Feb - Coral Reef High School

Transcription

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GOTH, GHETTO, CHONGA: A SOCIAL EXPERIMENT...
Are people treated differently based on looks?
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Administration adopts strict
policy on student identification
B Y M ARTINE P O W E R S
E D I T O R -IN -CHIEF
COURTESY OF THE GAY-STRAIGHT ALLIANCE
SPENCER DEL MORAL/BAITLINE
TEACHING TOLERANCE - (Top) A high school student holds a
sign at a GSA parade in San Francisco. (Bottom) Mar Echeverria
discusses the GSA at their first meeting.
Gay Straight Alliance
promotes acceptance
would get a good turnout. Five
minutes later, over fifty people
P H O T O EDITOR
showed up!” said science teacher
For years, Coral Reef High Melissa Duart. ”One thing we’re
School has been one of the only really trying to focus on is
high schools in Miami-Dade behavior and indifference of
without a Gay Straight Alliance teachers towards gay students
(GSA). Finally, one student has and discrimination. I’ve noticed in
taken the initiative and created a some classrooms that teachers
don’t do anything when one
GSA chapter here at Coral Reef.
In late November, freshman Mar student makes fun of another’s
Echevarria noticed that some of orientation.”
GSA plans to do staff
her gay friends were being
development
discriminated
programs to
against and she
t e a c h
decided to do
teachers and
s o m e t h i n g “Two gay friends of mine
administrators
about it.
were
called
into
the
how to deal
“Two gay
office
just
because
they
with Gay/
friends of mine
Lesbian/
were called into were holding hands.”
Bisexual/
the office just
MAR
ECHEVARRIA
Transgender
because they
t e e n s .
were holding
According to
hands. Also,
Ms. Duart,
they received dirty looks from
the
reason
that
these
teachers
other students. So, I was having a
don’t
react
to
orientation
conversation with Ms. Duart about
the discrimination that exists in the discrimination in their class rooms
school and we came up with the is because they don’t know how
idea of GSA” Mar says. “GSA‘s to handle the situation.
Another goal of GSA is to help
purpose is to encourage
students
come out and to offer
acceptance and tolerance within
support
in
dealing with parents’
the diverse population of Coral
reactions.
Reef.”
“I think that it’s going to be
As one of the GSA’s slogans say,
helpful
to students, and not just
“You don’t have to be gay to join
gay
students
– straight students
GSA,” this club is open to
too,”
sophomore
Delsy Gaetano
everyone, all genders and
said.
“They
can
understand
that
orientations.
being
gay
isn’t
something
that’s
“In the first ten minutes of the
meeting, we didn’t think that we bad – it should be accepted.”
B Y SP E N C E R
DEL
MO R A L
Helpful hints to get out of the parking
lot in under half an hour- Page 5.
wasn’t caused by a particular incident,” Zucker said. “We just need
you guys to wear your ID’s.”
Some students find this new
Teachers, administrators, and sepolicy of first-offense detentions
curity guards - formerly lenient on
quite restricting.
the issue of school
Junior
Devin
identification - are
Hoffman had to atnow enforcing a
tend Saturday destrict policy of mantention for forgetdatory ID’s around
ting his ID.
students’ necks at
“There were about
all times. Students
50 people there, and
caught without an
it was three hours.
ID badge at the beLuckily, I brought
ginning of each pehomework, or I
riod or between
would have had to
classes are punclean the school,”
ished with Saturday
Devin said. “I underdetention on their
stand that other
first offense. This is
schools might have
a rude awakening
a security problem,
for many students
MARTINE POWERS/BAITLINE
but at a white-collar
who, until now, have CHILLING OUT ‘ID-STYLE’ - Three juniors relax in the
school like ours, ID’s
simply kept their sun during lunch while wearing their ID’s.
aren’t necessary.”
ID’s “on their perOthers oppose the whole conson,” in their bookbags, or sitting initiative to enforce the ID policy at home.
he has come on air during the morn- cept of mandatory school identifiThe administration has encour- ing announcements almost every cation for moral reasons.
“ID’s are stupid because they
aged students to wear their ID day to remind teachers to send stubadges from the beginning of the dents without ID’s to the atten- don’t add security benefits - they
school year, but few bothered to dance office for detention slips. “It
Continued on Page 4
wear their ID daily.
“We asked nicely at first, but no
one followed through,” student
services chairperson Warren
Zucker said. Zucker is heading the
IB Academy: Its own little world?
Though the IB academy
hosts numerous extracurricular events open to other
academies, many believe
that IB is too isolated
B Y R E B E C C A E SPINOSA
OPINIONS E D I T O R
HAVING A BLAST - A senior whizzes by during January’s IB
picnic.
Volleyball and lacrosse teams rev
up for a big season - Page 11.
Latin-grammy performer JD Natasha
talks to the Baitline on page 12.
For the students in the International Baccalaureate program at the
Reef, the weekend of January 20th,
21st and 22nd were the set dates for
the IB weekend – a three day medley of an IB talent show, winter formal, and casual picnic. The reason
behind wanting to carry out these
events was to raise money for the
International Baccalaureate International Studies foundation so that
the seniors would be able to have
funds for their Fort Wilderness trip
and it was seen as an effective way
to bring together all the grades of
the academy.
“The point of many of the events
we are holding is to break down
divisions between the students in
the IB academy first, and then to
reach out and make events wider
for the whole school to be able to
Continued on Page 2
‘School House Rock’ rocks the
Coral Reef house - Page 14.
NEWS 2-4 OPINIONS 5-7 EDITORIALS 6 SUBMERGE YOURSELF 8-9 SPORTS 10-11 SPOTLIGHT 12-13 A&E 14-15 HIGH TIDE 16
CORAL REEF SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL
FEBRUARY 2006
baitline@coralreef.dadeschools.net
ACADEMY
CORNER
ACADEMY
CORNER ACADEMY More standardized testing to come
Business and Finance:
· Brian Andrew Lee placed first in the FBLA
conference in the Communications Category.
· April 17-20: FBLA Students qualify to
compete in state competition.
Legal and Public Affairs:
· Kennedy Cabell, Jennifer Ramos, Cynthia
Trujillo and Jennifer Fuentes will be representing Coral Reef in the annual Duke
Moot Court Competition on February 2426 at Duke University. The girls were
selected out of 110 other teams from all
across the country.
Agriscience and Engineering
· Senior Ashley Nichole Young has been
selected as a finalist in the Youth Livestock
Scholarship.
Leisure Medicine
· Health Occupation Students of
America(HOSA) will be collecting school
supplies for the Louisiana victims of Hurricane Katrina.
· HOSA will have a regional competition
here at Coral Reef on December 5, 2005.
· HOSA Regional Competition will be January 7, 2005.
International Baccalaureate
· February 17: IB Talent Show
· February 22: IB 9th grade field trip to the
King Tut Exhibit
As students statewide
prepare for the
upcoming FCAT, the
state has announced
that it may institute
additional tests in the
next few years
tests out there,” said state education commissioner John Winn from
the Miami herald, “But an end-ofcourse test is a way to have some
consistency in proficiency level.”
Coral reef students disagree.
With the amount of work a regular
high school receives, and with all
the extra curricular activities in
student’s lives, the last factor necessary is the element that more
tests await students.
“I think it’s pointless,” Sophomore Al Niccoletti said, “We complete a full year of various classes
the extra pressure of an end-ofcourse test just because state officials believe that every inch of
material cover should be identified
for proficiency. A Freshman who
wishes to stay anonymous gave
her opinion on the matter.
“We are preparing daily for challenges such as AP exams, PSAT’s,
and SAT’s, along with the requirements for a specific class. PreparB Y N ATALIE S E R R A N O
ing for another test just totally
STAFF WRITER
drains out any and every exciting
concept learned that day. TeachAccording to the department of
ers become consumed by the fact
education, end-ofthat all they have
course exams may be
taught repetitively is
a possibility for all Flojust for the soul purridian high school stupose of meeting the
dents. These exams
states requirements
would cover history,
and nothing more. Is it
literature, biology and
worth it?”
other key subjects
On the other hand,
which could either resome students feel that
place FCAT or possimore exams can only
bly add to it. This sugbenefit your scores on
gestion was made by
exams such as SAT’s.
members of the state
“The way I see it,
task force in order to
sure, it’s more pressure
make sure students
and work, but at the
NATALIE SERRANO/BAITLINE
are actually learning
same time what is one
MORE TESTING - Because it would ncrease the
what the state says
amount of workload and stress, students are finding it more test when we
they are supposed to
have so many,” Junior
hard to believe that the state wants to add on new
be learning.
Larissa Moon said, “I
assessments in each subject.
“We’re looking for
don’t want to stress
something that’s going to help stu- and are rewarded with what? More over something that is unavoiddents achieve at a higher rate, not standardized tests? Surprise!”
able, and in the end it can only prelooking to multiply the number of
Students feel that the don’t need pare us better.”
To other academies, IB students
seem isolated, exclusive
Continued from Page 1
I BE CELEBRATING! - (Above) IB Coordinator Michelle
Patterson gets slathered with shaving cream by a group of
students. (Below) Two tired IB seniors share a bench and a
shoulder after the festivities quiet down. (Below Right) Students
show off their post-shaving cream fight looks.
participate, in order to break down
the divisions between academies,”
World History teacher Mr. Javier
Currais said.
Some people believe that the IB
academy is its own little world
within the school. It has its own
newspaper, its own foundation, and
even its own online forum. According to Mr. Currais, who came to the
Reef from Palmetto, you can definitely see the division between students at Coral Reef.
“All of my friends from elementary school are in the IB academy
and now I am in the band magnet
here at Reef. It’s true that those who
were close to me in elementary
school are secluded in their own
little world of IB and it makes it
harder for me to see them or hang
out with them,” freshman David
Espinosa said.
On Friday, January 20th, the IB
academy was to host a talent show
for any student of any grade in the
IB academy. Students would have
been able to perform any act of their
choice, whether it was singing, acting, reciting or dancing. This event,
was cancelled due to a last minute
conflict.
On January 21st, the IB Formal
was to take place in the school’s
gym with an admission fee of
$15.00. Students were told not to
bring friends from other schools
but inviting students from other
academies within the school was
permissible. This event has been
cancelled as well, making the IB
weekend, a weekend no longer. The
reason why the formal was called
off was to prevent chaos and problems from occurring the night of
the dance with students bringing
friends from other schools, which
was strictly prohibited in the first
place.
The IB picnic which took place
on Sunday, January 22nd was held
at Tropical Park in pavilion #12 and
ran from 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. It was catered by Shorty’s BB-Q. All stu-
dents of the IB academy were invited to come out and enjoy an afternoon of good food, friends, and
relaxation.
The IBIS voices, sponsored by
Mr. Currais, have talked about new
dates for the events.
“We are rescheduling the Talent Show and trying to plan a
dance off-campus for some time in
the Spring. If we do carry through
with the plans for the dance, we
will most likely allow for students
to bring their friends from other
schools to the dance,” Currais said.
As for the concreteables being
built to house all the IB students,
matters are still uncertain.
“These decisions are still up in
the air. It might be that this building will be for the IB students, or
they might house the 9th graders
there. They might also put all the
math classes or all the science
classes in there, but a decision has
not been made,” Currais said.
FEBRUARY 2006
COURTESY OF BRETT WARNER
PROTESTING IN STYLE - Many juniors, like these three girls,
expressed their support for Junior Class President Brett Warner
with t-shirts or stickers. The shirts proclaim statements such as
“Brett will ALWAYS be my President.”
COURTESY OF THE MORGAN FAMILY
DOUBLE TAKE - Legal Academy twins Carla and Isabel Morgan smile for friends and family in
front of the lifesize ring in the middle of the gym.
11th-graders ‘ring in’
their junior year tradition
As members of the Class
of 2007 said ‘I Do’ at the
Junior Class Ring
Ceremony, they became
a part of an age-old Coral
Reef tradition
B Y J ESSICA L E H M A N
N E W S EDITOR
For every junior in high school,
there are two days to look forward
to: the day you officially become a
senior and your junior ring ceremony. On January 11, 2006, the
junior class of Coral Reef Senior
High School officially became upperclassman. They were inducted
by the Reef’s principal herself,
Mrs. Adrianne Leal. Balloons and
lights lined the sides of the gym
floor that was converted into a miniauditorium to accommodate over
one thousand parents, students,
faculty and friends who came out
to witness the memorable event.
