December 2011 - Banneker High School

Train of Thought
Volume 5, Issue 2
Benjamin Banneker Academic High School
December, 2011
Tattoos Aren’t Just Body Art
by Cherrie Coachman &
Oni Crawford
W
hen senior Kyree Rollins was
15, he asked his mom for permission
to get a tattoo. Many of his friends had
them and he wanted one too. Of course,
she said no. But then he started learning about his Native American heritage
from his great-grandfather. He began
looking at pictures from his family
tree and reading books about Native
Americans, particularly the Cherokee,
the tribe of his ancestors. He was so
inspired by his conversations with his
great-grandfather and his reading,
that he sketched a tattoo symbolic of
his Native American heritage. Then his
mother changed her mind.
“I was really interested in my
background and lineage,” said Kyree,
who designed his tattoo with feathers
and a band.
Tattoos have become a popular form of expression among individuals of all ages. That expression can be
anything imaginable, from a favorite
phrase to a graphic symbol to a full col-
substances.
Kyree’s mother took him to Off
the Hook, a tattoo shop near the Potomac Avenue Metro station.
Before the tattoo process began, Kyree said he did have second
thoughts and wondered whether having a tattoo would have an effect on
his future. Kyree is a 17-year-old black
male with dreadlocks, living in an urban environment, the first generation
in his family who will go to college. He
said that he worried that having a tattoo might make some people view him
negatively, and that tattooed males are
sometimes stereotyped, but he holds
three part-time jobs and manages to
maintain a decent grade point average.
“Maybe I’m challenging society, revolutionizing society,” Kyree said. He
said one tattoo is enough for now. He
will only get another if something else
“enlightens him.” Senior Oni Crawford, 17, didn’t
or portrait. Kyree’s tattoo
includes a band around
his left bicep, which is designed from several pieces
of his grandfather’s art,
and a circle, which symbolizes life. The entire
process took two days
because the coloring was
time consuming. Kyree
said it was very painful.
“It moves as fast as hair
shaving clippers, but with
a needle,” he said.
Tattooing is not
licensed and is largely unregulated in D.C., but anyone under 17 usually will
be required to have written parental consent to
get a tattoo. The consent
form includes questions
about HIV/AIDS, pregnancy, and whether the
person is under the influence of any mind-altering
PHOTO BY MITZI VIVAR
body art continued on 3
Kyree Rollins talks about his tattoo and his heritage.
Anime Comes To Life
by Jia Li Dong
Luffy from “One Piece” and
Mercury from “Sailor Moon” were
among a number of unusual guests recently at the Hyatt Regency in Crystal
City. They were attendees of the annual “Anime USA” convention, held from
November 18-20.
Convention goers also included hundreds of other characters from
manga, anime and video games. There
were not only people in costume, but
also photographers, volunteers, artists who came to sell their works of art,
and, of course, people who simply enjoy anime and video games.
Tomas Pratt, who used to
work with Disney, was one of the
artists attending the convention.
Mr. Pratt created his webcomic called
“Shadowbinders” at shadowbinders.
com two years ago after working with
comic books for 12 years. Before cre-
ating his manga, he worked with Disney under the pen name of “Kneon
Transitt” to create the movies “Mickey
Mouse” and “Uncle Scrooge.” The anime movies he worked on inspired him
to create his own stories. The genres
that he usually draws include mostly
steam punk and fantasy, along with a
little bit of mecha, or robots.
On Saturday, Nov. 19, Anime
USA featured costumed participants
who played “Cosplay Chess”, in which
two people use other players as chess
pieces on a large board game mat.
When one of those pieces is ordered by
the player to take out the opponent’s
piece, a major battle ensues. The vanquished piece is defeated using the
portrayed character’s particular style
of fighting. The defeated piece dies a
terrible, sad death.
anime continued on 3
PHOTOS BY JIA LI DONG
INSIDE this ISSUE
Mr. Pratt started out as a teenage artist by hand-drawing his pictures
and illustrations, then progressed to
using computers and tablets when he
created his webcomic, using mostly
Photoshop tools to mimic art tools
to make drawing comics and manga
simpler. He is a fan of Transformers
and likes the manga “Evangelion” and
“Fruits Basket”.
