february
DESCRIPTION
February PaperTRANSCRIPT
February 10, 2012 • Volume 9 • Issue 5 Northridge High School • 2901 Northridge Road • Tuscaloosa, Al• 35406
Brianna ShawStaff Writer
Suicide: one simple word that can take away someone’s life for-ever, one decision that can tear a family apart in seconds but takes years to put back together.
After an argument with his fam-ily members, Redding Emens Ramey, a 40-year-old man, ran out of his apartment threatening to kill himself on Jan. 4, according to The Tuscaloosa Police Department. The police were called and the search began at The Reserve apartment complex.
Around 3:30 p.m. a helicopter flew low looking for Ramey, Sgt. Blankley of the Tuscaloosa Police Department said. Thirty minutes later they found him behind his apartment in the woods, armed.
“Without any negation from the police, Ramey shot himself,” Sgt.. Blankley said
After hours of the standoff, the Tuscaloosa Police Department and the family of Ramey left with only broken hearts.
“He will definitely be missed. It’s our job to make this city safe,” Sgt.. Blankley said. “But sometimes our job doesn’t work out the way we want it too.”
Although, freshman, Giddel En-daya was not at the scene, she re-members hearing about the tragic news and feeling sorrow for the pain the family had to go through.
“Suicide can affect all different age groups, from teens to mid-age men and women,” Endaya said.
“Stress can effect teens. Some-times teens get so tired of what’s happening in their life they just give up and end it,” Endaya said. “Don’t end something forever that’s only temporary.”
“Suicide affects everyone who knew and once loved the victim, the feeling of them being gone re-ally sinks in,” Endaya said.
Jah’’’meka BaxterInfographics Editor
A new law in Montgomery is set to en-force a citywide rule that makes pants sag-ging three inches below the waist a misde-meanor.
According to CBS 48 in Montgomery, the new law simply known as the “Anti-Sagging Law” has been recommended by Rep. Alvin Holmes to city hall due to it being passed in the cities of Greenville,
Alex HauserEditor-in-Chief
Even after a semester of the new schedule, students and teachers have yet to become accustomed to the A/B Block schedule.
With students forgetting which homework to finish on certain days and teachers being bogged down with grading because of more classes, the city board decided to meet to discuss a new schedule for next year.
A survey was conducted in each of the three high schools and the results were generally nega-tive.
“After analyzing the data that was collected, we formed a Bell Schedule Ad-visory Committee to looking into alternatives,” Elisabeth Davis, the Assistant Super-intendent for Curriculum and Instruction, said.
“We met in December and in January. In February, we are visiting a school that has one of the bell schedules we have researched, and we have also asked other principals from surround-ing systems to join us, so we can ask questions pertaining to the various bell schedules that have been implemented,”
Beth Allaway, science teacher who is a committee member, said she did not like the current schedule.
“It is a mess. Since kids only come every other day in the mornings there is no flow to the learn-ing. It is constant review and reteaching. Even with that they are not as successful as the af-ternoon group,” Allaway said. “[As part of the committee, we will be] discussing advantages of various schedules: 4 by 4 block, 5 period block, 7 period day - all year, and 8 period day - all year. We will visit some schools with these schedules to see what they like and don’t like about them.”
Casey Miller, junior, said she doesn’t like the new A/B block schedule because it’s easy to pro-crastinate.
“It’s very stressful because you have two nights to do homework, and it builds up,” she said. “Also, you have six classes in one week which is
a lot to consume when studying. I like the four block schedule next year or a six period/seven period day all year long.”
Allaway said the honor roll count is down by 25 percent and failure rates have greatly risen.
“Students are stressed because they are jug-gling six classes at once,” she said. “At risk stu-dents really struggle since their study habits are not so great.”
Cooper Bunch, junior, said he likes the sched-ule from last year: the 4 by 4 block.
“I made better grades last year,” he said.Davis said the board is currently exploring
several options for the next school year.“The schedule that is selected should address
the learning needs of all of our students, and the com-mittee will use data and research evidence to guide that decision,” Davis said.
She said the most ef-fective way to provide academic enrichment and intervention is to do so during the school day.
“Interventions should provide additional attention, focus and support,” Davis said.
“These interventions should begin as soon as possible after students have been identified, should be occurring for a minimum of 30 min-utes a day at least three times a week and should be monitored regularly,” she said.
“Addressing the needs of students who have already mastered the standards should be a pri-ority, implementation of scheduling options that include time during the school day to address these areas should be considered.”
Dr. Doug Reeves, from the Leadership and Learning Center, has identified five levels of research that influence decision-making efforts. The board wants to explore all 5 levels.
“[We are] committed to making the decision based on the preponderance of evidence because we are making decisions that will affect our stu-dents’ futures,” Davis said. “We want to make sure that whatever decision we make is based on what is best for our students.”
Marion and Selma. Success rates in those cities might lead to it becoming state law if other counties embrace it.
These new laws come as a reaction to the increased amount of sagging that has become a new type of fashion.
If saggers are caught breaking the law they could face fines ranging between $25 to $150, or they can choose to complete community service.
Charles Anthony, assistant principal, said that the school tries to fight sagging, and a new law would work if it is enforced
properly. “I think that with the culture and envi-
ronment that has embraced sag it will be hard to enforce,” Anthony said.
Richard Nowell, art teacher, said that the new law would be good for Tuscaloosa County.
“I think that most students will be unaf-fected by the law, and those who break it will learn to choose better fashion choic-es,” Nowell said.
Davia Brown, senior, said that she is not impressed by the sagging trend.
New schedule options considered
Law hopes to change negative culture
Suicide occurs near school
“I think that it is inappropriate and stu-pid,” she said.
Brown said that she doesn’t find sagging to be a cool trend because of how low the guys wear their pants.
“I don’t want to see your butt,” she said.Keshaun Byrd, sophomore, said he en-
joys sagging and embraces the trend.“It makes you want to feel cool,” Byrd
said.Byrd said that he likes the trend because
the cool hip black students wear their pants that way.
Kindle Fire vs. iPadPage 6
WrestlingPage 10
In the news
witchedS4x4
A/B
7 Period
8 Period
Modified 5
44
3
6
2
8
Preferred schedule
for next year
It is a mess. Since kids only
come every other day in the
mornings there is no flow to
the learning
“”-Beth Allaway, science teacher
Information compiled by: Jah'’’meka Baxter
Design by: Alex Hauser
website: http://northridgereporter.wordpress.com
2 The Northridge ReporterFebruary 10, 2012Opinion
Editor-in-Chief:
Opinion Editor:
Feature Editor:
Entertainment Editor:
News Editor:
Sports Editor:
Business Manager:
Photographers:
Copy Editor:
Art Editor:
Artists:
Infographic Editor:
Web Master:
Alex Hauser*
Raiha Bajwa*
Renu Pandit
Jane Yu*
Trent Clanton*
Alexandra Stewart
Raiha Bajwa*
Nick Motz, Tyesha Pinnock, Sarah Katherine Barnes, Rand Schille, Candace Wiggins
Sara Beth Hartley, Renu Pandit, Jane Yu*
Trent Clanton*
Nick Motz, Jane Yu*, Parker Evans
Ja’’’’’’hmeka Baxter
Rand Schille
*Denotes state, regional and national award winners
Adviser: Susan Newell*, Spring Assistant: Ashlee Frazier
Northridge High School2901 Northridge RoadTuscaloosa, AL 35406
(205) 759-3734 ext. 235
Tuscaloosa City Board Policy: It is the official policy of the Tuscaloosa City Board of Education that no person shall, on the grounds of race, color, disability, sex, religion, national origin, age or creed, be excluded for participation in, be denied the benefits of or be subject to discrimination under any program, activity or employment.
