PREDATORPAUL R. WHARTON HIGH SCHOOL

INSIDE

20150 Bruce B. Downs Blvd. Tampa, FL 33647May 29, 2012 Volume 15 Issue 5

An All-Florida Publication

LACROSSE WINS

STATES

Sophomore Jeffrey Keil and the lacrosse team defeat Plant to win the

state championship. Page 15

SPORTS

NEWS

JUNGLE LIFE

dianadellecesemanaging editor

Relay for Life unites community to help fund local cancer research. Page 3

Are the myths about the 2012 apocalypse true? Pages 8 and 9

CENTERSPREAD

Baseball wins district championship for first time in school history. Page 16

“Extremely intelligent, focused, ambitious, proactive…” These are a few choice words that Magda Rodriguez, college career counselor, uses when describing the Honor Court. Since freshman year, seniors have fought for a place in the esteemed “Top 10,” and as the year draws to a close, the Class of 2012 has found its top students. The Honor Court, in order of rank, includes: Cory Goldman (Northwestern University); Tyler Ericson (University of Florida); Maggie Guice (University of Alabama); Maria Diaz (Johns Hopkins University); Benjamin Hsu (University of Florida); Jay Wickersham (University of Florida); Shaun Rubin (Harvard University); Joseph Wolf (University of Central Florida); Erin Kocher (University of Alabama) and Heather Montgomery (Clemson University). “Being a member of the Honor Court is a prestigious honor that students can achieve through hard work, dedication and the right motivation,” Rodriguez said. While other students might give up

after realizing the amount of work being in the Top 10 entails, others rise to the challenge, separating themselves from the crowd and making up the Top 10. With acceptance letters from distinguished schools in their possession, their rewards far outweighed the cons of studying for hours at a time. “For the past four years I’ve worked really, really hard. I’ve sacrificed so much time taking secret online classes and dual enrolling and maintaining A’s in all of my classes,” Goldman said. “ It was a lot of hard work and at times I didn’t think it was worth it, but I’m glad that it all worked out in the end. I’m attending my dream school in the fall, I’m valedictorian, and I’m honestly just so glad that I did this and that I didn’t take the easy way out.” Students fought tooth and nail to become a part of the illustrious Top 10, and this graduating class had some tough

competition. Between many students taking online classes to boost their chances of earning a spot and AP study

sessions becoming more intense, students’ ranks continued to rise and the requirements to make it on the list rose higher and higher. “I was very surprised to know I was Top 10. I remember going to Ms. Rogers and telling her I thought I was number 20,” Wolf said. “It was a great shock, and I was so happy to know that four

years of AP classes and dual enrollment paid off.” Wharton’s Top 10 will walk across the stage along with the rest of 2012’s graduating class on June 6 at 8 p.m. at the Florida Fairgrounds. Their photos will be encased in the library for the next year in order to inspire and encourage others to work hard. “Being a part of the Honor Court has taught me a huge lesson in life,” Diaz said. “I can do anything if I put my mind to it.”

Dangers are lurking in your favorite summer drinks. Page 7

“Graduation for teachers is a time to see the fruits of your labor all grown up,” ESE teacher, Georgie Collins said. That day is near when the Class of 20112 will receive their diplomas. Graduation is on June 6 at the Florida State Fairgrounds with the

ceremony beginning promptly at 8 pm. There are a total of 533 potential graduates in this year’s graduating class. Of these, 214 students with GPAs of 4.0 or higher will graduate in white and 319 graduating in blue. “It is unreal to know that I’m graduating so soon, valedictorian Cory Goldman said.

As valedictorian, Goldman will speak at the ceremony as well as the Class President Allie Daivison, Salutatorian Tyler Ericson and Principal Bradley Woods. “The ceremony will be the same as every year. There is nothing different,” SGA sponsor Barbra Woolley said. Graduates must attend the mandatory rehearsal to participate in graduation on

June 2 at the Fairgrounds. They must act in a dignified manner during the ceremony and dress in “Sunday best.” (Dress or skirt for the ladies and dress pants for the gentlemen.) For any of those who fail to comply with the guidelines diplomas may be pulled. The fairgrounds charge $5 for parking, and bringing exact change will help lines move smoother.

manalbenyaminestaff writer

Seniors to graduate at Florida state fairgrounds

Tough work pays off for Top 10

The Honor Court consists of seniors (from top left) Ben Hsu, Shaun Rubin, Joey Wolf, Jay Wickersham, (from bottom left) Maggie Guice, Maria Diaz, Erin Kocher and Heather Montgomery. BELOW: Cory Goldman and Tyler Ericson achieve the honors of valedictorian and salutatorian respectively. Photo illustrations by Emily Broaddus

?

2 PredatorNEWSMay 29, 2012

Who wants to go to school any-ways? Earlier last year, Florida State Legislature House Bill 7197 was passed that approved the new high school requirement that re-quires all incoming freshman to enroll in at least one online course before graduation. “It is important that we ensure our children receive a high qual-ity, technology-based education that provides them with the skills and knowledge they need to suc-ceed,” Tania Clow, Communica-tions Specialist at Florida Virtual School, said. Florida Virtual School has been providing students a beneficial al-ternative to attending school and getting course credits since it was founded in 1997. The ability for students to learn at their own pace helps bring a new dimension to age-old educa-tion methods. Since its introduction, Florida Virtual has grown into an online school that offers students the ability to enroll in over 110 cours-es including honors, Advanced Placement (AP), and elective vari-ants. “I like FLVS because it lets me work ahead at my own speed, without having to worry about other kids in a classroom that

don’t work as fast as me,” Vikrant Pendharkar, sophomore, said. This March, the Florida Educa-tion Committee, along with the support of Senator Andy Gar-diner, created a general bill that would increase the virtual educa-tion options for students. The bill, which is collectively called the Digital Learning (CS/CS/HB: 7063) Bill, has recently been approved by Governor Rick Scott.

“If they updated some of the fea-tures of FLVS, more people would want to sign up for classes,” Pend-harkar said. One key attribute to this bill is the provision allowing full-time Florida Virtual School students the ability to participate in extra-curricular activities at dedicated public schools. “Florida Virtual School Full Time is growing for many rea-sons, one of which is the flexibility

Digital Learning Bill brings new dimension to FLVS

that online learning offers athletes as well as students involved in the arts.” Clow said. “In addition, FLVS core course curriculum has been approved by the NCAA.” The Digital Learning Bill also challenges the new graduation re-quirements from House Bill 7197 claiming that it is unfair to those students who do not have access to a computer apart from their time in school. “I don’t think it should be a

requirement for students, but I think that they may like it and want to take more classes online,” Kenya Wright, sophomore, said. Other adjustments this bill makes include the expansion of the Florida Virtual program to in-clude students who are enrolled in grades kindergarten through grade 12. This bill also expands to benefit students who are cur-rently a part of the exceptional student education (ESE), English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL), and other weighted edu-cational programs. The bill provides for funding of those students in a full-time FLVS, district virtual instruction pro-gram, or a virtual charter school if necessary. “Many accommodations for special needs students are met by the nature of online learning, for example there are no built in dis-tractions for students with ADD/ADHD challenges, so they can take breaks and move around as needed,” Clow explained. These new bills are aimed at not only expanding the Florida Vir-tual program, but also improving the program to make for a better student experience. As a high school student, the Digital Learning Bill will provide students an expanded variety of class choices, and will allow stu-dents to be able to take advantage of a new and familiar electronic way of educating.

staff writerbrandongoldman

Students who are enrolled in the Florida Virtual School full-time program will now have the opportunity to participate in extracurricular activities at dedicated public Florida schools, as proposed in the new Digital Learning Bill. Photo by Scott Sollazzo

3PredatorNEWS May 29, 2012

Relay for Life raises money to find curekellyperetznews editor

THANK YOU TO OUR PREDATOR PATRONS!Platinum Patron Gold PatronClaveria FamilyEd and Aorina CourseyHumberto and Kathryn GonzalezAnna Spalckhaver Cristopher and Lisa AciernoErica Hirshfeld

Eileen DelleceseDavison FamilyRobin StackpoleJennifer and Paniel ManahorKeith RogersAly DammingerRonald Shallow Montgomery FamilyWill Barnes

Silver Patron

Bertovich FamilyGoldman FamilyTheresa and Benjamin ShallowJeremiah and Andrea MirandaJarod Stackpole

