Flash: The best of TheRiderChronicle.com

Volume 1 Issue 1 January 2013 The Best of

TheRiderChronicle.comCover Art by Jenna Ward

A publication of Rider High SchoolThe Flash is a student-run publication. The content and views are produced solely by the staff and do not represent Rider High School or the WFISD faculty or administration.

Kayla HolcombEditor-in-Chief

Assistant EditorErica BourlandPhotography EditorsMontana MooneyMariah ChandlerMcKenzie Davis

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The

3 Is Chivalry Dead? 4 The Walking Dead 5 We Survived 12-21-12 6 1984 vs. Education System Satire 7 Exemption Policy Spreads Sickness 8 Picture Day Memories 9 Mansome on the Rise10 DIVE: a Club for Acceptance11 Student Meets Renowned Writer12 Studio Art Encourages Expression13 Show Choir Admits Underclassmen14 Spain vs. TX: Foreign Exchange15 Dangers of Social Networking16 Top Grossing TV Comedies17 Must-See Movies, Best of 201218 Back to the Basics: Volleyball19 Varsity Seniors Reach End of Raider Era20 Making History in Playoffs

Principal AdviserJudy McDonald Mary Beth Lee

We serve as the voice of the student body and encourage letters to the editor. Go to theriderchronicle.com and submit yours today.

We want to hear what you have to say.

(940)235-1077 ext 31061Newsroom phone number

Maddison AllisonMaddie Box

Emily CarrollDewey CooperAustin DoucetSteven GarciaAshlynn Giles

Sarah Haley Shelby Harrison

Imran KuraniSteven LarocheBrooke LeikerArron MercerKiersten Scott

Staff

No matter how cliché it sounds, high school is about discovering yourself. No other forum in life offers the amount of activities that high school offers, especially Rider High School, where some students are involved in five or more extracurriculars. The eight-period day encourages students to take on more electives, which are more chances for discovering talents and passions.

The problem occurs when students put too much pressure on themselves, whether it be with sports or AP classes. High school students, whether they like it or not, are still young and should not have to completely cram their lives with obligations—simply to make their college resumés look good.

Everyone is different. There is a certain amount of pressure each person can handle. When it becomes too much, the effects can be disastrous. According to teendepression.org, 20% of teens will experience depression before they reach adulthood. While the pressure of school activities is in no way the only reason teens become depressed, it is certainly a contributing factor.

Students need time to relax, time for themselves, time to sleep. In previous years, juniors and seniors had the opportunity to come to school at 8:14. Seeing as how studies have shown that teens function best in the late hours of the morning, the change seems counter-productive.

Then at 2:54, when the day is finally over, there are still sports practices to be had and hours of homework to be completed.

Teachers see the effects on the students, and they feel them, too. One of the reasons teachers decided to retire last year was the extra class they would each have to teach this year. Teachers, who dedicate their lives to educating other people’s kids, are under all of the students’ pressure and more.

While the district obviously did not add the extra period to hurt the students, the effects on them cannot be ignored. The stressful schedule is turning teens into zombies; finding their passion in life isn’t going to be fun or easy if they’re the living dead.

check us out at www.theriderchronicle.comthe Flash. January 20132 Table of Contents

WE SURVIVED! Congrats, Raiders! We made it through a Mayan calender year-ending prediction, a TV zombie takeover, and the first exhausting eight-period semester. So that’s what our cover is all about. It is our first semester... in a FLASH.

check us out at www.theriderchronicle.comthe Flash. January 2013 3Editorial

slowlyA brief study on how we been trippin’

We were walking down the white technology hallway passing by the black Rider logos. I was nervous, and the first participant was too.

“It’s simple,” I said. “The binder is rigged, and when you trip, the papers should fly everywhere.” The bell rang and she walked out into the passing crowd and tripped. Within three seconds someone stopped to help her, and after another two seconds, someone else asked if she was all right. That afternoon when her mom asked what she did, freshman Brooke Leiker said, “Well, today in journalism, I was trippin’.”

Over the last few weeks I set out to test chivalry at Rider and gave four students of different grade, social standing, and gender a fake binder. They had to drop the binder at three different times in three different locations, and I would be a generous distance behind them so as not to appear socially awkward, recording the results.

With a good view of my participant, I counted “Mississippi’s” in time from the drop, until they got help. And I listened for all the comments from the crowd like when an onlooker said, “mm-mmm look at that girl droppin’ all her stuff.”

As a result of this experiment, I found the answer to some important questions, such as where is the worst place in school to trip? The answer: the lunchroom or student center, since only one participant was helped and even then, help was provided by a person walking by, not by anyone sitting down at a table. The participant also noticed that while he was being helped, the helper may have pocketed one of the pencils from the fake binder. This observation was later confirmed by an inventory of the binder taken before and after the experiment.

In that run, I don’t think the pencil was taken due to the helper thinking the participant was an easy target. Research shows it takes seven seconds for a stranger to subconsciously judge you, and out of the situations when strangers helped, it took, on average, 4.3 seconds. Meaning that at Rider, if someone you don’t know helps you pick up your things, they are more likely to do so before they establish a subconscious judgement. Before they know if they like or trust you, they will help you despite your grade, social standing, or appearance. This gave me hope in a generation where I thought chivalry no longer existed.

However, we found that the people at Rider will judge whether to help you based on your gender. This experiment showed that boys at Rider receive more chivalry than girls. Not only did more people help the boys, and most of their helpers were girls, they helped the boys faster as well. The boys who say that chivalry died a long time ago might be right, if you look only at the male half of the generation. Girls seem to pick up the slack, which is a task we do, as the experiment shows very well.

Overall chivalry is still prevalent at Rider, and if you trip and someone comes to help, they will probably do so within three seconds. If no one helps you, you probably tripped in the cafeteria or student center.

A code of conduct created by the knights during the Middle Ages that included generosity, honor, integrity and proficiency in arms.

F

a

l

l

i

n

gChivalry:

Medievalto

Modern

by Kiersten Scott

A measure of kindness including, but not limited to, opening doors for others and helping someone pick up their things.

Why aren’t students more helpful?

Freshman Kelsey Pocowatchit“Because they are lazy and don’t like to do work.”

Sophomore Steven Garcia“Because of the way they were brought up, and because people think they are higher than others.”

Senior Emma White“When people see each other, they are usually in a hurry and aren’t paying attention to what other people are doing.”

check us out at www.theriderchronicle.comthe Flash. January 20134 Entertainment

Zombies. Their sole purpose is to spread the infection they carry within. The virus has spread throughout all forms of media: movies, comics, books, and videos games. It was only a matter of time until the virus spread to our television screens, giving form to “The Walking Dead”. “The Walking Dead” is the brainchild of Robert Kirkman and originally began as a black-and-white comic book in 2003, written by Kirkman and Tony Moore. The comics are still being published to this day, even reaching their big centennial issue this summer.

This series is so popular because of what it brings to the zombie medium: its long and detailed plot that makes the show seem like a never ending zombie film, the characters that breathe life into this world of the dead, the realism showing what we as people could become if thrown into a world like this, the test of the human will to survive, and the uncertainty of survival because no character is safe.

With all of these factors, “The Walking Dead” is truly something special, and AMC knew this. The entire idea to bring this comic to television came about because of the sole strength of the source material, and AMC took advantage of it. The channel called for a pilot in 2010, with Frank Darabont, who is known for works such as “The Shawshank Redemption” and “The Green Mile”, writing, directing, and producing the project.

The original script was met with positive reviews, and the show was greenlighted from there. AMC then brought Robert Kirkman onto the show as one of the head consultants.

