The Northridge

ReporterReporterApril 28, 2011 • Volume 8, Issue 7 Northridge High School • 2901 Northridge Road • Tuscaloosa, Alabama 35406

in brief

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Little slip, big impactGraduation exam results arriveanu panditeditor in chief

The bonus block and a hired tutor were measures taken to ensure success.

On March 29 and 30, the ver-dicts were in, on little slips of paper that contained the results of the Alabama High School Graduation Exam.

For an anonymous senior, it was a shock.

“I didn’t pass reading. I was shocked because I’d only been four points off, just four little points. I won’t get to walk with my class. I’m sad, but not that sad because I’ll get to walk during a ceremony in the sum-mer,” she said.

Isaac Espy, principal, said that seniors who didn’t pass during the last testing ses-sion will be given another chance.

“We did our very best to

make sure that every senior would pass math and reading. Seniors will be able to take the gradua-tion exam in July. We will have an additional graduation cer-emony in August for those who passed the required courses and the grad-u a t i o n e x a m , ” he said.

H e s a i d that the passing rate was h i g h e r for this adminis-tration of the exams than for pre-vious ones.

“We had significant gains in passing rates in accountabil-ity groups. These are juniors tak-ing math and reading. We had a roughly ten percent improvement in both areas,” he said.

Shantre Wilder, senior, said that she “just made it.”

“I get to walk because I passed math, reading and biol-ogy. I didn’t pass social studies or language, but I came really close to passing language. I’m

a little bit upset, but the peo-ple who a r e n ’ t graduat-ing are probably more up-set. Ev-e r y o n e wants to

walk and graduate.She said that it was unfair

for the graduation exam to be the only determining factor in walking.

“It hurts me that the kids who didn’t pass won’t be able to walk because they worked

hard for twelve years, and they won’t get any reward for that,” she said.

Joshua Edgar, senior, said that graduation exams are a negligible factor in graduation.

“I despise graduation ex-ams. It does not bother me that a test standardizes the necessary educational capa-bilities for students, only that the standard is so pitifully low,” he said.

Sabrina Lewis, junior, said she is worried about her pass-ing rate so far.

“I’m already a junior, and I didn’t pass reading, language and math. I know at least 50 people who say they’re going to drop out because they didn’t pass. A lot of the seniors didn’t pass. It’s messed up. I think the seniors should at least get to walk, regardless of whether they passed [the exam] or not,” she said.

Painters find religious inspiration

snap shot

Anna McEntire, chemistry teacher, is tak-ing the place of Carol McDougal, former chemistry teacher. She graduated from Auburn University in the class of 2010. “I have always loved science and what’s going on in the world around me. I love teaching because I love that “now I get it” look from students. I love to see their moment of clarity,” she said.

photo by anu pandit

Board considers electronic reading devicesE-Readers

“ I think they’re a great idea. It’ll make class a lot easier.”

-Jacobi Scott, senior

Isaac Espy, principal, said that the devices would require money over time and use.

“If they are purchased, there will be ongoing replacement, mainte-nance, and upgrade costs,” he said.

He said that the devices could be a potential solution to the textbook shortage.

“There are many considerations, such as our ability to provide a de-vice for every student. Also, fund-ing sources and rapid advances in technology may make almost any device obsolete in a short period of time,” he said. “There are pros and cons about any proposal. It sounds like a good solution.”

Nancy Reed, history teacher, said she supported the proposal for E-readers.

“It’s the trend in colleges. If you want to get in with the 21st century, it’s a good idea,” she said.

Shakelvia Spencer, junior, said that although the E-readers were a good idea, there would be potential problems.

“People would try and steal them or tear them up. Even if they’re a better option than textbooks, they’re easier to break and more valuable,” she said.

anu panditeditor in chief

New developments in textbook funding may be lightening back-packs.

The Tuscaloosa City School Board is considering replacing hard copies of textbooks with electronic reading devices.

The switch would entail a one-time cost of approximately $500,000.

Andrew Maxey, assistant prin-cipal, said that the benefits of the E-readers outweigh the costs.

“I think they’re great. I own one myself. Instead of carrying 50 pounds of books, you’ll carry a two pound E-reader. The cost isn’t really that much when you break it down. When things were going the way they’re supposed to, we would get $75 per student per year for textbooks. Multiply that by about 10,000 students, and you get $750,000 per year. Now, we get about $15, but that’s still $150,000 per year. If this is a one time cost, it’s actually relatively cheap. The only issue is how much money the state is willing to pay,” he said.

Hair types explained

page 3

YES NO

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65 students polledpolled by anu pandit

Do you think the school would benefit from E-readers?

page 6

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We had significant gains in passing rates in account-ability groups. These are juniors taking math and reading. We had a roughly ten percent improvement in both areas.

~ Isaac Espy, principal

lane russellstaff writer

Checkmate! Raiha Bajwa, sophomore, wins again against Mahtahb Monowar, senior, in a chess game during a meeting of Northridge Chess Club.

