December 2013 - Pursuit Online

Centerville High School
Pursuit
NewsMagazine
Teens deal with bullying
Centerville High School 500 East Franklin St. Centerville, OH 45459 Vol. 41 Issue 2 $2
Centerville High School 500 East Franklin St. Centerville, OH 45459 Vol. 41 Issue 2
News
Centerville High School
Pursuit
December 2013
Studies question ‘rite of passage’
Celia Lavoie
Staff Writer
According to a study in July at the
University of Michigan, the percentage of teens with a driver’s license has
decreased in the past 30 years.
Sixty percent of teens between
the ages of 17 and 19 have a driver’s
license. In 1983, 80 percent had one.
Getting a driver’s license is a rite of
passage for some students.
Sophomore Madi Jones says she was
one of the first in her grade to get her
license.
“It was pretty important to me,” said
Jones.
Other students prefer to wait.
“Driving school is expensive,” graduate Cassie Turner-Crisp said.
The high expense kept Turner-Crisp
from getting her license until her
eighteenth birthday.
PDS driving school charges $460.
Driving is a rite of passage for teens. According to the CDC, this rite of passage kills seven teens,
between the ages of 16 and 19, every day. Photo by Celia Lavoie
B-Safe driving school charges $379
and promises to match any competitor’s price, according to the company’s
website. These steep prices may be
part of the reason for the decrease in
drivers.
School security guard Barry Pack
says maturity is a big part of whether
or not a teen is ready to start driving.
Numerous statistics support teens
waiting to drive. According to the
Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, every day seven teenagers between the ages of 16 and 19 die
from injuries due to motor vehicle
incidents.
Geico Insurance Co. says one way
accidents can be prevented is to drive
with the right attitude. Gieco says
driving responsibly can save lives
and prevent driving accidents among
teens.
Hashtag cures boredom, starts trouble
Nick Pierron
Staff Writer
Twitter is known for its extreme
use of hashtags, reflecting on what’s
currently trending. However, these
tweets don’t always highlight current
trends. They can sometimes cause
painful repercussions for the subjects.
One hashtag in particular was
#LetsMakeitAwkward. This particular
term was made to pair two people
who have broken up from a relationship or who are no longer friends.
Junior Kevin McGrail claims he
brought the hashtag to Centerville.
“I did it because I was bored,” McGrail said.
Along with him, senior Evan Henry
tagged several people who were once
couples but are no longer together.
Students bring up the past on Twitter with the hashtag “#Letsmakeitawkaward.” Some say the trend was started out of boredom. Photo by Nick Pierron
To some, like commonly tagged
senior Ray Greene, the hashtag was
just for fun.
“Most of the information about me
was true,” Greene said.
Greene claims to have been in
several relationships that eventually
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ended, making him a common target
for the hashtag. He seems to simply
just brush it off.
However, the hashtag can be harmful, reportedly bringing back painful,
awkward memories of the past.
Some schools have even taken action to find people who do this type of
tweeting and pursue punishment for
cyber bullying.
Students at Morriston High School
in New Jersey found themselves
suspended when the hashtag caused
problems.
This once popular twitter hashtag
serves as a reminder that even though
you may have warm intentions, those
may reflect in a negative way to those
on the punch line of the joke.
News
Centerville High School
Pursuit
December 2013
Do you remember what happened in 2013?
Arthur Heineman’s Milestone Mo-Tel first
opened in 1925. The closed in 1991. Photo
from Creative Commons.
This day in history
1859-In December, the first
train operates over the Victoria Railway Bridge in Montreal, Canada.
1913- The Mona Lisa is recovered
after being stolen from the Louvre
Museum in 1911.
1906- Oscar Straus becomes the
first Jewish cabinet member appointed Secretary of Commerce.
1925- Arthur Heineman opens the
first motel. He combines the words
motorist and hotel to create the
word “motel.” Heineman’s motel was
originally known as the Milestone
Mo-Tel.
1937-The first mobile TV is created
in New York.
1959- United Nations establishes a
committee for peaceful use of outer
space.
1963- Frank Sinatra Jr. is recovered after being kidnapped.
1972- Eugene Cernan, commander
of Apollo 17, walks on the moon.
1975-Sara Jane Moore pleads
guilty for attempting to assassinate
President Gerald Ford.
1979-Gold hits a record high of
$462.50 an ounce.
1988 -Sandra Miller sues Mike
Tyson for sexual harassment.
