October 2011 • Volume 9 • Issue 2 Northridge High School • 2901 Northridge Road • Tuscaloosa, Al• 35406

Alex HauserEditor-in-Chief

Every year, hard-working students can be seen bustling through the halls holding numerous ACT practice books of differ-ent varieties. They study endlessly for the exam that could make or break their col-lege choices.

Last year, our administrators created an advisory class to help students do better on the ACT exam. Scores of 30 and high-er rose by 68%.

Mary Caitlyn Wilhite, junior, made a 32 after just a few weeks of taking the advisory class.

“[The advisory class] definitely helped. Having the time to go through the book every day is great,” she said.

This year the program was modified to assist students even more.

The new ACT Prep Advisory is sched-uled to meet sixteen times before the December ACT test. Students will rotate through four teachers that specialize in the different subjects.

“The students were divided into four groups based on currently scheduled math classes. The groups meet with each teach-er four times as they prepare them for the math, English, science and reading por-tions,” Elizabeth Tiley, counselor, said.

The advisory schedule is based upon the advisory schedule that the administrators studied from Oak Mountain High School and Carver.

“Our school and students will be helped by providing a well-rounded and intense program for ACT preparation that ends two days before the December test,” Isaac Espy, principal said. “We will do it again

in January prior to the February test.” Jori Smith, junior, said she likes the new

advisory because it gave her time to study during school.

“I’m so thankful for this advisory class because I have more time to study. Plus, the teachers who are preparing you will not

let you bomb this test. They understand the seriousness of it, and the fact that getting a high score can open up many doors as far as college goes, so that’s a good thing,” she said.

Tiley said she hopes

the advisory gives students the edge they need to be successful on the December ACT.

“A few study sessions will not make a huge difference, but if everyone takes what they learn and applies it on the test, and studies on their own time, I think individu-als will see a difference in their scores,” she said. “The tools for success are being distributed to our students. It’s up to them to use them.”

The goal for the prep class is to serve as a review for students and more adequately prepare them for the test. It appeals to stu-

dents on every education level.

“Some students are be-ing exposed to test material for the first time. This prep class serves to calm fears

and give pointers. Others are working on increasing their score whether it is to meet admission or scholarship require-ments for universities or post-secondary institutions,” Tiley said.

Hillcrest, who recently just passed the national ACT average, has a 9-week ACT prep class. The class is a full length period, and they take a test each day to prepare, as well as go over test-taking tactics.

Hillcrest senior, Warner House said that the class helped him achieve his current score of 30 and helped him gain experience and confidence when he

walked into the test room.“Having someone there to constantly

push you, even if you had reached your goal, is what made the class. You were expected to do better and better until you made a 36,” he said. “And it wasn’t com-pletely about making a 36. It was getting

your goal so you could have options for your own future instead of being forced to go somewhere you didn’t want to go. It

made the test more of an ad-vantage than an obstacle.”

But, Walter Hall, junior, said that he liked our pro-gram as compared to the others.

“Ours probably isn’t better, per se. [But] if Hillcrest students want to spend an hour and a half every day taking a prep ACT, go ahead. But we at Northridge will be taking real AP classes that actually prepare you for college level courses,” he said.

Although being considered being a high performing school is a great feat, Espy said, the average wasn’t the most impor-tant thing to try to raise.

“I do not really think that a school’s ACT average is particularly relevant, unless all students take the test, and their scores are averaged. I would like to see our average score drop by about a half a point. That would indicate that more underclassmen are taking the test, learning about their de-ficiencies and correcting them. I believe that a more relevant indicator of school success is by how many students score 30 or above,” he said.

Espy encourages students to start taking the ACT early and often.

“Take the test the first time with no pres-sure. You will learn where your strengths and weaknesses are. If your score hurts our school’s ACT average, then you know I won’t give a rip. What I will give a rip about is putting you in a position to crush the test during your junior year,” he said.

Last year we had 32 students score a 30 or above, which was the highest number in West Ala-bama. We currently have 21 students who have scored above 30. They are all part of the All-Academic team.

“[They] wear red shirts with an arma-dillo on the back. We will add to this pres-tigious group from the October, Decem-ber, February, April and June tests,” Espy said. “That’s what I call Smash Mouth testing. Go Jags, baby.”

James Roberts

Beat Editor

In the middle of the 2010-2011 year, Isaac Espy fashioned the All-Academic Team with the purpose of recognizing stu-dents who achieved at least a 30 on the ACT, and it has grown since then by approxi-mately sixty-eight percent.

“At the end of the last school year, we had thirty-two students. We now have a total of fifty-two

Advisory raises ACT scores

students.”Members of the team wear an

armadillo on their T-shirts. Espy said, the armadillo is

“hard on the outside, yet soft and meaty on the inside.”

He said he could not di-

vulge the purpose of the arma-dillo on the T-shirts because you have to be a member of the team to know.

Two students who are on the

All Academic Team are Addison Upton, senior, and Steven Givhan, senior.