Some of the members didn’t know how to play when they joined.

“Most people in the club want to learn to play chess,” Adrika Venkatanarayanan, se-nior, said.

Monowar, co-president, said that they will teach new members to play.

“You don’t have to know how to play; we will teach you,” Monowar said.

The chess club doesn’t yet have competitions.“We don’t have competitions against other

schools yet, but we are hoping to,” Renu Pandit, freshman and newly elected treasurer, said.

The club recently had elections for upcom-ing officers.

Anu Pandit, junior, was named president; Joshua Thomas, sophomore, was named vice president; Renu Pandit was named treasurer, and Shuwen Yue, junior, was named secre-tary.

The chess club meets Tuesdays after school in the library until 4:30 p.m. Membership costs $5 and all interested are welcome to join.

Chess club elects officers

Soccer teams say farewellpage 8

opinion2 the northridge reporterapril 28, 2011

the northridge reporterapril 28, 2011 enter tainment 3

NSPA 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, four Marks of Distinction (2004,

2008) • 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)

Editor-in-Chief:Entertainment Editor:Feature Editor:Opinion Editor:News Editor: Sports Editor:Business Manager:Photographers:Copy Editor:Infographics Editor:Art Editor:

Anu Pandit*Kate Davis

Anu Pandit*Kate Davis

Trent Clanton*Foster BeckAnu Pandit

Kate Davis, Trent Clanton*, Anu Pandit*, Foster BeckAnu Pandit*, Trent Clanton*

Trent Clanton*Trent Clanton*

*Denotes state, regional and national award winnersSusan Newell*

Adviser:

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Don’t get comfortable with this schedule just yet. The Tuscaloosa City School Board voted to introduce a

new schedule arrangement at their March 29 meeting. The reasoning behind the change is the need to meet an A+ Col-

lege Ready grant requirement which states that all AP classes must be year-round.

The board’s solution is an A/B schedule; in which students take alternating arrangements of classes; four on one day, and another four on the next.

The Northridge Reporter feels that although the new schedule presents some challenges, they are dwarfed by the overwhelming benefits presented by the grant and new schedule.

For starters, this schedule is similar to one used in many colleges. The introduction of it at a high school level will teach students better organizational and time-management skills, giving them an advan-tage when faced with a college workload. Spreading class time over a year-long period also provides for better retention of learned mate-rial and less time spent on review.

This is not the first time the schedule has been changed. In January 2011, a bonus period between first and second block classes was in-troduced with the hope of raising graduation exam scores and mak-ing AYP.

Also, no class time will be compromised or cut with the new schedule; it will simply be rearranged.

The grant will expand AP offerings at the school and pay the exam costs for students taking English, math, and science AP ex-ams. If the student passes the exam, they will receive an additional $100. This grant will encourage more students to take AP exams and excel in them, which will more efficiently prepare them for college classes.

Despite all of the minor inconveniences associated with the change of schedule, The Northridge Reporter feels that it is a small price to pay considering the possible benefits of the grant.

Tuscaloosa school board changes schedule

nick pappasstaff writer

I would like to thank the thirteen-year-old, auto-tuned-to-oblivion “singer” Rebecca ‘RB’ Black, recently made famous due to her horren-dous single “Friday,” for opening my eyes to a truth that is becoming ever more prevalent in the modern world: you don’t actually have to be talented to make money or become famous. In fact, you can be really awful at whatever you are trying to pass off as a skill and in less than a month, more than 100 million people might know your name. I guess I should have noticed this sooner; Stepha-nie Meyer has made millions publishing (what I think is) garbage; Sarah Palin still calls herself a politician; Hagar the Horrible is still being inserted into countless newspapers.

Keeping all of these successful failures in mind, it is my pleasure to announce I have decided to be-come an artist. Yes, I sing; yes, I play piano; however, I am not going to be a musical artist, oh no. I am going to be a visual artist.

I have already started working on my collection entitled A Teenager’s Mus-ings on Serious Things; a few examples from the collection are printed below. The collected pieces tell a coming of age story filled with unrequited love and the battle between good and evil. It’s really symbolic, I promise! The pieces will be showcased and auctioned off at my house on July 15.

Each piece will be sold separately with prices starting no lower than $5,000, so be sure to bring your money. I look forward to your wasting of monetary units on my rubbish just like so many people have on Re-becca Black’s horrendous single.

Nick Pappas’ artistic work throughout the years

“Nick Pappas”: The first piece of Pappas’ ca-reer. His own self-portrait. This took him to the Rockefeller Art Festival. 2006

“A Dinosaur and a Tree”: started Pappas’ multi-million dollar era. Now located in the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art 2009

c

c

c

“The White House”: Pappas’ most famous draw-ing. Now preserved in the Smithsonian Institute as an epic example of American artwork. There is now speculation of him receiving a Nobel Prize. 2010

*

*

*

*

:not intended to be a factual statement.

