The Bear Necessities Volume XVIII | Issue II | J. Graham Brown School | 546 S. 1st Street | Louisville, KY 40202 | January 2017

Freedom vs. Amour-Propre By: Dorri Wilson

Global Warming vs. Climate Change By: Sara Baunach

Christmas has just passed and I know

we wanted that picture perfect white

Christmas image. When you think of last

year, it was about sixty degrees on Christ-

mas day. Now that’s not an ideal Christ-

mas in Louisville, Kentucky, is it? This is

because climate change is upon us. Yes,

we do need to release carbon dioxide to

retain heat and keep the earth warm

enough to sustain life, but we need to use it

in moderation. Temperatures are rising,

our summer lasts longer, and winter starts

to feel like an extended fall. People choose

not to worry about climate change yet, but

the future lies in our hands. What is climate change? It is a change

in global or regional climate patterns, in

particular a change attributed largely to the

increased levels of atmospheric carbon

dioxide produced by the use of fossil fuels.

Fossil fuels power our cars and industries.

Mining is also to blame; the environmental

impact of mining includes erosion, the

formation of sinkholes, the loss of biodi-

versity, and the contamination of soil,

groundwater and surface water by chemi-

cals from mining processes. 97% of scientists believe climate

change is caused by humans, for those who

don’t believe we are the problem. Dr. Sa-

rah A. Green, a chemistry professor at

Michigan Tech who led the study, ex-

plained that "What's important is that this

is not just one study—it's the consensus of

multiple studies." According to www.nwf.org, “Global

warming is making hot days hotter, rainfall

and flooding heavier, hurricanes stronger,

and droughts more severe.” Warmer tem-

peratures cause more water to evaporate

into the air, causing more intense precipita-

tion. This acts as a huge threat for us. Alt-

hough it may not seem as prevalent now,

as years go on, it will become worse.

Why, and how, exactly do our temper-

atures keep getting warmer? The green-

house effect. Greenhouse gases are any

gaseous compounds in the atmosphere that

are capable of absorbing infrared radiation,

thereby trapping and holding the heat in

the atmosphere. Not only does this affect

us, but it affects aquatic species too. Glob-

al warming and climate change are often

thought of as the same thing. Global

warming refers to an increase in the aver-

age temperature near the Earth’s surface,

while climate change refers to the broader

set of changes that go along with global

warming, such as changes in weather pat-

terns, oceans, ice, snow, and ecosystems. We think we are able to control nature

instead of assimilating ourselves with na-

ture and realizing that we are a part of it.

We need to help nature. One way to start

helping the earth is by using renewable

resources. Renewable resources are re-

sources that can be used repeatedly, name-

ly because they are replaced naturally.

Some examples of renewable energy in-

clude wind, solar, or water. These are very

sustainable, and are what we need to save

the earth. Other ways to help are: to plant

trees, which take in the carbon dioxide

from the atmosphere by performing photo-

synthesis; to recycle, which reduces waste;

and to conserve water, which can be done

by taking shorter showers. Don’t wait until

it’s too late; take action now.

Freedom - the power or right to act, speak, or think as one

wants without hindrance or restraint. Amour-Propre - a concept of self-love within the philosophy

by Thomas Hobbes that says self-esteem is dependent on the

opinion of others. Living as a teenager will be the worst few years

that you will live in. Your brain is much more suscepti-

ble to peer pressure within this time, and that peer pres-

sure comes from more than just your peers. It comes

from magazines, TV shows and movies, books, and

celebrities, all mixed up to even alter your own eyes.

The peer pressure that seems to affect us the most at

this time is our how we see our beauty and who we

make ourselves out to be. These things are influenced

by various aspects of society. Beauty is always a complicated topic to talk about because

it’s society’s number one priority, but one of its most complicat-

ed aspects. Women can be thin and beautiful like models in fash-

ion magazines, but if you have a curvy body like Nicki Minaj or

Kim Kardashian, then you’re seen as a goddess. Men can have a

full pack of abs, but if your face is attractive enough, then there’s

no point in working out. Even those general statements have

terms and conditions: you can be curvy, but you have to have a

flat stomach, and you can be attractive, but your body must be

slim. So our freedom, as people in a society focused on beau-

ty, is virtually nonexistent. That’s a depressing thought,

isn’t it? Of course, we can always break the laws of our

societal norms of beauty and become rebels who own

their own self-love, but that doesn’t mean that our soci-

ety’s going to change with you. That’s the really de-

pressing part: no matter how beautiful or handsome you

know you are without comparing yourself to anyone

else, society’s still hanging over your head like a twenty

dollar bill you’ve refused to take. Will you take the dollar to go buy the new Kylie Lip Kit or

save up for the new Jordans? Or will you leave it there to wither

away?

