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6 Coral Reef Sr. High Fall 2010 Opinions No IDs: are we in more danger? Does the lack of visible IDs make us more vulnerable to intruders? We want vegetables Vegetarians want healthy cafeteria food DAIANA TORRES Staff Writer The menu in the cafeteria has been a dilemma since the beginning of the public school system and this year is no different. It has come to the attention that a significant percentage of students are eating less in the cafeteria and the issue of lack of vegetarian food plays a big role in this dilemma. The cafeteria forces the students to get ‘a meal’ which, the majority of the time, includes beef or poultry and ‘a side’ of a salad or fruit with the option of milk or juice. Vegetarian students cannot get food in the cafeteria because once they reach the cash register they aren’t allowed to pay for what is considered ‘an incomplete meal’ since they lack the ‘meal’ component of our lunch tray. “I can’t eat cafeteria food. I’m a vegetarian,” said IB senior Amelia Grant. “If they had food for vegetarians I wouldn’t go without food or constantly eat pizza.” Amelia isn’t the only one. IB Senior Jessica Stavro says, “Digesting meat is hard on your stomach even when it’s fresh and school food is not fresh. It comes frozen.” Jessica believes that it is not about adding a vegetarian side, instead it is about adjusting the cafeteria food to better the quality of the food our students are eating “food that has too much salt and too much grease and is not healthy.” The situation can be helped by “adding a veggie stand a salad bar would help but we aren’t going to eat salad every day,” says Jessica. Most students would agree that the cafeteria food, not only in Coral Reef but also in majority of the Miami-Dade County Public Schools, isn’t as tasteful as we would like. Also to the fact that it is obvious that majority of the time food is passed from one day to the next and therefore the food the next day is less tasteful than the day before and is many times hard, like the macaroni and cheese of which the macaroni the following day are hard and very unpleasant to eat. These very students find themselves supporting a healthier menu in the cafeteria and even agreeing to eat adding a vegetarian section to the menu if it will better the food quality in our schools, yet why is it that these accommodations haven’t been implied to our school menu is beyond understanding for many students, especially when more schools everyday are bringing up the obesity issue in teens and how it is increasing every day. ERICA BACOURT Staff Writer We’ve experienced a lot of changes this school year at Coral Reef: different counselors, new teachers, new students, and of course, new uniforms. Some were elated about it, others not so much. However, one change that may be miniscule and often overlooked is our student ID policy. We no longer have to wear our IDs on our necks; we just have to have them with us. From a student’s perspective, the majority feel that this is a great thing. Ta’von Brooks, a junior in the business and finance academy says, “We already have on a uniform shirt, so I don’t see the purpose in wearing an I.D too.” Many students have this same rationale but they don’t see the other side to that argument. What if some random stranger walked into the school with a black polo shirt on and harmed one or more of the students? Ashley Alexander, an IB junior, has It was the first time I had ever seen a detached spinal cord. I had never seen a boy crumpled, dead in the passenger seat. I had never seen a pool of blood displayed on a big screen in the auditorium in front of almost 700 minors. But, most shockingly, I had never seen any of this being called “educational.” Believe it or not, this traumatizing footage was school sanctioned. As part of a failed attempt to teach the student body about the dangers of driving while drunk or texting, the school brought in a police officer to scare and disgust students with this unnecessary show of violence and gore. The presentation began mildly. “No crashes are accidents,” said the policewoman. Wait. Hold up. No crashes are accidents? We are to blame the victims for their own death, always? As you can see, this show was a misguided attempt from the start. “I’m sick of funerals, sick of lines waiting to go to the viewing,” she continued, in a manner so detached that already students were feeling uncomfortable. Around the room, murmurs of shock could be heard. But then the sadistic theatrics began. “Turn off the lights! We can’t see,” yelled the students. Little did they know how much they would later regret that decision. The first slide wasn’t terrible. Though it was shocking, an image of a car split in two after a collision with a tree, it was not over-the-top. However, the