Rebecca Black opens Pappas’ eyes to the future

photo by kate davis

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opinion2 the northridge reporterapril 28, 2011

the northridge reporterapril 28, 2011 enter tainment 3

kate davisopinion/entertainment editor

I was very eager. My friend put me on his shoul-ders. I rose up into the air and shrieked with excite-ment.

As I screamed, I grabbed the attention of Ben Bridwell, lead singer of Band of Horses. He acknowledged my presence by addressing me with the gun and the wink. I was in awe.

Because of this experi-

ence, the Tuscaloosa am-phitheater is my new favor-ite place.

As for the first acts of the amphitheater, they were amazing! Both of the perfor-mances were extraordinary. Their live songs sounded better than iTunes.

I believe Band of Horses was the best performance I have ever seen.

Their songs were bet-ter than perfect. Bridwell’s voice was angelic. It was almost an innocent sound. The naïve softness re-

minded me of the guilt-less noise that the wind makes. It was beautiful.

The Avett Brothers did an amazing job as well.

Their act was lively and fun. It was captivat-ing. The way they played was fascinating. It was like they were not just made up of five people. The band would break if it were not constructed of every single person in the audience.

The layout of the amphitheater is very straight-forward, yet in-teresting.

The venue is separat-ed into three different sections. From farthest from the stage to closest

to the stage, the sections are divided into reserved seats, box seats and general admission. My seats were located in general admis-sion.

The general admission section was very pleasant. The section was crowd-ed, yet you still had good breathing room.

The view of the stage was perfect. Unless there was a “giant” in front of you, you could see the act remark-ably.

Girls’ hair changes day to dayReal or Fake?: Well HAIR it isdestiny stewartstaff writer

Is that your REAL hair?Diamond Williams, se-

nior, said she feels she is asked this question more often than necessary.

“I get tired of people ask-ing me if I’m mixed just because I have good hair,” Williams said.

She said she usually gets her hair done once a month, but it all depends on when her mom gets paid.

“The proper term for what I get done is called a press and curl. It is basi-cally heating a comb on the stove and running it through your hair, which straightens it. After that I can style and curl it anyway I want,” she said.

Alexus Sommerville, se-nior, said people tell her she has “good hair” too.

“[For my hair] it usu-ally takes no more than two hours, but maybe more. It depends on how long I have to wait. The perm has to sit, then be washed, conditioned and washed again,” Sommer-ville said.

Alex Thorton, senior, said the most annoying question people ask her is if her hair is actually hers.

“I like having long hair because I don’t have to buy weave,” Thorton said.

Thorton said people who hate on girls with long hair should just go get some weave.

Jasmine Stewart, senior, said she likes her long hair because she can change it to a variety of styles.

Stewart said her advice for those who hate on other girls because of their hair is to not be jealous.

“I was blessed, that’s not my fault,” Stewart said.

Williams said she feels her hair is long enough without

weave and that she doesn’t see herself adding anymore hair anytime soon.

Some girls like their hair whether it is long, short, curly, colored or cut fancy.

Cekeithia Oden, fresh-man, said she gets her hair done “every two weeks and spends about $20-$30 on hair.”

“I do have hair, but I like weave because I like longer hair, like people on TV,” she said.

Demetriana Washington, senior, said she likes weave because “it’s convenient, and you don’t have to do your hair every day.”

“When I get my hair done, I only get the color of my hair because I think wild colors can be tacky,” Washington said.

Other students feel that color adds to the outfit.

April Collins, sophomore,

said she’s been adding color in her hair since elementary school.

“When people see me, they call me rainbow or skit-tles, but I do not respond. I don’t care what people say about me because I won’t see them after high school, and it really doesn’t matter because the people who talk about me are the same peo-ple who do what I do.”

Collins said she likes col-or in her hair because she is a “colorful person.”

“I just like color. I don’t do this to get attention,” she said.

Collins said she has a va-riety of styles and usually themes her hair off an up-coming holiday or event.

“For Halloween I had black and orange; for the 4th of July I had red, white and blue; and for Christmas I’ll have green and maybe other colors,” Collins said.

“The most I’ve ever had in one day though, was or-ange, blue, purple and pink. I like to coordinate [my hair] with what I wear.”

Collins said when she first began to use color her mom didn’t like it, but now she buys [the hair] for her.

“It’s really easy to do. I cut off how much [hair] I need, put glue on the end, not the strand though be-cause that will take your hair out. And then when I want to change the color it comes off easy so I can re-use it.”

Williams said her advice for girls who want to wear weave is that if you decide to get tracks, make sure the track, glue, and cap are not showing and that it match-es the color and texture of your hair.

