issue 4 12/13
DESCRIPTION
Issue 4 12/13TRANSCRIPT
Torch
EditorsAlex Agee
Aubrey AndrewsMackenzie ClarkCorena HasselleSarah HasselleKatherine KellerSydney McNeill
Emily TaylorMaria Yousuf
Business ManagersCorena Hasselle
Maria Yousuf
Circulation ManagerAlex Agee
Design EditorElizabeth Butler
Assistant EditorLaurie Williams
Photography EditorSarah Hasselle
ReportersJohni Armstrong
Mary ByarsLindsey Dunn
Jed FinleyEmily Jackson
Kent KirbyHailey McKee
Ravi PatelSydney Robey
Suzanne SchultzStephen Simpson
Eri SugiyamaShehla Yousuf
AdvisorSuzanne Edwards
Trojan TorchDyersburg High School125 Hwy. 51 By-PassDyersburg, TN 38024
table of contentstrojan torch
21
Letters to the editor can be on any topic or of any length. They may be editedLetters to the editor can be on any topic or of any length. They may be editedfor length or libelous content. Letters to the editor are accepted in room 220.for length or libelous content. Letters to the editor are accepted in room 220.
Volume 45Issue 4
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252627
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101112141516
Poetry SlamChanges to Core ClassesNew Gun LawsSafety DrillsTime ManagementHow TV Portrays SouthernersGun ControlIsrael and IranPACNeat HobbiesDating Advice
New Year’s ResolutionsSnowy DaysBubble TeaTeachers’ Athletic PastsNational Championship GameFIFA World PlayersCasual Vacancy Book ReviewSafe Haven and Wizard of OzPreviewFuture Marvel FilmsLes Miserables Review
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Corena HasselleBusiness Manager
On December 21, 2012, writing club members, theInkslingers, hosted their first poetry slam at the JavaCafe. “Poetry for the End of the World,” titled for the
date of the slam performance (the date of the “apocalypse”),was open to students and locals of all ages. From what isknown of the history of Dyersburg, members believe that thiswas the first slam the town has ever had.
Lasting from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m., the poems recited rangedfrom apocalyptic to lovey-dovey, to sad and funny. Like mostslams, the primary purpose was to recite one’s own originalworks of poetry to an audience by the usual means of addingemotion into the recitations.
“I liked the atmosphere the best. There were serious mo-ments, but there were also comedic poems. Everyone’s atti-tudes were good, providing an all-around balancedatmosphere,” senior Josh Williams said.
Performances are usually judged on a numeric scale by pre-viously selected audience members, but to keep the slam“friendly” to random acts of recitation from the audience,writing club members decided against judging poems.
“It was refreshing to know students are doing things thatare out of the box and a little different. It was nice to sit backand enjoy,” senior Jessica Thompson said.
“I was pleasantly surprised by the poetry slam. I went ex-pecting it to be somewhat boring considering I am not a po-etry person; however, the poetry selection was a good mixbetween comical and somber poetry,” alumnus Tillman Austinsaid.
“It was great! I love the idea of presenting your own workin front of classmates and the general public, and I am surethat as time goes on, more and more people will get involvedwith it,” alumnus Casey McNeil said.
“It was a relatively small group of people but with a greatatmosphere,” senior Will Clifft said.
Encouraged to write a few poems for the performance,members who recited poetry were seniors Mackenzie Clark,Sarah Hasselle, Maria Yousuf, Will Clifft and Corena Hasselleand sophomores Shehla Yousuf and Johni Armstrong. A fewaudience members also decided to recite. Williams played thebongo drums during the intense parts of the recited poetry.
“It was an interesting experience, and I enjoyed it. Thepoets should relax a little more and enjoy the slam,” Williamssaid.
“That was my second slam, I think. Though the writingclub's slam had some great work, it would be unfair to com-pare it to that of the one I saw, which had some professionalwriters involved,” McNeil said. “My favorite poem had to havebeen the one that incorporated hobbits!”
“My favorite poem was Mackenzie Clark’s poem about thepianist,” Clifft said.
“I honestly wasn’t sure what to expect, but I was certainlypleased with the results,” sophomore Kent Kirby said. “Ithought that there was a great turnout for the first one.”
“The poetry slam really opened me up to the whole poetryslam experience,” Austin said.
“I have to admit, I like a dark mood to poetry, a sense ofmystery. Think of Edgar Allen Poe. I also enjoy works thatshow an interest; the Lord of the Rings seemed to be a majorinfluence on some of the works at the slam,” McNeil said.
“Roses are red. Violets are blue. I’ll stick with sports, justto spare you,” Thompson said.
The writing club plans to have at least one more poetryslam before the end of the school year.
news
trojan torch 3
Inkslingers recite original works for end of world
Photo by Corena HasselleSenior Josh Williams plays the bongos while senior Mackenzie Clarkshares her poem at the Inkslingers poetry slam.
4 trojan torch
Emily JacksonReporter
In an attempt to keep up with rising Common Core StateStandards, options for core classes are being modified atDyersburg High School, and academic expectations are
being raised.The overall goal of the board’s actions over the years to come
is to raise the standards at the high school. The difficulty ofstate-issued tests, such as the EOC, will increase tremendouslyin 2015. In order to prepare for the change, measures are beingtaken to raise the current standard-level classes to an acceler-ated level and to put Advanced Placement, or AP, classes inplace of the current accelerated courses.
“We’ve been guilty of providing classes with sub-par expec-tations. All classes at the school should be college preparatoryin nature,” principal Jon Frye said.
“We want the higher level students to get the most out of theextra work that they put in. Although the accelerated classeshave a more vigorous curriculum, they take the same assess-ments as the standard students at the end of the year,” Fryesaid in regard to dropping accelerated classes for more AP op-tions.
Many find this change to be for the betterment of the school,but critics still remain because of the sudden shift in standards.
“The bulk of the kids in my accelerated class belong in theaccelerated program. They’re sufficiently challenged in there.In AP, they would fall behind; in standard, they would speedahead,” one teacher said.
“Raising the standard class to an accelerated level is going tobe beyond difficult on the teachers. I’ll have to teach two dif-
ferent classes; one to the kids who have always been on thestandard level and one to the kids fit for accelerated but not APor college level,” another teacher said.
Although most core classes will have a middle ground be-tween standard and college level, available science classes fornext year have become a rising concern. Since there are limitedoptions for science courses at the school, most students whotake acceleratedbiology will alsoend up takingdual biology lateron in their highschool careers.Since dual andaccelerated biol-ogy essentiallyhave the samecurriculum, ac-celerated biologywill be droppedas a course.
It is unlikelythat an AP biol-ogy class will beready for nextyear’s students,which leavesmany to choosebetween stan-dard and college-level biology.However, dual bi-ology costs $726,putting a finan-cial premium on receiving an advanced education. The schoolacknowledges this concern and is currently working towards asolution, according to Frye.
All final changes regarding core classes will be released tostudents and parents during registration for the 2013-2014school year, between now and March 1.
School curriculum faces future changes
History teacher Jeff Golson prepares his students for the new-to-come Common Core standards.
