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March 2012

Earn a scholarship in 140 characters or less!By Keiki-Lani Knudsen || Na Hoku Staff Writer

South Korea enforces “Cinderella law” for teenage gamersA new law in South Korea prevents children under age

sixteen from accessing video game websites between the hours of twelve midnight and six a.m. The law, referred to as the “shutdown law” or the “Cinderella law,” was passed after a long string of unfortunate and, some say, prevent-able incidents and statistics.

In 2010, a South Korean couple neglected their infant daughter in favor of raising an online child. The girl, only three months old, died of starvation. That same year, a man murdered his mother after she nagged him about playing video games too much. He then went to a PC bang, a ven-ue comparable to an Internet cafe except it allows users to play computer video games for an hourly fee, to continue his gaming. Five years before that, says the United King-dom newspaper The Guardian, a young man collapsed and died after playing video games for fifty hours straight.

The obsession with which those individuals played their video games is not unusual, especially in South Korea. South Korea has one of the highest rates of video game addiction in the world, and psychiatrists say that as many as ten percent of children have shown signs of video game addiction. The rate is highest, says the National Informa-tion Society Agency, for those between the ages of nine and twelve: fourteen percent are addicted to video games.

Some blame the country’s stressful “cram schools” for

the addiction, claiming that students need a form of re-lease. Others say that the law is a waste of time and money

and detracts from the parental right and duty to teach. Still others point out that playing video games does have some benefits, on and off the screen.

Moanalua senior Daniel Jung, who admits to playing a lot of video games during breaks because he doesn’t get to play much during the school year, says that video games have taught him many things: “For instance, Mon-ster Hunter, one of my favorite games, taught me that with enough determination and preparation you can do almost anything.” That appreciation of preparation, he says, helps him in other areas of his life.

To those who claim that video games make people an-tisocial, just ask Jennifer Mead. The freshman says that she has to limit her playing of video games during soccer season (her favorites are Modern Warfare 3, Halo 3, and Call of Duty Black Ops), but that gaming has “taught [her] a cool way to start conversations with random people.”

Seniors Blake Pinell and Alex Hoang also played video games socially. The two played Runescape together in middle school but had to stop, says Alex, because “school keeps [us] pretty busy.”

Judging by Jung’s, Mead’s, Pinell’s, and Hoang’s re-sponses, gamers at Moanalua wouldn’t be too upset about if a measure similar to the “Cinderella law” was passed here. But something that might get people riled up? A Fa-cebook block between midnight and six in the morning.

By Haley Pendergast || Na Hoku Staff Writer

Blake Pinell (left) and Alex Hoang (center) played Runescape together in middle school. Now school, like their Calculus class, keeps them too busy.

Photo by Haley Pendergast

Cartoon by Christopher Owens

How can updating Twitter accounts and other social networking sites open up scholarships for college bound students? Some com-panies are providing college bound students the opportunity to earn scholarships simply by doing something that they like. For example, “The Short and Tweet Scholarship” is a scholarship that requires stu-dents to mention and follow @Scholarshipscom in a tweet that tells of their new school year resolutions, as well as how they plan to stick to their resolutions. Students are entered to win a one thousand dollar scholarship or one out of two new Kindles. Sweet right?

Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) also gives students the chance to earn a five thousand dollar scholarship through Twitter – all that is required is a photo and tag with #KFCScholar. The photo must exhibit how the student is dedicated to education and how they help their communities. Although this year’s contest just ended, keep an eye out for it next year!

For students that are not so Internet savvy, there are plenty of other opportunities to receive scholarships. Scholarship-listing web-sites, books, and your very own College and Career Center here at Moanalua are great resources to discover unique scholarships. There are a myriad of scholarships to be found; and not all of them require essays. Mrs. Mau notes, “There are all sorts of scholarships out there. There are some if you are Irish, if you play the bagpipes, if you do a lot of community service, take part in a lot of extracurriculars, and

many more to choose from – you just have to find them.” Despite being a freshman, Morgan Lloyd is already taking initia-

tive to find scholarships through the website cappex.com: “For that website, all you have to do is answer questions about yourself and it matches you to numerous scholarships. To me, that is the fastest and easiest way of finding scholarships.”

However, one must always be careful when using online sites to gain scholarships. According to Mrs. Mau, “I try to stay away from them. I know that right now they are the way to go, but I do not think they are regulated. You are going to be asked personal information like social security numbers, your birthday, etc., and it will not be as secure as through the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAF-SA) because it is regulated by the government. However, even though the FAFSA is through the government, there is still a possibility of being hacked.”

One thing that applies to any type of scholarship, no matter where they are from, is that students must pay attention to the deadlines and instructions. When asked what her advice is to scholarship-seeking students of Moanalua, Mrs.Mau cautions, “Watch the deadlines and do it [apply] early. If you wait, it gets worse and worse, so don’t wait!”