Brett Warner, Class of 2007 President, presented the audience with
a 20 minute long slideshow of photographs taken throughout their
years in high school. Pictures mir-
rored the Class of ‘07’s personality: Intellectual, In Love, Competitive, and United. Pictures from
Homecoming to class trips to weekends at the beach, the juniors truly
showed their class spirit, and their
‘Cuda spirit.
“The gym was amazing. What a
transformation from what it normally looks like,” said Michael
Lujan, “It must have taken a lot of
hard work and a lot of time.”
Decked out in dresses and skirts,
tuxedos and suits, the newly pronounced upperclassman lined
themselves in their cliques across
the gymnasium bleachers and
raised their hands in unison over
their heads.
“A chain is only as strong as its
weakest link,” Mrs. Leal repeated
to the juniors.
Tradition holds that if all the students put their rings on at the same
time they will have good luck and
will all get through till graduation,
but if someone breaks a link in the
chain, they will not longer be
strong, no longer united, no longer:
one.
“The ring symbolizes that I’m almost done with high school and
ready to leave it behind. But at the
same time keeping those memories
close to my heart,” explains Legal
and Public Affairs academy junior
Khushnuma Driver. “Receiving my
ring was like being commended for
all that I’ve done throughout my
school years. Not only by myself,
but with the help of my friends and
family.”
As parents snapped photos and
students exchanged ‘awes’ to each
others rings, the night came to a
close.
Kirsten Rogers, a junior in VPA,
shared her thoughts about the
night. “The experience was so
meaningful. I was able to share it
with my friends, with my family, and
with the people that have helped
me get to the place I am today. I
wouldn’t change it for anything.”
Students chanted up in the
stands, “Class of ’07! Class of ’07!”
Teary-eyed parents and friends
hugged their newly inducted upperclassman, and faculty and administration looked on with pride.
Another year passing by in the
Reef. Another class to come. Another class to go.
But always, and forever, Class of
2007. United.
Class of ‘07 presidential
dilemma endangers future
plans of junior class
B Y M ARTINE P O W E R S
E D I T O R -IN -CHIEF
Almost one week to the day after
the Junior Class Ring Ceremony
was hailed as the best one so far,
Class of 2007 president Brett
Warner was called into the office
of Vickie Martinez, Activities Director and Class of 2007 sponsor.
The College Tour class trip for
juniors was the next day, and Brett
expected that Ms. Martinez would
ask him to review the roster for the
next day. He was wrong.
Though it’s unsure the extent to
which Brett was aware of the mistake, the fact is that he intentionally or unintentionally allowed a
student from another Miami-Dade
County public school to sign up
for and pay to attend the trip.
After administrators discovered
the mistake, Brett was called out of
class and reprimanded by both Ms.
Martinez and principal Adrianne
Leal.
“By the end of the day, I was
pretty sure that I was expelled, that
I was no longer president, that I
wasn’t going on the trip,” Brett
said.
In the end, Brett was only suspended indoors for three days,
though he was still not allowed to
go on the trip.
“It was misvalued judgement. I
know I did something wrong, and I
apologize to the class,” Brett said.
Administrtation, however, maintains that apology isn’t enough.
“When officers are elected, we
have to have the confidence that
they will uphold all of the rules and
regulations that we have here at
Coral Reef,” Martinez said.
Much of the junior class strongly
disagreed with Brett’s punishment.
Hours after word got around that
Brett could be kicked out of the
presidency, bulletins were being
sent through MySpace entitled
“Save Brett!” and “Brett is still my
president!” The next day, students
showed up to school wearing
stickers on their shirts proclaiming
the same phrases.
“I was so impressed that the class
was so united about something,
even if it really sucked for me,” Brett
said. “Kids I’ve never even heard
of were sending out messages on
MySpace and stuff. I mean, class
unity is something that we’ve been
trying to increase ever since freshman year, and even though these
weren’t the circumstances in which
I would have wanted it to happen,
it really shows that we’ve got a
good class.”
However, will Brett’s mistake
have an influence on the events
that the Class of 2007 can and cannot participate in in the future?
“They haven’t told me whether
or not I can run again next year,”
Brett said.
Sarah Johnson, the present class
vice-president, says that if Brett
isn’t allowed to run again, she will
most likely run for president and,
hopefully, keep the class going as
it has been.
“The presidency is just a title. If I
had any questions or anything, I
could just talk to Brett, and he
could help me out if I needed it,”
Sarah said. “But hopefully, it will
all work out so that he can run
again next year.”
As for now, plans are continuing.
Though the New York City trip was
cancelled because it was becoming too expensive for students to
pay for, the Reef’s Best talent show,
a Class of ’07 fund-raiser, is still
coming up, and possibly an endof-the-year trip to a theme park.
Additionally, Brett is considering
holding a school-wide “Honor
Day,” when everyone will tell the
truth and refrain from cheating or
copying homework.
FEBRUARY 2006
Teachers and staff
crack down on missing
identification
Continued from Page 1
school had a lockdown because
can be forged or copied,” junior someone came in who wasn’t supJames Wu said. “The good people posed to be there,” Mark said.
are punished, and the bad people “They wouldn’t have know about
it without [ID’s]. Anyways, I don’t
aren’t.”
However, some students agree really mind them - I keep mine on
that wearing ID’s is a necessary my chain and leave it on my
practice. Especially since Septem- nightstand so I don’t forget it.”
Regardless of its popularity, it
ber 11th, most major workplaces
doesn’t seem
and businesses
likely that the ID
require all of
policy
will
their employ- “Students have done a
lighten up anyees to wear
good job so far... it’s not
time soon.
identification.
“I don’t know
Freshman Mark really a problem.”
if
Persaud says
-WARREN ZUCKER the policy will
relax at all for
that at his old
the rest of the
school, Centennial Middle, ID’s were manda- year, but the students have done a
tory and, occassionally, they even good job so far,” Zucker said. “It’s
kept the students from possible not really a problem: 33 kids forgot
them on Monday, 17 on Tuesday,
danger.
“We would get a detention if we and 8 today... maybe there won’t
didn’t wear our ID. But this one be anyone who forgets their ID totime in seventh grade, the whole morrow!”
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Reef!
Silver Knight nominees to compete for $1500 scholarship
Fifteen of Coral Reef’s
finest seniors where
honored with the
nomintation for the annual
Silver Knight Award
gan, Ardy also did community service teaching little kids at a drama
program. She is editor of the yearbook staff and has written for the
IBIS voices yearbook.
Senior, Jessica Allen in the Visual
Performing Arts Academy, was
nominated in the category of music. Jessica is the show coordinator for The Chorus Council. “I basically decide everything,” said
Jessica. That is definentlkey something to be proud of. She also
helped to cast the Video Music
Awards on MTV. She plays the
bassist and is the lead singer in a
band called “Damsel.” She plays
with her band to raise money for
churches and other foundations.
She also does open-mike sessions
once a month. “I have built up
projects for community service
over the years,” Jessica said. “And
it really has put an impact on my
life.”
B Y AN Y A KA P L A N
STAFF WRITER
The Silver Night award recognizes high school seniors for great
service to their school and community. A Silver Night and cash
award is given to each winner in 15
categories.
The Miami Herald’s chosen Silver Knight candidates for the class
of 2006 are Bonnie Lynn Goss for
Athletics, Sarah Nicole Hennis for
Art, Brian Andrew Lee for Business,
Brandon Kyle Peters for Drama,
Klara Scharnagl for English & Literature, Cristian Russell Larrocha
for Foreign Language, Nivedita
Bhat for General Scholarship,
Patricia Anne Arty for Journalism,
Sarvani Madiraju for Mathematics,
Jessica Marie Allen for Music,
Brandon Marc Goldberg for New
Media, Xiomara Mireya Forbez for
Science, Alejandra Duque for Social Science, Clarissa Yvette Parks
for Speech and Melissa Marie
Hanna for Vocational Tech.
Silver Knight Coordinator is Mr.
Silver Knight
Categories:
Marshall Cohen. “Ms. Leal asked
me to take the position and I
thought it over for a night and decided to accept,” Mr. Cohen said.
After speaking to a couple students who shared their experiences throughout high school
working towards the Silver Night
Award, they all said what a chal-
lenge it was, but at the end it is all
worth the effort.
Senior, Patricia Ardy, in the International Baccalaureate academy,
was nominated in the category of
journalism. Her project promoted
awareness for children in Haiti. The
foundation is called Enhancement
Foundation for Haitian Children.
She collected money, toiletries,
school supplies and other essentials that eventually are sent to
Kenscof, Haiti, where the foundation is located. Through this foundation, schools also get built and
children can eat meals for only
thirty cents a day. Over the past
three years, when the project be-
Art
Journalism
Athletics
Mathematics
Business
Music
Drama
New Media
En glish & Literature
Science
Foreign Language Social Science
General Scholarship
Speech
Vocational Technical
FEBRUARY 2006
Drunk driving makes no sense
JESSICA LEHMAN/BAITLINE
Unnecessary Gridlock
BY JESSICA LEHMAN
NEWS EDITOR
Over the last few years at Coral
Reef the student parking lot has
become little to be desired. From
minor accidents to just simply
taking sometimes 20 minutes to get
out onto the main street, the
problem is growing. With more and
more student’s driving every year
– some as early as sophomores –
something needs to be done.
Administration doesn’t seem to
want to fund for an extension of
the parking lot, another exit out
onto the main road, or a pavement
area on the field, so it is up the to
students to make it work. With just
some common courtesy and a little
bit of patience, getting out and
getting on with our lives after 2:30
can be done so much quicker.
2:30: The bell rings. A mad rush
of students towing down the
hallways in clusters of five and six
head from classrooms to
bathrooms and lockers. Most
catch a bus, while some head to
the front to meet up with parents
or friends. Others though, the
majority of seniors and a good
portion of the juniors, head out to
the student parking lot.
2:35: This, most claim, is where
all the fun begins. The student
parking lot is more like a
congregation of the world. It is
Disney World on a holiday
weekend, and the mall on Black
Friday.
Students
search
desperately for their keys, with five
textbooks in hand. Others can’t
seem to remember where they
parked, and most are just wasting
their time with tuning the radio.
2:40: The rush gets heavy when
everyone is done running errands
around school and ready to head
out for the day. You have the
juniors who are just learning how
to drive, and those who got cars
for Christmas that take hours to
get out of a parking space. They
have not fully grasped the ‘system’
of parking. (Hint: Backing your car
in the spot in the morning when
you first get to school, will allow
you to get in and out so much
quicker when it comes time to
leave.) Having to hold up the
whole line of cars while waiting for
someone to back out, put their car
into drive, and finally start to turn
the wheel simply adds time, which
inevitably adds frustration to the
process.
2:45: A student walking across
the row of cars sees someone that
they recognize in the car ahead of
you. They stop, gossip, and chit
chat about the day. All the while,
you slam on your horn and when
they finally look up to realize there
is an empty space the size of a
freeway in front of them, you
realize you could have been
making your left hand turn onto
152nd street. LOUD, let me say it
again, LOUD radios blare through
the speakers of cars. Why must
you blast your bass system so
loud that the school begins to
vibrate?
Yes,
everyone
understands that you just bought
a new system sitting in your trunk,
and by turning it up half way
instead of all the way will still
impress anyone you are trying to
call attention to. I promise.
2:46: Two words: One. Exit. I
believe that is enough said.
2:50: Common Courtesy. We are
in high school. We are all drivers.
Some are legal adults, and others
will be within months. It is about
time we realize that if you do things
systematically, you will ALL get
out quicker. If you run and cause
commotion during a fire drill,
people will fall, trip, and getting out
will be near impossible. Walking
to the nearest exit and having
patience will ensure the safety of
everyone. At the intersection
before you pull out onto Barracuda
Avenue, fender-benders and minor
accidents take place by the
minute. If we all took turns - one
person from the left, one from the
right, and one from the middle lane
– everyone could be out in less
than 15 min.
2:55 - 3:00: Traffic begins to ease,
and the majority of people have
filed out. Some still linger around
though. Some, like VPA senior
Sarah Hennis wait till 3:00 to even
attempt leaving.
