South River High School

• Basketball player among best in county
• New driving laws may hold back some teens
• Blaming music for human tragedy makes no sense
• Nuclear weapons: The potential for global disaster
• Some details about the food students eat
• South Korea clones glow-in-the-dark cats
• The other side of global warming
• Wake up to truth about global warming
• Saving the world, one can at a time
• School cringes over recycling program
• The problem of hunger in the world today

Courtesy Photo

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As much as you basketball fans know about our boys team, let's break it down to one of the best players, not just on the team but, in the county: Dewey Smith.

Dewey averages 20.4 points a game and shoots 83 percent from the foul line. He has been playing since he was five years old and was influenced by his father, who played at Georgetown.

'If he could do it, then so could I!' Dewey said.

Unsure of where he is attending college, he hopes to continue playing after he graduates high school. 'I don't know what division I want to play in, but I'm definitely not just going to throw basketball away just because the high school season is over.'

But scoring isn't the only thing Dewey does to help out the team. Sophomore Bryan Williams said, 'Dewey always lightens up the mood at practice. But he makes sure the team is doing what they're supposed to so they stay focused.'

As captain, Dewey has many responsibilities to make sure he is fulfilling his job. Not only does his presence at practice comfort the team, but 'when we're playing in the games, I give the team confidence that we can win,' Dewey said.

He can take control over the team to reassure them that there is no 'I' in team, and they're sticking together.

Even the newest member on the team, junior Dream Reed, who transferred from Southern High School said, 'He's such an active player. He slows the court down and can hit a clutch shot whenever he wants to.'

Dewey takes pride in being the captain.

'I don't see myself playing basketball as a profession, but it's still going to be huge part of my life after I graduate,' he said. You just never know these days. Junior Justin Miles said, 'Dewey Smith is the next Michael Jordan.'

Many assumed the new driving laws regarding teenagers, effective as of October 2005, would decrease the number of teen car accidents and fatalities occurring in Maryland.

However, many accidents have occurred in our state this school year, often resulting in fatalities and leaving parents, teachers and students wondering why.

The new cautionary laws include: having a learner's permit for six months instead of four; provisional drivers under the age of 18 cannot have anyone except immediate family members in the car with them for the first five months of holding a license; and drivers under the age of 18 cannot use wireless communication devices while driving.

It is, however, widely known among students that many provisional license holders do not adhere to all of the restrictions.

'No, students don't follow the rules,' said junior Taylor Burk. 'They think it's unnecessary and stupid.'

Senior Max Kramer agreed. 'I think if kids feel they can get away with breaking laws, they will.'

Although parents and police are expected to enforce rules with new drivers, once the drivers are on their own, enforcement can be a difficult task to achieve.

'If a kid is on their phone or has people in the car, the police can't pull them over because they don't know if that driver is old enough or not,' said junior Christina DeBari.

Police and parents should not be held at fault for accidents and deaths because they do often attempt to control teen drivers.

'I think parents try to have some control, but once kids are outside of the parent's jurisdiction, they don't care or follow the parent's rules,' said Max.

These laws have been set in place to secure the safety and future of Maryland provisional drivers.

The number of accidents that still occur makes citizens wonder if the laws are protecting teens or holding them back.

'I can't get my license yet because I haven't had my learner's permit for a full six months,' said junior Laura Thomas.

'That makes it hard for me to work because my parents have to drive me and their lives are already busy enough.'

Although the laws were created with good intentions, many provisional drivers find that they are limited and cannot respect those intentions.

Hopefully, in time, teens will come to terms with the necessity of these laws, and they will become more effective in preventing further accidents and fatalities.

Blame rock music for violence, and blame rap music for early sexual behavior. Just how credible does that sound exactly?

When something goes wrong and no one fully understands the situation, people tend to look for reasons. It's human nature to want to have an explanation, even if that means picking apart the past to find some type of sign that might have been missed. People want someone, or something, to blame.

Music, in many cases, seems to be a common recipient of this blame, but can we really blame something aside from the person who has committed the wrongful act? Some people say that we can, but the majority, however, seems to disagree.

'Music influences the easily influenced,' said junior Gabe Martinez. 'You can't really blame the person making the music for another person's interpretation and reaction to it.'

However, no matter how valid a point that might be, it won't stop people from trying.

In times of tragedy, people are the most frantic to point their finger at something. The rational that 'it just happened' doesn't leave room for venting and grieving, which are both common and necessary after a death of someone close to you.

