SOMS Odd Orange Journal - Jan 2014

7
The Odd Orange Journal Have any interest in reading the “Hunger Games?” Maybe “The Scarlet Letter?” or “Huckleberry Finn?” Well, de- pending on the school you attend in the United States, you may not be able to get this chance. These books, along with many others have been showing up on a banned books list in school dis- tricts across America. These books have been banned due to political, religious, sexual or social grounds. The following two arti- cles editorialize this subject from both sides. Pro Book Banning Without question, cer- tain books should be banned in schools across the country. As a teen aged student and avid reader, I have personally come across many books which I feel should not be read in schools for a varie- ty of reasons. Many books available to teens and pre teens are not appro- priate due to the extreme use of profanity. If we are not allowed to use such language in common speak with our peers in school, then why would be exposed to its content? It seems hypocritical for adults to tell us to use proper and respectable language and then give us a novel filled with the opposite. Some books contain extreme violence. I recently read “The Outsiders” which in- cluded gang violence and murder attempts. In today’s society and in light of the growing number of violent incidents in schools, I think it is unjustifiable to expose middle school adolescents to such violence. This also can apply to the recent “Hunger Games” craze. Other book content contains rac- ism. While the literature of Mark Twain may reflect the attitudes of the time period to which it occurs in, it is socially unacceptable to be forced to discuss this in class, as it seems to only stir hatred among the diverse popula- tion we attend class with. The racial language expressed is negative and I have spoken to classmates who find it hurtful and bothersome. We are at an age where the things we read have an impact on our actions and decisions. I believe that if schools allow us to read books that contain the wrong con- tent, then students would learn the wrong things to do when it comes time to making choices. Many pro book banners be- lieve that children and young adults pick up their behavior from TV, music, friends and books. By banning certain books, students will not be exposed to conduct that they can imitate…(Continued pg 3) Pro’s & Con’s Book Banning In Schools Upcoming Events: 3rd Marking Quarter Begins January 2014 Volume 8, Issue 2 Fast Food Frenzy 2 Pro/Cons Book Banning In Schools 3 Catching Fire: Book V.s Movie 4 Cities Get Cycling 5 Comic Zone 5 Video Games 6 Staff Profile 6 Super Bowl Analysis 7 Dear Crabby 7 Inside this issue: Odd Orange Journal Staff: Advisors: Mr. A. Cicenia, Ms. A Corino, Ms. D. Levine Contributors to this issue: Zoë Broncel, Christina Wright, Jake Knoll, Chloe Citron, Elijah Glantz, Carter Nunes, and Jack Wilde, Stephen Lehren, Janine Bacchus-Joseph, Jonah Sachs, Ama- ra Okafor

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This is the January 2014 version of the SOMS Odd Orange Journal. It was written and produced by South Orange Middle School students.

Transcript of SOMS Odd Orange Journal - Jan 2014

Page 1: SOMS Odd Orange Journal - Jan 2014

The Odd Orange Journal

Have any interest in

reading the “Hunger Games?”

Maybe “The Scarlet Letter?” or

“Huckleberry Finn?” Well, de-

pending on the school you attend

in the United States, you may not

be able to get this chance. These

books, along with many others

have been showing up on a

banned books list in school dis-

tricts across America. These

books have been banned due to

political, religious, sexual or social

grounds. The following two arti-

cles editorialize this subject from

both sides.

Pro Book Banning

Without question, cer-tain books should be banned in schools across the country. As a teen aged student and avid reader, I have personally come across many books which I feel should not be read in schools for a varie-ty of reasons. Many books available to teens and pre teens are not appro-priate due to the extreme use of profanity. If we are not allowed to use such language in common speak with our peers in school, then why would be exposed to its content? It seems hypocritical for adults to tell us to use proper and respectable language and then give us a novel filled with the opposite. Some books contain

extreme violence. I recently read

“The Outsiders” which in-

cluded gang violence and

murder attempts. In today’s

society and in light of the

growing number of violent

incidents in schools, I think

it is unjustifiable to expose

middle school adolescents to

such violence. This also can

apply to the recent “Hunger

Games” craze.

O t h e r

book content contains rac-

ism. While the literature of

Mark Twain may reflect the

attitudes of the time period

to which it occurs in, it is

socially unacceptable to be

forced to discuss this in class,

as it seems to only stir hatred

among the diverse popula-

tion we attend class with. The

racial language expressed is

negative and I have spoken to

classmates who find it hurtful

and bothersome.

