By: Jeremy B.
Posted: February 13, 2012
Whether it’s painting, sculpting, music components or inventions today’s modern society revolves around fine arts. Jobs such as architecture involve creative thinking, but it’s not the only aspect of a career that involves this. To create new inventions imagination, it seems that becoming a successful artist, musician, designer and inventor doesn’t come naturally at birth but is instead obtained through exposure to the fine arts.

Many people ask the question “How can fine arts help in other job fields.” It may be true that you will not use art in each job you do. This is where other subjects come to help students along, such as math, English, and science help students in specific field such as astronomy, neuroscience, novel and poetic writing. Many other careers can be pursued with math, science, and English. People say these are the important classes, the ones needed to get a career. To some extent this is true; these three specific subjects come up in almost every career you would to pursue, so why have fine arts in schools?

The reason is simple. Creative thinking is involved in everything you do. How can this be helpful in life? It’s clear that creative thinking comes from a person’s drive to find the best, more effective, or elegant solution. This can be obtained through fine arts which will push students to further challenge themselves and are less like to give up on a task. It’s these skills that are obtained through fine arts and used in many ways in the job field. Students need fine arts because its classes like band, art, theatre and video production that interest students and encourage them to go to school. It gets students brains to think and imagine things they never have before. It expands their knowledge and perspective on modern society.

Fine arts are not just help for the world. It’s also helpful for the individual involved in any creative program in school. It keeps the individual out of trouble, and discovers an activity that they love to do.

By: Thomas B.
Posted: February 10, 2012
People often by nature find themselves searching for their identity. As we experiment with different clothing, hairstyles, and social circles, we begin to develop a sense of who we are as individuals, but are we really individuals? Or are we just products of extensive marketing? Is it actually possible to completely break free of the mainstream?

Youth today swarm over the newest fashion trends, often without giving it a second thought. I recall in seventh grade, I was one of the only boys in my P.E. class to be wearing full length socks. I didn’t think much of it, but I soon found myself wearing ankle-length socks like the rest of them. It’s not that I necessarily liked those socks any better than the socks I had before, I just somehow felt the need to adopt the more prominent style.

I think this is the case with many people. They start wearing clothes they never would have been caught dead wearing last month. They listen to music that would have sounded like garbage before this sudden, seemingly out of the blue change in taste. But is it really all that sudden? What came over that person to suddenly ditch their Justin Beiber CDs for a Nirvana album?

Marketing, defined by the American Marketing Association as "The activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large." In other words, companies convincing people to buy their crap. Unfortunately none of us are safe from the sneaky marketing powers of the large corporations that keep our materialistic society thriving, even during these economic times. In fact, one could even say that it’s easier to sell to certain people when they are going through hard times, because they’re more desperate.

In my personal experience, I’ve gone through some hard times, and I’m sure you have as well. Now when I’m angry with my life, I’m probably not going to be in the mood to listen to “baby, baby, baby ohhhhh” accompanied by a chipper danceable beat. I’d much rather hear Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” as I lie on my bed screaming into my pillow releasing my teenage angst into the depths of my mattress. I could be listening to any of the thousands of other (and possibly better) bands that could more accurately describe how I am feeling, but their CDs weren’t available in Hot Topic, now were they?

KC Journalism students were recently challenged to write an article about now-dead proposed legislation to curb on-line piracy. SOPA, or the Stop Online Piracy Act, was strongly supported by media and private industry, while many human rights organizations believed it compromised First Amendment rights.  Our winning article, by Royce B., is featured on our front page. Click over to our Op/Ed page for Thomas B.'s 2nd place article.

By: Royce B.
Posted: February 3, 2012
A black screen stares back at me. My paper is due in a few hours and I am unable to access the most essential tool to my scholastic life. I sit back in my chair in frustration. Wikipedia is blacked out in protest of two upcoming bills being proposed in congress: SOPA and PIPA. I need to get this paper done, and this censorship is in the way of it. This is an inconvenience, but imagine if this was everyday life spread out all over the Internet?

 For those who are unaware of what SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) and PIPA (Protect Intellectual Property Act) are, let me explain. SOPA and PIPA are both designed to stop illegal downloading, uploading, or hosting of copyrighted materials such as song lyrics, music, movies, books, and photographs. Both pieces of legislation allow the copyright holders (the entertainment industry) to censor websites that have their material on them, and even the ability to shut them down.

The impact of this legislation, if it passes, will be massive. Let’s say you post a video from Youtube to your Facebook of you and your friends dancing and singing to Party Rock Anthem. If Interscope Records finds out that you are using their material, you could be sued, your Youtube and Facebook accounts could be terminated, and the entire website could be shut down. 

 I've known about SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) and PIPA (Protect IP Act) since they were introduced back in September 2011. I watched protests grow from several hundred to several thousands and lately, several millions. I also watched companies supporting SOPA and PIPA withdraw in fear of losing business.

Online piracy is a big problem for large film and music corporations. They lose millions annually, but don’t feel so bad. If you think that Adele isn't able to put food on her table because someone pirated her albums, you're wrong. When you buy a CD your money is split up between many parts of the production process. The majority of money is given to the record company and the producers. Less than 3 percent of CD sales go to the artist. So essentially, if you pirate, you’re making billionaires lose tens of millions of dollars that they could have used to buy another private jet.

SOPA and PIPA aren't going to end online piracy. Even the least tech savvy person can get what they want. By simply typing in a websites IP address, you can get by the curtain of censorship. Offshore sites that hold the copyrighted materials will still distribute them throughout the world, and there is nothing SOPA or PIPA could do about it.

 As I sit back in my chair I realize how much I take the Internet for granted. A black screen stares back at me. I refresh the page in vain. A single tear runs down my cheek. I couldn't imagine living in a world where this is common place, much like China. I don't want to live in an America censored like China. I want to live in an America where I can do as I please on the Internet. If I want to look at Lolzcats or watch gore, I can.