The show became an instant hit when it premiered Halloween 2010, not just to the readers of the comics, but newcomers to the franchise as well. With its mass success, it would have been crazy for AMC not to renew the show for a second season. As the show progressed, its viewers increased, and when the finale of the second season aired, it became the most viewed cable program of all time with more than nine million viewers. The proof of the show’s greatness doesn’t come from the number of viewers alone, but is also shown by its award nominations: 46 of them from 22 different presenters, ranging from the Emmy to Writers’ Guild of America and Saturn Awards. It has won 11 of its nominations.

The show is currently on its third season. And remember that record mentioned earlier? The premiere of the season broke that with over 10 million viewers. What makes this show THE show to watch is that it’s faithful to where it came from. It began as a story literally told in black and white, and gives it an atmosphere within our world, bringing these characters to life.

The characters are wonderfully portrayed with actors like Andrew Lincoln and David Morrissey giving them a personality that could not be portrayed on paper. Unlike any other form of media that is born from another, “The Walking Dead” stays loyal to its roots, but is also willing to change itself enough to surprise not just newcomers to the story, but faithful readers as well. Fan-favorite Daryl Dixon wasn’t even a character from the comic. He was created just for the television series. Even cooler? Actor Norman Reedus was actually auditioning for the character’s brother, Merle, who was also an original character for the show. The creators liked Norman so much they created a character just for him.

Other changes from the comics to the show include: Shane’s death, which originally happened almost instantly after Rick finds the Atlanta group, Dale, who doesn’t even die until the group reaches the prison and him continuing to survive a long time after, and Lori’s death, which didn’t happen until later. The differences aren’t drastic. In fact, they enhance the story for the television series. If every scenario played out like it did in the comics, it would not only be predictable to readers, but I don’t think it would be as strong as it is now.

In the show, a lot of these changes have improved the story. The pacing is more balanced and both character development and interaction shine. The character development is the core of the franchise across all fields. With all that happened in the mid-season finale back in December—the group’s rescue mission, Daryl’s capture, The Governor transforming into the villain he’s known for in the comics, and Tyresse’s introduction into the group— “The Walking Dead” is probably the best show on television right now. When the show returns to finish its third season on Feb. 10, I will be eagerly sitting on the edge of my seat waiting to see what happens next.

by Austin Doucet

FIGHT THE DEAD.FEAR THE LIVING.


Dear Journal,So the world was supposed to end today.Well, no zombies, black holes, or robots taking over the world.

I guess we're good now. Sooooo... what do we do? We weren't planning on going Christmas shopping, or doing any of our school projects over the break. Better get started since we still have our whole lives ahead of us. Now we have to face all the people that we told we hated...or the ones that we told we were in love with. Guess all of those "End of the World" parties we weren't invited to were totally bogus. But we already knew that. And don't even get us started on all those pointless Twitter updates. Ain't nobody got time fo' dat.

Oh, and shout out to the Mayans who predicted this. WAY TO GO WITH THE CALENDER. It's not a big deal or anything that the whole world said their last goodbyes only to come to the realization that we are totally still here, sitting behind a computer, reading all the Twitter posts, and reevaluating every myth in the history of the world.

But seriously, did anyone really believe the end of the world was upon us? Because that television show "Doomsday Preppers" did a pretty good job of making us think the apocalypse was approaching. Gullible, are we right?

So what have we learned from this "traumatic" experience? To value friendship, cherish family, and rule number two, "Enjoy the little things." YOLO.

We Survived!!!

Have a good supply of clean drinkable water. A person can only go a couple days without it.

Learn smart preservation methods to store enough food if you want to survive.

Plan on finding shelter in a place that has access to solar or hydroelectric energy sources and is close to fresh water.

Have a good defense mechanism established around the community in case of an attack.

A sarcastic journal entry from yours truly, Madison Box and Emily Carroll

World-Ending Predictions

*January 1, 1000 A.D.

*March 10, 1982

*January 1, 2000

*June 6, 2006

*December 21, 2012

*The year 3797

Survival Necessities

“Okay, students,” announced Ms. Bee. “You know the drill. Clear your desk. Sharpen your two #2 pencils. And remember: NEVER leave an answer blank, ALWAYS use the “rule-out” method, bubble CLEARLY, fill in the circle COMPLETELY;,go back and CHECK your work, but don’t overthink it! This is just a practice test, but the real D.E.A.T.H. test decides not only whether or not you graduate, but also how many Raider Bucks you get!”

“RAIDER BUCKS!?!?” the students exclaimed in unison. “YAY!”

Q

Ms. Bee clicked around the room, passing out the tests.

THUD, THUD, THUD, the packets landed on the desks. BANG, BANG, BANG, the shotguns rang.

Ms. Bee smirked. “Less tests to grade,” she said with a shrug. “Okay, you have thirteen minutes to complete the test before your tenth period class. Ready….go!”

The students scribbled furiously in their test booklets. After a few minutes, a sweaty-haired boy ran to the front of the room to turn in his test.

“First!” he exclaimed.Ms. Bee smiled. “You’re really

improving, Dunlap. I believe you’ll do well on the weekly D.E.A.T.H. test this Friday.”

“Thanks. Oh, b-t-dubs, when is our next teaching day?”

She glanced down at her lesson plan and pursed her lips. She flipped a couple of pages. “Ah! Three weeks from now, right before Thanksgiving break.”

“That’s real soon,” remarked Dunlap. “I can’t believe there are 46 days this year devoted to teaching!”

“Well, when I was a kid–ah!” She broke off in a cry of pain. She brought her hand to her throat, touching the steaming shock collar.

Dunlap laughed. “Were you about to say something unorthodox, Ms. Bee?”

“Go sit down, Dunlap,” she said in a monotone voice.

“PLEASE EXCUSE THE INTERRUPTION,” a voice bleated from the intercom. “WE NEED MS. BETTY BEE TO REPORT TO THE DISCIPLINE OFFICE. THANK YOU.”

Ms. Bee’s eyes widened. “No,” she murmured. “No!” Her collar shocked her once more.

Suddenly, the door burst open and two men dressed in black grabbed Ms. Bee and dragged her out, kicking and screaming.

Q

All the students laughed at the spectacle. They made bets on what her punishment would be. Little Johnny swore they’d shoot her, but Margo disagreed.

“Ah, I bet they’ll just make her work on the 11th Edition of the Newteach Dictionary during her conference period.”

The students took advantage of the fact that Ms. Bee was out of the room.

“What’d you get for number 47?” asked Little Johnny.

“C,” Dunlap answered, glancing over at Johnny's test.

“How’d you know?” he asked incredulously. “How is anyone supposed to know who the 16th president was?”

Dunlap smirked. “It’s easy peas-y, bro. You don’t actually have to KNOW the material. You just have to know the pattern.”

“The pattern? What’s that?”“If you have to ask, you’ll never

know.”Little Johnny muttered something

under his breath.Q

“Okay, Dunlap, Lord of The Standardized Tests,” said Margo in an admiring voice, clinging to his arm. “Please, tell us peasants how to get full credit on the essay portion!”

“Ah,” Dunlap remarked. “That’s elementary, my dear. Spell everything write and follow all the rules of grammar”.

“But don’t they care about the effectiveness or clearness of the prose?” asked Little Johnny.

“Nah,” Dunlap answered. “When’d you ever use that in real life?”

“College.”Dunlap frowned. “Nuh-uh.

Really?”“Yeah. That IS why we’re taking

AP. ”The corners of Dunlap’s lips sank

down to his chest. “I thought it was just for the extra grade point?”

Little Johnny rolled his eyes. “I know that’s how you see it, but some of us actually want an education.”