An example of this reaction lies in the 1999 tragedy in Littleton, Colo. Two students at Columbine High School released gunfire on their fellow students and then on themselves. This horrible, tragic event left families with no real answers and no one to blame.

After the reports of the event were released, they were followed with reports that Marilyn Manson's music was to blame. 'I was dumbfounded as I watched the media snake right in, not missing a teardrop, interviewing the parents of dead children, televising the funerals. Then came the witch hunt,' said Mr. Manson. It was then released that the teens responsible weren't Manson fans at all.

Music affects the human brain, it's true, and it's been proven time and time again. But can its effect take away common sense and your general ability to think?

No, that has also been proven.

'Music can't put a gun in your hand, nor can it shoot it. No mat-ter how many times it tells you to, it doesn't do it.' said junior Joanna Wahler. 'Music is usually a personal thing; the way anyone reacts to music is their choice. Nothing can make you act a certain way — you're in control of that.'

So, in general, people seem to think that the effect of a song has nothing to do with the song itself, but everything to do with the person who is listening to the song. Carrie Hatfield, an English teacher, said, 'What a person takes away from a song seems to be a matter of their maturity level. You hear positive and negative songs, obviously, and I think it takes a higher level of maturity to be able to listen and determine ‘hey, that's a crappy song,' or to be able to say otherwise.

So maybe next time you hear a report claiming that lyrics in a song led to an early teenage pregnancy or an unexplainable murder, maybe you can weigh the facts and draw your own conclusions from the report rather than excepting a claim based on only an idea.

Nine nations — the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, China, India, Pakistan, North Korea and Israel — have admitted to possessing weapons of mass destruction.

'In the right hands, nuclear technology is not a threat,' said science teacher John Morris. 'Put in the wrong hands, it can lead to global disaster.'

On August 6, 1945, America dropped a bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima that killed over 140,000 people.

Today, the effects of the bomb continue to kill innocent lives through nuclear radiation left at the site. Many countries today have the intelligence and technology to create a bomb with effects eight times as devastating.

'That's pretty ridiculous, and it would not surprise me if another attack took place one day,' said senior Max Kramer.

'I'm not so much worried about the nations that have nuclear weapons as I am the terrorist groups that have nuclear weapons. An attack is certainly possible when weapons are put into the wrong hands,' said senior Ian Goldin. 'The government needs to practice nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation all across the world, including at home. If we disarm, other nations will follow suit.'

In an attempt by Ireland to protect our world from nuclear harm, the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty was created on July 1, 1968.

Currently, 189 countries have signed the treaty; however, four of the nations in the world that have admitted to having nuclear weapons have not signed. India and Pakistan both openly speak of possessing and testing nuclear bombs.

Israel has had a policy of opacity in regards to its nuclear weapons program, and North Korea signed the treaty, violated it and then later withdrew altogether.

'If our country wants to protect itself from nuclear harm, we need to be honest. There has to be open communication between nations. I hope that there will never be another attack, but biological warfare is the growing trend,' said Mr. Morris, 'When push comes to shove, if a nation wants to win a war, nuclear technology is a threat.'

Every day, somewhere between 10:20 a.m. and 12:25 p.m., people are eating lunch. Some bring, some buy. For those who buy, cafeteria food is a daily thing. People have their theories as to what the food is or how it's made. Some don't even want to know, and just eat without knowing what they're consuming. Well, it turns out that it's not as bad as you may think it is.

According to cafeteria employee Mrs. Walter, 'Most of our food is frozen and pre-cooked. Except the turkey and gravy. The gravy is made here, and the turkey comes in raw.'

This could explain why the turkey and gravy is one of the most popular dishes.

According to Mrs. Walter, the food comes in from Carroll County Foods. 'Nothing is fried,' said Mrs. Walter. This keeps the food healthy.

Everyday one can get a chicken sandwich and pizza. Everyday there's a different food to eat, such as chicken parmesan or hamburgers. Sides come with the lunch as well; a salad and fruit can be added for no extra charge, as well as the variety of traditional fries or Tater Tots.

According to Mrs. Walter, the sides are rotated at random throughout the week with fries, wedges, and rounds.

While people do buy the food, there are critics of it. Junior Jason Palumbo said of the cafeteria food, 'I think its OK; they could put a little more love into it.'