Advertising and Subscriptions: Contact The Northridge Reporter Staff at (205) 759-3734 ext. 235 or [email protected] to advertise in or subscribe to The Northridge Reporter.Editorial Policy: The opinions in The Northridge Reporter are those of the students and not of the faculty or administration of Northridge High School or the Tuscaloosa City Board of Education. It is the policy of The Northridge Reporter to publish all non-obscene, non-libelous, signed letters to the editor, regardless of the opinion expressed in them. All letters must be submitted to Mrs. Newell in room 109 or emailed to [email protected]. The Northridge Reporter reserves the right to edit letters and verify allegations.
Staff Writers:
Sarah Katherine Barnes, Parker Evans, Sara Beth Hartley*, Ebony Hughuley, Emma Jackson, Maddie Mayfield, Nick
Motz, Cece Partlow, Tyesha Pinnock, Brianna Shaw, Keith Spencer, Aasiayah Sullivan, Marcellus Taylor, Reagan Walker,
KeamBria Washington, Candace Wiggins
Our ThoughtsA/B schedule causes undue stress
The present schedule has garnered nothing but lower grades and higher stress loads. Progress in core classes is hindered by meeting only three days a week at most, and the process-
ing of subject matter is interrupted by workloads from another class.It is obvious to all involved, teachers and students alike, that the
schedule is cumbersome and ineffective.The new schedule was instituted so AP students may have their
math and science classes all year. However, the point of the schedule is lost, as more students are obstructed than benefited by it.
A new schedule is being decided on by a committee that is made up of teachers, parents and principals from city schools. County schools have been invited. The options given to the committee are a five, seven or eight period schedule.
The Northridge Reporter speaks on behalf of the majority of the student body, supporting the tried and true four block schedule. If the switch was made to a seven or eight period schedule, there would be a shortage of textbooks and a surplus of back problems. Without lockers, books and binders would have to be carried around all day.
Also, an increase in the number of classes would result in a de-crease in actual class time. More time would be wasted for class change and more time would be wasted at the beginning and end of class to pack and unpack materials.
Teachers would be pressed to cram too much information into a stunted timeframe. In short, the current schedule has been fruitless, and we need to revert to a schedule that we know will work. Our full support is behind the four period block schedule.
agree (26) disagree (0)
Emma Jackson
Staff Writer
L-I-M-I-T-E-D: the Scrabble word that may win the game. It’s triple-lettered and a double word; it also lets me use six out of my seven tiles, giving me the upmost points possible. We add up the points, and I place second. Seeing that I’m mildly dyslexic and have only made two one-hundreds on a spelling test my whole life, I find this impressive.
This is one of the traditions that has not faded from my family’s Christmas celebrations spent in Pisgah, Alabama. In the old days, I can remember more than enough people in my great grandmother’s house to fill every bed and couch, including sleeping bags stuffed in every place possible.
But this Christmas I was surprised to have a choice at where I slept. I found a place to eat with ease, unlike the years before where I had to move through an endless maze to find a place on the floor. Now that I look at recent years, I notice that fewer and fewer people are coming.
The years hardest to move around were the years when my aunt and uncle were not mar-ried and had no children of their own. The young adults had not left for school. Now with both my aunt and uncle married to peo-ple who already had children from past mar-riages, it seems that they have to get their children back for the other parent’s Christ-mas as well. I don’t blame them, family is family. But, at the same time, my family is my family, and people have to make sacri-
fices to keep their family together. When I was five, I remember running around with
toys I had gotten the day before and at Dirty Santa trades. Now, my family doesn’t have time for Dirty
Santa. I love Christmas and more than any-thing, I love my family. But I feel like
my family has lost its traditions that I used to be so fond of. Will I be able to play Scrabble with my family, or visit our farm in a few more years? Christmas will never end, but Christ-
mas traditions will. Keep hold of those sacred traditions unless they too, like in
my family, become L-I-M-I-T-E-D.
Jackson
LIMITEDChristmas lives on, traditions begin to fade
Photo by Sue WheelerJackson with her brother Will and cousins Hope and Haleigh by the Christmas tree.
NSPA 1st Place Best of Show 2011 • NSPA 5th Place Best of Show 2008 NSPA 8th Place Best of Show 2008 • NSPA 9th Place Best of Show 2006 CSPA Silver Medalist (2003, 2004) • CSPA Gold Medalist (2005-2010)
SIPA All-Southern (2003, 2005–2011) • ASPA All-Alabama (2003–2011) NSPA All-American (2004, 2008, 2011) • Best SIPA Newspaper in Alabama (2003–2007)
NSPA News Story of the Year (2005) • SIPA First Place News Story (2007) SIPA First Place Review (2009) • Rick Bragg Award for Feature Writing (2009)
Art by Trent Clanton
Visit us on Facebook
and check out our website at
Northridgereporter.wordpress.com
Lib
er
ty a
nd j
ustice
for
ju
st u
s
3OpinionThe Northridge ReporterFebruary 10, 2012
Clanton
Trent Clanton
News Editor
It “looked good on paper.” That’s what some people regretfully say sometimes when they try to do something, especially at an administrative lev-el, and it doesn’t work out.
Some things may have “looked good on paper” to the board of education that didn’t end up working as planned. They sometimes seem to make hasty decisions without thinking things through.
For example, the library has under-gone some changes. A new wall has been built, separating the left section of the library from the rest. The pur-pose of this was to create a computer lab. However, there is no need for a wall in the middle of the library and a separate computer lab. The library functioned well as a dual-purpose me-dia center and computer lab the way it was.
The money spent on the wall would have been best used to buy textbooks. Many classes need textbooks. In some classes, students are no longer able to be issued their own books.
When I took AP Biology my junior year, our teacher told us we would have to buy our textbooks because she didn’t have enough. Textbooks like these can be found on Internet sources such as Amazon.com or eBay but eas-ily cost over $50.
Another solution is to have students check out books from their teachers, but there aren’t always enough for everyone. I have been left without a book to check out before.
Another hasty decision was the change of the schedule to an A/B schedule. This move looked good on paper too, but after a semester of do-
ing it, it becomes apparent that the new schedule move was not thought out.
The schedule was initially changed to meet requirements for a grant in-
volving AP classes. To receive the grant, AP classes had to
be year round. However, most AP
classes were already year round. All that had to be done was for the one semester AP classes
to be modified so they would last two semesters.
There was no reason to have to go through the trouble of a rotating schedule.
Numerous problems have resulted from the schedule change, causing chaos among students and teachers try-ing to adapt, simply be-cause of a failure on the board’s part to think things through and plan care-fully.