No matter who you are, within the big world of scholarships there is bound to be scholarships out there that match YOU. So do not be afraid; if you are in need of help searching for scholarships head to the College and Career Center, located next to the student center, where Mrs. Mau and Mrs. Yonamine are there to help you!

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March 2012

What Social Networking site do you use the most?

Facebook

Tumblr

Twitter

Instagram

78%

16%

5%

1%By Aya Bensing || Na Hoku Layout Editor

With so many student drivers, it is safe to assume that a lot of gas is being wasted. It is Monday, school has just let out, and traffic is horrendous waiting to exit the parking lot. It is only day one of a gas-wasting week. Traveling at zero miles an hour, gas is still burning. In today’s economy, gas is as precious as ever — the average price of gas across America is almost $4.00 per gallon. How much gas is actually being wasted without you really know-ing? Senior Chad Ullery, who drives to school everyday, saves gas on his drives from home in Makakilo to school by “staying on the freeways when there isn’t traffic.” Another stu-dent, Spencer Tyo (12), says, “I always keep my tire pressure at its highest [to] get more gas mileage.” These two students may not know it, but they are in fact following a new concept called hypermiling. According to Merriam-Webster, hypermiling is “the use of fuel-saving techniques to maximize a vehicle’s fuel milage.” Although there are hundreds of ideas, the following are the most important tips that should always be remembered:

The smartest ways to saveBy Melissa Weber || Na Hoku Staff Writer

Paper or plastic? A seemingly simple ques-tion at the grocery store check-out line can have a significant and lasting impact on the environment. Beginning in the 1970s, people have used plastic bags as a cost-effective and practical solution to paper bags, as they take up less space in land fills and use less energy to produce. But despite all the hype, plastic bags can cause more harm than good – especially for our world’s oceans.

Of the plastic bags thrown away each year, over one million will end up in our oceans – many eventually making their way to the largest land-fill in the world, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Located just a thousand miles north of the Hawai-ian Islands, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch spans hundreds of miles across the Pacific Ocean, and contains hundreds of tons of marine debris. Scien-tists have given the floating landfill the nickname plastic soup, as the mass is composed mostly of plastic waste, including bottles, wrappers, and plastic bags. This giant mass of waste poses a serious risk to marine life, who often mistake the debris for food. According to Greenpeace, an or-ganization known for their commitment to envi-ronmental causes, at least 267 different species are known to have suffered from entanglement or ingestion of plastic debris, including seabirds, turtles, seals, sea lions, whales and fish. Students like Devlyn Perugini (11) understand how careless and irresponsible it is to allow debris to go into our oceans, as she states, “This world has more water than land; it is not okay to take that for granted.” Many believe that the dangers of plastic debris and particles affect only marine life but in fact, they are just as harmful to humans. In just a few steps and cycles through the food chain, our trash can become our food.

After exposure to the ocean’s currents and sun’s rays, plastic matter within the Great Pacific Gar-bage Patch starts to decompose, eventually tearing

and breaking off into smaller pieces. From there, the smaller pieces of plastic drift through the ocean currents across the world. These tiny pieces of plastic appeal to small fish, who mistake the debris for food. Then, bigger fish consume these small fish; and eventually, the waste makes it way back to human beings who eat the big fish.

Many students, like Perugini, are taking steps to reduce their plastic waste, starting with plas-tic bags. Instead of just disposing of used plas-tic bags, students like Austin Toft (11) and Krys-tal Miller (11) find other uses for them. Although plastic bags are recyclable, fewer than one-percent of all bags are recycled.

States around the nation have begun to take note of the hazardous effects plastic bags pose to the environment, including the state of Hawaii. As of January 2011, the islands of Maui and Kauai passed a law banning single-use plastic bags, as well as prohibited all businesses from providing plastic bags to customers for “the purpose of trans-porting groceries and other goods.” Both islands have enforced strict repercussions to violators of the new law, including a hefty fine of five hundred dollars and even imprisonment. Though the new law is welcomed by many environmental groups, some islanders oppose it, calling it “excessive governmental regulation.” Others, like Perugini, are skeptical as to how much of an impact the new law would make, stating, “I’m not sure it would actually work.” Still, Oahu recently proposed a plastic bag ban although it has not taken effect yet. Despite the ban, there are still many alternatives to plastic bags, including reusable bags, which have become the norm at grocery stores. Adeena Johnson (9), a proud reusable bag owner states, “I like them because they’re cuter than plastic bags because of the designs and they’re better for the environment.”

Next time the cashier at the check-out line asks, “Paper or plastic?”smile, and give him the bag you brought with you!

What’s the real price of plastic?By Alannah Don || Na Hoku Copy Editor

Photo Courtesy of Google Images

Masses of trash can be found below the water’s surface