News Volume XVIII | Issue II | J. Graham Brown School | 546 S. 1st Street | Louisville, KY 40202 | January 2017

Winter break is here, so don’t waste

that precious time. It is the perfect time to

be energized, create family memories that

will become a tradition, improve and ex-

pand your knowledge, and share the holi-

day spirit with others. Winter break could

be spent at home, outside, by yourself,

with family, or with friends, but the main

part is that you are satisfied with whatever

you are doing. Don’t be stuck in the house all day,

but instead go out and have a jolly time: by

going to the movies, sledding, snowboard-

ing, skiing, having a spa day,

enjoying the Christmas at the

Galt House Hotel, walking

around a park, doing some vol-

unteer work, going hiking, vis-

iting family members from far

way, visiting Santa Claus at the

mall, heading to the theatre for

a seasonal play, going on a scavenger hunt

outside, visiting a museum, or if there is

snow, then you can have a snowball fight,

make snow angels, or build a

snowman. Enjoy the cold, fresh

air and remember to keep warm

when going outside. No worries, there are plen-

ty of activities to do in your

warm, cozy house, such as

making some delicious hot

chocolate, baking warm cook-

ies, watching holiday movies

by yourself— or with your family or

friends,—decorating a gingerbread house,

making winter-themed origami, reading

something you enjoy, getting a lot of rest,

painting, drawing, making a video as a

present, singing holiday songs, or making

cards for the family. Remember to get out there and have a

great break! I hope you and your family

have a wonderful holiday season filled

with love, happiness, and joy!

Don’t be bored on the

awesome winter break By: Julie Nguyen

Research shows that teens’ biological sleeping patterns indi-

cate that it is natural for them to not fully fall sleep till 11:00 pm.

And with teens being in the last stretch of their physical growing

cycles, 8 to 10 hours is recommended each night. But 11:00 pm

with 8 hours of sleep is 7 am. Which in our school’s case, it’s not

so bad, considering we start at 8, but for others it’s more of an

issue. But one thing’s for sure: as the education system becomes

more demanding, and college more expensive, students have

been adding onto their workload, from taking extra classes

or extracurriculars to working throughout the week.

With these factors added on to the already tremen-

dous workload that students at the Brown School are

typically given, the amount of sleep a student is able

to get greatly decreases.

Adding on to irregular sleep patterns during the

week, sleeping in too late on the weekend also af-

fects your health negatively. A person’s circadian

rhythm, or biological clock, is set for certain times

of drowsiness and wakefulness, but with an irregu-

lar sleep pattern during both the weekdays and

weekends, the body cannot become accustomed to

the drastic shifts. This is especially noticeable on

the dreaded Mondays that everyone hates. You might be having

fun and enjoying late weekend nights, but because of the disturb-

ance to your internal clock, by the time you wake up on Monday,

you feel a sort of watered down version of Jet Lag, named Social

Jet Lag.

Now what are the effects of lack of sleep, other than the ob-

vious feeling of tiredness that follows the next day? Not getting

enough sleep could limit your ability to learn, listen, concentrate,

and solve problems. It becomes harder for you to remember in-

formation. You become more irritant, and impatient, and make

unhealthy food choices. Your physical state is also affected,

which is seen through the state of your skin. Less sleep makes

you more prone to acne and other skin issues.

It’s easy to recognize issues, but identifying the solutions to

those issues is difficult. In a teen’s case, the most like-

ly reason for going to sleep late is the procrastina-

tion of school work. Students come home tired

from school and might take a nap or get on the

computer, but these two actions allow for you to

easily forget the time and lose precious work time.

Taking advantage of your in-school work time—

in our study skills—is also important. You are

given an hour and a half every other day to work

on school work. Focus on your work first, and

then socialize. This will give you more free time

when you get home.

Try to put your health before school when it’s

really late. Realize that if you continue with these

bad habits of procrastinating, then sooner or later, your body will

crash, first starting by a decline in the quality of work you com-

plete in and out of class, and then with your mental state. Sooner

or later, it becomes harder and harder to stay awake in class, or

staying awake doing homework even at early times like 9 or 10

pm.

Teens and their sleep By: Nora Alshimary

Be quiet! The Bears

are sleeping!

Photo: Disney Clips

Neysa Jones Brady Alexander Nora Alshimary Sara Baunach Sarai Baylor

Morgan Early Kellon Hopkins

Amelia Lee Zac Lichtsteiner Victoria Priest

Kimberly Meyer Julie Nguyen

Anthony Riley Dorri Wilson

Bear Necessities Staff

Volume XVIII | Issue II | J. Graham Brown School | 546 S. 1st Street | Louisville, KY 40202 | January 2017

Editorials

Recently, during the Christmas season, many companies

have been restricting the freedom of speech of their workers.

