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The Panther Eye March 2015

Junior Day of Caring: Cleanliness and Care for our Community!

By Nour Abdulsaid On May 22nd this year, the Juniors will ally up with Cradle Beach to commit a small deed that would make a huge positive difference in our community! Cradle Beach is an organization which supports and sponsors the importance of students' diverse fields of education, the health of our community, and provides services to economically disadvantaged children in our area. Cradle Beach is the host and creator of several beneficial programs, which involve Summer Enrichment Program (SEP), which is a camp to build up a child's experience, Project SOAR, a project which creates an active learning environment, and more. In Sweet Home High School's case, the Juniors will participate in a one day volunteer in hopes of helping the needy people of our community. What exactly will the Juniors do? First of all, the Juniors will split into two groups. One group will go to the Cradle Beach camp site for clean up, and the second half will be going around the community to pick up needed items to donate to the camp. Since the content curriculum in ELA 11 is strongly related to poverty in America, doing some hands on work to experience and to actually see what is originally taught in a classroom will assist the Juniors in understanding the issue of poverty that is present even in their own community.

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The goals of this project, along with the hands on experience which was mentioned before, is to help clean up the park and grounds for the upcoming summer camp season. The first half of Juniors will be committing to some manual labor which involves painting, staining and gardening. They will put things together in order to get the facility ready for the many children who will be attending camp this summer. On the other hand, the second half of Juniors will satisfy the needs of Cradle Beach's by accepting donations from around the Sweet Home community. Everything from ketchup, to art supplies are needed to make the future child campers' experience a great one. Hopefully, Cradle Beach and the future campers will benefit greatly from the Juniors' help—and the Juniors could feel the satisfying relief of caring for the community!

Increasing A Minimum Tension in the US Economy

By Donald Oehman The United States government has considered increasing the minimum wage since they believe minimum wage jobs are not high enough to enable parents to provide for their families. This issue shouldn’t apply to political parties. The United States government should have taken George Washington’s advice to not create political parties. This is another issue in itself. The issue behind increasing minimum wage requires a little understanding of math, economics and logic. Businesses have fixed capital, or money to spend on resources, including its workers. If these businesses that pay minimum wage to some of their employees are forced to use more of its capital, they have less money to spend on other resources that could make their business work more efficiently. As a matter of fact, most of these businesses use the majority or possibly even all of their capital with the nationwide minimum wage now. If the minimum wage is increased, they don’t have enough capital and have to go out of business. A business only has so much profit, especially for small businesses that use minimum wage labor. A business’s revenue only changes if the demand for the product it sells changes. Increasing minimum wage does not change a product’s demand. So, if a business’s total costs exceed their revenue, it is forced to close. Seattle, Washington has enforced a $15 minimum wage, and many restaurants in that area are closing. Increasing minimum wage is taking away jobs that give minimum wages! Now isn’t that ironic? The natural economy itself is not allowing this to happen. Most high school students at Sweet Home High School have minimum wage jobs. If these jobs decrease, our chances of employment decrease. To be honest, how much money high school students make doesn’t really matter, since we don’t need to provide for anybody just yet. We spend most of the money we make on coffee and new clothes that we don’t need. Employment is important for us though since we need to pay for college. We don’t really need an increased minimum wage to pay for college since we have financial assistance and college students have paid of their expenses with the minimum wage we have now. Having an increased chance of employment is more important than having a higher wage. Those who want a higher wage need to earn it. To

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those reading this that have earned bonuses on their paychecks, it required hard work to go above expectations to get those pay bonuses, right. How would you feel if people automatically got that bonus without working harder? That’s is what the increased minimum wage is doing. Those who need to provide for their families should search for jobs that would give them a higher wage. Increased minimum wage should force businesses that stay open while this is happening to increase their prices. Prices on everything will increase. For US citizens to be able to pay for these more expensive essentials, their pay needs to increase. For this to be possible, the US would need to increase money that is in circulation. This would decrease the value of the US dollar. These would lead to other nations not wanting to trade with us. This is called inflation and it has caused many nations to fall throughout the world’s history. Increasing minimum wage would eat our country from the inside out. People need to work hard to succeed in society if our capitalism that helps our economy thrive is going to stay strong. Our government can’t just give citizens that success for free, it’s not fair. Agree?