Senior Anna Cocchiaro always brings her lunch. She almost never buys lunch. When asked why, she said, 'I don't buy it because it doesn't look that appetizing.'

Whether you're an avid food buyer or constantly stay away from it for reasons or phobias of your own, the cafeteria food seems to be well-made.

Everyday during the lunch period, food is always available and edible despite what you may hear.

So is the cafeteria food soylent green, or is it just cafeteria food?

That's for you and your taste buds to decide.

On Dec. 12, 2007, scientists in South Korea cloned Turkish Angora cats that are able to glow in the dark.

Kong Il-Keum, the head of the research team at Gyeongsang National University, paid thousands of dollars for the experiment. The question of the necessity of the project has risen because of the amount of money spent on the project. Why do we need abnormal cats?

'I don't see any use for (the cats),' said biology teacher Carlo Echiverri. 'It's cool for some people, but what's the use of a cat that glows in the dark?'

Besides the rarity factor, glowing cats were created to cure genetic diseases found in both humans and animals.

'The ability to manipulate the fluorescent protein and use this to clone cats opens new horizons for artificially creating animals with human illnesses linked to genetic causes,' said a South Korean government official.

Not only will the cats be able to help with illnesses, but they will be able to save endangered animals on the verge of extinction.

The cats were created by altering the genetic code of the donor cat so that a red fluorescence protein inside them glows a faint red or green color under an ultra violet light.

The process of cloning the cats is complex. First the skin cells of the mother cat are taken and modified with a virus, and then transplanted into the embryo of the donor cat that will give birth to the identically cloned kittens.

Four cloned kittens were born recently; however, one died in birth, leaving three of the cloned glowing cats still alive.

Cats are not the first cloned animals that have the ability to glow; there are also cloned pigs, dogs, mice, fish, cows, bulls and goats.

Though these cats are not going to be found in pet stores any time soon, some hopefuls still wish they could get their hands on one.

'I'd want a glowing cat because they are cool, and if there was a power outage, I could follow my cat around the house to safety,' said freshman Emily Hagerty.

The ability to clone cats has been around since 2001. Cat cloning has been built on throughout the years by scientists. Mr. Il-Keum has worked with cat cloning since 2004.

The future of cloning is vast, and everyday scientists are coming up with new methods and ideas to further the science of cloning.

Although most of society thinks the reason for our planet's temperature increase is due to human pollution, many people insist that global warming doesn't even exist. This is the argument that is rarely heard.

Some argue that the increase in temperature is due to the 'urban heat island effect,' and in the past two or three years, the planet has cooled down significantly from an increase in temperature that was only 1 degree Celsius.

Instead of claiming that man-made emissions of carbon dioxide are the cause of global warming, the planet's temperature increase is due to the amount of radiation emitted by the sun. Junior Lauren White believes this theory. 'I think that everyone wants to believe that global warming exists and that we are the cause of it just to have something to blame the temperature increase on,' she said.

Other theories claim that global ocean currents are the cause of global warming. 'I will not believe that we are the cause of global warming until all of these other theories are proven wrong,' said junior Nicky Nixon.

Sophomore Chelsea Harris said, 'Many factors are not taken into account when it comes to global warming. Human pollution may be only a small part of it.'

Global warming is when the average temperatures of the earth's air and oceans increase, due to greenhouse gas concentrations through the greenhouse effect. Natural occurrences such as solar variation and volcanoes also contribute.

'It is a potentially serious long-term problem with natural cycles of warming,' said Brian Smith, a science teacher.

One main effect of global warming is climate change. A warming climate can lead to glaciers melting, which will then cause increases in sea levels. Extreme weather conditions, such as severe hurricanes, are increasing.

'I think it's … happening at a rate that most people don't appreciate,' said science teacher Carlo Echiverri. 'People think it's centuries away.'

'I don't think it can be stopped — it can only be slowed because we are not going to stop building, we are not going to go back to living in jungles,' said Mr. Smith.

We can work on alternate fuel sources and hybrid cars that are economically attractive. Hybrid cars recapture energy while braking and shutting down the gasoline or diesel engine when it stops.

'Conserving energy now will have the most impact,' said Mr. Echiverri. People can save energy by insulating homes, so that way it won't take as much heat to warm up one house.

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation is helping in several ways. Global warming is affecting the climate of the bay and other local areas. Keeping the Chesapeake Bay clean and free of pollutants will be good for the future.

