NorthwesthorizonsNorthwest Guilford High • 5240 Northwest School Road • www.northwesthorizons.com • Volume 49 Issue 1

Based on test score achievement from 2010-2011, Northwest High School earned the prestigious title, “Honor School of Excellence” from the North Carolina Department of Instruction. In the history of the school, this is the first time Northwest has ever won the award. “To me, that [Honors School of Excellence] is huge, and to be the only traditional High school in the county to win that award is just tremendous,” Principal Ralph Kitley said. To win the award, schools must reach certain

criteria. In order to receive Honors School of Excellence, the school must perform at 90 percent proficiency rates in which 90 percent of students pass EOCs,

and the school must meet adequate yearly progress (AYP) targets.

AYP targets are for the federal accountability model No Child Left Behind. This past year, Northwest had 93 percent proficiency rates on tests. Based on school performance, the state gives annual awards. Among them are Honor School of Excellence, the highest award given out, School of Excellence, School of Distinction and School of Progress. In 2008-2009, only 121 state schools won Honor School of Excellence which accounts for only 4.9 percent of schools in North Carolina. “I am most proud of our teachers and obviously our students, but our teachers work so hard here,” Kitley said. “I have never seen a group that is always here for their students.” In Northwest history, our school has only won School of Excellence a few times, including the 2009-2010 school year. The main difference between School of Excellence and Honor School of Excellence is meeting the federal AYP targets.

“You also have to show growth; I think that is a big testament to the teachers. In other words, students not only score at predicted levels, but above predicted,” Kitley said. “It’s a big honor to the students to show that kind of proficiency.” Students are able to achieve at Northwest because of the work ethic of the staff. It shows in the standardized tests, and there is a sense of community at Northwest. “I’m proud to be here because not everybody gets that opportunity to go to a school like this,” sophomore Camille Johnson said. Though the school has faced many obstacles due to years of budget cuts, achievement and academic growth have not been affected. “The honors level students are achieving at a tremendously high rate,” Kitley said. “I think there is always room for improvement, especially in math, for us.”

Katie Kilmartinsports editor

This year has already been filled with a lot of change, and it seems like more is coming. Voted for in 2008, Northwest was granted a bond for $3.1 million to use for the improvement of traffic control and athletic facilities.

Specific enhancements include a designated bus parking lot, tennis courts, an eight-lane track, an improved press box and an enlarged field house. Also, new bleachers for both sides are planned to eliminate a lack of seating for spectators.

“We saw from the Western game how crowded and uncomfortable that was, and hopefully with the new stands, we can seat 500 to 1,000 new

Blueprint for growth

Samantha Reinisstaff writer

people,” Principal Ralph Kitley said.More abundant seating not only helps fans to feel more comfortable,

but it can help with the morale of the football team too. “They make a big difference when you look up and see 200 fans

versus 2,000 fans,” assistant football coach Steve Oele said. “Adding the bleachers and fans will make all the difference.”

Football players as well as other athletic teams will also benefit from a revamped field house which will include a locker room and weight room. This development is deemed as long overdue, as Oele said, “Right now, it is inadequate to say the least.” The new field house will be much more spacious: approximately three times the size it is now.

Construction should be complete by next year in time for football season, but the stands will be used for much more. With the track being expanded to eight lanes, Northwest is now able to officially host regional events.

“A new eight lane track would highly motivate the team to practice harder which would improve our performance at competitions,” senior Corina Relyea said. She would like an updated track because, “It would simply make running more comfortable.”

No matter which sport you prefer, the new construction will affect the entire student body at Northwest. As Kitley said,

the improvements will result in “more student pride.” And that is something

money cannot buy.

Northwest adds improvement to outdoor athletics

What’s InsideOp/Ed

Obama’s presidency is evaluatedpage 6

Sports

Tennis teams cele-brate the new addi-tion of tennis courts

page 14

Index

Newspaper staff explores the haunted locations of Greens-

boropage 16

news 2-4op/ed 5-7spread 8-9

sports 10-11arts & culture 12-13

features 14-15entertainment 16

Scary tales are retold

See spread

Entertainment

Graphic by Matthew Taylor

Page 2 News October 2011

Autocratic ruler Muammar Gad-hafi was in power from 1969 until this year. His supporters are still clashing with rebels in towns around Libya even though Gadhafi’s where-abouts are unknown. “There is a large possibility he may still be in Tripoli,” junior Peter Bed-rosian said. “With Osama Bin Laden being found in plain sight, it’s hard to say. He could be hiding or in an-other one of his mansions or safe-houses.” Gadhafi’s rise to power began in 1956 during the Suez Crisis. Gad-hafi participated in anti-Israeli dem-onstrations in Libya but was exiled to Misrata, a coastal city in Libya. There, he began to organize an underground revolutionary move-ment. After graduating from the military academy, he was promoted to the position of lieutenant in the army. His rise to fame occurred in 1969 when he led a coup d’état against King Idris. Gadhafi then established the new Libyan Arab Republic where he ruled as chairman.

“I think Gadhafi’s possession of leadership was just like other oppressive governments,” Bed-rosian said. “He needed to be re-moved.” He labeled this new republic under Islamic Socialism, a sys-tem in which the government controlled larger industries but still allowed private control over smaller companies. The country’s foundation was placed on Islamic morals, thus making it Islamic So-cialism.

In Gadhafi’s eyes, Libya need-ed to be eradicated of its outside influences. It needed to be a pure Islamic republic. As a result, he started a sort of cultural revolu-tion where any hint of western culture was wiped out, especially the ideas of capitalism and com-munism.

“[Gadhafi] tried to make [Lib-ya] Islamic Socialism, but that re-ally was just selfish motives,” se-nior Laura Kenny said. “And he was very ‘my way no highway.’ He hated western culture.”

Gadhafi was in great need of support by nearby countries, so he tried to spread Libyan in-fluence in countries with a large

Islamic population and was in fa-vor of creating a Saharan Islamic state. His intentions were seen as bizarre, as countries with ideolo-gies on the other end of the scope were receiving help from Libya.

“In one of Gadhafi’s speech-es, he said something about going door to door, indicating genocide,” Bedrosian said. “The people were afraid, and it was necessary for him to leave.”

The Libyan leader ordered an attack on Germany in 1986 in which a Berlin nightclub was bombed. In response, President Reagan ordered bombing raids on Libya, and Gadhafi’s residence was bombed, and his one year-old daughter was killed.

Gadhafi tried to make amends with the Western World, but his motive to do this was out of economic sanctity. In 2011, the Libyan people had enough of his autocratic reign, so the rebels fought and successfully removed him from power.

Libya’s current interim leader is Mustafa Abdul Jalil.

“The people of Libya now, despite hostility, still feel safer and have some hope,” Bedrosian said.

Most students are aware that North-west has school counselors, but many are unaware of the fact that Northwest has a school psychologist as well.

School psychologists work more spe-cifically with “at-risk” students and con-duct diagnostic assessments of kids who are struggling in school.

Jenilee Fleetwood is Northwest’s school psychologist. Fleetwood is cur-rently serving her fifth year at Northwest and enjoys her position very much.

“School Psychologists often move to different schools every two or three years,

so I am thankful that I have been able to serve Northwest as long as I have,” Fleet-wood said. “I hope to be around for years to come. I am definitely attached.”

There is a distinct difference between a school psychologist and a school coun-selor. School counselors are given a case-load of students based on criteria such as last name or grade, while school psy-chologists work with a much more spe-cific range of students.

Fleetwood works with students who are referred to her by a teacher, parent or the students themselves. “School psy-chologists and school counselors both work with students to provide assistance and support during their school age years,” Fleetwood said. “We often work collaboratively and closely when problem

Danny Hagestaff writer

solving about student needs.”Fleetwood is trained to work with

students with specific disabilities. These include learning disabilities, autism and conduct disorders. Fleetwood is one of the specialized Guilford County employ-ees on the Autism Team. As a member of this team, Fleetwood evaluates students who may have autism and recommends the teaching methods and services that would best help each child.

School psychologists are required to have at least a graduate degree that in-cludes a one-year internship. This educa-tion emphasizes the knowledge of men-tal health education, child development, learning and behavior among many other areas.

“I have a bachelor of arts degree in

psychology from Meredith College and a masters degree and specialist in school psychology degree from Appalachian State University,” Fleetwood said.

Fleetwood’s other responsibilities at Northwest include serving as the school’s coach for the positive behavior interven-tion support (PBIS) team. Fleetwood also serves on the PBIS team for Northwest Middle School.