Everyone burst out laughing. The other children began pelting him with spitballs.

“You’ll never amount to anything!” taunted Margo. “You’ll never get commended on the D.E.A.T.H. test!”

Little Johnny burst into tears. “Why are you guys so mean to me?” he wailed.

“Because you’re stupid!” the students yelled while reloading their spitball machines.

“No, I’m not!” cried Little Johnny.

“I just don’t understand the point of D.E.A.T.H. I’m an original thinker! What’s wrong with that?”

“What’s wrong with that?” repeated a deep, outraged voice from the front of the room. A daunting figure, eight feet tall at least, stood with arms akimbo. He wore a black trench coat and a black fedora that cast a shadow over his face. “I’ll tell you what’s wrong with that.”

“I only want answers,” Little Johnny said sniffling.

Q

“Those of you with weak stomachs should leave the room. I’m going to tell you a story about the past. Many years ago, teachers were allowed to teach however they wanted. There was no government regulation. Bad teaching ran rampant. Some teachers lectured. Others made their students take notes. And–I’m not making this up–some science teachers actually made them do experiments." A gasp escaped the lips of every student in the room. "There was very little test prep. Because of this, the students became so stupid that many of them died.”

Dunlap coughed, “Little Johnny,” who began to cry again.

“Dunlap is right, Little Johnny. You certainly are on your way to death. You’re too stupid. You try to be independent. You try to understand things instead of just learning them. But, you know what, Little Johnny? I’ll tell you how to save yourself because I love you. The secret to defeating death is D.E.A.T.H.”

Little Johnny thought for a moment. “Wait, I think I understand…I love D.E.A.T.H.!”

check us out at www.theriderchronicle.comthe Flash. January 20136 Satire

District implements ✮H“1984” meets education system: a satireby Erica Bourland

✮

The last few weeks of school have not been very pleasant for me to say the least. A coupe of weeks ago, I spent all of Tuesday at different doctors having my blood drawn and body examined due to a painfully swollen lymph node and my family’s worry thanks to past health experiences. I was put on three different medications, two pain killers and a muscle relaxant.

After limping my way to the pharmacy counter to pick up my medication, my pharmacist informed me of the medications’ side effects. All of these had one main side effect, drowsiness. I took the required medicine when I returned home and was out like a light.

I woke up groggily and in a numbed pain on Wednesday morning. My mother was not about to let me go to school. I was furious. Missing two days of school so early in the year made me positive that I would have to take my finals.

In the time spent writing this, I have gone through about four tissues. What’s the matter now, you ask? People with my attitude about finals. The kids, who don’t want to take their finals and are coming to school constantly sniffling, coughing, and sneezing in my vicinity, have infected me. Needless to say I am very unhappy about this.

I was determined not to take my finals this year for many reasons. Every final feels like an hour and a half I could have spent going out to eat with my friends or sleeping. Also, this is my senior year, and I would like to end my high school career with good grades in all of my classes. I have been working incredibly hard to make good grades so far this year, and all of my hard work might be a complete waste of time thanks to test anxiety or any simple mistake on ONE test in each class. This is unfair.

If I’m doing well in my classes when finals come around, why should I even need to take them? Missing about 90 minutes of class does not make me incompetent in that subject. Missing 90 minutes of a class will not fail me.

It’s getting colder out and getting to be that time of the year where everyone is sick and viruses are numerous. Many of us will suffer this fall season, and our inescapable vulnerability to illness has a good chance of forcing us into studying for some of the hardest tests in high school. These are tests that most of us wouldn’t have to take if the requirements were as fair as they should be.

by Montana Mooney

Students come to school sick for exemption from semester finals

TAASThe Texas Assessment of Academic Skills. The slogan was “TAAS: You’re supposed to know how to spell, not us.”

TAKS: You finish in a quarter of the time but still have to sit there for three more hours. Good times, good times. This year is TAKS’ last hurrah.

1988-1990

TEAMS

Cons: It costs more money, is more difficult, is timed, and disrupts the lunch schedule.Pros: The icon is prettier than TAKS’.

Not to be confused with last year’s grading system, TEAMSwas the standardizedtest that Texans tookup until 1990.

1991-2001 2002-2009 2010-???

HThe Future

See page 6.


• 8:00 AM Getting passed out.• 8:05 AM This guy is ugly. I can see right up

his nose.• 8:06 AM OW! Why is he scratching me with

that pointy yellow stick?• 8:30 AM Ha. This guy’s going to fail. Going

with the all ‘C’ method? Yeah that’s smart.• 9:00 AM Is he...DROOLING on me?• 9:45 AM Being taken to the front of the

room. Placed in a prison box. You can’t take me alive!

• 10:00 AM I feel the pressure of a hundred of my brethren on top of me.

• 3:45 PM Last test. Almost time to get out of this prison. Woopee!

• 5:00 PM Or not... :(• Several weeks later: FREEDOM! Wait...no,

wait. What is this contraption?! It seems to be some sort of machine--AHH!

• Minutes later: Mwa ha ha! He did fail.

Testing DayFrom the STAAR Himself

Please don’t send me home

Seniors Joey Ostovich and Julie Gaffney, the only two unexempted students in a class of thirty, take their AP English 4 final. Photo by Erica Bourland.

If you attend Rider, there’s a good chance that as I’m writing this you are getting to experience all the wonders of the oh so infamous picture day.

I, myself, have already gotten this year’s yearbook picture over with, thanks to my being a senior. Senior pictures were definitely in my top five least favorite pictures to take out of all of my twelve years of sitting uncomfortably in front of a cliché background with a camera facing me, being operated by a complete stranger.

The entire process of taking senior yearbook photos was uncomfortable. Finding the Lifetouch building was challenging, and once in the building, I was surrounded by large (very nice) pictures of friends and former peers. As a girl, I had to put on an odd grey skirt thing and pull it up above my chest, only to have it covered by the lovely black v-neck that ties way too many times in the back. All of that is worth it, though. Finally getting the pictures in the mail is exciting, even if you hate most of them. I found one that I liked in the whole group, and I used it. Easy as that, although it hasn’t always been that way. Many of my past pictures have not worked as smoothly.

I can still remember my kindergarten school picture. I can’t remember having the picture taken necessarily, but I vividly remember the night before. My mother’s first child’s very first picture day had to be perfect, and I guess she decided that meant I needed highlights. I think she knows better now than to make any drastic appearance changes the night before picture day after sitting for hours on our couch, attempting to pull my incredibly thick hair through a shower cap type contraption full of holes (for a more natural highlighted look, I suppose) using a painful utensil that seemed to destroy my scalp. It seems like that picture day memory really set the tone for how the next 12 picture days in my life would go. Joy.

Up until about sixth grade, many of my pictures seemed to be in the Ben Franklin Elementary yearbook twice. Why? I had a sister, and my mother was one of those moms that felt it necessary to dress her children identically on picture day, even if that meant striped turtlenecks and bows on top of our heads that were almost as large as our faces or curly hair and furry green vests.

My mom was also a fan of “enhancing” our features by means of lipstick and mascara. Not so much to where we were Barbies, but enough to make me feel like one. You can’t even tell in any of the pictures, but as a child my mother’s picture day “enhancements” just really bugged me. I think it all just went downhill after the whole highlighting incident.

The worst part of picture day has to be the actual photo taking process. The entire 3-minute, smiling until your face twitches uncontrollably, dry eyed stare without a single blink until the photographer finally takes the picture, struggling to keep your hand off of your itchy nose, photo taking process. While getting the picture taken and the photographer telling you to tilt your head to the right while pulling your chin up and placing your hand on your hip, they may as well be saying to pull your foot up to your shoulder and juggle chain saws. It’s impossible to take a picture without feeling completely uncomfortable, no matter how “natural” the picture is supposed to seem.