Life and Arts Xoxo, Gossip Girl by Alexandra Stasio I always find myself streaming on Netflix during my free time. However, no matter how many movies and televsion series I try to get emotionally connected to, nothing compares to the CW's Gossip Girl. I've finished this series twice and I will probably watch it a third time. I can promise that even after watching the pilot, you will become hooked. Although there are constantly new characters introduced through the series, the same five people remain a major part of the show; Serena Van Der Woodsen, Blair Waldorf, Nate Archibald, Dan Humphrey, and my personal favorite Chuck Bass. It's quite difficult to fully explain the plot due to the amount of episodes and seasons. The entire series is basically preoccupied with an anonymous resource referred to as "gossip girl." Gossip girl is literally everywhere. It's a blog that includes all of the

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current aspects of the people's lives of the "Upper East Side". It mostly revolves around the five main characters. I think the reason it's so addicting is because of how intense it is. Most people will stereotype it and say how "it's for girls" but I can honestly say that everyone and anyone can easily get really into the show despite your gender. I'd have to say that Gossip Girl is intriguing. It's not your average television show. Everyone I know that has watched it has only had positive feedback. The characters are captivating and the situations they're involved in are absorbing. Yes, they are appealing physically and the scriptwriters made each character have interesting personalities. Even so, the characters come off as rich, snobby superficial teenagers that treat each other incompetently. Nevertheless, the script is well written and it contains plenty of sarcasm, mischievous and suspense. I think this stands out so much because although it can be considered extremely dramatic, exaggerated, and glamorized, it still converges with reality and things that most teenagers have to deal with. It has the potential to change your perspective and your mindset. Spring break is in only two days. So if you don't have plans to go on vacation or to do anything exciting, I recommend subscribing to Netflix if you don't already do and watch GG. I can easily promise that you will not regret it and after finishing the series, it will have an impact on you. I can also guarantee that once you watch it once, a few months will go by and you'll crave to watch it again.

What Actors Do For Attention By Matt Mogenson We all have one thing in common. We all want to be remembered. Riggan Thompson (Keaton), a washed up actor made famous for his roles in the “Birdman” franchise, now trying to rename himself, with an adaptation by Raymond Carver. With his daughter, Sam (Stone), his trusted producer, Jake (Galifanakis) and his co-stars by his side, he is determined to make waves. When, an unexpected accident takes it part, an out of work actor, named Mike Shiner (Norton), weasel his way, into the woodwork. From that point on, Riggan pulls out all the stops, in order to be known, including kissing up to the critic, who can make or break his play. The music of the movie, was what kept me interested. However, it was references to pop culture, that really got to me. "... You mock Twitter, You don't even have a FaceBook page!"-Stone. With this movie, having being nominated for several academy awards, this picture deserves every second of praise. I highly recommend it.

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Explain to Me Like I’m 5: What’s Difference Between Road, Street, Avenue, etc.? By Dylan Rendina A road is generic and simple: it's simply a stretch connecting two places, point A and point B. A street is slightly more specific than a road, but still pretty general. It's a piece of land that joins buildings. Streets are more urban and interaction-based than roads, which are designed for efficient transportation and without any special regard to public interaction or connectedness between people and places. Avenues runs straight (north and south.) Sometimes they have bushes/trees or some form of vegetation on their sides. A Boulevard is a wide street in a residential or commercial area, a city, or town, with trees, flowers, or grass located along its sides or in its center. Technically, a highway is any publicly used way of travel, meaning nearly anything can be a highway - streets, lanes, trails, freeways, etc., Practically, however, a highway is defined as a major, publicly and extensively used road that usually connects areas like cities. A Terrace is a flat, elevated area surrounding the perimeter of a building or resting on its roof. It can also mean a row of houses. A road deemed “Place” is a typically a small-dimensioned ending road. A Run is usually located near a small body of water. A Drive is usually in a residential area or neighborhood, connects multiple houses. Note: There aren't universally accepted definitions for "road," "street," or any other term above. The definitions/rules for them vary from area to area and are extremely dependent on a particular area's needs, architecture, population, and a slew of other factors. Still, definitions for the terms shouldn't differ too much from the ones used here. A road's usage may be different somewhere else, but a road is a road.

