Embedded Files
Front Office Appreciation
Front Office Appreciation
By Sydney Howard
Published 12/17
It may be easy to overlook the ladies in the office, but these ladies at the front desk play a huge role in our success in high school. Whether it’s an excused tardy that needs to be taken care of or holding onto school records, these ladies are constantly on top of it.
Kimberly Cox, Mindy Dubistar, Corky Clark, and Kim Black all have one thing in common: they are secretaries at the front office. They take care of tasks such as making appointments, maintaining records, taking phone calls, and taking care of tardies. They are basically the backbone of this school. I can’t even imagine what it’d be like without them.
These friendly faces are the face of the school, and are always wearing a smile. They are usually the first line of communication when a parent calls or visits the school. They are also the key planners of the school.
So, next time you go through Senior hall, maybe pop by and say hi. But just make sure they aren't too busy at the moment.
Meme Culture
Meme Culture
By Micheal Clark
Published 12/17
The world of memes seems to date back all the way to 1921, with the creation of one of the first recognizable memes. The “How you think you look vs How you actually look” meme.
This was apart of a comic strip that showed two panels of a person's self proclaimed perfect physical appearance, then how badly they truly look. But according to reality, different forms of “memes” have been used for thousands of years. A meme generally means “an element of a culture or system of behavior that may be considered to be passed from one individual to another by non genetic means, especially imitation” (Google’s definition). Throughout history, there have been running gags or inside jokes between all kinds of societies and people. With the use of memes, came a community of people all over the world. A sort of insiders club of those who get the humor of this generation. It’s very unlikely that someone from the “baby boomer” generation or another older generation would be a part of this group. The benefits of having a community of people who all understand memes intricately and find joy and entertainment in memes is that the power of this community can be used for a lot of different global problems. So many times has the meme community risen up in a dark hour to either raise awareness to these problems, or raise money for charity or other fundraisers for various reasons. A recent example of that would be Mr. Beast and the TeamTrees charity.
With the power of memes and youtubers collaborating, the community has been able to raise over 17 million dollars which equals 17 million trees planted. The objective was to plant 20 million trees before the end of 2019. Another example of how powerful memes are is that when Tesla released their new electric vehicle, “Cyber Truck”. Elon Musk didn’t pay for any advertisement or paid endorsements and within three days of the launch there were already 200,000 orders for the Cyber Truck. The only way knowledge of Cyber Truck was spread was through internet articles, videos from youtube of fans or reporters or something, and memes. These two examples give an accurate description of the power of the community. Now, into a bit of the laws and legal concerns of memes. The problem with memes these days is that almost all memes are primarily images, and with that comes copyright and fair use laws. A large percentage of memes are still frames from movies or shows often displaying a celebrities face or something else that is copyrighted and such. But meme creators a lot of the time are spreading copyrighted images and infringing on the laws. Though it is fair game for those images if they’re within certain parameters of fair use such as, The purpose of the use, The amount of work to be used, the effect of the use on the market for or value of the original work and, the nature of the copyrighted work. The thing with the memes though is that even though the images aren’t original, the internet’s alteration of the images make them legally more like ideas, thus unprotected by copyright laws because they’re now observed to be original content. So in conclusion, the meme community and memes in general are a very important part of our culture in this day and age.
Geek Culture
Geek Culture
By Ethan Dempsey
Published 12/17
The word Geek came from the German word “geck” which means “fool” or “freak”. Geeks were circus performers first known in Europe in 1916 and they would do weird and freakish things willingly that are not considered normal. The American versions were still circus performers, but they raised the ante by biting the heads off of live chickens or rats.
Geek culture has come a long way from biting the heads off chickens, nowadays geeks are a loved part of society. Geeks today are more associated with comic books, TV shows, movies, and video games. They put more enthusiasm about the things they love each day.
There are different variants of geeks. For example, there are computer geeks, comic book geeks, music geeks, etc. All these different geek “types” have one thing in common that makes them a geek, they all specialize in one or two things.
This means when someone just mentions a little fact that might be potentially wrong, most of the time (not all the time) they’ll go and set you straight about what is fact and they might bring some of their own theories into the mix.