We are at an age

where the things we read have

an impact on our actions and

decisions. I believe that if

schools allow us to read books

that contain the wrong con-

tent, then students would learn

the wrong things to do when it

comes time to making choices.

Many pro book banners be-

lieve that children and young

adults pick up their behavior

from TV, music, friends and

books. By banning certain

books, students will not be

exposed to conduct that they

can imitate…(Continued pg 3)

Pro’s & Con’s Book Banning In Schools

Upcoming Events: 3rd Marking Quarter Begins January 2014

Volume 8, Issue 2

Fast Food Frenzy 2

Pro/Cons Book Banning In Schools

3

Catching Fire: Book V.s Movie

4

Cities Get Cycling 5

Comic Zone 5

Video Games 6

Staff Profile 6

Super Bowl Analysis 7

Dear Crabby 7

Inside this issue:

Odd Orange Journal

Staff:

Advisors: Mr. A. Cicenia,

Ms. A Corino, Ms. D.

Levine

Contributors to

this issue:

Zoë Broncel,

Christina Wright,

Jake Knoll, Chloe

Citron, Elijah

Glantz, Carter

Nunes, and Jack

Wilde, Stephen

Lehren, Janine

Bacchus-Joseph,

Jonah Sachs, Ama-

ra Okafor

Page 2: SOMS Odd Orange Journal - Jan 2014

Page 2 The Odd Orange Journa l Volume 8, I ssue 2

You are what you eat; coloring, addi-

tives, sugars, fat and worse of all, fla-

vorings.

A family gathers around a table for

dinner. They all dig in. Not one comple-

ment is said about the food. They have

a reason why. It tastes the exact same

as yesterday, the day before that and

the day before that and so on. So they

just eat the food and move on to the

next meal. Food used to just be eaten

to live as merely a survival tool; A ne-

cessity like air. The idea was simple, eat

just enough to live by. People grew it or

killed it, prepared it themselves and

then ate it and life went on. Taste had

nothing to do with it. “Scientists now

believe that human beings acquired

the sense of taste as a way to avoid

being poisoned. Edible plants general-

ly taste sweet; deadly ones, bit-

ter.”(Schollsher 106) This is the reason

most people prefer candy to lemons.

Now, what food means to people has

been changed, reinvented and de-

stroyed. Food is revolves around taste

and looks. Fast food restaurants have

taken advantage of human taste buds

and could cause a possible obesity

epidemic.

The problem: Our society is getting in a

pickle

A 7th grade student took a poll of fifty-

six people on how often they ate fast

food. According to this survey, two

said they eat it every single day, elev-

en a few times a week, twelve once a

month, and 31 said they rarely ate fast

food. However, looking at data col-

lected from Gallup.com, in America,

only 4% of people can say they’ve

never eaten fast food. The rest of them

eat it at least a few times a year. An-

other 4% eat it every single day. A

shocking 28% of people admit they

know it is not good at all for them. At

least 9% of these people eat fast food

at the minimum of once a month. As

little and unimportant these percent-

ages may seem, when the fact is

added that the population of the

United States is 317,190,300, that

mere 4% turns into about 12,688,000

people eating fast food every single

day. They fill their bodies with sugars,

fats, flavoring and artificial coloring.

Why are they choosing to put this

into their stomach to go into their

bodies? It tastes good. Primarily,

most flavors in the United States are

made in one factory stretching down

the New Jersey turnpike. They work in

laboratories with thousands of chemi-

cals that will be mixed with others to

make new tastes. McDonalds takes a

special beef flavoring and puts in it

the french fry fryer (Eric Schlosser).

“Processed foods are like a blank

canvas” (Schlosser 144) they can

taste like anything the scientists have

created a flavor for. Moreover, the

problem is, fast food has no nutrition-

al value even though it tastes good.

Fast food is just empty calories.

Therefore, people fill up on some-

thing that doesn’t help their body.

They may think they are eating and

becoming full so their job of feeding

their bodies is done. However, they

may have plenty of food but are still

directing themselves towards malnu-

trition. Fast food companies do not

care that they're serving empty calo-

ries and are not truly serving real

food. They are only selling processed

chemicals with flavoring in it to make

money. A stay at home mom who is

in charge of cooking most meals for

her family said, "The fast food industry

has done a great job making bad

food taste great.”

