durham for her soccer game, Thompson found

out she was a Morehead-Cain scholar, while on the toilet. “I had to get Maria [Vanderford] to double check it and see if it really said ‘Congratula-tions’ so I wasn’t just imagining it, then I called my mom and started crying,” Thompson said. Thompson and 63 others around the world have been chosen from over 2,200 initial ap-plicants and is the first female in Northwood’s history to get the scholarship. “It just felt good to get rewarded for all of my hard work all four years. I didn’t real-ize how good of a school Carolina was until I heard more about it,” Thompson said. “I’m numb, very numb. I don’t know how to react. I didn’t expect to get this far.” The Morehead-Cain scholarship is a four-year merit scholarship that includes full tuition, student fees, housing, meals, books, laptop and supplies; it also includes a four-year summer enrichment program. Mathematically speaking, Thompson is in the top 3 percent of the original pool of ap-plicants and had a 45 percent chance of getting the Morehead-Cain scholarship out of only 122

Adolescents and abuse: a deadly combinationJessica clayton/the omniscient

see PILLS page 4

see SENIORS page 4

ally DeJong/the omniscient

DIANE THOMPSON shows off her More-head-Cain acceptance notification to excited teammates last Friday.

Diane Thompson wins prestigious Morehead-Cain scholarship

March 15, 2013The OmniscientPage 2

Briefs

Northwood DECA competed in the NC-DECA Ca-reer Development Conference. After competing with 2,500 students and in 45 different competitive events, 11 students qualified to advance to the International compe-tition in Anaheim, CA in April. Northwood DECA is on top of the Chatham County list once again.

The Northwood Quill team won first place in the state level Quill writing competition March 2. The participants were Frances Beroset, Jacob Friedman, Quinn Kerscher and James Calhoun. Calhoun won first in the state for his category, problem/solution. This was the teams first year of competition. See www.nhsomniscient.com for more.

DECA students advance to nationals Quill team wins states

State exams eliminate exemption policy for most classesBy DAnA WAlKer

Staff WritEr

The North Carolina Legislature has made changes to the policy concerning “Measures of Student Learning,” otherwise known as common exams. These exams are now required for core classes in all North Carolina schools, meaning that local school policy can no longer grant exemp-tions from end-of-semester core exams. Chatham County chose to implement this change mid-year. “The exemption was like an incentive to do well and come to school,” sophomore Jerry Silvestri said. “It makes me mad. I wish they had done it next year instead of during the middle of the school year.” Silvestri, like many other students, is now required to take the common exams in both pre-calculus and chemistry, from which he could have been exempt if he had taken the courses first semester. Chatham County officials did not have much say in the new exam policy, except that the county was allowed to choose whether to implement it first or second semester. “It was a county decision. As a county, we elected to wait for second semester, just to see how [the exams] went,” principal

Chris Blice said. “Having talked to some principals at other schools who did them first semester, I think that it was wise to wait. I agree there’s inequity, but I don’t think it will be a big problem.” According to Blice, one problem that the other high schools ran into with implementing the policy first semester was that students were not given enough time to complete the exams and many did not finish them. As a result, the state plans on shortening the length of some exams this semester. Chatham County was also allowed to decide the final percent value of the com-mon exams and had the option to make the exam either a big test grade in the third six-week period or make it a percentage of the final grade. The decision was to make it 25 percent of the final grade. “I personally think that it’s harmful to the students because the old exam exemp-tion policy gave students a reason to want to come to school and not miss many days and to get good grades,” junior Emma Korynta said. “They don’t have as much of a reason now because they’re all going to have to take exams anyway.” The new exam policy has influenced students such as Korynta to consider taking

more sick days because they are no longer rewarded with being exempt from exams. “If I used to be sick, I would probably come to school anyway, and [now] there’s a lot better chance that I’ll stay home a day or two if I’m really sick,” Korynta said. Silvestri, who is required to take his common exams, believes the result of tak-ing the exams will be the same no matter how many days he misses. While common exams are seen in a negative light from the perspective of students like Sil-vestri and Korynta, the North Carolina Legislature thinks differently. The goals of the “Measures of Student Learning” include develop-ing and increasing the effectiveness of teachers and seeing evidence of achieve-ment and growth for all students. As well as the Legislature, some students see merit in

taking the exams. “On one hand I feel that it’s good because it’s going to prepare students for college, because in college you won’t get the option to get exempt from your exams,” junior Moli Eddins said. “But I also feel like the student should be rewarded for not missing school days and keeping up with their grades.” While exams are required in all core classes, exam exemptions can still be granted in non-core classes.

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By JessicA clAyton

Co-Editor

Today’s teenage generation differs greatly from the generations before. One reason for this is the oh-so-easily accessed Internet from smartphones, laptops and any other electronic device that stays glued to teens’ hands. Social networking sites make it so teens are able to document the details of their lives like never before. “I get bored and they’re easy to use in any place, really. I usually post about my mood or if I’m mad about something, or happy about something, or excited about something,” senior Gloria Rodriguez said. Using social networking sites when angry comes as an urge to some people.

“I tweet when I’m angry because it’s just an impulse I have. If I can’t express it to somebody else, my phone is right in my hand. I can just tweet it and express myself and it’s a relief,” Rodriguez said. Some try to keep what they post to a minimum. “I like to see what other people are doing. I don’t put everything in my life on Twitter or Instagram, but I put just a fair amount of stuff, not my whole entire story,” junior Briana Green said. Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube are only some of the social net-working sites and apps that teens access via the Internet and their phones. “I use [Twitter] everyday. It’s like a way of expressing myself and ex-pressing my feelings without telling somebody face to face,” senior David Candelori said. Compared to teens, adults have a different perspective on what teens post. Counselor Telisa Hunter feels like teens document their lives on the Internet. “I think that we have a lot of teens who feel like everyone needs to know what they’re doing all the time and so they document where they are and what they’re doing, which can have some dan-gerous impact,” Hunter said. Social networking sites provide a place for teens to be more open than any other generation. It is basically a way to document their lives. While some people post their thoughts and information freely, others are more reserved. “I try not to [document my life], although some people do that on Twit-ter. I don’t like it because it’s your life, it should be private,” sophomore Trent Cline said. Despite what some may think, docu-

menting your life on social networking sites can have a large impact on your future. “I’ve had a college actually contact me and tell me that they thought it would be best if a person took down their Facebook page because of what they had posted,” Hunter said. “It was actually painting a very negative picture of them and was causing that college not to con-sider them to get in.” Social networking can provide a way for teens to look back in the future on their lives and experiences. It would be like a scrapbook or photo album, but more intimate. “When I get older I’m probably going to sign back into Twitter and be like, ‘This was what I was saying when I was 17, 18 years old.’ I feel like there’s going

to be a bunch of stuff to smile about,” senior Charles Hope said. Others, however, already feel regret-ful looking back on what they’ve previ-ously posted. “I look back at stuff I’ve posted months ago, and I’m like, ‘What was I thinking?’” Rodriguez said. Whether they’re tweeting, putting pictures on Instagram or posting on Facebook, teens should be aware of how they are exposing their information for the world to see. “Sometimes we think we are the only ones that can see it, but it’s out there for everybody, especially on Twitter,” Hunter said. “Teenagers are not as con-cerned about their future and how [social networking] could impact the future as some adults are.”