His advice to young artists:
Practice. “If you wait to be perfect, you
won’t get to be. People are afraid to
try.”
Tattoos------------------------------------------ 1
Anime------------------------------------------- 1
Lunch Diaries------------------------------- 2
Student Driving ---------------------------- 3
School Spirit Photos ------------------- 4-5
Student Writing and Art ----------------- 6
Urban Lit Review ------------------------- 7
As I See It ----------------------------------- 7
White House Trick or Treat ------------ 7
Riddle Box ----------------------------------- 7
Crossword Puzzle -------------------------- 8
2
Train of Thought
Kiosk Brings New Lunch Payment Options
by Hagos Hagos
In addition to a slightly higher price for a school lunch, there is also a
new machine in the old Banneker cafeteria. Instead of handing lunch money to a cafeteria employee, students now
deposit money into the Kiosk in the corner of the cafeteria .
Lisa McCorse is the new cafeteria employee who is responsible for helping students with the Kiosk machine. She said that the lunch options are locally
produced, and not at all like the unhealthy fast food school lunches she remembers from the past. There’s also a new lunch option – the salad bar. The options change daily
but include tofu, shrimp and sometimes chicken and barbeque.
PHOTOS BY MITZI VIVAR
The newest addition to the cafeteria “staff”.
Students can use ID cards to pay for lunch.
Lunch: It’s Not Just About Food
by Reniya Dinkins
Day 1
Day 2
Loud singing voices rang through the cool
air of the bright cafeteria. “Happy birthday to you!
Happy birthday to you!” All eyes turned toward the
table surrounded by approximately 30 Banneker
students who obscured two dozen cupcakes and
the birthday kid.
“Whose birthday is today?” I asked my
friends, who only replied with shrugs.
“Happy birthday, dear CJ!” the voices
yelled.
“CJ! It’s CJ’s birthday!” I cried. I jumped
up and ran over to the table, squeezing my way
through the crowd of people who all wanted a cupcake. “Excuse me. Excuse me. Excuse me!” I yelled.
I finally reached the middle of the commotion. CJ
was sitting at his table smiling and passing out
cupcakes.
“Happy birthday!” I said to him excitedly.
“Thank you. What kind of cupcake would
you like?” CJ asked. On the table were sitting chocolate cupcakes with a football ring stuck into each
one, along with vanilla cupcakes.
“Vanilla, please,” I told him. He handed
me a delicious-looking cupcake with vanilla icing
and vibrant rainbow sprinkles. Yum.
“Yay! Thank you!” I said. I squeezed my
way back through the crowd of sweet-tooths and
skipped back to my seat.
“Life is sweet,” I thought.
I walked into Ms. Carter’s already full room.
Chatter of the Student Government Association played
throughout the dim room. As the door closed my boots
creaked against the wooden floor. I sat down next to
Camisha, who was flipping through a prom decorations
catalog.
“We’re going to decide on the theme for the
Winter Ball today,” she told me.
“Cool,” I replied. “What if we had a carnival
theme? Or a circus theme?” I said as I eyed a picture of
a tiger in the catalog.
“That would be kind of cool, but I think they
are trying to do a theme related to wintertime,” Camisha told me.
We glanced at a few more themes in the catalog
and brainstormed a few reasonable ideas. The entire
SGA came together as a group and decided to take a
poll. The options were: “Winter Wonderland”, “A Winter Night,” and “A Winter in Paris.” “A Winter in Paris”
won with eight votes, while “A Winter Night” had five
votes and “Winter Wonderland” had no votes.
“Wait a second,” I thought. “What if we combine ‘A Winter Night’ and ‘A Winter in Paris’ to become
‘A Winter Night in Paris’?” I asked. The people around
me agreed that it was a good idea. We took it to Ms.