Bronze Patron

D. KirkKristi EhlerTerry SollazzoRaoul ZayasMulticultural ClubKelly ReynoldsAngelica MananganZoe MiroDylan Constant

Ninety-thousand, two hun-dred and fifty-nine dollars. For a free place to stay when cancer treatment takes patients out of town. For free transportation to and from treatment for cancer patients. For college scholarships for students who have a history of cancer. Ninety-thousand, two hundred and fifty-nine dollars in donations, just from New Tampa alone. The opening ceremony for the New Tampa Relay for Life, “Jour-ney to the Cure: Don’t Stop Believ-ing,” started Saturday, May 18, at around 6 p.m. at Mitchell D. Mu-ley Stadium with a performance of the national anthem performed by USF junior Brittany Brown and speeches delivered by cancer sur-vivors. With 620 participants and 49 teams, New Tampa raised $90,259. Pride Elementary was recognized as one of New Tampa’s platinum teams and highest contributor collecting $9,325. The top partici-pant was Donna Moffatt, from the Freedom from Cancer team, who raised $ 2,610. Senior Erica Brack-man was Wharton’s top partici-pant with $1,550. “For Relay for Life, I emailed all of my relatives and close friends

multiple times asking them to donate. I even asked my boss,” Brackman said.Amy French, AP world his-tory teacher and BETA club co-sponsor was also a notable participant with a donation of $800. “I mostly sent emails to friends and family members and I think the Ameri-can Cancer So-ciety is so easy to raise money for because so many people are affected by can-cer and they [the American Can-cer Society] do such great work that people are willing to do-nate to it,” French said. The track was surrounded with tents hosting raffle prizes, games, photo booths and an endless array of food. Freedom High School’s ROTC program raffled off a new XBOX360 with Kinect. Local busi-

nesses such as Roux’s, Marco’s Pizza, the Mary Kay sisterhood and local churches also came out to support the cause with booths carrying food and prizes. Survi-vors and caregivers were treated to a free dinner catered by Texas Roadhouse following the open-

ing. Pride, Mort and Clark el-ementary s c h o o l s , B a r t e l s and Beni-to middle s c h o o l s and Free-dom and W h a r -ton High S c h o o l s a l l s h o w e d their sup-port by r a i s i n g m o n e y for the Relay. The first walk a r o u n d the track was the s u r v i -vors’ lap, where in-

dividuals who have defeated can-cer came together for a victory lap, celebrating their triumph over the disease. Caregivers and support-ers followed survivors as a sym-bolic promise of their dedication. After dark, the Luminaria cer-emony began. White paper bags

filled with sand and a small white candle to light inside were pur-chased for $5. Bags were decorat-ed in memory of a loved one lost to cancer, or in honor of a cancer survivor. To participants, the Lu-minaria bag is symbolic. The pa-per sack represents the thick skin one needs when hearing a cancer diagnosis and the sand is a com-forting and firm foundation when one feels weak and falters. The candle is as solid as a rock, what caregivers, family, friends, doc-tors and nurses are to those bat-tling cancer. The flame is the light of hope. Hope that a cure will be found before more luminarias are lit. The burning is the desire to eradicate this disease now. Stadium lights were turned off as Luminaria bags were placed in the bleachers, spelling out the word “HOPE,” then at the end of the Luminaria ceremony, “CURE.” As Brown sang “Amazing Grace,” bags were lit as Relay for Life participants remembered and honored their lost mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, aunts, uncles and other loved ones. The tender moment was enhanced by the release of balloons each with a forlorn note attached to the tail. “I think it provided closure for some people and for others,” Ju-nior Alex Sullivan said, “It may have given them a sense of con-nection with their loved ones.”

Don’t Stop Believing...

Senior Rucha Tandel, junior Aishwarya Pednekar, junior Yami Rivera, and senior Shannon Parma skip a lap around the track. With each lap completed, students raised money for cancer research. Photo by Emily Broaddus.

4 PredatorSENIORSMay 29, 2012

As we go on, we remember, all the times we’ve, had together. As the year draws to a close and seniors prepare to graduate, the nostalgia that has threatened to spill out all year finally appears. Great memories are etched in senior minds, and moments they wish would have changed surface. As much as living with no regrets appeals to the masses, it is only natural for seniors to look back on their high school experience and see things they would have changed. “My advice to freshmen would be not to slip up in any class. No matter how minor you may think it is, every class counts. E s p e c i a l l y with colleges getting pickier, do your best in every class and never slack off,” Farhana Rahman, senior, said. With so many extracurricular activities that high school offers, being thrust into a new and exciting world can be overwhelming. Joining clubs, Student Government and sports teams can take up a majority of your time, and before you know it you’re ditching homework for the baseball game, a club meeting or good

managing editordianadellecese

ROVING REPORTER

“When they called my name for homecoming queen, I was so hap-py. And the dance was so funny. Jereth [homecoming king] and I made this plan that if we were going to win, we weren’t going to slow dance like everyone else. They played a super slow song and we were just breaking it down, and then they changed the song. I’m pretty sure people called me psycho for doing it. I was screaming and a bunch of people circled around me.”

“What was the best part of your high school years?”

-Isabella Di Mare, senior

“I did the summer play last year, ‘Seussical, the Musical.’ I was in the ensemble. It was so much fun. I had to dance and sing. The whole process of going to rehearsal for hours and learning the songs… it was just life changing. As a person, I grew a lot. Being a part of Seussical showed me how much I loved performing and made me realize that I want to perform in the future.”

-Alethia Williams, senior

By Heather Montgomery

Editor-in-Chief

grades for a few good times. While staying involved in school activities can make your high school experience more enjoyable, it is important to focus on school work as well. “STAY FOCUSED. I know it is high school, and you want to make these four years the most memorable they can be, but these are also the start of the most important years of your life as you are trying to get yourself ready for the future,” Madelyn Diaz, senior, said. “Don’t let unnecessary drama with a boyfriend or girlfriend, friends or whatever get the best of you. At this time, keep your grades up and don’t let anything get in the way of what you want to accomplish after high school.”

As important as staying focused during high school is, this is the time

where some of your best memories and

friends are m a d e . H i g h school

is the last place you and your friends will all be in one place, and with so

many good m e m o r i e s w a i t i n g

to be made, now is the time to make them. Your group of friends can help shape you into the person you will be by graduation, so picking carefully can enrich your high school experience. “Don’t work too hard. Always leave some

room for fun! Keep up with your school work and make sure you get good grades! Trust me! Get really involved in everything you can possible be a part of! Play sports and stick with them, Tom Read, senior, said. “Don’t get yourself caught up in the wrong crowd either; your friends are a huge factor in the person that you are like. The company you keep is the company you become. Make sure you keep yourself busy, and don’t

make stupid decisions that will cost you!” Although there are undoubtedly things that seniors wish they could change, high school experiences are sure to be unforgettable, and define the last of their teenage years. By enjoying the time you have with others and making the most of whatever comes your way, your high school years will be filled with memories that will stay with you for years to come.

Matt Meyer, senior, instructs freshmen on how to be successfull in high school. The Class of 2012 graduates on June 6. Photo by Alex Montgomery

Class of 2012 gives final advice to freshmen

““ My advice to freshmen would be not to slip up

in any class.

Farhana Rahman,senior

Throughout my life, I have always looked ahead. I could not wait to get to the next big step in life; riding a

bike, going to middle school, seeing PG-13 movies by myself, driving a car and graduating high school. Yet, time and time again, I was always reminded my mother, “Don’t grow up too fast.” At the end of my junior year, I dreaded going back to school after the summer. With my upperclassmen friends going away to college, I was already tasting the freedom of being a high school graduate. For the first few weeks of senior year, I wished that the year was already over. I did not want to sit through another year of boring classes with the same people. I just wanted to be in college already. Be careful what you wish for, because my wish definitely came true. Senior year flew by so quickly and now that graduation is on the horizon, I’m beginning to realize

everything I’m going to miss. I’m going to miss everything. I’m going to miss the long hours of volleyball practice after school and the butterfly drill. I’m going to miss dog-piling after winning the school’s first district championship for girls soccer. I’m going to miss standing in front of 25 talented student-journalists as we plan

another issue of Predator. I’m even going to miss battling the traffic on Bruce B. Downs to rush home at the end of the day. But, most importantly, I’m going to miss all the friends I’ve made along the way. Now that we are graduating, we are all parting our separate ways. Some will be a few minutes down the road, while others will be traveling miles and miles away. It will be so hard for me to adjust to not being able to see my friends everyday while I’m off at Clemson University, but I have faith that our paths will cross again someday. Although it’s heartbreaking that this chapter of my life is now ending, I can’t help but smile when I think of all the memories I’ve made. There is not one thing I would change about the past four years. So, underclassmen, the next time you wish that you were all grown up, please just stop and enjoy the moment. You’ll miss it one day.

Heather Montgomery, senior, shows her school spirit in her gown. Photo by Emily Broaddus

Senior remembers key moments before sendoff Forever young, I want to be forever young...

5PredatorCOLLEGE May 29, 2012

haleygonzalezcollege editor

“Delta Delta Gamma, I’m so glad that I am a Delta Delta Gamma!” This sorority’s chant, along with countless others, ring across college campuses as the year goes on. Incoming freshmen line up for their chance to join their favorite fraternity or sorority. Let’s be honest, when hearing the mention of a fraternity or sorority, the first thing that pops into one’s mind is always the same: partying, and lots of it. However, this isn’t true. Surprisingly enough, the word “family” plays more of a role in the Greek life. ”I love my big brother, he’s the opposite of me,” said Matt Rogers, sophomore member of Theta Xi at Louisana State University. “Being the oldest in my family, it’s kind of nice to have someone looking out for you.” The “Big-Little” process consists of a new pledge being taken in by an existing pledge who becomes his or her “big,” and the pledge receives the title of “little.” The big’s big becomes the pledge’s grand-big, the big’s big’s big becomes the pledge’s great grand-big, and so on. If a big has two

littles, they are “twins.” That being said, the family factor in the Greek life is very apparent. “We’re literally like a family,” said Melissa Walpole, freshman at UF and member of the sorority Tri-Delta. “Some people just use “bigs” and “littles” as a title, but my littles and I use it literally as family terms. We try to go out once a month and hang out whenever we can. We’re really close.” The bad reputation of partying that fraternities and sororities have is mostly

derived from the (now illegal) act of hazing, which involved a series of unthinkable tasks that a new pledge was to complete in order to become an official member of the sorority or fraternity. “There isn’t any need for hazing. Most campuses, ours included, are pretty strict on hazing,” said Rogers. “You don’t

need to beat someone up or make them eat something disgusting to be able to call them your brother. That being said, going through pledgeship and doing remedial tasks is part of every fraternity’s tradition.” These tasks are not nearly as harsh as hazing would be. Pledging rituals include things like cleaning the sorority and

Greek life offers on campus familyjessicashrinsky

advertising managerfraternity house, or driving places and being a “short-term chauffeur,” as Tate Wheeler, sophomore and Beta member at UF, would call it. “It’s all worth it in the end, though,” said Wheeler.

We’re literally like a family.

