AIS Press U

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UAIS PRESS

Will the real jb please stand up?

B y: S a n a c h i s h t i
What's really annoying is how so many people have forgotten who truly represents the initials: JB. Nowadays, people assume Justin Bieber owns the trademark just because hes mentioned so often in conversations, Facebook groups, and yes, even the news. Sure the kid has more talent than hair flips, but so did a former popular band not so long ago, but seemingly long forgotten: The Jonas Brothers. They were just as successful as Bieber in having their own movie in 3D, had countless tours, and as for Selena Gomeztheyve been there, done that (just kidding, who could forget those special rings of theirs?). In my opinion, the real JB would have something different that separates them from the other...something like a television series *coughJonasLAcough*. Way before the Biebs, Joe Jonas claimed the title of the teenage girl heartthrob, but I guess if were going to talk about a real JB being a ladys man, we might as well throw Johnny Bravo in there as well. In the end, Justin Bieber may have a bigger fan base, but the Jonas Brothers have some seriously dedicated fans. Recently, Bieber had lost 80,000 fans just because of one hair cut! After polling random students throughout the school, I found that 2/3 of IB students prefer the Jonas Brothers over Justin Bieber. While Justin Bieber's future may look brightespecially now that he can see where he's goingno one can say the Jonas Brothers are one boy toy short of a barber shop quartet.

Peace, love, erm harmony?

B y: V i c to r i a bu g ayo n g
Freshmeat, freshies, frosh, the freshmen. Its no wonder that our mascot has become those largely obnoxious orange construction barrels. The freshmen either thought that the article was funny, or have never read about the comical jab at our grade. We freshmen do realize that the upperclassmen dislike us. I mean, its not very difficult to figure out. Which turns me to the question, what makes us so annoying? Maybe its our volume. Perhaps its the seeming lack of respect that the freshmen have for the sophomores and juniors. According to one of the teachers here at UAIS, we (freshmen) are rowdier than the previous grades, and the rest of the faculty has realized it as well. So wait, is the whole school against us? Thankfully, no. The freshmen seem to think that we are despised by the upperclassmen due to our obnoxiousness, and in all, we arent very far off. Junior Leanne Pregizer jokingly states, Theres about five or so freshmen that I actually like, but the rest of them? Umm Avoid eye contact. Leanne may be joking, but she does have a point. There are a lot of freshmen that do things that are embarrassing and immature. The sophomores and juniors seem to get along just fine. Actually, they get along great! They dents, who have lots of selfconfidence, and with no doubt, energy. These qualities might help us in the long run as the piles and piles of homework keep getting taller. I mean, yeah. We freshmen are smart. But, we really come across as idiots from the way we act and the way we speak. The upperclassmen dont seem to like the freshmen, but weve got each other and we could be just one big happy family by ourselves. Its not like the sophomores and juniors are going to go after us and pull any odd pranks on certain targeted freshmen before the end of the year right? Right!

were the first two grades here, and the groups were smaller, and probably more serious. From my point of view, the freshmen seem to be less serious, and more like party animals. Granted, the freshmen are quite motivated stu-

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Bieber fever By: Leanne pregizer

Yes, the newspaper staff couldnt have an obsession theme and not talk about the famous Justin Bieber! Bieber fever is in the air! People of all ages go crazy any time they hear his name, either with love or with anger. When it comes to Justin Bieber, there are two kinds of crazed fans. First, there are the crazy teenage girls who have posters covering every inch of their walls and play his music constantly. Then, there is an obsession with hating on him for everything he does. Whether it is his high pitched voice or his hair, this type will find any excuse to insult the star. Whether people are obsessed with loving him or obsessed with hating him, the Bieber hair is legend, and even made CNN news when he got his infamous hair cut. Many of the students at the Academy have their own opinion on Biebers new hair. Some feel his new hair cut makes him look his age, and not so much like a twelve-year-old boy who hasnt hit puberty yet. Others feel the sacred flippy hair that we have grown to know and love should not have been touched. Then there are the people who couldnt care less. If anyone else got a haircut, it would not have been this big of a deal. Because it is teen heart throb Justin Bieber, crazed fans have many different opinions on this very touchy subject. No matter what side youre on, the obsession for this star will be around for a while, or until his voice finally changes.