Carter, who asked the rest of the SGA for their opinion
on the idea. Everyone liked the combined theme, so it
was decided. “A Winter Night in Paris” would be the
theme for the Winter Ball of 2011.
Day 3
A volleyball flying through the air was the
first thing I saw as I entered the gym with Deanna.
“Oh crap!” I yelled out loud. “We’re going to have
to run,” I told Deanna. We quickly ran across the
gym to the bleachers that my friends and I call the
“Sophomore Side.” I sat down in the empty bleachers. It was still the first half of the lunch period, but
that didn’t stop the guys from playing volleyball.
I engaged in conversation with a few people around me about different teachers and classes. As the time went by, students gradually began
filing into the gym. Sophomores wandered through
the doors and sat down as the “Sophomore Side”
filled up soon. I was squished and surrounded by
the loud voices of many students.
Suddenly, I heard a piercing scream and
looked up in time to see the volleyball flying at full
speed straight towards me.
I shifted to the left as the volleyball brushed
my right arm. “I need to get out of here,” I thought
to myself. I looked up again to see the volleyball
hit a freshman girl who was sitting on the opposite
side of the gym. Wincing, I watched her hand fly
immediately to her head where she was hit. Yet as
I looked around, it didn’t seem as if many people
had noticed. Everyone was laughing and having
fun. I, on the other hand, was a bit shaken up. In
my opinion, the gym is a dangerous place to go at
lunchtime. Beware of flying volleyballs.
3
Train of Thought
body art continued from 1
have much trouble getting permission for her first tattoo. Oni’s mother has numerous tattoos herself, so
when Oni asked for one, her mother
arranged the appointment. Oni and
her mother went to a tattoo artist
that her mother knew.
Oni said the safety question did cross her mind, but she was
with her mom, a trusted adult. Oni
scrutinized her surroundings trying
to see if everything used in the process was sterile. “I trust my mother.
I watched him open a new set of needles. He used gloves, and it seemed
sterile,”she said. Oni was able to get two tattoos in one day. Her first tattoo was
an “O” with a crown on top of it, representing her first name. Her second
tattoo is a statement of her philosophy: “I have more responsibility and
I am required to do more because of
the gifts I have.” The “O” is on her
PHOTO COURTESY OF ONI CRAWFORD
Oni’s regal “O” is the smaller of her
two tattoos.
back; the statement is written in script
down her torso. Oni said that on a scale of 1 to
10, with 10 being the most painful, she
would describe her tattoo experience
as a 6 or 7. As the needle went into her
skin, she said it felt as though someone
was scratching her.
Oni said she does plan to get
more tattoos in the future, such as her
lucky number 7, which is the number
of siblings she has and the date of her
birthday.
Kyree and Oni agreed that their
tattoos will not affect their future career choices. Their tattoos are in places
that can easily be covered by clothing.
Kyree said he is not going to allow people to judge him based on his tattoo. “Tattoos are only drawn on
the exterior,” Kyree said. “What really
matters is evaluating what is inside the
person.”
PHOTO BY MITZI VIVAR
Kyree’s tattoo includes color and
required two days to complete.
Tattooing in the District of Columbia is unregulated. Tattoo parlors and artists in D.C. are not required to be licensed or certified.
The D.C. Council will be meeting to discuss regulation on Dec. 14.
anime continued from 1
Can you guess which characters
are in these pictures and what
manga/anime/video games they
are from? Send your answers to
bbtrainofthought@gmail.com.
PHOTO BY JIA LI DONG
1.
2.
3.
4.
The most exciting and dramatic event in the anime convention
is the Masquerade, held on Saturday.
Cosplayers compete with each other for
prizes. They act out short plays and/or
perform on stage in front of convention
attendees by singing and/or dancing.
The acts included how the American
Revolution began, in which three cosplayers represented each one of the
countries involved in the actual historical event- England, France, and the
US. Another performance included an
imaginative account of the involvement
of a famous celebrity and her obsession
with Pokemon.
Ticket prices for the convention range from $35-$60 for all three
days. Next year’s convention is scheduled to be held at the Washington Marriott Wardman, near Woodley Park in
Northwest D.C.