President Barack Obama stands next to his wife, Michelle, at his second inauguration. The inauguration was held Jan 20. Photo from Creative Commons.
The year is coming to an end and
there is much to remember from the
last 12 months. Here’s a short recap
of some of what happened in 2013.
• Jan. 20, President Barack Obama
has his second and final inauguration.
•February, Supreme Leader,Kim
Jong-Un of North Korea sends threats
of a potential attack. Several months
later, nothing has happened.
•Feb 15, Chelyabinsk, Russia is hit
with a meteor causing damage to over
thousands of buidlings and injuring
1,491 people. The meteor was one of
the most powerful to hit Earth since
1908.
• March 16, Cardinal Jorge Mario
Bergoglio of Argentina is chosen as
the 266th pope after Pope Benedict
XVI resigns. Bergoglio is now known
as Pope Francis.
• The April 15 Boston Marathon
is bombed, killing three people and
injuring 264 others. One suspect,
Tamerlan Tsarnaev, is dead and his
brother, Dzhokhar, remains in custody.
• June, former CIA agent Edward
Snowden discloses information
about the U.S. surveillance organization, the National Security Agency.
Snowden sought asylum in Russia. He
3
is now facing criminal charges.
• July 3, Egypt’s army chief general
Abdul Fatah al-Sisi removes President
Mohamed Morsi from office and suspends the Egyptian constitution. This
overthrow led several camp raids in
August, killing 638 people and injuring thousands.
•July 22, Kate Middleton gives
birth to Prince George of Cambridge.
He is third in line as English Monarch
following Queen Elizabeth II.
• Aug 21, the Syrian government
attacks neighborhoods in Damascus,
killing more than 1000 people with a
chemical agent. President Obama expresses interest in going to war with
Syria for these crimes.
• Nov 8, Typhoon Haiyan, the strongest tropical cyclone to make landfall
with 145 mph winds, hit the Philippines killing thousands of people and
leaving at least 11 million homeless.
•Nov 24, President Obama agrees to
for the Islamic Republic of Iran to be
granted sanctions relief by the United
Nations in exchange for them to limit
their nuclear development program.
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Life
Centerville High School
Pursuit
December 2013
What are your winter break vacation plans?
Tori Pachiano
STAFF WRITER
For the holiday season, students
and teachers are preparing their
vacation plans.
Whether you’re scheduling a tropical retreat to escape the cold or to
somewhere snow will be certain,
getting together with all of your
family or staying in Centerville;
most say they are ready for a twoweek break.
There are lots of fun activities to
look forward to during winter break.
“For winter break, I am going to stay
in Centerville. I have holiday tournaments for basketball and my family
is coming in town to visit,” senior
Nadiyah Cross said.
“I am visiting Pennsylvania to see my
grandparents and my dad’s side of the
family,” junior Dan Pressel said.
“I will be spending Christmas at home
with my wife and kids and then visiting our extended family in Toledo
for New Year’s,” English teacher Luke
Arnold said.
“I am going to be spending my winter
break in the awesome town of Centerville. I can’t wait to sleep in every day
and celebrate the holidays with my
family,” junior Alice Ghraham said.
“For winter break, I am visiting a
place called Ogle Bay in West Virginia.
We’re going to stay in a cabin with
my grandparents, aunts and cousins,”
junior Madison Rettig said.
“I am flying down to Cancun, Mexico with my family,” junior Hannah
Vaughn said.
“For winter break, I am excited to
hang out with my friends and family
and then we are driving to Chicago,”
junior Blake Zeller said.
“I am going to hang out with all of my
friends and visit my uncle in Middletown. Mostly, I am just planning to
have a lot of fun,” freshman Ethan
Hall said.
5
Feature
Pursuit
December 2013
Feature
Passion brings painful experiences
Adam Fuentes
Staff Writer
Relationships can involve physical, emotional or mental abuse. Many continue to fight
through the ups and downs they experience and will do whatever it takes to be with that
person. photo by Creative Commons
Looking at both sides of peer pressure
Tori Pachiano
STAFF WRITER
Everyone has experienced peer pressure before, either positive or negative.
Peer pressure is when your classmates
or someone else your age tries to convince you to do something.
In a high school environment, people
worry about what sticky situations they
might find themselves in. Being pressured can lead you to make harmful
decisions.
“Being in high school is hard because
there are so many poor influences every
where,” sophomore Sohi Burch said.