Picture day is easily one of the most awkward days of every school year. It only lasts a few minutes, but between outfit planning and fake smiling, it’s just a painful experience. Some of my very worst pictures have turned into some of the very best stories, though, and ten or twenty years from now I’ll get to relive every hectic, highlighted, lip-stick covered memory of my childhood that I left lingering in a book next to all of the beautiful people I spent twelve of the best years of my life with.

How students

get ready for

Picture Day

check us out at www.theriderchronicle.comthe Flash. January 20138 Editorial

Go to school

Go to schoolWake up Brush teeth Throw on some clothes, smell to check if clean

Take an hour doing your hair just right

Carefully put on a boat-load of makeup

Go through whole closet five times, asking everyone if they like your outfit

Shower

Wake updramatically

Brush teeth to make sure they’re perfectly white

2.

3.

7.

4.3.2.1.

4.

5.

6.

Picture Day memories prove funby Montana Mooney

1.

VS.

Men wrongly judged for taking care of themselves

Looking at 2003s Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, 2011s Metrosexy, this year’s 50/50, and MTV’s Guy Code, you can tell being “mansome” is on the rise.

The typical mansome man, is a young man who has the money to spend for what he needs to feel and look great. I’m a mansome man and I’m straight as can be. Being mansome doesn’t mean you are homosexual.

For some though, that look crosses a line.“I don’t want a guy to have pencil thin eyebrows,” junior Aimee Reagan said.And others say it’s too girly or it’s not “manly”. But if you look at most mansome men they all have

facial hair: Dave Navarro, Prince, Dominic Monaghan, and even soccer icon David Beckham to name a few. So being mansome doesn’t mean that they’re hairless men. But they’re not as hairy as Zach Galifianakis. Despite what most people think, Galifianakis is definitely not mansome. Just look at that old rug he keeps on his face, he is the polar opposite of a real mansome man.

It’s expensive being mansome. Most guys admit that they would be a mansome man but it’s too much to keep up with.

“I would [get the typical mansome treatment] if someone would pay for me,” junior Demonte Simmons said.

It’s $50 for a back and chest/belly waxing. Being a clean mansome man is important. A picture is worth a thousands words, and don’t you want those words being good words?

“I would totally get a Mani/Pedi if someone would pay for me, YOLO!” sophomore Joey McGinn said.

Just clipping and filing your nails or putting a clear coat of paint on your finger nail, would be the cheapest way of being mansome, just use the $25 you were going to waste on a CD or video game (that you’re going to get bored of in a week anyways) and spend it on a salon treatment. Many guys do this, and it not only makes them look better, but also it’s healthier, and it feels nice to be pampered.

When it comes to a manicure treatment most women feel that having dirty toes and finger is a major turn off and guess what? Mansome men don’t have dirty toes.

“I don’t want my boyfriend to be hairless, but I wouldn’t mind him having clean and pretty toes and fingers.” sophomore Natalie Griffin said.

And when it comes to pedicures you need your feet for everything you do, from walking and jumping. The manliest of men can agree with this.

“If you’re going to be on your feet all day, why wouldn’t you want to take care of them?” Simmons said.I just feel that our society is too quick to judge if something is manly or girly. And now that something

that would be consider feminine 40 or 30 years ago is starting to be somewhat manly, we need to learn how to balance both.

All the facts are here. You can be handsome and mansome at the same time. Just don’t let old prejudices decide how you take care of yourself.

If you’re going to be on your feet all day,

why wouldn’t you want to take care of them?

Simmons said.

Mansome on the riseby Steven Garcia


❸ KeyWell, you’ll need

to get into your house

somehow.

❹ WalletIf I have to tell you why you need it...

❶ Cell Phone You need this for all the numbers you’ll be getting.

❷ Chapstick No one likes ashy lips. “

”

What should be in a mansome man’s pocket?

Mansome & Handsome Hairy & Scary

Bradley Cooper- He show’s that it’s still

mansome to have facial hair, and his hair is nicely

cut and gelled.

Seth MacFarlane- His clean and thin, but not too pencil thin eyebrows, and flawless, straight, white teeth prove that he cares

about his appearance.

Kimbo Slice- His gold teeth are a sign that he doesn’t care about his mouth, so you can bet he has the most horrible breath. His beard reminds me of a used sponge.

Zach Galifianakis- His eyebrows are extremely thick, and almost as unkempt as his beard. Even being

in the eyes of the media, he doesn’t bother taking care of the bags under

his eyes.

“You can say ‘One Family, One Team’ all you want. That doesn’t make it true,” Senior DIVE president Jessi Ayres said.

Since her sophomore year, Ayres has sensed a void in the school. She had an idea of what she wanted, but never knew how to achieve it. Then, last year, one of her friends was victimized while sitting in English class. Another student went on a tirade, verbally abusing Ayres’ friend, saying terrible things such as “all gays should be sent to concentration camps.”

Along with Collin Palmore and Jacie Haggard, who both graduated last year, Ayres researched the legality of diversity clubs and called several organizations, asking for sponsorship.

“Last year, we had a mock meeting,” Ayres said. “We had this dreamer’s image of what we really wanted. With the help of our teacher sponsor, Mrs. Kistler, we decided on the name DIVE, which is an acronym for ‘Declare Integrity; Validate Effectively.’”

The site-based decision committee, which is made up of administrators, teachers, and parents within the school, will decide whether or not DIVE will become an official club. According to Ayres, DIVE legally should be approved because Texas GSA (Gay-Straight Alliance) Network has sponsored the club.

“We don’t officially exist, but we’ve had gatherings to see if we had enough interest,” senior English teacher Yvonne Kistler said. “Mrs. McDonald has looked at the mission statement and thinks it is a good idea.”

According to the statement, the mission

of DIVE is to educate young people about acceptance and tolerance of all people, regardless of race, color, creed, religion, or sexual orientation and to help reinforce the ideal of “One Family, One Team.”

“Several students have asked me if it was a gay/lesbian club, and it’s not, though we do have backing from GSA if we need it. It’s more about accepting everyone,”

Kistler said. DIVE aims to promote respect and

acceptance for all. According to Ayres, acceptance means that you don’t have to

agree with or accept someone’s ideas, but you should accept the person.

“I’m going to be honest,” Ayres said. “There are people at Rider who have committed hate crimes against other

students. It has to stop somewhere. If it stops at Rider–if we stop it at just one

school–we’re closer to equality, which means that there is acceptance, regardless of your background, what you think, or how you look.”

Kistler became aware of bullying on Facebook and Twitter, so when Ayres approached her about the idea of a diversity club, she agreed, as long as one of the aims could be anti-bullying.

“What people don’t realize is that bullying affects all of us, not just the person being bullied,” Ayres said. “The school could get a lawsuit. Students could be forced into a grieving process because someone ended up killing themselves.”

Administrators have taken action against bullying, but a majority of the time, they cannot do anything about it simply because they don’t know it is happening. Students, on the other hand, either experience the bullying first hand, hear about it from their

friends, or see it on social networking sites. “We want to, as the name suggests,

declare what we stand for; we want to educate people,” said Ayres. “My hope

is that there will be a climate adjustment within our school. I want to get to a point where we don’t have so many incidents where people get physically or emotionally hurt. Just by raising awareness and educating people about acceptance, I think we will impact the school’s environment in how students relate to each other.”

There has been overwhelming support from teachers. Kistler believes this is because teachers, like herself, see the effects of bullying on their students. They see that DIVE can be an important tool in helping distressed students.