Melissa Walpole,UF freshman

“ “

Amanda Copenhaver, Kaila Shrinsky, and Bianca Dominguez attended UF “Swamp” football game back in September. They are members of the Delta Zeta sorority. Photo courtesy of Kaila Shrinsky

A Greek life experience is something that a student will hold on to for the rest of his or her life. Chants and songs are things that will never be forgotten, but carried on for generations.

Lingering thoughts of weight gain...

Students fear Freshman 15

The Freshman 15, the dread to college freshmen around the country, the so-called myth that haunts one’s every bite. Does it come with the college turf? Or is it just a figment of our imagination? The Freshman 15 is used to describe the weight gain some students experience within the first semester of college. This idea started back in 1989. The term was first used in Seventeen, as a ‘catchy’ headline. "FIGHTING THE FRESHMAN 15,” read the headline, describing an article about how much weight a student can gain due to meal plans, drinking and midnight snack-ing. While those actions may have an im-pact on one’s weight, the fact that freshmen gain 15 pounds over the course of their freshman year is a myth. “In some ways people articulate about the ‘Freshmen 10 or 15’ and it goes right to people’s fears. It’s ‘Oh my god. My son or daughter is going to college and is going to benefit a lot of weight because of all these changes from high school,’” Jay Zagorsky, co-author of a weight gain study done at Ohio State said. “I found it’s not so.” According to WebMD Health News, a freshman in college will only gain around three pounds his or her freshman year of

college. A relief to many, the meal plan is not a curse that will instantly make one as round as a pumpkin. The key to avoiding weight gain is picking the right meal plan and determining ways to be active every day. USF freshman, Walayat Zaidi, plays bas-ketball and goes to the gym on a regular ba-sis in order to avoid gaining weight. As the Mini Wheat commercial says, “Keeps them full, keep them focused!” Universities all over the country have dif-ferent meal plans in order to ensure every student gets fed. From not having a meal plan to a three meal per day meal plan, food is always available on campus. Many schools even require students to purchase a meal plan. This is to make sure that every student has the opportunity to eat. However, the availability of food 24/7 is one of the factors that help make the Fresh-man 15 seem real. Knowing that there is always food somewhere makes the body believe that it is hungry even when it isn’t. If ‘you are what you eat’ were really true, thousands of freshmen would turn into slices of pizza after a few weeks at UF,” UF alumni, Sara Watson, said. The Freshman 15 isn’t a curse or a prom-ise. Choosing a healthy meal plan and stay-ing active will help ward off the lingering thoughts of every bite adding pounds dur-ing one’s freshman year of college.

Illustration by Carin Coursey

Spotlighting Students!Celeste Crain, junior, placed 3rd in the Tampa Hispanic

Heritage Essay Competition.

Popular Volunteer Spots

Habitat for Humanity ~ (813) 239-2242Humane Society of Tampa Bay ~ (813) 870-3304

Metropolitan Ministries ~ (813) 209-1000Moffitt Cancer Center ~ (813) 745-1622

MOSI ~ (813) 987-6000

Let Bright Futures Light Up Your Summer

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6 PredatorOPINIONMay 29, 2012

STA

FFAmerica’s elastic waistband expands

EDITOR-IN-CHIEFHeather Montgomery

MANAGING EDITOR Diana Dellecese

FEATURE EDITORMarlene Miranda

NEWS EDITORKelly Peretz

ENTERTAINMENTEDITOR

Bryant Morisseau

SPORTS EDITORAllie Davison

PHOTO EDITOREmily Broaddus

EDITORIAL EDITORYvonne Bertovich

CENTERSPREADEDITOR

Ashley Benjamin

MUSIC EDITORDylan Constant

COLLEGE EDITORHaley Gonzalez

ILLUSTRATORCarin Coursey

ADVERTISING MANAGER

Breanna Stackpole

FINANCE MANAGERPrincess Claveria

STAFF WRITERSNick Rogers

Aly DammingerBrandon Goldman

Jade BeuthManal BenyamineBreanna Stackpole

Will BarnesOlivia MahanorJosh Acierno

Jessica Shrinsky

PHOTOGRAPHERSScott Sollazzo

Alex Montgomery

ADVISERTerry Sollazzo

The newspaper informs students about events, influences readers through responsible editorials,

entertains through features, and brings buyer and seller closer together. As an established open forum for the student body, truth will be the staff’s major goal. These goals are achieved through responsible reporting.

Editorials reflect views of the staff and do not represent views of the school board, administrators, faculty or the student body of Wharton High School. All by-lined articles and artwork reflect the opinions of the writers and artists. Predator encourages letters which constitute a constructive avenue for

all opinions. These letters must be signed. The staff reserves the right to edit letters for poor taste, space, libel, and grammar. These changes will not effect the content or meaning behind the story. Ad rates are available by calling (813) 631-4710 ext. 264. Advertising which promotes illegal

products as labeled by Florida law, opposes any religion, is written in bad taste, includes racial comments, or which includes false statements will not be accepted. The Editorial Board has the right to refuse any such ad. Predator is a member of the Florida Scholastic Press Association and the National Scholastic Press Association.

Predator staff publishes 2011-12 editorial, advertising policies

EDITORIAL “Oh overweight, curvaceous thighs, for growing fast food chains, for greasy burger trag-edies, above the fruitless plate! America, America, we spread much butter on thee! And fill they cup with soda-pop, from sea to

Year of OlympiadYvonne Bertovicheditorial editor

As the summer months approach, the glorified indicators of half of a

year concluded, hardships the globe has already been forced to endure are easily conceived. Barren, war torn lands smeared with poverty and depression are far more evident in number than can be simply stressed; their ci-vilians left mourning the loss of loved ones, and their children left crying themselves to sleep, bellies distended and aching for food. Economic deficits in countries of power are caus-ing a worldwide ripple effect of crashing markets and overall uncertainty. Political and reli-gious disputes are opening new wounds and salting those not yet healed. Technology is con-tinuing to advance, which can arm enemies with indestruc-tible power. Assorted other toils and troubles are decorating the globe more discernibly, much

like the budding beads of sweat upon a soldier’s forehead in the thick of battle. And yet, this summer, for 17 days, none of this matters.Every year of the Olympiad, something unheard of transforms whole countries, lifts the spirits of millions and makes obvious struggles become blurred—hope. The ability of the world’s best in everything from swimming to badminton, and trampoline to shooting, to compete on a global stage is something that is simply taken for granted. Merely com-peting in the Olympic Games is an honor that is not easily belittled, resonating within athletes’ home countries and instilling an indel-ible sense of pride in its every citi-zen, regardless of their stature or class. The Olympic Games cause the dissolution of animosity between many normally uncivil nations for the pure love of entertainment

and sport, as their champions battle for bronze, silver and gold. This battle resembling an innocent footrace between children; the weights of societal burdens, for once, do not crush the weathered bodies of the world’s people. No. This 17 day span is to dis-play those who have excelled and reward those who have sacrificed. To display a host country in its beauty and glory, highlighting its advances in both nature and in-dustry, while greatly outshining any manifesting issue.London has the exclusive oppor-tunity of hosting this year’s sum-

mer Olympics, surely providing both a lively and historic back-drop. After all, much is resting on this occasion. The global com-munity needs hope. They need hope to fill voids where love, sustenance and money are cur-rently absent. They need hope in their brethren, leaders and allies. They need hope that enemies may someday become friends, or served necessary jus-tice. For all the children, fathers, mothers, leaders and soldiers—the world needs the Olympics.

whining sea.” America the beauti-ful is gaining weight. Everywhere across the nation, scales are being maxed-out, but-tons are popping off dress-shirts, and zippers are gaping. It’s no se-cret that this country is packing on the pounds—how and why so many are suddenly chafing is due to a variety of reasons. There’s genetics. Problems with one’s thyroid and food allergies

can contribute to weight gain, sometimes without knowledge or warning. Certain medications can add unwanted volume too. Well, that’s it for the legitimate excuses. Honestly, all other reasons why some American’s girths are grow-ing are simply due to over indul-gence and laziness. Gorging oneself from dawn till dusk on everything from meat,

sugar and carb-laden foods and beverages is trending. America is going for what is fast, easy or cheap, and what “tastes good” rather than what is healthfully beneficial. Hello, healthcare crisis! Americans wonder why they are suffering from ailments such as insomnia, diabetes (with the exception of genetic diabetes), depression, low self-esteem, back aches, heart problems, knee pain and arthritis. Americans wonder why the number on that irritating tag on the inside of their pants is the same as their age. They wonder why the seats on airplanes and at sporting events have shrunk in half, forcing them to buy two just to be the slightest bit comfortable. They wonder why they feel like and resemble characters floating around at the Macy’s Thanksgiv-ing Day Parade. America wonders. To stop the wondering; we are so very, terribly sorry for the sim-ply awful wisdom we are about to impart upon overweight America. It just might change things. It just might go against everything ever learned. Here goes—if one is unhappy about the way one looks or feels, one should do something about it. Great success most often comes after great struggle. So sorry to say that there is no magic pill to make one lose weight and keep it off. Sorry that one may have to actually diet and exercis to lose weight. So sorry, America.Illustration by Carin Coursey

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Paul R. Wharton High School 20150 Bruce B. Downs Blvd. Tampa, FL 33647 Volume 15 Issue 5

May 29, 2012

oliviamahanorstaff writer

Senior Melissa Ulbrich quenches her thirst by the pool by drinking a strawberry and cherry fruit smoothie. Studies have shown many popular summer drinks have negative effects on the body. Photo by Emily Broaddus

As summertime approach-es, it’s getting hotter and hotter. Sodas, sports

drinks, sweet teas and fruit juic-es are more and more tempting. Do we really know what these drinks are doing to our bodies? It is easy to walk into a conve-nience store, go to the coolers and grab a bottle of soda. However, soda is the most acidic drink we can buy. About 45 gallons of soda is consumed by the average American each year. Studies have shown that soda can be linked to obesity, kidney damage and a variety of cancers. Chances of getting pancreatic can-cer are doubled by just drinking two sodas a week. According to webmd.com ,”Can-cer of the pancreas was diagnosed in about 42,000 people in the U.S. in 2009, according to American Cancer Society estimates, and about 35,240 deaths from the dis-ease were expected. The pancreas lies behind the stomach. It makes hormones such as insu-lin to balance sugar in the blood and produces juices with enzymes to help break down fats and pro-tein in foods.” “Living in Florida I would rather drink a water and be hy-drated instead of soda and still be thirsty,”Aniko Illes, sophomore, said.