By: Thomas B.
Posted: February 3, 2012
I hate being restrained. I feel that knowledge is freedom, and if our access to information is compromised, so is our freedom. The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) states that its purpose is "To promote prosperity, creativity, entrepreneurship, and innovation by combating the theft of U.S. property, and for other purposes." This may sound good on paper, but when applied to reality, it may end up doing just the opposite.

On January 18th, 2012, Wikipedia, Google, and Cheezburger Networks, among many other prominent websites participated in a mass “black-out” to protest SOPA. If the bill were to take effect, websites, could be censored or shut down without due process. This would greatly affect web content and render many widely-used online sources irrelevant.

People who are in favor of the bill point out the severity of online piracy and the negligence that the tech industry has developed. They claim that musicians and film makers, among many other professionals, are losing a significant amount of profit as a result of online piracy. This may hold true to some extent, but only a fraction of these markets are online, and the impact isn’t necessarily as direct as one may be lead to believe.

 I most certainly do not support piracy, but I don’t think bills like SOPA are the best solution to the problem. People will always find a way around it. Maybe the focus should be on the benefits of paying for content and not on forcing people to pay for it. Force, restraint, censorship—it’s been done, and not with much success. 

By: Thomas B.
Posted: January 12, 2012
Cell phones have become an enormous part of our everyday lives. We take them everywhere with us. Sure, they can be a distraction sometimes, but recent research shows that cell phones may be affecting more than just our social graces.  The National Cancer Institute has done studies showing that radiofrequency energy emitted by mobile communication devices can be absorbed by tissues closest to where the phone is held. With the number of cell phone users increasing rapidly (303 million subscribers in the US alone as of April 2010) combined with substantial changes in cell phone technology, has cued researchers to take a closer look at how cell phones are affecting the most essential of machines - our bodies. 

 Excessive text messaging has proven to cause hand and/or wrist pain, and could possibly result in tissue damage. According to some experts, this can be prevented by using different fingers (other than your thumb) to type and navigate mobile devices. It's also suggested to avoid lengthy typing tasks; however, one could argue that the QWERTY keyboard layout is implemented for this purpose.

 Cell phone technology is relatively new when compared to other widely adopted technologies such as the television and the personal computer. So how worried should you be about your cell phone harming your body? Not very. Despite growing concern, there's no hard evidence connecting health problems directly to mobile phone radiation…yet.

By: Mariah B.
Posted: January 18, 2012
The new attendance policy of 2011-2012 is a lot better than last year’s policy. This new policy helps students develop the responsibility of self-discipline. By know students should know their own responsibilities in life and what to make of it. Everywhere we go there is always going to be rules and responsibilities, so we should learn them well while growing up and get used to them. Rules are going to be with us for the rest of our lives. 

With the new attendance policy, when a student misses a day they have to turn in a note within three days. If they don’t turn in the note within three days, it will be an unexcused and will turn into a NG (no grade) for each class that they missed. They will have to make it up in Attendance School to avoid the loss of course credit. If you are assigned to go to Attendance School you have up to two weeks to do it. If you go to Attendance School you must present an Attendance School pass when you arrive. Also, students must choose what subject they want or they will be assigned one. 

Also, the coolest thing this year is that we get to have pre-arranged absences. This allows students to make an arrangement with the Vice Principal to miss up to ten days, so you can take a trip, go camping, or even go hunting with the family. However students may not take more than five pre-arranges absences per semester without having to complete a make-up session.

This new attendance policy is a lot different this year than last year. Last year we did not have the Attendance School to make up the days we missed. We had to make them up in Saturday School. Also, we did not have the NG (no grade) status for not turning in an excused note. We had all the time we need to make up the day(s) we missed, so if a student did not turn in a note for the day(s) they missed, they still got their grade. I personally don’t think they deserve that grade unless they made it up in Attendance School. This year is much better and it lets students be more responsible for their attendance. Also it prepares us for college and the workplace.

By: Thomas B.
Posted: January 12, 2012
When did you last use a computer? Were you doing last minute research for that paper due on Monday? Thumbing away text messages on your BlackBerry? Downloading your favorite band’s new album off of iTunes?

Computers are everywhere and come in many shapes and sizes. They have become a huge part of our everyday lives. A large percentage of the knowledge people have of the world is being obtained through the World Wide Web. Computers once took up entire rooms. We can now access boundless information from devices the size of a deck of cards.

People of my generation are known as “digital natives.” We’ve grown up with this technology. This doesn’t mean that I’m ignorant about the times before me. I utilize the technology I have access to today to read about times passed, as well as times to come. The internet is a magnificent resource. It is truly a world of its own. 

I can get a plethora of information on virtually any topic I can think of. At this very moment I am struggling with how I am going to style my hair today. To get inspiration, I need simply think of some simple adjectives that describe my current hair length as well as a style I may find appealing. For example: “short messy guy’s hair”

I then type that into Google and open up images and I am presented with thousands upon thousands of choices in a matter of seconds. Voila, the power of the internet.

For me, computers are a medium for me to express myself, a window to the rest of the world that I’ve never seen, a mirror to reflect on myself as a person, a toy to tinker with when I’m bored, a way to interact with my friends when I’m not near them, a way to make new friends I would have never met otherwise, a way to make my thoughts legible, a limitless library of literary works, a radio/jukebox, a movie theater, a school, a journal, a drawing pad, a camera… computers are all of these things, and so much more.

Computers are in every classroom at school, and in recent years, in many students’ pockets. It’s difficult to truly describe what significant impact computers have had and are having on the modern world. These devices are becoming more than just tools for people to use. They are becoming an extension of people themselves.