Photos by Johni Armstrong
corestandards.org
English teacher Sharon Carr writes daily Corestandards on her board.
trojan torch 5
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6 trojan torch
Shehla YousufReporter
Tragedy has struck the nation repeatedly in the form ofmass shootings. Twelve people died at the hands of aman who opened fire at a Batman movie showing, an
Army veteran murdered six Sikhs at their temple and in Decem-ber twenty children and six adults were killed at a Connecticutprimary school. The question must be asked: Is anything beingdone to stop people from opening fire on innocents?
President Barack Obama has spoken on the issue and vowedto attempt to pass gun regulations, such as background checks,in Congress this year. Vice President Joe Biden was set with thejob of leading a task force to find recommendations on waysto reduce gun violence. These were to include new gun regu-lations.
Pro-gun control members of Congress were hopeful and be-lieved there were changing attitudes toward guns. Theythought this attitude could result in legislationpassing before the year was up that would in-clude gun regulations.
Some Democrats in the House of Representa-tives, led by representative Carolyn McCarthy ofNew York, proposed laws that would requirebackground checks for all gun sales, includ-ing transactions that take place at gunshows and through private salesmen. Thelaws would make it illegal for guns to bebought online.
McCarthy also co-sponsored a billwith representative Diana DeGette ofColorado to ban high-capacity mag-azines.
“That’s good,” sophomore Dia-mond Jones said. “It’s necessary.”
However, gun control is a highlycontroversial topic. These proposi-tions did not come without a responsefrom opponents.
While some are proposing gun regu-lations, there are others who prefer adifferent solution. Republican repre-sentatives Steve Stockman ofTexas and Thomas Massie ofKentucky called for guns to bebrought into schools in orderto protectc h i l d r e nagainst poten-tial terrorists. Someof those weapons wouldhave been placed with in-creased numbers of policemenaround the school, while others would havebeen used to arm teachers.
“I believe that in states with a history of armed vio-
lence in schools, arming teachers is necessary,” junior VanessaBeard said.
Proponents for guns in schools and opponents of gun controlare heavily backed by the National Rifle Association, or theNRA.
“Politicians pass laws for Gun-Free School Zones...and in sodoing, they tell every insane killer in Amer-
ica that schools are their safest placeto inflict maximum mayhem with
minimum risk,” NRA’s Executive VicePresident Wayne LaPierre said accord-
ing to www.CNN.com.The NRA also demanded for Congress
to appropriate funds to pay for armed of-ficers at every school in the country.
Though there are two strongly polar-ized sides of the gun control issue,smaller gun regulations may be passed.
However, for any large scale legisla-tion to go into effect, a compromise
will have to be reached. Considering thathalf of Congress has excellent rat-ings from the NRA, meaning theyagree with the NRA’s stance ongun regulation policies, it wouldbe very difficult to pass any de-cisive legislation. The dividedratings also mean that they are
split over an extremely importantissue.In response to the uncooperative
Congress, President Obama outlined23 executive actions on January 16th
that would work toward his goal of moregun regulations. These actions include strengthening the
assault weapon ban, limiting ammunitionmagazines to 10 rounds, providing schools with more officersand counselors, creating more severe punishments for gun traf-ficking and ensuring that health insurance plans cover mentalhealth benefits.
Obama said that while he could put executive actions in place,he would need the will of the American people to make anyreal changes.
The NRA opposes the 23 actions strongly, calling the presi-dent an “elitist hypocrite,” since his daughters are guarded bythe Secret Service. The House Republicans are equally againstthe President’s plan, saying that more gun regulations will notlessen gun-related crime.
As more and more Americans are becoming even more po-larized over the issue of gun control, the debate remains unre-solved. If there is one consensus, though, it is apparent thatthis is an issue that can no longer be ignored.
President Obama offers gun reform
trojan torch 7
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Staff Editorial
Since the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in New-town, Connecticut, school officials around the nation havebeen examining their schools to see how they would react
if this incident happened to them. Instances like this shooting along with tornadoes, earthquakes
and fires are safety challenges schools will continue to face. In our school, the fire drill is by far the main drill we practice.
According to http://www.usfa.fema.gov, “Each year in theUnited States, an average of 5,500 structure fires occur in ed-ucational institutions. These fires are responsible for approxi-mately 125 injuries [and] fewer than 5 fatalities.”
“I think practicing a tornado drill should be very importantbecause they happen more than anything here. We practice firedrills enough that we know exactly what to do, and fires don’treally seem to be a big problem,” sophomore Omar Leon said.
In our general area, tornadoes and wind damage are partic-ularly common. However, if a tornado occurred while we werein school, what would we do? How would students in the WestWing and second floor know where to go? Most students haveno idea.
We are also in very close proximity to the New Madrid FaultLine, where very powerful earthquakes have originated. If anearthquake occured during school, would everyone know howto react? Would students on the second floor need to go to thefirst floor?
Even though welive so close to thispowerful seismiczone, most studentswould not knowwhat to do duringan actual earth-quake.
Underclassmenwho have recentlytransitioned to highschool, along withnew students,would not knowhow to respond.
Lastly, schools all around the country are increasingly beingfaced with bomb threats and shootings. Each year, an averageof 22 students become victims of school shootings.
In a recent random survey of 10 teachers and administratorsat our school, 8 said they would not feel confident carrying outa lockdown drill.
“I think we should practice lockdown drills because I know alot of students wouldn’t know what to do,” sophomore LondynVaughn said.
According to http://www.stoptheshootings.org, there havebeen 386 school shootings around the country since 1992, and69% of the shooters have been between the ages of 10 and19. Lockdown drills should be practiced occasionally becausein-school shootings and similar threats are becoming more se-rious than ever before.
“Our safety procedures are outdated, especially with all thechanges going on in the school. We are working on making newplans to fit these changes,” principal Jon Frye said.
In order for our school to be better prepared for all disasters,teachers and staff need to be informed of plans and guidelinesfor all safety drills. To keep order if one of these disasters oc-curred, a variety of safety drills should be put into practice, inaddition to fire drills.
Our relationships with the police and fire department shouldremain strong as they are now, and parents should be informedof the right and wrong times to check their children out if theseevents should happen.
8 trojan torch
editorialsSchool safety drills necessaryto prepare for the unexpected
Photo by Hailey McKee
Math teacher TeresaMaxwells fourth hour Algebra 2 class demon-strates what they would do if an earthquake occured during school.
wikipedia
trojan torch 9
Mary ByarsReporter
It is always one thing after another.Schedules are constantly full and itseems as if time is just simply sprint-
ing away in the opposite direction.So, what is the reason for all this mad-
ness? How did our lives become so hec-tic? These are some questions that maynever be answered, but there is a waythat our non-stop selves can have a littletime to take a breather.
As teenagers, we tend to let time slipright out of our hands, and we forget toprioritize well with a schedule. For exam-ple, Student A is an everyday high schoolteenager who is involved in multiple ex-tracurricular activities and is enrolled inevery advanced course offered.
When Student A arrives at school, shedrags along to each class and appearsunenthusiastic. She finds herself noddingoff to sleep while the teacher is explainingthe new lesson, not paying attention tothe skills she will need to know for thetest that is coming up.
Towards the end of the class period, theteacher allows the students to have timefor the assignment due the followingMonday. Instead of doing her work, Stu-dent A decides to take a fifteen-minutenap before the bell rings.