Diet soda also can lead to a higher risk of heart attack or stroke. This is why taking steps to eliminate one’s chances are crucial. A study in the Journal of General Inter-nal Medicine shows that drinking “diet soda every day is linked with a higher risk of stroke and heart at-tack.” The University of Miami Miller School of Medicine research and Columbia University Medical fol-lowed 2,564 people, and e x a m i n e d their soda d r i n k i n g habits for 10 years. The re-s e a r c h e r s found that people who r e p o r t e d drinking diet soda on a dai-ly basis had a 43 percent higher risk of having a vascular event than people who didn’t drink any soda. Sports drinks like Gatorade pro-vide water, electrolytes and carbo-hydrates, which is key for athletes. For an inactive person drinking sports drinks, an eight-ounce bottle of Gatorade contains 10-15 grams of carbohydrates and 50 calories. If you are consuming sports drinks without working out, your body is only taking in calories.

The calories from the sports drink will only linger in your body unless you burn them off. Sports drinks contain electro-lytes, in other words, salt. In sports drinks, the main salt is sodium. An eight-ounce bottle of Gatorade is roughly 5 percent of someone’s daily intake of sodium. Electrolytes can be beneficial when working out. But if not, the electrolyte intake is excessive and unnecessary.

McDonalds is home to the $1 large sweet tea. A 32 ounce sweet tea has over eight teaspoons of sugar and is 280 calories. The rec-ipe for the sweet tea is based off a 19th century t r a d i t i o n a l

southern tea recipe. (As for the caffeine in the tea, it is the overall mixture of two types of tea used to make McDonald’s sweet tea.) Most teas (like green tea, white tea, black tea, oolong tea and pu-erh tea) can be helpful to prevent different types of cancers and de-crease the chance of developing diabetes. Drinking tea can also promote weight loss. However, all contain caffeine and theanine and can af-

fect the brain and decrease mental awareness. Next on the unhealthy list are fruit juices. When people see the word “fruit,” they feel “it must mean it’s good for you,” right? What they do not do is turn the bottle over and read what is inside the bottle. The FDA states that any drink can be classified as a “fruit drink” as long as it has some fruit juice in it even if it is less than one percent. Fruit drinks often have more sug-ar than Coca-Cola. Snapple Apple contains 27 grams of sugar and a can of Coke contains 26 grams of sugar. Most fruit juices are made with fructose. Fructose is processed in the liver. If too much fructose enters the liv-er, the liver will not be able to pro-cess all of the fructose fast enough for our bodies to use it as sugar. The unprocessed fructose will turn into fat and move through the bloodstream as triglycerides. High blood triglycerides make the body more at risk for heart disease. If you want to stay healthy dur-ing the summer, drinking water is your best option. It contains zero calories and no sugar. “Think of water as a nutrient your body needs that is present in liquids, plain water, and foods. All of these are essential daily to replace the large amounts of water lost each day,” says Joan Koelemay, RD, dietitian for the Beverage Insti-tute, an industry group.

Summer drinks kill chance of beach body

32 fl oz McDonald’s Sweet Tea

280 Calories per serving69 Carbs

32 fl oz Cool Blue Gatorade

50 Calories per serving14 Carbs

12 fl oz Coca-Cola

140 Calories per serving39 Carbs

POPULAR SUMMER DRINKS

8 fl oz Snapple Apple

100 Calories per serving24 Carbs

U G E I E

Living in Florida I would rather drink a

water and be hydrated instead of

soda.

Aniko Illes, sophomore

“

“

FACT OR FICTION?

What would you do on your last day if you believed the world was going to end on Dec. 21, 2012?

“I would go skydiving or drive to the aquarium and jump into the dolphin exhibit. Something wild but probably illegal.”

Nikki Morse,freshman

marlenemirandafeature editor

MYTHBUSTERS:

Prepare for chaos...

Many believe that the sun will align in the center of the Milky Way galaxy and cause chaos and disaster; however, NASA claims that there is no unusual galactic alignment in 2012. Photo used with permission by NASA

Get ready for the largest “Project X”-like party the world

has ever seen. With months dwindling down to Dec. 21, 2012, the countdown to the end of the world is getting shorter and shorter. And for the believers, they’re either going out with a bang through excessive partying, or preparing for the inevitable apocalypse. “Do I think the world will end because of an actual apocalypse? No, but what I think is going to cause death is the mass riots that will probably result due to stupidity,” Sean Pacheco, senior, said. There have been numerous predictions on how the world will come to an end, but the most talked about are the theories surrounding the Mayan calendar. Apparently, Dec. 21, 2012, is believed to mark the end of humanity.

However, it is a possibility that the only thing the calendar predicts is the sun rising daily. “No, I don’t think the world is going to end in 2012. There’s no legitimate proof, aside from an u n f i n i s h e d r o c k c a l e n d a r , ” M a t t h e w S k y p a c k , junior, said. The 2012 prophec ies have spread f u r i o u s l y in the past couple of years. The phenomenon has been the subject of thousands of websites, documentaries, the recent 2009 movie titled “2012,” books and even a public outreach website NASA started where people can submit questions on the subject. Shockingly, some people have even asked if they should kill themselves, their children and pets.

“I don’t believe the world is going to end in 2012. It’s just one of those urban legends like Big Foot or the Loch Ness monster. People only believe it because we are told to believe it. There is no solid evidence pointing

to an end. The biggest thing people talk about is the end of the Mayan c a l e n d a r , but what l e g i t i m a c y can we give to an extinct c iv i l izat ion about our f u t u r e ? ”

Oscar Raggio, senior, said. Aside from selling 2012 entertainment to the masses, people have found other ways to profit from the “prophecy.” T-shirts for 2012 and survival kits can be found online. Packages for trips to Mexico, Guatemala and Belize during December 2012 have already been sold.

“

What I think is going to cause

death is the mass riots that will probably result due to

stupidity.

Sean Pacheco,senior

“

End of world is coming

Galactic alignment

The Mayans are believed to have predicted the end of the world with the ending of their calendar. Skeptics say that the Mayan calendar does not end on Dec. 21, 2012, but restarts the cycle. Photo by Heather Montgomery

A possibility exists that the sun will send strong solar flares that can disable most communication and heat the Earth. However, solar activities are not on cycle to flare up this year. Photo used with permission by NASA

Solar flares

Source: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/11/091106-2012-end-of-world-myths.html

N

S

W E

Shifting poles

A common belief is that the magnetic poles are expected to change, causing natural disasters. Scientists claim that it takes thousands of years to shift poles, debunking the theory. Graphic by Heather Montgomery

Mayan calendar ending

8 May 29, 2012 CENTERSPREAD

FACT OR FICTION?

“I would make sure to apologize to anyone I had ever hurt and forgive those who had hurt me.”

Mariah Henderson,sophomore

“If the world came to an end in December, I would skydive into a volcano just because that would be awesome!”

Jordan Camposano,senior

“I would kayak to Emerald Island to try to find the elusive chipmunk spider to prove to my students that it exists.”

Kenneth Wood,zoology teacher

yvonnebertovicheditorial editor

Apocalypse checklistIn case the world actually ends on Dec. 21, 2012, here are some things you should collect to prepare for the end of the world!

*

Photos by Heather Montgomery*Photo used with permission by Ed Suba Jr./Akron Beacon Journal/MCT **Illustration used with permission by Tracy Cox

Flashlight

Knife

Chainsaw

Matches

Gas mask

Batteries

Nonparishable food

Sunscreen

Toothbrush

Zombie repellant

Chuck Norris

Teddy bear

**

are planetary alignments happening anytime this millennia,” Maloney said. Surviving the terrors that may be brewing in the atmosphere at this very

moment is but a minor feat. “The world could end at any time due to a bunch of theories. Another planet could hit us, or a meteor or asteroid,” Maloney said. If anyone survives through the terrors that may come, checklists

detail necessary supplies such as flashlights, antibiotics, nonperishable foods, blankets, and tents. “In a sense I’m already prepared for the end because I’m Christian,” Tim Blickle, sophomore, said. ”In my faith, you’re taken care of already.”

Shaky hands are convectively circling the date Dec. 21, 2012; smearing the ink with their nervous humidity, dispiriting calendars, forming a foreboding lump in the throat of the scribe. Dark is the thought of the end, but ignorance is argued to be far worse. Mother Nature is viewed as a relentless entity that would wreak havoc without batting an eye. “The ‘End of the World 2012’ theory may be just as awesome as Y2K,” AP environmental science teacher Kevin Maloney said. The most common theory inaugurating the end was crafted by some of the first great astronomers and mathematicians, the Maya. This tribal

society existing from around 2600 BC to 900 AD, created a calendar system that is the medium for the doomsday prediction. “Mayan calendar ending is not based in any real science rather a lack of understanding that all calendars end each year and start anew the next year,” Maloney said. Supposedly, on Dec. 21 of this year, the sun will align with the center of the Milky Way Galaxy causing a dramatic shift in Earth’s magnetic poles. This occurrence will then initiate a plethora of the most severe of natural disasters, sparing not one mere inch of the planet from fatality and destruction. “Polar shift is impossible, and there

“

“

Meteor, climate change, or just human die off would be more

likely.Kevin Maloney,science teacher

The theorists, believers, ‘survival experts,’ public figures and some media are vested in the notion that the Earth was merely created to be destroyed, and above all, at the human hand. “Humans are not in harmony with the planet and, therefore, are causing irreversible damage to the climate,” Maloney said. Ironically, it is these same hands that created these theories that mark the emergency supply lists, that house fingernails that are anxiously bitten and that may help rebuid. It is these same hands that circle the date Dec. 21, 2012, or scribble a satisfied smiley face on the date Dec. 22, 2012. “Meteor, climate change, or just human die off would be more likely,” Maloney said. The world may just have to wait and see.