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Divergent: Not Your Average Fiction By Lindsay Hornung I give the thrilling adventurous story a 5 out of 5. Divergent is about a girl you tries to find herself. Tris is a 16 year old protagonist of the story. She lives in a divided society made up of factions. But Tris doesn't fit into just one faction; she is divergent. She chooses to live with dauntless, which is the warrior faction. Along this journey she becomes drawn to a boy who seemed dangerous but safe. She has to make many decisions that could risk her life by trying to find out where she belongs. The book was very intriguing from the very start to the end. The plot line was unique and kept me reading. I feel as though the book is based on relationships and the truth about who we are as people. It is a journey about finding out who you are and where you belong only to learn that everyone is different. I recommend this book to people who enjoy adventure and thrill. Free It’s hard to breath your words wrapped around me can’t you see your lies are choking me with the power inside me I break free I know you’re guilty now that I'm free see that I was better off lonely -Ali Csapo

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Sports Shorts

Boys Lacrosse is on the Rise By Jason Harris

Spring is known for a lot of things... like the start of new beginnings. What sad or upsetting events that may have happened in the winter, or in the last year or so, is now in the past. For the boys’ lacrosse team, it marks the beginning of a new season. I myself witnessed what it looked like to be at the Sweet Home Varsity Lacrosse practice. It looked like this season was going to be one of their best. My conversation with Coach John Faller reads as follows:

Jason Harris: How’s the team long for the game on Thursday? (The game was declared cancelled shortly after.)

John Faller: Well this is non-league game, so we can test out some of the younger players who have yet to take the field.

JH: Are there any weaknesses in the team thus far?

JF: Everything is a weakness until proven. Until someone steps up and shows some leadership, we will be a weakness.

JH; Who are the key players that you are going to rely on the most?

JF: Well to start off, Mark Kromphart is a big part. He is out goalie and considering he is moving up from JV to Varsity, there’s’ going to be real pressure on him to stick in there. Then there is Luke Ciminelli and Wayne McDonald on defense. They are really good in the clutch so I will be looking on them to keep the defense tight. Then there is Connor Heald and Kyle Ciehomski on midfield.

After out conversation, I was able to chat with goaltender Mark Kromphart, where he had the following to say about the start of the season and his position as a starter:

“ I feel confident and considering I have only lost five games in total for the five years I have played. I feel good.”

JH: Do you feel any pressure as the starter for your first year on varsity?

MK: Yeah I’m feeling the pressure, and if the emotions get to the defense, I’m the last line of defense to stop them.

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Boys Basketball is Back and Better Than Ever By Rob Siegler

Sweet Home's regular season has ended and it can be described in a few words: Pride, determination, and fun. Over the last 10 games, the boys have gone 8-2. That's quite an improvement since the beginning of the season, where they couldn't find harmony on the court. Having eight seniors on the team really helped get everything in-line and ready for the playoffs. The team, as a whole, has improved every aspect of their game since the pre-season. Things such as free throws have drastically improved and the numbers show in the books. Most importantly, they've all grown up and realized they have what it takes to bring home the gold for the team once again. In Friday night's playoff dual against Williamsville East, Sweet Home came out on top. The final score tallied out to be 70-55 Sweet Home. Senior Brandon Smiley led the team defensively with 11 blocks. They will play North Tonawanda at Buffalo State on Monday. Sweet Home has a great chance to build on their success and make an even stronger name for themselves, proving that they're no ordinary high school basketball team. They're a family.

Tiana Luton on the medal stand

after taking 2nd in the EE highjump at nationals!

Photo courtesy of @SweetHomeXCTF

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Acknowledgements: Guest Contributors

Hussein Hashim, Staff Photographer Donald Oehman, Staff Writer

Ali Csapo, Staff Writer Alexandra Stasio, Staff Writer

Nour Abdulsaid, Staff Writer & Illustrator Lindsey Hornung, Staff Writer

Dylan Rendina, Staff Writer Matt Mogensen, Senior Editor

Mrs. Feyes, Advisor

Special Thanks to: Sweet Home Sports Central, Contributors

Call for Articles!

Attention all aspiring journalists, photographers, and poets! The Panther Eye is always accepting new members. We welcome all Sweet Home High School students to submit articles to The Panther Eye. We are interested in your ideas, opinions, reviews, poems, cartoons, thoughts, advice and observations. All piece submitted must include the writer’s or artist’s name and be in compliance with our district’s policy on appropriate material for the school newspaper. So what do you think? Have any compliments to give? Have any complaints? Did you especially enjoy a school event, field trip or class discussion? Write about it! If you would like to contribute to the paper, please seek out Mrs. Feyes for more information on meetings, submission guidelines and approaching deadlines. lfeyes@sweethomeschools.org