Exams and exempt ions became a huge problem toward the end of the fall semester. Apparently, the board had not planned anything for exams. They rushed at the last minute to come to a hasty decision to set up exams. With uncertainty shrouding the issue of exams, there was also un-certainty about exemptions.
An exemption policy was finally decided on by the administration, but the rules of the policy were bent a bit, as the tardy and absence count started over for the second semester, essen-tially saying that a whole semester of four rotating year-round classes didn’t even matter in regards to attendance
records and exemptions. Once again, we suffered from a failure to plan.
Also, over the summer, the state department forced teachers to use a new program, called iNOW, instead of STI, to keep up with their grades. The hasty switch of programs cre-ated a situation where teachers had to keep track of grades in their own grade books or in a different computer program simply because they did not have enough time to learn how to use it before school started.
There was no apparent reason to change from STI. The state department could have found a program that was a little more user-friendly or could have trained the teachers to use iNOW.
Because the new program is hard to use, prog-ress reports and report cards have come out much later than they s h o u l d have.
S c h o o l zoning is a huge prob-lem cre-ated by the
board, too. All three schools were built to house equal amounts of stu-dents, roughly 800. Northridge is now suffering from overcrowding. The stu-dent count was up to 1247 students this past fall, leaving Bryant with 881 stu-dents and Central with only 735. This leads to large class sizes. For example, English teacher Lakesha Tillman has close to 40 students in at least three of her classes.
Something that “looks good on pa-per” isn’t always the best choice. I hope that in the future the state and city boards take time to think through their decisions.
Jane Yu
Entertainment Editor
Humans die.Confronted by irreversible destiny, every human
dies.On Wednesday Jan. 5, one man died.Unable to control himself after a dispute
with his son, he went out to a forest.There, he threatened to kill himself in front
of his family.Police cars, a helicopter and an ambulance
came, but they were no use for him.In front of many people, he shot himself and
died.Right by my apartment complex, he died.He was an adult who perhaps just could not handle the
title of an adult.Or maybe he hated the pressure he got from society as
an adult.He was a head of one family.Maybe his son saddened him by showing a lack of
respect.Maybe his family pressured him to be an ideal father and
husband, and he could not be.Frustration may have overwhelmed him and just exploded
one day and led him to an extreme decision.But I still do not and cannot condone him.He was an egoist.
When things did not work out as he wanted, he tried to abandon people who loved him.
Indeed, he gave all the burdens to others as he killed himself in front of the family.
Also he was a coward.He did not love himself.He lowered himself and took his valuable
life.And when he figured out that people actually
cared about him and as the police and family arrived, he killed himself due to the embarrassment.
He was just one of 6862 people who die in the United States daily.
But to me, he was not another datum for statistics.This man killed me.He ripped my heart by making me wonder what might
have led someone to this unbelievable decision.He killed me.Chinese philosopher, Wang Yah Zhang, once said,
“When tiger dies, it leaves leather. But when a human dies, a human leaves his or her name.”
The tiger’s leather decays and disappears overtime.However, will someone’s name ever be forgotten?
Yu
Hasty decisionsLast minute planning leads to let down
Brianna Shaw
Staff Writer
Since my dad is Nick Saban’s pilot, I was police escorted
down the middle of the road behind the Alabama football team at the national cham-pionship game on Jan. 9. I was decked out in crimson
and white. I was overcome by the cheers of “Go home ti-
ger bait!” or “Roll Tide Roll!” I hoped and prayed that we, residents of Tuscaloosa,
would come home to a destroyed city satisfied as I was looking for a clear opening among the thousands of sober and non-sober fans at the Mercedes Superdome in New Orleans, La.
While I waited for the game to begin, I enjoyed the pregame party and all the free BCS National Champion-ship souvenirs. Two minutes before kick off I found my seat.
The dome was divided: LSU fans flooded one side: Alabama fans flooded the other. I waited with my eyes fixed on the field, ignoring the sound of shakers and screaming fans.
I watched the title of the National Championship fall into place as Jeremy Shelly, No. 90, kicked off for Ala-bama. The numbers on the score board slowly added up as I watched LSU stay at 0.
By the fourth quarter, Alabama was up 15-0, with no touchdowns from either team. Until, out of nowhere, Trent Richardson ran in for the one touchdown of the game, making the score 21-0.
That night I and thousands of other ecstatic Alabama fans witnessed victory and the only game in National Championship history, where the opposing team didn’t put any points on the board.
That’s what we call a shutout.The Alabama Crimson Tide won their 14th National
Championship. I watched Nick Saban receive the crystal football, and the players give it a kiss as it was passed around. The superdome slowly cleared out. I walked away with a smile across my face.
Shaw
Neighborhood suicide shocks junior
Shaw watches Alabama win
James Roberts
Beat Editor
Ah YouTube, you really are one of the best websites ever conceived in the past few decades. The only fault with you is the fellow users; it’s not just the aggressive na-ture of their comments, but it’s also them posting overused memes. A more recent one is “ar-row to the knee.”For those of you who don’t know, this one comes from
a well-known video game called “The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim,” in which dozens of characters tell you they were a former adventurer until they were shot in the knee with an arrow. The fashion in which they told it to you struck a chord
with many gamers and like I said earlier, it’s been said on YouTube (and now that I think about it, many other sites) countless times. I didn’t think much of it when I first saw it, but imagine my annoyance at seeing it over and over again. While you’re at it, imagine how many others feel about having to see this grating meme a good too many times. The good news is this will most likely end in a few
months just as most the other memes do.
Arrow to the kneeInternet meme annoys YouTuber
Roberts
Numerous problems have re-sulted from the schedule change,
simply because of a failure on
the board’s part to think things
through and plan carefully.
“
”
4 5The Northridge ReporterFebruary 10, 2012 EntertainmentEntertainment The Northridge Reporter
February 10, 2012
Parker EvansStaff Writer
I did not go into Sherlock Hol-mes: A Game of Shadows
expecting a faithful rendition of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s famous scholarly detective.
It was not.Since that was not what I was
expecting, however, I was not dis-appointed. On the contrary, I en-joyed it.
It was romanticized and mod-ernized, of course; a modern action movie set in Victorian era Europe, which is not all bad.
The setting was inviting and in-tricate, leaving me wanting to en-ter and explore it.
In Holmes’ world, industry has turned England into a smoky, sooty coal powered factory, which runs on workers and money who produce war machines from which wealthy investors profit.
This profitability of war is one of the main themes of the movie and the crux of the story.
Professor Moriarty, the main vil-lain and a genius on par with Hol-mes himself, threatens the stability of the European political climate
by trying to institute a world war.The plot revolves around Holm-
es and his partner, Watson, trying to prevent Moriarty’s plan from coming to fruition.
Moriarty has a hand in the man-ufacturing of the aforementioned war machines; he has produced an intimidating arsenal of artil-lery, crates full of precursors to the semi-automatic handgun, and a warehouse full of ammunition, in order to create a world war
But the question of why anyone would want to start such a war is what makes Shadows relevant to the present, and perhaps redeems the movie in the category of sub-stance.