Citizens brace for impact as doomsday approaches

May 29, 2012 9CENTERSPREAD

10 PredatorFEATUREMay 29, 2012

Quiles gets unexpected welcome

Katie Quiles, junior, reflects on her traumatizing exprience at her previous school. Quiles has attended three high schools. Photo By Scott Sollazzo

Height of success measured with height? marlenemiranda

feature editor

jessicashrinskystaff writer

“Are you sure you can handle all of my weird-ass experiences?” With her Monroe beauty-mark piercing and rebellious attitude, junior Katie Quiles is a girl who looks like she can handle just about anything. But nobody can handle seeing a dead body. “It was my first day (at Booker High School) and this girl hanged herself in the bathroom.” Quiles had no knowledge of what she was about to face as she walked out of her classroom to the office on Nov. 1, 2011. “I was already sent out to the office,” Quiles recalled, “and while I was going there, they announced a lockdown, and that’s when I saw the stretcher.” The lockdown wasn’t being

held for an unwanted person on campus, it was to prevent young eyes from seeing the scene that the new student had the misfortune of stumbling upon: a classmate lying dead on a stretcher. “Her neck was purple and cut open,” said Quiles. Quiles later found out the truth through the inevitable string of texts that were bound to follow an event like this, and the truth was this: On Nov. 1, 2011, Ebony Connor, 17, used a phone charger to hang herself in a Booker High School bathroom. She was revived at the school and died two days later at All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg. “A lot of people knew her, and no one knew why she killed herself,” shrugged Quiles. “I just feel bad for the people who are too scared to say what’s on their mind.” In the aftermath of this experience, the bathroom in which the suicide occurred was

blocked off. “Girls were actually scared to go into the bathrooms. They felt like it would happen again.” As for Quiles, she lived with the same haunting feeling that it could happen again at any time. “When I first moved here, I wouldn’t go in the school bathrooms,” she admitted. After the tragedy, Booker High School brought counselors on campus and told whoever was grieving could go to the counselors whenever they’d like. Quiles refused. “I don’t think it was my place to go,” she said. “I didn’t know her.” Almost every student is nervous about their first day of school. What if they trip in the middle of the hall? Oh, the horror. No, that’s not real horror. Nobody has seen the same kind of horror as this student on the first day of school. Welcome to Booker High School, Katie Quiles.

Senior Jimmy Mason and junior Micah Warren tower over freshman Sean Anton as they discuss their plans for success. Photo by Alex Montgomery

In a fair and just world, people would be hired based on their abilities and competence relevant to the position they are applying for. However, that is not the case. Apparently, if one is vertically challenged, one’s goals may be far from reach. "It's like judging a book by its cover a bit. I would think taller people are looked at as leaders because of the strength and prestige that's thought when we see people who are tall. Those who are shorter people have to physically look up at those who are taller. I feel like even if two people had the same credentials for a job they're applying for, the taller person has a better chance of being notice," Joshua Patterson, junior, said. In 2003, psychologist Timothy A. Judge of the University of Florida, along with researcher Daniel Cable from the University of North Carolina conducted a longitudinal study that followed participants from childhood to adulthood. They analyzed aspects of both their work and personal lives. The study found

that about each extra inch above average height resulted in $789 a year. Judge explained a possible hypothesis for this, stating that tall people have great self-esteem in comparison to those who are shorter. Also, people usually view

taller people as more authoritative. “I’m only 4’11”. People always comment on my height. Those who are taller than me pat me on the head. I don’t mind it too much, but I feel if I were a few inches taller, people would take

me seriously,” Hannah Hedriana, junior, said. In the study, height mainly effected jobs that involved social activity, such as careers in management and sales. “I’m 5’3” and I don’t think I’m

that short. However, I feel super intimidated when I’m surrounded by taller people. I feel so small when I see someone looking down on me, I think that’s why it’s so easy to kind of listen to a taller person, you feel like they’re overpowering,” Gabriela Rosado, senior, said. Studies have shown that taller men are more successful overall in life. Corporate CEOs and managers tend to be taller than average. Height even comes up as a factor when national leaders are elected. William McKinley, who stood at 5’7”, was the last US president to be shorter than the average man. “It comes back to this natural reaction we have. First and foremost, the physical movement of picking your head and looking up to someone automatically gives them [taller people] a sense of power,” Samantha Reeves, AP psychology teacher, said. “If you look at evolutionary studies, the bigger animals have more power, more strength. As humans, we take that with the same amount as force. Larger people have more power. We don’t equate weight wise, we equate height with more power. The taller you are, the more power you have,

Your pet needs a summer break too!

Take over Twitter using tweeting etiquette11Predator

FEATURE May 29, 2012

May the odds be ever in your favor while surviving the Hunger Games

Twitter defines itself as a way to communicate and stay connected with friends, family and co-workers. Twitter has shoved Facebook out of the limelight. While anything “new” may be intimidating, staying connected and communicating through Twitter is simple. You basically answer one simple question: "What are you doing?" in 160 characters or less. Twitter has acquired 105,779,710 registered users since it was founded in 2006. When it comes to sharing your thoughts with your followers there is an etiquette that should be followed. “You should always think before you post,” said Elizabeth Collins, freshman. Twitter users tweet around 55 million tweets a day. What the average Twitter user is unaware of is that every public tweet, since Twitter's inception, will be archived digitally at the Library of Congress. “I tweet around 20-times a day, not counting re-tweets,” said Sabrina Williams, sophomore. Another thing some Twitter users are not familiar with is the privacy setting. Colleges, employers and businesses all look at social

oliviamahanorstaff writer

networking websites especially Twitter. What you tweet can have a major effect on what you choose to do later in your life. Twitter offers two options for privacy settings. The first one is public tweets which are visible to anyone regardless if the person viewing it has a Twitter or not. The second privacy setting option is protected tweet; it offers your tweets to previously approved Twitter followers. “I am mindful about what I Tweet. I don’t want the wrong person to see something I have Tweeted and possibly have my future

thrown in the wrong direction,” said Aniko Illes, sophomore. There are nine basic tips every tweeter should follow to reach the proper level of etiquette.

Tip one: Be grateful. For example if you are to be mentioned in a re-tweet, you should thank the person. People want their actions to be recognized.

Tip two:Fight off the feeling of constantly wanting to tweet. When you tweet, you should tweet meaningful, interesting and engaging messages.

Tip three: Twitter has adopted the infamous pound sign and renamed it the hashtag. When tweeting,

use the h a s h t a g graciously, e n t e r i n g the hashtag in front of everything will only annoy your followers.

Tip four: Be careful what you tweet. There have been an extreme n u m b e r of embar-r a s s i n g i n c i d e n t s that end up on Twit-ter. These tweets can get individ-uals and en-tire groups of people in trouble. Do not use your Twitter to tweet inappropriate photos, or tweet explicit language.

Tip five: Twitter isn’t your personal blog. Avoid getting too personal when composing a tweet. No one on Twitter cares about what you think about the weather or last night’s episode of

#Tweet engaging and meaningful

messages

#Be respectful

#Twitter is not your

personal blog

Infographic by Brandon Goldman

You should always think before you

post.

Elizabeth Collins,freshman

“ “

“Glee.”

Tip six: Be profession-al. What you tweet is only a reflection of yourself and your actions.

Tip seven:Keep your audience in mind while you’re tweet-ing. What you tweet should be content to your follow-ers, not any-thing your f o l l o w e r s wouldn’t want to see. Tip eight:Timing is e v e r y t h i n g . W h e n engaging in

conversations with someone on Twitter respond to them in a decent amount of time.

Tip nine: Treat your followers the way you would want them to treat you. Also, warn your followers if you tweet a lot. Nobody wants his/her Twitter blown up with your tweets.

breannastackpolestaff writer

Picture this. You are in a large arena and you have no idea what is lurking in the shadows. All you know is you need to survive while others are trying to kill you. “I would be the first to die. I have no idea how to survive in the wilderness,” Justine Glubis, sophomore, said. Surviving the Hunger Games would definitely be difficult. You have to worry about finding food, finding shelter and not getting killed. Not to mention the natural disasters thrown in by the Capitol. “If I were in the Hunger Games, I would run into the woods immediately and hide until everyone was dead,” Casey Ferguson, sophomore, said. However, not everyone would take such a humane approach as Casey and Katniss would Some people would choose to be more like Cato, one of the career tributes, in their approach to killing.

“If I were in the Hunger Games, I would hide in the trees during the day and kill people at night when they least expect it,” Cristina Arguello, sophomore, said. There is also the question of alliances. Would you choose to survive on your own or band together with others in order to increase your chances of survival? You could band with the careers, the people who train all their lives for the games, or you could make an alliance with the people just trying to survive. “I would make an alliance with Katniss and with anyone who only wanted to survive not to kill,” Monica Moore, sophomore said. It’s obvious that there are many ways to kill others and avoid being killed. You could trick people into eating poisonous berries, use the stinging tracker jackers, or grab your best weapon from the cornucopian, but without food you won’t survive for long. How would you find food? “I would hunt and eat whatever I could find in the forest,” said Preeti Vadlamani, junior. The tributes compete in an arena that changes every year. Players must be prepared

to survive in any type of environment. Katniss Everdeen was lucky because she got her ideal arena for her survival. Katniss is good at climbing trees and quick with a bow, so having a forest arena was ideal for her. “I would want an arena in the ocean, like the one in the book ‘Catching Fire’, because I’m a good swimmer and I could get to the cornucopian first,” Xana Smith, sophomore, said. The weapons used in the movie were unusual. Instead of using guns, they used knives and bows and spears. “I think they used those weapons because guns would be too fast a kill and the Capitol wanted a show,” Madison Giarrizzo, sophomore, said. Everyone has a different opinion of what weapon is best. “I would want a bow and arrow because I could shoot from long distances,” Donnavin Rivera, junior, said. Whatever your method for surviving the Hunger Games, it is no secret that it would be difficult. May the odds be ever in your favor.