“I want for there to be a place for people that they can go and find friends, people they can talk to who understand,” Ayres said.

DIVE will also become active in its community. At meetings, you’ll find members making posters to hang around the school, planning volunteer projects, and discussing current events that deal with bullying.

Right now, DIVE has twelve members, but Ayres is looking forward to

having more people join when the club becomes official.

“We will be open to anyone. You don’t have to run fast, jump high, or be a fashionista. You can just come on in,” Kistler said. DIVE meets on Wednesdays

at 3:00 in Mrs. Kistler’s room.

New club promotes acceptance

check us out at www.theriderchronicle.comthe Flash. January 201310 Feature

byEricaBourlandSenior forms group in response to bullying, discrimination

Everyhour... Someone commits a hate crime

Everyday... At least eight black people, three white people, three gay people, three Jewish people, and one Latino person become hate crime victims

Everyweek... A cross is burned

A hate crime is a crime directed against people because of what they are, not who they are. These crimes include those directed at others because of their...•Race•Color•Religion•Gender•NationalOrigin•Ethnicity•Disability•SexualOrientation

49% Race19% Religion17% Sexual Orientation14% Ethnicity 1% Disability

Halfofallhatecrimesinthenationarecommittedbyyouth

ages15-24.

http://www.ncpc.org/topics/hate-crime/tolerance

According to the Southern Poverty Law Center:

Hate Crime by the

Numbers

Skip Hollandsworth, screenwriter and executive editor of Texas Monthly, swaggered into a room full of 250 journalists. Photographers swarmed him, snapping photos as reporters grabbed note pads, wanting to record his story in hopes of becoming better at their craft.

Hollandsworth was a featured speaker for high school students at the Gloria Shields All-American Publications Workshop this past July.

Kiersten Ehr from Brandeis High School said Hollandsworth gave tips and answered questions about life skills and general reporting.

“Start taking notes in a journal,” Hollandsworth said. “It will be gold one day.”

Students asked Hollandsworth questions about how to be a better journalist, and he bantered back and forth with them as he answered their questions. Whenever the students would introduce themselves, he would ask “where are you from?” because they began speaking too quickly. Arthur Beckel from the Episcopal School of Dallas, said that many of Hollandsworth’s remarks were “obviously funny”, and many were interesting. He also said that Hollandsworth was in their faces.

Hollandsworth gave tips on making their stories better and said to learn the rhythm of a good sentence. Hollandsworth was told by his professors to type sections of books by his favorite authors to practice this skill.

One student asked him how he keeps his readers.“If the quote goes too long, you’ll lose your reader.” Hollandsworth

said. “I don’t ever try to write a cluttered sentence.”When asked the challenges of being a journalist, Hollandsworth

said, “I still feel fear. No matter how bad it is, keep on writing. Write a sentence, then another, then another.”

Hollandsworth said to remember that all drafts are bad, but don’t stop writing.

“I love getting the detail that makes people gasp,” he said. “That’s reporting.”

Student meets nationally-renowned writerby Brooke Leiker

check us out at www.theriderchronicle.comthe Flash. January 2013 11Feature

Bernie

Rotten Tomatoes: 92% -“Richard Linklater’s

Bernie is a gently told and unexpectedly amusing true-crime comedy that benefits from an impressive performance by Jack Black.”

Betsy Sharkey, L.A. Times-“A true-life Texas tale so perfectly told it seems more like eavesdropping than moviegoing.”

Farrah Fawcet Kelly Clarkson Sandra Bullock

Skip Hollandsworth• Staffwriter at “Texas Monthly” for 23 years

•Co-writer of the script for the 2011 movie, “Bernie”

•Won several journalism awards including:-National Headliners Award-National Magazine Award

•Interviewed celebrities such as:


“A life without art would be a dull existence. You can’t go a day without art; it’s in everything you see, touch, wear. Advertisements and other forms of media, the house you live in, the shows

you watch, and magazines you read have all been designed by artists,” AP studio art teacher Nancy Kizis said.

Her students share her passion for art. According to Kizis, the AP Studio class is for talented, seriously committed art students, people that grew up knowing they loved art.

For AP Studio, there are three different portfolios you can submit: Drawing, 2D, and 3D.

The Drawing portfolio takes two years to complete. The first year, students work on “Breadth,” which consists of twelve pieces of art that show a wide range of approaches and techniques. The second section of the portfolio is “Concentration,” which includes works showing an in depth exploration of a personal idea. With Kizis’ guidance, the student picks what they want to focus on. They create 10 pieces with 2 details. The third section is “Quality”; the student chooses five of the best works from the other two sections.

The 2D portfolio can include photography, product design, and computer generated images.

3D Design includes ceramics and jewelry design and is not available at Rider now, but hopefully will be put on the schedule next year.

The students submit a portfolio to be graded on a scale of 1-5, with 3-5 being passing scores. It is up to each individual college as to what score they will except for college credit. For instance, Harvard only accepts a 5.

In years past, many of Kizis’ students have received passing scores on their portfolios. One year, she had a 100% passing rate.

The portfolio is submitted in May, but some things need to be put online in January. To keep up with the deadline, the students have to turn out a piece of art about every ten days. Some people get behind and have to finish it on their own time.

“They feel a little pressure, but for the most part they look forward to the class, and we become a strange little family,” Kizis said.

Junior Liz Rico is in AP studio art. She took the class because she

wanted to improve her artistic skill and get credit for a good college. She also heard that Kizis was a fantastic teacher.

“I like that, even though [the work] is hard, Mrs. Kizis will help you,” Rico said.

As a child, her dream job flip-flopped between fashion designer and comic artist.

“I’ve wanted to do art ever since I watched shows like Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh,” Rico said.

In the future, Rico wants to draw cartoons for Disney or Pixar.“[The class] opens up your mind to new way of thinking, enhances

creativity, creative problem solving, and artistic skill,” Kizis said.Kizis loves AP Studio because it challenges her as an artist.“It is exciting to see the creativity my students come up with. They

inspire me to be a better teacher,” Kizis said.Every summer, Kizis goes to training where she meets and

collaborates with other AP Studio teachers from all over the United States.

Kizis has always been an artist, so she knew she had to do something art related. She also enjoys teaching kids.

“Watching when someone gets an idea they’re excited about, watching them have that light go on it their mind–it’s just fun,” Kizis said.

Junior Liz Rico works on her Drawing portfolio. Photo by AllisonWilson

What one art utensil would you bring to a deserted island?An Exacto knife

What is your favorite color?Red, in every shade

What does being an artist mean to you? Being able to express myself, without rules

If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?Paris, for the fashion

What is your favorite food and drink while doing artwork?Sunflower seeds and Koolaid

AP studio artprepares students for college, allows expression in portfolio

Rby Erica Bourland

Be Yourself

All About Liz Rico


Posted on the outer choir room door and stuck with a single piece of scotch tape was the Show Choir’s roster. Twenty names on single sheet of printer paper. The list had been a cause for anxiety since auditions a week before. As sophomore Emily Carroll’s dark brown eyes scanned down, she found her name. Just a year ago, Emily wouldn’t have even been able to audition, but things have changed.

While Show Choir has added a live band and eight new members on top of their original twelve, the biggest change is for the underclassmen in choir who now have a chance to join.

“It gives the kids a chance to show off their skills,” Carroll said.This year has also added pressure on the Show Choir leadership.“I have a lot more responsibilities now, ” choir President Katy

Steimel said.These responsibilities include sending texts as reminders to

the show choir members of rehearsals, organizing student events, handing out goodies to the students on their birthdays, and planning the annual choir banquet.

