March 20, 2013 • Volume 10 • Issue 6 Northridge High School • 2901 Northridge Road • Tuscaloosa, Al• 35406northridgereporter.wordpress.com

Honk!Pay to playPage 3 Sports

Page 7

Alex HauserEditor-in-Chief

Seniors who took BTA their freshman year were informed on Feb. 11 that they must complete 20 hours of online experience to graduate.

In 2008, the Alabama Department of Educa-tion notified all of the school dis-tricts in Alabama that students who wished to receive the Alabama High School Diploma with Advanced Ac-ademic Endorsement had to com-plete an “online experience.”

“Each high school principal and counselor was informed of the re-quirement at that time,” Jenks, Coor-dinator of Instructional Technology, said. “Students must have the online experience. [They] could have the necessary online experience in any course meeting the requirements.”

DeAnthony Mays, senior, said it was unfair to give se-niors more requirements to fill during the second half of their senior year.

“They pushed BTA in ninth grade, and it ended up hurt-ing us in the long run,” he said. “I wish we were informed earlier, so I could have taken it during sophomore or junior year.”

When the school was first informed about the missing credit, HOSA did not count as that online experience. HOSA students like Abby Hayes, senior, who had class at

TCT during advisory, planned to take their class during their lunch period.

Sally Latham, HOSA teacher, said when she became aware that her students had to take another class, she looked into the require-ments to try to help them.

“I read the experience require-ments. I felt we were meeting them through the Edmodo as-signments I’d have them doing

from the beginning of school,” she said.Hayes said she was grateful for Latham.“I’m really happy she took the time to get it approved.

We really do spend a lot of class time online, so I think

it’s fair.Latham had Jenks review her assignments and assess

whether they met the online experience criteria.“He determined we met the criteria enough to award

them the online exemption,” she said.HOSA student Elise Tucker, senior, said she was glad

Latham requested HOSA to count.“We have online work every week. There’s a whole

week set aside of it,” she said. “It’s one less thing that we have to do now. We wouldn’t have had time with it because we work through advisory so we can finish our clinicals in time.”

Mays said he thinks they should have planned for stu-dents to take it before their last semester in high school.

“If they knew before that I had to complete it, I could have taken it the three years before,” he said. “I’m just wasting my time completing a packet that’s not for a grade when I could be working on another class. It just doesn’t seem right.”

Jenks said that after reviewing Ria Evans’ AP physics course, students taking it will fulfill their online experi-ence.

Che’Quita BurrellArtist

A new advising process was implemented in March to help students register for classes. Each student will have a 15 minute ad-vising session with one of the counselors to discuss scheduling options.

Jackie Hudgins said the counselors are reviewing each student’s grades, test scores and career interests to help them choose what classes to take.

Elizabeth Tiley began advising students for next year on March 8.

“I think it’s going pretty well,” Tiley said. “I’ve been able to get to know students better and be more intentional as far as recom-mending classes.”

Each student will plan out all the classes they will take in high school, but this plan can be changed later if needed.

Junior BoPing Kang said she preferred the old advis-ing process where teachers signed off on your classes.

“I like the old way be-cause I could talk to my parents about it,” Kang said. “It’s my schedule, not the counselor’s.”

I’m just wasting my time completing a packet that’s not for a grade when I could be working on another class.

DeAnothony Mays, senior

Raiha BajwaManaging Editor

The school board has made plans to in-troduce a new program Freshmen Acad-emy for incoming freshman next year. The program is meant to help freshman make an easy transition from middle school to high school. The idea of the program is to set aside a certain part of the school build-ing just for freshman where most freshman classes will be in the same area.

Isaac Espy, principal, said the change is one of the results of the instructional audit held in October.

“This action was taken as part of a school restructuring effort,” he said.

The program is designed to give fresh-man undivided attention from a group of teachers and administrators, aiding them in their success at high school.

“We would start by scheduling most 9th grade classes as closely together as possi-ble,” Espy said. “This helps teachers com-municate more effectively about student progress.”

“It will give them a physical part of the school they can call their own,” he said. “This may eliminate some of the distrac-tions.”

Espy said he plans to visit students in the eighth grade in the spring and discuss it with them.

“Teachers have come up to me and asked to be a part of this program,” he said.

“I am very optimistic and enthusiastic about the potential for significant student gains academically,” Espy said.

Kelly Brown, guidance counselor, said a smooth transition from middle school to high school sets the path for the rest of the students’ path through high school.

“The freshman year of high school is most crucial,” she said. “Students who don’t do well their ninth grade year are more likely to dropout in later years.”

Shane Ashcraft, English teacher, said he thinks the idea of giving ninth graders a better way to transition is a good idea.

“I don’t think it’s babying them,” he said. “I think the transition is tough, and you go from a much more struc-tured environment to high school, and you need some help on the way.”

Ashcraft compared the program with how freshman are treated in college.

“They do this in college too with freshman orientation, re-quired freshman classes, and freshman housing on campus,” he said. “It’s to help you transition to the new setting; it’s needed.”

Alex Smith, senior, said she does not see how the program might be helpful.

“It just fosters learned helpless-ness,” she said. “If we keep delaying when kids have to be social and deal with others then there’s going to be a point where they can’t be a normal part of society.”

Freshmen Academy in effect next year In the newsCounselors meetwith studentsto plan schedules

Teachers assist seniors in meeting online requirements Late Notice

YES3 NO160

Would you like aFreshmanAcademy?