Sophomore Mikaela Beale and freshman Joey Porter try to survive the Hunger Games. Photo by Scott Sollazzo

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12 PredatorENTERTAINMENTMay 29, 2012

Hot Summer Films Fez brings multidimensional enjoyment

Little brown monster brings big burger flavor

bryantmorisseauentertainment editor

When the 2D universe of Fez is on the brink of tearing itself apart, it’s up to Gomez to don his magical hat and traverse the third dimension. At heart, Fez is a puzzle game with platformer elements. Lev-els are 3D, but only one plane is revealed to you at a time, which makes for some very complex multilayered areas. A host of se-crets are hidden throughout said levels, the likes of which include bombs, gold squares used to unlock doors to new areas, and more. In order to find everything you must rotate the world left and right using the RT and LT but-tons, an action you can do as many times as you want in or-der to reveal all four sides of an area. When looking at one side of a plane, there may just be a square piece of land, but flip it to the right, and it turns out that land is hollowed out and there’s a door to open. This is as simple as it gets- as you progress, more and more variables are introduced to keep your brain steaming. The world of Fez is huge and the game is perfectly content with throwing you in and letting you flounder about with no real in-struction or guidance. That, and its pleasant chiptune music with pixilated style graphics come together to create a wonderful throwback to the games of yester-year that didn’t have the capabil-

ity or wherewithal to show you exactly what is needed, but still conveyed it through well placed hints In place of the voiced over cutscenes and directional arrows of modern games, you get vague clues that hint at what needs to

be done in order to make that one thing happen for you to progress- whether that be a valve to flip a platform, or pressure jumps that force you into the air. The game is chock full of environmental tools that work in tandem with the world shifting aspect to make

puzzles ever more complex. If you’re looking for a game that challenges you with abstract thinking, has intelligent level de-sign and a massive number of stages to explore, download Fez for 800 microsoft points on the Xbox Live marketplace.

kellyperetznews editor

A little brown monster holding hamburgers, a BurgerMonger, stares at customers from the park-ing lot, and already they know they are in for an intriguing expe-rience. “We’re establishing a grand identity in Wesley Chapel, and so far, so good,” Founder and Gen-eral Partner Jake Hickton said. Located at 1656 Bruce B Downs Blvd, BurgerMonger is a new res-taurant in Wesley Chapel that has made a big impact on the area. Because the restaurant is near Red Robin and Beef ‘O’ Brady’s, BurgerMonger has some serious competition. “I respect competition, and I think competition helps us per-form better. Our team is very com-petitive and we think our experi-ence is as good, if not better than the other burger restaurants,” Hickton said. Hickton wants his customers’ ex-periences to be sensory, to “stimu-late all of your senses,” he said. The music, the high-definition televisions, the smell of Japanese Akaushi beef, the sound of milk-shake blenders and the chatter of happy customers come together to ultimately create a grand sen-sory experience. “I want to have fun, I want to create opportunity for others and I want to create opportunity and start a company where people enjoy working and where people enjoy dining,” Hickton said. Senior Stephen Glazer, a Burger-Monger employee, said, “The

managers are definitely awesome, and it’s a nice atmosphere. Even if you’re back in the dish room, you’re back there singing and dancing.” “Our company is built around four pillars: 100 percent Akaushi beef, the finest ground beef in the world, Challah buns, premium fresh cut French fries cooked in beef fat, and our extraordinary H äagen-Daz milkshakes and malts,” Hickton said.

Akaushi beef is marbled with fat and contains high concentrations of oleic acid, a heart-healthy fat. “I think the burgers are some of the best burgers that I’ve had,” Glazer said. Also, over 25 toppings are avail-able including a very special sauce; the ingredients are top se-cret. Glazer said, “It tastes like thou-sand island, and it goes great with fries or burgers; it really depends

what you’re into.” Portions served at BurgerMon-ger are a little larger than nor-mal, and fries have to be ordered separately, which, according to Hickton, is common for specialty burger eateries due to very expen-sive burger ingredients such as 100 percent USDA, Above Prime, All Natural, Akaushi Kobe Beef. “Our food is made to share,” Glazer said. The Burger Monger is six ounces and $6.99 including toppings and a choice of five different cheeses. A vegetarian option is also avail-able with the Veggie Monger, a six ounce veggie burger for $6.99. Chicken Mongers are available, as well as salads served with either chicken or beef and a choice of six different salad dressings. The Monger Dog is a quarter-pound Akaushi Kobe Beef hot dog for only $3.99 Monger fries are $2.49 for a half-pound, $3.49 for one pound, and $4.99 for a pound and a half. The Mini-Monger Menu is for children 12 and under and has Monger Dogs, Burger Mongers and macaroni and cheese in small-er portions. BurgerMonger also appeals to an older crowd with their promotion, “White-Hair Wednesdays.” Every Wednesday, Loyal Monger cus-tomers over the age of 60 receive a 20 percent discount on their order. Loyal Mongers is a sort of reward program for customers. BurgerMonger is open Sunday through Thursday from 11am-10pm and Friday and Saturday from 11am-11pm. BurgerMonger also has $5 Burger Monger Mon-days and $3 Monger Dog Tues-days.

The gang from Central Zoo continue to “Move it, move it” back to their home. After escaping Africa, the group of animals must travel through Europe in an attempt to re-turn to the Big Apple. Mada-gascar travels to theaters June 8.

Your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man returns in the “Amazing Spider-Man.” Re-telling the orgin of the web-slinging hero, Peter Parker must become the hero New York needs, and stop the mutant villain the Lizard. Spiderman slings into the-atres July 3.

The Christian Bale triology ends this summer with it’s swan song “The Dark Knight Rises.” Taking place eight years after The Dark Knight, Batman must come out of retirement to save Gotham from the likes of Bane. Don’t miss this epic finale on July 20.

Hitting theaters June 8, “Pro-metheus” is a sci-fi horror featuring humanity’s fight for survival in a battle against mysterious alien foes taking place in the farthest reaches of the universe. Made by a creator of “LOST,” prepare to fight.

It’s up to Agent J to travel back in time to the 1960s to stop the assassination of his partner Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones) and ultimately change history. The Men in Black are back this month.

Scarlett Haynes, senior, bites down into a custom-made burger. Burger Monger is open for business all week long. Photo by Emily Broaddus

by Bryant Morisseau

Fez challenges you to traverse the third dimension by allowing you to shift through the different planes. It hit the xbox live arcade on April 13. Photo by MCT Campus

Contributions by Will Barnes

13Predator May 29, 2012 ENTERTAINMENT

willbarnesstaff writer

After touring the world with some of the weirdest bands of the 20th Century (The White Stripes, The Ra-conteurs and Dead Weather), Jack White finally released a solo album, ‘Blunderbuss’ on April 24, where he was able to be even weirder. Although the first couple lines of ‘Blunderbuss,’ may be disturbing to the casual listener: “I was in the show-er, so I could not tell my nose was bleeding.” White’s unique lyrics have managed to deliver exactly what his fans have already come to know and love. Disturbing images aside, however, White has created an astounding empire of mu-sic over the last 15 years. White was a founding member of the White Stripes with drummer (also ex-wife/pretend sister) Meg White; lead singer and guitarist of the four-man Raconteurs; and the drummer of Dead Weather featuring Kills vo-calist Alison Mosshart; not to mention the record label/store he runs called Third Man. Although White has been called a renaissance man of sorts, he’s also purist of who prefers basic rock structures and tunings instead of the new music-tech advances, artificial sounds and remixes of today’s music scene. But it is lyrically that White sets himself apart. ‘Blunderbuss’ is a fear-less and thrilling mess of thoughts about love, loss and life in general, in which White makes no attempts to conform or appeal to anyone but himself. “No one can blow the shows/Or throw the bones/That break your nose/Like I can,” he sings on “Weep Themselves to Sleep.” On “Sixteen Saltines,” he describes high school locker decorations, newspa-pers, pink mailboxes and, of course, salty crackers. During “On and On and On,” White also gives listen-ers a brief philosophical les-son: “The sun and the moon never change/they just rear-range.” However, it is on the al-bum’s stunning closer, “Take me with you when you go,” where White gives the lis-tener a rare and revealing moment that seems to pen-etrate his carefully crafted mystique by alluding to his recent divorce. ‘Blunderbuss’ is, quite sim-ply, a marvelous rock album that is bursting at the seams with youthful energy and creativity, that will definitely not appeal to the teen-pop or hip-hop listener, or even the mainstream media, but has proved why White may not only be the inheritor of a tra-dition, but also a remarkable ambassador of a genre that may be making a startling comeback.

alydammingerstaff writer

OFF THE CHARTS:

Jack White: Blunderbuss

When it’s hot outside, the best way to beat the heat is to the beat of the drum and this summer, Florida will be a hot spot for concert beats of all kinds. As always, Vans, the skate shoe company, will host its annual summer concert festival Warped Tour. Warped Tour is a music extravaganza that showcases various punk, rock, alternative, ska and rap artists and has been provided people of all ages a place to rock out since 1993. This year’s festivities will be headlined by bands such as: The Used, Rise Against, Breathe Carolina, All Time Low, Streetlight Manifesto, You Me at Six, Sleeping With Sirens, Falling In Reverse and Taking Back Sunday. The tour will also feature Florida natives such as Yellowcard, Mayday Parade and We the Kings. If you aren’t big on “mainstream” bands, the tour also offers smaller stages that host up and coming bands that one day might headline the tour itself. This year, “Warped” will stop at 41 different cities. If you are staying in Florida this July, you’re in luck. Warped Tour will stop three times in the Sunshine State at the Central Florida Fairgrounds in Orlando, the Cruzan Amphitheatre in West Palm Beach and, closest to home, Vinoy Park in St. Petersburg. If you will be out of town while the show is in Florida, you can check the complete list of tour dates at vanswarpedtour.com/dates.