The solution: a simple diet that’s easy as

pie

An easy way to solve the problem of

the overuse of flavoring is to stop eating

so much fast food for taste alone. It is

okay to eat fast food once in a while,

but too much will be dangerous. Eating

more fresh food will lead to a healthier

diet. Fresh foods do not have any fla-

voring in them because companies

cannot put flavoring in unprocessed

foods. Drinks on the other hand, are a

lot harder to monitor because most

juice blends are flavored. The best way

to avoid flavoring in drink is to stick to

drinks that say “100% juice” and are

from a bottle not a can.

The possible outcome: a bitter sweet

victory

There is no perfect solution regarding

healthy foods but it is a good start to

reduce one’s own intake of fast food.

This will help decreases the total intake

of the consumer and may lead to a

decrease in the use of flavorings world-

wide. For example, Yoplait had high

fructose corn syrup in most of their prod-

ucts. A consumer asked for no high fruc-

tose corn syrup and they completely

removed it from all of their products. This

success could spread to major world-

wide companies. As a downside, food

wouldn’t have as much flavor. Meats

less meaty and fruit less fruity. However,

in the grand scheme of things, a less

sweet candy will be better than every-

one being a giant bowling ball of fat!!

So next time you grab that Big Mac, just

remember why those added flavors

may be the taste of an epidemic al-

ready at full speed.

By Christina Wright

Fast Food Frenzy!!

Page 3: SOMS Odd Orange Journal - Jan 2014

Pros and Cons: Banning Books (cont’d from pg 1.)

all while reading other classics which are

free of such age inappropriate material.

Opposed to Book Banning

Do we live in America? Isn't

this the home of the free? Freedom of

choice? The Fifth Amendment? Not

lately it seems, as many schools across

the country have begun to debate

whether certain books should be banned

in schools.

In my opinion, granted that I

still have one, banning books keeps stu-

dents from learning at their best ability

and they don’t learn realistic problems,

situations and history. We can’t hide

from mistakes this great nation has made

in its past dealing with racism and war.

In school we are taught each day that we

become stronger by learning from our

mistakes. Are we not supposed to learn

from the injustices which play a role in

early classics such as Tom Sawyer or

Huckleberry Finn? It offers a brief

snapshot of our history during the

time period along the Mississippi.

Books such as the Harry

Potter series have also found them-

selves shelved. Critics say that it has

religious overtones of demons and

immoral behavior. They also believe

that the choices of the books hero,

Harry Potter, are anti-heroic decisions.

This seems a little crazy to me. If

books like Harry Potter were banned,

students would lack imagination.

These are the type of books that keep

us glued to our Kindles or Nooks. We

know they are fantasy and are simply

pleasurable. Perhaps we are to be just

given boring novels where we lose

track of our place because our minds

wander into the “this is so boring.”

Banning books do not make our his-

tory or problems go away. They make

us become more open minded when

new situations arise and keep us from

making the same mistakes over and

over again.

Page 3 The Odd Orange Journa l Volume 8, I ssue 2

Someone 200 years from now is reading a

book about book banning in the early

2000’s, shaking their head in disbelief and

feeling sorry for the people of this time…

or maybe that will be banned also?

COMING

IN

APRIL!!!!!!

SOMS ALL SCHOOL MUSICAL

APRIL 4-6

Page 4: SOMS Odd Orange Journal - Jan 2014

By Zoe Broncel

Catching Fire is

the latest of the Hunger

Games books to be made

into a movie. I looked for-

ward to seeing the movie be-

cause the book was so amaz-

ing. However, when compar-

ing the two, I noticed some

interesting differences.

When I got the book, it

was so detailed and intricate,

I couldn't put it down. Catch-

ing Fire was a must read, in

fact it kept me up all night

reading. I would go try to go

to bed but then I would think

to myself, is Katniss dead?

Who is going to win the quar-

ter quell? I don’t want Finnick

to die! I was in no way disap-

pointed with this book. Few

authors can write a brilliant

sequel, and Suzanne Collins

did this amazing thing.

The movie was also

good, but to be honest, I was

disappointed. The movie left

out some major details that I

thought made the book so

great. In fact, after seeing

the movie with my family, I

ended up having to describe

the whole book in great de-

tail. This was because they

wanted to know more than

what the movie provided

them. My brothers and I did

think this was a great movie,

but hands down the book

was better. Even though the

book had more detail and

pizzaz, I am still glad I went to

see it in the theater. One im-

portant thing that the movie

mirrored the book on was the

ending. They both left you

Catching Fire: Book Vs. Movie

Puzzle Printable: Sudoku!!!

