lpahomov

SLA Interviews: Why we do them

December 14, 2015 by lpahomov Leave a Comment

Chuckie Copeland

Staff writer

The months of November and December are very busy here at SLA. Over two weekends, 1,002 students from all over the city came to this campus and be interviewed as prospective students. The part of Interviews that students at SLA are really are eager for, is signing up to volunteer as a helper for those days.

According to english teacher Larissa Pahomov, SLA had a record number of student sign ups to help out with the interview days as floaters, interviewers, and other jobs. This was in part because SLA Beeber students who signed up as well. But why did a record number of students want to “waste” their weekend to help out with the future of the school?

For some like Junior Aldo Caushaj, Interviews bring back a sense of nostalgia. “ I remember my interview and I remember being so so nervous and the students in the writing room helped me calm down.”

When asked about his look on interviews Caushaj described it as, “a great experience, I actually like the interviews cause your getting a look at a student, and not a piece of paper.”

His reasoning?

“A student could have good resume, but where’s the personality. When you go work you have to communicate with others. I want to see the person who is going to be the new part of this school.”

Seniors Bella Mezzaroba and Osman Bangura wanted to make the whole process as stress free as possible.

“Interviews are integral to SLA, but they are tricky when interviewing stressed kids,” said Mezzaroba.

They agreed that when you interviewed a nervous candidate, it took away their time to shine as an individual and made the candidate feel more monotonous. The point of interviews is to make people comfortable and calm in a very stressful time, but it’s not just the students who play a big role in this process, the teachers are working harder than ever.

Her first interview process for this school was in 2008, and since then veteran teacher Larissa Pahomov has seen a lot change since then.

“The biggest change is that now we interview kids with students from both campuses.” The new SLA Beeber may have opened not too long ago but this is the first time that students from both places interview prospective eighth graders and it certainly is not the last year.

Pahomov stated that one of the greatest things about interviews is, “seeing current SLA students blossom” and taking interest in the future of their school. However one challenge that she brought up, and other students did as well, was “keeping interviews personal.” To crank out interviews in ten minutes is what she described as a “meaningful machine.”

Interviews are done for the year, but the effect of them will reach far into the future. Of the many students who interview, only 250 will end up coming to SLA Center City or SLA Beeber next year — so for most of the 8th graders who interview, this is their only real connection to the school. Making a good impression and not feel stressed about the whole interview process is very complicated when you are taught that your high school determines the rest of your life. So many students here care about each interviewee and their success of getting into this school which is only something that you can find at SLA.

Underused Character: Felipe Lobos

December 14, 2015 by lpahomov Leave a Comment

Sean Morris

Staff Writer

Hello everyone, this is a new features column I shall be writing for. Essentially its purpose is to spotlight characters from the world of Film TV and other media have massive potential for exploration and deserve bigger roles than they currently have.

The popular Starz series Power is centered around James St. Patrick, a legitimate businessman and nightclub owner who is also Ghost, one of New York’s top drug kingpins, and is is hoping to break from the latter career. One of the main obstacles in his path is his crime boss, Felipe Lobos. In the series, Lobos is one of the main antagonists with a violent and vicious nature, and is the source of the FBI’s investigation into the drug ring that Ghost is a part of.

Despite the fact that he mentioned many times and has a few scenes- he’s never given much chance to show his dangerousness in person. He’s given a few moments like where he seems to be interrogating someone and is preparing to chop up people with a machete- but we never get see any of the “blood spilt” that he seems prepared to do. And the show doesn’t exactly shy from violence either- so it doesn’t make much to keep Lobos under wraps the way that they choose to. What I think the character needs, and seems to be going for- is a kind the violent, controllable criminal that characters like Gyp Rosetti (Boardwalk Empire), Don Logan (Sexy Beast), and Norman Stansfield (Léon the Professional) had perfected. I don’t know if it’s because the actor’s schedule simply limited how much they could do with them, but I feel as though the show’s next season will have some more opportunity to have him and I seriously hope they can take advantage of it. One thing I find unique about the character is his sense of style. The styles of his suits and shirts are bold, unique and interesting enough to make him one of the best dressed men on tv.

