October 4, 2010

INSIDE

17410 Commerce Park Blvd. Tampa FL 33647Vol. 9, Issue 1

RevolutionNewspaper.com

11

revolutionfreedom high school

14

Honking horns. Bumper to bumper traffic. Students, parents, and teachers alike have grown accustomed to these things as they drive along Bruce B. Downs Boulevard

Bruce B. Downs is a major road, and many New Tampa residents use it as a part of their daily route to get to work or school.

In January, crews began construction to widen the road from four lanes to eight. The project was first brought about from a study conducted by the Florida Department of Transportation.

“They look at the traffic, and they look at what the needs are twenty

years out,” Section Manager Thomas

Fass said.

“They looked at what those needs were and they came to the determination that Bruce B. Downs, within Hillsborough County, needed to be eight lanes, and in Pasco County it needed to be six lanes.”

Fass works for Hillsborough County on capital improvement projects.

The widening isn’t the only addition to the road. Turn lanes will be added at intersections and new traffic signals will be installed.

Technologies Engineer Scott Passmore says that the new signals will be connected via computer, and that the city will be able to adjust them to changing traffic.

“That’ll be a great new feature,” Passmore said.

A sidewalk will also be added to the west side of the road, and an asphalt path will be added to the east side of the road. New medians and bus bays will be

constructed as well.The project has a price tag of

approximately 42 million dollars.“We got a better price than what we

had anticipated,” Fass said. “It was almost half of what we were estimating.”

The original estimate was 70 million dollars.

The completion date for the project is scheduled for August of 2012, but, according to Passmore, the major work on the roads is scheduled to be done by April of that year, and the roads should be open then. There is also a penalty fee if the project is not completed on schedule.

Fass says that the project will benefit New Tampa

residents because it will help move people up and down the roads faster.

“When you look at what that means, it’s not just travel time,” Fass said. “It has to do with pollution.”

Fass says the less traffic there is on the road, the less time cars spend idling. And less idling time means less emissions and fuel usage.

Fass also says the project is helping because of the jobs it brings to the area.

“It’s really acting like a stimulus

Breana Paulinestaff writer

Emily Ballstaff writer

Students have boasted of school spirit for generations; however this year’s students

have created a new wave of pride that is promised to become more than a bandwagon

but a revolution. So, we’re being led by the red. New student-inspired activities such as

tailgating, sponsored by the Senior Class Club, and body painting, exemplified by the “Led by the Red” crew have helped attract students to support their school.

Assistant Principal Elijah Thomas believes that these new activities have done a great job increasing school spirit.

“I see more kids at games, they get the crowd into it, and there is more spirit overall,” Thomas said.

Principal Christopher Farkas agrees.“I love it. I think it is a positive thing and has

a positive effect on each high school student’s experience,” Farkas said

The Senior Class Club has transformed tailgating, a long standing college tradition,

into a new high school tradition this year with tailgating parties at every home

game. “Our goal is to give back to the school,

foster school spirit, and help people feel connected to Freedom,” senior class sponsor, Greg Lewandowski said.

Before each home game this season patriot fans can enjoy a variety of activities including body painting, corn hole, ladder ball, Frisbee, and music from DJ Officer Matos. Also, the first one hundred people can enjoy free hot dogs, chips, and soda.

The self-proclaimed “Led by the Red” crews have utilized these opportunities to show off their patriot pride. The group, mainly composed of seniors, is not an official club, but rather a pack of students who show off their school spirit by slathering themselves in full body paint for all home football games, and even some of the volleyball games, such as when they played rival Wharton.

Student support also increases the performance level of the players.

“It makes us play better,” varsity volleyball middle hitter and blocker, Lindsay Taggart said. “When they cheer your name, it gets you pumped and makes

you want to do better.”Varsity quarterback Dominic Marino

agrees.“The noise increases our adrenaline, it’s

awesome,” Marino said.However, school spirit is not limited to

seniors and athletes. “I saw a good mix [of students] at the

first tailgate,” said Lewandowski. “People [who tailgated] came that might not have gone to the football game otherwise.”

Junior Crystal Reina says that when her group was deciding what to do on a Friday night they thought it would be fun to go to the game.

Reina says that tailgating adds more variety to what you can do at football games.

“The tailgate was like a little party before the game that gets you pumped up, “said Reina. “I met new people and had a lot of fun.”

Both Thomas’ and Farkas’ favorite part of the tailgates is watching all of the students having fun and getting excited about Freedom football.

“It’s still on each student to come to the events; you can’t make someone have school spirit,” Farkas said. “I think we are in a much better place than we were four years ago.”

Bruce B. DownerBeneath the dust clouds, construction will improve infrastructure

F.Crowe/revolution

See Bruce. B Downs Construction/page 2

Student pride reaches new heights

K.Luker/revolution

Cross country teams utilize new system for success

Students switch roles from actors to directors

news October 4, 20102

Contest fuels creativity

Class size amendment in full effectStudents, teachers feel squeeze of new legislation

Creative writing is an emerging elective that may have its own school wide event in the near future. There are already a number of competitions in the school; however, none of these are related to language arts. This is about to change, the Creative writing 3 class, led by creative writing teacher Deborah Grimm, is holding a competition open to all students.

“It would be good to get more people interested in creative writing,” senior Hope Leone said.

There will be categories of all skill levels, so even those who would normally not be interested in writing can enter. The competition will determine the best piece of creative writing, poetry or prose, possibly on a theme, determined by student judges. The winners will be published, how exactly hasn’t been determined yet.

“The hope is to get the winners [to be] seen,” Grimm said.

The competition has not been finalized yet, so the date has not been released.

>>Branden Martin

from page 1/Bruce B. Downs construction

Fundraisers help students

Every year the familiar scene of students lugging around boxes of candy or bags of lollipops returns to Freedom. Fundraising is a major part of any school club or group that requires funding outside of what the school offers. This year students can expect to see many students raising money for clubs and other school related groups.

Mu Alpha Theta has begun selling assorted Candy bars and chocolates to raise funds for their traveling team. Every year, Mu Alpha Theta travels to multiple locations, including Palm Harbor, Vera Beach, Fort Myers and Gainesville for competitions

Armed Forces c lub is planning on selling spirit beads. The money will go towards funding out of school visits to the patients at the VA hospital.

Orchestra and Band can be found by the pick up / drop off ramp after school selling Ice cream for both group’s MPA at the end of the year.

Senior Melody Baughman frequently staffs the Ice cream sale.

“It’s something cheap that will produce large amounts of cash.”

>>Alex Anthony

For eight years the state of Florida has been trying to reduce the number of students per every one teacher. This year the Class Size Reduction Amendment has hit the classroom level, with big impact. No core class is allowed more than 25 students, causing rampant confusion and frustration for kids and faculty alike. “I have to tell students no, this class is full,” said Owens, Assistant Principal for curriculum. And although Owens disagrees with the amendment, closing classes at 25 and making sure they do not overload is now part of her job. “I think the amendment hurts students,” said Owens.

She may be right, since classes are closing to students, forcing many to take classes online. Whether or not online classes are as effective in teaching is another story, when students are more likely to be unfocused in front of a computer.

According to the Florida Department of Education, enrollment in Florida Virtual School is one way of allowing schools to remain in compliance with the law. However, putting online class and live instruction on the same level may not be wise if student achievement is the concern. “I was mad because I hate online classes,” said junior, Sara Blaylock, who is taking American History Honors online after getting an ultimatum from her counselor.

These new changes are unfamiliar territory for Colon, a counselor who has never seen a core class close until the amendment. She says students see counselors as “the bad guy” when they don’t like the schedules they receive. Aside from individual pupils, the amendment is also about individual classes. The push to cap classrooms at 25 for all core courses has led to debate on both sides of the fence.

While many believe the law will improve teacher efficiency, those opposed question the accuracy of that assumption. To some, class size doesn’t have to be restrictive. Senior, Jerry Funt says large classes are a benefit where students “can learn from each other.” The classes he helps are over 40 strong because extracurricular courses are unaffected by the new law. From that point of view any class could become a better learning space with more students. “No matter how many students are in a class, one’s not going to do as well,” said another senior helping in drama, Benjamin Funt.

To him and many others class size is irrelevant. Owens has a s imilar perspective: as long as a teacher is “engaging” and “interesting” there is no real reason why they could not be effective with 40 students in a period. More recently, on September 23, the amendment caused a relatively large scheduling switch, affecting roughly 200 students. A shift in expected enrollment led to opening and closing several classes including math, science, English and English

as a Second or Other Language.“We tried to pick students who would

be minimally impacted,” said Owens about reducing the consequences for students.

“It’s not a big deal,” said senior, Serenée Cusmano who swapped Earth Space Science teachers; although she has a mixture of anger and annoyance. Her perspective reflects the aim of the administration: to be the least disruptive possible.

The amendment is affecting every level of education as it tries to help better student achievement. And although the Florida legislature has spent over $18.5 billion to implement the law, it is already on the November 2010 ballot for a makeover, according to the Florida Department of Education website. All eyes are focused on the end of the 2010-2011 school year to learn the success of the Class Size Reduction Amendment.

In the end, the real question will be “was it effective?” And for the answer Colon says, “We will have to reevaluate at the end of the year to see.”

Fatima Kamarastaff writer

J. Brown/revolutionSource: http://www.fldoe.org/classsize/

timeline

You definitely

have to work

to maneuver through the traffic.Daniel Giles, 12

project,” Fass said.The project has also caused some

congestion and an increase in traffic in the area.

“ I t ’s p r e t t y f r u s t r a t i n g sometimes,” senior Daniel Giles said. “You definitely have to work to maneuver through the traffic.”

Fass says that a drive that normally takes him f ive minutes can take him twenty-five minutes on the road.