The reason why, we soon find out, is that Moriarty makes a kill-ing out of war by selling his weap-ons. The motivation for trying to start a war is simply that he capi-talizes on it.
It is easy to miss the substantive side of the movie and get caught up in the wisecracks and banter between Holmes and Watson, and, of course, the explosions and sheer awesomeness of the action scenes. This is perfectly okay. It was made to be fun, and it is.
James RobertsStaff Writer
N’yuck! N’yuck! N’yuck! After enduring a Divine
Comedy-like period of develop-ment hell, the upcoming Three Stooges movie has been given a re-lease date of April 13. I will admit I’m not exactly their biggest fan, but I would like to see this movie when it comes out, just to see if it’s any good.
The movie is directed by the Farrelly Brothers, who most of you may know for their film “Dumb and Dumber.” I’ve never actually seen Dumb and Dumber “(except for the “Most Annoying Sound In The World” part on YouTube), but when I mentioned to my dad that the Farrelly Brothers were direct-ing this film, his response was, “This is just the kind of movie they would make.” I’m sure that those who are familiar with both the Three Stooges and “Dumb and Dumber” may concur with my old man on this.
The plot is about the efforts of the hapless trio to save their child-hood orphanage. Then the three accidentally stumble into a murder plot and somehow end up in a real-ity TV show. In short, the movie is the Three Stooges being the Three Stooges in the year of 2012. Hold on a minute, I suppose some of you may not know what they do, so let me explain.
They were a popular 1920’s-50’s comedy group who starred
As for being faithful to Doyle’s original stories, it is somewhat lacking. It does not follow any im-mediately recognizable narrative from Doyle’s writings, although the characters are largely familiar.
Some of the psychological as-pects of Holmes are lost, although there are the exaggerated slow-motion scenes where we can see him mentally choreographing how he will take out his next opponent.
The fist fights of the original stories have become elaborate displays of the combatants’ prow-ess, where his detective skills have been hyped up to near-supernatu-ral abilities.
However, at the climax of the movie, Holmes and Moriarty play a mental chess game parallel to an action scene in the adjacent room, which showcases the mental pro-ficiency of both masterminds, true to the original Holmes tradition where the majority of his work is done in his head.
The movie concludes with a clever twist, leaving the fate of the series open-ended.
As a film, A Game of Shadows is good fun. As an adaptation, it is less than reliable.
It depends on the expectation.Sherlock Holmes posters can be found in local theaters.
Sherlock Holmes movie is fun but loose adaptation
in 220 short films. Their acts were extreme slapstick and farcical hu-mor, which this new movie seems to have plenty of.
Their first few short movies were with the Fox Film Corpora-tion. Then they went to MGM for a few years, and finally they started
working for Colombia Pictures, who pretty much cheated them out of lots of money by making them think the shorts weren’t as popular or making as much money as they really were.
During the 1950’s their careers began to suffer. Curly died in 1952
(after leaving the trio in 1946 and being replaced by Shemp Howard), they were fired from Colombia in ’57, and all hope for continuing their careers had faded until their shorts began to be aired on televi-sion, resulting in a comeback.
The trio continued to be in high
The three main characters from the original Three Stooges are in the poster above. The new
movie is supposed to gain the younger generation's’ attention.
Classic comedy will attack theater in Aprildemand until 1970, when Larry’s career ended when he had a stroke, and died in five years.
Moe died four months later, of-ficially ending the Three Stooges careers. But it sure didn’t end their popularity, which continues on to this day.
I’m glad to see that a whole new generation is going to be exposed to them in the upcoming film.
However, some things in the trailer made me fear that this mov-ie won’t be good.
Oh well, if it’s horrible, it’s up to parents to make sure their kids see the good Three Stooges material.
Photo from IMDb
The new Three Stooges movie
will come out on April 13.
Explosions, Gypsies, Madmen
Photo from MCT Campus
Photo from IMDb
Sara Beth Hartley
Staff Writer
Reading books, magazines and news articles is all just
a click away now. E-readers such as the Amazon
Kindle, Barnes and Noble Nook and the Apple iPad have changed the way we read and even watch movies and TV shows.
Yet McCall Robinson, senior, said e-readers are a waste of money.
“It’s not a real book,” she snapped. “One of the joys about reading a real book is actually be-ing able to have it anytime you need. You wouldn’t be able to use an e-reader on a plane (some e-readers require Wi-Fi), near water, or anywhere without an outlet be-cause it would die.”
Robinson said she enjoys col-lecting books.
“An e-reader is so much more limited than an actual book,” she
4 5The Northridge ReporterFebruary 10, 2012 EntertainmentEntertainment The Northridge Reporter
February 10, 2012
UNIVERSITY ORTHODONTICS
Robert C. Haraway, Jr., D.M.D., M.S.
CHILDREN & ADULT ORTHODONTICS
University Orthodontics, PC
641 Helen Keller Boulevard
Tel: (205) 553-2524
Fax: (205) 553-6617
E-books vs. BooksPhotos from MCT campus
iPad, Nook and Kindle are the top three e-book readers.
said. “And I’m pretty sure you can’t borrow an e-reader from the public library.”
On the other hand, Hannah Johnson, junior, said she thinks e-readers are incredible.
“I really enjoy my Kindle,” she said. “I am not against real books at all; I personally don’t like paper-back books, so I buy hard-backs, but they are so ex-pensive. On my Kindle, I can buy a book that I would normally spend $20. on and instead buy it for around $6.-$10., depend-ing on the book.”
Johnson said she thinks e-readers are a
good investment.“I don’t have any doubts about
my Kindle,” she said. “People who are against them can’t real-ly understand what an e-reader is capable of until they own one.”
Elisabeth Davis, assistant su-per- in tendant of the Tus-caloosa City School Sys-tem, said she thinks e-read-ers would be a great tool to benefit teachers and students.
“ E - r e a d e r s are definitely a great tool for many people,” Davis said.
“As 21st century skills become in-
creasingly important in our soci-ety, the e-reader is a tool that can benefit our students, parents and teachers,” Davis said. “Just like any other issue, there are benefits and issues to consider when re-placing something. Textbooks are very expensive, sometimes ex-tremely heavy and bulky, as well as not built to withstand the year-to-year wear and tear.”
Davis said she thinks all stu-dents learn in different ways and would benefit from e-readers in the future.
“I believe there is no one re-source that fits the needs of all stu-dents because there are different learning styles. However, I believe it is our job to provide the expe-rience for all students so that they can utilize these types of resources if needed,” Davis said. Traci Watson, English teacher, said there are ups and downs to e-
readers.“I think they [e-readers] are an
excellent way to encourage stu-dents to read,” she said. “But hold-ing students responsible for keep-ing up with the device is the issue. How will we replace the missing and damaged ones?” Watson said.
Watson owns an e-reader herself and loves it.
“I would love to own one for my classes. I have an iPad and my mother has a Nook,” she said. “And now all of my books are downloaded from my iPad.”
Watson said she thinks e-readers will be a great update in educa-tion.
“They [e-readers] can definitely replace textbooks in the near fu-ture,” she said. “But there is still something about holding a real book that an e-reader can’t re-place.”
