Vol 52 Issue 3 St. Pius X Catholic High School 2674 Johnson Road NE Atlanta, Georgia 30345 404.636.3023 www.spx.org December 13, 2013

Golden LinesA student publication of St. Pius X Catholic High School

OPINIONS

CENTERSPREAD

SPORTS

FEATURES

NEWS

Amber Thomas reviews “Catching Fire” on page 3

Typhoon Haiyan’s destruction is detailed on page 4

Paul Oshinski highlights the best spots in Decatur on page 8

Read about cross country’s fantastic finish at the state meet on page 10

The most wonderful time of the year is on pages 6 and 7 Continued on pg. 5

The National Honor Society collected more than 1,000 food items during their annual food drive from November 11 to 15. The food drive’s main goal was to feed the hungry, and stir up a spirit of charity among the St. Pius X community.

This year the NHS tried something new by introducing an overall school-wide goal of col-lecting 5,000 food items instead of having individual homerooms compete against one another.

To help encourage the spirit of giving, different incentives were offered at various collection levels. If 1,000 cans were collect-ed, English teacher Ms. Morgan Carney and social studies teacher Ms. Kristin Kramer would wear the St. Pius uniform for a day. If 2,500 cans were collected, math teacher Ms. Sara Geiger

and school chaplain Fr. Michael Silloway would wear the school uniform, and if the ultimate goal of 5,000 cans was reached sci-ence teacher Mr. Matt Lammers agreed to wear the school uni-form.

Falling a little short of their biggest goal, the food drive brought in a total of 1,010 cans weighing 987 pounds.

“We did not meet our goal, but we were still able to help a lot of less fortunate people with our donation,” said NHS member and food drive organizer senior Kayla Cooper. “The St. Vincent de Paul Society greatly appreci-ated our effort to combat hunger in our community.”

Each year the food drive is one of the school’s most impor-tant charity events because all donations benefit the 4.5 million homeless and starving families in Georgia through the St. Vincent

De Paul Society in Atlanta. “I think that our students

have a desire to give and not receive, and through the NHS Thanksgiving Food Drive this yearning was clearly displayed,” Cooper said.

St. Pius has a great history of participation in the food drive, and the NHS would like to sin-cerely thank everyone who helped contribute to this great cause.

The Atlanta Braves an-nounced in early November that they will move to Cobb County in 2017 after 17 years at Turner Field in the heart of downtown Atlanta. The team agreed to work with county leaders and officials to build their new world-class Major League Baseball stadium.

This sudden announcement came as a surprise to sports fans still recovering from the announcement of the new Fal-cons stadium early this year.

The Braves are expected to contribute $372 million over the life of the stadium, footing about 55 percent of the $672 million dollar construction project. The planned stadium is projected to be located at the northwest intersection of I-75 and I-285.

Turner Field currently needs an estimated $150 mil-lion for repairs including re-placing the seats, upgrading to the lighting and making gener-al repairs to the infrastructure. Further, the repairs would not address the underlying issues of less-than-adequate parking, distance from major roadways, lack of consistent mass transit and a surrounding area with little commercial businesses for visitors.

The new stadium is expect-ed to address these problems and improve fan experience. For example, the remaining land surrounding the stadium will be developed and feature retail stores, restaurants, ho-tels and expanded parking op-tions.

“We believe the new sta-dium location is easy to access while also giving our fans a first-rate game day experience in and around the ballpark and making it a 365-day-a-year des-tination,” said Atlanta Braves President John Schuerholz.

Still, critics point out some of the problems with the tran-sition. For example, Turner Field is still very functional, the

classic Atlanta Skyline is absent from the scene, and the new stadium will inevitably result in higher ticket prices. Moreover, fans from inside the perimeter now have a long, grueling and bumper-to-bumper ride to the afternoon nightmare that is the I-75/I-285 interchange.

Current plans call for the new stadium to be owned by the Cobb-Marietta Coliseum and Exhibit Hall Authority, which also owns the Cobb Gal-leria Centre and Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre. Con-struction on the new stadium is scheduled to start later in 2014 and will be completed by Opening Day 2017.

SEAN FAHEYStaff Writer

Atlanta Braves announce new stadium

This aerial rendering illustrates the planned Atlanta Braves stadium located in Cobb County. Construction will be com-pleted in 2017. Photo courtesy of the East Cobb Patch.

NHS food drive wraps up another successful year

SPX community spreads Christmas cheer at Dresden

JAMIE WILLIAMSStaff Writer

National Honor Society members Isabel Mann, Carolyn Bres-nahan and Maggie Weir collect cans before school in front of the cafeteria. All food was donated to the St. Vincent de Paul Society. Photo courtesy of NHS.

For the sixth year in a row, the Mother’s Club sponsored their annual Dresden Christ-mas Project on December 3, 5 and 6. The St. Pius X commu-nity, including individual stu-dents, clubs and sports teams bought Christmas presents for students and families in need at Dreden Elementary School. This event helps those less for-tunate to have a memorable and magical Christmas spent happily with their loved ones.

Many of the children that attend Dresden Elementary be-long to families of low income, and a large amount of the parents struggle to provide a Christmas celebration for their kids. The Mother’s Club main focus was to provide the chil-dren with essential items, such as clothing and food gift cards as well as a few toys and school supplies for the students.

“The students have been amazing by giving with great love and care,” said Spanish teacher Mrs. Emabeth Espino-sa. “Participating in this project has been doubly special be-cause it is during the Christmas

LAURA BROWERStaff Writer

sportsDecember 13, 2013

10Golden Lines

JUNGLERO

AR

S

UpcomingAthletic Events

Dec. 13: Varsity Wrestling vs. Mul-tiple Team Meet, @ Marietta High School,TBD

Dec 13: JV Boys and girls Basketball vs. Decatur High School @Home, 4:30 pm

Dec 14: Girls’ and Boy’s Basketball vs. Decatur High School @ Home, 6:00 pm

Dec. 14:Wrestling vs. Multi-ple Team Meet @ Rockmart High School, 9:00 am

Dec 14: JV Wrestling vs. Multiple Team Meet at Mar-ietta High School @ TBD

Dec. 14: Freshman Boys Bas-ketball vs. Marist School @ Home at 10:00am

Dec. 14: JV Girls Basketball vs. Marist School @Home at 11:00am

Dec. 14: JV Boys Basketball vs. Marist School at Home @ 12:30pm

Dec. 20: JV Boys Basketball vs. Pickens County High School @ Home at 4:30pm

Dec. 20: JV Girls Basketball vs. Pickens County High School @ Home at 4:30pm

Dec. 20: Freshman Boys Bas-ketball vs. Dunwoody High School @ Home at 6:00pm

Dec. 20: Dance Team vs. Pickens County High School @ Home at 6:00pm

Dec. 20: Girls’ Basketball vs. Pickens County High School @ Home at 6:00pm

Dec. 20: Dance Team vs. Pickens County High School @ Home at 7:30pm

Dec. 20: Boys’ Basketball vs. Pickens County High School @ Home at 7:30pm

Dec. 21: Wrestling vs. Mul-tiple Team Meet, Multiple Team Meet @ Oconee Coun-ty High School at 8:00am

Dec. 21: Boys’ Basketball vs. Sprayberry High School @ Pope High School at 2:30pm

The landscape and out-come of college football will change forever after this sea-son. College football will be moving on from 15 years of the Bowl Championship Se-ries to the College Football Playoff, and the last BCS Na-tional Championship Game will be played on Monday, January 6, 2014.

The BCS is a system that selects the match-ups for the five major bowl games with the top two ranked teams playing in the National Championship Game, which this year will feature Flori-da State and Auburn. The rankings are determined by a combination of AP, Har-ris Interactive, and Coaches’ polls as well as computer rankings.