New Tampa resident Debbie Pearson travels on Bruce B. Downs every day. She also says that it takes her longer to get places with the construction.

“I have to really plan on what time I have

to go, and to plan the time that it’s going to take me to get there,” Pearson said.

Junior Britney Ankeny had other worries, as well.

“Some people, they can’t drive, so you get into car accidents,” she said. She says she doesn’t feel safe driving on the road now.

Fass says there have been many concerns, but overall the reaction has been a positive one.

“I think the citizens understand that this is a major road project,” Fass said.

He says that people are generally pleased with the work, despite the inconvenience.

“The project was ten years in the making, so I think a lot of people are

just really happy to see the bulldozers out there, that the work is going on,” Passmore said. “The positive feedback will really come

when the project is complete.”Giles says that the traffic on the road

wasn’t great before the project, and that although it’s taking too long, it will be worth the wait.

“I feel that ultimately, it will really help our neighborhood,” Pearson said.

Pearson says that the new road will increase travel, bringing more people into the area to shop and use businesses.

While they wait for the project to be completed, there are many things students can do to make sure they stay safe on the road and still get places on time. Officer Jerry Matos recommends leaving early for school, wearing seat-belts, following the speed limit, and avoiding cell phone use.

“They tend to do the opposite of that,” Matos said of these habits, and he says that’s where most problems arise.

Students are looking forward to the completion date, when these problems will be resolved. Ankeny had a few words she would say to the project workers if she could.

“Hurry up, and make the roads safer,” Ankeny said. “Because we want to drive.”

revolution news 3

New attendance system easy to use, not necessarily convenientErin Winick

sports editor

The attendance system this year has had a technological makeover. The school is cracking down on skipping, and requiring that attendance being taken and recorded online at the beginning of every period.

Math teacher Karen Derflinger is sup-portive of the new program.

“I think that [the system] is awesome,” Derflinger said. “If the students are skipping I want to catch them.”

Assistant Principal Joseph Costanzo is in charge of monitoring the new program, and checking which teachers have taken attendance.

“It is much easier for teachers,” Costanzo said. “Teachers log in to their user name, and click on a button for periods one through seven. They mark students absent or pres-ent and submit it. If a student is absent in one period or all seven periods, they come up on our system.”

The old system of paper attendance is almost completely gone.

“The only ones that take attendance on paper are substitutes,” Costanzo said. “Then they send it down to the office.

Costanzo said that so far this year, a number of students have been caught stu-dents skipping.

“The system caught students, but we wouldn’t need the system to catch some of these kids,” Costanzo said.

Sophomore Faith Gonclaves says she does not like the new system.

“It is harder to skip,” Gonclaves said. “I skipped last year, but not this year because of the system.”

On the other hand, Senior Jordan Nelson does like the new program.

“It keeps people in line and from being tardy,” Nelson said. “It makes kids check in and keeps people in school.”

Freedom is not the only school that has adopted this system this year.

Costanzo said that five or six other schools are using the same program and two or three other schools are using a similar program.

Despite the success, Derflinger does see one problem with taking attendance online.

“The only complaint I have is that we are supposed to take attendance in the first five minutes of class,” Derflinger said. “I want to take it when it is convenient. It is slow at the beginning of class because everyone is taking it at once. They should let us take attendance any time during the period.”

Costanzo recognizes that there have

been problems.“Like any new program, there are glitch-

es, like when computers crash” Costanzo said.

Junior Kierra Smith has seen some of the problems of the program in her class-rooms.

“Some of my teachers take attendance at the beginning of the period right when we walk in, and others do it at the last minute,” Smith said. “Most just do it whenever the system is up.”

Derflinger has experienced what hap-pens if she forgets to take attendance.

“If I don’t take attendance, Mr. Costanzo harasses me and we have to have a fight, but I love Mr. Costanzo,” Derflinger said.

For the system to work properly it is necessary for the teachers to take attendance every period.

“If they don’t take attendance in the first ten minutes of class, we look up the teach-ers that haven’t taken attendance and give them a call, and let them know we need their attendance,” Costanzo said. “If the teacher doesn’t take attendance, all the students show up as skipping, so that’s kind of the downside. Teachers have been doing a great job taking attendance when we ask them to and we haven’t had any issues.”

New technology prevents students from skipping

J. Brown/revolution

The new attendance system al-lows administrators to catch skip-pers more easily. Teachers used to send down attendance on paper.

Do you come to class more because of the new attendance system? Send us a let-ter to room 723 telling

us about it!

digital media editorJessica Brown

staff writersAlex AnthonyEmily BallBrandi ChmielewskiCristina CordovaJacob DummeldingerJonathan HarrisFatima KamaraBranden MartinTara McNealBreana PaulineMelody RubinSamantha SetoMedha Sinha

revolution

news editorMatt Simpson

opinion editorLeah Wasserman

features editorPaola Rivera

centerspread editorRachel Drummond

entertainmnent editorGabriella Carli

sports editorErin Winick

adviserSean Marcus

Revolution is published by the newspaper staff at Freedom High School, 17410 Commerce Park Blvd., Tampa, FL 33647.

Advertising rates are available upon request by calling 813-558-1185 ext. 255. Advertising for illegal products, that opposes any religion or is of a sensitive nature will not be accepted.

Revolution has been established as an open forum for student expression as outlined in the Student Press Law Center’s model guidelines for student publications. The opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the faculty and adminis-tration of Freedom High School, but rather of the author or the newspaper staff and its editors.

Revolution welcomes letters to the editor on topics of interest to Freedom High School and its community. We also welcome contributions from authors not associated with the newspaper staff. All freelance material must be submitted to room 723 and bear the author’s name.

Revolution is a member of the Columbia Scholastic Press As-sociation, Florida Scholastic Press Association, National Scholastic Press Association, Southern Interscholastic Press Association and Quill and Scroll.

editors-in-chiefSam Brown Katie Luker

opinion October 4, 20104Fresh Perspectives

Should teachers interact with students on Facebook?

If a student and teacher are going to have an inappropriate relationship they don’t need Facebook to do it. Such relationships have occurred through the Internet but they can also happen on the phone or in person.

Stalking and sexual harassment have happened because of Facebook but that is not the inevitable outcome of having connections with a teacher on such a site. Specific circumstances cause people to fear the forum as a whole when negative outcomes are not common.

Friending a teacher on a social networking site does not mean you want to sleep with them. Students have thousands of friends and do not even talk to many of them. Many students don’t even know half their friends. Becoming friends with your teacher should be preferred over accepting Joe Smith’s request when he has no profile picture and you have 0 friends in common.

It is merely another way to keep in contact with people when you are not with them. Talking to your teacher on Facebook about school is no worse than staying after class for a little extra help. It’s not for liking students’ profile pictures or commenting on a teacher’s status.

When Mark Zuckerburg created Facebook in 2004, within the confines of his dormitory at Havard University, he created it to be a “campus only service, focusing on “peer to peer” file sharing. Notice “peer to peer” filing sharing. Although it began to be used as more of a social device, still it remained as a student to student networking tool, not as instructor to student.

As Zuckerburg began creating more features to his website, it took on a completely new purpose. Instead of simply file sharing, Facebook grew to be a place where anyone could find everyone, including teachers to students and students to teachers. This can potentially cause issues when it comes to teacher- student relationships.

Some teachers use Facebook to keep in touch with friends, family, and colleagues. Students, however, should not be included in this networking. Over the past several years, incidences of teacher- student relationships transitioned from simply pure instruction based to ones of intimacy, often resulting in legal charges and the loss of jobs for teachers fully convicted of have “inappropriate relations” with a student. Should online relationships be included in what is deemed

PRO

CON

Facebook has potential as a new learning forum

Student to teacher contact crosses a line

Social networking websites are simply an advancement in technology and they should be utilized just like Smartboards and Elmos. Teachers who have created Facebook pages corresponding to their classes have enabled themselves to remain in contact with their students at all hours throughout the day. Denying teachers the right to communicate with their classes through the Internet is equivalent to taking away their ability to use computer generated presentations. They’re simply taking advantage of the opportunity to talk to their students for more than 50 minutes a day.

The possibilities of fresh technology can be intimidating but schools need to embrace technological developments just as the rest of society does. Teachers have made their own Web sites and chat rooms which serve the same purpose but doing so through Facebook is frowned upon. Communicating via Facebook is no more evil than doing so through cell phone or e-mail. Students’ grades would likely improve if they were able to communicate with their teacher outside the classroom. As long as online forums are used only for schoolwork they would be extremely beneficial towards the classroom experience.

as “inappropriate” or should they be considered as simply a method of contact for subjects relating to the teacher in question’s course work? The line between appropriate and and inappropriate is one that is thin and easily crossed, and a sure fire way to prevent this transition is to simply have no such relationship outside the classroom. Some may argue that technological relationships between teachers and students could set a rise in learning and over all comfort of students in the classroom. This argument has potential to be correct, within the uses of programs such as Edline, but in reference to social networking sites, including Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter, this argument is false; teachers, under no circumstance, should “add” students to their personal accounts because this could be seen as a breach in appropriate teacher-student relations because of full access to pictures and personal information.

If a teacher were to “comment” on a student’s page, it could be either taken as harassment by the student in question, or the student’s parent, and legal action may follow. In short, if a relationship amid a student and teacher does occur, it shouldn’t exceed a professional level. And if this relationship does transcend the student in question’s high school years, then by all means, “add” the teacher, because technically, he or she isn’t the pupil’s teacher any longer.

Ryan Dance, 10

Yes, everyone uses Facebook so stu-dents would see everthing their

teachers put there.

Richie Bisaccia, 10

No, teachers can learn too much about students’ personal lives.

It could be usedfor sexual

harrassment.