Another thing that I like about the character, at least from a personal standpoint, is that he is gay. I liked that I think it allows diversity into how gay characters are incorporated into current television. . Often it seems like most, gay characters are portrayed as more friendly– the gay boyfriend and whatnot–and, as a result, aren’t given much edge that seems to be coveted in today’s entertainment. Not everybody agrees with my wish on this — One reviewer complained that making the character gay is a bit homophobic as it’s meant to add to his “freakiness”, and certainly not helping the show is having notoriously homophobic rapper 50 Cent being its executive producer and co star. And while I do see their points, and at times wonder it myself, I can’t help but think that the overall character, or at least the potential of the character, offers some more flavor and diversity we haven’t seen much before.

Plot twist this character deserves: (write a few sentences describing the kind of plot that would give this character a chance to shine.)

Lobos escapes from prison and goes on a warpath on Ghost’s life. He blows up the club that Ghost has worked to bring up the entire show, brutally tortures his right hand man and close friend Tommy, goes after his love interest and FBI investigator Angela Valdez and starts the set up his old mentor and rival Kanan to take Ghost’s place as the leader of his New York distribution. This may sound pretty big, but when Ghost said that “Lobos goes scorched earth” I expect to see it.

The Naked Truth: Sexting Scandal Slams Colorado School

December 12, 2015 by lpahomov 1 Comment

Arielle Moore

Staff Writer

Nowadays, picture and video media apps such as Twitter and Vine have become increasingly popular with the new wave of social networking and technology. With this discovery, teens and young adults have discovered new ways to communicate with friends, like pictures or articles, and even display their own content. In these instances, social media can be harmless, but for one Colorado school Instagram is for more than just snapping selfies.

At Cañon City High School, activities such as parties and football games are normal aspects of everyday life as adolescents. Of course communication is a large part of teen interactment, and with phones at their disposal it’s quite easy to send a ten-second invitation to the park for the weekend. At Cañon City high school, a few creative teens decided to turn the use of an innocent photo sharing app into one of the largest scandals the school has ever seen.

For hundreds of students, social media has been used to exchange racy images of themselves between their friends and classmates via “PhotoVault”. Photovault is an app used to send and receive photos that are only visible to you. With this information at their fingertips, the students decided to turn their snapshot-taking into a game, using a point system depending on the level of value the image held. Because of this, many students were pressured to take part in the game which slowly evolved it into a school-wide phenomenon. Within a few months, thousands of photographs were taken and the exchange system between classmates had exploded. With the scandal finally surfacing, a large percentage of the school’s population was suspended and many families have been hurt upon finding out that their children or their children’s classmates had participated in such a scandalous pastime.

So what does the SLA community think of such an ongoing trend? Most students deemed sexting as something that is simply not for school, or even for minors in general. “I don’t think it’s appropriate,” says sophomore Destiny Patton. “You shouldn’t be taking nude photos in school.”

Some though, took a more diplomatic approach to the situation. Junior Jaiye Omowamide says: “Minors shouldn’t be sending nudes unless they’re in strong relationships. They need mutual communication, but must also be made aware of the consequences.”

SLA technology teacher Marcie Hull also had a few comments to include about our school and how teens should be handling such situations if ever involved. “The line between protecting student privacy and protecting them from their own dangerous behavior moves and changes shape! It is really a student by student decision making process. I try very hard to explain, to students, in a overarching way, how to protect themselves online,” she explains. ” This explanation has to start with the basics of how the internet works and making students realize that if a photograph leaves your hard drive, even if it is put in a cloud storage, the student no longer has control over who sees or could possibly see that photograph, now and forever in the future. That is the long way of saying there is no line as long as the student is aware of how these tools work and how to protect themselves. It is way better for everyone if the lessons learned turn on an intrinsic motivator to keep one’s online life squeaky clean.”

What do you think? Is sexting just some passing fad or do you think it’s just another activity on the list of teen past-times?

Image: http://www.savvykidsofarkansas.com/savvyblog/is-your-teen-sexting/

The 100: Lord of the Mutant Flies

December 11, 2015 by lpahomov Leave a Comment

Staff Writer: Dylan McKeon

Today YA novel trilogies are very popular… and very generic. They often follow a set of cliches: there’s a love triangle, the teens are always fighting to survive, there’s an oppressive dystopia, and eventually the books get made into a movie trilogy with the third book split into two parts.

It’s because of these cliches I was a little nervous about the new TV series The 100, which is based on a YA trilogy. What’s more, the first episode seemed to make it clear that most of these cliches were going to be a regular part of the story. However, the series proved to be much better than I had originally excepted, with the characters forced to make some dark decisions in order to survive to the point that I questioned if they even deserved to live.