Have you ever realized there is also
positive peer pressure throughout the
school?
“When people compliment you or
when a teacher encourages you, it can
make you do something that coexists
with those feelings,” senior Kristen
Kottman said.
Students are exposed to different
in- fluences and it’s their responsibility
to differentiate between those that are
positive and negative.
“You just have to know that you’re
making the right choice, even if it may
not seem like it at the moment,” Burch
said.
Kottman says if someone is putting
you down every day or you’re really
stressed out, it can lead you to make
choices that coincide with those negetive feelings.
Some students push themselves to
achieve both academic and ethical excellence through their athletic programs.
“With cross country, you have to run
so you can’t be doing harmful things.
It’s also about being on the team and
behaving correctly,” junior varsity cross
country member Ben Balster said.
Balster says keeping a clear head is
the best way to achieve success both in
sports and in school.
6
Love is a passionate feeling everyone experiences in life. But what if the
person you loved the most, hurt you?
It could be your mother, father, spouse,
boyfriend or girlfriend.
“You don’t understand how much I
love him. I’ll do whatever it takes to
make things right,” junior girl said.
Those in an abusive relationship find
it hard to see the signs of abuse, even if
they’re being beaten or in fear of being
with the person they love.
Many continue to fight through the
ups and downs they experience.
They will do whatever it takes to be
with the same person they fell deeply
in love with, according to Robert and
Jeanne Segal founders of HelpGuide.
org, a resourse developed to help
people resolve challanges.
“It’s hard to leave because I don’t
know what my life would be like without her. I love her too much for her
to walk out of my life and never come
back,” an anonymous senior boy said.
His girlfriend began to have relationships with other guys besides him. It
became emotional for him after sharing most of his high school years with
her.
He continues to fight to have a relationship with her.
“I believe she’s my soul mate and
even after all the terrible things that
we’ve done to each other, at the end
of the day, I will always love her,” the
senior boy said.
Support is key to coping
Students fight and argue about almost anything. “Be confident, especially in your body
language,” School Councelor Beth Mires
said. photo by Brianna Blackmore
Matthew Greathouse
Staff Writer
Students cope with bullying in different ways. Unfortunately, some students
cope in negative ways.
“Some students have resorted to killing themselves because of bullying,” jun-
ior Kelsey Schirmer said.
Other students cope using techniques
in positive ways. One of those is to use
the resources offered at school.
“We offer individual sessions. Those
individual sessions focus on conflict
resolutions, coping strategies and general support,” resource counselor Beth
Mires said.
There are many people who could be
used for general support.
“They could tell someone about it.
They could talk to Mrs. Mires or their
parents. They can also talk to one of the
Resource Officers or ask the person why
they are bullying,” senior Irene Brooks
said.
These techniques can help students
cope with bullying because it makes
them feel more comfortable.
“Be confident, especially in your body
language,” Mires said. “Seek help and
get advice.”
Pursuit
December 2013
Local organization gives
young people hope
TJ’s place of Hope gives young people a place to deal with their daily struggles. Anyone
between the ages of 12 and 25 are welcome. Photo by Celia Lavoie
Celia lavoie
STAFF WRITER
According to the National Institute
of Mental Health, about 11 percent of
kids experience some sort of depressive
disorder.
T.J.’s Place of Hope, a local volunteerrun organization gives kids a safe place
to work out these struggles.
“We have a very simple game plan,”
T.J.’s Chairman Greg Crabtree said.
The goal at T.J.’s is to give kids a safe
and confidential place to “make connections and build positive influences,”
according to Crabtree.
These positive influences can be found
at group meetings. The meetings are
held for people ages 12-25 who are dealing with addiction or suicidal thoughts
and tendencies. The meetings give participants a chance to talk with others
7
who have been in similar situations.
“It helps me find more positive ways to
use my time,” junior Alice Lowe said.
Instead of teaching “coping mechanisms,” T.J.’s teaches healthy alternatives.
“This could be anything from music
and art lessons to providing materials
for kids to find and follow their passion,” Crabtree said.
T.J.’s also wants people to be able to
deal with problems in the future. Lowe
says she has learned many techniques
but believes you must be able to move
on from the past.
“Confidence is key,” Lowe said.
If you or someone you know is suffering from addiction, suicidal tendencies
or other mental illnesses, T.J.’s is open
to anyone who is looking for help. They
are located at 85 E. Franklin St.