Companies have been, and might continue to, telling their em-

ployees to say happy holidays instead of merry Christmas. This

might seem like something very small and insignificant, but this

might lead to the war on Christmas. This can have very major

effects on how we celebrate Christmas, how

religion is practiced, and how freedom of speech

is treated. The celebration itself can be dampened and

even dulled by the suppression of people’s

speech. This political-correctness can destroy

our cultural celebrations and have the potential

to force hatred and censorship even upon mem-

bers of a religion just because they are part of a

majority. People wouldn’t get mad if a Jewish

person said “Happy Hanukkah,” but they would

get mad if someone said “Merry Christmas.”

This is inequality and can hurt society, and this thing we call tol-

erance. The censorship and intolerance for the celebration of holi-

days can lead to intolerance for groups of people and will hurt

people’s rights to express their beliefs and religion. If we let corporations determine what we say, the way reli-

gion is practiced may become more secretive. Corporations don’t

care about religion or what impacts they have on culture; they

only want the money. If we let corporations decide these things,

then our culture can become corrupt. This can result in how we

practice religion. Religion can become less of a cultural aspect

and more personal if we let political correctness force our words. Freedom of speech can suffer greatly from this politically

correct language. If we allow our speech to suf-

fer from what others think, then we might lose

one of our most sacred rights. Some may argue

that politically correct language gives us more

words to use, and so it gives us an even greater

amount of free speech. This statement just

doesn’t make sense; it’s like saying that having

more shoes gives you more walk. Politically

correctness restricts words and can enable peo-

ple to be afraid to speak their opinion. Overall, I don’t care if someone chooses to say

happy holidays, it’s just when people are being

forced by their company to restrict their speech that it becomes an

issue. This can lead to intolerance and disrespect for religion and

people for only being a part of the majority. Also, there is a dif-

ference between being politically correct and rude; no one should

say something only to make someone mad, but no one should be

forced to restrict their speech.

Merry Christmas vs. Happy Holidays By: Zac Lichtsteiner

Nostalgia, in and of itself, is not kryp-

tonite, nor is it arsenic. Nostalgia is sitting

on a father’s lap, drinking lemonade in the

shadow of the porch. It’s having nana’s

bone-dry turkey and delicious chocolate

pie on Thanksgiving afternoon. It’s watch-

ing whatever Saturday morning cartoons

happen to be on at the time, but here’s

where the problem begins: nostalgia will

compel a person to continue fondness to-

wards something despite all logos pointed

against it. If you don’t know what I’m talk-

ing about, raise your hand if you still like

some half-baked Disney movie despite all

glaringly irreconcilable issues with it.

To spell it out, people are capable of

intense, illogical passions, and while this is

found, in some way or another, within eve-

ry aspect of human life, it rings especially

clear right now, and if this doesn’t sound

like an issue, the same formula can be ap-

plied to politics.

Readers, we’re junkies for so many

things: fossil fuels, bad television, gossip,

cigarettes, the list goes on. But a new dis-

ease is sweeping over the developed world,

hitting the Anglosphere particularly hard.

This is the desire to return to someplace

we’ve never been. We create mythologized

pasts for ourselves to look back on and

pine over and fill them with heroes and

villains, monsters and knights.

When we truly burst the bubbles of

our fancy, we hold up the figures we often

hold most dear up to the light and see them

for what they really were: Thomas Jeffer-

son didn’t free his slaves upon his death,

even though he was the father of many of

them; Abraham Lincoln suspended habeas

corpus during the American Civil War;

Woodrow Wilson was a fanboy of the

KKK, ensuring that the first film shown in

the White House would be The Birth of a

Nation. I’ll be the first to admit that this

isn’t a fair list, as it solely includes presi-

dents and neglects to offer the positives

these people sponsored and created. How-

ever, just because Jefferson wrote hun-

dreds of love letters to freedom throughout

his life, and Lincoln eventually became a

cornerstone of ending slavery, doesn’t

mean that those people didn’t partake in

actions that were absolutely hateful or un-

constitutional or foolish. Those people,

heroic as they are, are people. They have

ticks and hypocrisies and blunders like

everybody else. Those blunders should

never be glossed over. What’s important is

that we don’t deify these people and con-

tinue to spot the chinks in their armor and

say “never again should we behave in such

a disgraceful manner.”

Without getting into anything specif-

ic, I want to finish with one final manifes-

tation of political nostalgia unusually com-

mon in the Anglosphere, but also present

in Russia—Lost Empire Syndrome: the

state in which substantial members of a

nation feel so nostalgic for a slice of the

past that they actively try to recreate the

perceived prestige, influence, and pride

that stemmed from it.