The Grade Manifesto By: Joseph Schroder

I would like to take this opportunity to discuss an obsession which acutely affects our school: grades.
The whole history of school life hitherto has been a history of grades. Those well versed in their manifestos will hopefully enjoy the pun. But, some critics of the current grade system have believed it closer to the truth claiming that grades promote a factory mentality with students as workers and supervisors disguised as teachers. Alfie Kohn, one such critic, in his article, From Degrading to DeGrading, has listed and supplied studies of the negative effects of the traditional grade system. Among the charges: grades ruin student interest in learning and quality of thought, students are less likely to challenge themselves due to the fear of a falling GPA, grades produce greater possibility of cheating, and worry and anxiety destroys student-teacher relation. Even standardized tests cannot escape the charges. The Detroit Free Press recently published an article in which it investigated unlikely gains in MEAP scores. Working with other newspapers and the Hechinger Institute at Columbia University the Free Press studied several states and found, that 34 schools in Michigan 32 in metro Detroit showed test score gains over a one year period that experts say are statistically improbable,. Along with this a whole host a various charges against individual schools was presented including one case in which a teacher actually told children to change their answers. It seems the pressure of the grading system affects teachers as well. Kohn and the Free Press are not the only ones to investigate. Organizations such as the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD), Students Against Testing (SAT), and the Alternative Education Resource Organization (AERO) are working for change. The first trouble is where to go next. Evaluation is a necessary part of learning and growth as a student but what method besides grades could work? Alternatives such as mastery grading and contract-grading have been suggested as steps in the right direction. Mastery grading does not factor time taken to learn a skill into the grade while in contract-grading, teacher and student set and agree upon what requirements will be met for a particular grade. Others, like Kohn, seem to be in favor of abandoning the entire system. Student growth would be measured by narratives and portfolios of students work and parent-teacherstudent conferences. The second Obstacle is even more formidable: the bureaucracy of higher education. When asked why they use grades, primary schools point to secondary schools who in turn identify colleges and universities as the culprit. The fear that colleges will not accept someone who has not been labeled a GPA is stronger than the desire to change the system in many cases. People like Kohn have been working to overcome this (attached to Kohns article is a letter to colleges that can be used to inform colleges that your school is no longer participating in the traditional grade system). Will a new form of evaluation gradually be instituted? Or will the traditional system prove its merits? Whichever the case, Kohn and the others like him will not be the sole determining factors. The grade system is eventually what the students demand or resign themselves to. It is not for the administrators or teachers to control; they already have their education (at least we hope). It is the students education. Perhaps it is time they honestly evaluate it.

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NEWSLETTER TITLE

A r e yo u a c r e e p e r ? B y: M e g a n s c h r a m
A very popular trend these days is Facebook, an internet sensation that allows people to communicate online. When you sign up for an account, you are automatically given your own profile. You can set up your privacy settings to protect yourself and your friends. But, sometimes people want their profile to be open to the eyes of the public. This, and the fact that some friends can occasionally become obsessed with you, can lead to an addicting activity that is commonly referred to as Facebook Stalking. A major case of this is when ones main priority is to look at every piece of information posted, every photo uploaded, and every status/wall post that has ever been created relating to the person that is on their mind. A more minor case of this is when one just wants to see what a friend is up to, but ends up lingering a bit too long for comfort. You know youve done it before. You see an extremely hot guy in class and what do you do about it? You look him up. Admit it. Youre human. Being curious is just a part of that. However, Im not encouraging that you stalk people. There is the hope that this stage of your Facebook Fascination as I like to call it, will wear down and youll learn a valuable lesson. A Facebook profile doesnt fully describe a person, and lots of people lie on their profiles. Youll discover that by taking a chance and just talking to that hot guy at school, you are getting to know him for who he really is. Plus, doing this can actually improve your communication skills that you will need for the real world; most importantly, the IB Diploma. Yes, life is difficult and sometimes humiliating, but dont waste your time creeping on someone online if you can creep up on them in person.