Social media overload: Some teens share it all

ally DeJong/the omniscient

TEENAGERS have a tendency to document their lives through the use of so-cial networking websites.

Teens And Social Media• Fully 95% of all teens ages 12-17 are now online and 80% of those online teens are users of social media sites• 69% of parents of online teens are concerned about how their child’s online activity might affect their future academic or employ-ment opportunities• 69% of parents of online teens are concerned about how their child manages his or her reputation online•Source: http://pewinternet.org/

this to, at once, “liking the way they felt” and “being the kind of person that wants to try some-thing at least once.” Smith claims to have been as careful as possible when using pills. “The time I would say I was the most risky with a pill was drinking alcohol while doing pills. That can be very dangerous, if you drink too much, or do too many pills,” Smith said. Some pill-using students at school think dif-ferently about the risks. “I am not going to overdose because I am not stupid,” a female junior said. Another female junior finds pills “more predictable because they’re designed for people, so you’re not go-ing to have a bad trip, or really get sick unless you take a lot.” In addition to physical risks, pill abusers face a number of legal risks that Adrienne Himmelberg, a member of the UNC group, dubs the “cascade of consequences.” “Once you get that felony charge—which would be the person who has the prescription and passes it out, doesn’t need to sell it, just hands it to another person—once that person is charged with a felony there are a multitude of careers that they can no longer pursue: anything in the medi-cal field, anything where you would carry a weapon, military, beautician’s license, hunting license,” Himmelberg said. Melia Stanek, another student from the group, expressed a similar warning: “These consequences can come down the line, even if you’re charged and it gets dismissed or expunged. It’s still going to affect

you. It’s not, like, an ‘easy out’ pass.” Terry Smith is currently undergoing the process of expungement. This is a legal proce-dure in which a first-time offender can attempt to have portions of their criminal record sealed or destroyed. “I could say I’ve never been charged nor con-victed, even though I really have,” Smith said. Smith debates the ethics of this loophole.

“It does seem like you’re cheating the truth, that’s the thing.... Basically, it’s like you’re paying money to be innocent. Which, to me, seems like a corrupt way to handle it; and a somewhat deceitful way to handle it, but I’m going to use it since it’s available,” Smith said. In the next step of the awareness program, the UNC students will create a web site on which they will address student questions and concerns about pill abuse. For additional sup-port, there will also be two students from the group at

Northwood every Tuesday. “I’m glad we’re having [the pill abuse pro-gram] because I feel like it could change some people’s lives and make them look at life in a different point of view, and hopefully turn their lives around,” a male senior said. Some of the students at the school who use prescription pills illegally look at the program in a different way. “The pill abuse campaign isn’t going to change the problem—if there is a problem. It was funny, because we were just joking about it,” one female junior said. Jessica Clayton contributed to this story.

Page 4 The Omniscient March 15, 2013

PillsCONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

SeniorsCONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

• over 40% of youths believe that abusing prescription drugs is safe

• every day, 2,500 people (age 12 to 17) abuse a pre-scription pill for the first time

• of all drug overdoses, those from prescription drugs are the most common • the average age for a first-time pill user is now 13 or 14 years old

www.mass.orgwww.drugfreeworld.orgSources

Facts:

applicants in the final round. For the final round, Thompson toured the campus with current Morehead-Cain schol-ars, heard feedback from previous scholars and had two 20 minute interviews. “Basically, I had to sell myself. If you asked me on Monday how [the interviews] went I would have said great, but on Friday if you asked me how they went, I probably would have said awful,” Thompson said. “I was thinking about it more and all the stuff I could have said wrong. I guess [the interviews] went pretty well considering I got the scholarship.” Recently, Thompson was also awarded a Coca-Cola scholar-ship which guarantees $2,000 per year. Since Thompson got the Morehead-Cain scholarship, that money will most likely be directed to miscel-laneous expenses and graduate school. Although originally leaning toward out-of-state schools, Thompson says she will be attending UNC because of the scholarship, and if she didn’t, “My dad would kill me.”

Monte Smith Smith, who once aspired to play Divi-sion I football, is now looking at Division II or III schools because he missed more than half of his senior season due to his torn meniscus injury. “[My injury is] doing good; it’s holding up pretty well. I just make sure I don’t go too hard be-cause I’m trying to make sure I’ll be able to play football,” Smith said. ”It felt really good when I came back. I played really well and I had a lot of tackles, no interceptions though, just a lot of tackles.” Smith has applied to Wesleyan College, Wingate University, Methodist University, East Carolina Univer-sity, UNC-Greensboro and UNC-Charlotte. So far, he has gotten accepted into ECU and UNC-G, and won’t know about the other schools until April 1. “It felt really good [when I got accepted] because I have been waiting for it for so long,” Smith said. “I kept thinking maybe I didn’t get in. I kept going to the counseling office and my first [acceptance] was from UNC-G. My mom and grandparents were all really excited for me.” Competing with healthy athletes was a big challenge that Smith faced when college programs tried to scout him. “I didn’t have a lot of stats to send in, so I had competition with other people that had stats and I didn’t,” Smith said. “[Coaches] told me I could probably walk on and not have a scholarship, or I could go to a D-2 school and have a half scholarship and half education.” At the moment, Smith says his top choice

school is UNC-C because it has a new foot-ball program. “I talked to my coaches to see if I had a chance or not to make the football team, and they feel like I have a good chance,” said Smith about his prospects as a walk-on. “I feel like as a football program it would be good, because they’re starting

off new.” Smith is still “110 percent” sure he will be playing college football and that nothing will let him fall short of that dream. “My thoughts [on the future] are going to a good college to play football, still, even though I don’t know where I’m going to end up.”