“The problem is the parents
trying to come in and the students
trying to leave. Its like, do the
parents know what time it is?”
Some claim it is almost physically
impossible to get out before 3 and
others just try to stick it out. Until
a more intelligent plan and
construction design are created
though, Cuda’s will just have to
stick it out. Enduring just one more
day in the sea.
BY BRITTANY MORGAN
GUEST WRITER
True or False:
#1) Every half-an-hour,
somebody will die in an alcoholicrelated crash. (In one day, that’s
nearly 50 people.)
#2) 45% of traffic deaths are
alcohol-related. (Almost half!)
#3) 16,000 people died last year
because they did not wear their
seatbelt. (The student population
of Coral Reef, multiplied by FIVE)
#4) Every 13 minutes,
somebody will die because they
did not wear their seatbelt.
Surprisingly or not, all of these
statistics are true. And although
as cliché as the whole “don’tdrink-and-drive” message may
seem, it’s true. In addition to this
overly publicized sentiment is the
your mother’s voice commonly
heard in your ear, “always wear
your seatbelt!”
Many of us ignore this
common advice on a daily basis
but in doing so—excuse the same
old phrase once again—you are
putting your life at risk. Take
statistic #4, for example. Every
class period that you spend in
school, nine people lose their lives
because they simply chose to not
buckle a belt into a small little clip.
(In one whole day at school, that’s
thirty-two people!) The action
itself takes less than two seconds,
yet could save us the entirety of
our lives. It may look stupid,
especially in front of your friends,
but it looks even more stupid to
end up in the hospital for weeks
for not doing so in the first place.
In retrospect, when you add up the
cost of a hospital bill and a police
citation, those two seconds seem
much more valuable.
As far as alcohol-related
accidents go, two out of every five
Americans will be involved in one.
Apply this ratio to Coral Reef’s
own student population and
twelve-hundred students will be
involved in their own alcoholrelated accident. That’s more than
TWO grade levels combined. Sixthousand people in our age group
alone are killed yearly because of
alcohol-related
accidents.
However, for many people, these
statistics and the repercussions
alone will not discourage them from
drinking and driving. And
although we would NEVER
advocate drinking and driving,
particularly at our age, we cannot
overlook the fact that it does exist.
Because we cannot disregard
the reality that teenagers do drink
and drive, we must tackle effective
ways to make teenagers realize the
danger and make wiser choices.
Once again, it is NEVER advisable
to EVER drink and drive, but if you
already find yourself intoxicated,
wear your seatbelt. You have
already put yourself in danger by
consuming alcoholic beverages
but by wearing your seatbelt, you
are taking some level of
preventative measure. Forty-two
percent of those killed in alcoholrelated crashes were not wearing
their seatbelts. If you ever find
yourself in a predicament that
involves drinking and driving,
ALWAYS wear your seatbelt
(although you should be wearing
your seatbelt at all times and
should never drive while under the
influence!)
Additionally, there are other
ways to protect yourself from
making the poor decision of
drinking and driving. If you are
given the option to drink
something that is non-alcoholic,
and you know you will be driving,
choose it over an alcoholic drink.
Sobriety is always the best
answer! If you do chose to drink
something alcoholic, eat a meal as
well. Consuming alcoholic
beverages on an empty stomach
will only exacerbate your level of
intoxication. If you do (unwisely)
choose to drink and you must
drive, allow yourself ninety
minutes without consumption of
alcohol before driving. It takes an
estimated full hour to dissolve just
one appropriate serving of
alcohol, which is often not the
amount consumed.
Finally, but most importantly,
if you have been drinking, simply
make the decision not to drive. Call
a taxi or opt for another method of
transportation. An average cab
fare from The Grove to your home
is $24. It may seem steep but
consider a $500 fine, 50 hours of
community service, license
revoked for 180 days, $2,000 in car
damage and even possible legal
fees. That measly $24 is looking
real appealing now, huh?
Another alternative to driving
yourself or taking a cab is calling
your parents. I know that calling
your parents while you’re
intoxicated doesn’t seem like the
brightest idea in the world. But ask
them if they would prefer to watch
idly as you lose your life in a
drunk-driving accident. As much
as it seems like they would punish
you for becoming inebriated, they
would do anything to see that you
remain alive. If the thought of
randomly calling your parents
while faded on South Beach
doesn’t seem attractive, then talk
to them beforehand. Let them
know that the situation may arise,
but never plan on it happening.
Nine times out of ten, your parents
will come for you if it means saving
your life.
But always remember, the best
choice is to remain sober and wear
your seatbelt (regardless of the
situation). Both pieces of advice
seem so trivial in our fast-paced
lives but they often are the two
suggestions that will keep our life
moving. After all, somebody lying
in a casket isn’t going that fast,
are they? So if you don’t learn
anything in European History or
Physiology today, at least learn
this. These may be the preemptive
measures that will one day save
your life. As a matter of fact, put
them into practice this afternoon
on your drive home from school!
Or better yet, don’t become the
drunk driver on Saturday night.
But most importantly of all, don’t
let yourself become a statistic.
Valentine’s Day is only for lovers
B Y D ANIELLE W ILLIS
S T A F F W RITER
February 14, better known as
Valentine’s Day, is a celebration
for couples everywhere. However,
many believe this unofficial
holiday is overrated or cliché. Can
one celebrate Valentine’s Day as
a single? The true meaning of
Valentine’s Day has become
vague. This “holiday” has shifted
to a more consumer driven
celebration of superficiality.
Boyfriends and girlfriends are
brainwashed into buying the
flashiest, most expensive gifts in
order to prove their affection.
Catty girls often use this day to
compare gifts and show off their
significant other ’s tokens of
affection. What is the true
intention of Valentine’s Day? The
media has contorted Valentine’s
Day from its original purpose.
There is nothing to do on
February 14 when you have no
Valentine AND IT SUCKS!
This “holiday” was originally
based on the Saint Valentine, a
martyr executed for being
Christian. It has now a celebration
of flowers and candy. Starting in
the 1980s, even the diamond
industry began to target
Valentine’s Day as an opportunity
for profit. Valentine’s, nowadays,
seems as though it was a holiday
created by Hallmark.
A person with no significant
other is often left in the dust on
this day. In fact, it has been
referred to as “Singles Awareness
Day”. Valentine’s, which is a
holiday about love, began in the
High middle Ages, by people, not
by the saint himself. Its
association spread from this point
to now.
Therefore, Valentine’s Day
should be just as enjoyable for
singles as it is for couples. Society
has lost touch of the true meaning
of Valentine’s Day. This
Valentine’s Day, it is important to
remember, it’s not the lengths one
goes to prove their love, but rather,
that one simply has love.
FEBRUARY 2006
LETTERS TO
THE EDITOR
Let’s not forget the lessons of the past
Sometimes it’s easy to forget.
To forget about segregated classrooms and “white only” restaurants. To forget about the beatings
and the lynchings, black bodies
hanging from tree limbs or charred
and smoking in even darker shades
of black. To forget about the
shameful image of “separate but
equal” water fountains and public
restrooms, so clearly separate, yet
so grossly unequal.
As part of Black History Month,
we’re reminded of the trials and
tribulations of the African-American population, and that’s a good
thing. It reminds us of how far
we’ve come, and how far we’ve yet
to go. Through the faces and stories of Malcolm X, Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks, and
so many others, we have learned
about the extensive challenges that
the black community of the United
States has had to overcome.
Yet looking around the halls of
Coral Reef, it would be fairly difficult to find a more ideal picture of
interracial harmony – black kids
hang out with white kids and Hispanic kids in the cafeteria and the
courtyard, while the faces found
in AP classrooms represent every
feasible color of the ethnic rainbow.
Jamaican girls and Jewish boys
make out in the stairwells. Best
friends share iPods and rock out
to the same tunes, though their
headphones wind into very different-colored ears. Sedans speed into
the student parking lot two minutes before the bell rings, and kids
from five unique cultures spring
out of the same car. Our day-today experiences at Coral Reef are
THE BAITLINE
10101 SW 152 ST. MIAMI, FL 33157
305.232.2044
BAITLINE@CORALREEF.DADESCHOOLS.NET
2005-2006 STAFF
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
MARTINE POWERS
NEWS EDITOR / BUSINESS MANAGER
JESSICA LEHMAN
OPINIONS EDITOR
REBECCA ESPINOSA
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR
ANYA KAPLAN
SPOTLIGHT EDITOR
RAFAELLA BISCAYN-DEBEST
SPORTS EDITOR
JESSICA HERZON
PHOTO EDITOR
SPENCER DEL MORAL
STAFF WRITERS
CYNTHIA AHMED
ERIK CICERARO
BROOKE LERNER
RAZIELA RODRIGUEZ
BRIANNA ROSE
HAROLYN SAWYER
NATALIE SERRANO
DANIELLE WILLIS
GEORGIA ZOYGANELIS
FACULTY ADVISOR
CHERI MITCHELL-SANTIAGO
America’s Water Fountains
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virtually the dictionary definition
of multiculturalism.
So, it’s relatively easy to understand why we might be a little
oblivious to the prejudicial injustices that go on before our very
eyes. Because, after all, we’re so
accepting and tolerant and openminded that we tend to believe that
we would surely notice if someone
was being harassed or discriminated against simply because of
their ethnicity or culture or clothing or religion.
Sometimes we’re lulled into a false
sense of security, a belief that racism and prejudices have long since
left our community and our school.
But just because circumstances are
steadily improving for minorities
such as African-Americans and
Hispanics, it doesn’t mean that
other ethnic or cultural groups
aren’t rising to take their place.
How many times have you heard
the word “gay” used in a way to
insult someone, to ridicule their
taste or judgement or masculinity
or all of the above by comparing
them to - gasp! - a homosexual person?
Perhaps you’ve come across a
Middle Eastern guy wearing a turban, and subconsciously thought
of the word “terrorist.” Or, maybe
you’ve passed by a Muslim girl
wearing a headscarf and
inadvertantly seen her as “alien”
or “bizarre.”
These stereotypes surreptitiously infiltrate all of our day-today lives. Mexicans immigrate illegally and become poor gardeners,
black people steal and are good at
basketball, Jewish people are always rich, Asians are good at math
and science and are inherently
smarter than any other ethnic
group.
By accepting these petty - and
often ridiculously funny sterotypes, we open ourselves up
to bigger, more dangerous ones.
We tiptoe on the line between
gentle humor and out-and-out
dicrimination. Right now, we’re
only a few steps away from the
images of fifty years ago: buses
with sections only for white people,
shamefully exhibiting Jim Crowe
laws, grotesquely and repulsively
terrible lynchings and hangings,
Southern church bombings and Ku
Klux Klan gatherings.
Because one needn’t be black to
be discriminated against. If we
aren’t careful, other minorities Middle Eastern or gay people - will
soon take the place of those who
experienced prejudice in the 1960s.
If we don’t continue to fight discrimination, all the goals we have
achieved will come to nothing.
The Baitline is an open forum and the
official publication of Coral Reef Senior
High School. The Baitline’s goal is to
practice journalistic integrity, reliability,
and responsibility.
Letters to the editor can be delivered to
room 219, e-mailed to
baitline@coralreef.dadeschools.net or
placed in the mailbox of Cheri MitchellSantiago.
All submissions must be signed, and
may be condensed for space or edited
for grammar and spelling. Anonymous
letters may only be printed with a
majority vote of the staff. Libelous
material will not be printed.
VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT:
my.highschooljournalism.org/
fl/miami/crsh
As I grow closer to retirement, I
would like to share some thoughts
with all of you. Recently, I severely
injured my knee while visiting my
daughter in Gainesville. After surgery, I worried about how I would
get around when I returned to Coral
Reef. The overwhelming love and
concern that I received from the
entire student body and staff made
me realize how much Coral Reef
means to me. You guys are the
greatest bunch of kids ever assembled at any high school anywhere in the nation. Your kindness
and empathy does not go unnoticed and I am a firm believer that
your love for others will shine on
you in return. I knew about your
compassion, especially when I see
all of you interact with the autistic
children everyday in addition to
your politeness towards others on
a regular basis. What a pleasure to
know that I work at a school where
our biggest problems are tardies
and ID badges. I am truly blessed
to be the sheriff of a school who
doesn’t even need a sheriff. For
those of you that saw the movie
“Pay it Forward,” it is the job of all
of us to do just that - help three
other people today.