If you don’t have the chance to go, don’t worry, Vans releases a compilation of songs from bands on tour every year on a CD or via download. “(I’ve been to Warped Tour) once, and I liked it because it had one of my favorite bands in it,” Corey Cox, sophomore, said. Although concerts are a popular choice for summer activities, you must be careful. It’s already hot during the summer; throw in being crowded in a small area

with sweaty fellow rockers you need to worry about more than the occasional crowd surfer or mosh pit. As with any summer activity, make sure to bring a lot of water to drink and dress appropriately. In other words, it’s probably not a good idea to wear all black and skinny jeans, even if you are going to a grunge metal concert. “Don’t wear open toe shoes. Drink water, crowd surf as many times as possible. Enjoy it,”

Tiffany Valere, freshman, said. If you are not into head banging, there are a plethora of other popular artists that will be in town this summer. Starting in June, you can catch Tim Mcgraw, Kenny Chesney, Neil Diamond, Two Door Cinema Club, Bon Iver, Coldplay, One Direction, Ringo Starr and more! For more information and a full list of events this summer, go to http://www.floridaentertainmentscene.com/tampa/concerts.

Rascal Flatts just recently released a new record entitled “Changed,” but fear not, the boys have done anything but that. The band released their eighth studio album on April 3, and has already filled the number one slot while selling approximately 130,000 copies in the first week alone. When “Changed” was originally released, lead singer, Gary Levox, claimed that “Changed” was to reveal a new side of their music to fans. While that may not be completely true, there are some songs that have had a minor tweak from the band’s original sound. The album has some slower tunes like “Come Wake Me Up” and the self-titled song, itself, “Changed,” while still including the familiar country-rock sound Rascal Flatts that has been so popular with their fans. When listening to “Banjo” (the first single off of this album), “She’s Leaving,” “Great Big Love” or “Right One Time” it’s hard remain still. The melodies are catchy and make you want to get up and dance around. All the tracks have those infectious guitars riffs and power vocals that captured the heart of millions of fans worldwide. However, if you’re looking for a track that is a little more mellow, yet still contains those traditional country roots, give “Hot in Here,” “Sunrise,” and “Hurry Baby” a listen. Compared to previous albums, “Changed” is a step in the right direction for Rascal Flatts. It can be classified as a very powerful record that includes some pretty inspiring words. “It didn’t matter where I’d been, I’m not the same man I was then. I got off track, I made mistakes. Back slid my way into that place, where souls get lost, lines get crossed and the pain won’t go away. I hit my knees, now here I stand. There I was, now here I am. Here I am

Rascal Flatts has not ‘Changed’

Need summer plans? Warped Tour 2012 is here

These lyrics tend to be a little more sentimental than ones previously written. It’s safe to say that while the group continues to mature as artists, their lyrics mature as well. They continue to dig a little deeper than ever before. “Changed” is a step in the right direction for the band and only further proves that the best is yet to come.

changed.” While, some lyrics of the title track on their previous effort, “Me and My Gang,” include, “Raise up your hands if you all wanna hang with me and my gang. We live to ride, we ride to live… me and my gang. Jump on that train, grab a ‘hold of them reins. We gonna rock this thang, cock this thang… me and my gang.”

Dylan Constantmusic editor

Rascal Flatts has never “changed.” The band released their new album, “Changed,” on April 3. Photos courtesy of MCT Campus/ Nicolas Khayat- Abaca Press/ Francis/Landov-MCT/ David Perry-Lexington Herald-Leader

Yellowcard, established in 1997, is one of 108 bands that will be featured on this summer’s Warped Tour. Reprinted with permission from Brian Manley / Hopeless Records

14 PredatorHOTSPOTMay 29, 2012

H T P T: Younglife cures Monday blues

dianadellecesemanaging editor

With every Friday comes elation over the fact that school is done for the week, but also an underlying sense of impending doom. On Saturday it becomes even stronger, and on Sunday that’s when the reality of it hits: tomorrow is Monday. Mondays bring an end to fun nights, days of lazing about and sleeping in late. While a majority of people dread Mondays, Younglife goers view Monday as one of the best days of the week. “Normally I would be really upset about the fact that it’s Monday and I’m at school at 7:30 in the morning,” Kelly Rosica, senior, said. “But knowing that I have Younglife that night makes the day seem to go by faster. It really makes my week more bearable, and it’s fun to sing and dance and just let loose.” Come 7:59 Monday night, teens are lining up at the doors of the New Tampa YMCA, eagerly awaiting their admission into club. Younglife has been in New Tampa since 1988, and is an international organization that reaches teenagers for Christ. For those who just cannot get enough,

Younglife also offers smaller, weekly groups. “Club is a weekly gathering where we play goofy games, sing songs, have skits, embarrass ourselves and hear a short message. YL Club meets at the New Tampa Y

at 7:59 on Mondays during the school year,” Allen Guy, Younglife Leader, said. “Campaigners is a weekly small group for those who want to explore their faith a little deeper.” Younglife also has a variety of

campgrounds spread across the country such as North Carolina, Colorado and Arizona. These week long camps provide teens the opportunity to spend a week singing, dancing and laughing while deepening their faith.

“A big part of going to YL is going to camp. Every summer we go to some really cool camps for a week. We usually go to Sharptop Cove in Georgia or Frontier Ranch in Colorado,” Guy said. “Everyone who goes says it’s ‘the best week of my life’ and it’s true! At Christmas break we go to Windy Gap in the mountains of North Carolina. We ski one day and do usual camp activities the rest of the time.” Along with normal club, Younglife also hosts a variety of themed clubs such as Halloween Club, Tacky Prom and Mustache Club. During these clubs, teens are encouraged to dress up goofily and specially themed activities are planned to match the spirit of the club. “$10 Tacky Prom is my absolute favorite club,” Abby Doupnik, senior, said. “You try to find the tackiest, funniest costumes and wear them to club. You get to spend the whold club dancing around and goofing off, it’s so much fun. They even crown a Tacky Prom King and Queen at the end of the night.” Younglife provides many opportunities for teens to have a good time. Whether it is Monday night Club or a camp in Colorado, teens are sure to enjoy themselves and make many new friends along the way.

Sophomore Allie Boucher, senior Katherine Ilcken, junior Collin Brich, senior Will Ferguson and senior Heather Montgomery forget their worries during Younglife. Younglife clubs are held every Monday night at the YMCA. Photo by Emily Broaddus

15Predator May 29, 2012SPORTSDAVISON’S PLAYBOOK

Allie Davisonsports editor

High school sportshits ‘free agency’

“It’s a dog-eat-dog world out there.” We’ve all heard that phrase. We all know that to make it in this world we have to set our priorities, just that...our priorities. Bad or good, that’s how our society works and no one can point the blame without looking at himself first. Almost everyday we see a major sports headline that reads, “So and so from (fill in the blank team) has left (fill in the blank team) for x amount of dollars.” Professional athletes take their talents right to the bank and deservingly so, but how many zeros have to be at the end of a paycheck for them to sell their loyalty to another team. The “free agency” fiasco that will probably occur as a result of House Bill 1403 for high school student-athletes in Florida is a perfect example of what can happen when “me-me-me” attitudes transform into a vicious cycle. Instead of following along with NCAA guidelines of transfer eligibility, an athlete can now transfer between high schools without losing a year of playing time. I don’t see the problem with an athlete going to a school with a better sports program because it isn’t much different than an academically-driven student going into an IB or magnet program. I do, however, have a problem with high school athletes departing mid-school year to go play for a “powerhouse program.” A professional athlete leaving for a better paycheck is no different than a high school athlete leaving for a chance at a better scholarship. Both have a sense of underlying selfishness and those high school athletes who partake in transferring grow into the professional athletes scoping out the best deal. When did wanting to wear another school’s jersey mean more than being loyal to your teammates? What happened to the sense of pride in being a hometown hero? Sports teams are supposed to teach athletes about responsibility and working together as a family on and off the field. For the state to take away the “punishment” of sitting out a year after transferring schools, allows another gateway for greedy-power hungry egos to develop. I understand the advocates of this change looking out for the students, but you might as well call this bill survival of the fittest...or the most talented.