There are six automatic qualifying conferences: the American Athletic, Atlantic Coast Conference, Big 12 Conference, Big Ten Con-ference, Pacific-12 Confer-ence, and Southeastern Conference whose champion receives and automatic spot

in one of the five bowl games. The other four spots are con-sidered at-large and can be taken by teams from AQ and non-AQ conferences.

The aim of the BCS is to ensure that the top two teams meet in the National Championship Game, but to many this goal is not met each year which has caused great controversy.

Rarely do fans agree on which teams are the top two. For example, 14 teams with undefeated regular season records have not played in the National Championship Game. Twelve of those 14 teams are in non AQ confer-ences, which leads to criti-cism that the BCS is biased towards the teams from AQ conferences. The AQ con-ferences defend the system by making the point that they have tougher schedules and have to play better teams week in and week out.

Disagreement has also occurred over which team should be the number two in the BCS when there are mul-tiple one-loss teams vying for that spot. Interestingly,

there have been more unde-feated non-BCS champions than undefeated BCS cham-pions in the past six seasons.

Another complaint has been expressed by fans like senior Jack Walsh, who thinks “teams that cannot even win their conference should not be in the National Championship Game.”

College football fans will finally get what they have been asking for with the new four-team College Football Playoff. Since there are usu-ally three or four teams in the contention for the National Championship Game, the playoff should work well. Se-nior Johnny Demos is ecstatic about the new College Foot-ball Playoff. He thinks, “it is greatly needed,” but he still sees a problem as “there still will be controversy around who the fourth team should be, but that is still better com-pared to an argument about the second team.”

The teams in the College Football Playoff and in the four other major bowls will be selected by a 13 mem-ber committee composed

of former players, coaches and athletic directors. The semifinal games of the Col-lege Football Playoff will ro-tate between six bowl games: the Rose Bowl, Sugar Bowl, Orange Bowl, Cotton Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, and Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. The National Championship Game will be selected from bid cities each year, similar to how the loca-tion of Super Bowl is chosen. AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas will host the first title game on January 12, 2015. The College Football Playoff is scheduled to be in place through at least the 2025-2026 season as it has a tele-vision contract with ESPN. The playoff is projected to expand to eight and pos-sibly eventually 16 teams in the future like the Football Championship Subdivision currently has.

A new era of college foot-ball will begin after the con-clusion of this season. The BCS will be mostly remem-bered for all the controversy and debate that came along with its 15 years of existence,

College football says farewell to BCSNew playofff system to replace championship seriesIAN DAVISStaff Writer

The cross country teams added to their repertoire of impressive state finishes on November 9 at Carrollton Elementary School. The boys won their fourth state title in a row, and the girls finished as state runners-up only one week after both teams won the region championship as well.

The boys’ team easily cap-tured region, finishing with all runners in the top ten and garnering only 22 points. The second place team, Woodward Academy, had 45 points. Blessed Trinity and Cross Keys also qualified for the state meet in Carrolton with 61 and 128 points, re-spectively.

Senior Austin Sprague finished the race in 15:01, easily winning the individual title. Senior Joey Ferrugia finished second, with a very impressive showing. Juniors Stephen Martinez and Nik Calia showed massive im-provement, placing fourth and fifth.

Senior Margaret Craw-ford also broke the school record for the girls at the re-

gion race, finishing in 18:47. “Breaking the record was awesome,” said Crawford. “I was so excited after I cooled down and realized what hap-pened.”

Junior Rebecca Entrekin finished in third place and junior Rachel Pyden, sohpo-more Emma-Jayne Braxton, senior Katherine Vocelka, and sophomore Katie Glenn took places five through eight. The girls team also had 22 points, beating second place Blessed Trinity by 18. Woodward and Decatur also qualified for the state meet.

The boys placed first at the state meet, taking home a state championship trophy for the fourth year in a row. Sprague easily won first for his second straight individual title, and he was the second fastest runner in all classifi-cations. He beat the second place runner by almost 30 seconds, and was never chal-lenged from the beginning. Calia and Martinez took fourth and fifth place, and the Golden Lions had no trouble winning the title.

“We were really excited to win our fourth state title,” said Ferrugia. “We worked

really hard all year and it paid off with another ring.” The boys’ cross country pro-gram in the first in school his-tory to win four state titles in a row.

The girls team finished as state runner-ups behind Crawford’s fourth place fin-ish. Entrekin, Pyden, Brax-ton, and freshman Lucey O’Brien also posted strong finishes for the Lions. Blessed Trinity narrowly beat the Golden Lions for the title, and White County finished third.

“I’m really proud of the team,” said Vocelka, one of the team captains. “This team was the best group of girls I could ask for and I wouldn’t trade that for anything.”

Both cross country teams had outstanding seasons an-chored by strong senior lead-ership, and both will return many of their runners for next year. The teams hope their young talent will carry the their programs through the next season to repeat their successes this year.

Seniors on the cross country teams pose for a picture after the state championship. The boys finished first and the girls finished second. Photo courtesy of Emma-Jayne Braxton.

STEPHEN KOENIGEditor-in-Chief

Cross country teams finish with a kick

sportsDecember 13, 2013

11Golden Lines

All defenses in the Nation-al Football League know the name Calvin Johnson. In fact, defensive coordinators flinch at his name. No amount of planning enables a team to remove him from the game. Is it possible to defend a 6’5” man, holding a 4.35 second 40-yard dash time, an 11’7” broad jump, and a 45” verti-cal jump? The past seven sea-sons have made the answer clear: no, it is not.

Growing up in the great state of Georgia, Johnson be-gan playing football in middle school. At that time, he was already six feet tall. Johnson attended Sandy Creek High School in Tyrone, Georgia. He started at wide receiver during his sophomore, junior and senior seasons. His high school career featured an ac-complishment that is very rare in high school sports; Johnson had his number, 81, retired at Sandy Creek.

Johnson then attended Georgia Tech, where he was a two-time All-American. Af-ter an impressive four years for the Yellow Jackets, he was selected second overall by the Detroit Lions in the 2007 NFL Draft.

In his first year with the Li-ons, Johnson coined the nick-name Megatron from former receiver Roy Williams, who was mystified by his combina-

tion of great hands, incred-ible strength, speed, agility, body-control and hand-eye coordination.

In 2012, Johnson re-ceived an eight-year, $132 million contract extension with the Lions—one of the largest contracts in the history of all sports. Many times, players struggle to perform the year after they sign a big contract, howev-er, Johnson did not experi-ence such a struggle.

The following season while playing against the Atlanta Falcons, he broke Jerry Rice’s single-season record for most receiving yards. He finished the sea-son with 1,964 yards, beat-ing Rice’s record by 116 yards. In the same game, he set two additional re-cords: 11 consecutive 100-yard games and four con-secutive games with more than 10 receptions.

“I think Calvin John-son is the most exciting player in the NFL,” said junior Cooper Metzler. “His physical abilities make him a threat against every team.”

Although young, John-son has already had a great career. He has rewritten many records in the NFL and will certainly write more before his career is finished.

JARED HENNICKStaff Writer

Megatron destroys defensesCalvin Johnson takes NFL by storm

“Tired and hungry starts in November and goes through December,” said junior wrestler Connor Laubenthal when discuss-ing the grueling demands of cutting weight during wrestling season. Last year the St. Pius X wrestling team had their best finish in the state tournament in 13 years with not one, but two state placers; former

team captain Quinn Per-egrine who graduated last year and finished third in weight class 120, and current team captain se-nior Dalton Scoggins, who placed fifth in weight class 138.

The 2013 season has just begun, and Coach David Sabino already has high expectations for his team. One of the main goals for this season is to place at least second at

the Area Duals on January 3, which they must do in order to qualify for the State Duals on January 9.