The story takes place about a century after a nuclear war which destroyed the civilization on Earth, forcing the remains of the human race to flee the planet in a space station known as the Ark. With oxygen running low on the Ark, the council decides to send 100 teens to Earth to test if it’s habitable. Earth turns out to be perfectly fine for the teens; however, the radio was broken in the crash so they have no way to communicate with the Ark.

While the first half of the first season suffers from feeling like a post-apocalyptic soap opera with a love triangle and attractive actors, the series improves as it show the grim nature of the world the teens live in. The characters are forced to make some tough decisions, ranging from mercy kills to sacrificing three hundred people to potentially save everyone on the Ark. By the end of the first season, the characters prove to be complex and willing to go to extreme methods in order to stay alive.

The story feels similar to Lord of the Flies for the first season with its focus on survival and the struggle to form a society before focusing on the conflict between the 100 and native survivors living on Earth known as the Grounders. The Grounders live in a society lacking the much of the morals of the old world. This creates an interesting dynamic between the two groups in terms of leadership and society.

The second season expands on these themes and starts out strong by introducing a new society known as the Mountain Men on the post-apocalyptic Earth, showing the how the characters have grown since the first season, and getting an awesome intro. It’s here that the show improves on it’s flaws and really dives deep into its themes of leadership and survival.

Leadership is the main concept that forces the characters to make such dark decision and it’s interesting to see how this is justified by a need to protect their people. Clarke (Eliza Taylor) is the prime example willing to make a difficult alliance and compromise many morals in order to save 47 of her friends. Jasper (Devon Bostick) a light hearted character who rarely played a major role in the first season was forced to step up to act as a leader. One of the most interesting examples comes from Jaha (Isaiah Washington) who faces the difficult task of finding a purpose, once his leadership is no longer needed.

The Mountain Men act as the main antagonist of the season, living in a bunker and unable to go outside due to the radiation. While they appear to have a friendly and civilized society they are also forced to do terrible things to survive in a way that makes them seem both sympathetic and cruel. It’s here that the show truly comes into it’s own and delivers an excellent season topped off with an unforgettable finale.

In conclusion, the show is surpassing the series it was adapted from, with a willingness to go darker and deeper into the characters and setting. The look at the moral choices and the consequence give it an interesting and dark story and the justification of the actions help add to moral ambiguity of the characters.

The third season of The 100 will air on Thursday, January 21 on the CW. The first two seasons can be found on Netflix.

Birth Control, Will New Laws Spread Like A Wildfire?!

December 10, 2015 by lpahomov Leave a Comment

By Vilma Martinez

Staff Writer

Birth Control Pill Container --- Image by Beathan — *Birth Control Pill Container – Image by Beathan*

Birth control pills will be over the counter?! When I first heard the news, I thought that was crazy, but apparently it is true. Oregon and California have recently changed their laws and are making the pill available over the counter, without a prescription from a doctor.

I understand that this might not concern people in Philadelphia, but eventually it will. . I say this because now that laws are changing, it won’t be long until oral contraceptives (the official name for birth control pills) become over the counter all throughout the U.S. Many women are involved in sexual activity and it is only a matter of time until everyone realizes that measure such as making oral contraceptives over the counter, is something that needs to be done for the benefit of all women alike.

This development is especially important for teenagers because up to 16% of teens are sexually active by the time they are 15 , 48% when 16 and 17, 61% when 18, and 71% when 19. It is important for teens who want to prevent pregnancy to know this information because they might realize the risks in avoiding birth control. Pregnancy is a serious topic and many teens alike find the idea of it horrifying. Taking oral contraceptives are probably one of the most comfortable ways of birth control for teen girls.

Believe it or not the U.S all together is one of 45 different countries where contraceptives are legal, but are not available OTC. Many other countries either offer them or do not have them at all. U.S needs this push because women need the medical attention when they need it without questions asked, but I also see where they are coming from.

When taking the pill you are exposing yourself to many health problems, such as migraines and high blood pressure. Though there are more severe problems. You have increased risks of cervical and breast cancer, heart attacks, and strokes. You also have a chance of developing Gallbladder Disease, liver tumors, and infertility. This list goes on, which is why they are taking their time on making the pill over the counter.

Birth control pills cost up to $600 a year when a woman does not have insurance to cover it. So what about those women who need the pill? Why should they lose a leg or an arm in order to obtain birth control? I think that the U.S is doing good by making moves like this. Which leaves me with the question of how long will it take for this to be spread throughout the entire U.S? And will the U.S continue to make smart moves like these?