The changes in format have also allowed band students to be part of choir this year, forming a live band which will accompany the show choir in competition. The band students auditioned for the Show Choir Director Jason Mayfield, and after their first rehearsal, the band was already “awesome” according to Mayfield.

Mayfield said that he added more vocalists and the band for “extra volume” because “that’s what every other school does, and we were behind on that.” Having a live band is now mandatory for competition this February.

Show Choir won’t be performance ready until January, but they hope to place in the top three in their competition and to make finals. The group rehearses on Mondays from 5:45 to 8:00, and then the group splits, girls practicing at 7 a.m. on Wednesdays, and boys practicing at 7 a.m. on Thursdays. What makes all the hard work worth it is “the people in it,” Steimel said. “And the fact that we’re going to be really good.”

2011-2012 2012-2013upperclassmen in show choirunderclassmen in show choir

12 12

8

0

5

10

15

20

2011-2012 2012-2013

Chart 3

Upperclassmen Underclassmen

Breaking Tradition

by Kiersten Scott

Show choir adds band, underclassmen

Show choir performing “Here I Go Again” from the movie Rock of Ages. Photo by Hannah Lewis.

Increased Enrollment In Show Choir

5 Things You Didn’t Know About Emily1. To brush her teeth she uses Arm and Hammer: Extra Whitening toothpaste.2. Out of all her shoes, she would rather go barefoot.3. She listens to mainly alternative music, but also rock and pop.4. If she could go anywhere, she would go to Sicily where her grandmother’s from.5. She is kept awake either worrying about school or watching TV.

Trumpet 1- Lindsay RittenhouseTrumpet 2- Austin GlennSax 1- Rachel LopezSax 2- Sharon MuckerTrombone- Blake Leiker

Baritone- Sheldon YeakleyPiano- Mikayla RatliffGuitar- Carpenter WyattBass- Daniel EspinozaDrums- Chad Holley

The Band Roster

Sophomore Emily Carroll

Laura Cal Gens’ face lights up in radiance when speaking about her country.

“I live in Roes, Spain. It’s a small village with a lot of trees and rivers. It is very beautiful. It’s home.”

She left almost everything to come to America, her friends she has known her entire life and her family where she is the only child, but she didn’t leave her love and ambition.

“It’s very different here, especially here at Rider, you cover something different every day,” Laura said. “In Spain, we spend each day in one class. I like it here a lot better because I can learn more in one day.”

Laura contrasted the differences between her small school in Spain and Rider.

“Here there are a lot of different people,” Laura said. “At home we are more like a family because the school is so small. There is no dance class or sports. There is so much more opportunity here to learn the things I want to learn.”

One of Laura’s passions is photography. Laura has wanted to be a photographer since she was younger, but classes weren’t offered at her school. She quickly signed up for photography, however, when she came and saw it was available at Rider.

“I’m very excited and happy I have this opportunity to visit America,” Laura said.

Laura traveled from Spain to New York where she and all of the other foreign exchange students had an orientation. From there, she flew to Wichita Falls, where her host family was eagerly waiting for her arrival.

“When I first came to America, I’ll never forget getting off the plane and seeing my host mother, Susan Terry,” Laura said.

For many months Laura’s host family and her exchanged emails and phone and Skype conversations.

“It was such a wonderful moment when I saw them, It felt like I already knew them so well,” Laura said.

Mrs. Terry also described her feelings when she first saw Laura.“Me and my grand-kids were there waiting for Laura with balloons

and a teddy bear, then I heard my granddaughter say, ‘There she is. There’s Laura!’ We were so excited to see her,” Mrs. Terry said.

To be a foreign exchange student you have to sign up and write a essay. Then it is the choices of the host families that determines who you stay with and where you go.

“The host parents get to pick the student, and when we looked at her profile we knew she would make a perfect addition to the family,” Mrs. Terry said.

She wanted to do this participate in the program because she thought it would be a very fun experience.

“It is so nice to have a teenager in the house again,” Mrs. Terry said. “Me and my family are just loving it, both of my daughters are grown and out of the house, so its nice to be able to fill that empty room.”

Mark Terry, Laura’s host father, also loves having Laura as a part of their family.

“When I first met Laura I thought she was very polite, and I was very excited to see her to be with us,” Mr. Terry said. “At first I was insecure, but now I’m glad to have her here, she makes me smile a lot. She reminds me of my daughters.”

Laura says since she has been at the Terry’s they have treated

Exchange student findsnew opportunities at Riderby Ashlynn Giles


her so well and have made her feel so comfortable. Mrs. Terry even redecorated the entire front bedroom to make it more teenage-like for Laura.

“They are so nice and loving toward me. I love to play guitar and my house father lets me play his guitars, I love pasta and they make it for me. It makes me happy that they care so much about the things I like,” Laura said.

Mr. Terry says that he and Laura get along well because they all the same hobbies and both love music.

“My favorite things about having Laura in the family is her personality, she’s funny, sweet and determined,” Mr. Terry said. “She loves to sing; she likes to play guitar. I’m singing everyday and try to play guitar. I love learning about her culture.”

Laura’s very happy to be here but misses her family and friends more than she could describe.

“I am sad and I do miss my family and friends, but I want to have this experience,” Laura said. “My parents can come here in February but I won’t be able to spend Christmas with them.”

This will be Laura’s first Christmas away from her friends and family.“I know that my parents are very proud of me for doing this though

and it’s helping me get through it so can enjoy my experience here,” Laura said.

Laura said the people at Rider have really welcomed her and make her feel special.

“When people ask you a lot of questions and seem very interested in where you’re from and they say they love your accent, it makes me happy,” Laura said. “It’s funny because in Spain we love American accents.”

Mr. Terry also is very interested in Laura’s Spanish and Galilean culture and loves to teach Laura about Texas and America.

“We are both teaching each other new things, I hope by the time she leaves I can understand Spanish and say some more words than ‘Hola’,” Mr. Terry said laughing.

Although Laura is struggling with the difference between her home and America, she sees this as an opportunity she didn’t want to miss.

“I feel so lucky to be here and I want to make the most of every moment.” Laura said.

Ambition and courage come with experiencing a new country


Social media is a way of getting in contact with friends, expressing yourself and sharing opinions; however, often the negative effects of being part of a virtual world are more severe than the benefits when people forget that social media is public.

41% of social media-using teens have experienced at least one negative outcome as a result of using a social networking site, according to Pew Research Center.

"People put too much private information on the Internet," technology teacher David White said. "There is not a lot of face to face contact anymore. People are much bolder behind a computer screen than if they were actually in front of the person."

15% of Americans have never checked their social networking privacy and security account settings according to the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA). Experts say too many people are leaving their profiles open to the public where anyone can see anything they post and private information on their profile.

"There is a sense of invincibility on the Internet," White said. "People just post whatever they want without thinking it through and end up losing their job or getting in trouble at school."

6% of students have gotten in trouble at school because of an experience on a social networking site according to a MacAfee online safety study. Some argue that being punished for sharing opinions on networking sites is going against the 1st amendment.

"I believe in free speech," history teacher and tennis coach Kyle Apperson said. "This is America."

White also believes in free speech, but wants students to realize there is a consequence for every action.

"You can't take back something once you put it on the internet," White said. "It's there forever, and anyone could see it."

72% of teens have a social networking profile, and nearly half have a public profile viewable by anyone according to NCSA. Teens generally lack awareness of what can result from posting their information online for everyone to see.

"We should probably tell them if they are associated with Rider (tennis) don't post things that are offensive," Apperson said. "I would tell them to think before you tweet, before you immediately post something."