The main purpose of a school psy-chologist is to enhance learning and the social-emotional development of stu-dents.

“My services are open to any child that needs support within the school, whether it is short consultation or a full psycholog-ical-educational evaluation,” Fleetwood said.

staff writer Lauren Surber

School psychologist Jenilee Fleetwood conusults a student. Fleetwood has been helping Northwest’s students with her expertise for five years. Photo by Katerina Mansour

Northwest’s shrink: Probing the mind of students

Graphic by Matthew Taylor

Gadhafi’s rise to power creates chaos

Page 3NewsOctober 2011

This year, Northwest will undergo in-tensive procedures to be reaccredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

Accreditation is the process schools en-dure to prove their institution’s effective-ness by evaluating policies and procedures.

Each school and school system is re-quired to go through a series of stages be-fore becoming fully accredited, including the applicant stage and the candidate stage.

To receive fully accredited status, schools must demonstrate that they meet all of the requirements and pay an appli-cation fee. Finally, the school must host a Readiness Visit in which the functions of the school will be thoroughly examined. Each school is required to assemble a portfolio highlighting the accomplish-ments and credentials of the past five years.

“I got a grant one year,” Latin teacher Sarah Wright said. “They want to know academic awards that clubs get like the Sci-ence Olympiad. They also ask us who has a Bachelor’s degree or an advanced degree.”

Because Northwest has already been initially accredited, it will just be hosting a Quality Assurance Team to ensure that

Northwest is still following certain guide-lines and procedures. This includes put-ting together a portfolio of accomplish-ments.

“One year I had a student who took The National Latin Exam,” Wright said. “One year, the National Exam Committee featured one student from each state in the U.S.A. Today, so my student was chosen, so they used that.”

These teams visit accredited schools once every five years. The Qual-ity Assurance team is scheduled to vis-it Northwest sometime in mid-March.

“There will be a committee put to-gether of teachers and students alike,” Curriculum Facilitator Susan Orr said re-garding the process of reaccreditation. “I know [the accreditation process] is very stressful on the teachers and peoples like the curriculum facilitator,” Wright said.

SACS’ intense requirements scrutinize every detail of the school, from the way records are kept to what classes are be-ing offered. This ensures parents that a school has a clear and defined mission and effective ways to carry out that mission.

The SAC’s reaccreditation process be-ginning in March will be very intensive, but it is an important step in maintaining credibility as a quality educational facility.

SACS puts Northwest to the testLauren Surber

staff writer

The earthquake Aug. 23 shook more than just the ground.

It rattled the minds of people along the east coast, and the news blew up social networking pages. Phone lines became busy with concerned friends and relatives ac-counting for safety of their loved ones.

Student-teacher Josh Bauers was aware of the quake that caused a four-foot long crack in the Wash-ington Monument, resulting in a temporary shut-down.

“[The earthquake] was definite-ly noticeable,” Bauers said. “I felt it last between five and 10 seconds.”

A dozen states on the east coast were affected by the quake’s 5.8 magnitude, but no deaths or major injuries were reported. Some peo-ple in the affected states did not feel or notice it.

Dr. Lucy Jones, expert in geo-physics and seismology, reported the unlikelihood of such an oc-currence happening again anytime soon. It was a relatively rare occur-rence not to be repeated in our life-time, but she did note that people can never be too sure.

“We don’t know until history tells us,” Jones said.

Along with others who experi-enced the earthquake was science teacher, Judith Ransom.

“Because we were far enough

away from the crack, I was able to distinguish between P and S waves,” Ransom said.

The primary (P) wave of an earthquake can be felt at the first start of a rumble. The secondary (S) wave is typically when the inten-sity grows stronger; however, not everyone felt these waves.

“I was driving in my car when it happened, so I had no clue there had been an earthquake until I later saw people reporting it on Face-book,” English teacher Melanie Huynh-Duc said.

Although earthquakes are un-common to North Carolinians, hur-ricanes are more familiar disasters.

This year’s hurricane season is estimated to be one of the most costly with repairs expected in the billions.

Because this is a La Niña year and weather patterns are at ex-tremes, 2011 has had an extremely active season. Power losses and se-vere damage to homes are not un-common along the North Carolina beach.

Some people chose to evacuate

before the major tropical storms hit, and others opted to wait them out and see what happened.

“I think it’s very necessary for families to have an evacuation plan and emergency kit prepared ahead of time,” Ransom said.

An outline of what an emer-gency plan should include can be found on the National Hurricane Center website.

“I really don’t think it’s that big of a deal,” junior Danielle Floyd said. “I’ve been through three cat-egory four hurricanes, and I think

it’s unnecessary for people to turn this into such a big deal. This isn’t stuff that’s going to put us under for years.”

As of mid-September, only two tropical storms this year strength-ened to the point of being techni-cally classified as a hurricane Com-pared to 2005, the most active At-lantic hurricane season on record consisting of seven major storms including Hurricane Katrina, this year has been somewhat less of a record season. The hurricane sea-son ends Nov. 30.

Earthquake and hurricane season affect NC citizens

Coastal citizens are participating in damage control from the 2011 hurricane season. Hurricane Irene ripped through the NC coast Aug. 27.Photo contributed by Jessica Rawley

Emily Jacksonstaff writer

Livi Shepherd Gray has been at Northwest long enough to witness seven senior classes graduate; she has also seen an equal amount of eighth graders become high school freshmen. This year, she will have the opportunity to see a different set of faces head to college.

Shepherd Gray, NWHS’s former school nurse, will not be returning to her office this year. Instead, she will be leaving Northwest to assist Page.

“We had a lot of change in our nursing staff this year,” said Heather Carter, the new school nurse. “Since there’s not a school nurse at Page High School, she was sent to Page.”

Described by Carter as “very experienced,” Shepherd Gray has left a legacy of accomplishments at Northwest. Aside from the standard blood pressure checks and providing medical information, she has also taught classes on communicable diseases and anatomy and physiology’s relation to nursing. She also takes pride in helping

set up school and public health displays at NWHS’s annual career fair.

Characterizing fellow nurses and herself as “the kidney of health in a school,” Shepherd Gray has done quite a bit of “filtering” regarding health care needs in the student body.

“I organized a mass meningitis vaccination clinic for all seniors who needed this for college the year when the state had free vaccines to give,” Shepard Gray said. “ I also helped give flu vaccines two years ago when the big H1N1 epidemic hit as well as helped track the number of cases we had in the school.”

Although our former school nurse will be leaving the high school this year, she will still be the resident school nurse at Northwest Middle and three other schools this year. Her important position as registered nurse will be filled by Carter. As Shepherd Gray’s replacement, Carter says that even though there are a lot of students and things to learn, she will try to do her best as the new school nurse, choosing to stay true to Shepherd Gray’s words.

“Health promotion and disease prevention is my business, that’s just what we do,” Shaepard Gray said.

Jean Andre du Preezstaff writer

Vikings bid farewell to school nurse

Page 4 News October 2011

Department: ECLooking Forward to: I am looking forward to meeting new people, learning new techniques and just getting my hands dirty and getting to work.Previous Experience: This is my fi rst year teaching.Favorite Song: “Beast of Burden” by The Rolling Stones.Favorite Class: Gym because I got to play volleyball.Comments: I just hope to bring new information that has been given to me throughout college.

Teaches: CP Earth and EnvironmentalLooks forward to: I look forward to just working here. My son will be going here next year, so it will be great to see him too.Previous experience: I worked at Eastern for one year, Southeast for three years and Lexington Senior High for twelve years.Favorite Song: “Dirt Road Anthem” by Jason AldeanFavorite class in high school: Art. I was good at it. I liked to draw and write.Comments: I hope to bring a positive learning environment so that students can learn and have fun at the same time.

Teaches: English 10 and 11Looking Forward to: I am looking the most forward to building relationships with my students and the staff and getting involved in two or more extracurricular activities.Previous experience: Last year I was an assistant principal intern at Irving Park Elementary School. Prior to that, I was getting my Master’s at UNCG. Prior to that, I taught at Southeast for seven years, and prior to that, I taught at Trinity High School for four years.

Position: Front Offi ce AssistantLooking forward to: I was here fi ve years ago, and it is good to be back.Favorite music: I like Christian music.Favorite Class: History because you always get to learn something about the past.Comments: I hope to be a great staff member.

Teaches: I teach Medical Careers. I teach Level One, which is like an Anatomy and Physiology type course, and then health relations.Previous Experience: Ragsdale and High Point Andrews High School Favorite Class: Orchestra. I played the violin.Favorite Music: I listen to a lot of Colbie Caillat.