Givan said, the rewards for becoming a member of the team include “a gift of Dr. Espy’s choice,

some good food, a cool T-shirt and a sense of satisfaction in your heart.”

Upton said, whenever ACT scores come back, the All-Aca-demic Team throws parties to in-

duct the new members.“We have cupcakes and re-

freshments,” Upton said.Upton said she is happy to be a

member of the team.“It gives an in-

centive for peo-ple to score a 30 or higher on the ACT. I hope [the team] continues to

grow.”Jackie Hudgins, counselor, is

one of the four assistants whose job is to set up the meetings after scores arrive. She said finds it ex-

citing when students do well on the ACT.

“It shows that we have hard working students, parents and teachers at Northridge who all contribute to our students’ suc-cess. We always hope to have more membership on the All-Ac-ademic Team.”

“We have a number of students with a 29 who will be wearing a red shirt [All Academic Team shirt] soon. Don’t give up,” Espy said.

Espy’s All-academic team increases in number

Exam Testing Tips

Ti ps compiled by: Alex Hauser

Information from: MCT Campus

Students meeting ACT benchmark scoresState-

National-

English

Benchmark Score-18 Math

Benchmark Score-22

Reading

Benchmark score- 21 Science

Benchmark Score-24

Students Meeting all 4

ACT Benchmark Scores

Breast Cancer

awareness

Page 8

Hillcrest game

page 7

2 3The Northridge ReporterOctober 28 2011 EntertainmentOpinion The Northridge Reporter

October 28, 2011

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Our ThoughtsTexting, driving, dangerous combo

Your ThoughtsArt by Jane Yu

Eating like a rabbit is not how a vegetarian necessarily eats, and it is definitely not as hard to do as many people perceive it to be. The diet is considerably healthier if it is done right, and it makes you feel good about yourself.

The school’s cafeteria on the other hand makes it problematic for those who want to eat healthier. If it is difficult for those individuals, then you know it is hard for vegetarians.

It is understandable that it is a hassle for the school to get better tasting food along with ‘health’ food because of the small budget. All the school can do is get food that gives students the average dietary needs; yet, last semester the school invested in ‘chef’s salads’ which was popular for many people.

The salads were pre-packaged and had a favorable amount of lettuce that did not look skimpy. In separate nice piles there was cheese, ham pieces, a half of an egg, carrots, a packet of dressing, and maybe a few other things. Vegetarians would just have to push the ham to the side.

Not only did the salads give people who were always surrounded by unhealthy food choices something better to eat, but people actually liked them.

So why were the salads taken away? Were they so popular that the other food went to waste, or

was it not within the budget to continue getting them? Other schools have salad bars, why can’t we at least have a pre-packaged salad that people like?

If a vegetarian had to get school lunches, all they could eat is rolls on days they had them along with the alternating selection of veggie items. The veggie items are not enough to support dietary

needs, plus if someone got enough of it to fill their stomach they would be charged extra for portioning out ‘too much’.

At home a vegetarian can still eat pizza, cheese, spaghetti without the meat, the large variety of veggie burgers offered in the Boca and Morning star brands, and veggie chicken nuggets which taste exactly like school or McDonald’s chicken nuggets in some brands.

Another food that vegetarians and healthy eaters can eat is Tofu, which can be very good if it is made in a delicious way. In the morning

we still can eat scrambled eggs, french toast, pancakes, etc. It is actually easy to be healthy or to be a vegetarian and still get enough protein.

Most vegetarians bring their own lunch, like me; yet, it would help school lunch buyers of any diet type to have at least the chef’s salad back in play.

Lunchroom does not cater to vegetarians

Dear Editor,By the time this letter runs in the next edition of

the Reporter, our administrative team would have added yet another policy that most students will choose to ignore and that some faculty and staff will choose not to enforce – Identification Badges.

Terrific! We can add this to our list of policies and rules that very few follow and even fewer en-force. It can be like the policy, “shirts and blouses should be tucked into pants and/or skirts” or “stu-dents are required to use clear book bags.” Or how about the one, “students are not allowed to wear or carry caps or hats. Or the classic, “cell phones must remain in the power off position at school and on campus is 5 mph.” Have you been in the student parking lot at 3:22?

Thank goodness the citizenry of Tuscaloosa are (for the most part) not like our students body. They

realize that rules and laws are created for the great-er good and, like them or not, they are inclined to follow and obey them. Imagine how unsafe the community would be if the citizens showed the same disregard for the rule of law as our students show for school rules. ANARCHY!

Also we are quite fortunate that local law en-forcement (again, for the most part) do not pick and choose which laws they want to enforce and which laws they choose to ignore like some of our faculty and staff seem to do. Chances are if you run a stop sign with a cop, a sheriff, or a trooper sitting there, you will be pulled over and punished for your over-sight. I believe students would be hard-pressed to break the rules if every adult in the building was equally hell-bent on enforcing them.

-C.S Johnson

In 2008 alone, nearly 6,000 teens were torn away from their family and friends by a fatal car crash caused by texting and

driving. Accompanying these fatalities, over half a million driv-ers were injured by otherwise distracted drivers.