“Or just sew it in,” she said. “That works just fine.”

photo by kate davisAdrienne Crawford. sophomore, has a weave. “To fix my hair, I gel my hair down, put a cap on and glue tracks on.”

photo by kate davis

Bria Wood, sophomore, has all natural hair. “All I do is wash it and press it with a flat iron.”

Real

Fake

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17= 10 Students

compiled by kate davis

photo by nathan chamblissThe Avett Brothers performing at the Tuscaloosa Amphitheatre on April 1.

New Tuscaloosa amphitheater starts off strong

Band of Horses & The Avett Brothers

Nick Pappas’ artistic work throughout the years

feature4 the northridge reporterapril 28, 2011

TRANSCENDING Local musicians perform, inspire all ages

Singer signs to Hackberry record label

Musical family, background influence singer

kate davisopinion/ entertainment editor

Lena Dice, graduate, has been singing, playing and writing

since she was 13. She was recently signed to local record label Hackberry Records.

Hackberry was established in 2006 by Reed Watson and Stuart Bond. They help local talents find their way to a ca-reer. However, Dice said she wouldn’t consider what she does a career.

“I sing and play because it makes me happy; the fact that I can have that ef-fect on others is heartwarming and up-lifting,” Dice said.

Dice is a freshman at Shelton State Community College, majoring in mu-sical performance.

She will be coming out with an EP, a recording longer than a single but too short to be a full album.

“I will have a few of my originals and a few covers. The idea of a single has been buzzing around, but the main focus now is getting everything re-corded,” Dice said.

She said that although everything was going wonderfully, there is room for improvement.

“I would say that everything is slowly falling into place, but I do not feel quite accomplished yet. There are many things I would like to im-prove. I know I need to work to bring out the most of my potential and do the best I can to feel ‘accomplished’, especially with my own songs,” Dice said.

Dice said she enjoys writing her own music but loves the sound of other’s music.

“I write songs, but I would never consider myself a ‘songwriter’ if that makes sense. Bottom line, there is al-ways more work that can be done,” Dice said.

Reed Watson, president of Hackberry Records, said he and others at Hackberry are very fond of Lena.

“She used to come to open-mic nights around town, and I was al-ways enamored with her talent. I told her that if she ever got some original material together that I would love to

work with her. She got some together, and for me it was a no-brainer. I am so thrilled to have her on our label and represent her,” Watson said.

Dice said that Hackberry is being very good to her, though at first they intimidated her because they were such good musicians themselves.

“Their main goal was to help me gain experience playing around town and to spread my music around. Granted, the thought of others hear-ing my original songs makes me nau-seous, but they are patient with me, and they know I have some anxieties about the whole thing, and they have been with me every step of the way,” Dice said.

As for the future of Dice’s career, Wat-son said he is very confident in her.

“Lena is a talented young woman, first of all. We hope we can have a positive effect on the number of people that are able to hear her incredible stuff. Her at-titude is unmatched. She has got charm, and I obviously believe she is quite the talent. The sky is the limit for her, and I am excited about it,” Watson said.

photo by rachael robertsLena Dice, singer/songwriter, has been singing since the age of 13 and is signed to Hackberry Records.

anu panditeditor in chief

Amelia Webber, graduate, is not the average college sophomore.

A budding singer/songwriter, she has written and performed her own songs, with musical accompaniment, at venues such as Green Bar and the Druid City Arts Festival.

Webber said she was exposed to music in the womb.

“My mother was actually in a play while she was pregnant with me. I would sing along with her when I was young, and it felt so good I knew I wouldn’t be able to stop,” Webber said.

She said that her musical talent stems from her family.

“My family is so talented it’s nauseat-ing. I’m actually not even talented com-pared to my sisters and parents. I’m defi-nitely the least musically inclined of the family. I perform with my sister Rosie, who is a genius on the piano and has the most beautiful voice imaginable,” she said.

After receiving her first guitar at the age of 15, Webber said she was hooked, and could not imagine a life without perform-ing.

“It makes me feel like I’m really alive. A lot of times, I get caught up in mundane, ev-eryday tasks, like going to school and work and just getting by. But when I get on stage and I’m singing songs that I wrote and saying

words I really mean, it’s exhilarating. Don’t get me wrong, it scares me, but it’s what makes everything worthwhile. Live perfor-mances are the culmination of everything - the experiences, the music, the hard work, the emotion...it all comes together there in the performance, and if you do it right you leave every ounce of yourself on the stage,” she said.

She said that although she performs, she is not associated with a record la-bel.

“I am not signed with anyone. I’m just trying to get by on my own right now, play a few gigs and write a few songs. I would love to say that I have plans for the future, but I think art is one of those things you can’t plan. If it happens, it happens and that’s beautiful,” she said.

Webber said that she is inspired by artists like the Red Hot Chili Peppers, John May-er, Jack Johnson, James Taylor, Jim Croce, Citizen Cope and The Avett Brothers, and that their songs give her inspiration for her own music.