Teaches: Scientifi c Visualization Looking forward to: I guess getting to know the students and their families; that’s the most important to me. Previous experience: Well, I taught in Asheboro, but right before this, I worked as a veterinary technician.Favorite song: “3 Little Birds” by Bob Marley.Favorite class: It’s a toss up between Marine Science and Art. I also took a class called Film Literature. That was a really cool class. We had a chance to analyze fi lm and fi lmmakers, and I guess it gave me a better appreciation for fi lm and what goes into it.

Operation: Teacher TakeoverNorthwest welcomes new operatives to the team

Harold W. Ashworth

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Emily Gore

Jennifer Mooroe Katherine Payne

Cassie Kirby-Smith Chuck Doak

Department: EC Department and the BSA (Behavior Support Assistant)Previous Experience: I worked at Kernodle Middle School.Favorite Song: “Jesus Loves Me”Favorite Class: P.E. I like sports. My favorite sport is basketball.Comments:I hope to bring diversity, joy and prosperity.

David Robenson

Teaches: Substitute for Melanie Huynh-Duc (Journalism, Honors English 9) and Jennifer Doner (Honors English 12)Previous experience: I taught for three years in Davidson County and 12 years as the director at Sylvan Learning Center.Looking forward to: I’m looking forward to potentially becoming a perma-nent member of the Northwest faculty.Comments: I hope to bring an upbeat personality and my passion for literature.

Lora Doby

Editorial Page 5October 2011

AdviserMelanie Huynh-DucPrincipalRalph KitleyEditors-in-ChiefMatt ShearsCallie PayneNews EditorJen NelsonOp/Ed EditorJonathan WilliamsSpread EditorChristine SonSports EditorKatie Kilmartin

Creative DirectorShannon CarrStaff PhotographerKaterina MansourStaff WritersCarson BeamLiz DeutchkiSarah DeutchkiJean-Andre du PreezDanny HageMichael HraboskyEmily JacksonDanny NettSamantha ReinisLauren Surber

Policies and Intent Serving as the primary printed and online forum for stu-

dent opinon, Northwest Horizons publishes six issues each

year by the staff at Northwest Guilford High School. The

paper is supported through community advertisers and is

printed by Stone Printing of High Point.

Editorials are unsigned. The stance of each editorial is

voted upon in staff meetings, but it requires the approval of

the majority of the editorial board.

All members of the school community are encouraged to

use Northwest Horizons to express their views. Letters must

be signed when submitted.

Features EditorMorgan Von SteenArts & Culture EditorShaunee VazquezEntertainment EditorGrace KingGraphics EditorMatthew TaylorWeb EditorsAnnabel BrunkAna Nino CombsBusiness ManagerJosh Jones

Imagine a small log cabin with no tele-vision, computers or even an overhead projector to write on. The only light in the room comes from the few streams of sun-light shining through the window. For early American schools, this is exactly what the traditional classroom setting looked liked. Technology in academic classrooms has enhanced the variety of ways in which stu-dents can learn. It allows students to actively make decisions about how to generate, ob-tain, manipulate or even display information. Removing the teacher from the center of the classroom allows for students to solve and figure out problems for themselves rather than being told first hand by their teachers. “Technology allows teachers to use dif-ferent teaching methods,” senior Katie Rand said. “Some students are visual learners and being able to show videos and presenta-tions on a big screen helps those students.”

Today, there are still many people that believe technology will never replace the human mind. Yet still every year, new tech-nological advancements are added to our public school classrooms across the US.

Slowly, technology has begun to take over the educational process through the

use of TVs, computers and other tech-nological advancements. These addi-tions to the classroom have even begun to distinguish between a good or bad school in the minds of some students. “A school with less technology has less current information than a school with more,” junior Vincey Varghese said. “Schools with more technology have ac-cess to current information that can be found outside of our textbooks.” Although technology may provide stu-dents with a broader scale of knowledge in the classroom, it also has its disadvantages. The purpose of technology is often abused by students looking for a short cut or “the easy way out” when doing their schoolwork. “Technology promotes laziness sometimes because students go to Sparknotes and print out information instead of doing their own work,” Var-ghese said. “They don’t learn that way.” Some people believe schools do not need a lot of technology to be consid-ered a good school. Many schools, such as Northwest, have managed to excel without obsessive use of technology. The costs of these technological advancements are of-ten too high for most schools’ budgets. As a result, many schools have chosen to use the minimum amount as possible. “Technology provides students with more resources to learn, but Northwest is still a good school because of its teachers,” junior Paige Guse said. “Improving its use of technology, though, would make it better.”

Technology takes over the classroom

Matthew Taylorgraphics editor

staff editorial

staff editorial

When first period ends, students of Northwest are sent into a panic that they have never before experienced: The Feeling of No Warning Bell. “What is this feeling?” you might ask. It’s frustration, it’s not being able to wave to your friends, it’s a hole in your heart where the warning bell used to be.

“[I want the warning bell back] because I am not a person who lollygags, but I have to go to the bathroom between classes,” senior Kelly Snyder said. “I hate getting yelled at by teachers saying I can’t go during class.” Not only is the bathroom an is-sue, but talking to teachers after class has become more stressful as well.

“Time is crunched because we don’t have a wrist watch to tell what time is it,” fresh-man Madeline Bagby said. “The only other way to check the time is to check our phones,

but we can’t do that, so it’s hopeless.” Why is this change in effect? Students who have abused of this bell did not re-alize it was a privilege. Rather than us-ing the bell for its intended purpose of time tracker, some students used it as an indication on when to rush to class. “… students would gather in the hallways and wait until the warning bell rang and run to class,” physical science and human anato-my teacher Diana Burdzy said. “It became a game: who can run to class the fastest?” Though it is still the early part of the year, no warning bell seems to have created more traffic in the hallways. “Everyone is trying to hurry [to class], and you all get packed into the same little area,” senior Lauren Morton said. The warning bell is now just a mem-ory. It is a memory of the times when we could use the bathroom during class changes and get all of the right binders from our lockers without panicking. So long, bell. We hope you return to us soon.

Callie Payne and Lauren Surbereditor in chief and staff writer

Warning bell blues

Visit our website:www.northwesthorizons.com

The average high school student is just looking to make it through the week. Trying to balance school-work, relationships, jobs, clubs, sports, and whatever else may be on their plate. Many of us walk through the halls of Northwest every day not realizing that this venerable place we call our scholas-tic home is something bigger than we could ever imagine. Something that has made an impact on the world, something that continues to shape the way we think and live. Something that is great. North-west is one building that directs the future of us all.

Northwest High School is a structure, sure, but the spirit of Northwest cannot be found

in the architecture. The spirit of Northwest is found in the faculty, the staff, and most importantly, the student body. We are directly responsible for what Northwest is and feels like. If we think that Northwest is great, then we make it great. If we think that North-west could be better, then maybe it is us who need to put in more effort to build a community. Northwest, created in 1962, is approaching its 50th anniversary next year. This momentous occa-sion will mark 50 years of teenage students roaming the halls of this campus, conversing and com-municating life lessons, as well as academic ones. We as a student body should appreciate and take pride in the fact that our school is literally one of Honor and Excel-lence. When walking down the hallway, take a moment to look

around and see the hundreds of students passing amongst you and realize that we, not just you, are Northwest Guilford High school. How many times have you actually looked at our school’s Viking logo and comprehended its meaning? It is emblematic of us as a whole. This logo is some-thing beyond athletics, beyond academics, beyond clubs, beyond rules, beyond school spirit; it is Northwest High school, and it is something bigger than you can imagine. It is not only represent-ing your class, it is representing every single student and class that has ever called Northwest home. Upon a rough estimate, there are about 60,000 Northwest Vi-king graduates in this world. We have doctors, lawyers, professors, bankers, politicians, engineers, CEOs, farmers, teachers, princi-

pals, professional athletes, police-men, firemen and so much more. When we graduate from North-west, not only do we embark on a new adventure to a new place, but we take with us the spirit of Northwest. Northwest does not stop on Northwest School Road. The legacy of Northwest extends to every state and every coun-try and every office building that a Northwest school student has ever walked into. When we leave behind the halls of Northwest, we leave behind a chapter of our lives, but we will never leave behind everything that we learned here. That said, we are learning more at Northwest than just Algebra and chemistry. The classes we sign up for are important, but Northwest teaches us something more impor-tant than the subjects that show up on our report cards. Northwest

teaches us how to work with peo-ple. It teaches how to take account-ability for ourselves; it teaches us how to be independent. North-west not only fills our minds with facts, but it equips us for how to be adults. It is important that we not take these years for granted because these four years are all we have to get ready to be on our own. These four years are what we will be remembered by, what we will be ready for in the future. Let’s make these years great. Let’s make them great for each other, and let’s make them great for everyone around us. We are the future of our world, and only we can ensure that the future will be a good one. This place is big-ger than just a normal high school. This place is a growing community of people effecting change in their lives and the lives of others. This is Northwest Guilford High School.