163 students polledcompiled by: Jakailah Cooper

NewsCoffee ClubPage 6

See editorial on page 2

2 The Northridge ReporterMarch 20, 2013Opinion

Our ThoughtsBoard plans to implement new program for incoming freshman

agree (18) disagree (0) neutral (1)

Adjusting to a new setting is never easy and one of the hard-est transitions for a student is moving from middle school

to high school.The first year as a freshman can pave the way for the rest of the

student’s academic life. In that crucial year some students can end up lost or confused.

The introduction of the new Freshmen Academy program is meant to aid with these students’ transition to high school and give them special attention they might need to stay focused and succeed academically.

The program would require for most freshman classes to move to one part of the school, where that area would be designated for freshman.

The idea is to welcome them and make them feel comfortable in the larger school and with different workload.

While the program might be successful in giving freshman the help they may need, it may hinder students’ ability to deal with such changes in the future.

Keeping them secluded from the rest of the school and giving them special attention could lead to babying the freshman and keep them from ever learning how to take care of themselves.

Programs such as the Northridge Mentors and Jaguar Jumpstart are already opportunities for freshmen to get help from other stu-dents to help make their transition easier and get more comfortable at the school. These programs have been successful in the past, but a whole section of the school dedicated primarily to the freshman might be a bit much.

The Northridge Reporter understands that incoming freshmen have a lot to get used to and sometimes the change can be hard to deal with, but even then freshman do not need to be treated like children who can’t take care of themselves. At some point in life these children have to grow up, and high school is just when they have to start doing that.

See freshmen academy on page 1

Art by: Katie Poore

New Student feels welcome at Northridge

Journalist of the Year (2013) • Bailey Thomson Award for Editorial Writing (2013) • Rick Bragg Feature Writing Award (2009) • NSPA 5th Place Best of Show 2012 • NSPA 1st Place Best of Show 2011 • NSPA 5th Place Best of Show 2008 • NSPA 8th Place Best of Show 2008 • NSPA 9th Place Best of Show 2006 • CSPA Silver Medalist (2003, 2004) CSPA Gold Medalist (2005-2011) • SIPA All-Southern (2003, 2005–2012) • ASPA All-Alabama (2003–2011) • NSPA All-American (2004, 2008, 2011) • Best SIPA Newspaper in Alabama (2003–2007) • NSPA

News Story of the Year (2005) • SIPA First Place News Story (2007) • SIPA First Place Review (2009)

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Editorial Policy: The opinions in The Northridge Reporter are those of the students and not of the faculty or ad-ministration of Northridge High School or the Tuscaloosa City Board of Education. It is the policy of The Northridge Reporter to publish all non-obscene, non-libelous, signed letters to the editor, regardless of the opinion expressed in them. Letters must be submitted to Susan Newell in room 109 or emailed to northridgereporter@gmail.com.

Editor-in-Chief *Alex HauserManaging Editor*Raiha Bajwa Feature Editor*Renu PanditNews Editor*Sarah Katherine Barnes

Entertainment Editor*Raiha BajwaSports Editor*Kelly BurnhamOpinion Editor*Raiha Bajwa Beat Editor*Morgan DeWitt

Copy Editor*Kelly Burnham, Rabisa Khan, *Jared LotfiInfographics EditorJakailah CooperArt Editor*KanJalla DancerArtistsCheQuita Burrell, *Katie Poore

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Web MastersVictoria LoveTwitter EditorAbby Allen Adviser*Susan Newell

New, New AgainTyler DavisStaff Writer

Most people would really enjoy being the new kid, because for them, it’s a chance to start over and meet new friends, but in my case it’s different.

I move about every three years since my dad is in the military, and it just gets very tiring and dull.

The reason it starts to become dull is because every time I move I end up having to learn all the new rules and reintroduce myself. The plus side to moving constantly is the opportunity to visit many new places around the world such as Germany, and all the memories that I can gain from being in so many different places. I have al-ready created some memories here.

On my second day at school, I went to Dr. Isaac Espy’s office to shadow an interview. After the in-terview was over, Dr. Espy introduced himself to me and asked me how I liked the school so far and if I had anything from the school yet. I told him I

didn’t have anything that said Northridge, so he then offered me a school T-shirt. I was very

happy that Dr. Espy offered me a shirt, since I have very few shirts from any of the schools I have attended in my life.

Also, after about three weeks of at-tending school here, I have met many

new people, have become more social, and have begun to really enjoy the school.

I have finally become used to how everything works. I am really looking forward to how the rest of my year here will turn out and hope it will get better each day.

Art by: Raiha Bajwa

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3EntertainmentThe Northridge ReporterMarch 20, 2013

Alex HauserEditor-in-Chief

Before the curtain rises and the au-dience appears,

the “Honk! Jr.” cast and production team has to transform students to ducks and the auditorium into a pond.

“Honk! Jr.” a musical re-telling of “The Ugly Duck-ling,” was chosen by Don-na Wright, drama teacher, based on the students avail-able to perform.

“You’ve got a limited talent pool, [and] by lim-ited I mean you’re casting from within this group of people. We have plenty of talent, you just have to pick the talent from what you have,” she said. “We looked at the talent that we have, particularly the musical theatre class, and which shows we need to do with this group, because once this group is gone, we missed the opportunity. It usually ends up this way, we think of the people that are graduating.”

Wright said that senior, Craig First, who plays the lead role, has been with the musical theatre department since his freshman year.

“Craig makes a great Ugly, he stands out,” she said.