Feature
Centerville High School
Pursuit
December 2013
Students express their creativity
Adam Fuentes
Staff Writer
The theatre program creates four
plays every school year allowing students to learn to create different stage
settings, as well as learn to direct and
act.
“We create a student produced play
once every year, to express the creativity that many students can show
to the audience,” Theatre Director Joe
Beumer said.
After presenting Moon over Buffalo
from Sept. 12-14, The 25th Annual
Putnam County Spelling Bee was a
major success.
“It’s important to have energy.
When your nervous on stage, it’s a
type of energy that you need to release to get used to your character and
audience,” Beumer said.
Students are looking forward to
creating All My Sons in January.
The play is set after World War II
with two friends, working together
making airplane parts.
Steve Deever, one of the main characters, was sent to jail after producing faulty parts that caused 21 planes
to fail, killing all pilots and passengers.
Joe Keller, another main character,
has suddenly disappeared without a
trace.
The play is filled with love, tragedy
and heartbreak.
Roles are cast and the script is ready
for this upcoming event to premiere
next year.
Characters pose for photo during, The Putnam
County Spelling Bee. The theatre will produce
their next play, All my Sons, in January 2014.
Photo courtesy of Joe Beumer.
Time and dedication spark interests
Celia Lavoie
STAFF WRITER
“Usually I’ll get home from school
and do nothing but play until I go to
bed,” senior Kieran Cronley said.
In the fourth grade, senior Kieran
Cronley joined orchestra, playing the
viola. Between fourth and seventh
grade, Cronley bounced from instrument to instrument looking for a
spark.
In the seventh grade, that spark
finally came. When Cronley heard the
need for a bassist in a band, he picked
up the bass guitar and hasn’t been
able to put it down since.
Cronley has moved on from his
middle school band, Phedora, and has
taken big strides with the band, Giant
Steps.
Giant Steps is a local band comprised of four members. The band
released its debut album, Transitions,
in 2012.
Time and dedication got Cronley
where he is now.
“Most of the time I’m playing bass
instead of doing homework,” Cronley
said.
While Cronley focuses on making
music with his bass, senior Lauren
McAndrew uses her voice.
Starting out with chorus in middle
school, McAndrew said she didn’t really take it seriously. Now a member
of Forte, she says she takes it a lot
more seriously.
Being a part of Forte has put her in
a class where she sings every day. On
top of that class, McAndrew says she
has rehearsal twice a week and competitions on weekends.
When talking about the amount of
time she spends on her singing, she
said, “oh, way too much.”
8
Senior Kieran Cronley began playing bass in
middle school. He now plays in a band called
Giant Steps. Photo by Celia Lavoie
Like Cronley, McAndrew has gained
success through her time and dedication to the activity she loves.
sports
Centerville High School
Pursuit
December 2013
Wrestlers prepare for upcoming season
Wrestling team members practice before each scheduled match, They work on improving techniques and takedowns. Photo by Khalil Abushanab.
Khalil Abushanab
Staff Writer
Winter is approaching and that
means wrestling season is here.
Team members are preparing for
this upcoming season. They have
been lifting weights and working out
through the spring, summer and fall
three days every week.
“We took part in a spring wrestling
club, that meant two days per week
we had tournaments. We also had
guys go to nationals in the summer.
Conditioning started in October and
I think we’re ready for the season,”
Head Coach Alan Bair said.
Bair believes the seniors have really
bought into the program.
“I am making an effort to become
the best I can be for my final year of
wrestling,” senior Adam Tonkin said.
Tonkin is working alongside Coach
Bair and his fellow teammates to get
ready for the season.
“I am excited to see what we can do
this season,” junior Harley Hale said.
Hale is looking forward to see
how the team will do this year, and
believes they will be successful.
Mamoun Mustafa is a sophmore
member of the wrestling team.
“I like how things are going this
year, I’m excited to see what the
future holds,” Mustafa said.
The team has had a lot of success
over the past nine years. They have
been back to back GWOC champs and
qualified for state a number of times.
Bair has grown up with this group of
young men and is taking this season
very serious. It is his son’s senior year.
“It personally means a little more
to me because I’ve sort of grown up
watching these kids for 8 or 9 years
now,” said Bair.
Bair says this year they will have the
hardest schedule they have ever had
since he has been head coach.
The team will travel to Cleveland
to wrestle in one of the toughest
tournaments in the state of Ohio.