Mr. Echiverri said another way to help it by conserving paper, since trees contribute to the increase of the earth's temperature. Recycling paper is one way to slow down global warming or at least lower its impact for now.

Students are trying to help as well. South River's Envirothon member, Rebecca McCoy, said, 'In Envirothon we are not only trying to save the environment, we are trying to get as many people into saving the environment.'

A large problem in the world today is the lack of recycling.

The dumps and landfills are increasing in the United States. They are putting off many hazardous greenhouse gases into the air, harming and killing many species of animals. They also smell very bad and take up a lot of space.

Many of the things that people throw away could be reused if people recycled. The many cans, plastic containers and paper found in these dumps or landfills could be reused. The space saved by recycling can be used for a variety of things, like parks, houses and shopping centers.

'I think that we should raise awareness and make it easier and much more convenient,' freshman Christina Bartone said.

Many schools do not recycle and just throw everything away. 'Last year we had recycling bins in the copy rooms; now they are gone,' said Carlo Echiverri, a biology teacher.

Schools could also provide a large recycling bin in the front of schools so families and students can easily bring their recycling from home and drop it off there.

Mr. Echiverri also commented on how much paper is now being thrown away because of the lack of recycling bins. He also explained how he has heard of other schools that have provided recycling bins to the students and a large one for public use.

Another teacher that recycles is geometry teacher Douglas Swartzendruber. In his classroom he has a box for extra papers.

Some students are also very concerned about the global issue of recycling. Christina said she tries very hard to get her classes to recycle. 'I am very careful about what I throw away, and I sometimes bring in boxes for the classrooms,' she said.

Recycling is one of the easiest things to do, but it is overshadowed by other issues.

Even a little recycling can go a long way for the planet.

Every year Americans use more than 90 million tons of paper and cardboard, but only recycle a little over 43 million tons, according to www.Tappi.org, an organization dedicated to the pulp and paper industries.

Many government agencies, such as the Environmental Protection Agency, help to make the nation's youth aware of the effects that recycling can have on our planet, country and environment.

Freshman Sabrina Flexhaug has proven that these agencies are getting their messages across to some people.

'I bring paper home for teachers that don't have recycling bins in their classrooms,' Sabrina said, 'I think the school should provide a recycling program. It's so easy to recycle now, and it's stupid not to when global warming and pollution are so evident.'

According to www.Paper recycles.org, every ton of paper recycled saves more than 3.3 cubic yards of landfill space. This leaves more space for the things that cannot be recycled, unlike paper, plastic and certain appliances.

Many students and teachers feel that we need to improve our recycling program. Spanish teacher Miriam Asayag said, 'The recycling here is pathetic.'

'When I taught high school in Colorado, the kids were very conscious about the environment, very educated too,' said Ms. Asayag. 'They were almost more educated than the parents.'

The students and teachers think that it is ridiculous that the importance of recycling is not stressed at our school.

Science teacher Carlo Echiverri said that last year he recalled seeing a recycling bin in every classroom, but has not seen any this year.

'I think our school could put recycling bins in the parking lot for the families to use when they drop their kids off,' Mr. Echiverri said. 'It would make it a lot easier for the school to recycle as well as the school's families.'

Today our world houses 6.55 billion people and 854 million of them are hungry. Everyday 16,000 children die from hunger. Considering that there are 2,060 students attending South River, that is almost eight times our school's population.

Hunger doesn't just hurt through starvation and famine. People who struggle with hunger also deal with malnourishment and vitamin or mineral deficiencies.

'In the U.S., we have all these things, and we just take advantage of them. Sure, we have donations and fundraisers, but how many people actually do them? We need to take a bigger step,' said freshman MaryKate Stewart.

More than 1.2 billion people are living below the international poverty line and earn less than one dollar per day. This is causing some households to skip meals or eat less to make sure they have enough money for other necessities to live.

'I guess I take it for granted, as may other people do, that I have the food to eat every meal and whenever I'm hungry. I don't know what I would do if I had to eat the way a lot of people have to because they don't have the money or food they need,' said freshman Amelia Anastasi.

'I believe that we can solve this problem. If everyone takes part in helping other we can save lives everyday,' said Susan Mergler.

There are plenty of ways to help end world hunger and begin decreasing the percentage of peopl dying around the world.

Donate to local food shelter or give a little to organizations that help hunger. Little by little, we can begin to end the international problems of poverty, starvation and hunger.

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