First said he was excited to “bring to life” a character

that he has always known, but it was challenging try-ing to portray Ugly in a positive manner.

“It’s hard finding a bal-ance between being the victim without being sap-py. You want people to feel bad for you, but you still want to entertain,” he said. “[I step] into the audience’s shoes and think that if I was watching this for the first time without any previous knowledge of the script, how I would connect with the character.”

Senior Lane Russell, stage manager, said they didn’t want First to be “too ugly,” but would want him to instead be a “cute Ugly.”

“We want him to have Alfalfa hair, but haven’t figured out how to do it yet because he has to make an on-stage transformation,” she said.

Russell also plays a duckling in the show.

“This is the first play I’ve actually gotten to perform in. We sing “Look at Him.” It’s a really cute and funny song, and I really enjoy playing a duckling,” she said. “It is a little difficult because I’m also in charge of blocking and all of the props.”

Casey Miller, senior, is playing the Cat, who is the villain of the show.

“[The Cat] is sly and

sneaky. She has an inner demon side and only wants to eat Ugly for lunch,” she said. “One of the most chal-lenging parts is being flirty and having a French accent the entire show along with remembering my lines.”

Miller also choreo-graphed many of the songs, including the opening num-ber.

“It’s my favorite part of “Honk!” because I choreo-graphed the entire dance, and it’s the first time the au-dience sees me,” she said.

Wright said putting on a show is like “herding cats.”

“We don’t have the ad-vantage that an athletic team has. If the first string quarterback is out, there is somebody there to step in. You’ve got the second string or third string. We don’t have understudies that are automatically as-signed. If someone is miss-ing from rehearsal, you are missing that intricate part of the rehearsal process. So just keeping all the cats in the same place, same time, is always the most chal-lenging,” she said.

Several students dropped out of the musical, leaving a small amount of people to perform.

“We had a large cast to begin with and now that the cast is so small. Some people have to play mul-

tiple characters, and it’s really hard for students to learn new lines and chore-ography. I’m really proud of some of the cast mem-bers for stepping up,” Rus-sell said.

But even with the chal-lenges faced, Wright said the cast was “great.” She said senior Nick Motz, who plays one of the geese, will be “hysterical with his British accent,” and Anna Beth Northington, sopho-more, plays a great Mother Goose.

“It’s great fun. I think they’re all just very cute. It’s very well cast,” Wright said.

First said the cast was very diverse.

“We have a lot of new faces and a lot of old faces. We have a lot of new talent here that I’m really excited about.,” he said.

Wright said “Honk! Jr.” will be “great fun.” It will be performed in the audito-rium April 5-6 at 7:00 p.m.

“[The most rewarding part] is when the show is finished and everybody loves it, and they’ve looked great, and you haven’t killed anyone,” she said. “It’s a fun show for ev-erybody. It’s been a while since we’ve done a show where younger siblings can come and really enjoy the show as well.”

LESTER SOLOMON, Agent

4 Oakhill Court McFarlandBoulevard EastTuscaloosa, AL 35405-1908Bus (205) 556-5363 Toll-free (888) 556-5363Fax (205) 556-5315 Cell (205) 394-2962lester@lestersolomon.com

Photo by: Alex Hauser Look at him: Katelyn Lipscomb, senior, Nick Motz, senior, and AnnaBeth Northington, sophomore, practice cho-reography for Honk! Jr. Craig First, senior, plays the lead, Ugly. “It’s a really cute story,” First said. “I’m excited for people to come and see it.” The play opens April 5 and 6 in the auditorium.

Social media essential part of everyday life

Theatre department retells classic tale of the Ugly Duckling Honk!

Victoria LoveWeb Master

Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram and Tumblr, stu-dents use them every day. Some people think it’s starting to become an addiction. Social media is becoming more popular every day, and many people have a favorite.

Smart phones are a student favorite because they give access to the Internet. The apps for the social media sites are used more often than actually getting on a computer and going online to view it.

Since the Wi-Fi was disabled, students have a hard time getting Internet access when they need it.

Some teachers allow students to use their phones to look up information in class when they are working on a proj-ect.

Nicoletta Versace, sophomore, said she tries to take ad-vantage of using the Internet as often as she can. She likes to use the apps for Pinterest, Twitter and Facebook.

She said one of her favorite apps is Netflix. She said she spends about thirty minutes to an hour each day using it.

“I use my iPod Touch to get on the apps more than I do my computer… actually. I don’t even use my computer that much anymore, “Versace said.

Versace said she has had problems using the Wi-Fi at school.

“Sometimes teachers want to use Wi-Fi for YouTube to show us videos in class that relate to the lesson, but then they can’t. Upstairs you can never get Wi-Fi.”

Pinterest is a website where you find things that you are interested in and pin them onto digital boards on your page. People use it to find recipes, style ideas, room decor, wedding plans and DIY activities.

Lainey Hatfield, sophomore, said she likes to use Pin-terest because “you can find lots of cool ideas.”

Hatfield estimates that she spends about twenty minutes a day on this site.

Facebook is one of the most used forms of social media. Users can post what they are doing, where they are and upload pictures to show all their friends.

Erin Green, sophomore, said he is an active user of Fa-cebook and likes to see what his friends post when he logs on once or twice a day.

“I get to read about other people’s business online,” Green said. “They’re idiotic for putting it online.”

Green doesn’t often use the Internet while at school, but when he does he said it’s difficult because, “it doesn’t have a strong signal when you need it.”

Instagram users can upload pictures and follow others to see what they post too. Filters can be added to change the coloring and improve or edit the pictures.