next slide was. It displayed a student of Archbishop Carroll High School. For over five minutes the photo of his body, crumpled and broken, torso bruised, and neck at a sickening angle remained on the screen. Students yelled for the officer to “please, thought about this scenario many times and explains her thoughts. “So some random man walks into the school with a black polo on, because any random person owns a white or a black polo, and hurt some kids in the school. After they get h i m and arrest him, the damage is going to already be done. Everyone’s parent, especially those whose kids got hurt, will be extremely mad. Then we’re going to have to start wearing our I.D’s again anyway. So I say we should just wear them.” Kiara Moyer, a sophomore i n the legal academy says, “It’s better to be safe than sorry.” Wearing our I.D’s is a safety precaution that can’t be disregarded simply because we put on a shirt in a common color. Many of the administration and staff will argue that the emblem on the shirts take care of please, change the slide,” but she refused, replying, “You [the seniors] need to see this. You need to always remember this.” Where has respect gone? A huge lack of respect was shown for both the dead student, whose body was displayed like an exhibit at a freak show, or for the students, who were politely pleading for the removal of the traumatizing image. And where were the adults, you know, the ones whose job is to protect and teach us? If they were there, they did not speak out against the atrocity. And it gets worse. At this point, students were beginning to leave due to the fact that they did not want to pollute their minds with such disturbing images. How I envy the ones who left. After fifteen minutes of other photos from this horrific accident, each more gruesome then the next, a new theme was touched upon. Actually, it can’t really be called a theme. It was more like a new type of gore. We saw another victim’s torso. And his face. His crushed, bloody, face. His legs were nowhere to be seen. At this point, students were leaving in waves, many of them crying, others clutching their stomachs. I joined them after the police officer displayed an image of his lower body, entrails trailing across the asphalt, vertebrae lying intact on the highway, making his lack of upper body even more obvious. Now, reader, I could go by hearsay and that problem. Number one, what if a kid can’t afford emblems on every shirt and the best they can do is a polo with no logo at all? Will we deprive them of a quality education at Coral Reef because of that? That wouldn’t be fair. Number two, if someone wants to do wrong they will. They could easily buy a patch and pretend that they come to the school. In a nutshell, a polo doesn’t do the job for security. Having no IDs could actually be more of a bad thing if something serious were to happen at Coral Reef. If someone fainted on their way to the bathroom and didn’t have their ID, because the student didn’t follow the rules, how would anyone identify them quickly? An ID comes in handy no matter what the situation may be. So, while some students think it’s a positive thing and other students think like Courtney Taylor, a junior in the business and finance academy. “I don’t care about I.D’s, I just don’t want uniform.” Students have to think about the worst case scenario and argue both sides of the argument to understand that not wearing I.D’s could be a big mistake. Traumatizing event school sanctioned Students left school disgusted and shocked at what they had been shown EMMA SINGER Editor in Chief www.savemolives.com describe to you the rest of the presentation. But I won’t. I will only tell you what I saw, what I felt, and what I heard with my own two ears. On the subject of proper terms, I have a question. If we are not allowed to watch rated R movies without parental permission, why was this acceptable? If I am not mistaken, scare tactics are the weapon of choice for fascist government regimes and leaders. I did not need a horror show to be taught not to drink and drive. I did not need to see what I saw. But I did need to do something. However important the message may be, this was the wrong way to inform students of the dangers of drinking and driving. Make sure you let your voice be heard. What should be done now? Well, students, if this presentation was even half as upsetting to you as it was to me, I recommend that you make your feelings known. By giving yourself a voice, you are giving yourself the power to change things. Write a letter to your counselor. Have your parents call the school. Do whatever you need to in order to speak out. But however disgusting the presentation may have been, the message was true. Be safe. Do not drink and drive. Do not text and drive. But do not show this presentation again.