Pedro Becquer-Ramos “I think about the things I do today, tomorrow and the things I will be doing in a year. I’m kind of optimistic about it, I always have been,” Becquer-Ramos said about his future. “I know my potential, and it just keeps increasing; there has been a trend.” Becquer-Ramos has applied and been accepted into UNC-G, ECU, Appalachian State, NC State and UNC-Chapel Hill. He is still waiting to hear from Duke and Davidson. ECU was the first school he got accepted to.

“When I went to my profile and it had the letter, I was really nervous,” Becquer-Ramos said. “The server was really busy so I had to try logging in like 100 times and every time I thought I was going to get a message. [My parents] knew I was going to get in. They were more confident than I was.” Becquer-Ramos has been ac-cepted into ECU’s honors college,

which will pay for all of his tuition. He says that he is now more closely considering ECU because of the “good financial package.” Last weekend he received a letter in the mail awarding him $4,000 for any col-lege from the North Carolina Society of Hispanic Professionals. “It’s definitely something that I think about everyday,” Becquer-Ramos said. “Right now all I’m thinking about is scholarships. I’m pretty excited for what’s coming up for me.” Becquer-Ramos has a tough decision ahead of him. He ultimately wants to go to the best school and not base it on money. “I want to go to the better school because, either way I’m going to apply for private scholarships to pay for my schooling. I mean, I just think the oppor-tunities are better,” Becquer-Ramos said. “I’m still considering all of them, but I would feel more comfortable studying engineering at State.”

PeDro BecQuer-rAmos

monte

smith

The OmniscientMarch 15, 2013 Page 5

By KAsey JenKins

Staff WritEr

Heavy book bags may cause negative ef-fects on high school students’ bodies. Stud-ies have shown that students are recom-mended to only carry 5-10 percent of their body weight in a book bag, but many of North-wood’s stu-dent body carry more than that. Out of 30 book bags weighed, the average weight was 19.2 pounds. If that number were 5 percent of a student’s body weight, then that would mean that the average high school stu-dent would weigh 384 pounds. If the bag represents 10 percent of body weight, the average high school student would weigh 192 pounds. “I think my book bag may make up about one fourth of my weight and I don’t think that you should have to carry that much weight around for hours a week,” junior Austin Vohwinkel said. The majority of students surveyed think that heavy book bags can cause long-lasting back problems, but most are not sure if it is really true. “I think backpacks cause back problems because of the heavy stress it puts on teen-agers’ shoulders and backs,” senior Abigail

Waite said. According to science teacher Sarah Rob-ertson, it is true. “There have been studies showing that the kids are carrying much more than the

recom-mended weight on their backs,” Robertson said. “If you look at six year olds com-ing home from kin-dergarten with their backpacks that are gi-ant on their itty-bitty frames, some of

them are carrying about 50 percent of their body weight. That can cause back issues later on in life if we don’t come up with a way to ameliorate [fix] this problem.” In a poll of students, the average number of textbooks carried in a book bag on a daily basis was between one and two, and the average number of binders was two. The average textbook weighs between three and five pounds. Throw in two of those, a laptop, charger, calculator, binders and whatever else the average high school stu-dent needs, and it really adds up. Some students make the argument that the e-textbooks are better because they take up less space, give them less to keep up with and are more convenient. “Laptops make it easier with the text-books online, but when the books aren’t online and we have to carry them and the

laptops, too; it’s just a hassle,” senior Whit-ney Howerton said. Many students prefer the laptops, but the school may be unwilling to give up text-books completely. “Studies have shown that students who are reading actual textbooks and manually flipping the pages retain information a lot better than they do from reading online,” Robertson said. Some teachers, like Robertson, still favor the physical textbooks. “It definitely does lighten their load because they can carry four textbooks in the space of a laptop, but it’s not a complete substitute for reading. It’s great for weight, but not necessarily for retaining informa-tion,” Robertson said. The main issue is whether a student would rather have a better understanding

of what they have learned or have a healthy back. Robertson and a few others, like English teacher Lisa DeLorenzo, are allowing students to check out a textbook and leave it at home. They then use the e-textbooks or another set of textbooks in class. It saves the students’ backs and still allows them to get the full benefit of manually reading through the textbooks. “If we’re going to be working on things in class, I realize that I don’t want them to be carrying huge amounts of weight on their back and there’s only so much room in classrooms,” Robertson said. “Class sizes are getting bigger and backpacks take up the room of a student. I’d say that we should use our e-textbook when in class, but for learning purposes use the real textbook at home, then leave it there.”

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kasey Jenkins/the omniscient

NORTHWOOD STUDENTS feel crushed by the weight of their book bags.

Wha

t Inf

luen

ces Y

ou? March 15, 2013

“My mom, b

ecause she

’s always

helping me

make righ

t choices

in

life like

saying no

to drugs,

getting go

od grades

and stayin

g

in school.

” -Michael

Shipe

Have the individu-als in your life had a huge effect on the way you have developed? Yes. Do you like to read? To this you will answer “yes” or “no.” Now, if you are curi-ous about this—which probably also depends on your upbringing—go home and ask your parent/guardians if they read to you when you were younger. Their answers prob-ably correlate directly with your own interest

in reading (if they do not, look to other influ-ences from your past). In my own case, I am currently in the middle of three books at once, piling on more every day, and my mom says there was not a night she didn’t read to my siblings and me. Now, it just seems like too much of a coin-cidence for the two not to be linked; I don’t believe I was born an avid reader. If I hadn’t been read to as a child,

I simply wouldn’t like to read today, and alternate-universe me wouldn’t have a prob-lem with that. Take something from the animal world (the best place to look to for honesty, if you ask me). When you go to an animal shelter, you can automatically tell which dogs or cats have suf-fered abuse. They are the shaky ones, the ones that cannot stand loud noises. This is because of the environment and

the “family” they grew up in. Humans are the same way; we are just better at internalizing our shaking—to some degree. And while that thought may seem somewhat depress-ing, look at it this way: It means that we can find, in our past, con-crete reasons why we are the way we are, and there is hardly a thing more comforting in this world than cer-tainty.

1.Family

3. School

“[School]

helps me p

repare for

college an

d differen

t professi

ons. I

feel less

inclined t

o do somet

hing

stupid tha

t could sc

rew up my

future

because I

know that

it’ll affe

ct my

ability to

get into

college an

d im-

pact my fu

ture.” -Ja

mes Calhou

n

Family MattersBy Quinn Kerscher

5%Religion

4%Own Opinion

Fashion1%

2%Jobs

We asked 200 students what in-fluences them. This graph shows

the results.