In short, the community for geeks has grown a lot in recent years, almost to the point that it becomes the norm to do these things. The most “geeky” people out there will find different and weird stuff to do just so they can stand out from the crowd and that makes them truly one of a kind.
Geek Culture Sources
Geek Culture Sources
Helmenstine, Anne Merie. "Geeks Versus Nerds - What's the difference?" Thought Co., 27 Jan. 2019, www.thoughtco.com/difference-between-geeks-and-nerds-609445.
Tocci, Jason, "Geek Cultures: Media and Identity in the Digital Age" (2009). Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations. 953. http://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/953
Hiskey, Daven. "Where the Words "Geek" and "Nerd" Came From." Today I Found Out, 30 Sept. 2010, www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2010/09/where-the-words-geek-and-nerd-came-from/.
Click Bait!
Click Bait!
By Kaelani Cappadony
Published 12/17
If you have ever gone onto a shady website or even just scrolled through your YouTube recommendations, then I can guarantee you have seen click bait somewhere. There are three types of click bait that you may have seen around on the internet. The first type of click bait collects information about the user and creates an ad appealing to them. The second kind is usually the type you see on YouTube or non-user friendly websites. The creator creates a title that is intriguing and so outrageous it’s an obvious lie. The user is then curious, and interested in the title to the point where they may click on the link instead of ignoring it. The last type is click bait plagiarism. This is when the creator copies something already made, but also makes it sound more appealing than the original video. So why is this important? Why is it such a big deal?
Click bait is used everywhere on the internet, whether you are aware of it or not. Social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter are constantly using the strategy of click bait to get you to follow someone. Even though you see it all the time, what platform holds the most click bait? That would be YouTube. People use YouTube all the time and for many different things. They sometimes use it to try and figure out a math problem or maybe watch old Vines, but sometimes when people go to watch their favorite You Tubers, they find that the title provides interest in the video, which makes it sound cooler than what it actually is. Many times this has become a huge problem on YouTube, to the point where some You Tubers have to put the words "Non- Click bait" in serious videos. Of course not all YouTube video titles are click bait, there are a lot of them out there that are “Non-Click bait” titles, and the video ends up being way more interesting than the ones that are.
Although, Plagiarism has been a problem that has occurred for many centuries. As a former You Tuber, I have faced this problem from time-to-time, but again, YouTube is one of the prime candidates for click bait plagiarism. Many times, the plagiarizer usually uses this to get more views than the original YouTube video. You may not realize it, but you even watch click bait plagiarized videos throughout your time on YouTube.
Whenever you watch a compilation of whatever you decided to watch that day, you are watching click bait plagiarism. How so? The You Tuber who uploaded the compilation plagiarized the original videos and put them all together, but even more so is the fact that they put it up as a compilation makes it click bait. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t still watch compilations, it's fine to do that. Just be aware that the video you are watching is considered click bait plagiarism.
Ads are also a huge step in making a website “click bait approved”. Every succeeding website has had an ad at some point, and you see them all the time whenever you go onto a new tab. Click bait ads are the ones that users usually know as “click bait”. Usually, it’s an article about something false that happened, or that is impossible to even do. Click bait ads do this on purpose so they attempt to make you click on them even though you know they are false. For example, an ad might pop up saying something along the lines of ‘video games make kids set fire to their homes, click to learn more’. What are these ads used for then? More likely than not, click bait ads are used to get into people’s personal info. When you click on a click bait ad, it can sometimes download a virus that the creator can control to get into your computer. The creator of the ad can access your personal information and can track your location, if they wanted to. They can even search through your phone if you decided to connect your phone to the same computer.
So I advise you to be more aware when looking around on the internet, because you never know what may or may not be click bait content. Click bait is dangerous, and can be used by the creator to do harmful things to anyone or anything. Click bait is something that will most likely not go away in the near future, but there are ways to avoid it. Don’t buy what the click bait is selling, and stay safe. Make sure your computer has no viruses on it regularly, and try to block any click bait ads you see laying around.