“The competition in our region is fierce. We have tough challenges ahead, but this team is ready to face them and rise to the occa-sion,” said Coach Sabino. As for the Individual Tradi-tional State Tournament at the end of the season, Sabino is shooting for at least one wrestler to finish in the top

Wrestlers hit the mat for another season JACK LIGONStaff Writer

Seven years ago a group of football parents decided to start filming the football games so that they could share videos with their friends and family.

A short time later, a small group of students approached head athletic trainer Gary Schmitt about expanding on this idea and starting a webcast program to broadcast football games on the St. Pius website. Coach Schmitt was thrilled with this proposal and agreed to help organize the venture.

“This was a brilliant way to bring the games to not just students, but grandparents, friends, and alumni all over the world,” said Coach Schmitt.

What started as a simple student-run webcast program a few years ago has erupted into the full-fledged ESPX webcast program that broadcasts St. Pius X athletic events throughout the entire school year.

The original focus of the ESPX crew was broadcasting each football game, but it has evolved into covering basketball, soccer, lacrosse, and volleyball games as well.

Junior Andrew Barnhardt is the producer of ESPX and helps organize the entire program. He oversees a staff of about 15 students who work as camera operators, computer operators, and play-by-play announcers.

“I have always wanted to serve in leadership positions both in and out of school so when the opportunity came for me to run the webcast I was more than happy to accept the responsibility,” said Barnhardt. He also organizes transportation, food and other things necessary for the show to run well.

Seniors Duncan Trumble

and Mak Krause work in the booth as announcers during the football games, offering play-by-play descriptions and colorful commentary.

Junior Joseph Reichard works as a sideline reporter throughout the game. “It’s great being involved with Mak and Duncan to bring the webcast to everybody who watches,” Reichard said. “Webcast is what I live and die for every week, and the memories I have created this year with Mak and Duncan have been unbelievable.”

Reichard also conducts interviews before, during and after the games. “This year, I have given interviews to students in all grades, cheerleaders, coaches, players, and former alumni,” said Reichard. “That experience has been out of this world, and most of the time my student interviewees have no idea to the answers to the questions I ask so it’s hilarious how we have these awkward moments.”

Coach Schmitt is pleased with how much ESPX has grown throughout the years. “The webcast has been a complete success,”

Coach Schmitt said. “The number of viewers has gone up tremendously in the last year.” The broadcasts are available to people all over the world, making it possible for Golden Lions fans everywhere to stay up to date with St. Pius athletics.

Senior Daniel Crochet’s uncle, who is currently stationed in Afghanistan, is even able to watch his nephew on the football field every Friday night. In the future, Coach Schmitt hopes that ESPX can branch out to include broadcasting more than just athletics, such as the dance recitals and band concerts.

The ESPX team loves being a part of the program and is happy to bring St. Pius athletics to thousands of viewers. “Webcast has been the most fun activity I have ever participated in and I hope that more people discover it and start watching,” said Reichard.

If you have an interest in joining the webcast, just talk to a team member or Coach Schmitt himself. “A lot of kids start from scratch and work their way up,” senior Ashley Hogan said. Be sure to tune in throughout the rest of the school year to see your favorite St. Pius athletes in action.

Webcast brings games to friends, familyAMBER THOMASStaff Writer

ten. State titles are not just

given, they must be earned; the only way to earn them is through brutal practice and superior technique. The wrestling team is less than two months into their season but they are training as hard as ever.

“Superior physical and mental conditioning com-bined with an aggressive of-fensive posture comprise out a bid for success,” said Coach Sabino. Superior training is what this team is all about, with long, intense practices in the searing heat of the St. Pius X batting cages; they re-fine their technique and shed those pesky extra pounds.

The wrestling team kicked off the season with their first meet on November 16 at Centennial High School. Scoggins led the team with a

first place finish in weight class 138 with five wins and no losses.

Other notable perfor-mances in the matches came from juniors John Garner and Connor Laubenthal, who both had three wins and two losses, and sophomore Colin Taylor, who finished with two wins and no losses.

Coach Sabino said, “The first meet was a good start to the season. Lots of strong points, but we also identified some technique areas we need to remedy.”

With superb coaching, outstanding leadership from the seniors, and a strong group of athletes, the wrestling team has a promising season ahead of them.

The ESPX team gathers together before a home foot-ball game. This student-run program broadcasts St. Pius X athletic events on the web. Photo courtesy of Coach Schmitt.

backsideDecember 13, 2013

12Golden Lines

Banter

All I want Christmas Is...

Bre

eze

way

Two students and one teacher are asked a series of random questions...

What is your favorite Christmas song?

What is your favorite hair Color?

gadsden PurChase or treaty of guadaluPe hidalgo?

What Were the last Words said to you?

What Would you do With $1,000,000?

What is your favorite tv shoW?

hot ChoColate or hot Cider?

What is your favorite dinosaur?

What teaCher Would you most like to be?

Worst song to have in your head?

What does your favorite Color look like?

“Frosty the Snowman”

Brunette

Gadsden Purchase, I guess

“Uhhh, Virginia, I wasn’t talking to you”

I would finally get my own Netflix

“The Office”

Neither

Long Neck from the Land Before Time

Mr. Lammers, so I could make cow noises

“What Does the Fox Say?” by Ylvis

Oranges

“Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer”

Brunette

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

“That’s a good question”

Donate to the church

“X-Men”

Hot Cider

Velociraptor

Mr. Broussard

“Call Me Maybe” by Carly Rae Jepsen

Sour apple

“All I Want for Christmas is You” by Mariah Carey

Blonde

Gadsden Purchase

“Copy these for me!” from JT Gilbert

Take a week off work

“Summer Heights High”

Hot chocolate

Velociraptor

Mr. Scirocco

“All I Want for Christmas is You” by Mariah Carey

A Krispy Kreme donut

Virginia O’Reilly ‘15 Henry Tevar ‘17 Ms. Anna Kramer, Copy Room

SayWhat?!

“Carolyn Nasser”-Paige Vega ‘14

“A new game”-Timothy McNulty ‘17

“A puppy” -Daniel Griffin ‘14

“A pony”-Max Male ‘15 “A PS4”

-Chandler coody ‘17

“Suspenders for the uniform”-Steven Mann ‘15

“A onesie”-Sabrina Guyton ‘17

“A record player”-Eyoel Endashaw ‘16

“Tickets to the Orange Bowl”-Erin Huff ‘16

opinionsDecember 13, 2013

2Golden Lines

Editors-In-ChiefAnna Bolet

Stephen KoenigNatalie Pittman

Staff WritersLaura Brower

Ian DavisSean Fahey

Jared HennickJustin January

Jack LigonKatie Milewski

Madison MischickPaul Oshinski

Victoria PatronisAmber ThomasSavannah TullyJamie Williams

AdviserAshley Curlette

PrincipalSteve Spellman

The Golden Lines is published approximately 10 times per school year by the students of St. Pius X Catholic High School for the entire student body and surrounding community.

Views presented by the Golden Lines publication are not necessarily those of school faculty, school administration, publication adviser or advertisers. Topics, facts and opinions associated with the Roman Catholic Church will be in keeping with such teachings. Letters to the editors are encouraged and welcomed but must be signed by the writer. They should be addressed to the editors and delivered to them in the care of the Golden Lines adviser, Mrs. Ashley Curlette.

Please bring all signed letters to room 304 or email them to acurlette@spx.org. The Golden Lines reserves the right to edit any letters. Letters to the editor will not be published anonymously.

St. Pius X CatholicHigh School

2674 Johnson Road, NEAtlanta, Georgia 30345

404-636-3023 phone404-633-8387 fax

www.spx.org

Golden Lines What We Think... Do good deeds this holiday season!

Sure, a shopp ing trip can be a lot of fun (espe-cially when y o u ’ r e shopp ing for your-self), but

bargain hunting on Black Friday is more than a day of pleasure when injuries and even deaths occur.