By dismissal time, nearly the wholeclass is packed up and has finished his orher homework for the night, while Stu-
dent A has yet to begin. School is dis-missed, and the students depart to theirnext appointed place.
That afternoon, Student A’s friends de-cide to have a study session to finish allof their homework for the weekend, butStudent A goes out to eat with herboyfriend.
Later that night, instead of stayinghome to get some work done, she goesto the the basketball game and then outfor ice cream afterward to celebrate theteam’s win. By the time Student A getshome, she is tired and ready to hit thesheets.
The next day, Student A’s schedule isopen to do her assignments; however,she sits around the house and watchesthe marathon of her favorite televisionshow.
That night, she goes to town to hangout with her friends.
The next morning, Student A goes tochurch with her family and takes a napafter lunch.
At nine o’clock Sunday night, Student Arealizes that she has yet to start any ofher homework that is due the next day.She finds herself staying up until earlyhours of the morning trying to get every-thing finished and barely gets any sleepfor the next school day.
If Student A had used her time wiselyto begin with, she could have had ab-solutely no stress on her Sunday night.
She could have completed her work ei-ther during or right after school and stillhave been able to attend all of the eventsas well.
Prioritizing is key when it comes to timemanagement. Sit down, and thinkthrough what activities, people andevents should come first in your life.
Carry a planner and write down whatneeds to be done for the day whether itbe working, homework, meetings or anyother important information to avoid dou-ble booking or just simply forgetting.
Another reason teens have become sobogged down with things and have a lossof time is society has rubbed off on teens,and they have become more of “peoplepleasers,” which means that teens feel asif they cannot tell people “no.”
Because schedules become more andmore piled up, students have high stresslevels as well as anxiety.
To avoid bad time management andhigh stress levels, learn that it is alrightto let someone know your schedule isbusy at that time, and you just cannot dowhat he or she is asking at that moment.
Just remember, time management is animportant asset that will help youthroughout your life.
No matter how tight a schedule mayget, try to remain calm, take a deepbreath, do not stress out and learn fromthe mistakes of trying to please too manypeople at one time.
Keys to stress-free life for students
Photos by Mary ByarsJuniors Darian Shaw and Logan Epley go to after-school tutoring to finish their homework before begin-ning other activities in the library.
Junior Ryan Phillips assists junior KendraHill with work immediately after school.
Sophomore Diamond Jones stays a fewminutes after the bell rings to work on anassignment due the following day.
Laurie WilliamsAssistant Editor
At first glance, it would not appear that a pint-sized pag-eant queen, duck calls and alligators have anything incommon. However, each of these seemingly dissimilar
topics is the subject of a popular television series set in theSouth.
Over the past few years, shows like Here Comes Honey BooBoo, Duck Dynasty and Swamp People among others havegrown in popularity, and while these shows are often hilariouslyfunny and strangely addicting, they do not always give South-erners the best name.
Just take a look at six year-old Alana Thompson, better knownas Honey Boo Boo, and her family. On their TLC show, Alanaand her sisters are shown belly-flopping into pits of mud at theRedneck Games, eating cheese balls off the floor and drinkingan energy drink and Mountain Dew concoction called “go-go”juice, not to mention taking care of their teacup pig, Glitzy.
Despite the questionable degree of reality in this “reality” tel-evision program, Here Comes Honey Boo Boo, not the best rep-resentation of the entire region, has put a Southern family inthe limelight.
So what is the cause of this proliferation of “hill billy” basedshows? The answer may lie in America’s recent recession, giventhat there has been a pattern of shows featuring stereotypicalSoutherners popping up on television when America experi-ences an economic downturn. When times are tough, peopleenjoy watching others who are not as well off as themselves.Therefore, television about common working people makeswatchers feel as if they are not at the bottom of the heap.
Maybe the trend stems from some desire to find simplicity inthe technology-laden, fast-paced world of today, the need toknow that there are still people in America who are not spend-ing all of their time tweeting, texting and facebook-ing.
Regardless of the reasoning behind this current fad, as watch-ers it is important to remember that not all reality televisionshows are, in fact, real. There can be a great deal of scriptingand editing to create the end product that is broadcast. Quiteoften small eccentricities are magnified to generate an intriguingplot that keeps Americans tuning in. Shows like Duck Dynastyand Swamp People should be taken with a grain of salt, not withthe impression that they are non-fiction documentaries worthyof being used as sources in a research essay about life in theSouth.
10 trojan torch
Here comes Honey who?Influx of southern shows creates negative stereotype
aetv.com
Willie Robertson, star of Duck Dynasty, is seen peeking out of a camouflage limosine. He and his family can be seen performing wild anticsand traipsing through the Louisiana bayous on Wednesdays at 7 p.m. on the A&E network.
Jed FinleyReporter
Two thousand twelve was a year of tremendous gun vio-lence. On July 20, 2012, a mass shooting in an Aurora,Colorado movie theater ended in the deaths of 12 movie-
goers. Only 16 days later a white supremacist in Wisconsin shotand killed six worshippers at a Sikh temple. At Sandy Hook El-ementary School, a mass shooting in December ended in thedeaths of 27 people: the gunman’s mother, six teachers and 20elementary school students. The perpetrators of each of theseheinous acts all had histories of mental illness. These violentmass murders prompted immediate outrage and a movementfor tougher, more stringent legislation concerning firearms inthe United States.
Out of the outrage and debate following the catalytic SandyHook mass shooting, President Obama announced the forma-tion of a task force led by Vice President Joe Biden to come upwith proposals that would address gun violence. On January 16,2013, President Obama revealed the much-anticipated propos-als of Biden’s task force in the form of 23 executive orders whichhe signed in the presence of Biden, the press and four elemen-tary age students.
The president’s executive orders largely dealt with backgroundchecks, encouraging stronger, more rigorous background checksthrough better cooperation between state and federal agencies.The president’s promotion of more in-depth background checksis intended to prevent anyone with a history of mental illnessfrom obtaining a firearm.
The executive orders also called for the launch of a nationalsafe and responsible gun ownership campaign; training of lawenforcement, first responders and schools for active shooter sit-uations; and more incentives for schools to hire school resourceofficers.
On a more aggressive note, Obama ordered enforcement ef-forts to prevent gun violence and the prosecution of gun crimeto be maximized. Outside of his executive orders, Obama pro-posed limits on high-capacity magazines and a ban on assaultweapons to be addressed by Congress.
A ban on high capacity magazines seems like an effectivemeasure to stop mass shootings while not offending gun en-thusiasts and sportsmen, but according to a local source, 10round magazines can be modified to carry more rounds by re-placing the springs within the gun or by crudely welding twomagazines together.
This would not be the first ban on assault weapons; formerpresident Bill Clinton enacted a ban on assault weapons duringhis administration, but the ban was allowed to expire after itsquestionable effectiveness resulting from a number of loop-holes. In the wake of the president’s request and the massshootings themselves, Senator Diane Feinstein is currently au-thoring a new ban on assault weapons.
Legislation promoting an assault weapons ban is unnecessaryand ineffective. The shooter at the Sandy Hook ElementarySchool possessed an AR-15 that complied with Connecticut’s as-
sault weapons ban, as did the shooter at the Aurora theatermassacre.