Compiled By:Jessica Clayton

Ally DeJongQuinn KerscherTyler White

Page 6

Page 7March 15, 2013

“The people that you hang out with,

you’re [always] going to go for their

opinions more than anyone else’s.

You’re going to choose their side.”

-Mikayla Pendergraph

2.Friends

4.Money

“Well I feel that money makes the

world go round. I don’t really

feel like there’s a point in liv-

ing if you don’t have money,

because money is everything. I

just love money.” -Charles Hope

High school is the time and place where kids start to break away from their parents’ rule and influence and shift to the influence of their friends. It’s your first taste of freedom and a chance to create your own identity, one largely influenced by whom you hang out with. Teens take greater account for their friends’ opinions because we feel like we can better relate to people our age than our parents. Between school, the weekends and after school activities, our friends are the people who we are

around the most, therefore the people who have the biggest influence on our opinions, styles, attitude and behavior. Their activi-ties tend to rub off on us the more time we spend with them. It is also likely that you will perform more risky or stupid behaviors when your friends are around. For example, I tend to drive a little faster than normal when my friends are in the car. I’m not completely sure what compels me to do this, but I do notice a significant change in my actions if

I’m with my friends. Ac-cording to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and State Farm, research-ers found that the teens that drive with multiple passengers considered themselves thrill seek-ers and shared similar characteristics that would increase the likelihood of a car accident (autoguide.com). It’s not just a case of over-confident kids show-ing off either; there’s a neurological reason be-hind it. The brain func-tions in two different ways, causing different

behaviors in teens. Ac-cording to Dr. B. J. Casey from the Weill Medical College of Cornell Univer-sity, teens are very quick and accurate in making judgments and decisions on their own and in situ-ations where they have time to think. When teens have to make on the spot decisions, they are often influenced by external factors like peers (heads up.scholastic.com). Teens are largely influ-enced by their peers and make decisions based on how others will perceive them or judge them.

37%Family

11%School

6%Money

5%Sports

5%Religion

4%Media

4%Own Opinion

25%Friends

Peer InfluencesBy Jessica Clayton

Compiled By:Jessica Clayton

Ally DeJongQuinn KerscherTyler White

By tAylor mAloch

Co-Editor

Almost every small town has at least one thrift shop, a place where people can bring old clothes or other items they no longer need. Shoppers then buy these things at a much lower price than retail stores. Thrift stores near Northwood include the PTA thrift store; others near Pittsboro are Plato’s closet in Durham and Uptown Cheapskate in Apex. Junior Jeremiah Smith says he shops at the PTA thrift store as well as a thrift store called Guard-ian Angel in Fuquay-Varina. “[PTA and Guardian Angel] are the main ones I go to; but if we see one on the side of the road and we have nothing else to do we go in there. Any thrift store is a good thrift store I guess,” Smith said. Popular name brands that sell at retail stores can’t stay on thrift store shelves for long. Frequent thrift shoppers have at least one piece that they bought at an im-pressive price. “I got a pair of designer heels for ten bucks and they were never worn,” junior Elizabeth Bedford said. With a variety of deals and

choices to choose from, junior Al-lory Bors shares her favorite item that she bought from a thrift store. “I got a pair of Converse for $1.50, they were brand new,” Bors said. Comparing the clothes bought from a retail store versus a thrift store, the quality is not always the same. As long as it is not dirty or torn, does it matter if the item was previously used? “I think it depends on the gar-ment. Obviously, if its underwear I’m not going to buy it, but if it’s a jacket or a pair of shoes or something, I think it’s fine,” Bors said.

Junior Emma Korynta agrees that it does not make a difference. “Personally, I kind of like the fact that it’s previously owned. It has character,” Korynta said. Not all thrift stores are the same. Sophomore Darian Lowndes, a frequent shopper at Plato’s Closet says that Plato’s Closet is different than other thrift stores. “At Plato’s Closet most of the stuff they have there is [gently used], so there is a difference be-tween that and something that has been used a lot,” Lowndes said. Thrift shops also have a reputa-tion to offer outdated things or

strange items you would not see in a department store. Depending on the item, some shoppers see it as unique, while others do not agree. “I saw a pair of sneakers, but it had a heel; it was really weird,” Bors said. Senior Dionna Bright, a fre-quent thrift shopper, also had an unusual find. “I saw one of those corset things once, it was like a full body thing,” she said. Someone who is new at thrift shopping might not know how to get the best deals. Most of the stu-dents interviewed have been thrift shopping for a few years now, and give advice to a new shopper. “Try everything on and don’t buy anything over three dollars,” Korynta said. Junior Kayla Perry also has a method while she is shopping. “Make sure you know what you’re looking for before you go in there so you don’t just pile ran-dom stuff and waste your money on everything,” Perry said. Bors agreed with Perry and added that shopping at thrift stores can be frustrating. “Just look a lot,” Bors said. “Don’t get frustrated and give up when you can’t find anything; you have to keep looking.”

By BeccA heilmAn Staff WritEr

Excitement overshadowed pre-performance jitters as the members of the new a cappella club, “Pitch, Please” stepped onto the stage for their first performance last December at the Central Carolina Winter Arts and Crafts Festival in Siler City. As the group looked out onto the small audience and sung its first notes, smiles crept onto their faces. The positive energy in the room zapped away the nerves that were present when the perfor-mance first started. “It was really nerve racking… but it felt amazing,” said Jacqueline Helgans, a freshman who takes vocals class and is a member of the a cappella club. “We did a really good job.” A cappella is a style of music that uses only voices, no instruments, to create a complete arrangement. “[A cappella] is a new way to do things,” said junior Jeremiah Hart-sock, the founder of the a cappella club. “You get to take cool music and turn it into whatever you want.” Matthew Hanson, the new vocals and guitar teacher, was all for starting the new group when Hartsock came to him about it at the beginning of the year. “It’s just a group to come together and sing and do a lot more contemporary-style stuff,” Hanson said. “When you’re in a chorus, you do a lot of music that’s with piano or with accompaniment of some sort. With an a cappella group, it’s just voices. There’s no piano, no instru-ments, nothing. All the voices are the instruments.” The a cappella club has already gotten a few invitations to perform