It’s true that this rarely happens, but when injuries do occur, things can get pret-ty nasty. From paralyzation to miscarriage, both occur-ring in 2008, the day after Thanksgiving is a manic day that is blown way out of pro-portion.

We convince ourselves that we need a surplus of next-to-ineffectual assets to make us happy. Amongst giant crowds, hot tempers and injuries, Black Friday is a melting pot of unnecessary drama over needless vanities.

Black Friday is like a patience test. While deal-ing with your own profuse grogginess, you have to deal with that of other people as well...a whole lot of other people. Black Friday crowds minimally reach the thou-sands (note: this day is not for claustrophobics) and the long waits range anywhere from one to five hours.

Some are able to grin and bear the elephantine crowd sizes but, others like fresh-man Madison Riski, aren’t. “I wouldn’t be able to put up with Black Friday crowds be-cause I would get too tired,”

she said. “I also wouldn’t want to be around when all of the crazy people come.”

On top of the overwhelm-ing hordes of greedy hu-mans, you’ve also got to deal with their exuberantly dire tempers. Manners are cast aside for 24 hours on Black Friday. It’s almost like the movie “The Purge,” but for manners instead of illegality. Along with pushing, shoving and sometimes trampling, people are more inclined to argue extensively over an item. This can easily escalate into a major altercation.

In Palm, Desert Califor-nia on Black Friday in 2008, two men shot and killed each other at a Toys ‘R Us. The cause of the argument is un-known, but regardless, who on this beautiful Earth would shoot another man at a Toys ‘R Us? Ridiculous quarrels like this only happen on Black Friday.

Black Friday is an overly pompous day that provides stress for most everyone in-volved. And let’s face it, by the time you get to what you’ve been waiting for, it’ll already be gone. You risk being trampled or berated – maybe even killed.

Thanksgiving marks the beginning of the holiday season. What a better way to spend this time than giving thanks for what you already have! Black Friday is a day filled with greed and avarice, so stay home and try not lose sight of what this season is all about: gratitude for what you had, have, and will receive.

Opposing viewpoints: Black FridayExtreme savings, or enormous danger?

JUSTIN JANUARYStaff Writer

I t ’ s two in the morning, and you frantically d a r t a r o u n d T a r g e t

picking up everything

in sight. You sprint to the cashier with your card out and are ready to pay. You fight your way to the front of the line and then continue to the next store to do it all over again. Only one day a year is set aside for a shopping phenomenon like this: Black Friday.

Although some people may think Black Friday is overrated, it is really the absolute best time to get gifts for your friends and family and maybe even treat yourself. Because of the amazing deals offered on Black Friday, you can get someone exactly what he/she wants and not even have to pay full price.

Even though it may seem crazy to get up hours before the crack of dawn to head to the mall, it is totally worth it. Some of the best deals are the ones that you get earlier in the morning because a lot of stores reduce their sales throughout the day.

This year, some stores, like Macy’s, even opened at eight on thanksgiving night, which gave people a chance to snag some great deals without even having to wake up early.

Another reason Black Friday is so great is that you can still find amazing deals

not only in stores but online as well. Popular websites like Amazon offer incredible price breaks on all types of items, and you don’t even have to leave the comfort of your home.

Some of the most popular Black Friday locations in Atlanta include Lenox Mall, Perimeter Mall, Phipps Plaza, and Atlantic Station. In addition, many large retailers like Target, Best Buy, and Walmart offer great deals as well. “Lenox is my favorite place to go on Black Friday,” said senior Caroline Harvey. “There are so many options and most of the stores offer really good deals.”

Apart from shopping in Atlanta, many students who go out of town take advantage of deals offered in different places. Senior Elizabeth Ewing said, “Florida has great Black Friday shopping because of all of the malls and outlets.”

Some of the big deals this year were incredible markdowns of Beats headphones at retailers including Best Buy and Target. Macy’s also offered up to 80 percent off of all merchandise, and buy-one-get-one deals on iPhones could be found at AT&T.

So next time you’re trying to decide whether Black Friday shopping is worth it or not, just think about all the great deals you can find. Whether you’re surfing websites from your couch or braving the crowds at a store, don’t miss out on Black Friday next year.

VICTORIA PATRONISStaff Writer

Christmas break is almost here, and we will probably all be doing the same thing on our two-week vacation from school: giving and getting gifts, spending time with family, eating a large amount of Christmas leftovers, recovering from exams, and catching up on some much needed sleep.

This is all great, but there is one Christmas break activity that is unfortunately less popular: doing good deeds.

Christmas is a fantastic holiday, but for many people it has become more about getting than giving. The holiday’s celebrations

are mainly about receiving presents and eating great food. This is great, and we definitely shouldn’t change these traditions, but it might be good to add something.

Christmas is first and foremost about celebrating the birth of Christ, and being Christian means giving to others less fortunate. In this case, why should we act less Christian than we do at other parts of the year? Sometimes Christmas almost feels like an excuse to become more selfish when it should be the opposite.

While having a break from school and taking time to relax with family and

friends, getting some new clothes and electronics, and eating great food is a good way to celebrate a holiday, making sacrifices is also a good way to celebrate. We make a sacrifice prior to Easter, don’t we? Since we get such a great celebration during the holidays, it’s a good idea to help others celebrate the season as well.

And while it is certainly nice to give presents to your friends and family, you could also try giving some things to people who really need them.

So, how exactly does one try to contribute to the lives of those less fortunate

over the holiday? Start by checking out what your church is doing. There is likely some sort of volunteer work you can get involved in.

St. Pius also has opportunities, such as the Dresden Elementary Christmas project. Or try something more simple, like helping your parents with cooking the Christmas meal or getting the house ready for visiting family. Even trying to be just a little nicer to your siblings can make a big difference. A little will go a long way. Merry Christmas!

opinionsDecember 13, 2013

3Golden Lines

C h i l d b e a u t y p a g e a n t s a r e extremely p o p u l a r in the US, with the i n d u s t r y b r i n g i n g

in about $20 billion a year. In France this past September moved to make beauty pageants for those under the age of 16 illegal. Should similar actions be taken in the US?

Most people have seen television shows like “Toddlers and Tiaras” that display what is behind child beauty pageants. You see girls as young as two wearing tight fitting outfits, spray tans, fake teeth and hair, and nail extensions. They frankly look terrifying, yet they

are taught that this makes them beautiful.

Pageant moms are far less mature than their daughters, constantly screaming at each other and fighting to get their daughters at the top. They often deprive their daughters of naps, fearing that sleeping will mess up their hair, and give them pixie stixs to keep their energy high. Kids shouldn’t have to give up their childhood for something so shallow and meaningless.

Others have also criticized child beauty pageants for being damaging to the children participating. Psychologist Karen Kataline told USA Today, “I’m not against children singing and dancing on stage, but you want them to sing and dance and perform in age-appropriate

ways.” In addition, a small study conducted in 2005 concluded that women who had participated in beauty pageants as children had more trust issues and were more dissatisfied with their bodies than those who did not. Having five-year-olds dress like adults and suffer through intense competitions that are judged based on appearance could be extremely damaging to kids.

However, some people see benefits in beauty pageants. Anna Berry told CNN that having her 13-year-old participate in natural beauty pageants, where makeup is usually limited, helped her overcome her shyness. “She can speak more confidently than most adults,” she said.

While this may be the case in natural beauty pageants where only teenagers are participating, you don’t get any benefit except for money when contestants are three years old and dressed as if they’re way older.

I’m definitely against the pageant experience displayed in shows like “Toddlers and Tiaras,” but natural pageants seem much more low- key and appropriate for kids. It’s understandable that teenagers could participate in beauty pageants for scholarship money, but 3-year-olds get no benefits. However, I do think banning pageants completely is a little extreme. Instead, pageants should include regulations that protect the children participating.