Efforts to quell gun violence should not be focused on the re-striction of guns. Rather, the government should follow the ini-tiatives laid out in the President’s executive orders by enforcingexisting laws to the maximum extent possible, requiring moreextensive background checks and especially restricting theavailability of weapons to the mentally ill.
Tightening gun control is not the answer to stopping senselessviolence. Someone who intends to kill indiscrimantly will kill in-discrimnantly with or without a gun. The right to bear arms isincluded in the Constitution for a reason, for protection of theindividual from the tyranny of thegovernment. While tyrannyand oppression seems farfetched, citizens never trulylearn to appreciate their rightsuntil they aretaken away.
trojan torch 11
President offers pro-active executive orders for gun control
whitehouse.gov
12 trojan torch
Sarah HassellePhotography Editor
Since the late sixties, Israel has been continuallythreatened by Iran and other countries. Israel hasbeen called an “enemy of Islam” and “the Little
Satan,” with the United States named “the Great Satan,”being one of Israel’s main provider’s for military funding.The United States has provided almost $70 billion to Israelsince the late 1960s.
Because of Germany’s attempt to eliminate the Jewishpeople in World War II, the United Nations helped themestablish a refuge in their historical homeland, but not allof the neighboring countries agreed to the creation of thestate of Israel. The boundaries of the state and land thatwere taken from these countries to create the nation-stateof Israel have caused issues for many Arab countries, andIran, one of Israel’s greatest opposers, seems highly un-likely to stop threatening to destroy Israel by military at-tack.
Iran is rumored to be in the process of building a nu-clear arsenal. Because of the escalating threats betweenthese two countries in recent years, war does not seemavoidable. If Iran does not back down, Israel and/or theUnited States will either have to attack or allow Iran todevelop a nuclear arsenal.
The United States supports Israel’s defense budget, andbecause of this, Iran states that if they are attacked, theycould strike American military bases in the area as well asdestroying Israel.
Some think that Iran fears a “regime change” if theymake too many concessions, hindering a peace settle-ment with Israel. Most Americans do not want to start an-other war in the Middle East, but because of the chaoticsituations in neighboring countries, now would be the ap-propriate time to help Israel, the United States’ primaryally in the Middle East.
If the United States declines to participate in this situ-ation, Israel may resort to nuclear weapons to attack Iran.Hence, the United States must decide whether theyshould help Israel.
Iran is already weakened because of United States andNATO sanctions. Syria is in a civil war. Egypt is now weak.Neither Iraq nor Jordan will intervene, and Israel is al-ready mobilized to deal with the Gaza situation. Now isthe time to attack, and the United States should take thelead.
The other option for our country would be to abandonIsrael and completely disengage from the Middle East.With or without the United States’ help, Israel should con-sider an attack. So far, President Obama said that an at-tack on Iran would be the last resort: the start of whatcould be a new military conflict in the Middle East.
Below: a campaign for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus re-election isposted on a bus, claiming that he is the best choice for economic and secu-rity purposes for the state of Israel. Netanyahu has recently been re-elected,but the election results show a divided state.
Israel, Iran: will either act?
wikipedia
trojan torch 13
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14 trojan torch
Alex AgeeEditor
Many students around school arewondering, “What is the PAC?”Political Action Club, or PAC for
short, is an organization that is new tothe school this year. PAC intends to buildand maintain a tradition of leadershipthrough example, promote student re-sponsibility and unity while respecting in-dividuality and diversity. They will buildpolitical awareness at the local, state andnational levels. Also, the PAC will be a vis-ible and approachable outlet for the stu-dents and foster positive communicationbetween the students, faculty and admin-istration.
“The idea for the club was suggestedby Principal Frye for those students whoseem to appreciate politics and govern-ment, and this club will offer additionalexperience,” sponsor and government
teacher Mark Stenberg said.The club began with a small group of
students who decided on a name and cre-ated a way for additional members wouldbe added. To be admitted, students wereasked to fill out an application and gettwo teacher recommendations.
“We want dedicated students who aredriven to serve,” Stenberg said.
Right now the club consists of onlysophomores, juniors and seniors.
The members of PAC, with the help ofStenberg, are determining what the clubwill do throughout the year and setting aprecedent for years to come.
“The goal for this year is to form a clubthat will still function in the future. Theonly real obstacle to that goal would be alack of effort,” Stenberg said.
“So far we have decided to put out anewsletter that pertains to current politi-cal issues that are interesting to the stu-
dent body,” PACpresident and senior WillClifft said.
The club is also in the process of creat-ing a debate team. Although it is too latefor this year’s members to be ready intime to compete, the group will beginpreparing for next year.
In trying to be an approachable outletthat will improve communication, the clubhas created an email address which stu-dents are free to use if they have anyquestions concerning political issues. Thisemail will serve as a direct link betweenthe students and the PAC members:[email protected]
“I think that PAC will benefit the entirestudent body not only by making themmore aware about politics but also bymaking it easier for the students to havetheir ideas heard,” senior Jo’v’on Hopkinssaid.
Political Action Club raises political awareness
Photos by Alex AgeePAC sponsor Mark Stenberg discusses the next newsletter with junior Laurie Williams. Seniors Matt Norville and Noah Mulvaney debate
about the content of the new Common Core.
PAC President and senior Will Clifft helps developthe layout of the next newsletter.
trojan torch 15
Maria YousufBusiness Manager
Crocheting, collecting stamps, reading, performing magic,gardening, hitchhiking, writing poetry--all of these arehobbies widely scattered throughout the world. Regard-
less of differences in background and interests, most peoplehave hobbies they turn to for their enjoyment when they havetime to spare. When this generation’s parents were teenagers,their hobbies were different from those of teenagers today,though some have not changed, such as listening to music atdangerously high volumes.
Many of teenagers’ hobbies are either chiefly music-relatedor necessitate more personal investment in a different way.
“I danced for six years,” senior Kaitlyn Crank said. “I wouldlike to write music and play guitar.”
“I like to play guitar and the drums,” sophomore Garrett Gar-rard said.
“I like to listen to music and dance,” senior Stefanie Paynesaid.
“I like to write,” freshman Ashley Harris said. “I want to pub-lish a book.”
Others prefer hobbies that are easier to partake in aroundtown and with others.
“I like to go shopping and see movies,” senior Razine Good-man said.
“I go to movies or hang out with friends,” senior Bobby Sykessaid.
Students also discuss hobbies they would like to delve into,some of which are well out of the realm of anything one coulddo in Dyersburg.
“I would like to try motorcross,” Garrard said.“I’ve always wanted to try scuba diving,” Sykes said.“If I had more money and access to a plane, I would like to
go skydiving,” senior Hunter Glover said. Teachers also discuss what interested them in high school as
opposed to what interests them now.“I was a majorette,” freshman English teacher Lisa Wood said.
“Now Ilike to sing and go out to the lake on a ski boat.”“I did a lot of crocheting, knitting and crafting,” band teacher
Deana Graham said. “Iread a great deal.”“I was a flag girl in the band,” school accountant Christie Tipps
said.“Ido glass-etching, and Istill do needlework,” Graham said.