For more information on this
year’s convention, go to animeusa.org. If you want to go to a convention near
you, go to animecons.com/events/. Few Students Take Advantage
of Their Right to Drive
by Imani
Crawford
Six. This is the number of students at Banneker who have a driver’s license. Most of these students are seniors, but they are not the only ones eligible
to get a license. In D.C., there are three steps to getting a license. In the main program,
called the Grad program, there is the supervised learners phase, the intermediate phase (provisional license) and finally graduation to a full license. Any
D.C. teen is eligible to begin the process at the age of 16. According to a recent
Train of Thought survey, only 16 students have either a permit or provisional
license although about half of the Banneker student body is eligible to start this
process.
Junior Amber Parrish is one of the 16 who is on her way to getting her
license. Like many other teens, Amber learned to drive with family members,
mostly her mother and grandfather. She said she suggested to her mother that
she start driving before her 16th birthday and her mother agreed to buy a car so
that she could learn. She said a car is a very big responsibility, especially for a
teen living in the metropolitan area where it is not a necessity.
Amber explained the many responsibilities that come with her driving. Although her mother pays for her car insurance and her grandfather pays for
her gas, she said her mom now sends her to the store to pick up things and also
expects her to pick up her sister some days after school.
Amber said the test is not difficult, and anyone should be able to get a
permit as long as he or she takes the time to look over the manual and makes
sure to learn to drive from a licensed adult.
Riddle answers from page 7
Air
Fire
She is a photographer
Lounger
4
Train of Thought
Yes, We Have
Crazy hats take over Banneker
Even the teachers have spirit!
PHOTOS BY YEARBOOK CLUB
Train of Thought
School Spirit!
Mixing it up and showing class spirit
&
TRAIN OF THOUGHT STAFF
5
6
Train of Thought
It’s a Man’s World
by Princess Brown
It’s a man’s world.
I never really understood that saying.
I mean, it’s a man’s world?
But women bring the men in
And still get no recognition.
I don’t really get it.
Nine months of carrying,
countless hours of pushing,
twenty-four hours of nurturing, or
twenty-five if you want to count
that extra bedtime story she read to baby
just to get him to sleep, and
don’t forget a lifetime of giving.
But it’s a man’s world.
It’s a man’s world
where woman created that perm
that daddy felt was necessary
for babygirl to get
because those cornrows
just weren’t doing it anymore
even if she liked them anyway;
where mommy witnessed those first steps
and although daddy wasn’t there,
so that he wouldn’t miss out,
she made sure she recorded it.
This world where women use their intellect
to fight against the deception
that she wouldn’t be anything
but a housewife
or a midwife, as an exception.
But anyway she wrote a book,
cooked,
worked two jobs,
and cleaned…
Illustration by Jia Li Dong
But it’s a man’s world.
“It’s a man’s world,” James Brown said.
Although the woman loved and gave
even when he didn’t deserve it.
Only for him to rape her heart.
And she got back up to do it again.
It’s a man’s world,
but the women just keep it clean.
Even after she spent countless hours
fixing her hair in a new do
that you didn’t notice anyway;
buying that new dress.
But it didn’t matter to you
because she refused to slip that dress up
at the end of the date.
Buying those new pumps
that she knew
she couldn’t walk in
with that new mac to match
to hide those blemishes
that you probably paid no attention to
anyway.
It may be a man’s world,
But if you ask me,
women run it better.
I’m not saying men don’t deserve credit.
But if you have a woman by your side,
please don’t forget her.
Because even if you give her
a list of ten things to do,
most likely she’s going to do twenty-two.
Not because it makes her happy,
but it’s that ambition
in her veins.
So when somebody asks,
“Who runs the world?”
Don’t scream, girls.
But remember to whisper…
My WOMEN…
But, it’s a man’s world.
Illustration by Nnedimma Ugochukwu
7
Train of Thought
In My Opinion...
As I See It...