These statistics provide irrefutable evidence that texting and driving is a deadly duo.

As picking a CD and driving can be difficult enough, some overachievers wish to also carry on a virtual conversation, on top of driving. And according to what one might see in the Northridge parking lot after school, driving seems complex enough for most students.

The Northridge Reporter does not condone texting and driv-ing under any circumstances. If someone has something that im-portant to say, it seems logical to call the driver. In which case, you could pull over and answer the phone.

For every texting and driving death, it probably just seems like a distant statistic, but how soon will it be until someone you know or love is dead without warning?

agree (19) disagree (0)

Look for Rand’s weekly rant at our website.

School policies continue to be ignored by students

GuentherNSPA 5th Place Best of Show 2008 • NSPA 8th Place Best of Show 2008NSPA 9th Place Best of Show 2006 • CSPA Silver Medalist (2003, 2004)

CSPA Gold Medalist (2005-2010) • SIPA All-Southern (2003, 2005–2010) ASPA All-Alabama (2003–2010) • All-American (2004, 2008, 2011) • Best SIPA Newspaper in

Alabama (2003–2007) NSPA News Story of the Year ( 2005) • SIPA First Place News Story (2007)

SIPA First Place Review (2009) • Rick Bragg Award for Feature Writing (2009)

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Northridge High School2901 Northridge RoadTuscaloosa, AL 35406

(205) 759-3734 ext. 235

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Advertising and Subscriptions: Contact The Northridge Reporter Staff at (205) 759-3734 ext. 235 or snewell@tusc.k12.al.us to advertise in or subscribe to The Northridge Reporter.Editorial Policy: The opinions in The Northridge Reporter are those of the students and not of the faculty or administration of Northridge High School or the Tuscaloosa City Board of Education. It is the policy of The Northridge Reporter to publish all non-obscene, non-libelous, signed letters to the editor, regardless of the opinion expressed in them. All letters must be submitted to Mrs. Newell in room 109 or emailed to northridgereporter@gmail.com. The Northridge Reporter reserves the right to edit letters and verify allegations.

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ZZ Top, Lynyrd Skynyrd phenomenal

Photo from MCT CampusZZ Top opens for headliner Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers on an impressive bill.

Les Mis lives up to expectationE-READERS GET MIXED

REVIEWS

2 3The Northridge ReporterOctober 28 2011 EntertainmentOpinion The Northridge Reporter

October 28, 2011

Parker Evans

Staff Writer

You can’t walk into Barnes & Noble or Best Buy without seeing them. You can’t get on the Inter-net without seeing the advertise-ments. And maybe, in the future, you won’t be able to read a book without them.

E-Readers; Are they the fu-ture of reading or a technological craze? Will they make the book obsolete?

Andrew Latter, senior, has a Nook e-reader that he installed an Android operating system on, so that it operates like a tablet. He can use it just like an iPad or a Samsung Galaxy tablet.

The Nook has already proved itself useful through its size. Lat-ter was unable to carry all of his books on the plane he was board-ing from Canada, but he was able to upload them to his Nook and take it as a carry-on.

Lattner said “a huge plus is that college textbooks can be bought

on the Nook for 60% off.”Not all book-lovers like the idea

of reading on a device, however.Elise Tucker, junior, is a read-

ing purist. “I like having a book in my

hand,” Tucker said.Tucker does not own an e-read-

er, but has used a Kindle before. According to Tucker, the e-

reader is just one more manifes-tation of the tech craze, and that people buy them because they’re “cool, not for the love of read-ing.”

While students seem to be di-vided, many teachers seem to be of the same opinion.

Anna Schwartz (science) said that using e-readers in schools would be “wonderful.”

“With the ability to use wi-fi on the e-readers, students would be able to compare opinions of different authors instantly and make connections in the lesson,” Schwartz said. Also, “students would be more prone to reading assignments.”

Alex Hauser

Editor-in-Chief

Anyone who knows me knows I’m completely obsessed with the Broadway play Les Misérables.

I got hooked on Les Mis when I was eight. My mom got the soundtrack for Christmas, and I heard it around the house.

Les Misérables went off Broad-way and ended their U.S. tour in 2002. So for the past nine years, I’ve only had my two concert DVDs and three soundtracks to hold me over.

For the 25th anniversary of the show, a new Les Mis production began touring the U.S.

After I found out about the tour, I checked the Broadway Across America web site for show lo-cations at least twice a day for months. Then my cousin informed me that Les Mis was coming to Birmingham.

I listened to only Les Misera-bles for weeks. It consumed me.

Touring casts aren’t usually the best, but I was going to be very nit-picky and critical when it came to Les Mis.

I refused to look up the cast on Youtube, so I wouln’t have any preconceived views, but when I read that the cast was perform-ing their Act 1 Finale, “One Day More” on America’s Got Talent, I couldn’t resist. I had to watch it.

It was phenomenal, and I

sobbed. None of the cast bugged me too much, which is a great be-cause I’m extremely critical.