at events as entertainment. Hanson hopes that the group will become the face of Northwood vocals. “We’re hoping to do more performances and competitions in the future instead of just singing in the choir room by ourselves, ” said sophomore and a cappella member Katie Robbins. A cappella members like to have fun and challenge themselves by participating in the club. “It’s really harmonically based and it’s more of a challenge musically,” Helgans said. Though the club is new, the vocal program has been around since the school opened. It offers classes that range from Vocal I for beginners to Vocal IV Honors for high-level sing-ers. Students say that there are many benefits to taking the class. “It helps with confidence and you get really close to your section,” Helgans said. “Also, music is great. It improves test scores and it’s a creative outlet.” Technical elements of singing are always impor-tant, but vocal students say that the classes also help with things outside of vocals. Chelsea Korynta, a junior and a cappella club member, recommended the vocals class. “If you’re shy, [taking vocals] is a good way to break out of your comfort zone because you are in front of people, but you’re in front of people with a group, unless you’re a soloist or something,” Korynta said. “Also, if you’re trying to find another way to express

yourself and sports don’t really work for you or band or stuff like that [doesn’t work], then it’s a great way to express yourself.” Students say you don’t have to have a great voice to take vocals. In fact, the higher-level students who take it encourage those who are less experienced to try out the class. “You don’t have to be a really good singer to take [vocals],” Hel-gans said. “Choral singing is more about blend and reading music, so you can still get a really good idea of how to read music and develop your voice. If you don’t think you can re-ally sing well you’ll get better.” Some students who take part in vocals say that performing is one of their favorite aspects of it. “[I like] the feeling of being on stage,” Korynta said. “There’s parts in the music where it gets very emo-tional, and that’s the best part for me,

when you can really express yourself through it.” The vocal program hosts two formal concerts per semester and sometimes has extra opportunities to perform at different events. The next vocal concert is March 16th at the Chatham Arts Extravaganza. Hanson has already expanded the program, but growth is some-thing he says he strives for. Han-son wants to get the message about vocals out to as many students as possible. “It might sound cliché, but [I] just really [want the students to get] an enjoyment and appreciation for music,” Hanson said. “Sure, I want them to be able to sing well and have good technique and breathe and do all the things that good singers should do, but [I] just [want them to have] a desire to study about music, even after they leave high school.”

8 Striking a new note: A cappella comes to NHS

A Twist on Shopping

Becca heilman/the omniscient

TRISTAN LAWRENCE and JEREMIAH SMITH rehearse with vocals teacher Matthew Hanson at a recent a cappella practice.

taylor maloch/the omniscient

BOTH AMERICAN EAGLE OUTFITS are similar, but there is a $41 difference in price.

REVIEWS

MUSICArtist: St. VincentAlbum: Strange MercyGo Download: “Strange Mercy”

If strikingly unique music and synthesizers underneath flute solos sounds like your cup of tea, you should listen to Strange Mercy. It is the third album of solo artist Annie Clark (who goes by the stage name St. Vincent), a petite, sweetly awkward brunette in her 20s. But, don’t look to Clark’s appearance for any clue about her music; her songs are boisterous and cacophonous (at times), with mind-bending, grimy solos on synthesizer and guitar. Strange Mercy features songs like “North-ern Lights” and “Surgeon” that culminate in intense layering, and highlight Clark’s angelic vocals. — Quinn Kerscher

The Bachelor Beautiful. That is how you can describe this season, Monday’s season finale and the bachelor himself, Sean Lowe. With the per-fect mix of drama, pretty dresses, exotic places and, of course, love, there has yet again been a success-ful proposal to the right girl. This season touched on every aspect of what makes it great. While yes, it is mainly for hope-less romantics who wish someone would talk to them like they were one in a million, it also has cat-fights and delusional girls that are easy to laugh at. I would recom-mend The Bachelor/ Bachelorette to everyone for the sole reason that I want more people to rant and freak out with every Tuesday.

— Ally DeJong

TV

Buckwild Welcome to Buckwild, a show that makes the people on Jersey Shore look intelligent. Buckwild is a new series on MTV about crazy rednecks that do incredibly stupid things. Don’t get me wrong, it’s funny and I watch it often, but it’s not the most mentally refreshing thing on T.V. It’s nothing unique though; it’s just a new twist to the partying and promiscuous life style. If you want a way to pass the time and laugh while you’re doing it, you should watch this show, though your IQ may drop a couple of points in the process.

— Jessica Clayton

$24 $65

Second-Hand vs. Brand new

EntErtainmEnt

Photo courtesy of mtV.com

Photo courtesy of aBc.com

The OmniscientMarch 15, 2013 Page 9

Fact or fake?: Students take interest in Illuminati

By ryAn millis

Staff WritEr

International superstar Beyonce caused an internet sensation when, during the Super Bowl halftime show, she made a gesture placing her two hands together to form a triangle. That symbol, which she and fellow musicians Jay-Z and Rihanna also made at the Grammys, was linked online to the notorious secret society, the Illuminati. The Illuminati has re-ceived a lot of attention lately, and students are responding, wondering just what this organiza-tion could be. “It’s a satanic cult where people sold their souls to the devil for fame and fortune,” ju-nior Jake Chavez said. Social media sites have linked the Il-luminati to a wide range of world events, and while some teens are inter-ested in the theories, others dismiss talk of an all-powerful organization as mere conspiracy. “One element can’t control the world and have power,” senior Matt Klein said. “You can do anything you want without having to sell your soul.” Today, the Illuminati is known as a secret orga-nization of political figures, faceless corporations and countless singers and songwriters. Histori-cally, it was a group of French freethinkers who had ideas of enlightenment in the late 1770s. “[They] were scared that other people weren’t going to accept their beliefs, so they had their own secret philosophical society,”

English teacher Kari Haddy said. Media attention has gotten students consider-ing the Illuminati. “Singers I listen to are always saying stuff about it or saying that they worship the devil,” junior Gwen Kenney said. Well known rapper Curtis Jackson, also known as 50 Cent, rose to fame in 2003 when he

released his album Get Rich or Die Tryin’. He went from dealing drugs to support his family to being an influential rapper and founder of several charity founda-tions. But online, some question if he rose to power by himself. This is the conflict many have about mainly songwriters and politicians. Some believe that people rise to power and fame be-cause of the Illuminati. “You get to be rich and famous just by

selling your soul to the devil and people do it because it’s that easy,” senior Dalton Carr said. Still, others remain uncertain about the group’s influence. “People don’t want to believe things like [the Illuminati], they want to think their idols got there on their own without help,” Chavez said. Despite all the recent hype, many students choose to remain skeptical about the unknown. “The problem for me is that there’s no real evidence out there,” sophomore Seth Clark said. “You hear all this stuff about it on the Internet but there’s no real proof. No one really knows what’s real and what isn’t. I just choose to stay out of it.”