Yes, it gives students an oppurtunity to form a stronger relationship with their teachers.

Daniela Isturiz, 11

Bryan Grubbs, 11

Leah Wasserman

Jessica Brown

What do you think? Tell us in a letter to the editor. Submit

yours to room 723.

Daniella Smithfreshman

Marisa Carmodyassistant principal

HOMECOMING

TAILGATE

ZOMBIE SURVIVAL CLUB

BRUCE B DOWNS

WHARTON

QA&

Katelyn Rippergerjunior

Azizi Rodneysenior

Austin Atkinsonsophomore

Dancing

Crazy

Rivalry

Painting

Weird

Music

Traffic

Bad

Pie

Lame

Dress

Car

Music

Movies

Football

Prom

Bad

Football

Stupid

Crash

Fall

Washed Up

Congested

Innovative

Totally Necessary

On September 11, 2001 Islamic Jihad terrorists flew two planes into the Twin Towers in New York City, and crashed a third into the Pentagon.

Nine years later, the pain of this terrorist attack is still an open wound for the American population.

Those who lost loved ones on September 11 suffered an immense amount of pain that is incomprehensible for the rest of the American population.

Today, a certain fear of the unknown still exists around the Islamic faith for some people.

Yet protesting against an Islamic Community Center being set up two and a half blocks away from Ground Zero is absurd.

To begin with, let us get our facts straight.

One. This is not specifically a mosque. Only about ten percent of the entire layout will be devoted to an Islamic prayer room. This much of the run down building is already devoted to an Islamic prayer room that Muslims have been utilizing for about a year now.

Two. No huge Islamic superpower or extremist is creating the community center. Sharif-El Gamal, the main real estate developer involved in the project, is the son of a Polish Catholic mother and Egyptian father who married a Christian girl, basing his idea on the Jewsih community center, which he attends.

Three. The spiritual leader of the center, Feisal Abdul Rauf is not a threat to the American population. Rauf was utilized by the Bush administration to travel to the Muslim world and explain American virtues. Can people not distinguish between the average Islam practicing man and an extremist?

That was who the terrorists were: extremists.

This convoluted idea of an insulting mega-mosque is pure imagination at its best, showing a nation unwilling to accept another faith, and shaming it with intolerance.

18 years laterKatie Luker

No grounds for complaints

revolution opinion 5

I present a riddle: what runs on television every two years and occupies every second of screen time? My first guess would be the Olympics, and that would be correct (plus they’re pretty darn great), but what I’m really referring to is elections. Ah yes, the time of year when we all put on our metaphorical wading boots and trudge through the river of mud slung across the aisle.

It’s not that I don’t like the candidates. It’s not that I think the slogans and the words taken out of context from local publications are a bad thing. I believe that they have a right to express their platform to an audience larger than one that can fill a city park, but I would much rather be focused on the weather, or traffic to school, or maybe some other commercials. What happened to Publix?

What vexes me even more is how they compile these commercials. Do narrators work on commercials for opposing parties? Are candidates promoting what they truly want to achieve? Who gets all the stock footage of dark clouds and stormy seas? To these important questions, I have no answer.

The election season is a time for change, but like lovebug season, it has some of the following characteristics. Both come when you least expect it, both prove to be a real annoyance, and both represent a period of time when you must keep your car clean, lest the guts of lovebugs and politicians alike degrade the paint on your car following a collision on Bearss Avenue.

Another problem not addressed by the masses is the feelings of the candidates. How does one respond to such invective statements? These ads start a circle of sludge, a veritable Cold War taking place between TV segments. America should take a stand against these charged statements, as they damage the reputaions of politicians while hiding the true message of their campaigns.

All I’m asking for is a breather to watch the weather.

Your argument is invalid

Sam BrownGet off my screen!

Health Corps Representative Mary Katherine Rains brought attention to the fact that Freedom still had its fryers at her school health index last year. This assisted in the district’s choice to take out the fryers and install the new ovens. Students need to take advantage of the other healthy options in the cafeteria like wraps and rice and bean dishes, instead of immediately gravitating toward the chicken strips and French fries.

Rains is also currently campaigning to get a fresh foods line in the cafeteria to motivate students to make healthy choices in place of these fried foods. The foods in the line will include make-your-own fresh salad, and wraps. This new line will make it even easier for students to substitute nutritious choices for oil soaked foods. The district has made the right choice for the students at Freedom.

The school is setting an example for students of the right way to eat instead of encouraging their unhealthy habits, which may carry over into their eating habits at home. Removing the fryers a stepping stone toward more healthy options to come.

Farewell to the FryersGone are the days of Papa John’s pizza, fried chicken,

and greasy curly fries that many students have eaten for years. Welcome to the new healthy age of Freedom. Students have healthier alternatives in the cafeteria now that all the fryers have been removed. Freedom has finally caught up to the rest of the district’s schools.

Last year, Freedom was one of only two schools that still had fryers in their kitchens. So far there have been mixed reviews from the students, but the healthier foods will make a big difference in the overall health of the student body.

Although it takes adjusting, it will now make it easier for students to make a positive impact in their lives. All foods that were previously fried are now much healthier since they are baked in new ovens that were installed this summer. This takes a little more preparation time for the cafeteria staff and is time well spent.

T h e h e a l t h v a l u e o f t h e f o o d t h a t students are eat ing is greatly improved. The removal of the ovens can in part be attributed to the new effort to improve the overall health of Freedom’s students.

Staff Editorial

features October 4, 20106

Back to the past, from a better future

Facing the war at home

In Spring of 2004, Evan Baschnagel and Casey Ahern graduated from Freedom High School along with fellow members of the high school’s first graduating class. Six years later, they are both full grown, professional men.

In high school, Evan Baschnagel was involved in math club, bowling club, drama, and wrestling. When he grew up, he simply wanted to be an adultn high school he was employed by Bush Gardens.

“It definitely motivated me to do something bigger,” said Baschnagel of his first job.

This was where he met his current wife. “We worked together at Busch Gardens and we started dating in 200 Baschnagel said.

Baschnagel now has one kid with his wife and they are expecting again. After high school he started at the University of South Florida. That didn’t last long. His plans changed after less than a year.

“A buddy of mine wanted to be a police officer and there were no openings at police academy so we both went to the Marine Corps recruiting office and signed up together and went to boot camp,” said Baschnagel

He was not involved in ROTC in high school or college but he has made a successful career from the Marine Corps.

“Right now I work in Washington DC. We conduct investigations and apprehensions of fugitives and conduct transports of fugitives in Marine Corps and Navy,” he said.

Baschnagel is a sergeant in the Corps and is the chief investigator of the Marine Corp absentee election unit.

While in high school, Casey Ahern was involved in a little bit of everything.

“I was a part of Student Government, played football, I was in a play, and I was on a couple of student advisory boards. I was a pretty mediocre student overall in high school,” Ahern said.

When he was a student at Freedom, Ahern wanted to be an attorney. He graduated and enrolled in the University of South Florida with a major in economics. In 2007, Ahern started as an intern with Raymond James Financial. Since then he’s been promoted 7 times. By his senior year he was making $50,000. Now he is a Vice President.

“I oversee four states, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana, and make over two million a year in

business,” Ahern said. He is the second youngest Vice President in his firm’s

history. “I travel almost every week and I meet with our big

clients. I take people out to dinner lunch give presentations to large groups of people,” said Ahern.

“I have a corporate expense account which pays for everything I do, I stay at the Ritz Carlton and resorts almost every week and I get paid a percentage off of two million dollars in sales,” he said.

Looking back at high school Ahern does have one regret. “I didn’t focus on math at all and was just a mediocre

student. When I got to college I realized how important math was,”Ahern said. “Math skills are very important in life and I ignored them early on.”

He was the first one into work and the last one out. “Little things add up and are important; it’s all the little

things,” Ahern said. Ahern those small details matter more than what some

people think matters most. “Where you go to college doesn’t make or break you. I

make a lot more money than guys who went to Harvard,” Ahem said. “Opportunity comes when you’re not looking for it but you’ve got to be ready for it.”

(Left)Baschanagel carries his son while posing for a Marine Corps picture. He joined the Marine Corps a year after he left USF. (Right)Ahern has become a prominent business man since his graduation at USF. He has had seven promotions since beginning with Raymond James Financial in 2007.

Leah Wassermanopinion editor

Memories pass by; flashes of light in an endless stream of consciousness. Many experiences stand out for Generation Z: the sixteenth birthday party, the first cell phone, the election of the first African-American president, and September 11th, 2001. For many, the end of Operation Iraqi Freedom was not as exciting as the event that sparked it some nine years ago, but for others it may the first time seeing a brother, father, or mother.

One student who has experienced this first hand is junior Trisha Carman, whose brother left to serve for four years in the Marines in Iraq when she was 12 years old.

“My whole family just broke down, because it’s scary, and I was young when he first went, so I really didn’t understand,” Carman said.

The central theme of loss is experienced

by many students such as Senior Heather Daniels whose brother, now 32, left for war when she was three years old.

“Losing my big brother, who was my hero, was hard. I cried on end,” Daniels said.

Both students experienced how war can affect a family as a whole.

“It was hard, especially watching my mom struggle with it, and I think the worst part is saying goodbye, ‘cause you never know if it’s the last time you’ll see them,” Carman said.

Daniels’ parents faced similar struggles.

“My dad was very supportive, but my mom didn’t like it at all,” Daniels said.

While the actions taken by the United States Military are officially over in Iraq, 50,000 troops still reside within the country’s borders, and another 32,000 are currently serving in the neighboring state of Afghanistan. Thus the families of the approximately 80,000 troops serving in the Middle East are missing an integral

part of their home.Despite having served overseas,

many have volunteered to return to conflicted areas, either as soldiers or civilians. Such an example is the father of junior Nicole Simpson, who served in the military for 28 years and has since retired.