Green said Instagram was ok, but he doesn’t use it a lot.

Twitter is another popular choice. Loren Ledbetter, sophomore, said that it’s her favorite

of all social media.“It’s funny because you get to see people embarrassing

themselves,” Ledbetter said. “It’s so addictive.”A new website called Vine is starting to gain popular-

ity. “Vine… I’ve heard of it. It has gifs on it. I just recently

found out about it, but I don’t use it,” Ledbetter said.Unlike most, Drew Hindman, sophomore, doesn’t use

any type of social media.“I don’t use anything like Facebook,” Hindman said.Hindman said he thinks, “It’s too addicting and becomes

time-consuming,” when you could be focused on doing something else.

4 The Northridge ReporterMarch 20, 2013Feature

Rabisa KhanCopy Editor

Do you “redneckognize” Honey Boo Boo?

“Here Comes Honey Boo Boo” is a reality television

show which comes on every Sunday at 8:00 p.m. on TLC.

The show revolves around six-year-old

pageant queen Alana Thompson, and her family.

Thompson is commonly known as “Honey Boo

Boo.”Demario Plott,

sophomore, said he watches the show every

week.“The show is so stupid, but I

watch it because it’s hilarious,” Plott said.

He said, “Here Comes Honey Boo Boo” shows a “chubby little redneck” girl acting “like a fool.”

“The lack of home training that Alana and her sisters have is un-believable but super funny,” Plott said.

Jessica Fergerson, sophomore, said she has also watched the show.

“It’s so stupid and useless,” Fergerson said. “This little girl [Alana] is trying too hard to be a 25-year-old by putting in her fake teeth since she still has her baby teeth. Her clothes and attitude are also ridiculous, but I must say the show is addicting.”

Zoë Bakker, senior, said she is a huge fan of the show.

“It’s just so entertaining! On the outside and surface, they’re rednecks, but you can tell that they [Alana’s family] really love each other,” Bakker said.

Bakker said “Here Comes Hon-ey Boo Boo” is no worse than any other reality TV show, “and it’s a must see mainly for entertain-ment value.”

Nicoletta Versace, sophomore, said she has a love-hate relation-ship with the show.

“I love it because it’s so hilari-ous, and she’s a redneck, but you can go into Wal-Mart and find the same kind of people; Alana is fa-mous for no reason, but she’s just a source for entertainment,” Ver-sace said.

Reality television show captivates teen viewers

Jordan HutchinsonStaff Writer

“Happy, Hap-py, Happy!” Phil Robertson says in the show “Duck

Dynasty,” a show about a family that

became multimil-lionaires from mak-

ing wooden duck calls.

Phil or the “duck commander” founded

the duck call company, called Duck Commander. His son Willie Robertson, the current CEO of the company, has to deal with his family as employees.

Willie does his best to keep his family under control, but

as the intro states, “It’s hard to

run a family business when the family just wants to run wild.”

One of Willie’s relatives is Si-las or “Si” Robertson. At sixty-five years old, Si hunts, makes r e e d s for duck c a l l s a n d l o v e s to talk.

Si is a Viet-n a m veteran.

A t o n e p o i n t in the show Si quit and went off to help Phil on his land. Phil and Si are broth-ers, so Si was excited to work with Phil.

Phillip Lollar, freshman, said Si is his favorite character because he reminds him of his grandpa.

“Duck Dynasty is awesome. I got the A&E app just to watch it,” Lollar said.

The show is in its second sea-son and airs new episodes on Wednesdays at nine o’-clock.

Landon Yerby, sophomore, said his favorite Si quote is,

“First it’s pretty tires, then it’s pret-

ty guns...next thing you know, y o u ’ r e s h a v i n ’

your beard and wearin’ capri pants.”

“That was hilarious,” he said.

Melody Mills, freshman, said John Luke and Si are her favor-ite characters.

“Everyone needs to watch this show,” Mills said.

Duck Dynasty is freaking awesome. I got the A&E app just to watch it,

Phillip Lolar, freshman

Renu PanditFeature Editor

“Treat yo’ self,” and watch “Parks and Recreation.”

The popular NBC show stars Amy Poehler as Leslie Knope, a passionate member of the parks and recreation committee in a small city, and follows the trials and tribulations that she and her eccentric coworkers face.

Laine Elliot, senior, said she’s watched the show for two years.

“I love it! Mainly because I want to work in government when I grow up, so I basically want to be Leslie Knope,” Elliot said.

Elliot said her cousin got her to watch the show after telling her how funny it was.

“I would definitely suggest it to anyone; it has jokes that almost anyone from any kind of demographic would enjoy,” Elliot said.

Elliot said the show reminds her of “The Office,” “but its humor is really different, so the only thing that’s the same is the office set-ting.”

“It doesn’t use crude or gross jokes to get cheap laughs, and I really appreciate that about it,” Elliot said. “The writing and acting is so great.”

Elliot said she loves all the characters, but her favorites are Ben and April.

“One of my favorite moments is when Ben proposes to Leslie, and pretty much every single Andy-April moment,” Elliot said. “I also love ‘treat yo’ self,’ when Donna and Tom go out and buy lots of stuff and get mani-pedis.”

Rebecca Perkins, junior, said she recent-ly started watching the show after seeing a tweet about how funny it was.

“I had heard my friends talk about it, but I just never got into it before,” Perkins said.

Perkins said she loves characters Leslie Knope and Ann Perkins.

“Amy Poehler and Rashida Jones are just perfect,” Perkins said.