“Ialso do some scrapbooking every now and then.”“Ilove the beach,” Tipps said. “I’m an outdoors person. Ilove
to fish, and Ilike camping. I also love gardening.”Students and teachers alike have their own interests and ac-
tivities they hope to pursue.
Photo courtesy of Connie WrightSenior Stefanie Payne, a Trojan dancer for two years, cheers on herpeers at one of the last pep rallies of the season.
Photo courtesy of Christie TippsSchool accountant Christie Tipps sometimes spends her days off fishing at a local lake with her family members.
16 trojan torch
�Date someone that hasgood values and strong
character. Looks fade. Waist-lines grow. Kindness,
honesty, loyalty, compassion and asense of humor never go out of style.�
-history teacher Jeff Golson
"Never date someoneyou would not consider marrying."
-records clerk PeggyWalker
"Quality, NOT quan-tity!"
-school secretary Athena Goodal
"My advice for dating is to be yourself. If yhave to try to keep the other
person from knowingwhat you are really like,you may need to stop.Also, young ladiesshould only begindating after theyhave completedtheir third year oftheir Bachelor’s de-gree program."-government teacher
Mark Stenberg
�Try not to get too serious while you arein your teens. Always be honest and clearwith your intentions.�
-art teacher DeAnn McDowell
"Spend time apart.Everyone needs hisor her own identity asan individual."
-English teacherLaura Wright
"Move on with your life after a break-up.Truly, it’s all for the best!"
-English teacher Suzanne Edwards
"The one who loves theleast controls the relationship.�
-counselor ConnieWright
�Don’t date anyone that you wouldn’t be willingto marry. Any girl dating a guyshould observe how hetreats his mother.�
-math teacherTeresa Maxwell
�Have fun! Be safe,but have fun.�
-history teacher DeVon Arrington
Students don’t need a boyfriend or girlfrienduntil they finish college.�
-marketing teacher Judith Henry
"Date someone who likes you for yourself.�-counselor Jan Holder
"Most guys can’t stop lyingto save their lives. Who theychoose to associate with shinesa light on their character."
-math teacher Musa Manneh
"When you start dating, keep in mind that you are looking for your spouse. The purposeof dating is so twisted these days, and we have lost sight of how serious dating really is.�
-Spanish teacher Leslie Haymon
“What dating advicewould you give toyour students?”
Dating advice from teacherEmily JacksonReporter
trojan torch 17
Johni ArmstrongReporter
With its roots stuckdeep in Babylonianand Roman culture,
New Year’s resolutions arecommitments made in order toachieve personal goals, com-plete projects, form new habitsor rid oneself of negativehabits.
But for some, the amount ofeffort put into resolutionsdwindles drastically soon afterthe new year has begun.
“It’s never really hard to sayyou will make a change, but itis hard to abide by them,”freshman Latisha Mitchell said.
“A busy daily life makes it re-ally tough,” chemistry teacherKim Decker said.
Common resolutions, accord-ing to usa.gov, include the fol-lowing: eat healthy food, get abetter education, get a betterjob, get fit, lose weight, man-age debt, manage stress, recy-cle, save money, take a tripand volunteer to help others.
Some resolutions found inthe faculty and student bodyare to focus more in class, toimprove grades, to become amorning person, to spend
more time with God and tolose weight.
However, there are a fewtips for people who are strug-gling to keep their resolutions.
“It’s okay to challenge your-self, but make sure it is realis-tic. Don’t try to do somethingyou know you cannot do. Elim-inate the unrealistic resolu-tions,” Mitchell said.
“You just need to remindyourself daily about the goalyou’re trying to achieve,” jun-ior Taylor Sharp said.
“If you try to improve yourlife and you fail, you can justbegin again. When you breaka resolution, you usually justcompletely give up on it,” fam-ily and consumer sciences-teacher Sandra Lanier said.
While facing the challengesof achieving one’s goals, onemight wonder about the mo-tives behind making these po-tentially life-changingdecisions.
“I feel like it is a chance tostart over and get a new be-ginning,” Sharp said.
“I make resolutions becausethere are things in my life thatI need to change and improveupon,” Decker said.
Senior Michaella Mckenzie-Prohaska made a resolution to workharder and study more during this school year.
Freshman Edward Wilson shoots during bas-ketball practice. This mirrors the resolution ofmany to exercise more.
Rising freshman Anne Kathrine Hamilton re-solves to get better grades and to not kill herbrother, sophomore Gray Hamilton.
Senior Justice Mance demonstrates her reso-lution to make better grades this school year.
Photos by Johni Armstrong
18 trojan torch
Eri SugiyamaReporter
On December 26, a late Christmasgift fell down from the sky. Therewere three inches of snow on the
roads, yards, lakes... everywhere, and thecity was covered with snow. Dyersburghas not had snow since February2011, but people can atleast see snowonce or twiceeach year.
So what do peo-ple do on snowy days?
The thing one should not for-get is warm clothing. When itis very cold outside, warmclothing is very important.The majority of peoplewear heavy jackets,scarves, waterproofgloves and hats. Somepeople wear huntingclothes because it iseasier to find.
Most people, how-ever, like to see andplay in the snow. No-body who goes outsideforgets to make a snow-man. The history of thesnowman is very long. Itis not clear when peo-ple started to makesnowmen, but it isdocumented in abook called Bookof Hours in 1380.This means thatmaking a snow-man was enter-tainment in oldtimes as well.There is a vari-ety of snowmenall around theworld. On theother hand, inw a r m e rp l a c e s ,there aresnowmenmade ofstraw.
When snow covers the whole land, itsscenery changes from its usual.
“I go on walks, taking pictures, becauseit is beautiful when snow covers thetown,” sophomore Ali Hansford said.
“I love riding four-wheel-ers. I like sliding
down the hill withit,” senior JodiNewsome said.
Other than play-ing with it, there is
an unique way to eatsnow, too.
“I eat snow cream.It is snow conewith cream or con-densed milk onit,” freshmanCarson Jonessaid.
Not all peoplego outside andplay in the snow.
Drinking hotchocolate inside
after playing with thesnow is a popular activity
to warm oneself. There is aninteresting idea saying thateating ice cream on a chilly
day and sitting in front of afireplace is the typical tra-dition.
“I stay inside becauseit is very cold outside.I would sit on the sofa
and watch TV andchill out,” seniorJosh Williams said.People who stayinside will keept h e m s e l v e swarm andmostly watchTV or movies.
People enjoythemselves inseveral wayson snowy daysno matter ifthey play inthe snow ornot.
Gift from the sky:How do people receive it?
wikipedia
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Corena HasselleBusiness Manager
Bubble tea, commonly known aspearl milk tea or boba milk tea,originated in tea shops in Taichung,
Taiwan, during the 1980s, apparentlymade for the purpose of an after-schooldrink for kids.
Most bubble teas have a tea base mixedwith fruit, syrup or milk with a smoothie-like complexity. Many come with smallchewy tapioca balls, referred to as “boba”or “pearls,” and some come with thechoice of jelly instead. Tapioca pearls aremostly made from tapioca starch, comingfrom the tapioca or bitter-cassava plant,which is a native plant to South America.The most popular types of bubble tea arebubble milk tea with tapioca or bubblemilk fruit tea with tapioca. The colors oftea can range from black to pink and blueto orange. Coffee milk bubble teas withtapioca pearls have also been increasingin popularity.
