OPINION 4

By Christian Kreamer STAFF MEMBER Everyone has had some form of an idol in his or her life growing up. For me it was Harry Potter. I often pretended to play Quidditch, and I even owned my own movie-accurate wand. However, a few of my peers took a liking to the charming Hannah Montana on the Disney Channel. This fictional character captured the hearts of millions all around the world. Even I can admit to tuning in to many of her light-hearted episodes as she shifted between the lifestyle of a teenage girl and a celebrity rockstar. But what happened to the innocent Hannah that everyone knew and loved? It seems that Miley Cyrus has caught the “curse of the child stars” along with other train wrecks like Lindsay Lohan and Amanda Bynes who have been making tabloid headlines consistently. Not only is Cyrus hurting herself, but her actions are beginning to affect the millions of tweens who are still aspiring to be more like her. So how exactly did Cyrus’ spiraling downfall begin? Was the rise to fame at such an early age too much for her to handle? In 2008 alone, 16 year-old Cyrus made $25 million and was ranked 35 on Forbes Magazine’s Celebrity 100 list. Parade magazine reported that she was the richest teenage celebrity and that her franchise would be worth approximately $1 billion by the end of the year. Despite Cyrus’ busy lifestyle with TV shows and music, she still finds time for lots of other non Disney-approved activities. In April of 2013, pictures surfaced of Cyrus smoking a suspicious looking cigarette. So let’s be blunt, Cyrus has clearly drifted too far from her down to earth Hannah Montana character. Maybe she should start using some of the $15,000 that she made from each episode of her Disney show to start buying some decent clothing for her music videos. Her latest “hit” video Wrecking Ball omits clothing all together.

The Dutchman Crier Staff Mr. Ryan Clements, Advisor

Benson Beidler, Michael Darok, Finn Hermanson, Editors-in-Chief Lida Lech, Layout Editor

Janelle Keller, Feature Layout Designs

Maddie Dietz Paxson Hayes Janelle Keller Christian Kreamer Lisa Lech Taylor Prentice Sam Soliday Zack Southall Sydney Stossell Kaitlyn Pavlesich

Font: Microsoft Sans Serif (7, 8, 9 points) Annville-Cleona High School 500 South White Oak Street Annville, PA 17003

Sadly, the video has attracted nearly 120 million viewers who can’t get the 3 minutes and 42 seconds of their lives back that they wasted (and that’s assuming that they made it through the whole video without getting sick). Cyrus’ performance at the MTV Video Music Awards in August also wasn’t too far behind in offending many of her followers. Yet again Cyrus humiliated herself in front of millions of viewers as she was shown “twerking” on singer Robin Thicke. One viewer complained about the incident by saying, “Obviously MTV’s agenda has nothing to do with music!" When the press asked her about her recent actions, Cyrus said, “I was an adult when I was supposed to be a kid. So now I’m an adult and I’m acting like a kid.” The cause of Cyrus’ downfall is comparable to that of

Bynes and Lohan: all three of these teen celebrities got too rich too fast. Not only has Miley Cyrus given kids a false image of success, but she is also setting a negative example for kids who don’t

know any better. I consider myself lucky to have grown up in the era where Cyrus was Hannah Montana and not the person who she has recently become. Hopefully this is just an immature phase for Cyrus, but then again I’m not holding my breath. In the mean time, I’ll just stick to admiring the kid with the glasses and lightning-shaped scar on his forehead. Note: The views of the author do not necessarily reflect those of the school, the Administration, the advisor, or the staff.

By Lisa Lech STAFF WRITER When you hear “school spirit,” what is the first thing that comes to your mind? Maybe it’s a certain movie or a television show that reminds you of what school spirit is all about. Growing up as a kid, I always remembered seeing school spirit on TV as being a popular and exciting thing in high school. Students were always participating in these outrageous pep rallies. There were always lots of yelling, the cheerleaders were flying through the air, the band was playing foot-tapping music, and students were being loud, and much more.

Unfortunately, the only way that I experienced this excitement was by looking at my television screen. Here at Annville-Cleona High School, school spirit has been nothing compared to what you’ve seen in movies or television shows. For the most part, many say that the student body support at our school has been so low and boring for the past few years. This year however, students and staff are trying to lift up the spirit in many ways inside and outside of school, and I can tell it’s making a big difference in morale.

Throughout the halls of A-C, school spirit echoes. Many students and teachers have been participating in various activities. Every Friday, teachers and staff have been showing their spirit and pride for A-C by wearing red and white apparel. In addition, the principal and many students are showing their excitement for the big game by spraying their hair red. This has helped school spirit by students, teachers, and staff are all getting involved in many ways to show their pride for our school.

Although pride can be seen inside of school, it is a whole different world outside of school. With the new idea of allowing tailgating and face

Spirit of the Season:

By Paxon Hayes STAFF WRITER

Yoga pants. Say those two words here at A-C, and you’ll hear endless bickering from countless females. In fact, this drama started before the school year even began. Believe it or not, girls were taking time out of their limited summer break to complain about something so pointless! It all began on social media sites. Outraged females complained and whined about how they couldn’t wear their “fashionable,” “comfy,” “trendy” spandex pants. Because of the new dress code policy enforced by new principal Mr. Wright, these clothes are now prohibited, and I couldn’t agree more!