For Simpson, the biggest challenge while her father was away was lack of communication.

“I took it hard, and my mom tried to take it easier. Kids take it harder,

when you’re little,” Simpson said.

Sam Browneditor-in-chief

J. Brown/revolution

Students stuggle with family members overseasFor students, their individual

experiences with having family serving overseas, have contributed to the formation a more personal perspective. Simpson believes the war should have ended and Daniels agrees. “I believe it’s ridiculous. People are dying for nothing.”

Life does not end at graduation, looking back at former students

Curtesy of C. AhernCurtesy of E.Baschnagel

The door slowly opened, and as the sound of little footsteps echoed the room, anticipation filled the bones of Andrea Rinard and her husband. This is the moment they’ve been waiting for, the time where they add two more bundles of joy into their life, the time where they share their love with complete strangers. Reilli Vladislav and Delaney Maria.

“When I first saw them it was like an ‘oh crap’ moment,” English teacher Andrea Rinard said, “What am I getting myself into, and realizing that these are going to be my kids, things just got real at that moment.” Adoption was not Rinard’s first option though. After her first pregnancy it became complicated for her to have any more children. Rinard’s biological son was four years old when the other two children were adopted.

“I couldn’t have any more kids after Pierson,” Rinard said “but if I could have I would of never considered adoption, I believe God wanted me to have these kids and I would never go back and change anything.” The Vidnoye orphanage is where it all happened, the orphanage located in a small city in Moscow was really nothing special, Rinard says. It carried around two hundred and fifty kids ranging in ages from newborns to age three. Russian policy is that once the

child exceeds the age range they would be moved to a new orphanage ranging in ages from four to seven.

“Reilli was two when we adopted him, so if we had waited one more year to adopt we may have never met him,” Rinard said. Through the entire process of adoption Rinard realized adopting was going to be harder than she and her husband had thought.

“Delaney had a severe ear infection, and if it wasn’t for us taking her to a doctor when we got back to Florida she would have been deaf in that ear. And Reilli has a learning disability, so if he was still in Russia who knows how educated he would have been,” Rinard said. The first week back from Russia was also a struggle for the new family.

“I don’t remember much, but I do remember it[life] not feeling real, Delaney was easy because she was just like any other baby,” Rinard said, “With Reilli it was difficult to find a way to communicate and connect with him, due to the fact that he spoke broken Russian and no English.” Language was a major barrier between Reilli and the Rinards.

“He learned to speak Russian in the orphanage, so it was almost like Russian slang.” Rinard said, “My husband and I attempted to speak Russian to him but we only learned to say things like goodnight and I love you.” After all the time and effort Rinard invested into this long, exhausting process she still

Cristina Cordovastaff writer

revolution features 7

Courtesy of A. Rinard

feels it was a selfish decision on her part to adopt them.

“I took two children out of their culture just because I wanted kids,” Rinard said, “No one asked them and got their approval they just had to go with it.” Despite her thoughts of her decision being a greedy one Rinard regrets nothing.

“No matter where they’re from, Reilli and Delaney are my kids and I love them just as much as any biological child,” Rinard said, “It’s the same with my husband. I’m not blood related to him, but I love him and consider him my family.”

from RussiawithLove(Above) Reilli Vladislav and his sister Delaney Maria enjoying a day at the beach. (Left) the Rinard family has had the opportunity to share many spe-cial moments with their three children since the adoption of Reilli and Delaney.

in-depth

In an average year, 3.4 million Americans over the age of 18 are stalked, and one in four victims

reported some sort of cyberstalking such as email (83 percent) or instant

messaging(35 percent)- Bureau of Justice Statistics

8 October 4, 2010

iLook, iTrack, iStalk Tracking devices leave privacy out of equation

Applicants’ personal lives can play role in profesional lives

Gabriella Carlientertainment editor

Each photo uploaded to Facebook is viewable by-users until you set it to private; who should view your

photos? Only your friends.

To disable the ‘Places’ application go to Privacy Set-tings, click the customize/customize settings. By choos-ing ‘Places I check in’ choose whether to enable/ dis-able and then choose who can view your places.

Be cautious of who you add, by adding people you don’t know you increase your chances of being stalked.

Be careful of the information you make public, for example; location, phone numbers. It’s impossible to know where information like that can end up on the internet.

Unless your profile is set to private any of your infor-mation can be searched for on Google.

Read all Terms of Service before creating any new social networking accounts, by agreeing you turn over all rights to the content you post to your site.

Technology has surged in the 21st century to mean more than a split second reaction rate on

the web, but to allow for constant communication with the world.

Social networking sites and phone ap-plications create a connection between

a life on the go and the World Wide Web. The problem however, too much informa-

tion posted on the Web can lead to too many people having too much information.

“ I d e c i d e d t o s t a r t ‘ c h e c k -i n g - i n ’ t o t r y s o m e t h i n g n e w a n d

to check it out,” senior Trey Lawson said. Checking-in is a new game where every restau-

rant, mall, friend’s house, church, supermarket, and night club becomes a location on a virtual map. Cell

phones are a tool that enable the world to know where individuals are at any given time or location.

“Basically, it is through the Facebook application on my iPhone. When you click on the homepage, it shows

you various options like News Feed, Profile, and the one I use is called Places. You type in where you are and it locates

you,” Lawson said.Although it seems as if “check-in” has replaced “status up-

date” or “Tweet” as the new Internet vocabulary, the ultimate goal of these geocentric sites is not to pinpoint exact locations but to share experiences of that place. Popular applications for smart phones also give options to write reviews reflecting the place tagged. The craze for location devices on cell phones comes with security concerns as well.

“I don’t think anybody should be able to see where oth-ers are unless you work for the government or CIA,” senior Diandra Latibeaudiere said.

Web sites such as ICanStalkU.com show how one can be tracked down by the simplicity of a single status update that has location data attached to it from their cellphones.

“I’m not worried about people I don’t know seeing my in-formation because I only use it through Facebook, and only my friends can see my information on Facebook. If you aren’t my friend then my page is completely blocked,” Lawson said.

Latibeaudiere points out that it’s not only Internet stalkers that can see where you are going but parents as well.

“I was out with my friends going to the mall and we took a different route. My mom called me up and asked ‘what was up’ and I was like, ‘I’m driving around’, and she says ‘I know, you are on Fletcher [Av-enue], why are you there?’ I was shocked, like my mom stalked me,” Latibeaudiere said.

Social networking sites have revolutionized the Internet in the last decade. Launched in March of 2009, Foursquare has generated 2.5 million users. Although still small compared to other social networking site giants, such as Facebook and Twit-ter, the craze to let everyone know one’s whereabouts has not gone under the radar. Social networking heavyweight Facebook, which has about 500 million users, rolled out their “Places” feature where a user can attach their location to a status update. Twitter, a little over 200 million users, allows people to include a place as a part of their tweet.

“Most of my friends “like” the updates I post with places I am at, so I will probably continue to check-in every once in a while.” Lawson said.

Already saying where you are, with whom you are going, and what time one will be back can be nerve wrecking for child and parent, alike. With an advancement in technology parents have the advantage to trace their child’s location, which can diminish a sense of trust in that relationship.

“GPS trackers are invasive of your space and it takes away your freedom. It’s not that I lie to my mother, but it [GPS track-ers] makes me feel like there is no trust,” said Latibeaudiere.

There is a certain level of paranoia that one feels by know-ing that anybody-parents, friends, and complete strangers, can see where you are. Latibeaudiere agrees that the dangers of tracking devices completely overshadow the positive as-pects.

“GPS trackers [on cell phones] are dangerous. Although I can see why they would be helpful, I don’t think a regular person should be able to have that kind of technology,” Lati-beaudiere said.

There have been hundreds of cases where adults and teenagers alike have experienced stalking through the inter-net. Even incidents like the Virginia Tech Massacre have been linked back to the shooter, Seung-Hui Cho using the Internet as a tool to stalk classmates.

“It just creeps me out. There’s too much information on the Internet for stalkers and stuff,” Junior Mahmoud Ali said. On devices like the iPhone, a task as easy as taking a picture automatically has the location and time embedded into that photo.

Any hacker familiar with this technology could easily trace a photo posted on the internet back to the exact location.

“It’s unsafe. People can get a lot of information about you just by Googling you. There’s a lot of information from differ-ent sources,” Senior Jenna Baggio said.

Baggio says that taking steps to make your profiles private is important, the risks are far too large to let all of your infor-mation be available.

“I think there should be more security on Facebook,” Junior Julian Naif said.

Naif says that some of the information posted on social networking sites that has been linked to stalking incidents is crazy it shocks him that people post certain things on sites.

“People can follow you around and you don’t even realize it. People are weird and creepy,” Baggio said.

The availability of tracking devices and posts that can tag your location has increased individual’s chances of being stalked. By enabling those applications it’s important to take steps in keeping it secure, making profiles private can protect any users from falling into a trap.

“It makes me skeptical about placing things online, I don’t want anyone stalking me,” Latibeaudiere said.

She agrees that any form of tracking puts the person being tracked in a bad position. Whether it’s her mom who uses that application to her advantage or a stranger uses it as a tool to stalk the disadvantage of tracking devices greatly outweighs the advantage.

“No one needs to know where I’m going.”

The

key

to

Privacy

J.Brown/revolution

revolutionin-depth 9

In an average year, 3.4 million Americans over the age of 18 are stalked, and one in four victims

reported some sort of cyberstalking such as email (83 percent) or instant

messaging(35 percent)- Bureau of Justice Statistics

iLook, iTrack, iStalk Tracking devices leave privacy out of equation

Applicants’ personal lives can play role in profesional lives Jacob Dummeldinger

staff writerAs college admissions and job positions get more com-

petitive, their application process has become increasingly in-depth. Though intelligence, attitude and work ethic take precedence in the hiring and admissions process, information displayed on personal Web pages may now play a role in an applicant’s future.