Winter guard, drumline spin into new season
Winter guard and drum line members gather for a group picture. Each member is wearing their
uniform. Photo courtesy of Tina Weigand.
Matthew greathouse
Staff Writer
Winter guard consists of color guard
and winter drumline, the percussion
portion of the show. The groups
compete separately from each other,
but both practice together.
“We perform at competitions that
9
each school hosts and at the end of
the year, we perform at the Nutter
Center,” senior guard member Sydney
Pence said.
However, before they can compete,
they have rehearsals to prepare.
“We start off the season learning
basics,” guard director Tiffany Seago
said.
Winter drumline consists of
percussionist, putting on a show with
their beats and even some stick tricks.
The drumline puts in many hours
outside of school to practice, but a
little less than they do in the fall.
However, senior Josh Foy enjoys it.
“It’s fun when it sounds good,”
Foy said. “It’s good when we work
together.”
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Centerville High School
Pursuit
December 2013
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45459
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We hold confidential meetings
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45475
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10
Opinion
Centerville High School
In our opinion...
Bullying leaves marks
The worst type of bullying is physical; it can leave marks, not only on the
officials respond horrible to bullying.
Many students think adult help is
outside but also the inside.
About 160,000 teens skip school
each day just to avoid being bullied, according to the Do Something
ineffective and infrequent.
Physical bullying increases in elementary school, doesn’t happen too
often in middle school, and almost
website. One out of 10 students drop
out of school because of bullying, and
one out of four teachers see nothing
wrong with bullying with only four
never happens in high school. Verbal
abuse is still very active with bullying.
Suicide is the third leading cause of
percent saying they would intervene.
Bullying can lead to many different
things. Seventy-five percent of school
shooters have claimed they were harassed or bullied.
Students have constant memories
from the pain and suffering they went
through at the hands of a bully.
Two-thirds of students say school
deaths for young adults. With about
85 percent of bullying cases there is
no intervention or effort made by any
other student or teacher.
Now that schools are more aware of
this problem, officials must take a different approach to it to stop bullying.
A number of students still live in fear
from their experiences of being bullied. This trend needs to stop.
In our opinion...
The meaning of being bullied
less things and don’t realize it can
really hurt or offend someone.
Step back and think a minute if it
really hurts them even though they
won’t say anything. Or just walk a
mile in their shoes and try to understand from their point of view.
Even though you might feel king of
the world, you’re not. If you’re a bully
Students make fun of students and don’t
even notice it. Photo by Nick Baver.
Ask yourself, what is the definition
of bullying? According to the Governments stop bulling website,“bullying
is unwanted, aggressive behavior
among school aged children that
involves a real or perceived power
inbalance.”
Sometimes we do seemingly harm-
you’re below everyone.
Schools are trying to get a point
across and basically they’re saying
bullying is not cool in any way, shape
or form.
So even though it may be all fun and
games, you could really be hurting or
offending someone.
11
Pursuit
December 2013
Pursuit
Centerville High School
500 E. Franklin St.
Centerville, OH 45459
(937) 439-3525
Pursuit is a current member of the
National Scholastic Press Association. Pursuit’s purpose is to inform
and entertain the students of Centerville High School.
In accordance with the First
Amendment of the United States
Constitution, Pursuit will strive to
report news items objectively, cover
controversial topics fairly and show
no favoritism in coverage or content.
Readers can express their views
through guest editorials and letters to the editor. Unless a specific
question is asked, no response will
be made to such expressions. Pursuit
reserves the right to edit according to space limitations. Obscene or
libelous material will not be printed.
Unsigned editorials will reflect the
opinion of the staff as determined
by the editorial board, which shall
consist of the editor. These editorials
will be written to enlighten and to
inform the student body and immediate community.
Pursuit will, at all times, strive to
be fair, accurate and objective when
reporting facts. Any factual errors
made will be a corrected.
2013-2014 Staff
Khari Anthony- Managing Editor
Khalil Abushanab- Staff Writer
Nick Baver- Staff Writer
Brianna Blackmore- Staff Writer
Maya Crabtree- Staff Writer
KaCarary Day- Staff Writer
Adam Fuentes- Staff Writer
Matthew Greathouse- Staff Writer
Celia Lavoie- Staff Writer
Tori Pachiano- Staff Writer
Nick Pierron- Staff Writer
Mia Smith- Staff Writer
Delaney Wurster- Staff Writer