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ryan millis/the omniscient

STUDENTS flash the sign of the noto-rious group, the Illuminati.

Do you ever feel like you hear some-thing so many times it becomes back-ground noise? That’s how students feel about the repetitive safety speeches we’ve been hearing since we were in elementary school. It seems like, after a while, those messages lose their meaning and students just brush them off. Most teens don’t listen well in the first place, let alone to strangers broadcasted on a screen. It’s a cycle from generation to generation: the adults—who have had the experiences—are talking, but the teenagers aren’t hearing them. Previous generations make mistakes, warn the next generation not to make their mistakes, and then they don’t listen and make mistakes anyway. Unfortunately, most teens have the mindset that bad things will never hap-pen to them because they are “in control.” Therefore, it takes a tragic event to change their perspective. For example, if a com-plete stranger overdosed on pills and died it would not have the same effect on you as if the same thing happened to your family member or close friend. The preaching on the videos has no effect until you have ex-perienced the things they are talking about. It’s different in middle school. When you’re not exposed to drugs and other “bad things” it’s easier to resist. Drug campaigns at that age seem easier to follow. When you get to high school there’s clear peer pressure and easier access to things that we’ve never been exposed to before. At this age, teens are more influenced by their

peers than by adults or teachers. We see people doing things that we were told as kids were bad, and those people seem fine, so we don’t see the problem. It also creates a rebellion effect: the more adults say no, the more we are tempted to say yes. Teens’ brains are still maturing, and are ultimately immature at this age. This is not an excuse for bad behavior, but it does contribute to the decision making process. There’s no regard for the future, but only what’s happening in the present moment. The severity of the end result also con-tributes to the decision-making process. For instance, popping pills seems less scary in comparison to driving drunk, getting into an accident and dying. This might have something to do with the relative success of teen drunk driving campaigns compared to the success of teen pill abuse campaigns. Don’t lose total faith in our generation; there are ways to get through to us. For instance, it’s easier to relate to cases from people in our age group. When an adult is featured in a video, we feel like we can’t relate because we’re not the same age. Cases that relate to us really hit home, especially when they are less extreme. It’s easier to shrug off an extreme event, rather than an accident that could happen to anyone. If it’s relatable to us, there’s a higher shock factor. Teens aren’t going to listen to some-thing they don’t believe applies to them. Until you eliminate the feeling of “It will never happen to me,” campaigns will not be effective.

Considering recent events in our country regarding gun violence, it has been proven that when given large amounts of firepower, people are going to become a recipe for disaster. Steps need to be taken to create stricter laws in this country for buying guns and placing a ban on most semi-automatic weapons and high capacity magazines. The only people that need that much firepower are law enforce-ment and the military. There is no need for someone outside of those two areas to have assault weapons containing that many rounds. Sandy Hook Elementary School shooter Adam Lanza had access to an

assault-type rifle and fired multiple magazines containing 20-30 rounds each on his massacred killing of 26 people, most of them children. This isn’t the first time there’s been a mass shooting with the use of assault weap-ons. No single person needs that much firepower on hand. According to a study by the Univer-sity of Pennsylvania, over 25 percent of all gun crimes involve guns with high-capacity magazines. The study did note that since the rate of a shooter hitting victims is low in gun crimes, the ability to fire more shots faster increased the likelihood of targets being hit. There is vocal opposition to change the laws surrounding gun control. Second amendment advocates worry about laws limiting their rights to own a gun. But let’s be honest; no one is trying to “take our guns away,” because the right to bear arms is in the second amendment. People who work with the government are just trying to create legislature that will tighten gun laws and prevent large-scale massacres from happening again. The second amend-ment is never going to be changed to eliminate all guns. Achieving the goal of banning as-sault style weapons and creating laws to enable more intense background checks before purchasing a gun will take the combined efforts of state and national legislature. Only after these measures are taken are we on our way to a safer country as a whole.

Staff Editorial

OpiniOn

Is it getting through to you? Safety assemblies at NHS

10

- STAFF -Becca HeilmanKasey JenkinsLauren Merrill

Ryan MillisMeredith Norman

Dana WalkerTyler White

- THE NORTHWOOD -

OMNISCIENT

Neal Morgannmorgan@chatham.k12.nc.us

The Northwood Omniscient is published monthly by journalism students at Northwood High School. It aims to present accurate cover-age of events of interest to our readers, as well as provide an open forum for the opinions of students, faculty and the community. We welcome letters to the editor, which can be delivered to the advisor in Room 914 or sent to the school’s address. Letters must be signed, and the staff reserves the right to reject any letter containing libelous statements, to edit for length and to ascertain the truthfulness of the content. Letters should be limited to 250 words. Unsigned editorials represent the majority view of the editorial board. Columns, let-ters and cartoons represent the views of the authors.

-ADVISOR-

Jessica ClaytonAlly DeJong

Quinn KerscherTaylor MalochTori Nothnagel

— marlene gutierrez

The great debate: Gun Control

Editorial Cartoon

- EDITORS -

In the Bill of Rights, the second amendment states: “A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.” This means that the right to bear arms should not be limited in any way. The definition of the word infringed is: “act so as to limit or undermine.” Freedom of speech is not negotiable, so why should the right to bear arms be debated as much as it is? In light of recent events in our coun-try, putting restrictions on guns is not the solution to stopping these atrocities. Just like the saying goes, “guns don’t kill people; people kill people.” Putting restrictions on firearms and other weapons does not make it any more difficult to commit violent acts. Restrict-ing people’s freedom is unconstitutional and unnecessary. People are more prone to getting into fatal car accidents than having fatal firearm accidents, but you don’t see restrictions on driving other than seat belts and speed limits. So why limit firearms more than cars if automo-biles are more of a danger than guns? The fact that people think criminals and murderers will obey gun control laws is just foolish. There has never been a gang that would stop their plans of rob-

bing a bank just because their firearms were not registered. Making it more difficult to purchase and own a weapon is not keeping crimi-nals from getting their hands on guns. Do-ing this is only hurting responsible, legal gun owners. Assailants are more likely to attack unarmed victims, since there is no threat of retaliation. With limits on handguns and other firearms, legal gun owners will have less of a way to protect themselves. Criminals will always be able to get guns illegally on the streets, but law-abiding citizens will not. Making the gun-buying process more rigorous is only restricting legal owners from expressing their second amendment right. Guns are not the problem. People are the problem. In order to settle the gun control debate in this country, we are going to have to agree on this. We need to see more funding in correctional facilities and mental health institutions instead of blaming guns and gun owners for our problems.