MADISON MISCHICKStaff Writer

Have child beauty pageants gone too far?

O v e r the years, St. Pius has car-ried the tradit ion of being a school of excel-l e n c e ,

especially in sports. But with talent and fame, envious op-ponents soon take notice.

The long standing rivalry with Marist has been strong since the school’s beginning – almost 50 years. But in re-cent years, new rivalries have emerged, particularly with Woodward Academy in Col-lege Park and fellow Archdi-ocesan school Blessed Trinity.

After rival football games back-to-back with these teams, St. Pius experienced an influx of intense rivalry shenanigans.

In my opinion, our conten-tion with Woodward embod-ies exactly what high school sports are about: highly an-ticipated games for all sports, heated competition between two highly skilled teams, and a bit of humorous smack talk via social media. Our rivalry with Woodward stands out as one that is fierce but pro-

fessional. However, our rela-tionship with Blessed Trinity is different.

As an Archdiocesan school, BT is like that annoying younger brother. For years you have been able to knock him around, but he is start-ing to become stronger with age. For this reason, our strife with BT has developed from friendly competition into a bitter, intense, and personal rivalry. War broke out on Twitter, pre and post-game, striking a chord with students at both schools as attacks be-came personally directed at specific students. Things even got physical when a St. Pius student was physically harassed and hurt while min-gling with friends on BT’s sidelines.

That game was over the top. Yes, we should support our teams and yes, fierce com-petition is always fun, but at-tacking a student personally oversteps serious boundaries.

St. Pius students, it’s time to step up and be the better school. As hard as it seems, do not fuel their fire by respond-ing to rude or obnoxious comments. Rivalry is fun, but let’s keep things professional.

When rivialries get too fierceAre we taking things too far?

NATALIE PITTMANEditor-in-Chief

Former “Toddlers and Tiaras” star Eden Wood com-petes in a pageant. Child beauty pageants bring in $20 billion a year. Photo courtesy of tvguide.com.

I n 2008, “The H u n g e r G a m e s ” trilogy was in the hands of millions of readers, all enraptured with the

intriguing adventure by Suzanne Collins. On March 23, 2012, a film adaptation of the first book premiered in theaters, and people all over the nation flocked to see the movie, myself being one of them.

Jennifer Lawrence did a great job of portraying the fierce Katniss, and Amandla Stenberg as the character Rue was the favorite of many fans. I found myself having an emotional attachment to all the characters. The minute I left the theater, I was already ready to see the “Catching Fire.”

On November 22, “Catching Fire” premiered as the second movie in the Hunger Games trilogy. Before seeing the movie for myself, I had heard it was amazing and even better than the first. I was puzzled how “Catching Fire” could be better; I wanted it to be, but I wasn’t sure if new director Francis Lawrence could actually pull it off. The biggest movies he directed were “I Am Legend” and “Water for Elephants.” Gary Ross directed the first “Hunger Games” movie but stepped down after due to scheduling conflicts.

The movie was amazing, and I do think it was better than the first. The love between Peeta and Katniss deepened, the cunningness of Plutarch Heavensbee darkened, and the competition within the hunger games themselves escalated.

Although there was more down time than in the first movie, I felt it was needed to help develop the story line and depict the growing tension in the districts.

Along with all the growing problems between the districts, it was also time for the 75th Hunger Games, and in this round, the 24 victors from previous years were forced to compete once again. Katniss and Peeta were put into a new arena, and stunning visual effects were used to depict horrid disasters that happened on an hourly schedule.

The crew of “Catching Fire” traveled outside of North Carolina, where the first Hunger Games was filmed, to shoot in different locations such as Los Angeles, the Georgia World Congress Center and the beautiful island of Oahu in Hawaii.

All the actors, especially Jennifer Lawrence, Woody Harrelson and Philip Seymour Hoffman, did a spectacular job as their respective characters. “Catching Fire” also incorporated a lot of current artists’ music, including “Who We Are” by Imagine Dragons and “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” by Lorde.

In the first weekend in the box office, “Catching Fire” brought in an estimated $161 million, beating the $152 million brought in by “The Hunger Games.”

“The Hunger Games” and “Catching Fire” have obviously been successes, and I am more than ready to see “Mockingjay: Part 1” in 2014. The third movie in the trilogy is sure to be both action-packed as well as a little disturbing. Lawrence told BuzzFeed “We’re not reinventing the book in any way…And the movie does go to dark places.”

If you haven’t seen “Catching Fire” already, I recommend you do. May the odds be ever in your favor.

“Catching Fire” delights audiences nationwide

AMBER THOMASStaff Writer

“Catching Fire” has been the number one movie at the box office since its premiere and so far has earned $161 million. Photo courtesy of www.hdwallpapapersnew.com.

news December 13, 2013

4Golden Lines

Super Typhoon Haiyan, known in the Philippians as Typhoon Yolanda, made landfall on November 8, killing a reported 5,000 people and forcing hundreds of thousands of refugees to leave their homes behind.

Typhoons, more commonly known as hurricanes in North America, are tropical cyclones that form when warm, moist air evaporates from the ocean forming an area of low pressure. The subsequent condensation of the moisture at altitude results in a tropical depression. When the atmospheric conditions are conducive, the rotation is accelerated and the tropical depression forms into a tropical storm. As long as the tropical storm remains over warm water, it increases in strength until it is referred to as a tropical cyclone.

A tropical cyclone becomes a “super typhoon” when U.S. Navy’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center reports wind speed reaching greater than 150 miles per hour. Many meteorologists and

climatologists reported Haiyan’s wind speeds peaked at 195 miles per hour, rivaling that wind speeds of the strongest tornadoes. If these scientists are correct, Haiyan may be the strongest tropical cyclone on record.

Typhoon Haiyan’s impact was severe, killing thousands and displacing even more. After the brunt of the storm collided with the Philippines, a weakened Haiyan came ashore on the border of North Vietnam and Southern China where it continued its path of destruction, admittedly to a lesser extent. In the area, violent winds and intense rains preempted an estimated 900,000 individuals at risk to evacuate. Initial reports claim that at least 13 people have been killed and 81 injured in this region.

In response to the natural disaster, Obama issued a statement confirming that the U.S. “is already providing significant humanitarian assistance and stands ready to further assist the [Philippine] government’s relief and recovery efforts.” Obama concluded by saying “our

thoughts and prayers go out to the millions of people affected by this devastating storm.”

Pope Francis also communicated a message of hope to the 98 million people of the Philippines, of which 80 percent are Catholic, by leading thousands of pilgrims and tourists at St. Peter’s Square in a silent prayer for

the victims of the typhoon. “I wish to express my

closeness to the people of the Philippines and of that region. Unfortunately there are many victims and the damage is enormous. We pray now in silence for our brothers and sisters, and we will seek to also send concrete help,” Francis told the crowd.

SEAN FAHEYStaff Writer

Typhoon Haiyan brings destruction to PhilippinesAs millions of families still

need basic aid during the still-unfolding rescue and recovery process, donations can be made to the International Rescue Committee, International Committee of the Red Cross, and to Doctors Without Borders.

Typhoon Haiyan created a path of destruction across the Philippines. The storm was powerful enough to throw large ships ashore. Photo courtesy of the Associated Press.

Dr. Thomas Mahon, Jr.Optometrist

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season and it reminds all of us how fortunate we are and how wonderful it feels to be able to give and make someone happy.”

Mrs. Espinosa’s AP Span-ish classes have participated in the Dresden Christmas Proj-ect for many years by sponsor-ing a family. The class bought important items for their as-signed Dresden student as well as for the student’s siblings. The class made sure to add in a special item for the family’s Christmas day meal and some-thing for the parents as well.