Although most colleges do not use Facebook or other social networking sites as a means of admissions, a study conducted by Kaplan reports that 10% of college admis-sions officers use these sites to limit or even boost their applicant’s chance to being admitted to that college.

“We [Rollins Admissions] don’t have the time to check our applicant’s social networking sites,” Daphne Rasp, Assistant Director of Admission at Rollins College said. However, Rasp says that it is possible that a professor or Rollins administrator could happem upon a student’s Facebook profile.

Rollins College has a student population of 2,715, while colleges such as University of South Florida and University of Florida have populations exceeding 40,000. If Rollins has difficulty keeping up with its applicants, the sheer numbers of UF and USF make the Facebook an impossible stepping stone in their admissions process, as they both reported.

Any information online, where everything is available to the general population, has the potential to be used in an application process.

“A lot of people will talk about schools looking at email addresses having a negative effect on an applica-tion,” Paul J. Crawford, Admissions Advisor/Recruiter at USF said.

Crawford says this is possible in private schools but has a slim chance of occurrence in larger public institu-tions, where Crawford says the addresses are only looked at for the humor of the admissions officers.

Employers also have the ability to take advantage of Facebook’s public nature to find out more about their cur-rent employees or applicants.

“We don’t use it as a routine hiring screening tool. If I were considering a candidate and information comes forward that would prompt us to review their social net-working site, we would then review it,” Jan Duke, Chief Recourse Officer at Firm Solutions, LLC said.

Duke says that Firm Solutions has a strict social net-working policy that all employees are expected to follow. The policy states that employees cannot make comments as a representative of the company.

“They cannot post photos of our company or photos taken at a company event without prior permission from the organization. If the social networking site is used to defame or slander the company, disciplinary action will be taken,” Duke said.

Though Duke doesn’t use Facebook as an initial tool for hiring, John Seybold, Assistant Special Agent in Charge at the Secret Service in Tampa, does. Seybold says that his policy on applicants is that they pull up their Facebook account in front of them during an interview, rendering applicants unable to hide anything that Seybold might find inappropriate.

Some people believe that Facebook should be a site reserved for personal use only.

“Employers should not use Facebook as a hiring tool because they’re getting too involved in personal lives and that has nothing to do with performance or work ethic,” Senior Kevin Miller said.

Miller says that it’s an invasion of his privacy. In a professional aspect, Duke says that Facebook is only used if necessary but on a personal level it serves beneficial. There are cases where what the applicant does in their free time is relevant.

“I was hiring a nanny and had my assistant check the profiles of the candidates,” Duke says.

The information displayed throughout the candidate’s profile was relevant to Duke because the position as a nanny would include a lot of personal interaction.

“I didn’t choose one of the candidates based on their profile status/quote and the profile picture,” Duke said.

Junior Benecia Holder doesn’t find that employers’ use of Facebook in the hiring process is ethically wrong, but she remains cautious.

“I limit what I put on Facebook because I know that when I apply for a job, employers look at that. Also I have my grandma as a friend and she gets on my Facebook.” Holder said.

Holder is concerned with how she will be perceived by family members and future employers or schools. Many students fail to weigh the consequences of some of the material that is posted on social networking sites.

“I feel as though if my grades are good enough and I do good enough on the SAT they’d be fools not to accept me,” Senior Jerry Funt said.

Funt says that he rarely censors anything that he posts to his profiles. Funt thinks that grades and transcripts should overshadow what an applicant posts to Facebook.

“It’s up to a student if they want to provide us with that information,” Christina Deakins, Associate Director of Events and Campus Visits for St. Leo University said.

Deakins says though St. Leo does not actively check Facebook profile, rather administration may stumble upon a student’s incriminating photos or information, for which there is a policy.

“If they are under the age of 21 and they are a student here, then we are required to report it [incriminating photos].”

J.Brown/revolution

From theater, competitions, and a fare share of “dance divas,” dance takes many faces. Early in their lives, two Freedom High School students ventured into com-petitive dancing. The decision made in their elementary school years has since blos-somed into the love and passion for an under-appreciated art form.

Senior Emily Hol-lowell has been danc-ing for nine years.

“I actually started in gymnastics but my parents thought I would have a higher risk of getting in-jured, so I [switched] to dancing,” Hollow-ell said, “I was the kid who was always wanting to move.”

Sophomore Al-lison Giles, having a knack for both music and dancing danced for different reasons.

“To supplement theater and I enjoy it-it’s fun,” Giles said.

To prepare for competitions and per-formances both Hollowell and Giles live by rigorous schedules. Hollowell feels dancing teaches her how to keep up with her schedule better.

“I think the best thing about dancing is you really learn to manage your time. I’ve learned how to not let it interfere with my classwork,” Hollowell said.

Hollowell and Giles both dance in com-panies and as soloists. During competition season they both take the initiative to put in the extra hours.

Giles spends hours at her studio.“I’m just there a lot,” Giles said. Cur-

rently, she’s doing extra work with her contemporary ensemble,“We’re getting ready for Youth America Grand Prix, it’s one of the biggest competitions particularly in this area.”

Giles pursues high placement.“It’s kinda scary. There’s a a lot to

think about on stage,” Giles said.Hollowell agrees that she

gets her dose of apprehension once on the stage.

“Normally, when I first arrive at a compe-tition I’m not nervous but when they call

my name and number the anxiety of the stage sets in I try to improve my personal score and not worry about my placement,” Hollowell said.

Both girls get the most out of judges’ critiques.

“The judges give you constructive criti-cism they have incredible backgrounds you can really rely on,” Hollowell said.

Summer-t ime al lows H o l l o we l l ’s focus to shift towards danc-ing.This sum-mer she spent five weeks at Alonso King Lines Ballet School in San Francisco.

“ I t ’s o n e of the biggest contemporary ballet compa-nies which I love because it’s the fusion of the two styles.

It was five weeks of transporting myself into their company,” Hollowell said.

Her summer trip provided what she says is one of her favorite dancing mo-ments.

“Performing this summer at the end of the five week inten-sive was a very special moment for me. It reminded me why I love dance so much and how much fun I have on stage,” Hol-lowell said.

Both girls feel that their teachers serve as a huge vessel of inspiration to their dancing.

“ M y teach-e r ,

Daring to DanceStudents pursue ballet outside of the studio

Paula Nunez...inspired me by encourag-ing me to...get into ballet and the art of it,” Giles said.

Hollowell agrees.“My current ballet teacher, Mr. Nikolai

came from Russia and had to start his ca-reer here. He was a professional dancer. He had to find work. His story’s really inspirational.”Hollowell said.

Both girls agree that the support from their family and friends complete their love of dancing.

“My parents are supportive and they’re glad that I’m dedicated to something,” Giles said.

Hollowell seems to find support from many people around her.

“Everyone...supports me 100 percent. My parents are always in the audience, my friends always ask how I did and...watch me dance sometimes,” Hollowell said.

Hollowell’s parents are also helping her as she takes on additional responsibility to rehearsals, competitions, and school: col-lege auditions.

“My mom and I just made a calendar. We plan audition dates around competi-tions,” Hollowell said.

Giles is planning to veer off the danc-ing road, taking her career possibilities elsewhere into musical theater. Strict dance training has aided to her already consistent success, “It’s given me opportunities to be a

featured dancer in shows,” Giles said. Besides theater, Giles’ heart belongs

to contemporary.“Getting more involved in our

contemporary ensemble,” Giles said, was one of her favorite dancing mo-ments. Compared to ballet Giles feels

that with, “Contemporary you have a bit more freedom with...choice of mu-sic....and you can invent new moves,” Giles said.

Hollowell has taken a particular liking to ballet.

“I think you could make it so beautiful but still have freedom

to make it your own....It’s based on technique but still...

is...artistic,” Hollowell said, “Ballet is the main form

of dance that all other styles draw from.

Some people think ballet is...boring

but I really enjoy it.”

Melody Rubinstaff writer

Courtesy of E.Hollowell

I think the best thing about

dancing is you really learn to manage your

time. Emily Hollowell, 12

The other day I came upon an old friend on Facebook. Long story short our friendship had ended in tears and dreadful goodbyes on his part after a terrible roller coaster friendship that we carried on for about a year.

I still remember to this day how I turned my back on his sobs. I remember we never truly had been honest with each other about many problems that had arisen. Although I felt terrible for leaving him stranded and crying for what I had said, I never really felt guilty for the action I had chosen to take, so I put off the idea of apologizing.

Relationships in high school change because students never go back and realize their mistakes. The day I stumbled upon his Facebook profile I never considered adding him much less saying sorry. But as I slowly placed my cursor over the “Add as Friend” button I felt a rush of excitement. I thought of what being his “Facebook friend” meant and if having that title would make me his real friend again.

I added him but I expected him to be-come just another phantom friend on my list, one that hides in the background and “Facebook stalks” you on homecoming. But one Friday, with nothing else to do, I was browsing my home page and Facebook suggested I write on his profile.

I thought about it for a while, writing and re-writing what I would tell him. As the time drifted away I manned up and finally pressed the send button.

The message he sent back to me helped me see my mistakes and see how much a person can truly change throughout their high school career. He confessed how I had changed his life and made him see that he had to change his ways of being a follower and become a leader. It may sound cheesy, I believed him. I believed that I had made a difference. It was the first time that I had actually touched someones life and I real-ized how I had lost a great friend because of a misunderstanding.