Opinions Coral Reef Sr. High Fall 2010 7 Facebook obsession and addiction Social networking has become an interference of everyday life VICTOR BIONDOLILLO Staff Writer Poke wars, graffiti, pictures, events and groups are all elements of Facebook that make it so appealing to students. It is highly uncommon that a teenager in today’s society does not have a Facebook profile. I stopped 10 random students in roaming in our hallways and asked each one of them if they had a Facebook. Unanimously, they all had one. “It is a good and fast way to meet new people and find parties to go to,” said Trashaun Ward, a junior in the business academy. His fellow classmate, Chris Lardner, another junior in the business academy agreed and said that he can easily “interact and keep up with friends.” Just recently, Facebook updated their website and allowed users to instant message each other while online. Many people use this alternative to chat with their friends because they can view pictures while chatting in the same internet window. The question continually pops up with teenagers in today’s society: Are you addicted to Facebook? Legal senior, Jalen Eutsey said that it depends on “how much you use it, The Twilight craze needs to end, NOW Thankfully, the vampire and werewolf fetishes are dying down DOROTHY SANCHEZ Staff Writer Team Edward? Team Jacob? How about no team at all? What used to be such a fast growing obsession among teens is now losing momentum…finally. About three years ago, I first heard of Twilight, the first installment of the series written by Stephanie Meyers, and I haven’t been able to stop hearing of it since. Since the first of the four novels was published in 2005, the series has just snowballed in power. This love triangle between Isabella “Bella” Swan, Edward Cullen, and Jacob Black has taken the world by storm. I would always ask myself what was so appealing about these novels. Was it the teenage love triangle so many girls found themselves relating to? Was it the lure of the forbidden fruit? Was it the fantasy of an immortal, beautiful vampire fighting a strong, passionate werewolf for the love of a mere human? Whatever it was, it stuck, and suddenly we found ourselves in a world immersed in the lives of these fictional characters. We all belonged to one of three groups of people: those who loved Twilight, those who hated Twilight, and those who couldn’t care less. “If you don’t go for Team Jacob, there’s no point in living,” professes Ashley Delva, a senior in the Medical academy. “The story is so good, and Jacob’s love is so genuine.” “I have to hear this everyday,” responded Ashley’s friend Danielle Webley, also a Medical senior, who stands at the other end of the spectrum. “I think it’s stupid,” said Danielle. “Girls go crazy over this, and there’s no reason for it.” Even someone who has never read the books knows pretty much the entire story because of their overzealous and how.” He checks it once a day for a maximum of thirty minutes. A varsity baseball player, he naturally doesn’t have time to constantly check it. “I use it for 30 minutes tops, but I know some people out there that are on there for 3 hours a day.” Originally, Facebook was invented for new college students to meet each other in their new homes. It has grown rapidly over time. Facebook users range from Hollywood actors to the president of the United States. “ Although students might think that Facebook is fun and can help them, there are hidden aspects of the social network that can be detrimental to their future. ” Students addicted to Facebook can be affected negatively. While they should be studying for school or completing projects, they are spending pointless time on Facebook chatting with their friends or commenting on pictures. As an avid Facebook user, I can say that time flies when you’re on Facebook. While you may only want to spend 30 minutes updating your status and checking newly tagged pictures, before you know it, its 11:00 and friends and relatives who jump and down with excitement as they tell Bella’s life story like it’s their own. The books were even more popularized with the more-than-a-tad-melodramatic Twilight Saga movies. There seems to be a consensus that it was the movie series that made up people’s minds against Twilight. Grace Arzola, a sophomore in IB, said she loved the books when they first your history paper is due tomorrow. “I log on to check my wall and see what people are talking about,” said Business sophomore Brandon Narino. By doing something as simple as this, students can be carried away and waste time. Although students might think that Facebook is fun and can help them, there are hidden aspects of the social network that can be detrimental to their future. Everything that users post on the website, whether they are pictures or statuses, are saved in a database. If the information provided by the students contains inappropriate content, they can get into serious trouble with the school as well as legal trouble. No addiction is a good one, but a Facebook addiction is slightly more dangerous to underage people because students are naïve and don’t understand that all of their information can be public. Facebook can be checked on cell phones throughout the day and applications have been developed to make browsing easier and