The performance day finally came on Sept. 24.

I didn’t sleep the night before. I was bouncing all morning.

I stocked up on all the parapher-nalia before the show. I am now a proud owner of a Les Mis tour shirt, a key chain, and a full color souvenir program with pictures from over 10 different productions.

I started crying the second I heard the Overture. It was so pow-erful that it kept me entranced the whole show. For the revival, the orchestration was changed, but it was brilliant and flowed quite beautifully, and was very similar to the original, which I appreci-ated.

The cast was brilliant, which is saying a lot for a touring cast.

The main character, Jean Valjean, played by J. Mark Mcvey, sang all of the high notes beauti-fully and with ease. He had great emotion and portrayed Valjean perfectly.

My favorite character, Javert, was played by Andrew Varela. Javert is the antagonist of Les Miserables, and is very misun-derstood in my eyes. His charac-ter enthralls me, and I was going to be extremely critical of all of his songs. I was blown away by his performance and had a break-down during my favorite song,

“Javert’s Suicide.” There was so much feeling.

I have very few complaints about any of the characters.Betsy Morgan’s inability to say her ‘S’s, which at first was really disturb-ing, was easily ignored the second she started singing “I Dreamed a Dream,” even though the lyrics came out “He schlept a shummer by my shide.”

The set was amazing. It fea-tured a giant video screen as the backdrop and portrayed the scenes in Les Miserables’ author Victor Hugo’s painting style. It was so symbolic and the mov-ing paintings looked surreal and moved the story flawlessly.

The only thing missed from the original set design was the fa-mous turntable during “One Day More.” It brought the characters to life during the act one finale, and it would have been great to have been able to witness it live.

When it was over, I sat in awe for a few minutes. I went home in bliss, and it was the only thing on my mind for a couple of days. I didn’t want it to end, and after nine years of waiting to see it, I felt almost empty in an amazing way.You can see the touring production of Le Mis at the gorgeous Fox The-atre in Atlanta from April 24 -29. Tickets go on sale on Dec, 1. Do not miss this incredible event. It may not come back for years.

James Roberts

Beat Editor

I’ve been listening to ZZ Top ever since I was a baby, thanks to my dad. So when I heard about the upcoming concert they were hav-ing Oct. 16 with Lynyrd Skynyrd at the Tuscaloosa Amphitheater, I thought two things: “Hooray! ZZ Top is coming to town!” and “Lynyrd Skynyrd? Hmmm… They’ve got a few pretty good songs, but they’re not my favor-ite band in the world. Oh well, I guess I could put up with them.” And so, on that Sunday night, I went to the show with my folks and a few friends of theirs.

The opening act was singer/songwriter/album Tom Ham-bridge with his two-man band, The Rattlesnakes. He stood at center stage while playing a snare drum and cymbal (and occasion-ally the microphone stand) while

singing at the same time, so he earns some credit for that. Also, he sang a “happy blues song,” a creative ditty that discussed the positive things about not having a girlfriend. Overall, he was decent but not spectacular.

Lynyrd Skynyrd came next. They’re not really my style of music, but, man, were they IN-CREDIBLE!! All the members kept moving without signs of tir-ing and interacted with the audi-ence pretty well by motioning to us that we keep yelling till our lungs were broken and then some. I also was amused by the antics of guitarist Rickey Medlocke, such as sticking his tongue out in a Gene Simmons fashion and flipping off the people he was singing about (The latter amused me because it didn’t apply to the audience.) And on a final note, they dedicated their 11-minute, 36-second epic “Free Bird” to all

who died in the April 27 tornado. Given the band’s history, with the 1977 plane crash that killed three band members, the band’s re-maining and new members know something about dedicating songs to tragedy victims.

ZZ Top was the grand finale, and it was not a let down at all. After 40 years of playing togeth-er, those three guys still have a spring in their step. They still play like gods, and their sense of hu-mor is still present. They stopped the show to bring two children on stage and autograph a copy of “ZZ Top’s First Album.” They played fuzzy guitars, brought out a lovely woman to put a blues hat on guitarist Billy Gibbons, and still had fancy dance steps while random images never stopped swirling on their video screens.

The mostly full amphithe-ater definitely had a good time, whether screaming “Roll Tide

Roll” as if at Bryant Denny Sta-dium when “Sweet Home Ala-bama,” putting on their “Cheap Sunglasses,” enjoying ZZ Top’s tribute to the great Jimi Hendrix

with “Hey Joe,” or shaking their groove things to “Tush.”

Overall, the concert earns an A-, if only because of the slow start by the opening act.

Emma Jackson

Staff writer

When the tornado hit Tusca-

loosa in April 2011 many busi-

nesses were affected. Kathleen

Kennedy’s family had two rental

houses and now they are trying to

sell both properties.Right after the tornado hit they

looked at their two houses.

“One house had the windows

blown out and the door blown off,

but other than that it was structur-

ally fine,” Kennedy said.