Urban Fiction Keeps It Real
by Taylor Speight
For many people, the phrase
“Urban Fiction” means cursing and
obscenity, sex and drugs. Urban fiction is a literary genre that may be
too gritty for many adults, but that
the younger generation understands
and likes. The titles may be vulgar,
and the book jackets may show a
little more skin than appropriate, but
what’s important is the message of
the books and what people, young and
old, can learn from reading them.
It is true that urban fiction
novels use vulgar language “straight
up.” You won’t find vocabulary words
like “harlot” to refer to a prostitute. Teens sometimes complain that they
don’t get much out of reading books
with words they have never heard
before.
Urban fiction portrays real-
istic stories of urban youth, and
reading an urban fiction novel may
help teens gain a better understanding or a different perspective
on where they stand in life.
For example, The Coldest
Winter Ever, by Sister Souljah, is a
meaningful and beautifully written book about the importance of
self-respect. The Coldest Winter
Ever is true to life. A drug kingpin
can live the high life but once he
is brought down, his life is not the
only one that is ruined. This is a
story of how the downfall of drugdealer Santiaga affected his family
and, in particular, his daughter,
Winter. Winter becomes caught
up in her father’s criminal lifestyle
only to have her world crumble
because she has never learned the
true value of living a respectable
life, having an education and earning an honest dollar.
How Sister Souljah describes her book in her interviews
isn’t the way some people see it. Sister Souljah portrays Winter as
girl who changes throughout the
book from a control freak to a tame
young lady. The key to understanding
urban fiction is to open up your mind,
body, and soul to find the message
that the author is trying to convey.
JUST FOR FUN
1) I am lighter than a feather, yet no man can hold me for very long. What am I?
2) Feed me and I live, give me something to drink and I die. What am I?
3) A women shoots a husband, then she holds him under water for five minutes. But ` five minutes later they both went out to dinner. How could this be?
4) What seven letter word becomes longer when the third letter is removed?
RIDDLES PROVIDED BY KHADIJAH AKEEM. LOOK FOR THE ANSWERS AT THE
BOTTOM OF PAGE 3
First Amendment at School
by Detrick Campbell
We all have rights, right? Well, kinda.
Every citizen of the United
States has rights. It doesn’t matter
if you’re young or old, tall or short,
rich or poor, black or white, or what
religion you practice. However,
some people’s rights are limited
and their voices are muffled. Students are a group of citizens whose
rights are often ignored and whose
ideas and contributions are taken
lightly because of their age and underestimated life experience.
There are many rights that
students should be aware of, beginning with the first amendment to
the U.S. Constitution which guarantees, among other things, freedom of
speech and freedom of the press.
Schools are places that shape
the viewpoints and attitudes of students who will one day be the leaders of society. The schoolhouse is
where children spend most of their
time during most of the year. Unfortunately, the schoolhouse is also the
place where many students’ rights are
limited. However, there have been a
number of U.S. Supreme Court cases
that have defined the limits of student
rights. In 1969, the Supreme Court
decided in Tinker v. Des Moines that
“It can hardly be argued that either
students or teachers shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or
expression at the school gate.” A subsequent Supreme Court
case, Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier, addresses censorship in a high school
newspaper. In 1988, Spectrum, a student newspaper at Hazelwood East
High School, in Missouri, sued the
school district. The student newspaper
staff claimed the principal had violated
its first amendment rights by eliminating one of their stories without notice.
In the end, the lower court ruled in
favor of the public school system and
allowed limited censorship. The Supreme Court upheld the ruling of the
lower court.
Since then, seven states have
passed legislation that guarantees students freedom of the press without
prior review. D.C. is not one of these
jurisdictions. In practice, this means
that a student in the D.C. area may not
be able to express his or her ideas and
opinions freely based on the whim or
interpretation of a teacher or principal.
Students owe it to themselves
to know the limits of their first amendment rights. You have rights but you
also have a responsibility to know and
understand what your rights are and to
practice them. Know what you can and
cannot do when expressing yourself.