T h e re i s s o m e t h i n g b i g ge r g o i n g o n h e re

OpinionPage 6 October 2011

Obama’s LegacyDespite the President’s controversial actions, his term brought many great things into the United States.

President Barack Obama’s legacy is bound to be a very con-troversial subject. His presidency

has been the most publicly scru-tinized in history and his every move picked through with a fine-tooth comb. Contrary to popular belief, Obama has ex-ceeded expectations pertain-ing to the White House agenda in record time. He accom-plished 85 percent of his first term agenda in just two years. “I believe that Obama’s legacy is one that all Ameri-can’s must respect whether they agree with his policies or not. As the Nation’s first African American president, he will obviously be forever revered concerning his revo-

lutionary and historical term,” senior Da-vis Derrico said. Thanks to Lady

Gaga, “Don’t ask, Don’t tell” was a highly

published blemish on the reputation of freedom

in America. Under Obama’s ex-ecutive orders, “Don’t ask, Don’t tell” was repealed; a big win for the LGBT community. Now, openly gay people can fight for our country without having to deny their sexual orientation. “Personally I believe Obama’s biggest accomplishment while in office in his work in repealing the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy in 2010 and his administration’s refusal to support the Defense of Marriage Act,” Derrico said. Another win for the LGBT community was the legislation passed that allowed homosexu-als to be married in New York. This was celebrated by many partners who were married soon after the legislation passed. New York City became the sixth state in America to allow gay marriage giving people the freedom they are supposed to have in our nation. Obama has been criticized for spending more money than most presidents; however, his Stimulus Package was used in part to add money to construc-tion plans, which in turn gave more jobs to the unemployed. “It’s a good thing because even though he’s spending a lot of money, it’s giving Americans

jobs that he promised he would give,” junior Shraven Arimilli said. The Health Care Reform is also another main contribution that President Obama has brought to America. The reform would pro-vide some form of health care to the uninsured and insured alike, whether it be Medicare, Medic-aid, or private/public options. “The Health Care Reform did not go as far as it should have, but it was a good step in the right direc-tion,” junior Paul Davidson said. What many Americans will remember after Obama’s reign is the death of infamous terror-ist Osama Bin Laden. He was known as the leader of the Al Qaeda, who launched the attacks on September 11. Recently hon-oring the tenth anniversary of the attacks, America can take a sigh of relief knowing that the leader of the attacks is no longer a threat. It is clear that Obama de-serves more praise for his presi-dency than he often receives. “Regardless of what APUSH classes will be teaching about his presidency in 100 years, I think that President Obama should be credited with the strength of tackling the greatest issues of politics today: the continuing re-cession, the job crisis, the health-care reform, and equality for the LGBT community,” Derrico said.

Morgan Von Steen and Grace Kingfeatures and entertainment editor

Imagine yourself on a long narrow table. A bright light shines down on you; you notice shadows dancing around you in the dark. Then, a glowing scalpel comes into focus, inching towards your body. It is inches away when it makes the first cut. It’s not a slasher film; it’s your nose job. The issue of teen plastic surgery is rife within the nation. Kids are getting nipped and tucked earlier and ear-lier in their lives. “I mean it really doesn’t change what’s on the inside, I don’t think,” senior Preethika Sun-dararaj said. “You aren’t changing the stuff that matters. It’s all superficial.”

However, it seems to be more than skin deep. In a research conducted for the April 2004 issue of “Plastic and Reconstruc-tive Surgery,” researchers found that patients who are dissatisfied with surgery may request repeat procedures or experience depression and adjustment problems, social isolation, family problems, self-destructive behaviors and anger toward the surgeon and their staff.

However, there is very little psychological research on the deep effects plastic surgery has on a person, especially in the long term.

According to the American Society

of Plastic Surgeons, nearly 210,000 cos-metic plastic surgery procedures were per-formed on people age 13 to 19 in 2009.

The most popular procedure among teens is a nose job, also known as rhinoplas-ty. Nearly 35,000 U.S. teenagers had a nose job in 2009. The second most popular being breast augmentation. “I would oppose [plas-tic surgery] because it is unnecessary at this age,” sophomore Cyrus Fitzpatrick said. “It is most likely a waste of money, especially

with the economy being the way it is.”

Indeed, the low-est you can pay for an operation is $500 for a Botox injec-tion and as high as $18,200 for a lower body lift. Well, there goes the college fund.

But should teens be allowed to make sure an extreme decision when adolescence is marked blatantly with so many insecurities?

“No, they shouldn’t. No one

should,” Sundararaj said. “I think if teens want to get plastic surgery, I don’t know many that do, then that’s a really poor reflection of our society right now.”

Though there will always be that one thing you wish you could change, whether it be you’re too tall, you’re too short, your nose is too big, these seemingly major im-perfections are what make up who you are.

“It’s kind of cliché, but everyone really is beautiful in their own way,” Sundararaj said.

A broken nose can be equated to the end of the world for a young adult. Permanent damage caused by one in-cident can be devastating to deal with. Modern medicine has pro-vided a solution: plastic surgery. “If plastic surgery is done for the right reasons, it can be a positive life chang-ing event,” junior Savannah Bruffey said. “It can boost your confidence and make you comfortable in your own skin.” Plastic sur-gery encompasses a wide array of procedures, from implants to recon-struction. Most of the popula-tion view the term “plastic surgery” with the idea of “being fake,” especially when judging young adults who go under the knife. However, this is not always true. The term “plastic surgery” does not have any connections with plastic. The term actually originates from the Greek word plastikos, which means “to form or mold.” Many young adults seek out cos-metic procedures to correct an imper-fection that was a result of an accident. “People who get in accidents shouldn’t

have to deal with something that can be fixed,” junior Aston Tomlin said. “No-body deserves all that weird attention.” If a person is suffering from the trau-ma of an imperfection, then that person should be allowed to do whatever he or she wishes to correct the flaw. The option to change one’s appearance is a personal choice, no matter how young the patient. “I think that it should be something that’s used when it’s necessary,” senior Dan-

iel Lester said. “My mom had to have her nose worked on when a soft-ball broke it badly in high school.” One needs to understand the different types of surgery classi-fied under plastic surgery. Recon-structive surgery is used to correct defects on the face or body such as birthmarks, burns and traumatic

injuries. Aesthetic or cosmetic proce-dures include rhinoplasty and liposuction. “I think if [someone] has been in an ac-cident, then he should be able to have plastic surgery because society would not accept him for what he looks like,” senior Dillon Sims said. In the end, it is ultimately the pa-tient’s decision to go under the knife. This decision should be an option no mat-ter the age of the patient and should not be used as a tool to judge a person.

Jonathan Williamsop/ed editor

Jen Nelsonnews editor

November 4, 2008

Senator Barack Obama is elected as the 43rd President

of the United States.

January 20, 2009

The inaugeration and swearing in of President Barak Obama.

head 2 headTEEN PLASTIC SURGERY

Plastic does not mean fakeBeauty is not only skin deep

December 22, 2010

The Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Re-peal Act is signed, ending the

policy.

May 1, 2011

Obama announces that Osama bin Laden, notorious leader of

Al-Qaeda, has been killed.

June 22, 2011

The President announces his plan to withdraw 33,000 U.S. troops from Afghanistan by

the summer of 2012.

I think if teens want to get plastic surgery, I don’t know many that do, then that’s a really poor reflection of our

society right now.”

“

-senior Preethika Sundararaj

I think if [someone] has been in an accident, then he should be able to have plastic surgery be-cause society would not accept him for what he

looks like. ”

“

-senior Dillon Sims

Opinion Page 7October 2011

Even if you haven’t read the memorized the school handbook verbatim, you might still be surprised about how many people are talking about the new policies for the 2011-2012 school year. From the teachers down to that one student who would always arrive just after the late bell, the new policies

have affected everyone’s school day.

t h e B a d ,and the U G L Y

Jean-Andre du Preez and Danny Nettstaff writers

Cell phones and other electronic devices, which were traditionally ‘fair game’ for

being taken by a teacher or administrator as soon as zero period started, are now

free to roam the halls before the start of first period. This allows for students

to get all their texting over for the day so they do not interupt their classes.