The other house had similar

damage but had a tree through the

middle. The next day they came back

and when Kennedy saw the sec-

ond house she was shocked.

“There was nothing left,” Ken-

nedy said. “When we came back

the next day the entire back half

of the house was gone. It was just

ashes.The fire department had

seen the fire around two in the

morning and put it out.”

She said the firemen told them

the tree that was on the second

house had pierced the neighbor’s

gas tank. In the night, the motor of the

car had overheated and caught

the tanks on fire along with the

tree and half of the Kennedy’s

house.

Alexandra Stew

art

Sports Editor

The winds roared as the tornado that

would affect many people’s lives approached

Tuscaloosa.

Chris Cline, sophomore, was one of those

who was affected.

He said what he remembers most is listening

to his house being broken and the people who

helped his family recover.

“I remember one morning I walked outside,

and there were all these people there in my

front yard,” he said. “It really helped me to

learn who my true friends are.”

He said that after experiencing the tornado,

he won’t take anything else for granted.

Xavier Davis, junior, was at home watching

television when the tornado hit.

“Everybody was in different rooms watching

TV, and I went to my mom’s room to tell her

that it was really windy. They said the tornado

was by Central, and the power went out,” he

said. He listened as the tornado blew the trampoline

over the house and knocked a tree down.

“I tried to open the bathroom door, but my

brother was in there, and the wind was so strong

that I could not open the door,” he said. “[After

the tornado] I was just happy that everyone was

okay.”Davis said that his church helped out a lot.

“At first they let us stay at someone’s house,

and then they helped my mom to find a new

house,” he said.

He said that the entire experience of the

tornado changed his life.

“It made everything more serious,” he said.

“Anything could happen, and you can be left

with nothing.”

He shivered, as he thought back to what it

was like after the tornado.

“I didn’t want to come to school because I

wanted to help my mom,” he said. “I was there

for her, and I did different things to help out,

like helping look for a house and taking care of

my brothers and sister who were ages five, ten

and fifteen,” he said.

He said that it affected his family pretty badly,

but that it brought his family closer together.

“The tornado was something you would

never want to experience,” he said. “But it

helped me to realize that I shouldn’t take things

for granted.

Reminders:

Don’t Forget!

People learn to live after disaster

Family copes after fire wrecks rental homes ‘‘‘‘‘‘‘‘Parker Evans’’’s home after the tornado arrived.

‘‘‘‘‘‘‘‘Parker Evans’’’’ ’s hom

e after being re

decotated.

4 5The Northridge ReporterOctober 28, 2011 FeatureFeature The Northridge Reporter

October 28, 2011

“It made everything more

serious,” he said. “Anything could

happen, and you can be left with

nothing.”“

”-Xavier

Davis, Junior

Parker Evans

Staff Writer

April 27th was the day I heard a freight train on top of my house. It was the day I said goodbye to my family without ever leaving them. It was the day I went into our basement as one person and came out as an-other person. It was the day that a tornado wreaked havoc on the city of Tuscaloosa.

I remember that when I stepped out of the front door, everything was especially green and damp. All four trees that were in our yard had fallen, missing the house, and they covered the backyard in broken branches and pinesap.

The tree house that Dad built for me when I was five was crushed, and part of the fence that he had built was smashed. The patio was broken where the tree roots had ripped it up and all of our cars had broken windows. And from out of no-where, a commercial-sized air conditioner had lodged itself in our roof. It was overwhelming to say the least.

In the following weeks, saints and angels all around the city revealed themselves to my family and me. Some of them came with chainsaws, and some of them came with hot grills

and hamburger meat.Some of them gave us shelter, and some of them simply gave us a good hug. But they all made a differ-ence. Northridge’s very own ten-nis team came to our house with gloves and water coolers, ready to work. They raked, cut up logs, delivered food, and even babysat. Within two days, they cleared away branches and shingles and gutted our attic, so that we could take out the attic floorboards and remove the air conditioner from our roof. They kept a steady supply of good, home-cooked Southern food coming to our house that nearly fed the whole neighborhood and was much appreciated.

Because of the valiant ef-forts of the team, our wrecked house slowly started to become a home again. After several weeks though, the work slowed down, but not the huge flatbed trucks that came through our neighbor-hood, picking up stumps and stirring up dust. Eventually, that’s what going outside this summer came to mean: dust, and heat, and bright sunlight. The sparse rains we got were very welcome.

Remaining inside was not an option, however. Work still had to be done. Dad and I worked on

the yard all summer; rebuilding the fence and making it bigger and better, spreading dirt around to keep the ground level, mov-ing the shed from one end of the yard to the other, helping our neighbors when they needed it, raking debris into piles, and other similar operations. It was a kind of rebirth. Now our house is completely livable (if you don’t mind two hyperactive five-year-olds.) We’ve settled back into our routine, although it’s a little less shaded than it used to be, and there are still minor adjust-ment’s to be made around the house, but you can call it nor-mality. We’ve come a long way to be right back where we were.