Perkins said the show improves a lot be-tween seasons one and two.

“It gets a lot funnier,” Perkins said. “So, hang in there watchers.”

Stephen Black, Spanish teacher, said he’s seen seasons one and two of the show.

“It’s witty and has great characters,” Black said. “It reminds me a lot of ‘The Office.’”

Black said his favorite character in the show is Ron Swanson.

“I just love his mustache,” Black said. “I also like April and Amy Poehler’s charac-ter, of course.”

Black said his favorite moment is when Andy falls into the pit.

“It’s something about how both of his legs were broken that’s just hilarious,” Black said. “I also like the Indian guy and his swag relationship with Jean Ralphio, and all the businesses they start together. They just crack me up.”

Laura Worley, junior, said she start-ed watching the show over winter break and hasn’t stopped since.

“I finally got Netflix and a bunch of people wanted me to watch it,” Worley said. “Also, ‘The Office’ isn’t good anymore without Mi-chael Scott, so I needed some-thing new to watch.”

Worley said she loves she show “because all the charac-ters are weird and quirky.”

“My favorite is Tom,” Worley said. “He’s just so perfectly awkward.”

Worley said her favor-ite moment in the show was when “Leslie’s goes over all the worst pos-sible things that could go wrong on a date, and they’re things that have actually hap-pened to her.”

“If you like ‘The Office,’ you’ll love Parks and Rec.,” Worley said.

Mockumentary thrills

Rednecks capture audience

All artwork by Renu Pandit.

“Hey Jack!”

What types of shows do you prefer?

Reality TV

Sitcoms

Soap Operas

News

Documentary

Cartoons

21

14

16

6

4

9

Information compiled by Renu Pandit. 70 students polled. Designed by Renu

Pandit.

Honey of a show

The Northridge ReporterMarch 20, 2013

Morgan DeWittBeat Editor

In the words of Sheldon Cooper, “Bazinga!”

“The Big Bang Theory” is ranked as TV Guide’s num-ber one most popular show on weeknight television. Ac-cording to TV.com, the show “mixes love with pop-culture and science jokes, and it is an absolute blast to watch” (no pun intended).

The show satisfies a wide range of ages, with the targeted demographic spanning from age 18 to 49.

The sitcom follows the ad-ventures of four friends: Shel-don, Leonard, Howard and Raj, who are all science ma-jors at the California Institute of Technology.

Penny, their blonde bomb-shell of a neighbor, works at the Cheesecake Factory and has a completely different per-sonality from the guys, as she’s more social and tends to bring a lot of guys home.

Walter Hall, senior, said “the show follows the epic tale of four young nerds and their smoking hot neighbor and their quest to find nerd honeys.”

“I like the show because Penny is hot, and I enjoy laughing at Sheldon’s OCD,” Hall said.

Stephen Black, Spanish teacher, said he also loves the show, and his favorite charac-ter is Sheldon.

“He’s so smart, but yet he

has so much trouble connect-ing with people. It’s slight-ly sad but also hilarious to watch,” Black said.

Sophomore Lainey Hatfield said she likes the show because she can relate to the nerdy as-pects of it.

“I love how the characters are so quirky. My favorite character is definitely Sheldon! My family often compares me to him. He is such a great ac-tor and ignorantly funny,” Hat-field said.

Thompson Schille, sopho-more, said the show is hilari-ous..

“Everyone can relate to the show either with Penny or with the guys,” Schille said. “I like Leonard because he tries so hard to be normal but ends up reverting back to his inner nerd.”

Elise Tucker, senior, said she likes that the show puts a spotlight on “nerds.”

“You always see pretty people, or dumb people, but extremely smart people are rarely seen. In this one, you have a group of nerds, but they’re all different and have their interesting little quirks. It’s something that differs from the norm of comedies, and the humor is very consistent,” Tucker said.

The show’s popularity has increased drastically in the past year, with the sixth sea-son boasting the best reviews above all other seasons.

Hatfield said she be-

lieves the show’s increased popularity stems from its con-trast to other TV sitcoms.

“The quirkiness of the nerds is funny no matter what’s cool,” Hatfield said.

Black said the popularity is because of the diversity of the cast.

“You’ve got a cast including four nerdy guys and a beautiful woman,” Black said.

The shows recurring themes include science, psychology, video games and comics which supports its description of “a nerdy comedy.”

With a strong scientific theme, it’s easy to question the show’s credibility.

Junior Marianne Martin said she thinks the show is mostly accurate.

“We even watched part of an episode in AP Psychology,” Martin said.

Hatfield said she doesn’t think the show is accurate.

“My cousins are science majors, and they claim a lot of the information from the show isn’t accurate,” Hatfield said.

Black said he’s heard rumors that the show is accurate.

“I’ve heard they check and recheck all scientific facts on the show,” Black said. “Basi-cally. if you quote the show on a scientific basis, you’re guar-anteed to be right.”

Savren Nelson

Staff Writer

If Daryl Dixon’s mus-

cular arms did not make

one want to watch it,

maybe the flesh eating

zombies would.

“The Walking Dead” is

about a small group of peo-

ple who are fighting to survive

when a zombie virus overtakes

the world’s population.

Rick Grimes is the leader

of the group. He has shaggy

brown hair and piercing blue

eyes. His wife Lori and their son,

Carl fight by his side and

look up to him as much as

the others in their group re-

spect him. Spencer Patton, sophomore,

and Cooper Bunch, senior, said

they look up to Rick as well.