Tech savy before first period

Ding-dong, the warning bell is dead

Free-for-all parking

Guilford County has also instated a new policy

regarding teacher/student relations. Teachers are

no longer permitted to have students and parents as

‘friends’ on social networking sites such as Facebook.

Though Facebook can be used as a tool for

interactions between students and teachers in purely

an acedemic and professional way. However, it is better

to ensure that students personal lives are protected

and teachers’ personal lives are protected as well.

I think that kids should be allowed to talk on the phone and

text before class, that’s reasonable, but not during class.

“ ”

-junior Mark Janke

I think there would be more organization if we had assigned

parking.

“ ”

-junior Josiah Smith

Student parking, which was assigned in years past, is now on a “first-come, first-

served” basis. Participating vehicles must now sport a sticker which makes them

eligible to park in the student parking lot. Though this promotes some chaos for

those latecomers, it rewards those who chose to come to school earlier and on time.

Northwest is no longer using the warning bell, the electronic ringing that

signaled the one-minute grace period before class started. The goal of the

policy is effective on paper; the truth is it simply does not work. For the

students who do not abuse the original warning bell system, they are constantly

waiting for a warning bell that will never ring telling them to hurry on to class.

sophomore Jacquelyn McGorthy

I believe that students should have a bell to give them time to

prepare for clas so that they know exactly how much time they have.

“ ”

No more Facebook friends

I feel like it’s very inappropriate [for teach-ers and students to be friends on Facebook] because teachers are married and have their

own families and shouldn’t be interacting with kids that are pretty much their own

kids’ age.

“ ”

-senior Jessie Hawkins

The good,

United States: Bloody Mary

Many people in the United States know the story of Bloody Mary. It is one of the country’s most popular scary stories. In spite of many varieties of the legend, the most common version that people are familiar with is when someone goes into a bathroom and spins around three times while saying Mary’s name. The number of times you say “Bloody Mary” varies, but the most common is unlucky 13. The legend, based on Queen Mary I who was responsible for the deaths of many English protestants, claims that she will come out of the mirror and take your soul. Many young children have attempted to call Mary with, fearing that she will come out of the mirror and steal their souls. No child has ever accomplished the challenge of meeting Bloody Mary, but the legend still grows to this day.

Argentina: El Lobizon

Although nearly every country in the world has stories of men becoming beasts, the Argentine “El Lobizon” stands out in its unrivaled ability to invoke fear. Legend has it that if a family is unlucky enough to have seven consecutive male children, the last son will become a monster. Some Argentines believe the beast can transform anyone it attacks, while others maintain that only seventh sons are at risk. The monster is described as a large canine with coarse hair, large fangs and the hind limbs of a human child. Like American werewolves, El Lobizon is extremely muscular and difficult to restrain. The myth states that once someone is afflicted, the individual is said to retreat to the mountains and hillsides of rural Argentina where he ravages livestock and waits in ambush for human victims. In the early 1900s, fearful families began to abandon or even murder their seventh sons. The family infanticide became such a problem that the government took legislative action. A law was enacted stating that the Argentine president would personally baptize all seventh children. The president would also provide potentially afflicted youth with college scholarships. Sightings and stories of El Lobizon persist throughout both rural and urban areas of the country. The president’s law is still in place and helps to illustrate the prevalence of the myth in Argentina today.

China: Pretty White Dress

One of the most famous traditional scary stories told in China is the one by the name of “The Pretty White Dress.” After being told for years, it was even turned into an opera play in the late 1990s. The story tells of a man by the name of Zhong Yoa and his continuous encounters with a girl wearing a white dress. Zhong is warned by his friends that these occurrences are not common, and the only explanation for the girl’s presence is she must be a ghost. The friends tell Zhong the only way to rid himself of the haunting is to kill the spirit. That night, when the girl returns to Zhong’s home, he attacks the girl with a knife. The girl manages to escape, leaving a trail of blood as she runs away. The next day, Zhong and his friends follow the blood trail to a tombstone and they dig up a coffin from beneath it. Inside, they find a girl, freshly killed, wearing a white dress, stained with blood.

Filipino: The Tiyanak

There is a Filipino legend about a young woman who goes for a walk which turns disastrous. As she is walking around, she hears the faint cry of a baby. This cry leads her to the middle of the jungle where an infant is lying on the ground. Of course one wouldn’t leave a baby by itself, so she picks it up. Unfortunately, this “infant” is said to grow claws and fangs and then proceed to eat the nice young lady who picked it up. However, if the young woman manages to put her clothes on inside out before the demon-baby eats her, it will slink away back into the jungle.

The Tiyanak has several explanations to its creation. Some say they are babies who died before being baptized, in which case they go into Limbo and are transformed into evil spirits to later then return to Earth as goblins. Others claim that they are the offspring of a mortal and a demon, or are babies whose mothers died before giving birth. Whatever the origin of this creature, it would be wise to be hesitant about picking up a baby on the jungle floor. That is, without turning your clothes on inside out, of course.

Graphic by Matthew Taylor

Transylvinia: Vlad III the Impaler

He maintained a creepy castle, held hostages in a dungeon, burned those in poverty and impaled people.

Vlad III the Impaler was a real man who provided the basis for Bram Stoker’s Dracula. While Vlad was not a vampire, he was certainly a man with a thirst to show his power.

Vlad caused several horrific incidents, including impaling 30,000 merchants for disobeying trade laws.

A correlation with Dracula includes Vlad’s last name, Dracul, meaning “devil.” An “a” was added to the end of that name changing the translation to “son of devil.”

Using a stake to kill a vampire comes from the wooden stakes Vlad used to impale his victims. Based on such a demonic creature, it is no surprise that Dracula evokes great fear from many people.

Vlad also provided the perfect characteristic vampire because he was thought to suffer from a rare allergy that caused him to lose control when exposed to blood as well as crave blood. Many speculate that he consumed human flesh regularly.

While many of the modern vampire characters seem less harmful and more pet-like, Vlad III the Impaler was the true-to-life horrific human who terrified many.

South Africa: The Flying Dutchman

In 1641, a Dutch ship sank off the coast of the Cape of Good Hope, located at the tip of South Africa. The captain, VanderDecken failed to notice he was sailing right into a fierce storm, and after several hours of battling to get out of the storm, the ship hit some rocks and began to sink.

As the ship went down, VanderDecken screamed out a curse,“I WILL round this Cape even if I have to keep sailing until the end of time!”

The legend today is that when there is a storm brewing off the Cape of Good Hope,you will be able to see the ship and the captain of The Flying Dutchman if you are looking into the eye of the storm. The legend also says that whoever sees the ship will die a terrible death.

Many people have claimed to see the ship, one being the crew of a German submarine during World War II. The lookout man described the ship as “a strange red life as of a phantom ship all aglow, in the midst of which light the mast, spars and sails of a brig 200 yards distant stood out in strong relief.”

That same lookout man later accidently fell from a mast and died.

Filipino: The Tiyanak

There is a Filipino legend about a young woman who goes for a walk which turns disastrous. As she is walking around, she hears the faint cry of a baby. This cry leads her to the middle of the jungle where an infant is lying on the ground. Of course one wouldn’t leave a baby by itself, so she picks it up. Unfortunately, this “infant” is said to grow claws and fangs and then proceed to eat the nice young lady who picked it up. However, if the young woman manages to put her clothes on inside out before the demon-baby eats her, it will slink away back into the jungle.

The Tiyanak has several explanations to its creation. Some say they are babies who died before being baptized, in which case they go into Limbo and are transformed into evil spirits to later then return to Earth as goblins. Others claim that they are the offspring of a mortal and a demon, or are babies whose mothers died before giving birth. Whatever the origin of this creature, it would be wise to be hesitant about picking up a baby on the jungle floor. That is, without turning your clothes on inside out, of course.