Sarah Katherine BarnesStaff Writer

The often loosely used phrase ‘it has taken me by storm’ became a terrifyingly literal reality for fifteen year old would-be freshman, Justin Le’Eric Thomas, this year in April.Thomas was a victim of the E4 tornado that hit Tuscaloosa this spring and is remembered by many. During the storm at his aunt’s home in Rosedale, Thomas went outside to move a car into the driveway. He was flown from the car and killed. Jacqail Robinson, freshman, was close friends with Thomas. In fact, he described their relationship as being “like brothers.” Robinson remembers his friend since middle

school as a “goofy, funny” guy. Jasmine Wilkerson, sophomore, recalls Thomas as being a former boyfriend, with whom she dated for nearly ten months. “I hate rainy days,” she said. “The sky is dark like the sky was April 27…and I lost a friend that day,” she said in reference to Thomas. “I miss him very much.”

In bitter nostalgia, Wilkerson said she “got up on the morning of his funeral, [May 7] got dressed, and almost got out the door…” before she began to cry. Wilkerson stayed home that day. Wilkerson said she will never for-get Thomas, but said she knows she has to move on.

Reminders:

Don’t Forget!

Stormy weather reminds student of tornado

Family rebuilds together after storm wrecks their home

‘‘‘‘‘‘‘‘Parker Evans’ ’’s home after the tornado arrived.

‘‘‘‘‘‘‘‘Parker Evans’’’’’s hom

e after being re

decotated.

Parker Evans’’’s home after the tornado hit it.

4 5The Northridge ReporterOctober 28, 2011 FeatureFeature The Northridge Reporter

October 28, 2011

Photos by: Irene Evans

The Northridge ReporterOctober 28, 2011News

boutiqueVintage Vibe

406 Queen City Avenue East

Trent Clanton

News Editor

The school marching band held a band exhibition on Oct. 3, called the Crimson Cavalcade.

John Cain, band director, said 11 schools came out to compete.

Cain said a lot of work goes into hosting an exhibi-tion like this one.

“The band prepares, but the most work is done by the boosters. The boosters [parent support group] put in a lot of extra work, and there’s a lot of parent sup-port,” he said.

Band member Marcus Clark, junior, said the band makes sure they are ready.

“We work hard for these competitions,” he said.Clark said his favorite thing is getting to see all the

bands perform.“I like getting to see other schools’ halftime shows.

You don’t usually get to see all that,” Clark said. Cain said there was a special treat for all the bands

to watch at the Cavalcade.“The Million Dollar Band for the University of

Alabama performed at the end,” he said. With so many bands in the area, some bands have

rival bands.“Northridge’s rival band is without a doubt Bry-

ant’s band,” Clark said.There will be another band competition in Gordo,

Alabama on Oct. 29.

Marching band hosts Crimson Cavalcade exhibition

Aasiyah Sullivan

Staff Writer

Students who text and drive can hurt other people without even meaning to. Not only can they hurt the people who are driving their cars, they can also hurt their families by texting and driving.

Taylor Goodall, junior, said that he knows someone close to him who texts and drives and has been in a wreck.

“Texting and driving is important to know about be-cause the consequences can be just as bad as someone that is drinking and driving,” Goodall said.

Goodall said students should ask their peers if they know anyone who texts and drives, so they can know what types of punishments there are to texting and driv-ing.

“Peers shouldn’t text and drive because it isn’t safe, and someone can get hurt really bad,” he said.

Goodall said texting and driving should be taken seri-ously by everyone.

“When I see students that text and drive I think that they are very irresponsible, and they should stop and be

Jane YuEntertainment Editor

The founder of Apple, Steve Jobs passed away on Oct. 5.

Teresa Meissner, BTA teacher, said there was no computer when she was in high school.

“First time I used a personal-ized computer was in the mid 80s,” Meissner said. “I worked with Gulf States Paper Corporation.”

Meissner recalls the time that she had to go to lab to do any computer work.

“I remember thinking the first ap-ple computer was the coolest thing ever as a child,” Meissner said.

Meissner said on the first com-puter, they had to know a command key for everything, and mere click-ing was a revolution.

Steve Jobs was a “hands-on ex-ecutive” leader who was really “in-volved,” Meissner said.

“He was a genius,” Meissner said. “He made everything driven by us-

6Bad habits, worse consequencesTeens continue to text, drive

a responsible driver,” Goodall said.Kathleen Oatts, food and nutrition teacher, said that

texting and driving is something that students shouldn’t do.

“Texting and driving affects the students in the school because it is a distraction to the people driving and to the others that are on the road driving as well,” Oatts said.

Oatts said peers try to give each other advice about texting and driving. Many students take the advice, but others don’t.

“Some advice to give to the students about texting and driving is that you shouldn’t have any distractions on the road that can risk your life and others, so be careful when you drive,” she said.

Oatts said texting and driving in the United States is something that everyone should be aware of.

“Students should be aware of texting and driving be-cause many students don’t actually think about the con-sequences of texting and driving,” Oatts said.