To those who say that our country
is in trouble because of the youth
of today, I say come to Coral Reef
and visit our students.
Just one small favor: clean up your
trays!!! I love each and every one
of you.
-Mr. Zucker
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To the Baitline:
I am the new newspaper advisor at
Robert Morgan Educational Center. I have just received a copy of
the December issue of The Baitline
and wanted to congratulate you on
an amazing job!! I was skimming
through some of the articles and
read the editor's column on My
Space - she is a terrific writer! Plus,
your layout designs are very eye
catching and appealing.
-Ms. Elizabeth Rodriguez
Robert Morgan Educational Center
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Information about advertisements can
be obtained by calling 305.232.2044
and asking for Mrs. Mitchell.
The articles included within this
newspaper are the views of the
students of Coral Reef and the Baitline
staff. The views do not necassarily
reflect those of Coral Reef’s faculty and
staff.
To the Coral Reef Student Body:
• To FCAT days for upperclassmen, when we spend
two-thirds of the day doing
absolutely nothing.
• To “Pedro Responde,” who
always knows exactly
what’s on our minds.
• To the concreteable
construction workers, who
put up that giant building in
about 25 seconds flat.
• To Valentine’s Day and Early
Release in the same
week...along with
President’s Day weekend.
• To the talented VPA students who perform great
sing-a-grams... and also
take up ten minutes of
class!
• To FCAT days for lowerclassmen, when we spend
two-thirds of the day doing
absolutely nothing with a
point.
• To IB Extended Essays and
Group 4 Projects - the
reason why the paper didn’t
come out on schedule.
• To annoyingly affectionate
couples who become five
times worse on Valentine’s
Day.
• To days that start out as 65
degrees and then get thirty
degrees hotter by lunchtime.
Love us? Hate us?
We want to know!
All letters to the
editor can be submitted in room
219, dropped in the
mailbox of Cheri
Mitchell-Santiago,
or e-mailed to
baitline@coralreef.
dadeschools.net.
We can’t wait to
hear from you!
FEBRUARY 2006
Is Faith Needed To Believe In Creationism and Evolution?
BY DEANNA SPALLONE
GUEST WRITER
“What on earth am I here for?”
“What did I come from?” “Where
did everything come from?” We
all have asked questions like these
or at least we have thought them,
and they can really be mind-boggling. About a year ago, I started
asking myself those questions and
I wanted to find out the truth.
What is faith-based? In my opinion, there is religion and there is
science, which are two different
things. I have also seen that religion demands faith, and science
demands proof. In religion, if you
are missing faith you have nothing. In science, if you are missing
proof you have nothing.
After I came to that conclusion, I
decided to look at what creation
and evolution say about faith.
Creation’s demand of faith is in an
Intelligent Designer. On the other
hand, evolution claims that you
don’t need faith in anything because it is supposed to be purely
scientific. However, does evolution need faith? Is there evidence
supporting a creator or no creator?
Is evolution really faith-based?
After I looked at what both creation
and evolution say about faith, I
found myself wanting to really look
at what proof there was in evolution. So I did just that, I researched
evolution. I found that evolution
is very complex, and to explain
evolution simply, there is microevolution, as well as, macro-evolution. Micro-evolution is when
there is change below the level of
species. For example, a dog can
produce a variety of breeds of
dogs. Macro-evolution is change
at or above the level of species.
For example; a dog that can produce a crocodile. We can observe
micro-evolution, just look at anybody around you. You are not exactly the same as that person, but
you are both humans. However,
macro-evolution has never been
observed. Neither scientists nor
any living human being have any
instance that shows macro-evolution took place.
Macro-evolution requires faith
because it has never been ob-
served. I concluded it will never
be observed because evidence
won’t be found to support it. Then
I came to the question, “What evidence do I have against it?” After
more research, I saw that there has
been evidence found that doesn’t
support evolution. In fact, one
critical point against evolution is
DNA.
DNA is basically the instruction
manual for life. It provides a blueprint for the traits an organism will
have. If DNA was a written code it
would fill up one million volumes
of encyclopedias, with 500 pages
each. With all this genetic information, if two people have as many
children as there are atoms in the
universe, no two children would be
identical. Even though there is an
endless possibility of trait combi-
nations, there is a limit to how many
times each trait can change.
There are four “letters” of DNA
(A, C, G & T). They are chemicals
and they have a limited number of
combinations. Therefore, having
a limited number of trait variations.
Also, no new genetic material can
ever be added to our DNA. Trait
changes come from the re-arranging of the genetic code that is already present. Mixing the available genetic code produces variations in the trait, but will not
change into a completely different
feature. For example, your parents’
genes are combined and produce
your various traits. Your parents
can’t produce an ape because of
the DNA barrier with their genetic
code. Since there is a code barrier,
there are a limited number of varia-
tions and only traits within that
barrier will be produced.
In conclusion, I understand that
creationism and evolutionism are
forensic models of history. Creationists and evolutionists both
have the same evidence at their
disposal: the same rocks, the same
fossils and the same trees. The last
question I encountered was:
“Which model best fits the existing evidence?” My response to
that question was this: we can all
look at the same thing but the way
you interpret evidence depends on
your preconceived model, not
whether it is “creation” or “evolution” evidence. For example; when
a T. Rex bone had been found with
bloody soft tissue inside, I concluded that dinosaurs lived recently or they are still alive. I took
that information and made a conclusion based on the model that I
support. The point is that any evidence could be used to try to support any particular model by the
way you explain it. So, what model
do you support? I say to you,
search. See if there is evidence that
really does explain what you support. See if you find proof for what
you really do believe in. The proof
may not be physical evidence but
somewhere along the line a step of
faith must take place. Remember,
no matter which viewpoint you
take, faith will be required.
A former MySpace addict on the road to recovery
B Y P E T E R MA N
G U E S T WRITER
As with many people, I was once
an addict. Not to drugs, alcohol or
other such contraband. But to
Myspace. I wasn’t one of the new
people like our lovely editor
Martine, just “jumping on the proverbial bandwagon”; I have had an
account for almost half a year now.
And it was maybe 2 months ago I
realized I had a problem. I would
refresh every 2 minutes in the desperate hope of new comments and
bulletin posts. I would prowl in
search of people I knew in a tragic
attempt to validate my existence by
collecting and adding anyone I had
met from close friends to someone
who remotely resembled someone
I passed in the hall that one time I
was rushing to fourth period. And
all this was fine until I realized just
how far I had sunk.
The proverbial wake up call came
in the form of a single post. Well,
three posts to be exact. A friend
from my neighborhood (actual
friend, not a random hallway sighting) had posted a string of bulletin
posts in a stretch of 5 minutes each
consisting of in essence “Post
some comments I AM BORED!”
then “Whoever comments gets a
cookie tomorrow!!” and the piece
de resistance “Whoever posts a
comment first gets in my Top 8!!!”
For all who do not know, Top 8 is a
wonderful invention of Myspace
to display the friends who are closest in a given person’s main page
while ostracizing all else to the unholy realm of Other Friends. Needless to say I commented saying
something to the extent of “You
are a sad and desperate loser. Get a
life. P.S. Does that mean I’m in your
top 8?” But it got me thinking. How
am I any better? Who am I to call
him a loser when I do the same?
Except I don’t beg for
comments…that’s just sad.
Over the following week I noticed
a gradual shift in my opinion of the
once divine Myspace and the two
of us began to drift apart. It started
small. I read people’s posts less
often. Then I completely stopped
reposting chain letters (And I have
yet to die a gruesome death at the
hands of the ghost of a girl murdered by her boyfriend who in turn
comes out from under your bed killing you in your sleep and the last
thing you see are her glowing red
eyes). From then on I visited
Myspace much less often, from
once an hour, to once a day, to
once a week and now almost never.
And trust me I am not the only
disillusioned soul who is finally
escaping this trendy netherworld.
Fellow junior Megan O’Connor
describes how she was able to
snap out of it. She recounts “When
I was there at my boyfriend’s computer, I almost went on Myspace
because I had checked my e-mail
and it said I had comments. So,
then I went to check it, and he was
like don’t you dare! I was like oh
man. So, I went to go to a different
website, and then I was like ‘Wait,
do I know any others?... What do I
do on the computer other than
this?’ I even asked him. I was like
‘Omg…I can’t remember…what do
I do on my computer? I know I must
do SOMETHING OTHER THAN
MYSPACE…and talk to people.’”
Some though are not as lucky to
have someone who will cut them
off. Another junior, Karl Gordon
Patti recounts, “My ex-girlfriend
forced me into this. That is even
the title of my site. [http://
www.myspace.com/
forcedintothis]” He was once one
of the most outspoken critics of
Myspace and now, how the mighty
have become…hypocrites.
There are many out there who are
blatantly opposed to Myspace as
they see is as another form of egotism. As 11th grader James Wu put
it, “Myspace is another form of
Internet narcissism. Just look at the
name, MYspace. You love yourself
so much you actually think you
deserve a space?” This argument
is often countered by the routine
“You can’t say anything until
you’ve tried it,” which, as a note,
is a line often used by crack ad-
dicts. But getting back on point, I
understand there is some good in
Myspace. The major selling point
is allowing you to meet people who
you haven’t talked to since the old
days of elementary and middle
school and I must admit it has
served that purpose well. But I caution you this, Myspace is extremely
addictive. It can cause loss of dignity and eventually self respect. It
also can cause loss of homework
quality from prolonged exposure
and increased ADD. In limited
doses it is safe but more then once
a day is unhealthy.
That is why I ask of you, for your
own good, don’t do it. Or at the
very least exercise like most things
in life some self-control. I hope this
article will be a wakeup call for all
those who have a problem and
have yet to realize it. Join the revolution and we can take back the
Internet for the sane. I’ll be waiting with the cookies.
DISCRIMINATION TOLERANC
A Stereotypical Experiment
Have you ever felt uncomfortable in a store because of the way you dressed or looked? Try walking into a Louis Vuitton store wearing old
sweatpants and flip-flops, and you’ll know what we mean. Why is it that we’re treated differently based on what we’re wearing?
Four Baitline staff members decided to put this question to the test and stage a “social experiment” on discrimination by dressing up as
different stereotypes and making a very interesting trip to the mall. Here are our findings...
CHONGA
GHETTO
GOTH
SPENCER
DEL
MO R A L
The stereotype: Goth
The look: I wore mostly black clothes
and black make-up. (FISHNETS!!!)
The difference: If I really had to sum it
all up, I usually dress in a kind of a
mix between bohemian, hippy, and
surfer.
The places: The Falls - Limited Too,
Hot Topic, Abercrombie and Fitch,
and Zales
The reaction: I was definitely looked
at/treated differently. At Limited Too, I
was treated like a piece of furniture. In
Hot Topic, I was just a regular customer. In Abercrombie & Fitch, it was
kind of strange - they didn’t know how
to respond. And, in Zales, they acted
like I was going to steal something.
The lesson: You definitely cannot
judge people by what they’re wearing.
Heck, I was judged, and that outfit
doesn’t represent me at all.
M ARTINE P O W E R S
The stereotype: Ghetto
The look: I wore a red wife-beater
along with a pair of jeans. With the
jeans, I rolled up one pant leg to my
knee. I put on a LOT of makeup - I
had on an insane amount of lipliner
and penciled in my eyebrows to
make them look artificial. Last and
definitely not least, I stuck a big red
comb in my hair and glued a piece of
tinfoil to one of my teeth so that it
looked like I had a silver cap over my
front tooth - the things I do in the name
of journalistic integrity!
The difference: I mostly like to look
casual - most of what I wear is very
comfortable and I like clothes from
other countries or cultures.
The places: DSW Shoes and Target
The reaction: I’m not sure that I got
the whole ghetto-attitude down
properly, seeing as I was blushing a
lot and kept looking down in
embarassment. If you know me, you
know that I am the most un-ghetto
person ever. (If you look in the picture
above, you’ll see that I can’t even do
a ghetto hand gesture properly!) Even
so, a lot of people stared at me, or
whispered something to their friend as
they went by. Store clerks would kind
of tag along behind me to make sure
that I was not doing something bad,
like stealing merchandise.