“I think if any artist, musician or otherwise, feels as though they are done changing and growing they may not be much of an artist at all. That’s what art is. It’s constantly evolv-ing and (hopefully) getting better. There are so many things I don’t know that I can’t wait to learn. It’s not a bad thing to want to grow and be better at what you do; it’s a human thing and it’s the only way to move forward,” she said.

Amelia Webber, graduate and singer/songwriter, plays her guitar as she practices her songs. “I knew [singing] felt so good that, once I started, I wouldn’t be able to stop,” she said.

photo by mary beth hinton

Craig First, sophomore, has been good friends with Amelia and Rosie for almost two years.

“Amelia’s voice is very passionate and emotional, and her lyrics are so meaningful. There’s something in them that everyone can

relate to,” he said. First said he owns one of Amelia’s albums,

and that her music relaxes him.“I can definitely see her having a very

bright career in music. She’s just so talented., and she’s going to go really far,” he said.

the northridge reporterapril 28, 2011 feature 5

TRANSCENDING ENERATIONS

Local musicians perform, inspire all ages

Band performs, prepares for new album

Tyler Carter, Bennett Limbaugh and Jamison Herrington, juniors, play at the Mellow Mushroom on Nov. 11 for a Hackberry Records Showcase. “I felt really comfortable up there; it was a lot of fun. We’re the newest artists in Hackberry Records, and I think we represented them well,” Herrington said.

trent clanton news editor

After turning on his amp, Tyler Carter, junior, tunes his guitar at the Mel-

low Mushroom. He prepares to play with his band.

The band, The Brooms, plays blues and rock and roll music.

“We got the name of the band from our blues influence. There is a famous blues song called ‘Dust My Broom’ by Robert Johnson, and it kind of came from that,” Carter said.

Other members of the band include juniors Jamison Herrington, drummer, and Bennett Lim-baugh, bass guitarist. Carter provides lead guitar and vocals.

The band is affiliated with Hackberry Records, a local record company that promotes original artists in the community.

“We kind of got started because I was playing guitar and Jamo [Herrington] was playing drums, and we got Bennett to pick up bass. We started to hang out just for fun and started to play together,” Carter said.

Herrington said he likes playing music in a band because it reminds him of a team sport.

“It’s kind of like soccer; we all work to-gether to make this awesome thing,” he said.

Speaking of “making awesome things,” The Brooms are close to releasing a new album.

Carter said it should be out by the middle or end of May.

“We usually like to play gigs at Mellow Mush-room, but we haven’t booked any lately because we’re finishing up the album. We released a demo CD a while ago, but that just for fun,” he said.

Limbaugh said the new album will be celebrat-ed on release.

“We’ll have a city release party for it. It’s going to have 10 new original songs, and Henry Busby is doing the artwork for the cover,” Limbaugh said.

Herrington said the album’s name is still up in the air.

“We’re thinking about ‘The Runway Blues,’” Herrington said.

Limbaugh said he enjoys playing music with his friends because it is convenient.

“It’s always easier to practice together and schedule things with your friends. I think the best thing about playing music is it’s a way to express myself. We [the band] hang out a lot, too, so it’s pretty enjoyable,” he said.

Maggie Snead, junior, said she was a fan of The Brooms.

“I enjoy their music, and I like going to see them play because they’re my good friends, and they always play in fun places,” she said.

Snead said she was excited about the new al-bum.

The Brooms have a lot more fans, too. Max Gustus, junior, said they had potential.

“The whole band is good, and Tyler is amaz-ing at guitar,” he said.

Parker Shields, junior, is a Brooms fan, too.“They’re a great band, and I think they have a

great future,” Shields said. Carter said he has thoughts on the future of

the band.“I definitely want to put out another al-

bum. Maybe, if we all go to the same college, we’ll continue playing after high school,” he said.

“

”

We got the name of the band from our blues in-fluence. There’s a famous blues song called “Dust My Broom” by Robert Johnson, and it kind of came from that.

~ Tyler Carter, junior and band member

The Brooms

renu pandit

staff writer

Every morning when Kathleen Kennedy wakes up, she sees a peacock. When Katrina Struthwolf wakes up, she sees a pink flower.

They’re not real, they’re paintings, and they were painted by their owners.

Kathleen Kennedy, freshman, has been painting since she was in second grade when she was enrolled in an art class.

“I didn’t like people telling me what to paint and how to paint it, so I quit the class and started painting on my own,” Kennedy said.

Katrina Struthwolf, freshman, said she has always liked painting, but only seriously started paint-ing about a year ago.

“Most of my family likes to paint,” Struthwolf said. “So I wanted to try it out, too.”

Both Kennedy and Struthwolf said they paint whenever they have time, and that they wish they could do it more often.

“I paint because I love it, or maybe it just runs in the family,” Struthwolf said. “Overall though, I use my paintings to glorify God, whether it’s for a church service series or just to make a friend happy.”