“So when they think about wanting to text and drive, they should think about who they can possibly hurt or kill and that they can possibly kill themselves,” she said.

ers, and entertained them and made money by doing so.”

“Apple was always leading the path that others followed,” Meiss-ner said.

Julie Kim, senior, too, said Jobs is pure genius.

“As a user of Mac book, iPod touch, iPad and possibly iPhone, I am amazed at Job‘s amazing ad-vanced development,” Kim said. “He definitely brought incredible transformation.”

Kim said she did not want to be-lieve the death of Jobs when she

watched it on TV.“He gave people opportunity to

dream big,” Kim said.She said Jobs brought “better re-

lationships” through “revolution-ized social networking.”

“I never imagined myself lying on a bed getting on Facebook,” Kim said. “Apps [have] made our life so much easier.”

Jobs said before his death, “Re-membering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no rea-son not to follow your heart.”

Steve Jobs leaves legacy for next generation

Emma Jackson

Staff Writer

Verner Elementary stu-dents teamed up with the Key Club and the SGA to turn an old and unused courtyard into a beauti-ful butterfly garden and an outdoor classroom.

The old courtyard had a small pond in a corner but had no use to the school. At least, not until now.

Now it is filled with flowers, modern art, step-ping stones and all sorts of creatures.

Derrick Johnson, se-nior SGA member, said he thought the garden “would be a good thing for the kids,” so they could be “outside in the fresh air.”

SGA students moved stone to make walls and stepping places, amended soil for the plants, etc..

Nini Jobson, an enrich-ment teacher at Verner, said, “I like the student and parent involvement. The results of all the work is wonderful.”

Jobson said it has touched all types of stu-dents at her school and has gotten so much com-munity excitement.

Now that it is open and running, students at Verner have had classes and many learning ex-periences in their new butterfly garden. They have taken pictures of flowers and creatures in their garden. They also have painted water color paintings.

On Sept. 21 they had their very own art gallery. Each picture and painting was sold for $10, and the money is going towards the outdoors enrichment project.

Laurie Rienwald, a parent helper of the proj-ect said, “I think it’s a wonderful way to get out of the classroom and learn in a different way. Learning is spontaneous. They have to use their problem-solving skills, and they need to think things through.”

Verner Elementary students

build butterfly garden

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Steve Jobs

Photo illustration by Trent Clanton

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7The Northridge ReporterOctober 28, 2011 Sports

Parker Evans

Staff Writer

The football team went into the game against Hillcrest undefeated for eight games but lost 35-14.

In the first quarter, running back Bo Scarborough, sophomore, tore his anterior cruciate ligament(ACL) in his left knee, which kept him out the rest of the game.

“I wasn’t there to do my part,” Scarbor-ough said. “I wish I was there. I think we would have won [if I had played].”

Natalie Patton, cheerleader, said that when Bo got injured, “they hit him on his shoulder. People said Hillcrest was playing to hurt Bo, but I think it was a accident.”

“It was a big game, and I think we played well,” Patton said.

Mike Smith compared the football game to a game of chess.

“Once we lost Bo, it was like losing the queen. If you take the queen out of the game, you lose your best piece. You can still win, but you have to be smart,” Smith said. “I don’t mind losing when we play well. And we didn’t play well. We tried to slow them down, and we did move the ball.”

“What bothers me is when we don’t do the things we were taught,” Smith said. “We have to realize that if we do it the way it’s supposed to be done, we can win.”

Thursday, Oct. 27 the football team shut out Bryant 50-0.

Rand Schille

Web Master

The girls volleyball team has a new coach and suffered a couple of injuries.

They were victorious in the Central, and Midsouth tournaments.

Amanda Talantis, Spanish Teacher, has become the head coach.

David Akins, Athletic Director, said Talantis “came in and took over a team that lost three senior starters, and she’s doing a tremendous job.”

Earlier in the season Talantis said, “We’ll have a winning season and establish ourselves amongst the Birmingham teams.”

They have dominated most teams they encountered, as they did against Hillcrest, 3-0, and Tuscaloosa County, 3-1.

Ashlyn Sunseri said that, “The new seniors bring a lot to the team. They bring the team together, and we play better together.”

Injuries have plagued the team. Cammie Cook was out for much of the season due to an injury. As co-captain this was a significant blow to the team.

There are six senior players: Cammie Cook, Ashlyn Sunseri, Faith Lancaster, Sarah Stuart, Brenae Walton, and Tori Morgan, making it an older, more experienced team.

The varsity volleyball team shows their team spirit as they prepare for the Northridge vs. Holt game. The game was on Oct. 6, and it was Senior Night. The team had a 24-18 season.

Hillcrest football game brings loss, injury

Photo by: Blake Bensen

Photo by: Kalyn-Wright Davis

Volleyball wins despite injuries, new coach

Antonio Easterwood gets tackled by Hillcrest. The Jaguars played the Patriots on Oct. 21, losing 35-14.