Page 4 The Odd Orange Journa l Volume 8, I ssue 2

with a cliffhanger, desperately

wanting more.

Having read the third of

the series, I am definitely look-

ing forward to the next movie

based on the book. Overall, I

would recommend you read-

ing the book over watching

the movie, but if I were you, I

would do both and decide for

yourself which is better!!!

Page 5: SOMS Odd Orange Journal - Jan 2014

Ride Don’t Drive – Cities Get Cycling

Americans spend a shocking amount of time in their cars each year. In fact, a recent Texas A&M mobility study found that Americans average thirty-eight hours a year stuck in traffic. It’s even worse in the major cities where commut-ers can easily spend sixty hours a year sitting in traffic. “One solution to all of this traffic is getting out of your car and taking public transportation, walking or biking to work” (theatlantic.com).

All of that sitting in traffic is bad for your body as well as the environment. ‘"Congestion caused urban Americans to travel 5.5 billion hours more and to pur-chase an extra 2.9 billion gallons of fuel. This adds up to 56 billion unnecessary pounds of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere by idling commuters’” (the atlantic.com). Sitting in your car for hours each day is clearly unhealthy for people. Countless studies have shown the link be-tween sitting for long periods of time and a growing amount of health problems includ-ing obesity, heart disease, diabetes and, of course, stress from being in traffic. “By switching from driving to cycling, people would, on average, live three to 14 months longer because of increased physical activi-ty” (usatoday.com). Biking is not just good for your body, it is also great for the envi-ronment. Biking doesn't produce any air pollution or need natural gas or coal. It’s all leg power!

Cities all over the United States are investing millions of dollars into bike share programs. “The health benefits of cycling in an urban environment outweigh risks posed by air pollution and accidents, a new study has concluded” (usatoday.com). When peo-ple start biking regularly, that single act is helping the environment because bikes, in a way, are activated by your own personal green power. New York City has recently joined other U.S. cities in establishing bike

programs that reduce traffic and pollution and can also im-prove the health of the city’s residents. Citibank has part-

nered with New York City and invested mil-lions of dollars into creating their Citibike program which now has a fleet of 7,000 bikes. So far, the bike program has been a success says Debby Feinberg, the general counsel for the Partnership of NYC. “The bike share program has exceeded expectations and is considered a huge success. There have been over 5 million trips since the program launched last May. Some days we see over 40,000 trips made on Citibikes,” said Fein-

Page 5 The Odd Orange Journa l Volume 8, I ssue 2

berg. There was concern about bike safety in New York City streets with all of the traffic, but so far in New York, there have been no major injuries. “Much of the community was con-cerned at first, but there have been only a hand-ful of injuries to date and no was has been killed since the program started” said Feinberg.

However, it wasn't exactly an easy job to create the NYC bike share program because the city had to pave new bike lanes and carve out space in already crowded streets. “At first, lots of communities resisted the bikes because they didn’t want the bike racks to take up valua-ble street parking spaces,” said Feinberg. “But now that people see how successful the bike program is, more people want access to Citibikes and more people are becoming com-fortable with bike lanes and cyclists in New York City streets.” Another one of the great things about the pro-gram is that it’s pretty inexpensive to rent a bike. The program aims towards getting people of all economic backgrounds riding. An annual membership costs $95 which includes unlimited 45-minute trips A 24-hour pass costs $9.95 plus tax and a 7-day pass costs only $25 plus tax, a very reasonable fee for the convenience of rid-ing around New York City (citibikenyc.com). It’s much cheaper than a taxi!

By Jonah Sachs

Comic Zone!!

By Janine Bacchus-Joseph

Page 6: SOMS Odd Orange Journal - Jan 2014

Are Video Games Art? Here is a ques-tion, do video games count as art ?The defini-tion of art from the dic-tionary says (art is) "the expression or applica-tion of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power." By this definition, you can say yes because if you really think about it, any-thing can be art. So a better question is, do video games qualify as high art?