Struthwolf said she gets ideas for her paintings from Bible verses, other paintings that she likes and Sips ‘n Strokes, where she sometimes goes to paint.

“I’ve given most of my paintings away to people,” Kennedy said. “It makes me happy when people like them.”

Kennedy said that most of her intense paintings are based off songs.

“If I’m giving it to someone, I try to base it off of a song that speaks to them about the love of Christ. Everyone is different, and the painting made for them needs to reflect on what they need,” Kennedy said.

Struthwolf describes her art style as “modern and abstract.” She said she doesn’t like to paint “nature scenes” or portraits of real people, and that she has painted various crosses and types of flowers.

“If the painting is for someone, then it depends on what they want or what I think they would most enjoy,” Struthwolf said.

Kennedy said that her two favorite paintings are a painting of a peacock that she recently painted and a painting of a lion.

“I painted a lion because the song Like a Lion means a lot to me and the person who I gave it to,” Kennedy said.

Kennedy describes her art as more “modern” than realistic and said she usually gets her ideas for her paintings from her imagination and songs.

renu panditstaff writer

Every morning when Kathleen Ken-nedy wakes up, she sees a peacock.

When Katrina Struthwolf wakes up, she sees a pink flower.

They’re not real, they’re paintings, and they were painted by their owners.

Kathleen Kennedy, freshman, has been painting since she was in second grade when she was enrolled in an art class.

“I didn’t like people telling me what to paint and how to paint it, so I quit the class and started painting on my own,” she said.

Katrina Struthwolf, also a freshman, said she has always liked painting, but only seriously started painting about a year ago.

“Most of my family likes to paint,” Struthwolf said. “So I wanted to try it out, too.”

Both Kennedy and Struthwolf said they paint whenever they have time, and that they wish they could do it more often.

“I paint because I love it, or maybe it just runs in the family,” Struthwolf said. “Overall though, I use my paintings to glorify God, whether it’s for a church service series or just to make a friend happy.”

Struthwolf said she gets ideas for her works from Bible verses, other paintings that she likes and Sips ‘n Strokes, where she some-times goes to paint.

Struthwolf describes her art style as “modern and abstract.” She said she doesn’t like to paint “nature scenes” or portraits of real people, and that she has painted vari-ous crosses and types of flowers.

“If the painting is for someone, then it depends on what they want or what I think they would most enjoy,” Struthwolf said.

Kennedy has a different inspiration. She said she bases most of her intense paintings

6 the northridge reporterapril 28, 2011news

off of songs.“I’ve given most of my paintings away

to people,” Kennedy said. “It makes me happy when people like them.”

Kennedy said she speaks about the love of Christ through her art.

“Everyone is different, and the paint-ing made for them needs to reflect on what they need,” Kennedy said.

Both artists have their own favorite works.

Kennedy said that her two favorite paint-ings are of a peacock that she recently paint-ed and one of a lion.

“I painted a lion because the song Like a Lion means a lot to me and the person who I gave it to,” Kennedy said.

Kennedy described her art as more “modern” than realistic, and said she usu-ally gets her ideas for her creations from her imagination and songs.

“Whenever I search for ideas, I always tweak it a bit, so it’s more of my style,” Kennedy said.

Struthwolf said her favorite is one she did of a cross.

“I loved the painting that inspired me to paint it,” Struthwolf said.

Kathleen and Katrina are both creat-ing murals at First United Methodist Church.

“We’re painting it for a new thing we started called Youth Worship Arts, or YWA, and the room will be solely dedi-cated to it,” Struthwolf said.

Struthwolf said they started work about a month and a half ago.

“One wall is our student ministry’s logo and another will be the YWA logo,” Struthwolf said. “Some walls will have words on them to describe what YWA means to the youth group, another wall will be a big abstract mural of a city be-cause YWA’s main purpose is to spread the love of God through worship and art to the world.”

Painters utilize religious motivations for artwork

Top: Kathleen Kennedy, freshman, said she loved to paint. “I really like painting abstract things with a lot of colors,” she said.

Middle: Katrina Struthwolf, freshman,paints in art teacher Richard Nowell’s, room. “I love painting with oil. There are so many possibilities with color and texture,” Struthwolf said.

Bottom: Kennedy laughs as she tries out different brush strokes and colors for an art project.

art by trent clanton

Changing the world with a brush

photos by anu pandit

Another painting by Struthwolf. She said she liked this picture that she painted because of the setting.

“The buildings aren’t modern, and so it captures the beauty of history,” she said.

Katrina Struthwolf, freshman, painted this. Struthwolf said she gets ideas for some of her works, like this one, from Bible verses. She said she also enjoys creating artwork to give to others.

Kennedy said she got the idea for this painting from a song.“I really like the song ‘Like a Lion,’ so I used it as inspiration

for my painting,” Kennedy said.Kathleen Kennedy, freshman, painted this. Kennedy

said she likes to be “modern” and “abstract” in her art, rather than realistic, like in this painting she did.