Season ends

8Beat

The Northridge Reporter

October 2

8, 2011

Trent Cla

nton

New

s Edito

r

A cool breeze flow

s through the Octo-

ber air as the sun sets and the sky grows

dark. Sounds of children echo through the streets as ghosts and goblins go door to door. Som

e of these monsters and

movie characters aren’t exactly children

anymore.

Samantha B

urroughs, freshman, said

she still trick-or-treats.Tyra Figgers, senior, said she goes

trick-or-treating at the mall.

Wil Ledbetter, senior, said trick-or-

treating is something people shouldn’t

grow out of.

“Dressing up is fun, and you get like

five pounds of free candy,” he said.Ledbetter said one of his favorite cos-

tumes w

as a white-suited ninja.

Kailyn

Mills,

sophomore,

said one

of her favorite mem

ories was w

hen she and her friends got chased by som

eone in a giant m

onster costume.

Some students prefer alternatives to

trick-or-treating.M

aia Wade, junior, said she likes going

to the Fright Factory for Hallow

een.“I usually dress up in zom

bie makeup,”

she said.K

ofi Ulzen, sophom

ore, said he doesn’t trick-or-treat

anymore.

“I think af-ter a w

hile people think

it’s kiddy,” he said.

Breast Cancer Awareness

High sch

oolers still

enjoy trick or treating

Aasiya

h Su

llivan

Staff R

eporter

October, B

reast Cancer Aw

areness Month, is

important because w

e know people w

ho have had it and have survived. Teachers like dram

a teacher D

onna Wright and m

ath teacher Patsy Low

ery.M

any wom

en that have breast cancer think their life is over. A lot of them

say that after that, they don’t do the things that they used to do, W

right said.“I w

as diagnosed with breast cancer in 2006

when I w

as 39,” she said.Surgery for m

any wom

en when they find out

that they have breast cancer is really hard. “The hardest thing that I had to go through

during and after surgery was that feeling like m

y body w

as slowing dow

n and not being able to feel like being m

yself physically,” Wright said

Breast cancer is just like any other cancer be-

cause it has four stages, and the worst stage is

the last stage, which is stage four, W

right said.“A

fter I had my breast rem

oved, I suddenly felt lop-sided, and I had to have a catheter in order to give blood and to have chem

otherapy,” she said.

Chem

otherapy is the hardest thing any person that has cancer has to go through after they have surgery, she said.

The most shocking side effects of chem

other-apy is loss of appetite and low

ered resistance to any infections, she said.

“Don’t assum

e that it can’t be you. Trust your instincts,” W

right said. She said that w

omen that have had breast

cancer have the best advice for anyone that hasn’t had breast cancer. They know

what to do

and what not to do.

Patsy Lowery, m

ath teacher, has also dealt

with breast cancer.“I w

as diagnosed with early breast cancer in

the summ

er of 2000,” Lowery said.

Some w

omen get that feeling that they have

breast cancer, and they will im

mediately go to

the doctor and get checked, Lowery said.

“The hardest thing that I had to go through during and after surgery is that I didn’t have chem

otherapy. I just had eight weeks of ra-

diation. I was teaching at C

entral High School

at the time. I w

ould leave every day for eight w

eeks and go to the hospital and receive radia-tion. A

fter I would get off of w

ork, I would lay

on the couch every day to conserve my energy,”

Lowery said.

After chem

otherapy or radiation, many w

om-

en become tired and w

orn out. They aren’t able to do m

any of the things that they would do on

an everyday basis, she said.“Som

e physical things that I had to encounter w

ould be that I have a scar from surgery under

my chest and across m

y arm. If I sleep the w

rong w

ay, my arm

starts to tense up, and I will start to

get sharp pains in my chest,” Low

ery said.The pains after surgery can change the person

emotionally and physically, Low

ery said.“Som

e advice that I would give younger and

older wom

en would be that you need to do self-

examinations and get yearly m

amm

ograms. B

e aw

are because it can happen at any age. Early detection is a big key,” Low

ery said.R

achel Tubbs, senior, said that breast cancer is som

ething that every wom

an should know

about.Teenagers that go and get their yearly physi-

cals don’t think that they could ever get breast cancer, Tubbs said.

“I think that it is important for w

omen to know

about breast cancer because it m

ay be heredi-tary, and it can happen to anyone,” she said.

Teachers sh

are th

eir perso

nal sto

ries

October 2011

Volume 9 Issue

2

http://northridgereporter.wordpress.com/

Photos b

y: Dan M

eissner

Derrick Johnson, senior, is crow

ned hom

ecoming king by Joe H

olling-sw

orth.

During

the hom

ecoming

football gam

e, Kaleb

Farmer,

senior, tries

to escape

a tackle from

a Jackson Olin player.

Sarah Hayes, senior, looks at the

new hom

ecoming

king, Derrick

Johnson, senior,

after she

was

crowned hom

ecoming queen.

Synteria Pearson, junior, danc-es w

ith the danceline during halftim

e.

Sarah Hayes,

senior, is

crowned

homecom

ing queen

during half-

time.

Look for the homecom

ing story on the websiteNorthridgereporter.

wordpress.com