Va m p i r e s s u c k B y: M e g a n P e n z ko f e r
Team Edward, or Team Jacob? Its the question thats been haunting screaming teenage girls for years. The Twilight saga became a phenomenon almost instantly, creating a brand new, and rather sparkly, form of pop culture. The vampire trend extends beyond Stephanie Meyer, the series creator, to comic books, novels, movies, video games, and even clothing. The fans debate endlessly over vampires and werewolves. They attempt to make decisions about who is the perfect match for Bella, the clueless human who is caught in the middle, but spend more time gushing about which actor they think is hotter. To add complications to this already confusing storyline, while the arguments within the fan base are occurring, alternative parties such as Team Potter are gaining ground. Everyone has a side to choose, and most are willing to spend two hours watching awful, emotionless acting and low-grade special effects onscreen in order to catch a glimpse of Robert Pattinsons pale and creepily asymmetrical chest, or Taylor Lautners overly tan and muscular abs. Others pay for tickets simply to scream loudly and throw popcorn. Whatever the reason for watching may be, the three released movies have been huge hits, with the final installment coming out later on this year. We cant knock the series forever, though. The last movie has turned out significantly better than the first, and who knows, this last performance could be the Breaking Dawn of a decent teen movie series.

dubstep B y: E r i c k rys i n s k i
Dubstep. You may have heard the name, and youve almost surely heard the characteristic wobbling bass and heavy synths, but you may not have heard why. As this subgenre has become more possible, one must stop to look at its history. Starting in south east London clubs, the two-step beats in drum and bass clubs started to get heavy and started using low frequency oscillators (LFOs), and generally wobbled into the future. After staying underground for a number of years, artists such as Datsik, Chasing Shadows, Rusko, and Skrillex brought the genre closer to the mainstreams with remixes of popular songs. Now, music producers are starting to realize the allure of the more brutal electronica and are putting wobbling bass lines into popular songs, such as One Trick Pony by Deadmau5, and Black and Yellow by Whiz Kahlifa, which all feature elements of dubstep. The next time you hear something shaking, consider dancing instead of turning off your washing machine.

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The modern rivalry

B y: K e v i n t e l l e r
When thinking of up-andcoming artists, two that prevalently come to mind for 2010 and into 2011 are the pop singer Bruno Mars and the folk rock band Mumford & Sons. Recently, at the 2011 BRIT Awards, Mumford won the Mastercard British album award for their album Sigh No More. The band has undoubtedly been experiencing an increase in popularity in the past year, coming in at number three on the Billboard Top 200. With their brand of innovative harmonies, both vocally and instrumentally, on top of philosophic metaphors, there is good reason to appreciate their work. Hailing from the West London folk scene, they use instruments that are slightly less common in most mainstream music. Such instruments include but are not limited to: mandolin, accordion, banjo, dobro, flugelhorn, and string bass. With their abilities and creativity, one can only wonder what they might innovate next. Next up is Bruno Mars, or as hes known back in Hawaii, Peter Hernandez. Hes had a bit more than his fair share in the limelight lately due to a certain misdemeanor in Vegas. But looking at the positives that the past year has held, the Grammy-winning singer has had one of the most prolific writing periods on the charts. Hes co-written (meaning along with his producing group, The Smeezingtons) songs from B.o.B.s Nothin on You to his own, slightly clich, Just the Way You Are. Brunos reggae-based pop sensation seems to be unstoppable with the artist riding so high on the Billboard charts, but only the test of time will truly tell if he and the Smeezingtons are amazing just the way they are. So which one wins? Whos the better out-breaking talent? Thats up to you to decide.

fanatics By: Michael snider

Fourth down at the one yard line with one second left on the clock and trailing by a touchdown, tension in the stands builds as fans watch in anxiety as the ball is hiked and thrown, every inch the ball travels closer to the receiver the fans lean into the field as if reaching out to catch the ball themselves, the ball is caught and the fans roar with excitement as their home team has pulled off a last minute victory. Sports are something that any school or community can get behind and cheer for even when the going gets tough, but where in our society can we draw a line as to where supporting a team isnt letting that team dictate how you live out your life on a day to day basis. Our society is so involved with sports that we have a whole TV station dedicated to it, and this constant information that has nothing to do with our own lives creates unnecessary behavioral problems that builds aggressive tension at live sporting events. These are the diehard fans that are willing to risk pneumonia going to a football game in the middle of the winter shirtless with their chest painted just to support their favorite team. There are also the fans who get extremely worked up over potentially controversial calls by the officials, and to some extent this is completely justifiable; however, when it gets to the point where police are escorting umpires in and out of games to avoid getting food or anything else potentially harmful thrown at them, we have reached a point where we need to let go of a bad call. As a resultsome fans pride of winning and losing outweighs their respect for fellow fans and sports players and makes them lose sight of the true global importance of sports. We as fans should learn to lighten our reaction to calls and enjoy sports more for the games themselves and their meaning from a global standpoint rather than directing hate towards another team in order to create a safe environment for all people who enjoy sports. I mean we represent the Detroit Lions, if any fans can pull through hard times and just enjoy football for the game its us, we have been for 89 years.