The lesson: Even in a city where
everything is so multicultural, dressing
and appearing different from what’s
“normal” still causes you to be a target
for discrimination.
D ANIELLE W ILLIS
BOHEMIAN
G E O R G I A ZO Y G A N E L I S
The stereotype: Bohemian/Hippie
The look: I wore a long white skirt with
free flowing clothes and bangles. My
hair was loose and “became one with
the wind.”
The difference: I usually dress very
fashionably (*sarcastic*)! I blend stuff
together. I don’t try to look like
anything, even though I do have an
affiliation with the darkness.
The places: I went into Hot Topic,
Zales (a jewelry store), and
Abercrombie & Fitch.
The reaction: Well, at Hot Topic, I was
treated nicely. In Zales, I was completely ignored, as well as in
Abercrombie & Fitch.
The lesson: It can’t be denied,
stereotypes do exist, and the clothes
you wear are part of who you are.
People can’t help to judge you by
your appearance, even if it feels
wrong. And sometimes, depending
on what you are wearing and where
you go, people will react differently
towards you. As humans, we can’t
help labeling people, things and
styles, but you can’t forget that the
clothes don’t make the person.
The stereotype: Chonga
The look: I created this image by
wearing tight-fitting clothes and really
heavy make-up.
The difference: I usually dress casual
- jeans and a t-shirt.
The places: Claires, PacSun, Hot
Topic, and Abercrombie
The reaction: I was not even acknowledged in many of the higher-end
stores.
The lesson: I learned that stereotyping is still very much in existence,
especially as a consumer.
Required Chonga Gear
CE STEREOTYPES DIVERSITY
Students prove color-blind in matters of the heart
Forty years after Dr. Martin Luther
King delivered his “I Have a
Dream” speech, Coral Reef
students are living out that dream
in bi-racial relationships
B Y C YNTHIA A H M E D A N D
H A R O L Y N SA W Y E R
STAFF WRITERS
“I have a dream that one day the state
of Alabama, whose governor’s lips are
presently dripping with the words of
interposition and nullification, will be
transformed into a situation where little
black boys and black girls will be able
to join hands with little white boys and
white girls and walk together as sisters
and brothers. I have a dream today…
This is our hope,” said Martin Luther King
in his infamous speech, “I Have a Dream.”
Today, Dr. King’s dream seems more like a
description of the times than a far-away
fantasy. Still, though America has
undoubtedly come very far in its acceptance
of different skin colors, it is sometimes still
difficult to find romantic relationships with
members of different races.
Who knew that the amount of pigment in
one’s skin can affect a person’s perception
of their soul?
Bi-racial relationships have been a
controversial debate throughout history.
This dates back to when an AfricanAmerican man could not even look a white
woman in the eye for fear of being killed. A
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CROSS
My old man's a white old man
And my old mother's black.
If ever I cursed my white old man
I take my curses back.
If ever I cursed my black old mother
And wished she were in hell,
I'm sorry for that evil wish
And now I wish her well.
My old man died in a fine big house.
My ma died in a shack.
I wonder where I'm going to die,
Being neither white nor black?
-Langston Hughes
14-year-old boy, Emmett Till was brutally
murdered after whistling at a white woman
during the Civil Rights Movement in 1955.
Today, views about the interracial mixture
of couples have become much more
accepting.
Yet, there are many who still feel as though
it is not socially acceptable for biracial
couples to exist.
“If were to I bring home any other race
than my own... my parents would kill me! A
lot of Hispanic parents are really strict in
traditions and the bloodline of the family,”
Dorin Freshnan said.
Couples in biracial relationships claim that
it is no different than any other relationship.
Much like in the debate about heterosexual
or homosexual relationships, the truth of
the matter is that you just can’t help who
you fall in love with.
“In the dark, we are all black. I think
interracial couples have cute babies. It
breaks up the boundaries of racism. Love
doesn’t have a color,” said Vannessa Garcia.
Others argue that races need to keep in
the boundaries of their culture. Overall, they
believe that races just should not mix.
“Everyone has different taste,” said
Jessicka Alvarez.
Martin Luther King and other phenomenal
black leaders strived for equality among the
races, and sometimes through matters of the
heart.
Black History Month is a time of
celebration to remember the struggle and to
celebrate the future. Bi-racial relationships
are slowly linking the chain of peace,
elaborating the concept that we are all as
one.
Coretta Scott King: A
heroine remembered
B Y J ESSICA L E H M A N
in preserving not only the memory of what
her husband had hoped to accomplish but
N E W S EDITOR
what direction the country was going in. She
Every year we get a day off from school to organized and participated in sit-ins across
observe Martin Luther King Day in remem- the nation and was present, along with
brance of the civil
former president
rights movements
Ronald Regan, in
and struggles that
the signing of
African Americans
legislation markwent through to
ing
Martin
reach their current
Luther King Day
status in society.
as a national holiMartin Luther King
day.
unfortunately was
King was vocal
assassinated in
in social affairs,
1968, but his wife,
such as capital
Coretta Scott King,
punishment and
was determined to
the War in Iraq,
keep his spirit alive.
along
with
Throughout her
women’s rights,
life, Scott King put
gay rights, and
together a combinaHIV/AIDS pretion of Freedom
vention.
Concerts to highOn August 16,
light the civil rights
2005, she was
movements and to
admitted to the
raise funding for
hospital after
southern leadership
surviving
a
councils. Her efstroke and a mild
forts never stopped
heart attack. Afas she served in the JUST A HUSBAND AND WIFE - The late
ter regaining
Women’s Strike for Coretta Scott King embraces her husband, some bodily
Peace conference in Martin Luther King Jr.
functions she
Switzerland and adwas allowed to
vocated against the war in Vietnam along go home a few months later. Since then,
side her husband. She served as a liaison to though, her ability to maintain a decent
the international peace and justice organi- lifestyle had been drastically altered.
zations received honorary mentions from
Sadly, she passed away on January 30,
notable universities world-wide for her cour- 2006 at a rehabilitation center in Mexico. Even
age, support, and strength.
though she is gone physically, her spirited
After the death of her husband, King de- mentality and devoted courage will forever
cided to make it her life mission to be active live on in the hearts of all.
FEBRUARY 2006
See your name in
lights!
Advertise in the Baitline! Get your business seen by
over 3,000 high school students and their families, or
just make an inexpensive shout-out to a friend!
Ad spots starting at as little as $20!
Contact the Baitline by calling (305) 232-2044 (extension 2219),
e-mailing us at baitline@coralreef.dadeschools.net, or
stop by Room 219 during 3rd period!
Elio’s Tutoring Services
Tutoring in Math and Science
Home
service
available
Spanish
Speaking
Interested?
Call: 305-232-6005
E-mail: eliodomingo@netzero.net
FEBRUARY 2006
COMING SOON!
February 11 & 12~ Boys
Wrestling Regionals
BY JESSICA HERZON
SPORTS EDITOR
February 13 & 14~ Boys
Volleyball Tryouts
Congratulations
~
~
~
~
Going All The Way
Senior Edward Charles
Martelli placed on the
All-Dade Boys’ First
Team in Bowling and
was also 3rd at
districts with a 208
average.
Shane Olson made the
2nd team with Darren
Michael Dusenbery,
Trey Ellis, and Matt Gill
following on the Boys’
Third Team.
The Girls’ Second
Team includes Elizabeth Kallinoisis and
Nicole Ann O’Grady
with Betty Jo Martelli on
the Third Team.
Honorable Mentions for
Janine Monfries and
Kathleen Rose Tucker.
MOST
ATHLETIC
Eddy Castillo, John
Besherett, Chelsea Griffin,
Ashley Kristine Noffo
The Southwest league, where the
Coral Reef boy’s team has been
playing for preseason experience,
is a league where boys high school
volleyball teams from around Miami can enroll and compete against
each other. They not only play to
gain experience but also to build
team chemistry and condition
physically and mentally for the season. The games are held at either
Sunset Senior High School or
Southwest High School. There are
a total of 10 teams, including the
host Southwest, who has enrolled
two teams (SW1 and SW2), Coral
Reef, who has entered two teams
(Cuda A is the Varsity team aka
“The Zoltans” and Cuda B is the
Junior Varsity team aka “The Little
Fish”), Columbus, Ferguson,
Killian, Palmetto, Florida Christian,
and a combined team of Sunset
and Varela.
Throughout the month of November and December the two
Cuda teams played against their
opponents and currently the
Zoltans are at a record of 8-2 and
hold 2nd place while the Little Fish
are holding their ground. Recently
on January 8, 2006 the Varsity was
scheduled to play none other than
their “mini mes”, the J.V. The game
was appealing; it was like brother
against brother, literally. Senior
Ibrahiem Kassem (on the Zoltans)
played against his younger
brother, freshman Hisham Kassem
(on the Little Fish). “It’s always
interesting to see people play
against their siblings,” says Junior Kyle Aveiga. “The passion of
winning and beating each other is
natural and always fun to see.”
Hisham ended up digging one
of his brother’s spikes and gaining
two aces when Ibrahiem missed
Hisham’s serves. After a heated
match, the Zoltans left victorious
winning the first match 25-10 and
the second match 25-15. Currently,
they are competing for the first
place in finals.
“This preseason league will help
the team during the season beJESSICA HERZON/BAITLINE
cause it allows us to scout out
other teams and find their weak- SETTING GOALS- Sr. Christian Oritiz sets the hitter for a kill.
nesses before we play them again,”
ers to make key contributions,”
states Senior Tomas Ducaud. “The splitting into teams and running a
says Bernal. “My personal goal is
seasons going to go good cause relay. The boys have had some set
to take control of each play more
were one of the top teams in the backs affecting their conditioning
consistently and to improve my
league. It gives us
during the
leadership skills,” says Ortiz.
a chance to see
preseason.
“When I started off in tenth grade,
other teams, it lets “Anyone can put in the
Many of the
I was focused mainly on my skills
us know where we
boys, Vartime;
its
what
you
do
with
and how to better them. But now,
stand skill wise
sity and J.V.
being a senior, its more about thinkand it helps us the time that makes it
were out on
ing about the team, more complex
build chemistry on great.”
injury due to
court strategy, leadership, and
the court.” “It also
sprained
keeping my composure at a conprovides the startankles (Matt
stant level.” “We are very hopeful
ers an opportunity to practice run- Rothstein and Phil Varona), back
for the season; I expect them to
ning an affective offense and de- injuries (Cory Osit), broken noses
perform competitively against the
fense,” states senior Fernando (Salvador Lopez), and some
top teams in the state,” states head
Bernal. “We came together,” says scrapes and bruises.
coach Hector Del Valle.
Senior and varsity captain ChrisThere is always room for im“There is a numerous amount of
tian Ortiz. “We’ve gained experi- provement right? “We need to
potential to make All Dade or even
ence and helped build our team concentrate on one play at a time,”
play pro from many of the players,
chemistry.”
says Ortiz. “We have to try and not
including Matt Rothstein and
The boys currently, everyday af- loose our focus.”
Ibrahiem Kassem.”
ter school attend conditioning ses“The team needs to focus strateWith the experience gathered
sions. Open gym has also started gically so they can compensate for
from this preseason the team beallowing the boys training with the specific weaknesses the team may
lieves they have a great chance at
volleyballs, such as ball control and have,” states Coach Del Valle.
states and maybe even regionals
skill workouts. “Conditioning has “We’ve had to build a new program
as stated by senior Fernando
paid off due to the fact that we now here. It’s been a hard journey to
Bernal (right side hitter for varsity),
have the stamina to last a whole accomplish but in the end we are
“This season will be a great one,
game and we also have a higher hopeful for the upcoming season.”
with 6 seniors, who show great
vertical reach and are less likely to
The team is striving to achieve a
potential because of leadership
get injured,” says Ducaud.
level of affective team work and
and the amount of talent they have.
Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fri- have a chance to play for state fiWe also have the lower classmen
days the boys can be seen running nals on May 13. “Personally, my
that will help the team and we might
the track and heading for the number one goal is to not let my
even be a contender this year for
weight room. Their workouts con- team down, because as a starter I
states and regionals.”
sist of timed runs, the mile, and am looked up to as one of the play-
SPORTS PHOTOGRAPHER AT SUNSET HIGHSCHOOL
Lacrosse: revived?