Nostalgia By: Brady Alexander

Features Volume XVIII | Issue II | J. Graham Brown School | 546 S. 1st Street | Louisville, KY 40202 | January 2017

25 songs for the after-Christmas blues By: Sara Baunach

1. All I Want for Christmas is You - Mariah Carey

2. Baby it’s Cold Outside - Idina Menzel and Michael Bublé

3. I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus - The Jackson 5

4. Simply Having a Wonderful Christmas Time - Paul

McCartney

5. Little Drummer Boy - Pentatonix

6. Christmas Time is Here - Vince Guaraldi Trio

7. Last Christmas - Ariana Grande

8. Sleigh Ride - The Ronettes

9. Here Comes Santa Claus (Right Down Santa Claus Lane) -

Elvis Presley

10. Little Saint Nick - The Beach Boys

11. It’s Beginning to Look a lot Like Christmas - Johnny

Mathis

12. Santa Baby - Taylor Swift

13. Have Yourself a Very Merry Christmas - Sam Smith

14. Please Come Home for Christmas - Eagles

15. Mis Deseos / Feliz Navidad - Thalía feat. Michael Bublé

16. Winter Things - Ariana Grande

17. Mistletoe - Justin Bieber

18. We Wish You a Merry Christmas - Weezer

19. One Little Christmas Tree - Stevie Wonder

20. Carol of the Bells - Trans-Siberian Orchestra

21. Happy Xmas (War is Over) - John Lennon

22. Let it Snow - Dean Martin

23. Santa Tell Me - Ariana Grande

24. Step into Christmas - Elton John

25. Christmas Song - Dave Matthews Band

Need some quality entertainment to keep you busy

while being snowed in? Here’s some of the best winter time

movies that you probably forgot existed: Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the

Wardrobe (2005)

This is an adventurous tale about four siblings that save

an entire kingdom from an evil witch in one afternoon. Oh,

and there’s snow. Lots of it. The Polar Express (2004)

One special boy takes a an enchanted train ride to the

North Pole to meet Santa Claus, even though he’s not quite

sure if he believes in the jolly guy.

Home Alone (1990) Watch the adorable young Macaulay Culkin defend his

family’s house against two of the dumbest robbers in histo-

ry. The Day After Tomorrow (2004) Lastly, a little something for those who enjoy sci-fi and

suspense. Watch a young man and his closest friends defend

themselves against mother nature’s wrath.

What to watch in the winter

By: Victoria Priest

Photo: Pentatonix Official Website

Photo: The Chronicles of Narnia

School News Volume XVIII | Issue II | J. Graham Brown School | 546 S. 1st Street | Louisville, KY 40202 | January 2017

Parents’ Night Out!

Our Elementary Students made signs to

show our school spirit and cheer on the

High School Basketball Team!

Our Juniors seem to

be really into the

game!

Three of our juniors took a

picture to set the mood for

the rest of the night.

The Back Page Volume XVIII | Issue II | J. Graham Brown School | 546 S. 1st Street | Louisville, KY 40202 | January 2017

Winter

Find and circle all of the Winter related words that are hidden in the grid. The

remaining letters spell a Japanese proverb.

BLACK ICE

BLIZZARD

BOOTS

CARNIVAL

CHRISTMAS

COLD

EGG NOG

FIREPLACE

FIREWOOD

FOG

FREEZE

FROST

GLOVES HAIL

HEADBAND

HIBERNATION

HOCKEY

HOLIDAYS

ICE FISHING

ICICLES

KNIT CAP

LONG UNDER-

WEAR

MITTENS

OLYMPICS

PARKA

SCARF

SEASON

SKATES

SKI DOO

SKI PANTS

SKIING

SLED

SLEET

SLIPPERY

SNOW CAS-

TLE

SNOW PLOW

SNOW SHOV-

EL

SNOW TIRES

SNOWBALL

SNOWBOARD

SNOWFLAKE

SNOWMAN

SNOWSHOES

SOLSTICE

SOUP

STEW

STORM

SWEATSHIRT

TOBOGGAN

VACATION

WIND CHILL

WOOL SOCKS

Punfessor Anthony’s Punny Puns

By: Anthony Riley

What is the best way to kill

clothing? You hang it!

What part of the joke hurts

the most? The PUNCHLINE!

Why was the Ocean so wise? Because everything it said

was so DEEP! What does Mrs. Cookie

wear because she can’t see

well?

Mo-glasses! Who’s smelly, rich, smart,

and is Iron Man? Tony Stank!

What’s Trump’s favorite

store? Wall-mart!

What celebrity is made of

candy? Jennifer Lo-PEZ!