Owning fire arms is a right protected by the Constitution

Putting restrictions on assault weapons protects the people

Meredith Norman

Tyler White

— illustration By Bailey miller

By tori nothnAgel

Co-Editor

The clock reaches zero and you’ve just beaten Jordan Matthews, one of Northwood’s biggest rivals. You get the sweet taste of vic-tory, but how did you work to get to that? What motivated you to play your best to get the win? Athletes usually start a sport when they are young and stick with it because they are good at it, gain an appreciation for it or enjoy playing. “[I’m motivated by] my love for the game,” sophomore soccer player Jamie Palermo said. “I think [soccer’s] so much fun and I love the feeling after a win.” They say practice makes perfect, but why do athletes want to keep getting better if they’re just going to play in high school? “Knowing that I can get better, I just do all the things that are possible [to get bet-ter],” sophomore softball player Courtney Wilson said. “[I play] because it’s what I love and I enjoy doing.” In any sport there is room for improvement, that’s why athletes practice. When someone else is better than you, that is the extra push that lights the fire to try even harder. “If I’m playing against someone better than me, I’ll try harder on them,” senior soc-cer player Nathan Stephenson said. With rivals, there come tensions and an even stronger emotion of anger towards the opponent. Whether it be Jordan Matthews in football and basketball or Carrboro for soc-cer, there’s always that stronger push in your

head to beat them. “Depending on who I’m playing I’ll try hard-er knowing that 110 percent of my effort will be needed,” senior volleyball, basketball and soccer player Gaby Mehringer said. “When we play sucky schools, like Roxboro Community, I can slack off. I try to do my best as a team player, but I’m not as focused on the little things.” That push to win influences Mehringer every

time she plays not just on the ones that matter. “I’m very competitive,” Mehringer said. “I hate when other people are better than I am, even though it’s obviously reality. I just push myself and motivate myself to be better and play harder. When I see other people playing better than me, it makes me want to do more to be a better player or maybe work harder to prove talent isn’t everything.”

11SpOrtSThe push to win: What motivates athletes?

image courtesy of WorDle

Foul or fair? Coaches’ punishmentsBy BeccA heilmAn

Staff WritEr

Heat radiated off of baseball player Garrett Scott’s body as he ran 100 poles, running from one foul pole to the other. Head pound-ing, legs aching, it took Scott three days of practice to complete the punishment that his coach had assigned him. What did he do to deserve such a tough punishment? “I ran out of the field house in my boxers with no shirt on and I made it all the way to the field,” Scott said. Athletes like Scott know the pain of coach’s punishments all too well. Nobody likes doing extra running, pushups or sit-ups, and sitting the bench might be a little harsh in some athletes’ perspec-tive. Some may say that these punishments are unfair, but are they necessary? John Dunning, a freshman who wrestles, plays football and

lacrosse, said yes. “Usually [these punishments] result in making us better ath-letes,” Dunning said. [Punish-ments are important especially] when you’re in high school, you’ve got a large group of guys or girls who tend to get out of control somewhat easily.” Some athletes say that punish-ments bring about more respect for coaches. Maria Vanderford, a se-nior who runs cross country, plays basketball and soccer, agrees. “If there were no punishments, people that don’t respect their coaches would take advantage of them and wouldn’t be serious about their sports,” Vanderford said. “I feel like their performance on the fields or courts would suf-fer due to repeating offenses of misbehaving.” Some athletes also say that coach’s punishments help keep them on track. Sophomore basket-ball player Shontai Totten shared

how a punishment given by a coach helped to motivate her in the classroom. “I had an F on my report card and my coach made me run 50 sui-cides,” Totten said. “[While it was happening], I was thinking that I was never going to get an F on my report card again so I wouldn’t have to run that much.” Punishments can play a large role in how players view their surroundings. Players and coaches explain that though they are car-ried out on the court or field, the message they leave doesn’t just stay there. “They’re trying to make us better people and build more work ethic,” said Payton Springle, a freshman who plays volleyball and softball. Cameron Vernon, who coaches girls’ varsity basketball, said that his goal is to teach more than just athletics. He also wants to teach values that players can apply beyond the basketball court. “It’s not just about winning and losing,” he said. “I think that as coaches we’re trying to teach student athletes what’s right and wrong.” Many coaches try to teach les-sons on and off the court. “Whether it’s with work, rela-tionships or with their families, [a punishment] is going to help make them a better person,” Vernon said. Some players say that coaches aren’t fair with their punishments. “Sometimes they single kids out and they’ll be a little bit more lenient with people and more harsh towards others just because of who they are, not necessarily [because of] what they’ve done,” Dunning said. Springle sees it from a differ-ent angle. “[I think that the punishments are fair] most of the time, but

I don’t agree when the coach punishes the whole team when one person does badly,” Springle said. “I don’t think that you should be punished for something that somebody else did.” This was the case two years ago when the varsity girl’s soccer team had to run 100 down and backs, running from one end of the field to another and back again. “A freshman threw a banana peel out the [bus] window and our coach found it really disrespectful, so he decided that the next day at practice, we were going to have to run 100 down and backs,” said senior soccer player Laura Shacht-man. “That was probably one of the worst punishments we’ve had.” Some coaches might prefer punishing one player rather than the whole team, but others say that group punishments can be used as a tool to teach how one’s actions affect the people around them. “I hope that [the players] learn from their mistakes, and if they’re playing a sport, that not only did they let themselves down, but they also let their teammates and their coaches down,” Vernon said. “Each player is an integral part of the team.” Wrestling coach Jason Amy believes his punishments are fair. “We establish rules and those rules are told to players,” he said. “If they’re not followed, then there has to be repercussions for [the players] not following the rules.” Volleyball and JV girls’ bas-ketball coach Steven Thomas explained that this type of thinking applies in every situation. In life, the players will have established rules everywhere they go and will have to learn how to follow them. “Everything in life has conse-quences, either good or bad.”

ally DeJong/the omniscient

STUDENTS have mixed feelings on punishments given by their coaches, which include push-ups and running sprints.

Sports Briefs

Boys’ basketball loses in 2nd round blowout The Chargers ended the season with a 80-35 loss to the Kinston Vikings, Feb. 27. Dur-ing the first quarter the Chargers were only down by one, but the Vikings came back in the second quarter, causing a major turnaround for the duration of the game. The Chargers came in second in the conference championship. They ended 12-4 in the confer-ence overall. “We progressed throughout the whole season and got better as time went on,” senior Aumad Walker said. “We had to get used to a new coach, so that’s what the obstacle of the season was.”