B Y GE O R G I A Z O Y G A N E L I S
AND
E RIC C I C E R A R O
S T A F F W RITER
“I had an old baitline article hung
up on my wall that read ‘Lacrosse
program shutting down.’ I kept
looking at it saying ‘There’s got
to be a way to bring back the Lacrosse Club.’ So, last year, I begun
looking for a teacher who could
sponsor us but, the Season started
and ended and we gave up,” says
senior Brendan Goldberg member
of the lacrosse club.
Two years ago, lacrosse used
to be a club sport at the Reef under the direction and sponsorship
of legal academy teacher Mr.
Brettz. Lacrosse plunged in the
year of 2004-05 after a series of
unfortunate events, which left
many stranded and disappointed.
To make a long story short, the
State of Florida adopted lacrosse
as a sport with the exception of
Miami Dade. Mr. Brettz saw that
it would cost too much to sponsor each student to play with
teams from other states, so lacrosse was shut down that is until recently.
This year, the lacrosse club
found a new sponsor, the chorus
teacher, Mr. Rose. “After asking
thirty people to sponsor us and
receiving refusal notes, we finally
found Mr. Martinez,” says senior
Sergio Romero another member of
the lacrosse club. And, with a volunteer coach, there has been a
turn out of 25 students so far. “I
was surprised to see kids with lacrosse sticks walking around the
school. It made me wonder if this
team was actually going to take off
and play,” says junior Teddy King.
“Carrying our lacrosse sticks
down the school halls got people
interested in the lacrosse club,”
says Sergio Romero “It was our
way to make people aware that we
were back on our feet” he adds.
The club is open to any male student interested in playing, “to join,
you just need to buy your own
stick, gloves and pads, fill out a
form and your ready to go,” says
Brendan Goldberg.
It seems that the club might
be ready to begin competing when
season starts on February 12 th.
“We expect to play Killian, Palmetto and maybe a few from
Broward,” Brendan Goldberg
adds. The lacrosse team seems to
have made its come back and reintroduced itself to the kids of Coral
Reef High rookies and veterans
included.
JESSICA HERZON/BAITLINE
FEBRUARY 2006
JD Natasha on the rock!
Former Coral Reef VPA
Chorus Student makes
it big in the Latin Music
Industry.
B Y R AFAELLA B ISCAYND EBEST
S POTLIGHT E DITOR
She is a teenager. She writes her
own songS. She loves music. She
sings. She plays guitar. You would
think she would blend in with the
rest of the teenage population, but
she doesn’t. Not quite.
She stands out. Just like her
music. Just like her 2004 Bilingual
Album Imperfecta/Imperfect. Out
of the ordinary. With her petite
figure, eternally bright smile, open
personality, pink sideway bangs,
self-applied make-up, long lashes,
open eyes, and her guitar, you can
just tell its Natasha.
Not quite the same Natasha that
used to be a part of Coral Reef’s
VPA Academy a year and a half
ago, because times have changed.
She is now known as JD Natasha
in the Music Industry, and no
matter what people told her, she
stuck to her dream and has a
valuable message for all she gives
out through her music.
“I would walk around with my
guitar and say “this is what I’m
going to do when I grow up” and
people would make fun of me. And
I guess now it’s kind of a smack in
the face for all the haters !” said
Natasha.
It all began with being different,
believing in herself, finding the
support of her environment and the
belief people had in her dream.
For manager Rebeca Leon, JD
Natasha is the first artist she has
managed but has always worked
at record labels. She had always
been looking for a young artist that
was bicultural and bilingual, and
she found her match with Natasha.
Having been in Los Angeles for 2
years, she came back to her native
Miami for Natasha and detached
herself from the Major Recoding
Label EMI Latin to focus on
managing JD Natasha’s career.
“We are both new at what we do
and we learn together,” confirms
Natasha.
Now, Eighteen year old Natasha
Duenas, as her classmates knew
her, has been singing since she
was very little. She found out
about Coral Reef ’s Chorus
program through her vocal coach.
Spending her freshman and
sophomore years at Reef opened
her up to different kinds of music
and a whole new environment of
friends that believed in her.
“My real friends have been very
supportive, very happy for me and
are still my friends. It’s great to
know that they are there for me and
will always be, because they were
there before and they are here
after,” said Natasha proudly.
Natasha says her best friend,
Johanna Primero, a senior in VPA
Chorus was a great support
systemin getting to where she is;
they had a lot of the same
influences and goals.
Today, she gets to do what she
loves most: making music and
traveling. She’s been on tour
throughout the United States, to
Colombia, Mexico, and Spain, and
has spent New Years Eve in
Amsterdam to write songs for her
upcoming album. There, she is
also visiting her aunt who taught
her piano at the age of five and
introduced her to her musical
influences such as Nirvana, No
Doubt, The Sex Pistols, The Cure,
and many others.
Although JD Natasha is a rock
star, and her parents have always
been supportive, she admits that
she gets treated like a normal kid:
she still gets grounded! She says
COURTESY OF NATASHAVILLE.COM
NOT SO IMPERFECT - Natasha poses for the photoshoot of her
2004 Imperfecta / Imperfect Album.
that she still lives a normal life, and
is living her dream.
From Rebeca Leon’s point of
view, she agrees Natasha’s
parents have been incredibly
supportive, that they treat her like
a regular teenager, and that she
admires them.
“It’s scary to let your daughter
go travel across the globe, it takes
a lot of courage, it’s a testament to
how much they believe in her and
trust her, not a lot [of parents]
would say, ‘Go ahead! Drop out
and follow your dreams.’ They
have been there, they have been
amazing,” Rebeca says.
Positive support has been
shown from the familial,
professional, and friendship sides,
but what about school? Natasha
lets us know that her VPA Lead
Teacher, Ms. Davis, was very
supportive and encouraging in her
decision and still is, as well as Mr.
Rose, her Choral Director from the
VPA Chorus, with whom she still
keeps in contact.
Having left Coral Reef at the end
of her sophomore year at the age
of 15, Natasha confesses she does
want to receive her high school
diploma but that it was difficult to
continue academics and juggle her
singing career and the homeschooling program she is enrolled
in.
Outside of school, JD Natasha
stands as a great example to other
teenagers and has messages she
wants to transmit through her
song. Natasha doesn’t like to be
manipulated, the issue was
keeping her true identity, which is
a message we should all consider.
That is why Manager Rebeca
Leon tells us that JD Natasha has
a 100% voice in the choices being
made; she does what she wants to
do. “I manage her career, Natasha’s
career, all I can do is suggest /
advise. I’m here to empower her,
not make decisions for her,
everybody makes bad choices,
and you live and learn,” shares
Rebeca. In July 2005, while in New
York City, she went to a Girl Scout
Convention because they thought
the 17 year old rock star back then
was a positive example to motivate
the girls. Although Natasha was
nervous about doing a 10 minute
speech (“She was made for
singing not speaking”, Leon
explains.) the girls ages, 8 through
13, were looking up to her and
Natasha, who honestly admits that
at first she wasn’t very into it, now
declares it was a great experience.
As the world continues to turn,
so does American-Hispanic JD
Natasha in her own type of world.
Rebeca Leon’sn ultimate dream of
success for Natasha and herself
as a team is; “Take over the world”
and laughs. Natasha cuts it short
by responding determinately
“We’re serious.” And that is what
it is. But to go more in depth,
Rebeca ensures us something.
“I know she’s going to be a big
success, a pioneer, create a
movement, and have her own
label. I believe that one day she’s
going to be a producer, I see her
doing films that are relevant to
what she’s about, to others, and
RAFAELLA BISCAYN-DEBEST / BAITLINE
MUSICAL PRODIGIES - JD Natasha and Manager
Rebeca Leon are determined to take on the Music
World.
being a real, credible person in the
Music World. People around her
really believe in her, support her.
She says to them “I’m going to
take over the world” and they
answer “Yes you are”. If you don’t
have people that support you and
believe in your cause, push you
forward, it’s like it doesn’t happen.
A good way to describe us is that
we are fearless. We’re not afraid
of anything, of anyone, and that’s
something big,” says Leon.
Natasha nods in agreement. By
just listening to JD Natasha’s song,
they are lyrics from life experiences
and they overall have a message
attached to them. The message
Natasha wanted to give out was
to be yourself, and not let
anything get in your way, no
matter what, and don’t let anyone
change you.
“ I think it’s sad when you see
people try to become someone
else’s copy, and doing that you
loose your essence because I think
that everyone is special in their
own way. Imperfections are what
make everyone beautiful,” said
Natasha. “That’s the message I
wanted to portray in the
[Imperfecta/Imperfect] album, but
I think I’m on a completely
different level now, I think I
outgrew that album, and I’m like a
different person waiting to make
something new,” says Natasha
with a smile. This punk/pop/
alternative starlet shows us that it
takes courage, faith, support,
belief, effort and a dream to
achieve. “There were a lot of
people who didn’t believe in me, a
lot of people didn’t like me, but
that didn’t change my personality,
and that only made me stronger,”
explains Natasha.
“I think when your younger you
have a tendency of being
threatened, and they are probably
more insecure than most people,
and when they see something
different, it scares them. I think that
she went through a lot of that but
now it’s laughable. When you see
Natasha walking around, she
dresses like herself, acts like
herself, she’s not imitating
anybody, and not part of a clique,
in a way, when you’re young that
can alienate you. People are
intimidated,” speaks out Rebeca.
Natasha says she wouldn’t be
grateful to only one person for
where her talent & thier support
has brought her, the list would be
endless. We can learn a valuable
lesson from this teenager that was
once walking the VPA hallway with
her guitar and a big dream, and that
is now at the top of the Latin Music
World Charts.
Rebeca Leon, knowing Natasha
now for a year and a half knows
her well and they share a special
bond. She knows what Natasha
went through, and kids should
know that being different is
important. “Just because someone
is different, doesn’t mean they
don’t have anything to offer... Just
because you don’t dress the same,
or talk the same, doesn’t mean that
person can’t offer you something
that can be beautiful … when
you’re very young, you have a
tendency to be more close minded.
Being in a magazine or on the radio
doesn’t make you cool. It’s what’s
inside of Natasha that makes her
cool…I hope someone is going to
take that home with them and say,
next time I’m not going to be so
judgmental,” says Leon sincerely.
“For everyone that has a dream,
stick to it no matter how many
haters laugh at you, call you weird,
stupid, crazy, just keep going,
because one day you’re going to
slap them in the face just the way I
did.”declared Natasha with
determination.
So go on and grab JD Natasha’s
Imperfecta/Imperfect 2004 Album
on the Music Store Shelf and keep
an eye for her upcoming album.
Most of students can relate.
And make sure to go visit JD
Natasha’s official website at;
www.natashaville.com
FEBRUARY 2006
Coral Reef’s Next Top Model...
Lashae Dent blows
away the audience as
she sweeps 2nd place
at The USA International Pageant
B Y R AFAELLA B ISCAYN D EBEST
S POTLIGHT E DITOR
Can you picture yourself on a
1.8 million dollar yacht, doing
photoshoots, catered to by professionals who do your make-up, pick
out your clothes, do your hair and
then participating in a runway pageant? It may be a dream, but it is
reality for a certain junior in the
Business Academy.
Her name is Lashae Dent, a current Model at Nadima “Beautiful
Godess” Agency, the youngest by
a few years, which she has been a
part of since January of her freshman year. While some students
were trying to make the grade, Shae
was making her way to the top,
COURTESY OF LASHAE DENT
MISS REEF - Lashae at the Miss International USA photo shoot.
competing against eight other finalists for the Miss International
USA Pageant, held on Novermber
27th, 2005.
Lashae received 2nd place, admitting that she felt fine, that it was
her 1st pageant and that she was
happy to be able to participate in
this kind of event, activities,
photoshoot and most of all...the 1.8
million dollar yatch they stayed at.
“There is a difference between a
model and a runway girl. I’m a
model!” exclaims Lashae. She also
shares with us that modeling every month and a half sometimes
conflicts with school, like leaving
early for castings, auditions and
doing make up in class.