“Rick is a strong leader,”

Patton said as Cooper nodded

his head in agreement.

The group is a mixture of

different personalities and

views on their new world.

Andrea is a smart blond-

headed woman who was once

an attorney and now fights for

her survival. She does not take

no for an answer.

Glenn Rhee was once a

pizza boy. He is now the go-to

guy for any activities involv-

ing getting in and out of sticky

situations quickly.

Joseph Mohabbat, sopho-

more, said Glenn is one of his

favorite characters.

“Glenn is in my top five

favorite characters,” he said,

“also Maggie because she is

really hot.”Maggie Greene is a strong-

willed southern girl who

knows what she wants.

Another group member

who is strong willed is Daryl

Dixon.Daryl standing with his

crossbow slung across his

back and a smirk on his face

makes it clear he is not a man

to mess with.

Trey Cauthen, sophomore,

and Faulcon Fitts, sophomore,

said Daryl gives even more ac-

tion to the show.

“Daryl is super cool,” Cau-

then said. “Daryl’s crossbow is one

of the best parts about the

show,” Fitts said.

Bunch said cliffhangers are

a main reason why the show

has become such a hit.

“The killing, the surviving

and the drama are awesome,”

Bunch said, “but the cliff-

hangers are the best.”

Kyle Gaddis, sophomore,

said he began watching the

show because all of her friends

began watching it..

“That’s when I got hooked,”

he said.The action packed episodes

come on AMC every Sunday

night at 8 p.m.

Viewers engrossed with apocalyptic show

Nerds make prime time5Feature

Spoiler Alert!

What’s your favorite show?

Parks and Recreation

Duck Dynasty

The Big Bang Theory

Here Comes Honey Boo Boo

x x x x x x x

x x x x x x x x x

x x x x x x

x x x x x x x x x x x x x

x=2 studentsInformation compiled by Renu Pandit. 70 students

polled. Designed by Renu Pandit.

How often do you watch TV?

x x x x x x x x x x

x x x x x x x

x x x x

x x x x x x x x x x x x x x

x=2 students

Hardly ever Once a day Twice a day More than twice a day

Every other day

6 The Northridge ReporterMarch 20, 2013News

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CHILDREN & ADULT ORTHODONTICS

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Tel: (205) 553-2524

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Dr. Arti Pandey, MD Internist

4810 Harkey LaneTuscaloosa, AL

(behind McDonald’s on Rice Mine Rd.,near Lake Tuscaloosa)

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Phone: (205)-344-6344Fax: (205)-344-6464

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Email: appointments@spabellelavie.com

Spa Belle La Vie

Jared LotfiCopy Editor

For a fee, the Coffee Club, a group of students and teachers who drink coffee from the maker in the library in the mornings, can provide constant relief for those plagued by a need for caffeine.

Marci Irvin, librarian, said the club is technically a library fund-raiser that functions as a subscrip-tion for students.

“We started in the second week of September and have since made $67 in profit. This allows us to buy the odds and ends that make our daily lives a little easi-er: a little ink, a pack of paper or new books,” she said.

As of this year, the rates are $5 per semester for membership or $0.50 a cup. Next year prices will probably go up.

“Hot cocoa is our new option,” Irvin said.

Nick Motz, senior, said he has been a member of the Coffee Club since its inception.

“I’ve been in [the coffee club] for as long as I can remem-

ber,” he said. “It’s never been a prob-lem for me to get

coffee with any teach-ers or staff until this year.”

Motz said a wom-an he hadn’t seen be-

fore told him he was a child who couldn’t get cof-

fee from the place he’d always gotten it and proceeded to set up two thermoses

outside the library kitchen.

“If I love anything in this world, it’s cof-fee,” he said. “Anyone

else who feels the same way should join.”

Che’Quita BurrellArtist

For the first time since 2003, there will not a Miss Northridge. This year’s beauty walk was cancelled due to a lack of participants.

In all the years of Northridge, except for the first year it opened, there has always been a Miss NHS.

Jessica Garcia, the first Miss Northridge, said, “Being Miss Northridge was truly one of the most incredible experiences.”

She said she held that position dear to her heart not only because she loved Northridge itself, but she felt so honored to represent such a wonderful school.

“I have always looked at a beauty walk as an opportunity to show ones individuality and confidence, so I am very disheartened at the fact Northridge will not be holding one this year,” Garcia said.

Junior Jakailah Cooper competed in the beauty walk last year, but said she did not sign up this year because it was time-consuming.

Rabisa KhanCopy Editor

Representatives from Ellis Architecture came for a safety evaluation on Jan.

28.Isaac Espy, principal, said there was “no

pass or fail” for the evaluation, but they did give us suggestions.

“The general idea is to secure the campus. This is typically done by regulating access through doors,” he said.

Espy said installation of a “buzzer system” on all front doors will be executed immedi-ately.

“The other areas that must be adjusted to limit access include the back gates by the bus stop and doors by the jaguar,” he said.

Espy said it has not been determined how these areas will be limited. He said, “We are considering a timer system to correspond to

No Miss Northridge to be titled for first time since 2003 “I wanted to try something new last year,” Cooper said. “But this

year I’m doing a different pageant, so I didn’t have time to do both.” Cooper was among 23 girls that competed last year, but this year

only two signed up.Sophomore Abbie Atkins won first runner up last year, but did not

sign up again because none of her friends wanted to do it.“I think it’s sad no one in our school wants to be Miss Northridge,”

Atkins said. “The girls at Northridge don’t like to put on make- up and dress up like the girls at county schools.”