more accessible. With today’s technology, the Facebook addiction is continuously growing and negatively affecting students throughout the world. according to some. Eclipse was okay, but by Breaking Dawn, it wasn’t the same, and it quickly turned tedious and a bore to read. Although the books and novels may have some nice messages and themes - standing up for what’s right, love conquers all, so and so forth, there are obviously some disturbances. One of the big ones, is the creepy controlling relationship Edward has with Bella. “Watching over you constantly, not letting you talk to certain people, watching you sleep all night all because he loves you…telltale signs of an abusive controlling relationship. So is that what we’re teaching girls now? That it’s okay for a boyfriend to be like this as long as he has pledged his undying love for you? I don’t PHOTO CREDIT: DOROTHY SANCHEZ think it is.” The everything-inmoderation-way has came out and she, too, was obsessed. But been thrown out the window by Twi-hards, after the start of The Twilight Saga movie With the t-shirts, coffee mugs, notebooks, series, she was no longer a fan. “I don’t posters, sweaters, bags, perfumes, dolls, really care anymore. The movies messed necklaces, buttons, bedspreads, creepy lifesize cardboard cut-outs (…need I go on?), up everything.” Linda Dalvio, a Legal junior, this whole Twilight obsession is getting agrees. Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, old. Everyday something on the radio, and Taylor Lautner just do not cut it for TV, or internet comes up about Twilight or them. “I like the books,” Linda said, “but the “on again, off again, on again but not not the movies. The acting is just bad.” officially” life of the actors playing these But even the books themselves characters. Admittedly, the story line is have lost some of their audience. Twilight good, but that’s exactly it. It is just a story. and New Moon were great page turners, Let’s keep it that way. Video games and brains MITSU BUENO Staff Writer Remember when kids spent most of their time playing outside? Today, hardly any kids spend time outside anymore. Most teens spend it inside their houses playing their Xbox or PS3. What started as another simple recreational activity turned into an addictive and isolating activity. Over the years, games have become more and more violent. These games have been affecting kids in a harmful way. One of the most popular video games is Call of Duty; it has realistic images and sound effects and lots of violence. This game is rated M for mature for having a lot of violent content, but most kids who play it are from ages 13- 17. Most kids don’t believe violent games affect them, but scientific studies proved that they do. According to a scientific research project, “Study: Violent Video Game Effects Linger in Brain, Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood,” 2006, one study observed two groups of kids from ages 13-17, one group played a rated T violent video game involving military combat and the other group played a non violent game. After taking a scan of the kids’ brains, the first group showed more activity in the amygdala, a part of the brain which plays a part in emotional arousal, and less activation in the part of the brain that connects to focus, concentration and control. From constant violent images, most teens aren’t surprised or disgusted. In fact, now kids find realistic scenes amusing and entertaining. It has changed the way kids behave and makes them feel less empathy and remorse from causing pain, which leads to bullying. Today, there has been more bullying from filling kids’ brains with so much violence from video games. Video games don’t only contain physical violence but sexual violence as well. In “Grand Theft Auto,” it contains a lot of violent and sexual content. Most teens care about their social status and use violent acts to establish their place in the social chains. According to research, “Using Violence to Establish Control,” violence is also used to establish control over women and repeated exposure and participating in these storylines teach kids how to navigate relationships and can impact their expectations of each other. Video games have also affected the way kids live. It has made teens a lot more indolent and developed a poor eating habit. Addictive video game users also stop doing homework and eating dinner with their family, they just sit down for several hours with unhealthy food by their side. “I think it makes teens procrastinate and want to play it all the time. It deprives them of time to do school work, yet it makes them feel happy at the same time,” says VPA Junior, Christian Gulke. Teens have been also losing sleep from being so addicted to video games and unable for them to stop. Most parents don’t even know what their kids are viewing and how it has affected their brain, development and behavior.
Page 1 and 2: Coral Reef Sr. High School 1BAITLIN
Page 3 and 4: News Cuda Cudos National Merit Scho
Page 5: Technology Coral Reef Sr. High Fall
Page 9 and 10: PHOTO CREDIT: DOROTHY SANCHEZ Fashi
Page 11 and 12: A & E Coral Reef Sr. High Fall 2010
Page 13 and 14: Spotlight Martial Arts Master VPA s
Page 15 and 16: Sports How to show school spirit @

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