Shae explains this competition
has brought her a lot of complicity,
memorable experiences and fun
times. She enjoys entertainment
and is an active person in the Jack
& Jill of America Organization, a
family organization providing cultural, social civic, and recreational
activities that stimulate and expand
the mind to enhance life, as described in their webpage (jack-andjill.org).
“I want to own my own business
someday, so I joined the [Business]
Academy to further my knowledge
on the basis of the business industry.”
People said she is recognized for
her fashionable touch to her clothing. When questioned about her
style, her fashion, she describes it
as unique.
“I see the world as differently, I
see myself as regular,” explains
Lashae.
This Miss International Pageant
has brought her a great start with a
scholarship of $3,000 that Lashae
keeps to possibly go to Atlanta for
college or Orlando, to be able to
continue with her modeling.
“ I save my money. I put it in my
account...but I’m a shopaholic!”
said Shae.
Now, for all you entertainment
dreamers out there, Lashae’s recommendation and advice is to “ always try your best, find an agent
that will take care of you, an agency
that accepts you and doesn’t pressure you to chnage and make sure
to not get caught up in scams !!”
Keep Reaching for the Stars.
A Hawaiian Experience
BY RAZIELA RODRIGUEZ
STAFF WRITER
Recently two of my good friends,
Alexa Watts and Anya Kaplan,
went to Hawaii over this past
winter break, and it may seem
nothing out of this world but when
these girls came back you saw
change in their eyes, and no doubt
color in their skin. They were eager
to let everyone know what this
amazing place was like and the
feelings they experienced first
hand so it was inevitably to take
you’re eyes off them when they
described the beaches, the people
the waters and the boys. I needed
to know where they stayed:
“My friend Anya and I stayed
on the Northshore of Hawaii on
an island called Haleiwa.”
It was obvious they hadn’t
stayed in a tourist placed so it had
to cross my mind the treatment
they received. What is really like
on those T.V. shows where they
cuss you out if you’re not “local”?
“The ‘locals’ there are really
against white people because they
think were ‘intruders’ on their land,
which we are but there really
obnoxious about it. They call you
‘haole’ which means white and so
they get really aggressive and yell
this to you from across the street
and they don’t like you in their
waters either. I’m sure in the tourist
area of Hawaii it isn’t this bad but
we stayed in a really local area.”
I figured this most of altered their
experienced but Alexa simply
answered: “Not really, besides the
locals everyone else is really nice.”
So even though the people weren’t
the best, Hawaii is known for the
beaches and the surf and when
asked if they preferred Miami
beaches or Hawaii’s she answered
without a doubt Hawaii! She
admits the water and the surf there
is better and just simply amazing
and indescribable. She says the
water in Hawaii isn’t like in Miami,
crystal clear; the surroundings are
a lot better too. She came to the
conclusion that it was in fact
because the climate is different.
Where in Miami we have sun as
they do in Hawaii we lack their cool
breeze and the humidity free
environment that makes every day
frizz free hair day!
So Hawaii is known for surfing but
many come dissapointed. Is it
really all that?
“Yes, its amazing! During
Christmas if you’re lucky the surf
will get over 25 feet so they hold
different contests. They had the
Triple Crown and Eddie Aikau
Contest which is in honor of him
because he died in those waves. It
was also awesome to see al these
Pro surfers like Kely Slate just
walking down the beach waiting
for waves.”
By this time I was already getting
a different vibe of Hawaii and
considering moving over there but
Miami is well known for its laidback lifestyle full of luxury but can
Hawaii compare? Its something I
think you need to experience first
and Alexa said the same: “Well
without a doubt I would die to live
in Hawaii my whole life, it’s
completely different. It’s true when
they describe Miami as hectic and
people are aggressive and even in
the beaches everyone is clustered.
Hawaii, in a few words, can be
described as laid back, and chill.
The kids and even the adults are
not faced by anything. It’s
amazing to be able to live life care
free and have a chance to lay on
the beach everyday for as long as
you want. Something else that
totally surprised me was how
causal they were. So we walked in
barefoot to a restaurant and
nobody cared. Unlike here, to go
out to dinner there is no such thing
as ‘getting dressed up’, as long as
you have a tank top and shorts on
you’re fine. They’re really into
Mexican food over there too.”
What would probably interest all
of us is really the lifestyle of “our
generation.” Alexa stayed with her
cousins that are her age so it was
easier for her to see this side of
Hawaii. They have a lot things
similar to us like Hip-Hop but they
have a lot of other amazing music!
She admits to even being a fan of
their island music and they have
bands that everyone, even adults
listen to which are mostly local
bands like Slightly Stoopid and
Olivia the Band. The kids are never
stressed hence their party hard
lifestyle. Being that the life is so
care free Hawaii is sure to be full
of a variety of things to do and
Alexa proved it right. She says
she was super excited to do a lot
of things when she got there and
she got to do things shed never
forget. She was able to get in the
shark cage and says it wasn’t all
that scary. The space was kind of
small so the only problem she
would have had was that shed be
claustrophobic which she wasn’t
so she enjoyed it. she was upset
though because just a week after
COURTESY OF ANYA KAPLAN
FOLLOW THE YELLOW ROAD - Before hitting the beach.
COURTESY OF ANYA KAPLAN
SURFING IT UP - View of the bay from up high.
she and Anya had left it was all anything to go back right now. Just
over the news that exactly the same laying on the beach and doing
place, same tour guide and nothing is great. I got the best tan
everything they were in, there had and ate at restaurants every day.
been a 25 ft female great white Id wake up every morning to the
shark come up and bump the same scent of Hawaiian breeze, get up
and run to the beach, lay there for
exact cage they had been in.
“I was kind of sad we missed it,” as long as I wanted. There was
Alexa says. The adventure that nothing that worried me while I
came after the shark cage made up was there. couldn’t of had been
for it; the glider. She remembers it better. When you think of Hawaii
being scary because there was no you think of like what you see in
propeller but she advices to get picture so that you expect
rid of the fear because the view is something post card-like but you
don’t get what you expect, you get
breathtaking for sure.
After all this she must have some a lot more. You can only experience
thought on what she will miss the this when you go to the natural
side of the island and you’ll see a
most and she did:
“I miss everything about it. I’d do whole new different side.”
FEBRUARY 2006
The iPod industry finds booming business
with high school students
With this iPod as light as a feather,
it is possible to wear almost three
days worth of music around one’s
neck, or to go for a jog with 1,000
songs on your arm. It’s no wonder
that everyone sought after this
miniature device as soon as it was
for sale. ‘The smaller, the better.’
as the saying goes.
“I have a white nano. I believe
it’s the most revolutionary MP3
that technology has come up with
and it is also really cute and small,”
sophomore Soyini Kojo said.
Recently, Apple has further
revolutionized the infamous iPod.
Not only is it possible to jam to
one’s favorite songs, but now one
can watch music videos, too. With
a 2.5 inch-color display and up to
150 hours of video, iPod is
handing over the freedom to do
pretty much anything. Need to
catch up on some reading? Open
up audiobooks. It is possible to
even watch one’s favorite TV
shows, right on the iPod.
Convenient, isn’t it?
Although all that sounds
brilliant, the iPod family is not
complete without the iTunes
music store, where now, not only
can one purchase any of the 2
million songs available, but one
can also choose from more than
3,000 music videos and select T.V.
shows to upload into the iPod.
For some, the iPod is a fad, for
others it’s a necessity. The good
news is that iPod gives people the
freedom to do what they wish with
it. So, be on the look out for the
next Apple product…you just
might find yourself purchasing
one.
B Y R E B E C C A E SPINOSA
O PINIONS E DITOR
It seems as if every other person
owns a set of white headphones
attached to one of the three apple
iPods. Before school, during lunch
and after school, they are easily
spotted. First it played songs.
Then photos. Then podcasts. Now
it plays videos. From black and
white to color and from the pencil
thin, 1.5 ounce iPod nano, which
holds up to 1,000 songs, to the new
30 GB and 60 GB models of iPod
Videos, holding up to 15,000
songs, 25,000 photos and 150
hours of video, where music is
brought to your eyes, Apple has
revolutionized the music industry
in order to please the customer.
In 2005 alone, Apple sold 32
million out of the 42 million iPods
that they have sold. There was an
iPod craze. As soon as Apple came
out with the iPod mini, everyone
had to have one. It was as if life
wasn’t complete without the cute,
colorful, and incredible little
machine. When Apple introduced
the
nano,
Minis
were
automatically overlooked and were
considered ‘old’, bulky and no
longer ‘efficient’. All the
characteristics that were aspired
for by the iPod were now found in
the Nano. Unbelievably small,
almost weightless, a color screen,
loads of memory space and of
course the absurd amounts of
accessories manufactured just for
this iPod, made it a ‘must-have.’
Interview: Nick Leasante
B Y GE O R G I A ZO Y G A N E L I S
S T A F F W RITER
Not long ago, the Baitline
caught a strange sound through
the school halls. A good sense of
hearing carried us to a rather
curious scene; Nick Lesante, a
drama student, grasping an
intriguing instrument. So,
Baitline decided to investigate
and learn more about this
unusual instrument.
GEORGIA ZOYGANELIS / BAITLINE
Nick Leasante playing the didgeridoo
Baitline: So Nick, tell me, what’s
that you’re holding?
Nick Lesante: It’s a didgeridoo,
a wind instrument that originated
from the indigenous tribes of
Northern Australia, Aboriginal I
think. Musicologists usually
classify it as an aero phone.
B: Oh, let me try…(Short pause
while staff writer attempts to play
the didgeridoo) I give up.
(Laugh)
N.L: (Hysterical laughter) No, it’s
like this. Make your lips like a
horse, and then blow.
(Another short pause, while staff
writer attempts to play, yet
again.)
B: Yes, success! Okay, let’s get
back on track. When and why
did you start playing the
didgeridoo?
N.L: I started playing a few a
weeks ago after my friend Travis
turned me onto it.
B: What sound would you say
this didgeridoo has?
N.L: Each didgeridoo has its
own tune; this one is tuned in C.
It usually sounds like a drone, a
continuous low-pitched hum.
B: Can you make different
reverberations with it?
N.L: There is the Kangaroo hop,
the Bark, the rolling, and many
other sound effects with no
name. You can also change the
pitch from low to high.
You know, the key to playing
the didgeridoo is circle
breathing, you breath in from
your nose and exhale through
your mouth so you can keep a
continuous hum.
B: Do you play any other
instruments?
N.L: Yeah, the bass, the guitar,
I’m teaching myself the drums
and the keyboard. I’ve been self
-teaching myself since I was 12.
B: What inspired you to start
teaching yourself music?
N.L: I really got into music and I
set a goal to learn how to play a
diverse array of instruments.
My goals never were to become
famous, it was always just for
fun. I love listening to music
and I wanted to be bale to
perform as well.
B: What genre of music do you
listen to?
N.L: I listen to everything,
sometimes rap like old school
rap. But, I listen to all genres of
rock.
B: Would you ever consider
music as a vocation?
N.L: As a career? No, not really.
B: Why didn’t you pursue music
here at Coral Reef? Why didn’t
you try out for the Music
Academy?
N.L: I didn’t feel confident
enough at the time and I
preferred the theatre arts. But,
the more I practiced my music,
the more I got into it.
B: Here comes the dreadful
question for all seniors…what
are you doing after high school?
Planning on going to college and
such?
N.L: I’m going to F.I.U to pursue
a bachelor in the Arts.
B: So…anything else you would
like to add before we end this
session?
N.L: I’m currently single
(laughs). I enjoy long walks on a
sunset beach…et cetera.
B: (laughs) Okay then, if anyone
is interested.
FEBRUARY 2006
Schoolhouse Rock rocks Coral Reef
B Y B RIANNA R O S A
STAFF WRITER
Every Saturday morning between
the years of 1973 and 1985, a classroom of thoughts defying sheer
size was assembled on the ABC
television channels. Now in the
year 2006 this old cartoon is re-enacted in our own Coral Reef Senior
High School.
This 33-year-old cartoon, which
originated in the 70s, captivated the
lives of many young children during that period in time and still does
so today.
Initially created by Radford
Stone, George Newall, David
McCall and Tom Yohe, our Coral
Reef seniors kept the cartoon alive.