Each Dresden Elementary family made a wish list, con-sisting of items that would benefit them the most. Stu-dents and families bought the requested items, which con-sisted of uniform items, ca-sual clothes, jackets, shoes, gift cards and of course, toys.

The Mother’s Club’s ultimate goal was to supply each child two outfits, one consisting of a school uniform and one casual outfit, along with two or three inexpen-sive toys. These simple presents made a big impact on the Dres-den community and gave par-ents the excitement to provide their children something special to open on Christmas morning.

After all of the gifts were pur-chased, parents and students from the St. Pius community met

up at the school to sort and stage the items. This was a three- day process where students and parents wrapped and orga-nized all of the gifts, personally packaging them for each child.

A pick-up booth was then set up for the parents to pick up the gifts. Parents who owned large vehicles provided transportation in case the families needed a ride home. Students also carried the gifts to Dresden family vehicles.

This year, the St. Pius com-munity helped provide 166 chil-dren a very special Christmas. All of the people who volunteered felt a great feeling of satisfaction, knowing that they had made a difference in the community.

“As a mother it is gratifying to see children helping children and as a teacher it makes me proud to be part of the St. Pius giving community. We are very blessed!” stated Mrs. Espinosa.

Junior Elie Metzler was im-pacted by the experience as well. “It felt awesome knowing that we were helping people,” said Metzler. “That feeling of accomplishment and help-ing others was spectacular!”

The Dresden Christmas Proj-ect counts as a work of mercy and encourages students to continue participating in this meaningful event next year.

Dresden Christmas project(continued from page 1)

news 5December 13, 2013

Golden Lines

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ANNA BOLETEditor-in-Chief

The Fine Arts department hosted their annual Christ-mas Concert on December 4 and 5, featuring performanc-es from the Concert Choir, Band and Guitar programs. The concert has experienced a surge in popularity the past few years, prompting the event to expand to two nights. The concert displayed the enormous amount of talent from students and gave the audience a time to enjoy the Christmas season.

The Concert Band and Symphonic Band both made a tremendous contribution to the show. Both of the bands have been rigorously learn-ing songs for several months in preparations for the show. One of the most popular songs performed by the Con-cert Band was multiple piec-es selected from the movie “Polar Express.” The band also performed “Carol of the Bells” and “God Rest Ye Mer-ry Gentlemen.”

“The band practiced for this concert as much as pos-sible. We even have a practice during Thanksgiving break!” said senior Mikayla Burg.

Mr. Brion Kennedy’s guitar classes also put their talents on display at the con-cert. This year his classes per-formed new songs that were real crowd-pleasers. Students performed “Jingle Bell Rock,”

SEAN FAHEYStaff Writer

Students participate in global Hour of CodingA worldwide effort to ex-

pose millions of teens to com-puter programing, the Hour of Coding invited St. Pius X students to learn, explore, and create programs, games, and apps on December 9.

“The Hour of Code al-lows our students to experi-ment with programming code which will help prepare them for the next step in their lives while having fun learning how games are created,” explained Mrs. Schupp. “No matter what you decide to do in the fu-ture, learning to code will be a part of it—scientists, doctors, teachers, inventors, business men and women, movie ani-mators, engineers—everyone will need to write code to do their job.”

Computer programing is a growing carrier as society be-comes more intertwined with a technology path and job op-portunities in several fields. “Our policy at Facebook is literally to hire as many talent-ed engineers as we can find. There just aren't enough peo-ple who are trained and have these skills today,” notes Face-book founder, Mark Zucker-berg.

Even beyond specific carri-ers, points out Microsoft chair Bill Gates, “Learning to write programs stretches your mind, and helps you think better, creates a way of thinking about things that I think is helpful in all domains.”

But perhaps the value of coding is best expressed by Gabe Newell, founder and president of the video game

giant, Valve. “The program-mers of tomorrow are the wiz-ards of the future,” said Valve. “You're going to look like you have magic powers compared to everybody else.”

The Hour of Coding at St. Pius featured engaging exer-cises and step-by-step tutori-als for useful programs such as “App Inventor,” “Scratch,” and “Lightbot.” Coding ses-sions in the computer labs were before school, during lunch, and after dismissal to accommodate those involved in extracurricular clubs and sports.

To encourage attendance, students who participated in an hour-long session were en-tered into a raffle for different prizes including a Best Buy gift card, Starbucks gift card, and code sweatshirts or t-shirts.

Students participate in the Hour of Coding on Monday, December 9. The entire school was encouraged to come in before or after school or during lunch periods to take part in this worldwide event. Photo courtesy of Mrs. Schupp.

“Angels We Have Heard on High” and “O Come, O Come Emanuel.”

“Other than learning and rehearsing the music, the most difficult aspect of the concert has to do with making the show run as efficiently as possible,” said Kennedy.

The choir and guitar class joined together to perform“I Wonder as I Wonder,” and the band and guitar class performed a rendition of “Christmas in Sarajevo 12/24” by the Trans-Siberian Or-chestra.

The Concert Choir brought a traditional aspect to the concert this year, per-forming “Noel, Noel” and “Little Drummer Boy.” The choir also sang to the original French version for the first line of “Noel, Noel.” Burg played a flute solo for the per-formance. The concert was especially emotional for her, since it was the last concert in which she will perform.

“The Christmas concert was amazing this year. The music was a combination of our holiday favorites and music that compliments the talents present!” said Burg. “My solo for ‘Noel, Noel’ is an awesome Christmas gift for my senior year.”

The show offered an out-standing performance that was sure to inspire Christmas cheer throughout the St. Pius community.

Concert rings in holiday cheer

centerspreadDecember 13, 2013

6Golden Lines

“Florence, Italy”-Ms. Beam

If you could spend your Christmas anywhere in the world...

“Hawaii” -Branden Mitchell ‘14

“Spain”-Sara Francis ‘15

“Italy”-Dominic Dellapina ‘15

“England”-Mr. O’Shea

“Hawaii”-Dr. Simpson

“London”-Alec House ‘15

“Spain”-Jack Ligon ‘15

Crazy Christmas Trees Around the WorldVenice, Italy

This Christmas tree is made of 1,000 tubes of Murano

glass, which is Italian decorative glassware. It is 28 feet tall and ten feet in diameter, weighing three tons. It is the largest tree

made from artisan blown glass.

Santa Monica, CA

This tree is made of shopping carts and

symbolizes generosity and abundance. Its creator, Anthony Schmitt, said

“individually, the beauty of an everyday object may become invisible, but in

quantity you can’t miss it.”

New York City

This crazy tree is made entirely of cut-up CDs. The bed underneath the tree is made of tape pulled from

old cassettes. It was created by Tom Deininger and was displayed in the Chelsea

Market in 2010.

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

centerspreadDecember 13, 2013

7Golden Lines

Thoughtful Gift Ideas that Won’t Break the Bank

Christmas Ornaments

What you will need:A clear, glass ornament

CrayonsBlow dryer

Unwrap some crayons and break them into small pieces. Put the crayon pieces in the ornament

and use the blow dryer to melt the crayons.

Vinyl Record Clock

What you will need: Vinyl recordOld clock

Take the hands and timing mechanisms out of the old clock

and attach them to the record. Use a record that has some personal

significance to make the gift more meaningful.

Personalized Coffee Mugs

What you will need:Porcelain mugs

Sharpies

Write or draw whatever you want on the mug, such as inside jokes, quotes,

or just something nice. Then put the mugs in the oven for 30 minutes and

bake at 350 degrees.

11% 8% 5%

Bop It

Bratz PasswordJournal

37% 27%12%

Barbie Jeeps

Scooters/Bike

American Girl Dolls

6% 10% 4%27% 14% 39%

Bop It

Scooters/Bike

Pokemon Cards

Hot Wheels

Legos

Gameboy

Flashback Friday: Remember these childhood favorites?