Interview with a Veteran
Interview with a Veteran
By Brody Niblack
Published 12/17
When working in the military, what does it feel like or what was the day to day operations? To find out, I interviewed a former military officer, Christopher Alcock and asked him questions about his time serving in the military. There won’t be any graphic or any questions that may be disturbing in this article that would make him or the reader uncomfortable in any way. When I first met Christopher Alcock he seemed like a man who was soft on the outside and hard on the inside, but after spending some time with him I realized that this man was soft all around. But he had to be tough in order to make it in the military. We sat in his living room after lunch and began the interview.
Can you relate your military career to what you want to do next?
“In the military, I was responsible for planning, organizing and leading troops into the missions that had potential to become intense or even dangerous. These experiences taught me to strategize and make decisions, plan, provide guidance, and support my team; giving me an overall strong grasp on how to be an effective leader.”
Do you prefer continuity in structure or frequent change in your daily work?
“I enjoy change and challenge, which is why I frequently spearhead the most difficult or complex assignments. Changing daily landscapes keep me energized and challenged; it keeps the mind sharp and innovative. However, I feel there is value in a continuous schedule in which certain tasks are repetitively performed; I’ve found that such tasks help develop patience and discipline, and they provide a sort of comfort to some people.”
Can you describe your ideal work environment?
“I’d like to work in a team-oriented environment no matter what happens. I was surrounded by my team members every moment of every day in the military, and I believe that leaning on each other is how we’ve gotten through the toughest of times. I’ve been good at being a leader because I took the time to listen to my team. Now I look forward to building a similarly tight-knit team.”
What is your most significant career accomplishment to date?
“My unit was responsible for managing the training of new recruits. When I started the orientation process, while necessary and required, was difficult to complete – not because the recruits were inept, but because the material was overly technical and frankly, really dry reading. This wound up leading to low evaluation scores, jeopardizing the recruits’ future in the military. To make the program more relevant and engaging, I revamped the program to make it much more interactive and therefore comprehensible. I’m beyond pleased that the new structure of the program has been so well-received. Now, scores average closer to 93%, compared with an average of 27% under the previous version of the program. I actually received a jump-step promotion (jumping two ranks rather than just one) after the first nine months of the new program implementation.”
Can you tell us a funny story you experienced that could only happen in the military?
“Well there was this one time when me and my buddies borrowed a forklift and drove it over to an officer who was using the porter-potty, and we lifted him up in the forklift and when he opened the door, he was covered in everything that was in there. That was probably the funniest thing that has ever happened there.”
Self Love
Self Love
By Jade Collier
Published 12/17
In less than a month, it'll be a new year. Many people take part in the tradition of new year resolutions: a list of goals to accomplish or improve on. Although, this may be a little overrated. The thing about being a living, breathing human being who makes new decisions every minute of every day, is that you don’t need to wait all year to begin or stop certain habits. There’s always a little voice in the back of your head, and if you listen to it, you’ll start to notice some things. It’s there when you’re binge-watching Netflix when there’s a pile of homework in your backpack. Or when you’re scrolling through your phone and after sleeping all day while you were gone at school. If you follow your conscious, you will make the right decision, because thankfully your brain is trying to do its best to keep you happy, healthy, and morally good.
It’s easy to ignore and brush off those little urges, especially after a stressful day. But ignoring these things today will lead to ignoring them tomorrow. You need to just get up without talking yourself out of it and just do it. Of course, it’s harder than just flipping the productivity switch in your mind. It’s best to start slowly, by doing simple tasks. If you’re trying to work out every day after school, start by going on a short walk, or some crunches. If you need to do homework but you’re tired and just want to lay down with your phone, try to get it out of your bag and out in eyesight at least. Or log on to google classroom and just pull up the assignment so it’s easy to access. Out of sight, out of mind is a real thing.
When you start doing what you need to be doing, it works as a form of self-love. Yes, curling up in bed and reading or drinking hot tea is another form of taking care of yourself, but it's an easier option than getting out of your pajamas and getting work done. You need a healthy balance of pushing yourself to do a task without crying from stress. And you need to find a way to cozy up and watch Netflix without doing it all evening. Hopefully, if you follow these tips, it’ll help you in your steps to self-love.
-Jade Collier
Page updated
Report abuse