Wrestling wins conference championship Wrestling finished its season 23-10 and became conference tournament champions for the first time in the program’s his-tory. In the first round of the play-offs, Northwood beat Jordan-Matthews, but was defeated by North Pitt in the second round. Jourden Blackmon, Thad-deus Tallman and Michael Queen qualified for states, and Blackmon placed sixth. “It was a very successful season in preparation for next year’s move to 3A,” coach Jason Amy said. “I was very proud of Jourden placing, and it could not happen to a better wrestler.”— Compiled by Dana Walker, Lauren Merrill & Tori Nothnagel

Girls’ basketball makes it to 3rd round The girls’ basketball season came to an end Friday, March 1 after a 65-57 loss to Kinston. “We played hard, we fought, we battled and we had the game within four points at one time,” senior Maria Vanderford said. The Chargers ended their season 24-5, and won the confer-ence tournament. “We proved everyone wrong and we worked together; it was a very family oriented team,” Vanderford said. “It wasn’t indi-viduals; we all worked together to get goals accomplished.”

SpOrtS12Every month we’ll showcase an individual and his/her achievements from an ongoing sport. In order to qualify, one must be nominated by his/her coach for athletic abil-ity, outstanding leadership, work ethic and sportsmanship.

— Compiled by Tyler White

JorDAn mcclAmroch boys’ golf

“Robert is one of our best pitchers. He loves the

game and really contrib-utes to the team.”— Cody Farrell, Jr.

JAmie PAlermo

girls’ soccer“Jamie likes to play the ball quick and consistent. She likes to make sure everyone gets the ball. She’s a very skilled and athletic player.”— Silvia Bourn, Sr.

elizABeth hArt girls’ track

roBert strAughn baseball

BrooKe smith softball

JAlen giPson boys’ track

Jimmy Ashness lacrosse“[Elizabeth] is a really great runner and stays really consistent with

her times.”— Sierra Teta, Fr.

“[Jordan has] supe-rior mental and physi-cal athleticism on the

course.” — James Calhoun, Jr.

“She’s very positive, and is a very good

leader for our team.”— Briana Robinson, So.

“He’s pretty good at lacrosse, and he is good

at teaching the new players what to do.”

— Jack Dalton, So.

“Sean is a great player and inspirational be-

cause he’s a freshman and currently holding down the No. 3 posi-

tion.” — Chris Cole, Sr.

lauren merrill/the omniscientally DeJong/the omniscient

“He’s one of the fastest sprinters out there. I’ve

seen him lead our sprint-ers and help out people who are new at track.”

— Preston McKnight, Fr.

Students enjoy variety of untraditional sportsBy lAuren merrill

Staff WritEr

High school students are exposed to the usual sports life: Friday night football and Saturday wrestling matches. However, most students do not know about the life of sports outside of Northwood.

Rugby Junior Thomas Reynolds got his start with rugby through a friend from France who plays professionally. Reynolds started when he was 14 and currently plays for the Highlanders in Chapel Hill. Reynolds compares rugby to football and wrestling, which are very popular sports at Northwood. “In England, New Zealand and pretty much everywhere else in the world, rugby is like religion. But in the U.S., it’s pretty small because it got turned into American football,” Reynolds said. Some rules are that you can’t tackle above the shoulders and you can only pass the ball backwards, never forwards. “Rugby is supposed to be a gentleman’s game,” Reynolds said. The term gentleman ties in with the origin of rugby. The game of rugby is expected to be

mostly clean and fair with some violence. In a game players score “tries” which are similar to touchdowns but have an equivalent of five points. After scoring, there is a two-point conversion kick. Rugby has a lot of potential as a college sport and even as an ongoing hobby. “You get a lot of friends and you meet a lot of people,” Reynolds said. “A lot of colleges have rugby teams, but they don’t hand out scholarships. Anyone who wants to play has to try out.” When asked if rugby should be a sport at Northwood, Reynolds said yes.

Shooting Team Senior John Adams and his sister, sopho-

more Madalene Adams, are both on the North Carolina Rifle Pistol Association Junior High Power Team. Recently their team has increased to 20 people, but the sport still isn’t widely known. “Not many people know about it, but the people that know about it absolutely love it. It’s competitive and it takes a lot of work,” Madalene

said. There are three different lengths to shoot from. They shoot from 200, 300 and 600 yards. Sometimes they shoot “prone,” where the shooter lays on their stomach.

The objective of the sport is to hit the “x” on a target as many times as possible. The point system works like this: the shooter can either get zero, five, six, seven, eight, nine or 10 points. Ten is the best score a shooter can get. John believes that shooting should not be a sport at Northwood. “You would need some sort of proficiency with the tool,” John said. Equestrian/ Horse-

back Riding Senior Michaela Johnson started riding when she was 14. “Once I started I really got into working with an animal and being one with it,” Johnson said. There are specific measures riders must take to ride to the best of their abilities. “You had to center yourself on your horse and keep absolute control over it at all times like giving and yielding with the reins and making sure it turns precisely where it was sup-posed to turn,” Johnson said. The main rule that Johnson describes is keeping in two-point when going over jumps. The two-point position is done by bending for-ward at the hips and taking most of the weight in your ankles and heels. Your back is straight with your seat just off of the saddle. Johnson’s team practiced several drills. In

one, three jumps were set up in a row and the goal was to get through all of the jumps without

the horse tripping and they would also run laps with the horses. A lot of what John-son did with equestrian was just between her and her teammates. “We did compe-titions just by our-selves, which was only four girls. So we would see who could canter (a three-beat gate of a horse or other quadruped

between a trot and a gallop) and stay bal-anced,” Johnson said. There are a lot of simple forms of practice a rider can do. Sitting and standing straight are helpful with posture, and doing regular workouts throughout the week strengthen the core and legs. Johnson describes the benefits of equestrian. “It’s definitely beneficial if you ever want to go sight seeing,” Johnson said. “They have all of these horse trails. It’s also beneficial for dancing or performing because of posture and balance, and it’s really a good work out.” Johnson doesn’t think that equestrian should be an available sport at Northwood. “I think it would be great if Northwood could publicize that it is available in Pittsboro, but I don’t think it’s realistic that it be offered here,” Johnson said.

Photo courtesy of John aDams

SENIOR JOHN ADAMS shoots prone for a local shooting team.

Photo courtesy of thomas reynolDs

JUNIOR THOMAS REYNOLDS plays rugby for the Highlanders in Chapel Hill.

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