“I got a 75 RMB coupon to a bubble teaplace when I studied in Xi'an. It's kind oflike the Chinese version of a smoothie orsort of like a coffee drink. My favorite fla-vor is blueberry,” alumnus WilliamBumpas said.
“My favorite flavor is definitely just plaingreen milk tea. As for the pearls, mostplaces usually offer you a choice of jellyor tapioca pearls, but I almost always getthe pearls because I love them,” BolivarCentral High School alumna RachelWellons said.
In America, many bubble teas shopsare similar to juice bars of the 1990s,where it is easy to sit down to enjoy a
small drink for a few minutes. Bubble teasare usually served in plastic cups, similarto the see-through cups used in coffeeshops or in containers that go through amachine specifically designed to seal thetop of the bubble tea drink. If a cus-tomer’s bubble tea drink is sealed by amachine, they are to pierce the top of theseal with a wide straw.
“Once, a bubble got stuck in the strawand then shot through like a bulletstraight into my windpipe when I suckedon it too hard. I thought I was going todie,” Bumpas said.
Bubble teas have been increasing inpopularity along the West and EastCoasts in places such as San Francisco,Los Angeles, New York City and theHawaiian Islands--commonly any placewith a large Asian community.
The ingredients of bubble tea consist oftapioca pearls (chilled or cooked),crushed ice, strong black tea (or orangepekoe tea or Lichee tea), milk or creamand granulated sugar. The ingredients aremixed together, then shaken inside thecup but not stirred; stirring it could causethe pearls to stick together.
“I first had bubble tea at this Chineserestaurant in Collierville--nowadays, myfavorite place to get it is at a café in Man-
hattan called ‘Just Sweet’,” Wellons said. “Ryan Gosling is actually known for get-
ting his bubble tea fix at ‘Just Sweet.’ Ihaven't seen him yet, but maybe soon,”Wellons said.
"I usually go to this place that's literallycalled 'Bubble Tea.' I go almost everyweek," former student William Monteithsaid.
“I first had bubble tea in China. Myfriend took me to the mall there andbought me one to try. I really liked it, sowhen I got back to Memphis I looked fora place that had it, and I found ‘Chang'sBubble Tea.’ It's now my favorite place toget bubble tea. Of course, it's the onlyplace I know of, but I still think it's great!”Hutchison High School alumna MirandaKenny said.
“My favorite flavor is mocha! Funnystory. First time I had it I spit it out be-cause I got one of the pearls and thoughtthere was something wrong with the tea!”Curry High School student Stephen Woodsaid.
Bubble tea gains popularity in America
Wikipedia
Bubble tea is shown with the tapioca balls, orpearls. There are different kinds of bubbletea, such as blueberry and coffee.
20 trojan torch
sports Lindsey Dunn Reporter
Your heart is beating fast. Plays and strategies are runningthrough your head. Your coach just gave you the biggestpep talk of the season. This is it. Most student athletes
know the feeling, but they are not alone. A number of the DHSstaff were student athletes themselves.
Band director and color guard coach Deana Graham still pur-sues her active past. Dancing from six until she was a sopho-more in high school and being part of color guard and marchingband for the majority of her youth, Graham has kept up withsome of her past during her career at DHS. All four years of herhigh school career, Graham contributed to Marching Band StateChampionship wins as well as the 1977 GrandNations achievement. Not only did she partakein dance, color guard and marching band, butalso she was a member of the track team.
“Keep doing what you love,” Graham said. Counselor Connie Wright stuck to basketball
throughout her middle school and high schoolyears. She gained many friends and memorieswith the sport that have lasted her a lifetime. Tothis day, Wright would still enjoy playing basket-ball if she could.
“Play, listen to the coach and get tough,”Wright said.
Math teacher Wanda Robertson spent heryouth as a member of the basketball team. Win-ning county, districts and regionals, Robertson’s
team also ad-vanced tostate oneyear; she wasout of schoolfor one wholeweek andstayed in ahotel for thefirst time,which served as her mostmemorable moment. Missingthe fun and excitement of thecompetition, Robertsonwishes she could still playtoday.
“Stay committed. Warmingthe bench isn’t that bad.You’re still a part of the team,”Robertson said.
Math teacher and freshmanfootball coach Trey Vernonhas carried his football affilia-
tions on from third grade. Ver-non actually played the gameup to his freshman year of col-lege. During his DHS career, hehelped the Trojans claim thetitle of region champs, advanceto playoffs and become statesemi-finalists. Vernon enjoyedthe sport because it is “one ofthe only places where fightingand hitting people is cele-brated.”
“Give everything you havee v e r y d a y .There is noguarantee oftomorrow andyou don’twant to lookback andwonder howgood youcould havebeen,” Vernonsaid.
Scienceteacher andformer foot-ball coachErrol Hookwas quite the athlete. Playing football from theage of 8 all the way through college at the Uni-versity of Tennessee at Martin, baseball andbasketball from the age of 8 until he graduatedfrom high school as well as participating inwrestling and track as a junior and senior inhigh school, Hook was well-rounded with hisathletic abilities.
His football recognition includes winning theBorder Conference Championship for Central High School inPhenix City, Alabama in 1964, the first in the history of theschool; playing in the 1966 Tangerine Bowl in Orlando, Florida,for the Small College East Coast Championship, which was thefirst college football game broadcast in color by ABC; winningthe title of Offensive MVP in the 1966 Tangerine Bowl; and hisinduction into the UTM Hall of Fame.
Hook misses the physical part of the game and the friendshipshe had through the experiences and wishes that he could stillplay.
“Don’t short change yourself and your teammates. Alwaysgive it the best you have-- preparation on or off the field andthe game. Every play is important until it’s not,” Hook said.
Blast to the past: Teacher athletes
Connie Wright goes up for a layoutin a high school basketball game
Photo courtesy of Connie WrightPh
oto
cour
tesy
of E
rrol
Hoo
k
Former UTMfootball player ErrolHook poses for the camera.
Phot
o co
urte
sy o
f Wan
da R
ober
tson
Striving to catch the ball, formerbasketball player Wanda Robert-son shows her skills.
22 trojan torch
Katherine KellerEditor
Each year since 1956, the International Federation of As-sociation Football (FIFA) honors an accomplished individ-ual on the football pitch. The FIFA Ballon d’Or World Player
of the Year Award is given to one of three female players aswell as one of three male player standouts who are nominatedby the coaches and captains of national soccer teams.
On January 7, 2013, forward and co-captain of the U.S.Women’s National Soccer Team (USWNT) Abby Wambach wasnamed the FIFA Ballon d’Or Player of the Year for 2012. Alsonominated for the award were USWNT forward Alex Morganand Brasilian phenom Marta, who has won the award more thanany woman in history. Wambach, second all-time goal scoreron the national team, with 152 goals in 198 games, had quitean impressive year but gives much of that credit to her team-mates.
“This is a direct reflection of my teammates, both present andpast, my coaching staff, medical staff and press officer,”Wambach said. “I think it was so overwhelming in the momentbecause I really had no idea that I would win. I really thoughtAlex was going to win. I’m not even kidding.”