The answer gen-eral answer is no, but some games do come

close. Games like Cry-isis, Bioshock Infinite, Portal & XCOM: Enemy Unknown, and The Walking Dead do come very close. However, the reason that they don't qualify is that they are missing that ‘thing’ that made films like The Godfather considered high art. All of those games can be consid-ered art for these three reasons. One, they all have a visual appealing style. Second, each one of those games have a certain amount of im-mersion. And finally, each one of them gives you the thing that makes video games dif-

ferent from other medi-ums, choice. Choice in video games gives the player the ability to control the story, which is some-thing different from oth-er forms of escapism like comic and movies. But they still miss that special something to make video games spe-cial. So even if video games don't qualify as a high art now and are not revered in the same spectrum as well-made movies or well-written comic books, they have that ability to do so in the future. And yes there are some video games made just for pointless escapism, but

Page 6 The Odd Orange Journa l Volume 8, I ssue 2

there are a growing number of video games who try to be more than that. If this pattern con-tinues, maybe in years to come video games will get the honor of be-ing called high art. By Stephen Lehren

Staff Profile: Mr. Cameron Parke

What do you like the most

about SOMS?

I enjoy the students and the amaz-

ing teachers I work with.

Is there anything that drives

you crazy at SOMS?

Three things drive me crazy: Stu-

dents screaming in the hallway, the

8:15 bell, and Ms. Myers’ glass eye

(only kidding about the last two, or

am I??)

When you were in school, what

was your favorite subject and

why?

My two favorite subjects were social

studies and science. Both of those sub-

jects, to me, have had the most connec-

tions to real-life situations.

What do you enjoy doing in your

free time?

I enjoy running and playing tennis, as

well as reading, travelling, and listening

to music.

If you could be any person in his-

tory, who would you be and why?

I’ve always found Spartacus really inter-

esting, since he led a largely successful

uprising against Rome and quite possibly

could have conquered Rome if he

chose.

Page 7: SOMS Odd Orange Journal - Jan 2014

As the Super Bowl ap-

proaches, teams ready up for

the big game. Analysts at ELI-

AS sports bureau believe that

the Seahawks will clash head

to head with the Denver Bron-

cos. Who will win? Not even

the analyst gods can predict

the victor. Why are those

teams in the top spots?

Throughout the 2013-

2014 season Broncos (13-3)

Quarterback Peyton Manning

(brother of Eli Manning) has

thrown for a total of 5477

yards and 55 touchdowns. That

is the first time a player above

35 has thrown for more than

1800 yards! Not all the credit

can go to just the QB, tight

end Wes Welker has received 9

of those touchdowns. This ties

the record for first in TD's

(shared with Jason Witten).

Every team has it's strong

points and it's weak spots.

The Bronco defense is defi-

nitely the weak aspect of the

team. The defense ranks last

in interceptions and forced

fumbles.

Now, let's not forget

about the unpredictable Sea-

hawks (13-3). Led by sugar

high running back Marshawn

Lynch nick named “skittles”

and star Quarterback Russell

Wilson, the bay birds expect to

hit jackpot this season. Unlike

the Broncos, they have no in-

credible defense or offense,

but the team chemistry is so

incredible that the team is like

a home full of ripped, athletic

and adrenaline crazed kids.

Cornerback Richard Sherman has

had an unbelievable season with

8 interceptions, including 1 pick

six. When these two teams

meet, the Broncos wide receivers

will be in for a bumpy ride!

It is now up to the fans to

decide, who will win Super Bowl

XLVIII. Will it be the Berserk

Broncos? Or the sensational Sea-

hawks?

Super Bowl Analysis

by Elijah Glantz

Dear Crabby, An Advice Column by Crabby Stinkernews

The Odd Orange Journa l Volume 8, I ssue 2

Dear Crabby,

I am being stalked

on Facebook by a certain

boy in class. I blocked

him but he keeps sending

me messages from other

people’s accounts. The

last message was very mean

and made me cry. What

should I do?

Sincerely,

Stella Stalked

Dear Stella,

This is a case of cyber bullying. You

should tell your parents to report the

student to the principal at your

school. Trust me,

this loser has a

problem and they

most likely will

continue to terror-

ize kids if you

don't put an end

to it. You will

also be saving the bully a hospital trip

from the next person who may just take

matters into their own hands!

Dear Crabby,

I just turned 13 and I

have never had girlfriend. I

am becoming very desperate

and I want a girlfriend be-

cause all of my friends have

one. It is very frustrating

and I'm going to go crazy

if I don't get a GF. Please

help me!

~Desperado

Dear Desperado,

Although you feel lonely, I have good

news for you. YOU ARE NOT ALONE.

Most 13 year olds don't have a GF or

BF. Of course, you can go ask out every

girl in class, but nobody meets the per-

fect girl that way, and it will make you

look as desperate as you feel. Good

things happen to those who wait. Look

at me, I’ve been waiting for 50 years!

Page 7