I became more aware of what I spoke about to my friends and from that point on and I even took the chance to go back and apologize to other friends I had also hurt. I wrote to people that I had purged out of my life and I actually revived dead friendship from years prior.

Facebook became an aid to save friend-ships that I had lost so long ago. It gave me the opportunity to say something I would have otherwise not faced in person. Al-though you lose the human contact and it becomes less personal, it gets the job done. It helped me fix broken friendships.

Paola RiveraGetting to Greatness

Rethinking the Past

features October 4, 201010

revolution entertainment 11

Drama students take the leadRachel Drummond

centerspread editor

Student directed plays give new edge to drama department

High school productions have been an asset to the environment of high school for years on end. They beckon the attendance of the freshmen to the seniors, hoping that their hardest critics, their peers, will find amusement and enjoyment out of what they have put together.

This year as an addition to their annual production, the drama program will be per-forming in student produced plays.

These student produced plays will allow high level drama students to write and pro-duce their own play while casting the other members of the drama program.

“In previous years we’ve done student directed shows, but we didn’t have the op-portunity to do it last year,” senior Jenna Thorne said.

Thorne says that the drama department wants to put out good quality shows that will give all drama students the opportu-nity to act.

“Since I am president [for drama club] I thought we needed to bring it back to put lower level drama students in shows,” Thorne said.

Student produced plays allow the drama department to expand their ‘drama experi-ence’ to fit in more than just one aspect; act-ing. The production process will serve as a tool to broaden their knowledge of putting together a play.

“I’m really glad about producing my play because it’s a great way to grain experience in theater rather than just be-ing involved with acting,” junior Michael Hogan said.

Thorne and Hogan agree that student produced plays serve as only an advantage to the department this year.

“[It’s] definitely a great way to get new drama students involved and connected in theater so they can gain experience for their first shows,” Hogan said. “They’re getting involved in a drama community.”

Thorne says that the student produced plays are not just a benefit for new drama students but more so for the entire depart-ment.

“Our advantage is giving new drama students opportunity to be in their first show, and advanced students to get a directors point of view rather than just an actors,” Thorne said.

The production will be held October 14th at seven p.m. in the school’s auditorium. Thorne says that the accumulation of plays is based mostly on comedy, with one dramatic piece that is in a high school setting. She hopes that the study body will be able to relate to this specific play especially.

Hogan and Thorne are especially ex-cited for the shows they are producing themselves. Hogan and Shelby Kelly’s show ‘Dinner with the McGuffins’ along with Thorne’s and Chelsea Davis’ show ‘Check Please’ are both comedic pieces that have been promised to produce a laugh.

“My show starts out as a typical family comedy, but ‘Takes more left turns than Bugs Bunny should have taken at Albuquerque’,” Hogan says.

Hogan and Thorne are excited about the four shows that will be produced and are hoping for success.

“I’m more of a comedic person so I chose [‘Check Please’]. It’s about speed dating and

every possible personality type and thing that could go wrong, goes wrong,” Thorne said. “There’s a guy table and girl table [where they] explore through different dates. There’s a lady with multiple personalities, an older woman, a gay man… But I don’t want to say too much, come to the play and find out more!”

The students acting in the plays display are excited about making these plays their own as well.

“I’m really excited just because when you’re doing a student produced play it makes it all of your ideas are combined as one, when you do the plays that are chosen you can’t make it completely your own,” junior Christina Capobianco said.

Capobianco says that being able to dis-play her own personality makes it more fun

than traditional plays.“I’m very excited. I’m crazy enough indi-

vidual as it is, that I’ll make a fool of myself on stage, sure,” Capobianco said.

The drama team has been working avidly to create an exceptional show, and encourage the study body to join them on the day of their debut. Hogan says that being involved in drama since freshman year has given him the desire to see their endeavors succeed; though he says the process is stressful they always want a positive outcome.

Thorne and Capobianco agree that they have put together successful productions in the past, and they expect these shows to follow that precedent.

“I think it will be a success,” Capobianco said. “It always is.”

CJerry Funt and Callie Haskins practice being actor and director. The drama deparment showcases their four-in-one play on October 14 at Freedom.

photo courtesy of Zach Mullen

read

Three Cups of Tea is a Kiriyama prizewinner and a New York Times Bestseller. In an inspiring and adventurous story, the author develops a creative retelling of a unique experience. It incorporates a significant point in history, reveals the culture of the Pakistani society, and explains how a

mountain climber was able to develop a balanced education system by implementing new schools in Pakistani villages.

The novel tells a story about an exhausted survivor named Greg Mortenson who attempted to ascend the K2 Mountain, also known as “the Savage Peak,” and could not reach his goal. The climber couldn’t reach the summit due to an unexpected rescue and the lack of persistence in his motivation to make it to the top.

In his experience, he struggles through nights with no trace of daylight along with average temperature ranges dropping below zero. Mortenson is convinced that he will die of exposure from the conditions. Instead, he is rescued by the Pakistani people who are accustomed to the Balti language, culture, and food in native lifestyle villages. To reciprocate the Pakistani people for rescuing him, he promises them that he will return to the village one day to establish a school.

In the end, he manages to accomplish a successful outcome with 55 schools in the terrain. He convinces Americans to care about the children in Korphe across the world.

In his mission to build schools in villages, he encounters difficulty on the way. There is a major difference in the culture. He doesn’t quite understand the villager’s concept of time nor beliefs and customs. In the society, the children are taught that the Islam is the only principle to follow and they began to believe that the American culture is not right. After New York is in chaos after 9/11, Americans begin to think that all the Muslims were terrorists.

The Americans start to think that Mortenson is on the Muslim’s side because he is associated with improving their educational system. The Americans don’t understand the extents of the Muslim religion, and continue to discriminate. Eventually, the United States government prevents Mortenson from creating more schools in Pakistan.

In the end, Mortenson is recognized as a hero even though he didn’t intentionally plan on making a drastic difference. He made a great impact on the poor villages in Pakistan by introducing the foundation of education to a different society and culture. By establishing education in these villages, he committed to benefiting the people of that region and trying to learn more about their way of life.watch

Easy A

entertainment October 4, 201012

>>Breana Pauline

listen

Kaleidoscope Heart

>>Melody Rubin

eat

Cole’s BBQ

>>Alex Anthony

Everyone’s a critic...

The Revolution staff looks over recent releases

Three Cups of Tea

>>Samantha Seto

Easy A is, in many ways, the perfect teen movie. It takes the formula Mean Girls made famous and perfects it, resulting in a movie that is funny, sweet, surprising, and an all-around joy to watch. The movie follows Olive Penderghast, a student who is a wallflower at her high school. That is, until the rumor mill starts churning. Suddenly, Olive is the talk of the town, and nobody knows that none of the rumors are true. At first, Olive accepts it, even plays along. But when things get out of hand, she must find a way to restore her former flawless reputation.

Easy A doesn’t disappoint. For one, it’s not the same teen movie that’s been made a thousand times before. It’s something new, a different take on an old genre. The characters are also excellent, and the wit and humor in their dialogue really makes the movie. It was well-cast and all of the actors and actresses did a great job in their roles. And while it doesn’t represent high school very realistically, it’s easy to forgive that among so many other things to love. All in all, this movie is a must-see for teenagers. There’s no shortage of movies aimed at the high school audience, but Easy A is definitely one of the best.

Released September 7, 2010, Sara Bareilles’ sophomore album, Kaleidoscope Heart encompasses impeccable song

writing, creative lyrics, obvious musicianship, and exactly what her fans have been expecting of her.

The 13-track album begins with Bareilles’ and band members voices in a cappella harmony on the song for which the album is named, “Kaleidoscope Heart.” This song, though different from the rest of the album, sets up the premise of the musical journey the listener is taken on.

Selections like “Uncharted,” “Gonna Get Over You,” “King of Anything,” “Say You’re Sorry,” “Not Alone,” and “Machine Gun” resemble her most famous chart-topper, “Love Song,” and align with mainstream music.

Bareilles’ more mellow and artistic side is heard through the selections, “Hold My Heart,” “The Light,” “Let the Rain,” “Breathe Again,” “Basket Case” as well as the quiet end to the album, the most remarkable selection both lyrically and musically, “Bluebird.”

Bareilles’ has given us all what we know she is musically capable of without a disappointment. Kaleidoscope Heart is well worth the listed $9.99 iTunes price.

Cole’s BBQ, located at 17024 Palm Pointe Drive, Tampa is a new take on the BBQ experience. The restaurant comes off at first as not a barbeque joint at all. The design and atmosphere is warm, the walls are painted a dark, bold red and adorned with USF Bull’s and Ray’s banners. The interior is dark, adding to the relaxed mood but contrasting with the large glass windows and door that allow light to pour into the room. The furniture is simple, a counter and five tables spaced throughout the open room and on each table there are three barbeque sauce bottles, Sweet, Mild and Spicy. My lunch, a pulled pork sandwich with fries arrived two minutes to the second after I ordered it, pork steaming, fries crispy and golden. The pulled pork was a bit dry, not so much throat parching dry, but dry enough to need a good helping of sauce. The fries came with a light, yet appropriate seasoning of salt and pepper. They were crispy on the outside whilst contrastingly soft on the inside. The meal was filling and tasty. I wouldn’t go so far as delicious, but there was some definite good flavor. The entire meal, sandwich, fries and drink cost $9.35. All in all, I found Cole’s BBQ to be a comfortable, laid back restaurant, more so a quick, in and out joint, rather than a sit down dinner place. Next time you’re looking for BBQ in a relaxing atmosphere think of Cole’s.

revolution sports 13

Going into this year’s season, the football team could be described as one unit, a family, made up of not individual players and coaches but of one cohesive entity.