Readers remain faithful to books despite rising of e-books
D'’Aira Branch
Shay Barron
ByCeeCee Gardner
Photos
Feather earrings are in fashion.
Photo from MCT Campus
E-books bring the library home.
Brianna Shaw
Staff Writer
“Dancing is a way of life, freeing your mind
and soul. Dancing makes you feel alive and it’s a way to express yourself,” dancer, Loren Ledbetter, said. Dancing is what senior, Whit Chambers, loves to do. Chambers been dancing since he was in the first grade. When he was
six, he was intrigued by dancing but really fell in love with it at 16. “At one of my sister’s dance recitals, I saw a little kid who got stage fright and didn’t want to perform. It made me think, ‘Hey, I could do that.’ My mom signed me
up for classes, and the be-fore I knew it, I was the only
guy in my class at the Dance Centre,” Chambers said.
Chambers has been taking dance classes for most of his
life and said he has enjoyed every minute.
“I now teach a class of kinder-gartners,” Chambers said. “Dancing helps me release my emotions, and it’s a great way for me to express myself.” The transition from high school to college will be a new experience for Chambers, but he said his passion for dancing will never change. “After high school, I hope to con-tinue dancing as a career,” Chambers said, “but it is difficult to advance in the next level of dance.”
Learning to dance at the Dance Centre has given Chambers the op-portunity to perform at the Bama Theater, where every year their show has been “completely sold out.” Chambers said he has to fall down once in a while, but he continues to get back up. Miley Chambers, Whit’s moth-er, said she is extremely proud of Whit’s dance accomplishments. “He’s a true leader and a fine ex-ample for the next generation of male dancers,” Miley said.
6 7The Northridge ReporterFebruary 10, 2012 FeatureFeature The Northridge Reporter
February 10, 2012
The Exceptional :
Ebony Hughuley
Staff writer
Unlike most freshmen, Letitia Sidje has many other things to worry about besides her grades.
She moved here from Australia about five years ago because her dad got a job at the University of Alabama. She has been here for the last four years with her mom, her two sisters and her little brother.
“I really don’t like it down here because nothing re-ally happens here in Tuscaloosa. I like the big cities,” Sidje said.
Sidje said she is used to liv-ing in one of the biggest cities in the world, and now that she lives in Tuscaloosa she doesn’t know how to act.
“I used to live in Brisbane, Australia. It’s just an hour away from the beach, where my fam-ily and I loved to go,” Sidje said.
Letitia said she is used to standing out because when she was living in Australia she went to Good News Luther School where she was the only black student. She said her old school wasn’t as strict as Northridge.
“If we got into a fight or got into trouble, we had to write an apology letter, or they would call your parents and you couldn’t go to P.E., but at Northridge you get ISI or suspended,” Sidje said.
“The one thing I liked about my old school is that they had a lot of money, and they had everything up to date,” Sidje said.
When she moved here with her family, she found out that her little brother has cancer. She said it was difficult for her to deal with because she is close to her brother.
“I was scared for his life because my brother and I have this strong connection,” Sidje said. “He just has this way of making me feel happy.”
She said that he is doing much better. She said her brother is in remission, and he has been getting around
well. His teachers have been coming to their house to teach him his les-sons.
She said if you look at him you couldn’t tell he has cancer.
Sidje said her church is also dif-ferent. She is Presbyterian, but at her church in Australia, Evangelical Pres-byterian Church of Australia, they have no instruments or choir. They sing together as a congregation, and
they only have male preachers. They don’t believe in women preaching because they believe women should just help out around the church.
Her church also doesn’t celebrate Christmas. They just celebrate New Year’s, Australia day and Valen-tine’s Day.
While Sidje may seem different at first, getting to know her shows she is pretty much the same as other Northridge students.
“I love being Australian, but sometimes people for-get that I’m just like everybody else,” Sidje said.
Australian immigrant adapts to changes and cancer in her family
“I really don’ t like it down here because nothing really
happens here in Tuscaloosa. I
like the big cities,
“” -Letitia Sidje, freshman
Dancer hopes to pursue dancing career in college Sets example for upcoming male dancers
Photo by Nick Motz
Freshman Letitia Sidje moved to Tuscaloosa from
Australia. After living in Tuscaloosa for five years,
Sidje said half of her family likes Tuscaloosa but
half doesn ’t. She said that it ’s easier to blend in
here in Tuscaloosa, but she is used to standing
out in the crowd.”
Whit Chambers dances for his senior picture.
Photo by Crosby Thomley
Senior Whit Chambers who has
been dancing since he was little
began teaching a class of young
children to dance at the Dance
Centre this school year. He also
practices hi p-hop for an hour.
Photo by Crosby Thomley
6 7The Northridge ReporterFebruary 10, 2012 FeatureFeature The Northridge Reporter
February 10, 2012
The Exceptional :
I just like science, I always
have. I like applying things
and figuring things out; it’’s like a puzzle.
“” -Shuwen Yue, senior
those whoOvercome
andSucceedRaiha Bajwa
Opinion Editor
Born in China, Shuwen Yue, senior, has since moved to New York, Ohio and Alabama. She moved to Tuscaloosa on her eleventh birthday and has stayed here ever since. “If I think of a place I would call my home, it would be Tuscaloosa,” she said. “I’ve lived here the longest, I love it here.” Her junior year Yue kept up with a seemingly hectic schedule, with AP Biology, AP Chemistry, AP Calculus, and AP Composition. But Yue said it was the best schedule ever. “It sounds crazy, but I loved it,” she said. “I had the best teachers, and I couldn’t believe that it fit into my schedule. It was miraculous.”
Patsy Lowery, AP Calculus teacher, said she admires Yue’s hard work. “She works very hard and very carefully, and I have a lot of appreciation for her diligence,” she said. “You can tell that her education is very important to her.” Yue said she has a great interest in science, and has taken every science class available, other than Forensics, Human Anatomy and Zoology. Last year, she was the only one who took both AP Biology and AP chemistry in the same year, and was one of the best students in both classes. She made a score of five on each of the AP Exams. “I started off wanting to take AP Bio, but Ms. Stephens said that we might not have enough people in Chem to make a class, so I signed up for it. I wasn’t sure, but I knew that I would end up taking both [classes] eventually,” Yue said. “It wasn’t stressful; I just wanted to take the classes.”
Over the summer, Yue got the chance to work with Dr. Martin Bakker, Associate Professor in Chemistry, at the University of Alabama, doing research on porous and high surface area metals and metalloids. She said she loves research and still visits the university every week to work more with Dr. Bakker.
“I like how challenging it is, and I like thinking,” she said. “I just like science; I always have. I like applying things and figuring things out; it’s like a puzzle.” “It’s something that I’m good at, and I love as well,” she said. Because of her work over the summer, Yue was able to go on a trip to Richmond, Virginia in October for the Southeastern Regional Meeting for American Chemists Society, where
she was able to present a poster about her research with Dr. Bakker. “It’s huge even for under-graduates to go, so it was just amazing that I got a chance to go,” Yue said. “It was a real honor, and a lot of fun.” Yue said she doesn’t know where she’s going to college
yet, but has an idea about what her major will be. “I think what I want is to go into science, something chemistry or engineering related,” she said. Since her father has always worked in science, Yue said he might have had some influence on her interests. “I like to think that I would get into science on my own anyways because I love it,” she said. “But my dad might have had some influence too.” With all her academic accomplishments, Yue might be too modest. “I feel like I’m bragging,” she said. “It’s really not a big deal.”