To most people, playing something called “The Devil’s Game” isn’t an appealing activity. More often known as the Ouija board, it is considered a game that will put you in contact with the spiritual world. Upon buying, I have to say I was doubtful. My board came in the mail about two years ago, just in time for my 14th birthday party. I bought it on EBay for $22 under the name “Haunted Ouija Talking Spirits Board,” and I was excited to break it out with my friends. Our first attempt at channeling the paranormal failed miserably. As a group of eighth grade girls, we were too giddy on the thought of something actually happening than to take the game seriously. I brushed off the experiment, and the board lay in my closest dusty for quite awhile. About a year ago, I broke it out again. The board still looked “haunted;” the box was yellowed and falling apart, but I was

at any minute, even from therapeutic candles. Molly and I assumed it was the film’s special effects. We decided to try something new this time and set out a camera to watch our “séance.” Immediately after sitting down to play the game, I felt something weird. We sat there staring at the board, willing it to say anything, but nothing moved. Unexpectedly all 12 of our candles blew out at once, including the electric ones…without wind. Molly froze and gave me a blank stare. We sat entirely still for a few moments when finally Molly spoke. “Oh my God. Let’s go,” she blurted. We quickly gathered my Ouija board and went inside. After returning to a well-lit house we sat a looked at the camera. It had only been recording for 14 minutes, but in that span of time we watched as one translucent white ball came floating across the screen. It came as fast as it went, but it was right around the time we lost the flame of our candles. To this day, Molly and I still question whether it was moisture on the screen (it had rained the night before) or a ghost, but it remains one of the scariest moments of my life.

Stories by:Matthew Taylor, graphics editor Liz Deutchki, staff writerDanny Nett, staff writerGrace King, entertainment editorJen Nelson, news editorShannon Carr, creative director

Photo by Morgan Von Steen

Ouija board creates chilling experienceMorgan Von Steen

features editor

still convinced it was just a toy I could use to scare my friends. Nothing felt like this night. It was sometime in late October, a few days before or after Halloween. Sophomore Molly Pustay and I were up around midnight when we decided to bring the board to the middle of our cul-de-sac. Molly had never really been a believer either, but it was something to do. Like most ghost stories, ours started off with a scream. Not from a woman being attached or a spirit warning us, but from my mother. She didn’t like when we used her therapeutic candles to contact the dead. To set the atmosphere, we turned off our phones and lit some candles. A few, I have to add were electric, but I like to think they are candles nonetheless. There was nothing to point out that this night would be abnormal, so we started to play. I heard before that Ouija boards were portals to the spiritual world and that once an entity has attached to you, it wouldn’t be leaving anytime soon. The movie Paranormal Activity characterized the board as something that was combustible

Homecoming Wrap-Up

Page 10 Sports October 2011

New tennis courts now greet ev-eryone located next to the senior parking lot beside North-west School Road. After many years of request by Ath-letic Director John Hughes, coach Ran-dy Alexander and principal Ralph Kit-ley, the project was finally initiated last spring, and the courts were first opened to practice September 8. Members of the team and the coach hope to spend more time practicing, mak-ing the use of short-ened travel time. “I’m just so happy for both our boys’ and girls’ tennis team,” Hughes said. “Because we are not spending much time driv-ing to Bur-Mil [Park], we can get over there as quickly as we can.” A 2008 bond referendum fund-ed the tennis courts, along with other athletic facility improve-ments. Before the decision, North-

west was one of the few large high schools without any tennis courts. “They save a lot of gas mon-ey and time,” senior Halle Man-grum said. “It’s so convenient.” The inconvenience that many members of the team had to face when playing at Bur-Mil

Park is no longer a problem. There are fewer restrictions and more practice time for students. “I feel like some people who couldn’t get rides to Bur-Mil just stopped coming to prac-tice, so having our own ten-nis courts makes it more ef-

ficient to have practice here,” sophomore Jyoshitha Tella said. Many players hope to have more cheers from spectators, which they hope will inspire the team. “I think it feels good for all of us to truly play a ‘home match,’ but I think we’d play our best no

matter where we are,” Mangrum said. In spite of the ex-citement of the team due to increased ef-ficiency, the expecta-tion of the team still depends upon team members’ devoted attitude and assidu-ous manner toward the practice and play. “I think we are happy that we have our own courts, but I don’t think that has affected [the players] in any way [as far as the team’s perfor-mance],” Alexander said. “I think the indi-vidual, how long they practice and how hard they practice determine [team’s p e r f o r m a n c e ] ; Tennis courts are tennis courts.” The girls are pleased with the change, and the team’s first season

with the improvement is set to work. The boys’ team will get to play on the new courts in the spring. “I’m just glad I got to experi-ence having courts at Northwest before I graduate,” Mangrum said. “It’s exciting to think I was a senior when the courts were first used.”

New tennis courts are winners

Members of the girls’ tennis team practice after school to prepare for their upcoming match. They are undefeated in their conference.

Rivalries: it’s what gets students excited for a game a week in ad-vance, what makes the atmosphere at a game more intense and what fuels the players to work harder than they normal-ly would.

Northwest has one rival in partic-ular that does all of the above and then some: Western Guilford. The gen-eral sense around the school is that major rivalries are great for school spirit and competition. Senior Blake Shoenfeld believes the rivalry is great for our school.

“It helps out for competitions. What’s the point if we don’t have any rivalries? What’s the point of us even trying to beat them? I mean, isn’t that why they invented the word ‘rivalry’? And ‘competi-tion’?”

The bottom line is: Northwest students dislike Western.

“I don’t like them,” freshman Sarah Plott said, showing that while they are new to the school, the freshman feel as strongly as the seniors towards our biggest rival.

Students dislike Western be-

cause the Western students mock Northwest students dressing as “rednecks” whenever playing at Northwest.

“I think they’re mean because they call us hicks,” freshman Emily Sharpe said.

US history teacher Ray Parrish, who attended Northwest from

1980-83, says that not much has changed since his days at the school.

“In the ‘80s, that’s really who we were; we were a country school, and Western was the preppy school,” Parrish said.

While that may not be as true now as it

was then, the tradition stuck, and students continue it to this day.

Parrish also agrees that the ri-valry is a great thing for the school, “as long as it doesn’t get too in-tense.”

Having that one rival is always a good thing for a school and its student body. It gets students ex-cited for the games, gives players a little extra motivation, and best of all, gives the winning school those ever so exclusive bragging rights.

“Whenever we beat Western, I feel like a dandelion that got picked out of the field and wished upon and all the petals flew off,” senior Carrie Shropshire said.

Northwest-Western Rivalry

It helps out for competitions. What’s the

point if we don’t have rivalries?

“

”senior Blake Shoenfeld

Students express their thoughts on long-lasting

Western rival

Photo by Katerina Mansour

Michael Hrabosky staff writer

Christine Sonspread editor

Photos contributed by Elyse Pizzella and Eike Juliusburger

Northwest won the Homecoming game against High Point Central Sept. 30. The Vikings took home a victory with a score of 21-13. In spite of the two week delay due to weather conditions, the Vikings broke the long curse of losing the Homecoming game. Former Homecoming Queen, Mackenzie Macksood, handed off the crown to senior Lauren Suber who was voted Homecom-ing Queen out of a court of 18 young ladies. The night was full of excitement, long dresses and touchdowns.

Page 11SportsOctober 2011

Junior Daniel Le has the op-portunity of a lifetime: swimming in the Olympics.

Le was born in Iowa and moved to Chicago at a young age where he lived for most of his life, but he says his recent move to Greensboro this past summer, a result of his dad’s job, has hindered his training.

“During the break, I got really out of shape with my muscular strength and my cardio endur-ance,” Le said, “Although a week and a half doesn’t seem too long, it always takes me twice as long to get back in shape.” Le began his swimming career at the age of 12 with only the in-tention of staying in shape; how-ever, after continued success in competitions, he started to regard swimming as more than just exer-

cise. “I love the competitive nature of it [swimming],” Le said. “I also love how swimming is a very fair sport in terms of work. That means the more I put into the sport, the more I will get out of it.”His busy swimming regimen re-quires he train twice each day for two days a week, each practice be-ing two and a half hours long. Le attended the Junior National swimming competition in Stan-ford, California this past summer where he placed second in breast-stroke, his best stroke. His time for the 100m breaststroke, which earned him that second place fin-ish, was 1:03:52. Le, like most swimmers, is con-stantly looking to improve his time. “In Illinois there were two se-niors that went first and second in the nation, and they were the top recruits for college,” Le said. “I just got sick of losing to them, and that motivated me to work harder than ever to beat them.” According to Le, his biggest area

in need of improvement is his flip turn off the wall once he reaches the end of the pool. Le’s success in past competi-tions and diligence in training have opened a door to an opportunity extremely difficult to ignore. In

Northwest student swims to glory

JV athletes go unrecognized as Varsity teams recieve all the glory

It’s Friday night. For Northwest High School, that means one thing: football.

But what about Thursdays? It’s still our school friends playing. It’s still the same game, same rules. What’s the difference? It’s JV.

The fall sports playing now are football, soccer, golf, tennis,

volleyball, cross country, field hockey and cheerleading. Of these, the only teams that have JV teams are football, volleyball, cheerleading and soccer.