Head football coach Tchecoy Blount feels that this trust and unity amongst his players will ultimately lead them to a successful season.

“I love each and every one of my players, truly and dearly. I tell them while they are here that I’m their dad and that I really do care about them on the field and off the field,” Blount said. “[I’ve] been through two head coaches, and several assistant coaches, so I’m going to bring loyalty and stability to the table.”

Even during pre-season, Blount and the other football staff members were encouraging the team to be together. Over the summer they held barbecues, a car wash, a John Madden video game football tournament, and went to Tampa Bay Storm game together.

“This year we’re just staying together, we’re eating to-gether, we’re doing everything and promoting the players to be together on and off the field,” Blount said. “They’re actually excited about just playing and being together.”

This team unity has forced the players to meet new expectations not only set by the coaching staff but also by their fellow teammates.

“It’s hard to look your brother in the eyes and tell them that you’re not going to come, now that it’s your brother, now it’s your friend, and you’re out there sweating and working hard,” Blount said. “Versus a kid that doesn’t know

J. Brown/revolution

Coach hopes to bring consistencyKatie Luker

editor-in-chiefanyone on the team, it’s easy for that kid to give up, so now since we are brothers, it’s the players that are encouraging the kids to continue to play.”

Although Blount says the main difference between head coach and assistant coach is the heavy load of pa-perwork, his players recognize his strong commitment and passion for the team. Captain Josh Tanner who has known Blount for his entire high school career recognizes Blount’s compassion.

“He really cares about the players not just the team. He cares about your personal interests,” Captain Josh Tanner said. “I think it’s just the type of person he is.”

Younger brother, linebacker and wide receiver, Isaac Tanner also agrees.

“He’s a great coach, he’s actually one of the only coaches in the whole Hillsborough County that actually cares about his players,” I. Tanner said. “That’s the difference between him and a lot of coaches. A lot of coaches don’t care, but he actually cares about how you feel and what you need. A lot of people are strug-gling with a lot of stuff and he wants to

be there for them as much as possible.”Blount was promoted from inside the program. After

working for four years as an assistant defensive coach, he was awarded the role of head coach.

“[Coach Blount] told me that this is the only job he wanted, that this is where he wants to be, his goal is to be here forever,” Athletic Department head Elijah Thomas said. “We’ve had five different coaches in Freedom’s short ten years of high school and his goal is to be the permanent, to be our last coach, and I think he has a good shot at it.”

Leah Wassermanopinion editor

Volleyball team draws on many areas for success

Coach Tchecoy Blount watches the varsity football team play King. Blount has made sure the boys have had time to bond so they can be successful on the field.

He really cares about the players, not just the team.Josh Tanner, 12

Varsity volleyball player Katie Janiga tipping a volleyball at practice. New players and student support have taken the team to a new level.

New coach uses team bonding to encourage success

E.Winick/revolution

The volleyball team has stepped it up this year. They’ve gone from an average record and average fans to a 7-2 record so far and a great deal of students coming out, painted up for home games cheering the girls on.

“We want to hang a banner in the gym,” Coach Kerry Short said.

Short has of aspirations to win a district title.

“We beat Gaither, the past district champs and Sickles, last year’s district run-ner-up. We’re currently first place in the district,” Short said.

New additions to the team have had a great impact on the team success this year.

This year’s Varsity team includes two freshmen for the first time, Kelly Schaller and Ashley Wilson.

“They had prior experience by playing on a team that went to the Junior Olympics so they fit in with the Varsity,” Short said.

This experince has allowed the helped Schaller.

“I’m used to playing with older girls,” freshman setter Kelly Schaller said. “As the season kept going we all got closer.”

The rest of the team was returning start-ers from last year so it was a surprise for underclassmen to be starting on the team.

“I didn’t think they’d put freshmen on Varsity. The older girls gave the impres-sion there were no freshmen on Varsity,” Schaller said.

A residential summer camp at the Uni-versity of Tampa gave the team an experi-ence to get closer.

“It gave the girls a chance to play to-gether. It gives them an edge prior to the actual season starting,” Short said.

The team has been getting along well this year.

“Team chemistry has really improved. We all get along and really click, the team is like a family,” senior captain middle hitter LindsayTaggart said.

Taggart is another relatively new key player.

“I was in Coach Short’s volleyball class sophomore year and she kind of recruited me,” Taggart said.

Short thinks Taggart is a great addition to the team.

“She’s a natural athlete,” Short said. “She’s a real presence at the net. She has great blocking and hitting skills.”

Players and coach alike recognize the difference in fan turnout this year.

“I think it’s really intimidating when the guys come painted up. I’d be scared if I was on the other team,” Schaller said.

Short is grateful for the new attention.“We need to thank the students for be-

ing supportive and coming out to games,” Short said.

Short encourages students to be on the lookout for the pink volleyball t-shirts on home game days.

“We’re going for a district title and we’ll need our fans even more.”

The team’s chances of reaching districts are high with a 7-2 record

sports October 4, 201014

This year’s cross country team has decided to make a change to their team setup. Cross country boys and girls no longer are practicing together.

In the past, cross country has been one of the only sports that have not been divided up by gender.

Now senior runner Emma Hawley says the boys and the girls hardly even know each other when they see them at meets.

“It does allow the girls to get to know each other better and push each other instead of having the boys distract us,” Hawley said. “I don’t know any of the guys, so when we go to meets its like we don’t know each other.”

Boys cross country coach Greg Lewandowski sees positives in the separation of the genders

“The good thing about it is that I get to focus on fifteen kids, instead of one person focus focusing on, say, twenty-five or thirty kids,” Lewandowski said. “The boys aren’t distracted by the girls, and I feel they can concentrate a little bit better that way.”

Despite the separation, both the boys and girls have been working hard and doing well.

“We have short days where we do track work and pacing,” Lewandowski said. “We have medium days where we do tempo runs, and run at different speeds for different amounts of time. Then we have long distance days where we run upwards of ten or twelve miles in a day.”

The separation also allows the boys and girls to do

Erin Winicksports editor

different workouts that fit them. Lewandowski adjusts the intensity of the workouts for his group of boys.

“If I did have the boys and the girls together, I would be harder on the boys than the girls,” Lewandowski said.

Hawley also believes that the separation affects the team’s workouts.

“I know that our girls coach, if we are injured, he will go easy on us,” Hawley said. “We will take an easy day, but I don’t think the guys do that.”

This training has made an impact on the team’s success. At the Central Hillsborough Invitational meet on September 16, the girls finished first overall, and the boys finished second overall.

Girls cross country Coach Dwight Smith saw great potential for the team after the Central Hillsborough Invitational meet.

“After running this meet, I think it will boost their confidence,” Smith said. “We should definitely get out of districts. If we continue to work hard, we have just a little outside chance of making it into states.”

Smith, who is also the girl’s track coach, hopes that the cross country training will transfer into success in other spring sports.

“A lot of the girls that are running right now are my distance runners from track, so hopefully it will carry over into the track season,” Smith said.

Lewandowski accredits the boy’s success to their hard work.

“My philosophy is more miles more intense workouts and in turn we will do way better than last year.”

E.Winick/revolution

Cross country runner Brent Grace racing at Central Hillsbourough Invitational meet. The boys cross country team placed second overall.

The golf team had a very good season last year, but this year there are new changes that will help the team to victory. They finished last season with only two losses.

“The future of the team is bright because we have some young players,” said pro golfer Dawn Coe-Jones.

This year the golf teams are getting a professional outlook on their golf games. Pro golfer Dawn Coe-Jones is assisting them at practices to improve their games.

“Our goal is to see improvement from top to bottom and be ready for districts in a month,” Coe-Jones said.

Dawn Coe-Jones was a Canadian professional golfer who played on the LPGA Tour. She played from 1983 to 2008 with 4 amateur wins, 3 LGPA tour wins, and others.

“Helping players is an individual thing. You must identify their weaknesses

Medha Sinhastaff writer

Professional LPGA athlete assists golf team

Cross country separation leads to success

Don’t Forget to Mention this ad!

Golf team gets expert advice from pro-golfer Dawn Coe-Jones

Boys and girls cross country teams separate for practice

J.Brown/revolution

and then build upon them. Starting with fundamentals and then going into the finer points of the game,” Coe-Jones said. “These finer parts of the game are where I hope to challenge the players to want to improve and see that they do.”

The team is taking advantage of the opportunity to have someone with a career in golf help them. It‘s a new approach to this year’s season.

“I asked Coach Passarelli if he would like some help with the golf team for a couple of reasons. I have watched them practice at their [Tampa Palms Golf and Country Club] for a number of years and always wanted to offer some assistance,” Coe-Jones said.

For players to improve, monitoring their performance in games provides them tips to improve for upcoming matches.

“I attend all the practices and matches when I am in town. Practicing is one thing but I think it is important to see the players in action to assess what needs to be worked on plus give praise on all the good things they are doing,” Coe-Jones said.

The players are a big factor that

determines the outcome of the team.“The strengths and weaknesses of

the teams are the same,” Coe-Jones said. “Both teams are fairly young, which makes them eager and hence they just need more experience. The biggest challenges for them will be confidence. They need to improve on their consistency and the confidence should then follow.”

The teams practice weekly and spend a lot of time preparing for upcoming matches.

“We are hoping all of this preparation pays off when we play against Wharton. They are our biggest competitor,” Passarelli said.

The team is working hard to improve their performance for the remaining portion of the season.

“This season is a work in progress and I firmly believe we can achieve our goal. Helping the players maintain their focus and drive to succeed could be the biggest challenge,” Coe-Jones said. “I look forward to a lot of great golf and a lot of fun by both teams.”

revolution sports 15

Too much pain in the game

Like the idea that winning isn’t a guar-antee in any sport, neither is coming out without an injury. The sprained ankles, bro-ken arms/legs, or fractured bones are com-mon for student athletes. The commitment by the athletes has managed to keep them strong even through injuries that should have affected their game.