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the northridge reporterapril 28, 2011 7news

anu panditeditor in chief

A mugshot and profile flash across the smartboard as Scott Johnson, math teacher, shakes his head sadly.

Jerry Garcia, stuffed doll, had struck again.“You know, I got a call during my prep period the other day

and it was the sheriff. Apparently, Jerry had been caught shop-lifting a pair of Ray-Bans from the Sunglass Hut in Midtown Village,” he said. “He has a hearing with the magistrate soon, so you might not see him around for awhile.”

Johnson said that he and Jerry the doll have been friends for a while.

“Back in my college days, and back before I became a teach-er, I followed the band The Grateful Dead around. Jerry Garcia was their front man, and I don’t remember how I ended up with the doll, but he’s been with me for a few decades now,” he said. “I figured that he’d be better off at school than just sitting on the shelf at my house all day.”

Those who walk into Johnson’s classroom can see Jerry in numerous hiding places and commiting criminal activities on a daily basis.

“Before, he just used to sit on the windowsill, but then I got the idea of making him do stuff. Now I try and make him do new things every day,” he said. “He’s been in the ceiling tiles, hanging off just about everything I can hang him on, defacing my wall posters, and just being a nut. I sit down every day and try and think of new places to put him. I’m starting to run out of ideas.”

Johnson said that although Jerry was a delinquent, he’s re-sulted in a lot of good things.

trent clantonnews editor

A new class schedule will be intro-duced next school year, as decided at the Tuscaloosa City Board of Education meeting on March 29.

The need for a schedule change came when the school received a grant that required all AP classes to be year round.

Isaac Espy, principal, said the change would be for all classes, not just AP classes, as previously thought.

Espy said the newly modified sched-

New rotating schedule to be introduced next year Board develops specific dress codeule will run through both semesters.

“We are planning on students taking all eight classes yearlong, but every other day, so students will have four classes on one day and another four classes on the next day. This is called the A/B sched-ule,” he said.

Espy said other schools have had suc-cess with this format.

Debra Downs, Spanish teacher, said she was in favor of the change.

“I like it because we [teachers] will have the same students year-round. They say it will all equal up to the same amount of time spent in each class as it does now, but I think it will improve teacher-class relations, and give us an opportunity to go farther in the mate-rial,” she said.

Downs said the schedule change could eventually run smoothly.

“The adjustment will be challenging, but we’ll get used to it,” she said.

Zach Adams, junior, said he thought the new schedule would be more like college.

“I came from a school that had eight

periods a day, so I like the new change,” Adams said.

Connor Fridley, senior, said he wel-comed the change, though he is graduat-ing this year.

“It will have more of a college feel to it. Because you don’t have a certain class one day, you have more time to study for that class,” he said.

Amber Box, sophomore, said she pre-fers the current schedule.

“I don’t really want to have the same classes all year; I would get tired of see-ing the same teachers every day,” she said.

Box said the new schedule would be very overwhelming.

“It will be extremely difficult for stu-dents. There will be a lot of homework, and it will get too confusing to try to keep up with which classes to go to and what is due each day,” she said.

Bradley Coons, senior, said it will cause a significant decrease in student performance.

“People would be way more likely to stop paying attention,” Coons said.

Caught in the Act: Johnson’s Jerry Garcia adds to criminal record

“He’s sort of an ice breaker. [His exploits] give us some-thing to talk about every day besides math. Being a math teacher is hard because math isn’t something that lends itself to being interesting all of the time,” he said. “So I try and use Jerry, among other things, to make it more fun.”

Mahtab Monowar, senior, said that Jerry was a bad influence on students, but in a good way.

“He’s getting arrested for things like shoplifting, he’s de-faced school property, he’s already had a board hearing, it’s crazy. Just wait, our class is going to start getting into all kinds of trouble,” he said. “It’ll be fun.”

Cammie Cook, junior, learned of Jerry’s recent abduction via Facebook.

“It’s sad Jerry’s been missing for two weeks,” Cook said. “I’ve heard there’s even a ransom note involved.”

photo by anu panditJerry Garcia and Scott Johnson, long time friends, enjoy a cup of coffee together. Garcia disappeared a couple of weeks ago.

Would you rather follow the new dress code or wear uniforms?

35

15

New Dress Code Uniforms

Poll out of 50 studentscompiled by trent clanton

Do you think the new A/B schedule will be beneficial or detrimental to students?

Poll out 60 studentscompiled by trent clanton

Beneficial Detrimental

11

49

For any questions, please call:

205-469-1700

A change of plans

jah’meka baxterstaff writer

The Tuscaloosa City Board of Education has de-cided to have a stricter dress code instead of giving uniforms to students.

In a meeting that took place on March 24, the board’s student uniform committee proposed a draft of the new policies after reviewing numerous school dress codes in order to make decisions about what would be changed.