JV teams are often put in a lower light next to the Varsity teams. Announcements are rarely sent out about the JV teams, and they are not as hyped up as Varsity games.

For many, JV teams are for freshmen and newcomers who deserve the same amount of

support and maybe even more since they are just starting out. However, these players are often ignored even though they are doing the same amount of work, just at a different level.

Junior Halie Lett, now a Varsity cheerleader, was on JV her first year and noticed this disparity.

“They [the JV team] are required to do just as much work but aren’t as recognized. The stands are also empty [at JV football games],” Lett said.

However, JV teams are helpful for building a program. Sports without JV teams, such as tennis, must make huge cuts to auditioning players. Since tennis has just Varsity, and only the top 6 play, there are many players who never get the chance to actually compete in matches that count. JV players often feel less recognized and constantly compared to Varsity players. “Our JV team is actually really good, but no one comes and

watches them except parents,” Senior Varsity soccer player Matt Bruck said.

JV sports at Northwest often are not given the same support as Varsity sports, which is evident by the announcements advertising Varsity sports and not JV sports, and stands at JV games which are often less full than Varsity games.

“I was JV freshmen year and I felt like our games didn’t count compared to the Varsity games. I wasn’t motivated,” Bruck said.

June of 2012, Le will be trying out for the USA swimming team which will compete in the upcom-ing Olympics. Whatever his result may end up being, Le says his swimming career will not end at the try-outs.

He plans on going to colleges with strong swimming programs such as Virginia, Texas, Cal Berke-ley, USC and Michigan. “I think I will always be involved in swimming, whether it be coach-ing or staying in shape.”

Daniel Le is training for the Olympic tryouts. Le won second place in the breaststroke at the Junior National competition in Stanford, California this past summer.

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Empty stands and muted cheers

Page 12 Arts & Culture October 2011

Music has been a marvel to the world since the dawn of time.

For centuries, humans have been listening to, writing and playing music to the best of their abilities. Even today there is something awe-inspiring about five complete strangers meeting in an old barn and tapping their foot to the same beat or clapping their hands to the same song.

Dead By Dawn was started in late 2010 by guitarist Eric Ahmed and drummer Tim Johnson. Since then, their group has grown to in-clude bassist Grant Welton.

“Eric and I were sitting around one day and we realized, ‘Dude, you play guitar, and I play drums; we should start a band,’” Johnson said.

The original name of the band was Eternities End but it was re-cently changed due to the name’s trademark.

Dead By Dawn practices at an old barn and tries to get together

every weekend. “At practice, we go through

our set at least three times, but before shows, we buckle down and practice daily,” Ahmed said.

The band does not have a set genre of music; instead they have invented their own called post-metalcore. Being a mix of post-hardcore and metal, the band hopes that it will appeal to a large number of people.

“Really, we’re just happy if anyone listens to our music,” Welton said.

The band recently had a gig at The Corner Pocket bar to which more than a few fans attended.

“I think they’re really good,” fan Brooke Wujek said. “When I think of them, I think of good music.”

Their promoter, Brandon Gibson, works for a non-profit organization called Daydreams, so all of their gigs are free. The band does not have an interest in money and rather enjoys just becoming well-known within the community.

“The hardest part of being in a band is just getting out there and getting gigs,” Ahmed said. “We put a lot of time into practice, and if we don’t get out there all that practice goes to waste.”

The group welcomes new members, even people from other bands. Dead By Dawn’s goal is not to fight with rivals, but rather get along and collaborate.

“I love this band. We’re not trying to fight for a position. We just want to be friends, and be cool with every band,” Ahmed said.

Dead By Dawn’s most recent gig was October 2nd at The Some-where Else Tavern.

The band hopes to perform at Battle of the Bands on October 22nd. The group says they have a lot of fun, but all of them agree that if they were able to land a record deal, they would not mind playing music for the rest of their lives.

“We just want to be seen as a group of chill people playing good music,” Ahmed said.

Carson Beam staff writer

Reviving the deadDead By Dawn takes the local music scene by storm

Ahmed, Johnson and Welton rock out at Greensboro’s Somewhere Else Tavern. Dead By Dawn has been making music together for nearly a year.Photo by Carson Beam

Rap

Rock 19%

Country 19%

Indifferent10%

Pop 4%

Music tastes of Northwest

Graphic by Annabel Brunk and Josh Jones

Page 13October 2011 Arts & Culture

Romeo&JulietLines and blocking have been rehearsed. Gender roles have

been reversed..

Graphics by Andrew Harris and Shaunee Vazquez

October 27th is the night to be here.Come and

you’ll see the play, the renowned play

of Romy and J!

A tradgedy or a comedy? None of us know. To find out the answer you’ll

just have to go!

Page 14 Features October 2011

Climb time: Northwest juniors to hike Appalachian Trail

staff writerLiz Deutchki

Most students are eager to get out of high school and start a new life in college. The dream is slightly different for juniors Caleb and Josh Jacobs. These twin brothers not only want to hike the entire Appalachian Trail, but they plan to accomplish this before the age of 18 by graduating early with this year’s graduating class. The Appalachian Trail is roughly 2,170 miles long and

runs through 14 states. It starts in Springer Mountain, Georgia and runs all the way up to Baxter State Park in Maine. It takes the average hiker about five or six months to complete the trail in a single hiking season. “Our dad got a bunch of books and started reading about it, and he just said to us, ‘So, you guys want to do it sometime?’” Josh said. “So we just said, ‘Sure.’” The trip was more of a spontaneous idea than a life dream. The brothers plan to hike the entire trail from south to north. Along with their

father, they will be enjoying nature at its finest while hiking a trail that only about 25 to 35 percent of hikers actually complete. The time to start the hike is in April, which allows the hikers to finish the entire trail by Oct. if they hike the average of 12 miles a day. Oct. 15 is the closing date of Baxter State Park. Since this is the final destination, it is advised that hikers arrive there before the park is closed. People may wonder why these students would want to graduate early to hike a trail that will be there in 2013, the original

year they were supposed to graduate. “Our dad is going to retire in January of 2013, so if we waited, we’d still be in school and he’s coming with us,” Caleb said. In order to graduate early, the Jacobs twins had to complete online classes, which they finished this past summer. Caleb completed a semester of Success 101 and Medieval Studies. Josh finished his first and second years of Spanish, and they both completed English III. Plans to hike the trail were

not a secret, though few people actually knew about it at first. The twins’ good friend, sophomore Matt Bills, had his own opinion on the boys’ future travels. “I was proud of them for wanting to do something like that, but at the same time, I was thinking, ‘Wow, my friends will be gone for so long, and I’ll be here,’” said Bills. Six months is a long time, but most would say it is time well spent. “It was just an idea that started in tenth grade, and it’s going to happen,” Josh said.

Some of the scenes the Jacobs saw while hiking. Far right: The twins with their father while on a recent trip.

Photos contributed by the Jacobs family

back, he came back with so much knowledge, with so much knowing and wisdom that no book can teach you and no one can teach you; it’s all an experience thing,” Mosquera said. “I knew I needed to do that at some point in my life, but I was 13 at the time.”

The idea of exchange was brought up again when a group of German students came to Northwest in the 2009-2010 school year, one who stayed the entire year.

Mosquera took French classes her sophomore and junior year with Anne Cochran, which led her to an informational meeting held by Guilford County for students interested in foreign exchange.

The meeting reassured her interest in taking part in the program, primarily in a French-

Features Page 15October 2011

BLAST FROM THE PAST

Senior year. It is the year of college applications, finally being at the top of the “food chain,” not to mention, senioritis. But for Sofia Mosquera, it is the year that will change her entire life.

She is the first person in Northwest’s history to participate in the traveling portion of foreign exchange, living in Ovifat, Belgium for one year.

“I already speak Spanish and English. I didn’t want to go to a place where I already knew the language even if it was going to be culturally enriching,” Mosquera said. “I wanted the challenge of not knowing anything. I definitely just wanted the full experience.”

Mosquera spent the first nine years of her life in Bogotá, Colombia.

That’s right, South America. In 2002, her family moved to

New Orleans, LA until Hurricane Katrina caused them to evacuate in 2005 to Houston, TX.

Only a few months later, Mosquera’s mother got a job with Guilford County Schools, moving the family to Greensboro.

Her brother’s participation in an abroad program was the first event that sparked her interest in foreign exchange.

“When [my brother] came

editor in chiefCallie Payne

En BelgiqueSofia Mosquera travels to Belgium for her senior year

speaking country.“I actually wanted to go to

France originally, but I couldn’t because of my age. There’s an age regulation for association with the program,” Mosquera said. “Then one of the volunteers suggested French-speaking Belgium, and I actually looked into the country and researched it and liked it more than France.”