According to UsNews.com overuse inju-ries, which occur through repetitive motion that eventually damages the body, used to be the most uncommon sports injuries but have increasingly become more common. The causes of overuse injuries are athletes who have been involved in a sport for consecutive years, they become reliant on the strength of certain muscles which can ultimately harm them.

“Sophomore year I was tumbling and sprained my ankle for the first time and didn’t let it heal fully,” Varsity Cheerleader Lindsay Sernka said.

Sernka says that because she was in-jured she often has trouble maintaining the strength in her ankle.

“I bought an ankle brace from Sports Au-thority and started wearing it to all practices. The two times last year that I didn’t wear it, I sprained my ankle again,” Sernka said.

Like Sernka, Junior Michael Brittingham III has had a reoccurring injury. His most re-cent occurred at the September 16th football game vs. Sickles.

“Last season I tore my ACL and menis-cus and had to have surgery,” Brittingham

said. “Some guy hit me on my side, my knee popped and went to the side. I re-tore my ACL.”

Brittingham says that for now he is allowed to continue playing but he’s fear-ful that he may have to have surgery again.

“The last time it happened, it was Thanksgiving break. I went to Florida Orthopedic and he put me in a boot for five weeks. I was at a competition and didn’t start back up until the summer,” Sernka said.

Athletes become familiar with their injuries when they repeat them multiple times.

“When you tear your ACL, which is what you use to cut around, it’s the shock absorber [meniscus] where all the shock from your leg is kept to keep from pain,” he said.

In order to prevent from fur-ther injuries when his ACL is torn, he wears a brace, like Sernka, to inusure that all precautions are taken to maintain strength when hurt.

Varsity baseball player Jay Carroll had surgery his sophomore year due to a torn la-brum, which is a cartilage in the shoulder.

“No one knows how it happened, may-be from throwing too much, overuse of arm at youth baseball level,” Carroll said.

After Sernka’s most recent injury, which

occurred last year over Thanksgiving break, she had to wear a boot for five weeks. Similarly Carroll wore a sling for a month after surgery. Both agree that because of their injuries they saw a slight decline in performance at that time, but built up their strength to perform at the same level as before.

“For a season I have to keep my arm strength up and it takes me longer to warm up than ev-eryone else,” Carroll said.

The precautions athletes take to prevent injuries are extremely important to their performance.

“When I’m tumbling, [I have to] be careful. If I land straight it adds too much weight, so I bend my leg to ease pressure on my ankle,” Sernka said.

Though it is impossible for sports injuries to be entirely preventable, the school offers insurance to allow for parent and athlete comfort in case of injury.

“All athletes must have sports insurance including the

‘Dancerettes’ and ROTC program,” Secretary to Assistant for Administration, Anne Gunderson said.

The amount of coverage each insurance packet offers depends on the sport which is played, football being the most expensive also offering the most coverage.

“If you buy the more expensive insur-

ance packets then you can play multiple sports that are covered by the lower priced packages to, so every sport you play is cov-ered,” Gunderson said.

The availability of insurance for student athletes allows for a split between the price paid by personal and school insurance.

“I used my personal insurance and school covers the rest, split the payment,” Brittingham said.

Gunderson says that the schools insur-ance requires that all sports injuries be re-ported to guarantee that the student athlete can be helped immediately.

“I think it has been [beneficial], I think it gives parents the peace of mind that there will be some coverage no matter what. Which is always better than none,” Gunderson said.

While sports insurance can serve as a comfort to the families of athletes, so can the availability of on site sports trainers like Michelle McCoy. Many athletes are familiar with McCoy who helps them stay in the best possible condition throughout the season.

“We’ve been pretty lucky at Freedom, the worst [injury] I’ve seen is a torn ACL,” McCoy said.

McCoy says that in general there are a lot of ankle and knee injuries and the ability to play after an injury depends entirely on the severity. She says that the main focus of athletes should be to stay in shape and prevent injuries.

“[Athletes] need to do pre-season con-ditioning and strengthening. They need to increase flexibility, especially boys. And seek medical attention immediately so it doesn’t get worse.”

Rachel Drummondcenterspread editor

Ultimate Frisbee is taking root here at the school. Ultimate Frisbee, often referred to as “Ultimate, is a game played like soccer and football, but is non-contact. Gaining support in over 50 countries, Ultimate is becoming an international phenomenon.

Senior leaders Jacob Dummeldinger and Melanie Marquez have capitalized on this new trend by creating a new ultimate Frisbee club.

“Jacob and I started a revolution,” senior Marquez said.

Students who join the new ultimate Fris-bee club can enjoy fun Frisbee games while

spending time with friends.

However, Marquez says their games can be very competitive.

“Everyone really gets into the game,” Marquez said.

Freedom is one of the few schools to introduce ultimate to their students. As of now, pickup games on Saturdays are orga-nized through mainly Facebook as well as text messaging.

Most of it is spontaneous, says ultimate Frisbee club sponsor Katie Janson.

Dummeldinger and Marquez plan to organize games with other schools in-

cluding a ri-val game with Wharton and maybe

even a tournament. “[We are planning to have] more games,

and get people out and exercising the fun way,” Marquez said.

Marquez says that they are looking to include all students in their club and will hang out after games to promote team bonding.

Also, the ultimate Frisbee club is very affordable.

“There are no club fees, you only have to pay for shirts,” Marquez said.

New member Luke Castellucci says that he is looking forward to a good time with friends.

“[My fa-vorite part of

ultimate is] interacting with friends and being a part of a team effort,” Castellucci said.

At club rush, Marquez said that she was surprised at their large turn out that exceeded their expectations. Although mainly upperclassmen are in the club, Mar-quez says that they welcome all students to join, looking to have a good time with great friends.

“It’s the best club at Freedom,” Janson said. “It attracts the best students.”

Ultimate uproarEmily Ball

staff writer

New club spinning into the spotlight

Student athletes face difficulties in their injuries

E.Winick/revolution

J. Brown/revolution

etc. October 4, 201016

How does this work?

North Atlantic Regional High School does NOT requirethe FCAT. So, transfer your credits to our fully-accred-ited high school. Your credits BELONG to you (not the

high school), so use YOUR credits wherever you wish.

How many credits do I need?How many credits do I need?

17.5 CREDITS EARN A

HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA IN MAINE.

Florida requires 24 credits. Every state has its ownrequirements. NARHS is a high school authorized andrecognized by the Maine Department of Education asa private school. Here, we require 17.5 credits for astandard high school diploma.

Can I graduate EARLY?Can I graduate EARLY?

1 Physa Ed1 Fine Arts0.5 Computer Skills0.5 Health4.5 Electives (your choice)

Why not! Maine graduates have the sameprivileges as any other graduates. Betterjobs. College in Florida, too.

(No, you donʼt have to move to Maine!Your CREDITS move to Maine, not you!)

You remain a Florida resident, eligible forin-state tuition, and more.

How much does it cost?

$525 tuition. No other costs.

We transfer your official transcript from your past school.

We create a new transcript issued from our high school.

We award your diploma, issue a revised transcript to you(and to employers, colleges, recruiters, etc.)

We retain your H.S. academic records.

NARHS becomes your official “school of record.”New transcript, new diploma, new future!

What next ?What next ?

NAR SHNorth Atlantic Regional High School21 Westminster St., Lewiston, Maine 04240

YES. When youʼve earned the 17.5 creditsrequired, you can graduate with a high schooldiploma. You can have MORE credits thanthat, but when you have the minimum 17.5,you are eligible for your high schooldiploma...regardless of what “grade” youʼrein. 17.5 credits = earns your diploma.

A diploma from Maine?A diploma from Maine?

Anybodytell

YOU This

Did they tell

YOU This?

4 English2 Math2 Science1 Social Studies1 US History

Yes, 17-1/2, but earn as many as you like. No limit.

When youʼve earned your CREDITS,youʼve earned YOUR diploma!

Here are the 17-1/2 credits required for a diploma from the state of Maine:

www.NARHS.com

800-882-2828

www.NARHS.com

800-882-2828

Private schools are NOT required to give the FCAT. Never have been.

Thousands of Florida students graduate every year-- and NEVER take the FCAT!

Their diplomas have the same value as publicschoolʼs diploma. Real school. Real diploma.

1. Get a copy of your high school transcript.

3. FREE transcript evaluation. We will mail a written report to you showing exactly where you stand.

2. Mail a copy to NARHS in Maine.

0. FIRST STEPS:

Transcript Evaluation

How much does it cost?

FREEFREEFREE

Only 25 states have an FCAT-type exam. The other25 states have NO EXIT EXAMS. In the other states,simply earn the credits and get your diploma. Period.In Florida, you do poorly on one test, your four yearsof high school mean nothing -- 4 years of work andno diploma?

Just because you live in Florida? Unfair!

Transfer your credits to a state that has NO EXITEXAMS!

More good news in the columns on this page.

?

Hittin’ the BooksLate night? Tons of homework?

Here are some tracks to keep you pumped.

>> Just a Dream - Nelly

>> Free - Zac Brown Band

>> Collide - Howie Day

>> Living Saints - Polar Bear Club

>> Take It Off - Ke$ha

>> Encore - Jason Derulo

>> Fancy - Drake ft. T.I., Swiss Beatz

playlist

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

Lady Gaga wearing a meat dress at the Video Music Awards. We wouldn’t call that outfit ‘delicious’.

the ugly

the bad

the good

Bosco Sticks are back! Nothing beats breadsticks smothered with cheese!

Cheering on fights. We aren’t Romans, cheering on gladiators.