Senior thrives on challenges
Top- Yue studies in AP Psychology.
Bottom- Yue takes an access class in the counselor's
office.
Photo by Nick Motz
Photo by Susan Newell
8 The Northridge ReporterFebruary 10, 2012News
Trent Clanton
News Editor
The US officially withdrew from Iraq on Dec. 18 under orders from President Barack Obama, ending the war in Iraq and allowing the troops to come home.
Biology teacher Nerissa DeRamus’s hus-band Crendal DeRamus, a staff sergeant in the Army National Guard, was deployed in 2009 to Iraq, but is currently in the US.
DeRamus said she was glad the troops were able to come home.
“I think war is called for sometimes, and as Americans, many of us have to answer that call, but sometimes when people get deployed, it’s hard to keep a family balance,” she said.
Her husband was expected to be in Iraq for 12 months.
“[When I learned he was going to be de-ployed,] it was kind of one of those things…I knew I was going to have to endure him be-ing gone,” DeRamus said.
DeRamus and her husband had a 4 month old baby son at the time he was to be de-ployed, as well as a 7-year-old daughter.
“I knew it would be hard being alone with the kids and having to worry about their safety and his. It was scary,” she said.
In 2010, her husband was allowed to come back home early after his pectoral muscle was torn from his shoulder.
“It was such a wonderful feeling to see him. We were able to use Skype to talk to him while he was over there, but we were glad to actually be able to physically be with him again,” DeRamus said.
She said they were thankful that he was able to come home, even if he sustained an injury.
“I can deal with an injury,” DeRamus said, laughing. “But I can’t deal with a death. I hope he doesn’t have to go anywhere any-time soon.”
Kelsey Page, senior, has a brother in the Marines named Kyle Page. He completed his third job training in November and is
currently stationed in North Carolina. “It was scary when we learned he’d have
to go to boot camp early. I remember when I found out, I was in English class, and I had to leave for a couple minutes because I was upset,” Page said.
Page said it was hard not being able to talk to him.
Page’s brother might be deployed in May.
As some people, like Page’s brother, are preparing to leave home, others have recent-ly come back.
Erik Nelson, father of Connor Nelson, se-nior, and Savren Nelson, freshman, is in the Army Reserves and was deployed to Iraq in May of 2011, but is now also back on US soil. His family was told he would be gone for 14-15 months.
“It was kind of bittersweet, when we learned he had to leave,” Connor said. “Ob-viously, we knew we were going to miss him a lot, but we knew what he would be doing would be noble.”
Nelson was involved in military intelli-gence while overseas. He flew in planes and used night vision and heat sensing equip-ment to look for any potential threats to US troops.
Savren said her mother was strong while her Dad was away and [did great at running everything with the family.]
Erik’s stay in Iraq was shortened toward the end of the year, and he was able to come home and surprise his family for Thanksgiving.
“It was awesome, when he surprised us, especially because it was around the holi-days. It was a pretty sweet early Christmas present,” Connor said.
Nelson was released to be home for good around Christmas. Savren said it was very exciting to finally have him home again.
“He’s so enthusiastic about our country and sometimes will sit us down and tell us stories of when he’s been overseas. We’re proud of him and proud to be a part of it,” Savren said.
Bus 51 was riding on its morning rou-tine when it was rear-ended by a silver car. The bus was only damaged a small bit, but the car behind it suffered damage to its hood and engine area, the hood of the car being bent back-ward and folded, as if it were a piece of paper.
Photo by Megan Clark
James Roberts
Beat Editor
It was a normal morning on Jan. 17 as Bus 51 was on its way to school. Well, at least until 7:30 a.m., when it was rear-ended by a car. The driver of the car was not hurt.
Jeralyn Austin, sophomore, said none of the students were seriously injured.
“I thought I was hurt, but really no-body was hurt. Everybody was saying their head was hurting, but it wasn’t re-ally anything serious,” Austin said.
Austin sat in the back of the bus dur-ing the incident.
“It was like I was right in front of (the car that hit us.) It was crazy,” she said.
Raquel Lark, sophomore, said the students had to stay on the bus after the crash.
“We couldn’t go to our parents, and (we were told) we could only leave if we needed to go to the Emergency Room,” she said.
Megan Clark, sophomore, said the bus had stopped for a red light when it was hit.
“It sounded like a firecracker, and the car was about halfway under us,” Clark said.
Dr. Isaac Espy, principal, said this kind of thing happens every day to someone in America.
“Drivers need to be paying attention to everything while driving,” he said.
School bus in accident, no one seriously hurt
marching back home- U.S. withdraws from iraq
Family tiesLocal families impacted by loved ones’ ’ military involvement
Art by Trent Clanton
Images from MCT Campus
Map show-ing location of Iraq
President Ba-rack Obama and his wife Michelle greet troops as they come home
Dec 14, 2008- President George W. Bush signs agreement with Iraqi government to have all US troops withdrawn from Iraq by December 31, 2011.
Feb 27, 2009- President Barack Obama an-nounces a deadline for a partial and full with-drawal of US troops.
Aug 19, 2010- US combat troops make a partial withdrawal from Iraq with around 50,000 troops remaining.
Dec 12, 2011- Obama and al-Maliki meet at White House to discuss post-war plans. US com-bat troops make a full withdrawal before the end of the year.
Open your heartOpen your home
To learn how you can becomea foster or adoptive family
Call 1-866-4AL-KIDS or visit www.dhr.alabama.gov
Information compiled by Trent Clanton Infographic by Trent Clanton
Staff Sgt. Crendal DeRamus, Nerissa DeRamus’'’s husband, holds the flag of his division while in Iraq. He was ex-pected to be overseas for a year, but was able to come home early after sustaining a shoulder injury.
Nerissa DeRamus, biology teacher, in a family portrait with her husband who had previously fought overseas.
Photo by Nicole Robertson Photography
Kelsey Page, senior, with her mother Mi-chelle Page and her brother Kyle Page, who wears his formal military uniform. Kyle might be deployed in May of 2012.
Alabama Heart Care, LLC
4810 Harkey LaneTuscaloosa, AL 35406
Phone: (205)-344-6344Fax: (205)-344-6464
In the news
Photo by Sgt. Pamela Evans
Photo by Robert Chilton
9NewsThe Northridge ReporterFebruary 10, 2012
Emma Jackson
Staff Writer
Going to Japan for two weeks, touring the country and learning the culture is a once in a lifetime trip according to Nick Fairbairn, sophomore.
Last December, the Sister Cities program held interviews with high school students who would be willing to take such a step. The interviewees had tons of requirements to fulfill and after all of it, both Nick Fairbairn and Savanna Mor-gan, sophomores, made the cut.
Fairbairn heard about the trip from a poster in the halls at school, while Morgan’s father told her about it.
“The trip was only $850, and I think that normally the flight is estimated [to be] around $2000, which sounded too good to be true,” Morgan said.