“She’s so completely deserving of this award, and I’m trulyhappy for her. She’s an inspiration to not only the thousands ofyoung girls around the country and world, but also to me,”Wambach’s striking partner, Morgan said.
“I’m proud of her because she’s an amazing, hardworkingplayer. She deserves it,” freshman Marielle Echavez said.
Winning the award on the men’s side was the outstanding Li-onel Messi, four time Ballon d’Or Player of the Year winner.Messi, striker for Barcelona and the Argentinian National SoccerTeam, finished the year with 91 goals, setting a new worldrecord. Nominated along with Messi was Real Madrid attackerCristiano Ronaldo and Barcelona mid-fielder Andres Iniesta.
“To tell you the truth this is really quite unbelievable,” Messisaid. “The fourth award that I have had is just too great forwords.”
“I believe that he definitely deserves this award the most. Heis unbelievable in every aspect of his game,” senior Cody Pattonsaid.
Also taking home an award for FIFA Women’s Coach of theYear was former head coach of the USWNT, Pia Sundhage.Sundhage heroically led the team to their fourth Olympic titlein a row. Sundhage also upheld a team tradition by singing toWambach, Morgan and the rest of the team in her acceptancespeech. The year 2012 proved to be monumental for the teambut also emotional as Sundhage turned in her resignation to re-turn to her home and coach the Swedish National Soccer Team.
"It's just a perfect day. It's been such a good year and getting
that trophy -- I'd like to share it with all the people I've beenworking with, players and staff. But you can't do that, so I thinkI'll just keep it myself!" Sundhage said.
“I’m so happy for Pia because she sacrificed so much to cometo the U.S., put on our crest every day and make us her priorityday in and day out,” Morgan said.
Information from the article comes from ussoccer.com andfifa.com.
Wambach, Messi, Sundhagecarry home FIFA honors
wikipediaLionel Messi takes home the Ballon dOr Player of the Year Award forthe fourth year in a row after scoring 91 goals in a single season.
trojan torch 23
Come check out what is happening atFBC Dyersburg Student Ministry!
Join us Sunday mornings at 9:40 a.m.Wednesday nights at 7:00 p.m. for high school
Igniting a passion for God and His Word
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24 trojan torch
entertainment
Shehla YousufReporter
Nothing about J.K. Rowlings The Casual Vacancy is ordi-nary, which is surprising considering the central idea is avery normal one: the death of a council member, Barry
Fairbrother, leaves everybody who is anybody in the small townof Pagford vying for the now openPagford Parish Council position,or the “casual vacancy.”
The plot follows the charactersas they discover the truth abouteach other and themselvesthrough various incidents.
The adults are occupied withkeeping their secrets safe while si-multaneously making sure thecouncil position is filled in a waythey best see fit. Their children areleft to mentally fend for them-selves, and the reality of the is-sues they are faced with isstartling.
While the kids in the Harry Potterbooks are busy battling the DarkLord, the youth of Pagford are fac-ing abuse, neglect and responsi-bilities that should never havebefallen them.
In the citizens unseemly hasteto fill the council position, oneissue becomes clear to the reader:the Fields. The Fields are a low-in-come housing area that somePagfordians consider a burdenand would like to hand over toYarvil, the neighboring big city.However, the late Barry Fair-brother was in favor of keepingthem, and the fight for the opencouncil position easily turns into Fields vs Anti-Fields.
The citizens of Pagford are divided and split neatly betweenkeeping the Fields and doing away with them, though in a sly,unwritten way. The characters are numerous and, at first, a bitmuddled to the reader. As the book unfolds, it becomes clearwho everybody is. More importantly, it becomes clear what kindof people they are.
The book spotlights a group of bitter, mundane humans. Theyare small-minded, everyday and utterly average--that is, on thesurface. As the book gathers momentum (which, admittedly,takes longer than would be desired) their innermost selves are
revealed. It seems almost taboo to expose humans the way Rowling
does. She unveils their darkest moments and their ugliest sidesin a way that leaves the reader somewhat repulsed.
While the Harry Potter books showcased the best of humans--love, loyalty and the triumph of good over bad--The Casual Va-
cancy does an excellent job ofshowing that mankind is com-pletely capable of every sort ofevil.
Nothing in the book is out-landish, however. Everything isultimately human and common-place. Rowling places the worstbits of humanity into the book.The Pagfordians constantly lie toeach other, hate each other andhave a certain disdain for theirfellow citizens, which is ironicconsidering how morally bereftthey all are collectively.
Rowlings goal, however, wasnot for them to be seen a collec-tive group of people. By the endof the novel each character ispainfully individual, with a his-tory, a motive and an exposedcore that explains, but does notnecessarily justify, everythingthey do.
At first glance the book ap-pears overly depressing andcliche, a tale of a small town witha lot of dirty politics. The won-derful thing about it, though, isthat it is nothing like that at all.
It is not the politics that interestthe reader but the social interac-tions the characters have and
the pain they knowingly inflict on each other. Each character iscertain that he or she is the hero, which is fascinating since thereader knows that, unlike the Harry Potter novels, there is nogood and evil.
The book is entrancing and leaves the reader with a sense,not of sadness, but of despair. There is no victor, no happy end-ing, but it is a satisfying tale. It is beautifully written, in classicRowling style, with delicate descriptions, layered characters andan intricate spider web of a plot. The Casual Vacancy could notbe more different from the Potter novels, but it is every bit asfulfilling.
The Casual Vacancy:J.K. Rowling does it ag
Wikipedia
trojan torch 25
Sydney McNeillEditor
When running from the past, peo-ple never know what they willencounter or how they will face
their darkest secrets. In Nicholas Sparks’newest film adaptation, Safe Haven, ayoung woman faces her fearful past tofind love.
Katie Feldman (Julianne Hough), abeautiful, reserved woman, arrives inSouthport, a small, friendly town in NorthCarolina. Upon her arrival, she rents asmall house and finds a job working as awaitress. She slowly settles in and re-mains unnoticed.
Katie tries to remain hidden but finds itdifficult when she meets Alex (Josh
Duhamel), a widowed store owner. Addi-tionally, she relentlessly forms ties withher single neighbor Jo (Cobie Smulders).
As she gets to know Alex and his twoyoung kids, Josh (Noah Lomax) and Kris-ten (Mimi Kirkland), she lets down herguard and becomes attached to them.However, she is slow to let love in be-cause of her haunting past, which senther on a shattering journey across thecountry to the safe realms of Southport.
As Katie chooses between a lonely lifeof safety and a life of love and family, herpast finally catches up to her. Now, shehas to face it head on or lose the onething that makes her life worth living:love.
In Nicholas Sparks’ newest movie adap-tion, a different kind of love story is putto the big screen. Safe Haven will hit the-aters on Valentine’s Day, 2013.
Suzanne SchultzReporter
Disney brings a new fantasy adven-ture flick to the screen with Oz theGreat and Powerful. This film is an
adaptation of the novel The WonderfulWizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum as well asthe movie The Wizard of Oz.
James Franco stars as Oscar Diggs, asmall town circus magician wanting togain fame in his Kansas town. Little doeshe know his life will drastically changewhen he is pitched into the Land of Oz bya tornado.
“A scene I am interested to see is howOscar will be transported to the Land ofOz,” senior Heath Hopgood said.