White used to be a coach and said athletes especially were held to a higher standard."If you're a part of a team you are expected to act and carry yourself a certain way,"

White said. "You can't just say whatever you want and get away with it."The average Facebook user has 130 friends on their profile, according to

socialmediafacts.com"It's like people use these sites as competitions to see who can get the most friends or

the most attention," White said.With the growing amount of time people are spending on social networking sites, the

more likely it is that private information and posts will cause problems for the creator."The bottom line is everyone makes mistakes," Apperson said. "If one of my athletes

or students was posting bad stuff, I would sit down with them and have a long talk about what they are doing and the consequences."

Sometimes the consequences can even be life changing. 53% of employers research potential job candidates on social networking sites according to macworld.com. Obama Campaign Co-Chair Eva Longoria was under fire for a tweet, and many people called for her resignation. Just because social-networking is part of one's private life, doesn't mean that it won't affect one's public life or even job.

"I know everyone makes mistakes, but putting offensive and impulsive things under your name is a pretty big one," White said. "Kids have to realize just because you have had a bad day or are blowing off steam, doesn't mean you can say whatever you want without any reaction."

Free to be MEANInternet leads to more instances of bad behavior; consequences can be severeby Ashlynn Giles

56 % of Americans have a profile on

a social networking site.

22 % of Americans use social

networking sites several times per day.

23 % of Facebook’s users check their account five or more

times each day.

500 Million + users on Facebook.

280,000,000 users on Twitter.

Shocking Statistics

Get active in your Community

Community is a hilarious TV show about a study group at Greendale, a community college with an eccentric staff and student body. The study group includes a suspended lawyer, a pop culture-obsessed film student, and a millionaire who joined Greendale out of boredom, among other odd students.

In Community, the students realize there’s something wrong. Greendale Community College will have to shut down due to low attendance, but the study group won’t give up without a fight.

Parents who worry about extreme profanity and violence don’t have to worry. There isn’t much cussing, and there isn’t any violence other than the occasional slapstick.

It seems like the cast tries to fit a lot into each episode. The show quickly goes from one thing to another, but it is still easy to follow what’s going on.

The episodes are always a surprise. The characters’ extreme personalities keep the show both interesting and clever. The randomness of each episode keeps the audience wondering what would happen next.

Community was slated to start Oct. 19, but NBC postponed the start of season 4. The release date will now be Feb. 7, 2013. Community will air Thursdays at 8 p.m.

Top Grossing TV Comedies

check us out at www.theriderchronicle.comthe Flash. January 201316 Entertainment

by Brooke Leiker

The story of seven crazy adults reliving the time of their lives

The OfficeBig Bang Theory

A sitcom featuring a comedic manager and his obedient workers who never know what to expect from him.

A sitcom featuring 4 guys who work at a university in California and their girl neighbor.

A light, amusing comedy in which a group of people form a TV channel.

A comedy featuring Leslie Knope, a devoted government employee, and her blustering comrades.

30 RockParks and Recreations

12% percent of students have seen Community.

That’s only 216 students out of Rider!

Ben Chang is a Spanish teacher at the college but reveals he doesn’t actually have any qualifications. So he goes back as a student.

Jeff Winger is a law student that, in an unfortunate turn of events, doesn’t get his law degree. So back to college he goes.

Britta Perry is a student of Swiss origin, who is often the group’s scapegoat.

check us out at www.theriderchronicle.comthe Flash. January 2013 17Entertainment

“The Last Stand” is an action/drama film written by Andrew Knauer and will be the first U.S. film directed by Kim Ji-yong. It stars Arnold Schwarzenneger in his first leading role since “Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines” and will have a supporting cast consisting of Johnny Knoxville, Rodrigo Santoro, Zach Gilford and more.

Honestly, I have never heard of either Knauer or Ji-yong, but I do recognize the producer, Lorenzo di Bonaventura, from his involvement in the “Transformers” trilogy.

Although I haven’t heard of the writer and director, I must say the premise for this film has promise.Schwarzenegger plays Sheriff Ray Owens, a former LAPD officer who resigned after a bungled

operation left his partner crippled. He’s now Sheriff of a border town known as Sommerton Junction, fighting what little crime the sleepy town has.

Things soon start to pick up though, as a drug kingpin escapes the FBI. With an army of gang members, a specially outfitted car and a hostage, the criminal races at 200 mph to–wouldn’t you know it?–Sommerton Junction.

Now U.S. law enforcement must make its “Last Stand” here or risk losing the drug lord forever.Sheriff Owens decides to join the fight and gathers a small town force for the face off. Like I said

before, the story has potential. You can automatically tell with Schwarzenneger’s involvement in this that it will have some awesome gunfighting action and one-liners, and Knoxville’s role as the comedic sidekick should bring a few laughs. All in all, I’m a fan of action films and it’ll be nice to see Schwarzenegger back in the lead, so I plan on catching this movie in theaters Jan. 18.

by Austin DoucetBack on the big screen

by Haley HamptonAmerica seems to be obsessed with war. We’re not satisfied

with the carnage and crimson trails left behind overseas, and video games like Halo, Modern Warfare, and Call of Duty bring the action right into our living rooms. But that’s not the half of it. Some of the highest grossing box office figures have come from films such as The Hurt Locker (2008); 300 (2007); War Horse (2011); and most recently, Red Dawn (2012) starring Chris Hemsworth, Josh Peck, and Josh Hutcherson. The 2012 film is a remake of the 1984 Red Dawn that starred Patrick Swayze, C. Thomas Howell, and Lea Thompson.

When the first version of the film was released in 1984, the purpose of the film was to shock the public. And shock it did. The film was the first to have the brand new PG-13 rating tacked onto it. And if put side-by-side, the newer creation of Red Dawn would more than likely be “cleaner” than the original. However, Red Dawn is not a film I’d advise taking a child OR teenager under the age of 18 to see. The movie is actually fairly clear of blood, gore, and sex. But it’s not clear of the seventy or so times that profanities like the f-bomb, and a considerable dictionary of choice vocabulary. It endorses the idea that it’s perfectly alright to shoot the person who shot your family right back. After all, if someone takes something of yours, you get to take something of theirs. An eye for an eye. Right?

by Kiersten ScottI disagree with Haley’s opinion on Red Dawn. First because

even though there was violence, the amount of gore was tiny to non-existent, lacking even a blood spatter when characters were shot. This sounds vicious, but compared to video games where the target audience is boys between 13 and 20, the movie was incredibly tame, getting a PG rating in Canada.

Also in stressful situations such as your hometown suddenly being invaded by angry North Koreans, colorful language is expected and if anywhere in the movie a character said “oh darn” when they were under fire then the movie would lose the little amount of believability it had. Which is important so that we can sympathize with this group of rag-tag teenagers trying to retake their hometown. The movie had one sexual reference which is astounding when we reconsider the target audience is boys age 14-20.

Red Dawn is filled with life lessons even during war, like personal sacrifice, infallible love, forgiveness, and inevitable mortality. For example, in most action movies the main characters seem invincible, but in Red Dawn their original group lost their leader as well as others, however the leader’s brother carries on the fight for freedom, honoring the memory of his father and brother who were casualties of war.

CrossfireRed Dawn Thumbs up, Thumbs down?

The Dark Knight Rises

The HobbitThe Hunger Games

Breaking Dawn Part 2

The Avengers The Amazing Spiderman

Most Popular Movies of 2012

Bringing back the basics

Rider alum Alysha Pritt, now Alysha Humpert, knew being the head volleyball coach for Rider was the right step to take for her career. She has now reached her goal at the school she once attended as a student. She says she is looking forward to coaching this season because she played volleyball when she was at Rider.