Some of the proposed changes to the dress code include making girls tuck in their shirts and blouses and prohibing students from wearing pajamas or sleepwear.

Terralyn James, junior, disagrees with the new policy for female students.

“Girls have never had to tuck in their shirts be-fore,” she said.

Chardonna Dunner, junior, said she felt there was no point in tucking in her shirt if her pants are pulled up.

“If everything is covered up then there should be no need to tuck,” she said.

Elexus Zavala, junior, said that students were ma-ture enough to dress right.

“This is high school. We are almost grown, so why can’t we wear what we want?” Zavala said.

Zavala said she believed that the dress code might cause some trouble among students.

“It’s either uniforms or what you want to wear be-cause nobody is about to come to school half-way dressed,” she said

Scott Johnson, math teacher, said he feels that the dress code will not work unless it is enforced by the teachers of each class.

“Any dress code will be as good as the teachers who enforce it. If teachers aren’t willing to enforce the dress code, then students will not follow it,” Johnson said.

Some students prefer the stronger dress code com-pared to having uniforms.

“[At least] I can express myself with the dress code instead of the uniforms,” James said.

Dunner said she didn’t like uniforms, but there shouldn’t be a dress code that strict.

She said that we should be able to wear hoodies to school.

“If it’s raining outside then we need hoodies,” she said.

April 28, 2011 · Volume 8, Issue 7 · N

orthridge High School ·Tuscaloosa, A

labama 35406

The N

orthridge

Rep

orter

Rep

orter

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/news/

the northridge reporterapril 28, 2011

sports8S

occer teams celebrate senior night

foster becksports editor

Goal! The crow

d goes wild

with cheers, hoots, hollers and

clapping. O

n Wednesday, A

pril 13, the boys and girls soccer team

s held hom

e games against H

illcrest and had senior night.

The girls played at 5:00 p.m.,

and the boys played at 7:00 p.m.

The boys won 9-0 and the girls

lost 0-3.Serge

Miroff,

soccer coach,

said that three seniors on the boys team

scored against Hillcrest.

“We announced each senior,

saying a brief biography of them

and their soccer highlights over the stadium

speakers before the gam

es,” Miroff said.

The seniors also received flow-

ers, which they gave to their par-

ents as they walked to the m

iddle of the field.

Meredith H

orn, senior, said the gam

e was a m

emorable event.

“This game w

as so special be-cause it’s one of the last soccer

games I w

ill ever play in high school,” H

orn said. “M

y favorite part of the game

was w

hen I yelled at a girl on the other team

, then at the referee for not calling anything against them

all gam

e.”Joe H

ollingsworth, senior, said

the win put them

closer to play-offs.

“The gam

e w

as so

special because for one, I had m

y first hat trick, w

hich is scoring three goals in one gam

e, and second of all w

e won 9-0, so w

e really m

ade it

big,” H

ollingsworth

said. W

ith a huge grin on his face, H

ollingsworth said, “M

y favor-ite part of the gam

e was M

atthew

Brow

n scoring two goals.”

The soccer team still has m

ore gam

es coming up, including an-

other game against H

illcrest on A

pril 18. “W

e WILL get H

illcrest this tim

e,” Horn said.

There will also be a m

ake-up gam

e against Bessem

er in Besse-

mer on Friday, A

prill 22.

Tennis player perfects technique, enjoys matches

Vincent Prescott, senior, aims for a kick during the gam

e against H

illcrest on senior night on April 13.

photo by susan mays

jah’meka baxter

staff writer

As a first year tennis player,

Alex Shealy, junior, com

petes in different m

atches alongside stu-dents w

ho have been playing the sport for several years.

“I enjoy playing sectionals,” Shealy said.

Shealy said that he became in-

spired to participate in tennis af-ter seeing his friends play.

“I started taking lessons in the sum

mer,” he said.

Shealy said that when he fin-

ished taking lessons, he joined the tennis team

and has played in singles and doubles m

atches. “It is fun to challenge new

people and learn strategies to win

against opponents,” Shealy said.John C

ain, boys tennis coach, said that Shealy is a very deter-m

ined player on the team.

“I think he is a very hard work-

er, and he is always striving to do

his best,” Cain said.

Connor N

elson, tennis player, said that he gives his all w

hen he com

petes in matches.

“He goes for every ball and

does not give up,” Nelson said.

“He has a very tough m

entality w

hen he plays,” he said.Shealy said that he w

ould like to continue playing tennis in the future.

“It would help to get exercise in

and stay in shape, and I enjoy hav-ing fun w

ith my friends,” he said.

Alex Shealy, junior, returns a serve during tennis practice

on April 15. “It’s fun to challenge new

people and learn strategies against opponents,” he said.

Morgan

Wilson

and M

atthew

Brow

n, sophom

ores, get ready for a corner kick during the gam

e against Thom

pson on M

arch 21.photo by susan m

ays

photo by kimberly vanhorn