Tania Ragland, Nichol Guerra,
Brandon Peters, Angela Gill, Andrew Abreu, Hernando Umana,
Chelsea Duran and Harolyn Sawyer were the actors performing in
the play.
In this version like the original
cartoon, they preformed songs
dealing with language arts, science, history and even music.
The songs that were preformed
had a 21st century twist. Songs like
the old time favorite Conjunction
Junction, I’m Just a Bill, Unpack
Your Adjectives and Three is a
Magic Number were all included.
Directed by Mr. James Puig, the set
design as well as all their transaction went very smooth. Their singing was profound and their dancing was always on key.
Brandon Peters played Tom a new
schoolteacher having a dream
about how he would teach the
class. Thanks to the support of
George (Andrew Abreu), Dina
(Nichol Guerra), Tania Ragland
(Dori), Joe (Hernando Umana),
Shulie (Chelsea Duran), Kathy
(Angela Gill) and Lynnie (Harolyn
Sawyer) he woke up from his
dream. Tom then knew how he
would teach and enchant the class.
It was like a lesson with singing
built-in. They ended the play with
a standing ovation. Mrs. Mitchell,
a Language Arts teacher said, “The
play was totally awesome. The kids
did a great job.” The overall performance was two thumbs up.
BRIANNA ROSA / BAITLINE
SCHOOL HOUSE ROCK - The cast from the performance bid their final farewell to Tom as he heads off to
teach his new class.
Horoscopes for the Astrological Cuda
B Y B RIANNA R O S A
STAFF WRITER
ARIES (March 21-April 19)
After Valentine’s Day, others’ opinions
are getting to you and you might be
feeling a little insecure. Look past
what people think about you and give
your horns a rest. Look out, a Libra
may be heading your way. If you didn’t
sit on chocolate on Valentine’s Day,
consider it a good sign.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20)
The need to break free is seriously
affecting you. Go ahead. Do
something out of the ordinary, be
spontaneous. Also, you may be
physically strong, but let others see
past that, a bull shouldn’t always be
set to charge. Be extra nice to
Scorpios. Don’t go to the second floor
bathroom next to the black box. A toilet
is just waiting to overflow on you.
GEMINI (May 21-June 21)
You have the incredible power of
persuasion. Take care to use it for
good, not evil. You may be thinking
about making a drastic change. Take
your time to think things through.
Look beneath the surface for
others’ feelings and opinions, they
may not be very clear to you
otherwise. Pay careful attention to
Sagittarians. If you go to the field (or
what’s left of it), a bird will poop on
you.
CANCER (June 22-July 22)
Don’t let your emotions get the
best of you. Others might see your
slight moodiness and prickliness as
a sign to back off. Use your great
imagination to do something fun and
interesting. Try warming up to a
Capricorn. Careful where you put
your hair. It’s likely to go up
someone’s nose.
LEO (July 23- Sept 22)
You’re really fun to be around but
you may be a little bit too
demanding. Use your creative and
charismatic side to do something
romantic for your special someone.
You shouldn’t be so afraid of
rejection. You’re especially likeable
to Aquarians. You shouldn’t talk so
much. A fly is going to get stuck in
your throat.
VIRGO (August 23- September 22)
Try not to judge people so much.
Use your talents and tastes to help
mankind, not condemn it. You are
very motivated and now is a good
time to start new “projects.” You are
going to get smacked a lot during
the week after Valentine’s Day (you
decide which kind).
LIBRA (September 23- October 22)
You are full of life and its
pleasures. You have difficulty
making decisions and that may be a
problem come FCAT and AP exam
time. Watch where you venture, a
skunk is looking to spray you.
SCORPIO (October 23- November 21)
You are determined to live life to
its fullest and are passionate about
everything you do. You are
dominant of your life but try not to
dominate the lives of others as well.
You may be feeling jealous of
someone or something right now; let
vengeance and spite take a back
seat. Careful not to sting a Taurus.
Someone is going to call you a
“playa” (Spanish for beach, not
player).
SAGITARIUS (November 22December 21)
You’re independent and casual
and honest to your friends. Right
now you’re feeling restless and a
little rebellious. Impulsiveness is in
your nature so be responsible about
the changes you’re making. Sidle up
next to a Gemini post-V-Day. Don’t
wear a short skirt next week, it’ll
blow up.
CAPRICORN (December 22- January
19)
You’re a strong natural leader
with self-discipline but you may be
in danger of being single-minded to
the point of destruction. Don’t let
pessimism get the best of you think outside the box and maybe
even give your conservative side a
break. Cancers might be your best
match. You shouldn’t wave your
arms around, it’ll lead to a fight and
you’ll get beat up and have a fat lip
for a week.
AQUARIUS (January 20- February 18)
You’re very progressive and
idealistic but not everyone sees
things your way. Bear in mind that
you are of a very open-minded
nature but that’s no excuse to
consider yourself aloof from those
not as imaginative as you. Try to go
with the flow a little more;
incorporate your eccentricities into
this flow. Get ready, a Leo might
stalk you down. Be very careful
with all liquids. Wet spots on clothes
aren’t attractive.
PISCES (February 19- March 20)
You have a complex persona. You
can be irrational and unpredictable,
but you are multitalented and
compassionate. You are peopleoriented but you are sensitive. Don’t
believe everything anyone tells you.
Take a stand for yourself.
Passiveness and laziness won’t
bring you closer to your perfect
match, a Virgo. Don’t look so
surprised, faces stay like that, you
know.
Valentine’s Day has come
and gone, but that doesn’t
mean it’s too late to reflect on
love and relationships!
How well do they
know each other?
B Y NATALIE S E R R A N O -
STAFF W R I T E R
In an effort to prove how well couples truly know one other, the
Baitline tested two long-term romantic pairs with a quiz of five
simple questions where each person had to guess their partner’s
answer. The couples that were put to the test were Ami Patel
and her boyfriend Mikhail Crooks, as well as Denishia Dozier
and her boyfriend Chris Griffin.
1. Favorite Color 2. Favorite Pastime 3. Favorite Song
4. Favorite Quality About Themselves 5. Greatest Fear
Ami’s Guess
1) Blue.
2) Playing Madden.
3) “Kyrptonite” by Purple Ribbon AllStars.
4) He thinks he’s thick!
5) Losing me.
Mikhail’s Guess
1) Red.
2) Eating.
3) “Differences” by Ginuwine.
4) Her personality.
5) Losing me.
Mikhail’s Answer
1) Blue.
2) Watching movies.
3) “Kryptonite” by Purple Ribbon AllStars.
4) My hair.
5) Losing Ami.
Amy’s Answer
1) Red.
2) Writing.
3) “Differences by Ginuwine.”
4) My personality.
5) Losing Mikhail.
Denishia’s Guess
1) Blue.
2) Sleeping.
3) “Trap Star” by Young Jeezy.
4) His personality.
5) Losing me.
Chris’ Answer
1) Blue.
2) PLaying football.
3) “Trap Star” by Young Jeezy.
4) My personality.
5) Losing Denishia.
Chris’ Guess
1) Red.
2) Shopping.
3) “Be Without You” by Mary J . Blige.
4) Her personality.
5) Heights.
Denishia’s Answer
1) Blue.
2) Shopping.
3) “Be Without You” by Mary J. Blige.
4) My personality.
5) Faling out of love.
Those two big four-letter words:
Love or Lust?
B Y HA R O L Y N SA W Y E R
STAFF WRITER
What exactly is it that lures your untamed eyes to
the phenomenal opposite sex? Maybe it’s the goddess of love, who comes only when there is a full
moon, a twinkle in your eye, and it’s exactly 75 degrees outside? Maybe not. However, Coral Reef Senior High seems to drowning in the sea of love. But
which types of love are actually realistic or genuine?
Can a young man at the naïve age of fourteen simply
fall in love, or is he swept away with a primitive overdose of attraction, also known as “puppy love”?
“You can feel love on the inside, but can you distinguish or identify it from the outside?” senior Nikki
Guerra asks. In order to investigate the artificial glow
that many people mistake for love, you must understand its definition to the fullest potential. “Love is a
many-splendored thing,” or so the aphorism goes.
Maybe they accidentally left out a couple of minor
things. For example, love is also karmic-laden, multifaceted, and gives you a full run from agony to ecstasy, leaving you totally befogged or exasperated!
Now ask yourself, have you ever felt this way? So,
is it lust that numerous teenagers manipulate as love?
The word lust should replace the word love in many
young relationships.
“I don’t think love exists. It is just an exaggerated
attraction that comforts people,” senior Angela Gill
says. With lust, the boring familiarity of your longtime partner may soon overpower you, making your
sensuous princess turn into Rosie O Donnell or your
hunky macho partner seem like Arnold
Schwarzenegger (at the age of 89). So, how can you
decide whether you’re in lust or love? Consider the
following questions:
Are you in Love or Lust?
Have you been in the relationship for
less than two months?
Are you even in a relationship?
Do you know his or her whole name,
including nicknames?
Do you know his or her favorite movie?
Is he or she perfect?
Does he wear boxers or briefs?
Does she wear thongs or granny panties?
Do you feel that you can’t take one
breath without your partner?
And, if he does not have a job, a car, a
cell phone, style, or all of the above, and
you are currently with him… please
vacate the building immediately!
Teen mothers give advice to fellow students on Valentine’s Day
B Y C YNTHIA A H M E D
STAFF WRITER
The heart is a lonely hunter but
when catching its prey, and finding (what some hope to be) a ‘soul
mate,’ the mind can be oblivious to
what is right and wrong. Everyone
has endured the legendary “Birds
and the Bees speech” sometime in
their teenage existence, whether
through an experienced friend’s
horror stories, a parents regrets, or
through the vivid carelessness of
late night TV.
Yet the question remains: Should
high school teens be in serious relationships? And, if so, can they
endure the consequences, which
can be pregnancy, heartbreak, or
the hardship of living your life with
a disease? And would statistics
show improvement if parents were
easier to talk to?
“I think teens should have serious relationship in high school
because it is an experience like no
other. Even if you get heartbroken
it teaches you to be stronger. But
being in love doesn’t mean you
have to have sex,” senior and teenage mother Yamel Bencosme said.
“Yet, if you do decide to have sex
you should be open with your parents about it, be responsible, and
know what you’re doing.”
The essence of love is questionable; nevertheless this hypnotic
emotion is powerful and can
change your fate forever.
“High school relationships can
be stressful, but the only way that
you can find out about love is
through experience. You can’t tell
someone whether or not to be in
love. It just happens. I went to
Cope South because I was told that
it had a lot of benefits. They gave
me parenting classes and prepared
me to be a mother. I still plan on
finishing school, going to college,
“Even if you get heartbroken,
[teenage love] teaches you to
be stronger. But, being in
love doesn’t mean you have
to have sex.”
-YAMEL BENCOSME
and I see my child as a blessing,”
Junior Chankevia Bassa said
The baby boom of the teen generation has become much more
common and accepted. Yet, most
students agree that they fear their
parent’s reaction if they tell them
that they are sexually active.
“The most shocking part of my
pregnancy was after six months finally getting enough courage to
talk to my mother about sex and to
be open with her. I was afraid of
her reaction because she is religious yet she was willing to get me
on birth control and take me to the
doctor. I felt naïve because I was
already pregnant and I probably
could have prevented my pregnancy if I just had been more open
with my mother. So I will always
ask myself: What if?” Yamel said.
The truth of the matter is that, as
teens, we tend to think that we are
invincible and not to heed advice
or warning signs. But who wants
to dig their own grave with their
own knife and fork?
When asking random students in
the hallway which STD they would
rather have if they had to have either Gonorrhea, Syphilis, Chlamydia, or AIDS, 4 out of 5 students
replied with an incurable STD. In
actuality, Chlamydia is the only
curable disease out of the choices.
This shows that we should be more
aware of our bodies and realize the
statistics are shocking. 1 out of 3
people have Herpes and 50% of
new HIV infections occur in people
under 25 years old.
“I promote abstinence, but I believe birth control is an effective
method of preventing pregnancy.
But, it doesn’t protect you against
disease,” Yamel said. “I feel students should focus on school and
life because the opposite sex isn’t
going anywhere. Pursue your
dreams because it is what you do
now that will count later.”

Feb - Coral Reef High School

Transcription

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