FHSAA rule leaves transfers eligible alliedavisonsports editor

Welcome to the wild, wild West. Fasten your holsters, Floridians. On April 27, Florida Gov. Rick Scott signed a highly controver-sial bill that restricts Florida High School Athletic Association’s power and control. Most notably their involvement in sidelining high school athletes who transfer schools within the same school year. House Bill 1403 was brought to life by Rep. Kelli Stargel, R-Lake-land, who witnessed FHSAA deny three local Lakeland football play-ers eligibility because of transfer-ring issues and made the Lakeland High football team forfeit the entire 2010 season due to players falsify-ing addresses. The bill will become effective for the 2012-2013 school year on July 1. “I understand the need to have rules on recruiting, but I found the FHSAA's definition of recruiting to be much broader than I believe it should be,” Stargel told the Or-lando Sentinel. A prior FHSAA ruling on a play-er’s ineligibility stated if a student transferred schools after the first 20 days, the student-athlete would have to sit out from any sports the remainder of the year. The rule is the same for collegiate athletes. Under the new amendments, student athletes who have been cleared by the School Board and who have been found innocent from any recruiting violations will be allowed to play the same year they transferred without interrup-tion. “The law is set in place so that moral people will abide by it. Just like any other law the reason laws are broken is because you have a bunch of immoral people,” varsity girls basketball head coach Chad

Reed said. The bulk of retribution for schools found guilty of breaking rules will lay with the coaches and authorita-tive figures, instead of the players in question. The excerpt below was taken directly from the bill: The FHSAA bylaws may not limit the competition of student athletes pro-spectively for rule violations of their school or its coaches or their adult rep-resentatives. The FHSAA bylaws may

not unfairly punish student athletes for eligibility or recruiting violations perpetrated by a teammate, coach, or administrator. “Bottom line if their moral judge-ment is not in the equation then the spirit of the law isn’t there because parents will just take advantage of it anyways and so will some coach-es,” Reed said. According to Roger Dearing, ex-ecutive director of FHSAA, only 74

athletes out of 263,000 participating at member schools were declared ineligible to play during the 2010-2011 season. “I think that it’s hypocritical be-cause whenever you register for a high school you sign a contract that you’re not going to be recruited for sports, senior tennis player Diana Valencia said. “This rule isn’t recruiting, but

“We have ‘Lax IQ,’ said junior goalie, Brant Wickersham. “We know each other’s tendencies, and we know what to do, when to do it and how to do it.” Wharton’s 2011-2012 lacrosse team is one of the finest the club has ever had. With an undefeated record of 17-0 and recently taking first in their state tournament game (10-7)against Plant, they continue to rise in ranks as well as in the eyes of their fans and opposing schools. “If you practice harder, you’ll win for sure. Working hard and keeping the ball moving sets up our goals,” said junior mid-fielder, Julian Baron-Clarke. Lacrosse is a quick game that always takes unsuspected turns. Players need to be confident in themselves and in their team and have to understand the phrase “never give up.” These are some of the aspects that Wharton’s lacrosse team portrays and these are the things that separate the good from the great. “I’m confident in everyone. The defense helps to clear the ball and helps keep our goals against down while our offense takes care of business down the field and scores,” said Wickersham. Chemistry of a team and the chemistry of its line changes play a major role in a game. Knowing how

joshaciernostaff writer

Lacrosse wins state title, number one ranking

Wharton’s varsity lacrosse celebrates a 10-7 comeback victory over Plant to win states. The team finished with an undefeated record of 17-0. Photo by Emily Broaddus

your teammates react in different offensive or defensive scenarios and knowing an individual’s tendencies can make your game move much quicker than a line that doesn’t have as much experience with each other. This is why Wharton is able to do what they do. They basically read each other’s minds and know what everyone is going to do so they can keep themselves and the ball moving at the quickest possible

pace. “We’re bonded and close. We understand each other and how we play,” said Wickersham. “Our starting line has played for four years and the team is all friends. It makes for a quicker gameplay.” The team’s hard work and chemistry paid off in the end, and it showed. However, it was not all about the players. A good team needs a good coaching staff that can push its players to their full

potential and help to correct their wrongs and motivate the team to win. This is exactly what Coach Dan Hughes and Coach Mike Wickersham bring to the table. “FDA. Fundamentals, Discipline and Attitude,” described B a r o n - C l a r k e , “We’re taught to stay disciplined, do what we need to do and to never retaliate. They teach us where we need to be in specific situations. We work on everything from agility, placement and speed, to accurate shots and placement.” Everything that Wharton’s lacrosse team has done in the previous season and in practice is what

led them to their first place victory and number one rank in the state of Florida. From their less successful seasons to their recent comeback victories and to finally their championship win, the team has strived to work harder with the help from each other and their coaches. “We were losing 3-1 in the first. After that we were inspired by Coach McCal,” said senior Jimmy Mason.

Boys varsity basketball head coach Tommy Tonelli and junior Troy Holston look on dur-ing a district rivalry game against Durant. Holston transferred from Freedom to Wharton at the beginning of the 2011-2012 school year before the previous 20-day ruling by the FHSAA. With House Bill 1403 being passed, an athlete may now transfer mid-year and will not lose a year of eligibility. Photo by Scott Sollazzo

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16 PredatorGAME DAYMay 29, 2012

GAME DAY: Varsity baseball,underdogs no more

staff writernickrogers

Underdog. It was what the Wharton baseball was used to hearing. Never once had they won a district title. Never once did they find themselves lifting a trophy. This year was no different. With “not enough talent” in the eyes of the media, the Wildcats were once again expected to have a short season. Nobody expected the best season in Wharton baseball history. To the astonishment of many, the Wildcats boasted a 21-9 record and captured the first district title in school history on April 26 against Durant (1-0). They were led by senior pitchers Collin Woody and Shaun Rubin along with junior shortstop Tucker Neuhaus. Rubin controlled the rubber with a 1.68 ERA. Woody contributed on the mound and in the batter’s box with a 1.86 ERA and batted a team high .341 along with hitting four home runs. Neuhaus essentially did it all. He batted .329 and led the team in home runs with six. He was the heart of the team making countless spectacular plays in the field and even coming up clutch when he was called upon to pitch. “I just wanted to help the team anyway I could,” Neuhaus said. “It doesn’t matter what I did as long as we got the win.” Winning is exactly what the Wildcats did. They played in the toughest district in the state and what many considered the toughest district in the nation. To capture the district title and

host the first round of the playoffs, they battled the Durant Cougars who had the home field advantage and came out with a 12-inning 1-0 win. “It was definitely tough,” Woody

said. “It was loud, hectic, and you knew any play could end up being the play that decided the outcome so we were playing on pins and needles.” After securing the victory, the

road did not get any easier. The Wildcats then had to play yet another 12-inning game, this time for survival in the FHSAA playoffs. Wharton won (1-0) on a walk-off single from Brett Kaminski against

Sarasota Riverview It was only fitting that the next game was once again won on a “walk-off” hit, this time from catcher Reed Gray in a 1-0 victory over the now all too familiar Durant Cougars. “We usually didn’t have too many fans other than parents at our games. It was nice to see more and more students and people in the community come out to support us,” Rubin said. For the first time in school history, Wharton headed to the Regional finals to face Timber Creek from Orlando. The Blue Crew loaded up a bus with 47 students to travel to Orlando to cheer on their team. All though the Wildcats had their roar and had a good offensive output, they were not able to defeat the Timber Creek Wolves as they lost 5-3 in a high intensity game. Essentially the Cats beat themselves with errors and missed opportunities. “I mean it’s a tough one to swallow, but we have no reason to hang our heads,” Rubin said. Wharton achieved more than any other baseball team in school history and set the standard for teams all over Hillsborough County in the coming years. It doesn’t matter who the newspaper predicts to win the district, it doesn’t matter what team has the best prospect. What matters is heart. Heart is what carried David over Goliath. Heart definitely carried the Wildcats to the Regional finals. Some look at the underdogs as weak, but for this team it became amunition. To prove that they deserved to win. Boy, did they ever.

Senior ace Shaun Rubin throws out a pitch during a 1-0 victory over the Durant Cougars on April 24 in the 8A-7 District Championship game. Rubin pitched seven innings, strik-ing out four and allowing only five hits. Photo by Alex Montgomery

you can do whatever you want. You can play for your high school and switch in the middle.” Another change stemming from the bill is in regards to FHSAA membership. Until the new legis-lation, current state statutes called for all public schools to be paying-due members to FHSAA. With House Bill 1403, any public, pri-vate, charter and virtual school or home school corporation have their own discretion to opt for member-ship. Technically with the amendment, FHSAA may not deny competition between member and non-member schools. Before 2009, if a player trans-ferred after the school year and both principals signed a waiver the student-athlete could participate. However, FHSAA ignitiated a policy in 2009-2010 that would make the transfer sit out for a year. Although this bill brings forth many changes at the state level, many feel a consequence of the bill will be a change in the integrity amongst high school athletes. “I don’t understand what hap-pened to school pride and wanting to play for your school and having your school’s name up there in the state championships and wanting that tradition to continue. It just all seems to go away and it’s all a ‘me-

me-me’ attitude and you know I don’t like that,” Blue Crew sponsor Cindy Rogers said. Even athletes are starting to real-ize how this new bill could impact teammates transfering to a new school before the season begins. “I think it’s unfair because it’s taking away from our team because they are transferring to new school and they are helping out other teams when they could be helping us win championships,” lacrosee player Julian Baron-Clarke said. In a prepared statement in re-sponse to the approval of House Bill 1403 Dearing said, “Governor Scott made a thoughtful decision in signing House Bill 1403, and the Florida High School Athletic As-sociation will do all we can to help implement this new law for the benefit of student-athletes across our state.” He pointed that since this bills in-troduction, the FHSAA has learned the “reality and the perception of what we do and how we do it.” “We will always be vigilant in our continuing efforts to provide the best possible high school ath-letic experience for boys and girls throughout our state,” Dearing said, “because we are not just training better athletes, we are developing better citizens.”

FHSAA rule leavestransfers eligible continued from page 15

Father’s Day

JUNE 2012Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

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1st periodexam

2 n d & 3 r d period exam

7th & 4th period exam

8th & 6th period exam

5thperiod exam last

day of school

SAT Prep Class (9 AM - 1 PM)

WHS Basketball Camp (12 PM - 5 PM)

L O C K E R CLEANOUT

SAT Prep Class*see Mr. Maloney for application

(9 AM - 1 PM)

Busch Gardens

S u m m e r Nights

MOSIMummies of

the World Exhibit 9a.m.

Straz Center for Performing

ArtsThe Queen

Extravaganza 7:30 p.m.

GRADUATION Fairgrounds

8pm