The application process consisted of essays, intense interviews, getting a Visa and a lot of waiting, not to mention the mental preparation required to move to another country for her senior year.

“I pretty much had to let go of all material things and attachments and literally take about five shirts, five pants, five shoes, five scarves, five jackets and that’s it,” Mosquera said. “I was allowed one bag, and no more than that, and it had to weigh no more than 40 pounds.”

Even though the experience has been life-changing, Mosquera says that it is the best thing she has ever done.

“It’s nice to see the other corners of the world and see what else is out there,” Mosquera said.

“I really like the fact that by doing this, the world seems a lot smaller in a way because it made me realize that people are people no matter where you are, and no matter if I don’t speak the language, we can find some way to connect because it’s just human beings interacting.”

Annual reflections contest comes to NW

The time has come to wash your paintbrushes and charge your cameras. The PTSA Reflections contest is here again. The contest starts by submitting an application obtainable from an English teacher, art teacher, or front office. Students then have a few weeks to construct their project according to the theme. The theme this year is “Diversity means…” “I participated because I enjoy music and I love the feeling of accomplishment you get when completing a song or win an award,” senior Brian Garner said. Every year, this contest challenges students to think outside the box and show off their artistic abilities. Many students compete in

different categories, such as film production and photography, to win an award or honorable mention. The Northwest PTA decides on the judges for the contest. Judges are looking for artistic value, creativity, originality, mastery of artistic techniques and interpretation of the theme in a national entry. Entries are mostly judged on how well the student interprets and portrays the theme. Students participate in this contest for a variety of reasons. Senior Brian Garner has participated freshman, sophomore and junior years and has won first place for Northwest all three years.

Garner also won first place at the county level freshman year, second place sophomore year and honorable mention junior year. Garner likes to participate in the musical compostion category.

Other students like to participate in the contest not only to win, but to take on the challenge of completing the prompt. “Overall, the factor I most appreciate about the Reflections contest is the concept that our thoughts and ideas are more important than our abilities to put them on paper,” junior Stephanie Fenton said. “As far as I am aware, reflection entries are judged based on how individuals complete the prompt and how they represent it through symbolism, word choice, images, etc.”

This year will be Fenton’s third time participating in the contest. Fenton has won first place at school level and an honorable mention the second year.

“You don’t have to be an amazing artist to win, so long as you can formulate a creative and thoughtful concept and decently portray it,” Fenton said.

Sarah Deutchki

staff writer

Photo contibuted by Melanie Huynh-Duc

Many people do not realize that Northwest’s school news-paper has a rich history dating back to 1963. We have a whole catalog of vintage school newspapers in the news-room here and decided to share some interesting stories

from years past. This story is from the:

OCTOBER 1981 ISSUE

“ I didn’t want to go to a place where I already knew the lan-guage even if it was going to be enriching.

senior Sofia Mosquera“

Page 16 October 2011EntertainmentA Haunted Greensboro:

The Paranormal Investigation

My curiosity in the paranor-mal began as I watched the SyFy show “Ghost Adventures” with my brother. At first we both be-lieved the show was all a hoax and was silly, as most people do. The more we watched it, the more we realized how real it all seemed. The thought that there could be more to a person than just a body -- a soul -- and that it could communicate to those still on earth was baffling yet height-ened our curiosity even more.

Watching shows on the para-normal was not enough; I wanted to experience it for myself. I had to find out if it was all a hoax or not. This past summer, my fam-ily and I went on the Greens-boro tour “Nightmares around Elm Street.” It was very interest-ing; walking around downtown Greensboro, one wouldn’t ex-pect it to be a very haunted place, but there are many cases of the paranormal around us, such as Blandwood Mansion, the Caro-lina Theatre and McCoul’s Pub. The last stop on the tour was The Biltmore Hotel. This stop was not like the others. There is a feeling there that is hard to put into words - a presence that makes you always want to look over your shoulder.

There are two ghosts that are

said to roam the halls of The Biltmore, each with an interest-ing back story. There’s Lydia, a pretty red-headed “working girl” one could say, who frequented room 223 with her clients. As her chilling story goes, she was with a client when a heated altercation broke out between them. He was a strong, burly man and while standing at the top of the stairs that once opened out onto the streets, he shoved Lydia down a flight of stairs, thus killing her.

Lydia is a fairly benevolent ghost, except towards men who remind her of her killer. On sev-eral occasions she has been said to push large men down the same stairs she was pushed down. The hotel often keeps single men from staying in Lydia’s room as she is normally more active with them in her room.

The other ghost of the Bilt-more is a man who goes by the name of Phillip. He was an ac-countant for Cone Mills, a textile company, when it first opened. Suspicious of embezzlement, Phillip stayed after one night to look at documents. His hunch was obviously true as he was met by a man who slit his throat with piano wire.

Phillip’s room, 323, is often kept from being booked by a sin-gle woman because Phillip tends to get in bed and lay next to her, or he will stand at the foot of her bed until she turns on the lights.

After learning about the ghosts of the hotel, I had to stay there myself to experience it firsthand. With a few other journalism staff members, we booked Lydia’s room for a para-normal investigation.

When we walked into the ho-tel we noticed how absolutely beautiful the interior was ,but an eerie feeling fell over us. Either it was the old classic decorations of the hotel or the presence of the paranormal that left us un-settled.

I was ecstatic as I turned the key to open Lydia’s door; finally I would get to experience paranor-mal activity. It is evident the hotel staff cares for Lydia as the room is painted pink because that is her favorite color.

After scoping out the room, we decided to head down to the lobby to talk to one of the front desk clerks, Lindsay Slater.

Working at the hotel for two months now, he had a few very interesting occurrences to speak of.

“The first occurrence, I walked into a room on the third floor and there was a shadowy image above the window. It was just there for a second and then it dissipated, and we attributed that to the ghost who lives on the third floor whose name is Phil-lip,” Slater said.

He also had a more chilling experience recently also attrib-

uted to the ghost of Phillip. Slater was doing a room check in Phil-lip’s room when the TV cut on by itself. A sign many believe points to the presence of the paranor-mal.

Another staff member told us that they often find red hair in Lydia’s bathroom when guests are not there, but the story that has stuck out in our minds the most is that of an autistic boy and his mother who were staying in Lydia’s room when she decided to visit them.

The mother came furiously down the stairs in the morning demanding to know who had been in her room. The front desk clerks assured her no one would have been in the room at six in the morning.

The guest claimed her son, whose form of autism caused him to rarely speak, came out of the bathroom asking who the “pretty lady with the red hair” was. The staff members had to gently ex-plain to her who used to and still does, frequent that room.

Lydia and Phillip are not the only ghosts at the Biltmore, how-ever. There is a little boy ghost that is sometimes seen in the basement of the hotel and also in the basements of the adjoining businesses in the building. He has come to be known as Timmy, al-though the question of his origin remains unanswered.

Lindsay led us down to the

basement in hopes that we, too, could see Timmy. Unfortunately, we did not, but that creepy feeling still was felt in us. We also found a piece of furniture where some-one had written Lydia’s name in dust and had left her a kind of offering of shampoo and condi-tioner. Many people would find that absurd, but seeing it made her presence feel even more real.

The other journalism mem-bers and I went back to the Lydia’s room in hopes of com-municating with her. I left her my purse because she is known to rummage through purses. The hotel even hides a purse for her in her room to keep her distract-ed from guest’s purses. Sadly, she did not dump out the contami-nants of my purse, nor did she write back on the note that we left her.

However, we had one experi-ence that will stay with us forever. As we were trying to communi-cate with Lydia, we asked her to turn off the lights to show that she is with us. Once we uttered those words, the bedside lamp flickered. Whether it was an old bulb or the ghost of Lydia com-municating with us, that memory will remain etched in our minds.

That night was one that none of us will forget. It was an amaz-ing experience and opened the minds of the journalists that did not believe in the existence of the paranormal.

Grace King

entertainment editor

photos by Jonathan WilliamsClockwise from left: 1) It is in this room that Lydia dwells. Lydia would bring her customers here. 2) The eerie sign of the Biltmore Hotel illuminates the street. This sign led us to our investigation. 3) Phillip is known to show himself through the one of the windows above. Inside these windows Phil-lip spent his last nights before his brutal murder. 4) Lydia’s name is etched in dust on a chest in the haunted basement. A young girl left Lydia an offering of shampoo and conditioner on it.