Miss Northridge of 2010 Morgan Terry was named third runner up at the Miss University of Alabama competition this year. She said that her title as Miss Northridge helped her succeed in this competition.

“I had it on my resume, so the judges were able to see that I had competed in other beauty walks and pageants.”

Terry said it is disappointing to not have a beauty walk this year because it is a good opportunity to get to know your classmates.

bells.” “Eventually, we will have to figure out how

to secure the potential entrances. This includes senior courtyard, for example,” he said.

Espy also made it clear that it is “impos-sible to limit all exits and entrances during the day.”

“This is due to having a classroom on the other side of the parking lot known as the field house,” he said.

Also this building was designed to have a “more or less open feel,” Espy said.

Mya Montrella, sophomore, said she be-lieves we are not very safe at school.

“The front doors aren’t even locked, so anyone can walk in and nobody would even know,” Montrella said.

She said installing a buzzer system on all front doors would make her and her parents feel more at ease.

“Even if the buzzer system is an issue be-

cause of the cost of it, we could start today and station a policeman beside all front doors,” Montrella said. “This would ensure a safer en-vironment than we have right now.”

Yara Akl, sophomore, said she also thinks the students are not safe. Her concern is main-ly with the students themselves she said.

“You never know when people will bring weapons to school because many high school students these days solve their problems with violence,” Akl said.

She said she believes we need to have more security checks throughout the school year.

“A random security check with a metal de-tector on the student body once a month may be good idea,” Akl said.

“Parents send their children to school with an expectation that they’ll be in a safe environ-ment,” he said. “Student’s safety and school security are the most important consideration in the school.”

Safety precautions implemented next year

Coffee Club

Photos by: Sarah Katharine BarnesAre we safe? Entrances will be secured.

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7SportsThe Northridge ReporterMarch 20, 2013

Jordan HutchinsonStaff Writer

A football player, a baseball player, a soccer player and a golf player have one thing in com-mon: they all have to pay to play. The amounts in question differ from field to field.

James Cox, senior, paid about $300 to play football as a wide receiver.

His parents pay for most of the fees, but Cox buys his own equip-

ment for the season.“My parents do not mind that

much, as long as I keep up my end of the deal, which is school,” Cox said.

Cox said he gets a good deal for the equipment he buys, especially when it comes to safety.

“All my parents and I want is for me to have the best equipment possible,” Cox said.

The football spirit pack pays for a sweat suit with the player’s number on it, jerseys, shorts and helmets.

“I think I am getting a good deal,” Cox said. “We get a lot of things in our spirit pack, and it is name brand.”

Cox said that he gets new gloves for every game and wears about three or four pairs of cleats a year.

He signed with the University of Southern Mississippi on Feb. 6 to continue playing as a wide receiver.

Henry Pritchett, freshman, said that golf costs range near $550. The money pays for shirts, hood-

ies, bags, golf balls and playing fees.

“We get a lot from a little,” Pritchett said. While he pays for his equipment, Pritchett said golf is fairly inexpensive, but for some it is more of a burden.

“I think that there are people who are very good at sports that cannot play because they cannot afford it,” Pritchett said.

John Andrew Chwe, sopho-more, said he does not think the $400 cost for soccer is too much to ask.

“Four hundred dollars is not bad compared to other sports,” Chwe said.

In order to play on the base-ball diamond, the costs usually hit close to $800 to cover a “full spirit pack” that consists of a jer-sey, a hat and a pair of pants; but Marcus Jackson, freshman, said most people do not get the whole package.

The uniform cost comes on top of a $300 player fee, bringing the total price to $1100, but baseball players can get a slight discount.

Athletes find themselves tackled with high costs for equipment

Jared LotfiCopy Editor

The boys soccer season open-er kicked off with a city-wide clincher as the varsity team de-feated Hillcrest (5-0), Demopo-lis (5-0), County High (1-0) in the semifinals and Holy Spirit (1-0) in the finals. However, a week later the much anticipated showdown against Vestavia put things into perspective with a 6-0 loss, killing the early buzz.

Second half rallies colored the matches, with all five goals against Hillcrest scored in the second half.

By halftime in Vestavia, the boys were down by five goals but regrouped through what Head Coach Carter Hill said was “greater physical assertion.”

“We didn’t play as well as we could have,” he said. “We came out a bit scared at first. The sec-ond half we played better.”

What is encouraging, Hill said, is the opportunity to have seen a team of Vestavia’s rank-ing so early on in the season.

“What this shows us is that we are capable of starting as strong-ly as we finished if we can clamp down on any apprehension be-fore stepping onto the field,” he said.

Hill said he is extremely proud of the boys performance. “With four matches in three days, we faced a good bit of adversity physically and had to play a man down in the semifinal due to a red card,” he said, “We came through against a team with more rest.”

Three varsity starters are freshmen: Will Baker, Louis Garcia and Matthew Hankins.

“The opportunity to play on varsity was incredible for me,” Hankins said, “Going into high school, I expected to compete pretty hard for a junior varsity position.”

Currently, he starts as a right

defensive back.“We have freshmen athletes

who could play on several varsi-ty teams in town, but are having to wait in the wings as they con-tinue their development here,” Hill said.

The junior varsity team starts eight freshmen.

Kyle Anderson, senior, said having talented underclassmen is a reassuring confidence boost-er.

“I feel we’re more technically skilled than we were last year. We still have an opportunity to make a state-wide statement in the playoffs,” he said.