Girls Boys

We polled a random group of St. Pius X students on their favorite childhood toys

featuresDecember 13, 2013

8Golden Lines

LIONTR

AC

KS

Dec. 13: 8:00 am Start Regular Schedule

Dec. 16-17: 8:00 am Start; Elective Exams

Dec. 18: 8:00 - 9:30 am Social Studies Final; 10:45 - 11:45 am English Final

Dec. 19: 8:00 - 9:30 am Science Final; 10:15 - 11:45 am Theology Final

Dec. 20: 8:00 - 8:30 am Math Final; 10:15 - 11:45 am Foreign Language Exams

Dec. 21 - Jan. 5: CHRISTMAS VACATION

Jan. 6: Teacher Work Day - No School

Jan. 6-8: Make Up Exams

Jan. 10: Lion Leader Appreciation Breakfast

Jan. 14: 3:10 pm Academic Council

Jan. 20: MLK Day - No School

Jan. 22: March for Life

Jan. 23: Mini Class Night

Jan. 27-30: Catholic Schools Week

Jan. 31: 7:45 am NHS Meeting

Feb. 4: National Math Exam;3:10 Academic Council

Feb. 17: Presidents’ Day - No School

Feb. 22: Black & White Dance

Mar. 5: Late Start Schedule; Ash Wednesday

Mar. 5-7: 7 pm Spring Musical

Mar. 10: Summer Uniform Begins

Mar. 14-15: Marine Bio Trip

Mar. 17: St. Patrick’s Day

Mar. 19-22: 7 pm Spring Dance Concert Performances

Upcoming Events

Decatur was rated as Atlanta’s best suburb of 2013 for many reasons, but mostly because it offers so many diverse activities and has a beautiful and cheerful atmosphere. The city boasts countless attractions that cannot be seen in one visit. From its food to its people, the city has a unique feel that leaves visitors wanting more.

Nestled in east Atlanta just minutes from the heart of the city, Decatur is always full of action and life with quaint architecture, historical gems, unique eateries and numerous annual festivals.

Many ethnicities are represented in the restaurant scene. One of the most popular restaurants in the city is the Brick Store Pub. Located in the Decatur square area, the Brick Store Pub features traditional meals such as lamb loin chop and fish and chips. Another trademark business near the Decatur square area is the Yogurt Tap, which is a local homemade self-serve frozen yogurt store.

Revolution Doughnuts, which opened in 2012, is a new business located in eastern Decatur featuring handmade doughnuts and focuses on providing

delicious pastries without the use of unnatural methods.

“Everyone one of our doughs, glazes, and fillings are all natural, made from scratch, free of trans-fat, and made by people, not machines,” said Maria Moore Riggs, the founder of Revolution Doughnuts. “We are a small family-owned and operating baking company. Our goal is to revitalize the American Doughnut, to help restore the doughnut to its former glory as a simple, tasty, hand-crafted treat.”

After having one of these delectable doughnuts, you may be craving a cup of coffee. A trademark local coffee bar located in the city is Dancing Goats, a coffeehouse that roasts its own coffee beans. Dancing Goats also features a wide variety of breakfast items such as doughnuts, croissants, scones, and bagels.

Senior Johnny Demos frequents Dancing Goats on a weekly basis. “Dancing Goats is probably one of the better places to study and get some work done on a nice afternoon,” Demos said. “And their coffee is amazing.” Whether you’re looking for a meal, drink, or dessert, Decatur is a city with great local options for eating.

Other than Decatur’s myriad of dining options,

many other attractions bring people to the city as well. One dominant attraction in the heart of the city is the Old Courthouse.

This antiquated building was originally built in 1823, but underwent multiple renovations throughout the 19th century. The last renovation of the courthouse took place in 1918, and two historic clocks were placed in the courthouses porticoes.

Today, the courthouse still serves as the heart of the city and a historic monument, and it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971.

Another feature only a short walk away from the old courthouse is Eddie’s Attic, a music club that was founded in 1992. Both local artists and popular musicians perform at this local venue, and bands such as The Civil Wars and B.o.B have performed in this small hangout. John Mayer has also played concerts in the venue and attributes Eddies Attic as the catalyst to his highly-successful musical career.

A popular festival located in the city limits is the Decatur Book Festival which is held from August 30 to September 1. This weekend-long event is the largest independent book festival in

the country. The book festival has featured hundreds of world-renowned authors and includes activities such as book signings, author readings, panel discussions, an interactive children's area, live music, parades, cooking demonstrations, poetry slams, writing workshops, and much more.

Another prominent festival that holds Decatur is the Decatur Arts Festival, which takes place during Memorial Day weekend and continues throughout the month of May. The month-long event features poster unveilings, a Decatur Civic Chorus concert, fine arts exhibitions, an art walk, artists market, children's festival, and a silent auction.

Senior John Robertson attended the Decatur Art’s Festival last year and was very impressed. “I came to the festival thinking it was just another arts festival, but I was wrong,” Robertson said. “I was astonished by all the local art. It was amazing.”

Whether you’re looking for a great place to eat, a view of historic buildings, a cozy venue to see your favorite musician perform, or a fun festival at the local square, Decatur is the place to be for any of these activities.

Decatur rated best suburb of AtlantaPAUL OSHINSKIStaff Writer

Nothing makes a car ride better than tuning into your favorite radio station and singing along to your favorite songs. Atlanta offers a variety of radio stations that are popular throughout the city, and each radio station has its own qualities that make it unique.

In the past year, many new radio stations have been added in the Atlanta area. In August of last year, the hit radio station Power 96.1 replaced the rock station Project 96.1. Power 96.1 features Top 40 artists such as Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, and Taylor Swift.

In addition, the popular station Q100 started a new station called Q100 20 which plays the top 40 hits with limited commercials. “I love Q100 20!” said senior Emily Eanes. “They always play popular, catchy songs, and the commercials are really short as well.”

With the rise of new radio stations, the once-popular radio station Star 94 began its decline. Although it’s still well-known, it has been surpassed in ratings by other pop radio stations like Power 96.1 and Q100. Part of this is due to the station’s transition into playing more adult contemporary songs instead of just pop.

Atlanta radio also received a new addition in March when pop station Wild 105.7 transitioned into the alternative radio station Radio 105.7. One thing that makes this new station so great is that they play not only current music but hits from the 90’s as well. Some popular artists featured on this station are the Arctic Monkeys, Imagine Dragons, and Neon Trees.

“I like Radio 105.7 because they play a lot of different music instead of the same stuff over and over again like a lot of the pop music stations do,” said senior Simone

Savoie.Apart from music, some

Atlanta stations are also well-known for their morning shows. The Bert Show on Q100 is not only popular in Atlanta but throughout the United States. The show debuted in 2001 and features Bert Weiss, Jeff Dauler, and Kristin Klingslirn. The show usually consists of all kinds of contests and celebrity gossip and interviews.

Another popular morning show is Elvis Duran’s morning show on Power 96.1. The show features the popular phone-tap in which the radio assists a person in pranking an unsuspecting victim.

Other popular stations in the city include the Georgia Tech Radio and Georgia State Radio. The Georgia Tech station is WREK 91.1, and it is completely student produced. The Georgia State radio is called Album 88.5, and it has been on air since 1971. The idea behind this

radio station is that they play several cuts from an album instead of just the hit singles, giving it more of a variety than other stations. Atlanta also has many popular country stations like 94.9 The Bull and Kicks 101.5. The Bull has been a prominent country station since 1962, and to this day, it still remains one of the top stations in the Atlanta area.

Kicks 101.5 is also known for its great range of country music, playing everything from current hits to country classics. Kicks has been around since 2007 and has become more and more popular every year.