Oscar thinks fame will come easy tohim now that he is in Oz, but he must usehis wits to stay ahead of the game.
People in the Land of Oz have beenawaiting a powerful magician, so whenOscar arrives he receives much fame forhis talent. However, he soon meets threewitches who wish to prove he is not whoeveryone thinks he is.
“I think this movie will impress viewersbecause it will present a different spin on
the original Oz movie,” junior JoneishaWarren said.
Unwillingly forced into the Land of Oz’smany problems, Oscar must discover whois good and who is evil before time runsout. The challenges Oscar faces helptransform him into a better person as wellas a better magician.
“Any Disney movie related to The Wiz-ard of Oz and Alice in Wonderland shouldbe interesting,” junior Alli Hayes said.
Oz the Great and Powerful opens in the-aters March 8.
Nicholas Sparks inspiresanother romantic film: Safe Haven
Disney adds new twist to classic The Wizard of Oz
imdb
aceshowbiz disney
26 trojan torch
Kent KirbyReporter
After its big success with The Avengers, Marvel Studios has made plans forseveral new films to be released. The first is Iron Man III, which will bereleased on May 3, 2013. Iron Man III began filming on May 23, 2012.
The film will have Iron Man/Tony Stark continuing his affiliation withS.H.I.E.L.D. and confronting his most dangerous foe yet: The Mandarin, a ter-rorist leader who is out to destroy Stark.
“Man, I’m a huge Iron Man fanatic. I’m definitely looking forward to watchingIron Man III. It’s going to be awesome!” junior Ryan Phillips said.
Following Iron Man III, Thor: The Dark World will be released November 8,2013. The film will have Thor not only fighting for Earth, but for all thenine realms against an ancient foe older than the universe. Film-ing began September 10, 2012. The film will provide adeeper view into Thor’s world.
“I think people who are into Marvel comics will loveit,” freshman Trip Johnson said.The next film to be released is Captain America:
Winter Soldier, which will come out on April 4,2014. The film will be about Steve Rogers's strug-gle to acclimate to the modern world while be-coming reunited with an acquaintance of the past:the Winter Soldier.
Marvel Studios has also stated that Guardians ofthe Galaxy and Antman will be released in 2015.Guardians of the Galaxy will be about a team ofheroes defending the galaxy. Antman will tell thetale of Dr. Hank Pym, a biochemist who usessubatomic particles to create a formula thatallows him to change his size. In addition,he builds a device that allows him to com-municate with and control insects.
All of Marvel’s current films have beenvery successful, partially because of thecharacters being from their originalcomic books. The plots of the films arenot found in the comics, which allowsfor a new and creative story. Thisfresh perspective of the Marvel he-roes will allow for a retelling of thecharacters in a more modern sense.
Iron Man, Thor thunder back into theaters
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trojan torch 27
Shehla YousufReporter
There is no other way to say it: LesMiserables, directed by Tom Hooper(The King’s Speech), was fantastic.
There was a considerable hype for themovie before it hit theaters. However, thisnumber was incomparable to the amountof moviegoers who insisted, quite cor-rectly, that Les Miserables (more com-monly called Les Mis by the averageAmerican) was worth every penny. All thedialogue is sung, unlike most other musi-cals.
The movie cannot be properly appreci-ated without some background knowl-edge, however.
The novel, Les Miserables, by VictorHugo was written in 1862 and was madeinto a musical in France and then hitBroadway. There it became the fourthlongest running musical ever shown.
The musical has a broad fan base, allof whom had high expectations for thelate 2012 film. In order to meet thesehigh expectations, the actors and ac-tresses had to learn and learn quickly.
Actors Hugh Jackman (Jean Valjean)and Russell Crowe (Javert) had to take in-tensive vocal lessons to prepare for themovie, even though they both had musi-cal backgrounds to some degree. Otheractors had to prep before they filmedtheir scenes to ensure they sounded theirbest.
It was important that they sound excel-lent, since Tom Hooper, in his well-known
determination to make the movie as sim-ilar to the stage version as he could, re-quired the actors to sing as they werefilming. This is different from what movieadaptations of musicals normally do,which is have the actors lip-sync and thenrecord the songs post-production. Theirextra effort paid off well: Les Miserableswas nominated for four Golden Globesand won three of them.
The makeup and hair crews were in-structed to make the actors and actressesas filthy-looking and, in some cases,filthy as they could. This was all to por-tray revolutionary France as accurately aspossible, down to the last rotten tooth.
Overall, Hooper succeeded brilliantly inmaking the set convincing, and the actorsand actresses succeeded in making theperformances breathtaking. Actress AnneHathaway (Fantine) sings “I Dreamed aDream” in a way that leaves no dry eyesin the theater, and Eddie Redmayne (Mar-ius) and Aaron Tveit (Enjolras), with anensemble, sing “Red and Black” as a ral-lying cry for the French Revolution.
The whole cast contributed to themovie in a way that no other cast couldhave hoped to achieve. Cosette, Fantine’sdaughter, is initially played by IsabelleAllen and later portrayed by AmandaSeyfried, both of whom do a fantastic job.
Helena Bonham Carter and SachaBaron Cohen add greatly appreciatedcomic relief to the film as theThenardiers, a married couple who maketheir living as terribly corrupt innkeepers.
The movie was wonderful to watch.There was no small number of snifflingwomen and men furiously trying to blinkback their tears. The musical is not called,literally “the miserable,” for nothing.
The movie is more than merely cryingFrench people, however. It showcaseshumanity’s finest qualities even in thesqualor and deception of the time. Val-jean’s mercy for all others is moving towatch, and his kindness reverberatesthroughout the plot.
Redemption is no small theme, either.Valjean, a man who resorted to a life ofcrime, redeemed himself through themercy of a bishop and gave his life up toGod, inspiring his kindness toward thoseless fortunate than himself. Javert,through the mercy of Valjean, realizeswho he truly is and where he stands.
There is no small number of sacrificesmade. Fantine essentially sacrificed herlife for the sake of her daughter, and Rev-olutionaries Marius and Enjolras riskedtheir lives for the sake of France.
The musical continually stresses the re-birth, forgiveness and life that is alwayspresent even in the darkest of times. Thecharacters’ raw emotions were movinglyexhibited, and their pain was easily felt.They were humans in a horrible placewho found a better place within them-selves and each other.
In the words of the Revolutionaries: Doyou hear the people sing?
Les Mi s e rab l e s t a k e s t h ea t e r s by s t o rm
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Basketball Homecoming
Nominees for Homecoming 2013 pose for a picture after the crowing of the Queen, senior Sydney Coffman. From left, freshmen, ShakailaSmith and Marielle Echavez; sophomore Eriona Dixon; junior Madison Vaughn; senior and queen, Sydney Coffman; sophomore CatherineMoore; junior Payton Anderson; and seniors Kristen Williams and Jaleya Mosely.
Senior Brice Williams goes up strong for a bucket in the paint whileplaying against Haywood in the Homecoming match.
Womens basketball head coach Randy Coffman motivates his teamto go out and get the win against Haywood.
Senior Sydney Coffman, escorted by a member of the armed forcesand senior Kevin Shaw, is crowned Homecoming Queen 2013.
Photos courtesy of Tanya Sierra