Soccer team jumps early hurdles, hopes to retain momentum

T h e P r i c e T o P l a y

He shoots, he scores: Trey O’Bryant, sophomore, goes for the kick on the NHS field.

Photo by: Jonathan McAllister

Photos by: Beth Allaway Jonathan McAllister Jonathan McAllister Beth Allaway Beth Allaway

March 20, 20

13 Volum

e 10 Issue 6

northridgereporter.wordpress.com

8B

eatThe Northridge ReporterM

arch 20, 2013

Personal column: a m

ilitary perspective

Savren Nelson

Staff W

riter

Pride. Fear. Intensity. Loyalty. Worry.

All these em

otions hit at the same tim

e w

hen one’s father sits down and says that

he’s going to Iraq. Then those emotions

hit even harder when he sits dow

n again and says he’s going to A

fghanistan. B

efore my brother and I w

ere even born, m

y father was in the C

alvary sta-tioned in K

uwait for D

esert Storm.

My father cam

e back when he found

out that my m

om w

as going to have my

older brother, Connor N

elson. From

driving tanks through the night and taking turns to take ‘cat naps’ every fifteen m

inutes, my father has horrible

sleeping habits. He cannot go to sleep un-

less the TV is on, and he w

akes through-out the night.

The summ

er before my freshm

an year, m

y father sat my brother, m

y sister and m

e down at the dinner table. H

e looked each of us in the eye and told us he w

as going to Iraq.

Silence.

He then continued and explained w

hat his job w

as. He w

ould fly out at night and w

ould sit at the back of the plane and look out of night vision cam

eras. He

would search the ground w

here the troops w

ould walk the next day and m

ake sure there w

ere no terrorist buildings or bombs

located anywhere.

Silence.M

y sister was ten at the tim

e, and the only thing she had seen about w

ar was

what she had seen on TV, and it terrified

her. My father left at the end of June and

was m

eant to be gone until June the next year, but O

bama pulled m

en in Iraq out after seven m

onths of him being there.

Although he w

as only there for seven m

onths, he missed m

y brother’s senior year, prom

and graduation. He m

issed m

y little sister’s last year of elementary

school and my first year of high school.

When he cam

e home from

Iraq, he had turf toe, and he had problem

s with his

shoulder. He had hurt it w

hen he had gone on a night m

ission and his chair flipped over.

Currently m

y father is stationed in Af-

ghanistan working as a private contractor

alongside the military. H

e left in Septem-

ber and came back for a ten day leave in

February. He w

ill be back in August for

his 25th w

edding anniversary, then he goes back to com

e home for good in Sep-

tember.

My

father has

missed

Christm

ases, Thanksgivings and birthdays, but I know

he’s doing w

hat he believes is right. I know

he is proud of what he does and of

his country. I know no one w

ill ever be able to take this aw

ay from him

, and this is w

hat makes m

e proud. And nobody can

take that away from

me.

Honor: Savren

Nelson’s father

stands next

to his tank unit in Kuwait, sporting an eye

patch from

chem

ical exposure

to his

eye.

Parents of teens sent overseas to serve in military, fight for freedom

Father’s d

eploym

ent creates mixed

emo

tions fo

r sop

hom

ore

Savren Nelson

Staff W

riter

Heather

Benjam

in, sophom

ore, said

her father sat her whole fam

ily down in

2007 and said, “I’m going to be gone

for a while, but don’t

worry. I’m

going to be in a secure location.” H

e never said exactly w

here he was going;

just that he was going

to be gone for a while.

With so little inform

a-tion given to B

enjamin,

she “was really upset and

angry.” B

enjamin’s father, as w

ell as other students’ parents here, serves in the U

.S. m

ilitary. B

enjamin’s father is in the A

ir Force. “W

hen my dad isn’t here, it’s sad. It’s

nice to know that he is protecting us from

the enemies, though,” B

enjamin said.

Benjam

in said she has lived in Alaska,

Florida, Haw

aii and Alabam

a. “W

ith so much traveling, I know

what

kind of place I want to live in. I love big

cities,” she said.Even though B

enjamin said she “en-

joys traveling,” she also said, “it’s also hard going to different schools all the

time. You have

to leave

your friends.”

H

er father

fought in

Iraq for four m

onths, and

he has missed

Christm

as, Thanksgiving and birthdays. “I Skyped him

, and we sent him

pres-ents, and he sent us stuff back. H

e was in

a safe place,” she said.Sophom

ore Katie M

cCray’s father is

also in the Air Force. M

cCray said she

lived in Germ

any for three years and then in H

awaii for three years before m

oving to A

labama.

McC

ray’s father was also in H

onduras for six m

onths. McC

ray said she copes w

ith her father’s leaving with “friends

and family.”

“Sometim

es it can be hard when he’s

gone, but I’m proud of m

y dad, too,” Mc-

Cray said. “I’ve also learned a lot about

different cultures.” Freshm

an Maggie B

utler’s father is in the navy.

Even though Butler has never m

oved schools, her father has been deployed tw

ice: “Once to K

uwait and once to

Iraq.”“H

e’s definitely made m

e more patri-

otic. He’s fighting for m

y freedom and

everybody else’s,” Butler said.

Butler said she “thinks about her free-

dom” w

hen her father is away.

“It’s hard at times, but it’s w

orth it,” B

utler said.

Photo by fellow soldier

He’s definitely made m

e more pa-

triotic. He’s fighting for my freedom

and everybody else’s.

Maggie B

utler, 9