Principal Wright said it best when he said that 90% of females that wear yoga pants don’t even participate in yoga. Yoga pants are tight. They hug hips, thighs, and butts. If they’re too small, they could easily expose some things that are too inappropriate anywhere in public. Furthermore, some of the pants are see-through if stretched too much. Can you imagine how uncomfortable faculty members must feel if they see a teen’s undergarments? Or how embarrassed a teen girl must feel if her pants were the talk of the school the days she wears them? These pants really cause nothing but trouble.

The sad part is that females know full-well that guys are looking at them when wearing those pants, so why do they wear them? Do females seek attention so desperately that they try to flaunt what they have? I really do believe some girls wear them for comfort, but I don’t see how pants that tight can be that comfortable. If you are a female, ask yourself this question- if you were allowed to wear yoga pants to school but had to wear a long shirt extending below your waist, would you still wear the pants? I think the answer would be no in most cases. It’s not the end of the world that these pants are no longer allowed in school, contrary to common beliefs. Note: The views of the author do not necessarily reflect those of the school, the Administration, the advisor, or the staff. Do you agree or disagree with Paxson? We want to hear from you for our upcoming “Letters to the Editor” section. Submit your letter to rclements@acschools.org. Put LETTER TO THE EDITOR in the subject heading!

Yoga Pants Gone Wrong

By Taylor Prentice STAFF WRITER Up until sixteen years ago, no one would have ever expected to see the day when marijuana would be legalized. But on November 5, 1996, California passed the bill approving the use of medical marijuana.

The spread of the legalization of marijuana has taken the United States by storm ever since. There are currently thirty states that have not passed legislation regarding the use of medical marijuana. Pennsylvania has not yet legalized marijuana yet, but they need to.

A study in 2009 by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Studies published that 69.7 million Americans are current users of tobacco products, 15 million abuse alcohol, and only 4.2 million abuse marijuana. These statistics reflect what scientists uncovered.

They have proven that it does not cause any sort of damage to the body; in fact, it can increase lung strength. Also it is safer than using alcohol and cigarettes, yet they are both legal. There is no reason for it to be illegal. Yet even if it is legalized, it will most likely be regulated. So what would happen if Pennsylvania were to legalize marijuana? Well it’s expected that we would actually see an improvement in the economy. In each of the twenty states that have legalized the use of medical marijuana, they have seen an increase of income profits by one to six percent in these states. In 1996 California brought in $825 million, and after they legalized marijuana they made $974 million, an 18% increase, which is one of

the largest increases the US, has ever seen. The tax that each state would be able to place on the marijuana would produce quite a bit of money that the state would be able to use for so many other things. State funding would be reduced due to the amount of income profit and would in turn reduce the amount of money lent from the government, which would result in a spike in the economy.

Also the amount of jobs that could be created if Pennsylvania would legalize the use of legal marijuana would be significant. It would create jobs in many fields, ranging from farmers to state workers.

But marijuana also has many other uses. Before the lumber industry lobbied Congress to make marijuana illegal, marijuana (known as hemp) was the primary source of fiber for the production of paper. The United States Constitution is printed on hemp. With today’s technologies this fiber can be processed into construction materials that would replace wood products saving our forests and lowering the costs of construction while producing byproducts useful in making fuels to run cars and generate electricity. Hemp is a very hearty plant and would be a good cash crop for our nation’s farmers. I hope that the state can realize all these things and legalize the use of medical marijuana. Also, if they do, we would be able to have many other things in the state of Pennsylvania, and become one of the most economically stable states in the United States. Note: The views of the author do not necessarily reflect those of the school, the Administration, the advisor, or the staff.

The Quest to Legalize Marijuana in Pennsylvania

Morale improves as school spirit becomes contagious painting at sports events, many students have been participating in these activities and getting excited for the big games. Students are constantly showing their pride for A-C by painting their faces and bodies. In addition, students are showing their school spirit by organizing different themes for each game. Not only are students supporting their players at home games, but also at away games. Many students has been taking the time to go out and support our teams. This has

helped and improved the athletes’ performance on and off the field. As the school spirit in the stands are rising, so is the desire to win in the players. Even though the spirit at A-C is nothing like what you’ve seen in the movies or on television, it has definitely improved from the past couple of years. From the new traditions of allowing to tailgate and face paint at sports

events to students spraying their hair red, it has definitely boosted the spirit. School spirit doesn’t just stop at home games, but also carries on to many away games. Many students and I expect the school spirit to grow and become more outrageous throughout the upcoming sport seasons. Continuing to lift up school spirit is very important because it sets the tone and unifies the student body together.

“Continuing to lift up school spirit is very important because it sets the tone and unifies the student body together.”

(Top) Seniors Derrick Sanders and Nate Morgan join others in the student section of the stadium for a football game.

the miley cyrus virus