You might be surprised to find out
how much you know about the
First Amendment. USA Today has
an online quiz titled “How well do
you know the First Amendment” at
http://www.usatoday.com/news/
nation/2011-06-29-first-amendment-quiz_n.htm
White House Hosts Halloween Trick-or-Treat Event
by Nnedimma Ugochukwu
Members of Brainfood were
invited to the White House on Oct.
29 to work in the kitchen helping to
pack goody bags for trick-or-treaters.
Six members of Brainfood were chosen at random to participate, including Banneker juniors Nnedimma
Ugochukwu and Armonte Butler.
The Halloween helpers filled
over 4,000 goody bags with orange
White House Cookies, Presidential M&Ms and healthy Trail Mix. When the bags were filled, Brainfood volunteers sorted them into
baskets, braving the cold weather
to distribute the goodies to trick-ortreaters in front of the White House. PHOTO BY NNEDIMMA UGOCHUKWU
Goody bags were ready and waiting for trick-or-treaters.
The volunteers were joined
by White House staffers who were
dressed in costumes and greeted everyone as they came by.
Even President Obama, the
First Lady and her mother came outside for about 10 minutes to hand out
candy. The children, who had been
invited from a number of schools
in Washington, and the adults who
accompanied them, were thrilled.
Brainfood volunteers distributed candy until dark, when they were
invited into the White House for a snack
and hot chocolate. They were thanked
by the President and his family, the
White House Chefs and assistants.
Train of Thought is a student publication. The views expressed are those of individual writers and do not necessarily represent the views of DCPS, the
school, its faculty, or its students. Train of Thought welcomes comments, letters, queries, and contributions of work.
Please e-mail us at : bbtrainofthought@gmail.com.
STAFF
Contributors to this issue
Khadijah Akeem, Nijah Armstrong, Princess Brown, Detrick Campbell, Cherrie Coachman, Imani Crawford, Oni Crawford,
Reniya Dinkins, Jia Li Dong, Brianna Little, Hagos Hagos, Taylor Speight, Nnedimma Ugochukwu Layout
Mitzi Vivar, Nnedimma Ugochukwu
8
Train of Thought
It is Trojan War Month in Latin class, and students are preparing to read the
Odyssey in English classes. Latin teacher Ms. Jessica Levknecht has prepared a
crossword puzzle to help students learn about some of the greatest literary and
historical events of the ancient world.
You Asked,
We Listened
In our recent survey, many of
you asked for an advice column in
Train of Thought.
In the next issue, we will
begin the student-based advice
column!
The advice column will
deal with student concerns
about school, life, and other teen-related issues. The advice column will
be anonymous.
Please place your quetions and
concerns in the locker marked
“Train of Thought.” Watch for
fliers with further information
on the exact location of the
locker.
We would like this effort to be
informative and constructive. No
cruel, obscene, or negative commentary will be tolerated.
?
Across
1. This goddess, also known as Minerva,
offered Paris wisdom and success in
battle.
5. Author of the Iliad and the Odyssey
6. Wife of Aeneas
8. Daughter of King Latinus, married
Aeneas
10. Father of Paris and King of Troy
11. King of Mycenae, brother of Menelaus
12. The greatest Greek warrior killed by
Achilles
14. Queen of Sparta who was abducted
from Greece to Troy
15. Son of Aeneas
17. Wooden animal in which the Greeks
hid
19. King of the gods, also known as
Jupiter
20. Bride of King Peleus, whose wedding
was interrupted by the judgment of Paris
21. Father of Aeneas
22. Husband of Helen and brother of
Agamemnon
Down
1. Goddess also known as Venus
2. God of the seas, also known as Neptune
3. Achilles’ best friend, killed by Hector
4. Wife of king of the gods, also known
as Juno
7. Exiled Phoenician queen of Carthage
9. Son of Peleus and Thetis, who was
dipped in the River Styx to protect him
10. Abducted Helen
13. Goddess of discord
16. The epic by Vergil about the fall of
Troy and Aeneas
18. Also known as Ulysses, the most
cunning Greek
?
?
Have a safe
and
happy
holiday!