Fairbairn was nervous in the in-terview.
“I was afraid I wouldn’t make it, or I would mess up the in-terview. I made jokes and no one laughed. But I guess it’s a very strict competition, so that makes sense,” Fairbairn said.
“The first requirement was the application which included a brief essay on why I want to visit Japan along with teacher recommenda-tions. Then the next stage was the interview which required a presentation and answers to ques-tions about yourself. Two weeks after the interview is when I re-ceived my letter that said I was accepted into the amazing pro-gram,” Morgan said.
YoungLife had its annual winter camp at Sharptop Cove the same weekend of the in-terviews, and Morgan was afraid she would miss it. Luckily, one of the YoungLife lead-
ers had to go home early, so Fairbairn and Morgan traveled with him to make the in-terview.
“When I wasn’t sleeping, all I could think about was what I would be asked and how I would respond. My hands were seriously sweating. I was pretty calm once I got home, but on the way to the interview the nerves built up again because I knew what I had been excited about for a long time was ac-
tually about to happen,” Morgan said.
The two will be in Japan for two weeks and will visit the sec-ond largest mall in the world and Mount Fuji.
“We will experience culture first hand and in depth. We will have activities planned for ev-eryday and will live with host families. We will be very busy and travel to many tourist attrac-tions nearby. Some possibilities include Kyoto where shrines are, Tokyo and Disneyland. We also get to visit a Sumo Wrestling event and the nationwide band winner, Narashino High School,” Fairbairn said.
Morgan received her accep-tance letter a day or so after the last day of school in the third se-mester.
“When receiving the letter I flipped out. My sister handed me the envelope, and I ran upstairs and locked myself in my room. I was so nervous that I did not get in. When I opened the envelope I was in shock. I opened the door to see my two sisters who were
laughing at my spastic jumping up and down. It seemed so surreal that I was going to be a part of something this big,” Morgan said.
“This is an amazing experience, and I am very thankful for the opportunity I have been given,” Morgan said.
Konichiwa!Two sophomores accepted for tri p to Japan through Sister Cities program Students to learn culture, tour major areas of country
Sophomores Nick Fairbairn and Savanna Morgan were approved for an educational tri p to Japan af-ter a series of in-terviews. They will be traveling with the Sister Cities program and will be gone for two weeks.
Photos by Nick Motz
Candace Wiggins
Staff Writer
Kenneth Webb, gradu-ation coach, attended the Martin Luther King Memo-rial ceremony at the West Potomac Park in Washing-ton on Aug 28. The memo-rial is south of the National Mall, where King delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech.
“Since I went to the me-morial things have changed a lot. I have been asked to come and answer questions on four different panels. I have also been invited to many different schools around Alabama,” he said.
Webb said The Martin Luther King holiday on Jan. 16 was even more spe-cial because the monument is complete.
“On Saturday, Jan 14, I attended the Realiz-ing the Dream concert at UA Moody Hall. Then on Monday, I went to the Dr. King Memorial Breakfast at Stillman, and there was a memorial walk in down-town Tuscaloosa and an MLK program at First Bap-tist Church in Livingston, Alabama,” he said.
He said it was an awe-some feeling to have been a participant in the monu-ment dedication for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
On the day the memo-rial was dedicated, a silent march to the statue was held in honor of King`s legacy.
Webb said the program was life-changing, and that pictures in magazines didn’t do the monument justice.
He heard many speakers
and singers at the event in-cluding Bernice King, Mar-tin Luther King III, Merlin Evers, Joseph Lowery, Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, Roland Martin, Cuba Good-ing Jr., Cassie Davis, Della Reese, Termanie Hawkins and Aretha Franklin.
“President Barack Obama also spoke,” Webb said.
He said this will be a day “no one will ever forget.”
“My life will never be the same. I have been chal-lenged to work harder to make the world an even bet-ter place to live. My outlook on life is even more positive than ever,” he said.
“This year, I am more en-ergized about black history month. My goal is to moti-vate and to share my experi-ences with everyone,” Webb said.
Martin Luther King memorial built, Black History Month celebrated
JapanLand of the Rising Sun
-Continent: Asia
-Capital: Tokyo
-National Language: Japanese
-Government: Unitary parliamentary democracy
and constitutional monarchy
-Currency: Yen
-Population: 127,960,000
-Area: 145,925 square miles
-Japan is actually an archi pelago of 6,852 islands.
The four largest islands are:
-Honshu,
-Hokkaido,
-Kyushu, and
-Shikoku
-Japan has the world’’s tenth-largest population.
-The Greater Tokyo Area, the district in which Tokyo
lies, is the largest metropolitan area in the world.
-Japan has the third-largest economy, and is the
world’s fourth-largest importer and exporter.
-The characters that spell out Japan’’s name in Japanese mean “sun-origin,“ giving the country its nickname, the Land of the Rising Sun.
Image from MCT CampusInformation compiled by Trent ClantonInfographic by Trent Clanton
Photos from MCT Campus
Photo compilation by Trent Clanton
Fairbairn
Morgan
10 11The Northridge ReporterFebruary 10, 2012 SportsSports The Northridge Reporter
February 10, 2012
G i r l ’ s B a s k e t b a l l t e am h a s 22 w i n s e a s o n
Photo by: Beth AllawayHarrison Aslami, senior, gets ready for his match against his opponent in the match against ACA on Jan. 24.
D’'Aira Branch, senior, prepares to throw the basketball to a teammate in the girl’s baskeball game against Bessemer City High School on Jan. 27.
Regan Walker
Staff Writer
More members, more matches and more
wins make for a more outstanding year for the wrestling team.
“I think people saw how much fun [wres-tling] was and how competitive [the wres-tling teams] were,” head coach Don Mc-Nabb said.
McNabb said that having more people on the team didn’t mean more wins.
“More participa-tion means better competition and that leads to more wins,” McNabb said.
The wrestling team is currently practic-ing in the small aerobics room, but due to the influx of more members the team needs more space.
“[The wrestling team] needs a mat room and a training facility as the program grows,” McNabb said. “We have split prac-tices now.
The smaller weight classes wrestle first
while the larger weight classes lift and con-dition.
“There are definite improvements,” Mc-Nabb said.
“We can field almost a complete lineup in all weight classes,” he said.
The wrestling team has stuck to their old tactics for preparing for a match and has added some new tactics.
“[The wrestling team] works on specific wrestling strategies and conditioning for match situations, and we have more individ-ual training,” McNabb said.
Bradley Walton, ju-nior who is a member of the heavy weight class, said that in addi-
tion to seven new members on the wrestling team, they also have a new assistant coach named Cody Cammack.
“[The new assistant coach] helps teach us some new wrestling moves and techniques,” Walton said.
Walton said his way of preparing for a wrestling match is to cancel everything out.
“I tune everyone out with music and hype myself up for a match,” Walton said
Aasiyah Sullivan
Staff Writer
To some people, a 20 ounce ball of orange leather is just filled with air.
But for the girls basketball team it is filled with hopes, dreams and expectations.
Quincy Collins, assistant girls basketball coach, said that this year has been the best season for the team.
“So far this season, the girls basketball team has won twenty games,” Collins said.