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NEWSLETTER TITLE

Fallo ut Obsession By: Nico la Fio rvento

Of all the obsessions we teens have, none is more powerful than videogames. And to me, no video game is more of an obsession than Fallout: New Vegas. Ive always described it as a first person-shooter for smart people: it isnt, heres the good guys, heres the bad guys, shoot the bad guys, there are no good guys and bad guys. Now, there is no moral equivalency, certain sides are more good than others, but all of them have a vid reason why they should rule the wasteland, and they all have pros and cons. And the political alliances are so delicate, and you can keep them in balance, or go whole hog for anybody and destroy the rest. And that is why I dont have my homework done! So, here are some signs youve been playing way too much Fallout: New Vegas: *You refer to your money as caps. *You can sing the song Big Iron backwards. * You refer to your watch as Pip. * You never hang around more than one friend at a time. * You think the Soviets got the idea of Sputnik from Eyebots, not the other way around. *Whenever you hear beeping, you look around for frag mines. *You say to yourself in real life, If this doesnt go to plan, Ill just load to a previous save. *You constantly worry about your life freezing. *You begin hoarding scrap metal, pressure cookers, and other odds and ends in the event you may need them later. *You know the Vegas area better than a person who has lived there their entire lives. *You always look around for magazines to improve your skills. *You refer to wasps as cazadores, and wonder what lakelurk tastes like. *You think that the best cure for a crippled limb is an hours sleep. *You begin to think of groups in the school as the factionsIB=NCR, Key Club= Legion, Quiz Bowl= Boomers, Debate= Brotherhood of Steel, Newspaper= Radio New Vegas, My Blog= Black Mountain Radio, etc. *You write Fallout based lists for the school newspaper.

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High five of the month

B y: Z ac h w y r z y kow s k i a n d c h r i s s ta r k
Chris: Good afternoon, Nicola. Nicola: Good afternoon Chris, good afternoon Kevin. N: Oh, I really wish you didn't ask me that question. I see a lot of movies. And I like them. anaglym of Lord Voldemort, Big Brother, and an Old Testament God. Hes a character I added to make my columns a bit more interesting, I hope Ive succeeded. C: I thoroughly enjoy all of The Editors comments. How many times have you read 1984? N: One too many, but thats all it takes to warp your mind. C: All right, we have one final question: what is Key Club? (The

C: How often do you go to the movie C: So what exactly is your full quiz bowl theatre? title? N: It depends on whats good out. N: I am field marshal of the all the UAIS Typically I never go less than once Quiz bowl Forces. I am also a Knight of every 2 weeks, I cant give you an anthe Golden Buzzer, but thats a title we swer on what my favorite movie is. give to anybody in quiz bowl. If you Theres movies I like and movies I dont. joined, youd be a night of the golden buzzer. C: Thats fascinating. What would you say is your favorite An Rand book and why? N: Its AYN Rand. And I know that a lot of people will say Atlas Shrugged, but I like Anthem better. I think its got much more of fresh view on how a dystopian society would work that works not by controlling the bodies of its individuals with jackbooted thugs but the minds of its individuals through indoctrination, much like Brave New World, but theres no drugs. Theyre basically in the medieval age which is in many ways the way socialism is taken, with no electricity, barely candles. C: Now, what would you say is your favorite movie?

comments that follow do not reflect the views or opinions of the UAIS Press newspaper.)
N: Key Club is part of an international communist conspiracy to take over the school, the district, and the world. They plan on doing this through water fluoridation. Water fluoridation is the greatest evil Key Club has
unleashed upon this world. 75% of the earth is water, 75% of you is water. Have you ever seen a Key Clubber drink water unless they absolutely had to? Of course not. They prefer their victory Coke. C: Well thank you very much for sitting

C:Understandable. What would you say your college plans are?

N: Go to Hillsdale. Work at a thinkdown with us, Nicola. tank. Write for National Review. Thats N: I appreciate being here. it. C: Excellent. Who is The Editor? N: The Editor is not any of the real editors of newspaper, rather its kind of an

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