Humpert has not always played volleyball. In fact, her first love was basketball. While attending Rider, she made Varsity basketball sophomore, junior and senior years. She started her volleyball career in seventh grade at McNiel Jr. High, played both years there, and then played all four years at Rider. As a freshman she made JV, then halfway through the year moved up to Varsity volleyball, where she would remain throughout her high school career.

When she played volleyball, Humpert said it was a great experience. Rider volleyball was known for being pretty good, and her coaches made the program even better for her. They were great mentors and helped push her to play at a higher level. Her senior year was the first year Rider ever won a district championship, and they went on to make it three rounds deep in the finals.

Before coaching at Rider, she was an assistant coach at Wichita Falls High School.

“Coaching at Old High was a great

experience, the girls were great, the coaches were great, but in the end it’s not my alma mater,” Humpert said.

Humpert has a few new things she would like to try with the team. One of the techniques she will be using this year is what she teaches to Varsity and also wants JV and freshmen to learn as well, sort of like a trickle down effect.

“I want freshmen, JV, and Varsity to feel like they are ‘One Family, One Team’,” Humpert said.

She really wants to promote the positivity and pride of being a Lady Raider volleyball player whether they gave it 100 percent in the weight room or on the court. Also there are a couple new slogans for this season such as “Stay Basic”. “Stay Basic” is a new beginning with the new coach, rules, and standards to start everything fresh. Along with “Stay Basic” there is also “Prump it up”. This a saying made up by the Varsity girls who knew her as coach Pritt. So they combined her new last name and made it ‘Prump’.

She not only wants to make good volleyball players, but she also wants to have the most college players come off of the Rider volleyball courts.

“I want to promote being proud of what we do,” Humpert said. “I want the girls to feel like they are the hardest working team

check us out at www.theriderchronicle.comthe Flash. January 201318 Sports

photo by Justen Walden

and program at school and to be proud that they are a Lady Raider.”

When people hear “Lady Raider Volleyball”, she wants them to know that the girls are not only good athletes but also that when they come out of this program they will have great character as well.

“I predict that by the end of the season, the freshmen, JV, and Varsity teams will all feel like it’s a successful season because we all worked hard, and we pushed ourselves to get better and we also held ourselves to a higher standard,” Humpert said.

by Emily Carroll

New head coach focuses on perfecting fundamentals

Goals for this season:

* Be in the top 2 in district

* Win a playoff game

* Go 3 rounds into playoffs

* Win every game in 3 sets

* Finish games at 20 points

* No more than 4 missed

serves

* Kill (spike) every free ball

* No drama; Give 100%

For some, senior year means finally being free, finally getting out of Wichita, and finally being done with high school, but for the seniors on the Varsity football team, it means bitter-sweet goodbyes.

“I’m glad to go on to college, but it will be hard,” senior left tackle Harrison Sorge said. “I spent four years of my life here.”

Senior corner back, Amaini Colbert feels the same way.“I’m ready to go, but its going to suck. I won’t get to be with

the same guys,” Colbert said.For some seniors, this isn’t the end of their football journey.

Sorge will play college football and Senior quarterback J.T. Barrett has signed with Ohio State.

The seniors say the coaches have played a huge role in their success.

“Coach Gar gets us pumped up before the games, gets us fired up,” Sorge said.

The road to the start of a winning season wasn’t easy.“In the off-season we had to run a lot of laps around the

track, and that was hard, but it helps us work hard and get in shape, so it was worth it in the end,” Sorge said.

Barrett had some hard times as well, but says he got more out of the program than just football.

“When it’s 104 degrees outside and you’re running, you realize it’s actually to help you,” Barrett said. “I was taught behavior, and that football isn’t just about hitting people.”

Senior wide receiver Brylan McCoy thinks that the hard work brought the team together.

“It’s helped me look out more for my teammates than for myself,” McCoy said.

Even though they’re seniors now, they remember how it was to be freshmen, and they have some advice for the newest Raiders.

“[You have to] work hard, keep your mouth shut, and play your hardest,” McCoy said.

Senior Quarterback JT Barrett

“When it’s 104 degrees outside and you’re

running, you realize it’s actually to help you. I

was taught behavior, and that football isn’t just about hitting people.”

Senior Wide Receiver Brylan McCoy

“[The hard work has] helped me look out

more for my teammates than for myself. [You

have to] work hard, keep your mouth shut, and play your hardest.”

check us out at www.theriderchronicle.comthe Flash. January 2013 19Sports

Varsity seniors reach the end of Raider eraFootball teaches students more than just how to play sportsby Imran Kurani

(Top) Seniors Courtney Terrell and Eric Luster cheer at the football game against Azle. Photo by Aimee Reagan.(Left) The Raiderettes cheer as Varsity runs onto the field at the playoff game against Frenship. Photo by Hope Alvarez.

“Without self-discipline, success is impossible, period.”

-Lou Holtz

After an unbelievable score of 49-0 for Rider/Old High, the Varsity football team was set and determined to take on the playoffs. Starting the season in the 4A Division 2 bracket, the team was 8-2, and they dominated the competition game after game.

“People talk about our losses of JT and Chase, but in life it’s not always going to be easy. You can’t just throw your hands up and quit, you have to move forward and keep going,” Head coach Jim Garfield said.

The boys have done just that, beginning the playoff season with a 44-26 win over the Fort Worth Dunbar Wildcats. Countless practices and multiple Friday and Saturday games later, the Raiders had shown just how far they wanted to go.

“I knew we had high expectations for the playoffs. We all had it in our heads that we would make history, and that’s what we set out to do,” junior safety Landon Ross said.

When the team worked their way to the fourth round, it was a home game that was attended by most of the Rider student body, hoping for a victory sealing the team’s mark in Raider history.

“It was exciting, like nothing else in the world mattered but that game,” sophomore safety Kristian Becker said.

Sure enough, Rider crushed Frenship with a 33-7

blow-away win. The fans were ecstatic. Rider, for the first time in history, was going to the State Semifinals. Unfortunately, that was as far as the team got. They lost in double overtime to Lancaster 26-19, with the entire Rider side of the stadium full of supporters who stayed even through pouring rain to cheer on their team and sing the Alma Mater along with the band.

“As a team we grew closer and got better everyday. We know we are the best even though it didn’t turn out that way. It’s a good feeling knowing we made Rider history, but I think I speak for everyone on the team when I say we should have made state history,” senior wide receiver John Hatch said.

Everyone loves a win, but only a true Raider can stand by their team after a loss, and that’s just what our student body did. It really ended the season with a bang, a close game that kept the fans on their feet. And that’s exactly how the entire season was, full of excitement.

“The team grew close throughout the playoffs, and we really proved that ‘One Family One Team’ is more than just a saying,” Ross said. “We are a family, it is a bond that we will have for life, a bond that grew stronger with these extra games that we earned together. Being a part of Raider history was an accomplishment that was not given to us but earned. It is a feeling that we will never forget.”

Highlights of the

Playoffs

ROUND 1

ROUND 2

ROUND 3

ROUND 4

check us out at www.theriderchronicle.comthe Flash. January 2013 20Sports

ROUND 5

-Fort Worth Dunbar •Offence lead the game scoring multiple points •Overall score 44-26

-Fort Worth Southwest •Highlighted by the defense making great plays at crucial moments

-El Paso Burges •Offense and defense covered each other well throughout the game

-Frenship •In the words of Coach Gar, “Carlos.” •That’s all you need.

Raiders make history in playoffsby Shelby Harrison

-Lancaster •Defence stopped Lancaster from scoring in 1st overtime- we all thought the game was ours!

Flash: The best of TheRiderChronicle.com

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