Collins said that the girls have been very motivated and deter-mined.
“The thing that motivates the girls is that they encour-age one another, and they have a positive attitude towards each other,” Collins said.
He said preparing the team for games is not that difficult to do.
“I watch film from every team that we have played. Coach Cain and I develop a game plan for each opponent,” he said.
Collins said he enjoys coaching girls bas-ketball.
“The thing that I like the most about coaching the girls basketball team is that working with the young ladies is very fun, and it doesn’t only prepare them for basket-ball, but for life,” Collins said.
He said that he thinks that the girls should be very proud of what they have accom-plished this year.
“My overview of the season is that it has been extremely positive. I have a special
Wrestling team gains members
Girls Basketball Checkpoint
Photo by: Beth AllawayParker Shields , senior, holds down an op-ponent during their match against ACA on Jan. 24.
Photo by: Beth Allaway John Ross Morton, senior, shakes hands with his opponent before his match against ACA on Jan.24.
Photo by: Beth AllawayJ.T. Peterson, senior, wins against an op-ponent in his match against ACA on Jan., 24.
bond with the seniors on the team, and I love the fact that they work really hard,” Collins said.
D’Aira Branch, senior, said that this season has been the best for her since she started playing.
“The thing that I have liked about this season the most is that I felt like that we played as one whole team,” Branch said.
Branch said that motivation is a key part in playing a sport like basketball.
“My motivation before each game are my coaches and one of my team mates Sarah Stuart because she always make sure that I do my best and play my hardest during the game,” Branch said.
Branch said that practicing and doing drills is something that really helps her for games.
“The types of drills that I do to make me a better player are defensive slides and working on free throws,” Branch said.
Branch said that she feels that her and the team have made many improvements since last year and that she is very proud.
“My overview of the season is that it has been satisfying so far, but I won’t be fully satisfied until we win the state cham-pionship,” Branch said.
Victoria Morgan, senior, said this sea-son has been the best season she has had while playing basketball.
“The thing I enjoyed the most is playing with my teammates and winning most of the games we played,” she said.
Photo by: Beth Allaway
My motivation before
each game are my coaches
and one of my team mates,
Sarah Stuart, because she
always makes sure that I
do my best and play my
hardest during the game..
“
”D’ Aira Branch, senior
Season Stats wins: 22losses: 5
“I think I did better than last year. I am going to miss being able to play with my teammates. Faith Lancaster, senior
Coach motivated by girl’s hard work
More participation brings more wins
Photo by: Beth Allaway
More partici pation means
better competition and that
leads to more wins.“
”Don McNabb, head coach
Faith Lancaster
Ashlyn Sunseri, senior signed to play vol-leyball at the University of Alabama.
Lori Acker, senior, signed to play softball at Wallace State.
Sarah Stuart, senior, signed to play softball at the University of Mobile.
Alison Fridley, senior, signed to play ten-nis at Mars Hill College.
Jamarcus Howard, senior signed to play foot-ball at Coffeeville Jr. Col-lege.
10 11The Northridge ReporterFebruary 10, 2012 SportsSports The Northridge Reporter
February 10, 2012
Rufus Williams
PRIDE of Tuscaloosa
Be safe.Be smart.Make good decisions.
Celebrate a safe anddrug-free lifestyle!
We aren’t defined by what we don’t.We are defined by what we do.
And what we do is...LIVE FREE!
Buy a Large Big Mac Extra Value Meal and get a second Big Mac sandwich
FREE when you bring in this ad! (Only available at Rice Mine location)
GO JAGUARS!!Locally Owned and Operated by
Rick & Mary Ellen Hanna 4840 Rice Mine Road NE
Tuscaloosa, AL 35406 205-345-0045
Tyesha Pinnock
Staff Writer
Rufus Williams, a senior who plays for-ward and center on the varsity boys basket-ball team, is described by Coach Bob Brant-ley as a good leader.
Brantley said that Williams is very well respected by his teammates.
“He’s a good leader and guys seem to fol-low him,” Brantley said.
Brantley said that Williams is the highest rebound scorer.
Williams said he has been playing basket-ball since he was five.
He said when he plays basketball he tries to keep a positive attitude.
“Leadership and a good attitude are the components for playing a good game,” Wil-liams said.
“I like the competition,” Williams said.Brantley said he believes Williams will
have a bright future.Williams said that he hopes to play bas-
ketball professionally someday.
Going
Places
Rufus Williams, senior, catches his breath
during a baskeball game. He plays for-
ward and center for the varsity boys bas-
ketball team. Williams said he loves bas-
ketball because it makes him work harder
and builds his confidence when playing
a game.
Art by Trent Clanton
Art by Trent Clanton
Photo by: Beth Allaway
Athlete to watch
Boys Basketball Checkpoint
‘‘“”
Season Stats wins: 8
losses: 6
My first game was the best because I did everything well. I got an alley-oop when Te’’Boris [Leatherwood] stole the ball, and I told him to throw it up. I got it and scored. Senior night was good also when I got 10 points. Darryl Jones, senior
Photo by: Beth AllawayDarryl Jones
Senior works hard, attitude pays off
Boys basketball
Robert Pickens signed to play football at Stillman College.
http://northridgereporter.wordpress.com/
February 10, 2012
Volum
e 9 Issue
5
12Beat
The Northridge Reporter
February 10, 2012
Favorites
Pa
ge
12
Dessert
0 3 6 9 12 15
Disney Princess
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Fast Food Restaurant
05
1015
2025
Super Hero
05
1015
2025
Sport
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Ice Cream
Flavor
Disney C
haracter
0 3 6 9 12 15
Soft Drink
Villain
Supermarket
Fa
vo
rit
es
Football-32
Basketball-12
Volleyball-8
Track- 8Dance-4
Swimming-2
Snow White-4Aurora- 6Cinderella-7Ariel-9
Belle-12Jasmine-8
Mulan-4Tiana-2
Pocahontas-14Rapunzel-4
Wal-m
art
34
Publix
15
Piggly Wiggly
9 Target8 Bruno’s
3Food W
orld3
Vanilla-30
Chocolate-6
Strawberry-24
Cookies&Cream-26
Mickey
28Minnie
8
Pooh16
Tinkerbell8
Dumbo-4
Tigger-4
Donald2
Simba
2
Sprite-15Mountain Dew-11
Sweet Tea-4Pepsi-3Water-3Sunkist-2
Dr. Pepper-1Joker24Catw
oman
8Voldem
ort16
Darth V
ader21
Magneto
7
Dr. Evil3
Cruella de V
il1
Superm
an-24
Spiderm
an-18
Wonder
Woman-12
Catwoman-15
Batman-8
Mr.
Incredible-3
Megamind-2
McDonald’s-29Taco Casa-28
Chick-fil-a-10Zaxby’s-9
Subway-3
Wendy’s-1
Burger King-17
Cheesecake
25
Brownies
4Pie9
Cupcakes17 Cookies4
Information com
piled by: Jah’meka Baxter
Design by: A
lex Hauser
Bradford Health Services
750-0227
Design by: A
lex Hauser
Does som
eone you know
need help?Ca
ll for free co
nfid
entia
l consulta
tion