No matter what kind of music you like, you can always count on finding your favorite type of music on at least one station. “Atlanta actually has really great radio options,” said senior Anna Peddle. “We have everything from alternative to rap to pop, so I can always find something good to listen to.”

VICTORIA PATRONISStaff Writer

New radio stations turn up the tunes

featuresDecember 13, 2013

9Golden Lines

Only have twenty dol-lars in your pocket? Con-sider visiting a thrift shop.

Thrift shops used to have a negative connotation and were written off as places that only those who were not well-off would shop. Recently, however, they have gained new popular-ity, especially with younger generations who are begin-ning to pay more attention to them. This year in par-ticular has sparked a new interest in thrift shopping and second-hand goods.

Many factors have come together to contribute to the rise of thrifting. Since the recession, people have been searching for ways to cut back on how much they spend. The popular song “Thrift Shop” by Mackl-emore and Ryan Lewis em-bodied the recent thrifting craze. The song gave thrift shops publicity amongst age groups that may not have considered them before.

Higher prices on many name brands have also at-tributed to the rise of the trend as people search for cheaper alterna-tives to pricey clothing.

Thrift shops are full of low priced items. These items are most commonly donated by members of the community, then resold at an extremely low price.

Goodwill and The Sal-vation Army are two of the most well-known thrift shops in the Atlanta area. They sell clothes, shoes, accessories, home goods and furnishings.

This wide range does not end at the types of items

sold in thrift stores. There are many different brands and styles of items, too. You can find designer products, such as Ralph Lauren Polo, Coach and even unique vin-tage pieces hidden among the clutter of thrift shops.

St. Pius X students are embracing the thrifting trend, hunting for and buy-ing items at cheap prices. Senior Emily Jovert said, “You can get lots of clothes for really inexpensive prices, especially if you are looking to revamp your wardrobe.”

Some students have even modified the clothing that they have bought, such as by cutting off and bleaching Levi’s jeans to create unique shorts for the summer.

“I love to go to Goodwill,” said senior Bryanna Gillooly. “I bought a gray button-up shirt to make it right for the outfit I wanted to have. I cut off the sleeves, changed the shape of the bottom of the shirt and added a blue trim.”

Students do not only fre-quent thrift stores in order to find everyday items. Some visit them in search of wacky outfits for fun, or for theme days and pep rallies as well.

“I like them [thrift stores] if I am last-minute shopping or looking for weird things. Some of my favorite t-shirts are actually from there,” said junior Forrest Whitlark.

Whether you are strapped for time or shop-ping on a tight budget, thrift shops can be an alternate option to the typical mall retail store, providing in-teresting and original op-tions of items to purchase.

What are the qualities of a great teacher? Is it a great mind? The talent to draw per-fect circles? Engaging teaching methods? The ability to relate math problems to real life situ-ations? Claustrophobia? Math teacher Mr. Eugene Brisbane is a man who possesses all of these qualities, which have enabled him to deeply impact the lives of his students.

Mr. Brisbane has been teaching high school math since he was 30 years old—a career that has spanned 48 years at two different schools. The first 11 years were spent at St. Joseph’s Catholic School in Marietta, and the remain-ing 38 have been at St. Pius X.

According to Mr. Brisbane, he had never considered teaching until a job was of-fered to him. Initially, he re-jected the offer. “People need to keep their options open,” he said. “That’s something I do, and it has led me to the ca-reer path that I have followed my entire life. If I had not be-come a teacher, I would have never gone to St. Joseph’s, and I would have never met my wife.”

This year, Mr. Brisbane teaches two math classes: Al-gebra II and Algebra II/Trig-onometry. “Algebra II/Trigo-nometry has always been my favorite subject to teach,” said Brisbane. “I enjoy being able to come up with my own prob-lems for my students to work on, however, I do pull a few problems out of the textbook.”

Mr. Brisbane has incor-porated various teaching ele-ments in his classes in order to make learning engaging. Among these teaching meth-ods is the Impossible Quiz. Far from impossible, the quiz consists of a mixture of miscel-laneous trivia and challenging math problems. No award is given to the victorious team, but potential bragging rights are well worth the challenge.

When he is not teaching or grading papers, Mr. Brisbane enjoys reading, exercising and hitting golf balls. Many days during the fall and spring, he walks to and from school. “I also enjoy being called old,” Brisbane said. “‘Senior citizen’ and ‘old’ are two of the names

I don’t mind; it’s better than the alternative.”

Rumors about Mr. Bris-bane’s retirement come up every year, but the validity of the sources should certainly be questioned.

“I don’t know when I plan to retire. It’s all up in the air, and I like to keep my options open,” said Mr. Brisbane. “I really enjoy teaching. If I’m healthy, I would really like to stay.”

After he has spent so much time teaching at St. Pius, many students hope Mr. Brisbane never leaves the school and would like to thank him for his many dedicated years of service.

Eugene Brisbane: Not your average math teacherJARED HENNICKStaff Writer

SAVANNAH TULLYStaff Writer

Get thriftyPius students turn to thrift stores for cheap clothes

Mr. Eugene Brisbane sits at his desk in the math office to enter grades into his gradebook. Mr. Brisbane remarkably grades and returns all tests after only one day. Staff photo.

At some point many of us have dreamed about mak-ing it famous, yet very few of us have actually stuck with the goal. Within the St. Pius X student body, there is one particular Golden Lion who is determined to go platinum. This rising star is sophomore Chel-sea Rushworth, and she is ready to take her sing-ing career to the next level.

“I plan to make it big and make a career out of my mu-sic. This is just the beginning of my life,” said Rushworth.

She recorded at Tree Sound Studios during the summer of 2012. Profes-sional singers such as Drake, Lil’ Wayne, Beyoncé and Justin Bieber have all re-corded there. Rushworth decided to record a demo

and create a CD, which can be found on YouTube.

“Recording was so much fun, and it was probably the most exciting experi-ence of my life so far. I was able to see all of the equip-ment and software used to actually record an album,” Rushworth said. She even sat in the same seat that her teen idol, Justin Bieber, did.

Now Rushworth is de-termined to get back in the studio. “I hope to one day go back again and hope-fully record one of my own songs that I wrote myself!” exclaimed Rushworth.

Music has always been a part of Rushworth’s life. She has been singing since she was eight years old, took piano lessons for six years and also plays the guitar. Impressively,Rushworth auditioned at the American

College of Musicians, where she won five years in a row. Her name was then put in a magazine that recog-nized her accomplishments.

“Ever since I was very young, I would always dance and tap my feet to the rhythm,” said Rushworth about her passion for mu-sic. “Something about the words and the beat gets me in a whole other world. My friends always tell me stuff such as ‘Oh she’s in Chelsea’s world again’ because I can’t help but always feel the beat.”

When it comes to push-ing her music career by performing in front of a large audience, Rushworth never falters. This year she will be performing at coffee shops and teen club venues.

Additionally, she is in the works of writing new songs. One of her new songs is go-

ing to be about past disas-ters, such as the tornado in Oklahoma and the Boston shooting. She hopes that the song will inspire and touch the lives of many people.

“I like choosing songs that get the crowd pumped up and on their feet. Hope-fully some more opportuni-ties will come up where I can perform in front of more people! As I continue to grow older, my life is going to become even more excit-ing!” exclaimed Rushworth.

Getting to Hollywood has

always been her ultimate goal, and she is on the fast track to achieving it. She really hopes to participate on singing TV shows such as “The Voice,” “X-Factor” or “America’s Got Talent.”

Rushworth is full of de-termination, and she is convinced to reach her Hollywood goal no mat-ter what. “This is just the beginning of my life and I am excited to share it with everyone at Pius and hope-fully extend it out to the world,” said Rushworth.

LAURA BROWERStaff Writer

St. Pius X student chases Hollywood dreams