Editorial - mcas.k12.in.us



Barker Middle SchoolCrusader ChroniclesApril 1st, 2016-190499171450EditorialYou may not know this, but March is considered Women’s History Month. And with this, you’re bound to hear about women’s rights and gender equality. But is what we’re really fighting for considered “gender equality”? Did you know that the full-time pay gap between genders is 10% and part-time is 34.5%? That 70% of minimum wage jobs are held by women since they aren’t as likely to get “good” jobs as men? Or that many women get sacked just because they become pregnant, even though they can still do their job perfectly well?Sexism is still a problem today; there are facts and statistics to prove it. The real question is: why does gender even matter? A woman can do a job or task just as well as a man (and vice versa). It’s ridiculous that this is still an issue.If you were a woman back about a hundred (or more) years ago, you would only be used as a housewife. Even if you were a citizen, you wouldn’t have the right to vote on anything. Even though you were half of a marriage, you couldn’t call for a divorce. Even if you were the best leader out there, you couldn’t run for election. Forget about getting a job or ever becoming independent with money. You wouldn’t be able to get a bank account, let alone a job, so you would get stuck with all of the house work. Although women’s rights have been increased greatly, we still have many things to fix. Let’s just hope that somewhere in the near future, we can grow up and stop pre-judging others by gender or any other physical differences. In the end, we’re all just people, trying to make their way in the world. We need to make a big change, and it needs to happen soon. ~Anna-Lisse Lenard422910019050**Inspirational quotes found by: Zie’Ana Cripe“When it rains, look for rainbows. When it’s dark look for stars.”-Unknown I think this means that there’s always a good side in a situation, so you shouldn’t get caught up in the bad side.Short Storyby Gwyneth Sardon SurvivingThe funny thing about death is that it really snaps everything into perspective. Take now, for e on, keep running. You can do it, Max. Just keep running.I was running for my life, literally. Nothing else mattered right now, besides escaping. That was my only goal: escaping them.The twigs and branches scratched my arm, but that didn’t bother me. My bare feet hitting every sharp rock, rough root, and pointed stick? No biggie. My lungs that ached for air? I could manage. It all didn’t matter as long as I could put some distance between me and those mutants: half-man, half-beasts. They call themselves guardians, but they are nothing more than murderers. We, my ‘family’, call them Wolves. As simple as that. They had the gruesome teeth, those hunger struck eyes, the claws, and not to mention the horrible breath and unruly hair. No matter how they looked―or smelled―they are after me and I need to run. Either that or die. See? That snaps everything in perspective.Run. You’re faster than they are! You’re Maxine Lee Jones, you can outrun anyone.I’ve never been this far from “The School”―that treacherous, psychological prison. I was lost. I didn’t know where to go. My eyes scanned around, looking for a sign of familiarity, but I haven’t ever left School before. That’s when I heard them howl, the Wolves. I could outrun men―all of us could, even Angel and she’s only six. But no one could outrun a wolf.Wolves, wolves, go away. Let me live another day.That’s when I saw it, in front of my very eyes―a clearing? Hope began to fill me up as my legs seemed to run even faster. As soon as I reached the area, I found out it was not a clearing. Instead, it was a cliff. Great job, Max. Aren’t you the brightest crayon from the box.I groaned in frustration as I turned and there they were, in all their hairy armpits and smelliness: the Wolves. I needed to do something, anything! I needed to find out a way to survive!Come on, Max. Think.I looked around as the beasts cackled in an animalistic way. One of the Wolves raised a gun and a red dot appeared on my nightgown. I no longer had a choice on what to do now. I looked behind me, and it seemed fate was finally on my side.I smirked as the Wolves were blinded by the sun’s light. Wow, I never knew it was so warm and bright, perfect for using it against those hairballs. The smirk still lingered on my face as I spread my arms out. With all those tests back at “The School”, I knew I was going to survive this. I had to. Slowly, as if in slow motion, I let myself fall back. For one second, everything seemed peaceful in a way. I saw the Wolves glare down at me as I got farther down, the air whipping my hair around. This may seem like suicide, but I knew what to do at this point. My smirk widened as tilted my head back, peering at the sun.I’m not going to die today.-190499298450 The 4th Second By Cameron WakefieldFun fact: Earth is 4.543 billion years old. The modern form of humans only evolved 140,000 to 200,000 years ago. Let me put that in perspective. If you convert the Earth’s lifespan into only 24 hours, one full day -- the human race has only been on Earth for three seconds. Three seconds and look what we have done. We have modestly named ourselves homo sapiens meaning “wise man.” But is man really so wise? Smart, yes. It’s good to be smart, but not too smart for your own good. Yes, we have split the atom and yes, we built clever machines that search the universe for new life. But those atoms we split also caused nuclear war. In our quest to explore the world we have neglected and rejected what we call home. So no, that is not wisdom. Wisdom is different. While intelligence speaks, wisdom listens; we willingly close our ears to mother nature's screams and close our eyes to all her Help Wanted signs. Wisdom knows every action has an equal and opposite reaction. So if we were wise, we would see the storms, droughts, wildfires, and hurricanes are stronger than ever before because there is more pollution than ever before. There is also more carbon being produced and there are more trees cut down than ever before. We have increased the extinction of animals at a rate 1,000 times the natural pace. What a defeat! In the next 100 years or so, every beloved animal in kids’ books are predicted to be extinct. Lions-gone, polar bears-gone, rhinos-gone, tigers and gorillas- GONE! In just 3 seconds, animals that have been on Earth longer than humans will be extinct. Would it be better for them to go extinct because of us or maybe mankind should go extinct for them? In 3 seconds, a lifespan shorter than a Vine video, we have destroyed the circle of life. I mean, can anyone help? We were the only planet in our solar system to be given life; we are 1 in a billion. Actually, we are 1 in a billion trillion trillion. That’s 1 with 33 zeros behind. How are we not a miracle? We are positioned far enough from the sun so we don’t burn or freeze. We get medicine from trees; that is not an accident. But because we are all family, every species is connected in some genetic way. The problem is not environmental destruction or even global warming, but the problem is us. . . mankind. Millions have seen what we have been doing and have been standing up for nature. It is our duty to protect the Earth but we need your help. Yes, your help! Wondering what you could do? Well there are many extraordinary things that you can do, but a basic idea is to recycle. For example, take the plastic bags that you get from the store back to the store and recycle them! (And recycle all your plastic bottles and aluminum cans, too!) Another way you can help is by planting a tree this spring, which will add to Earth’s oxygen. Is your destination less than a mile away? Then ride a bike or walk. Carpooling, public transportation, and turning off lights are all other simple steps you can take to help the Earth. As the person reading this, you must help if you want to make it to the 4th second.The 4th Second By Cameron WakefieldFun fact: Earth is 4.543 billion years old. The modern form of humans only evolved 140,000 to 200,000 years ago. Let me put that in perspective. If you convert the Earth’s lifespan into only 24 hours, one full day -- the human race has only been on Earth for three seconds. Three seconds and look what we have done. We have modestly named ourselves homo sapiens meaning “wise man.” But is man really so wise? Smart, yes. It’s good to be smart, but not too smart for your own good. Yes, we have split the atom and yes, we built clever machines that search the universe for new life. But those atoms we split also caused nuclear war. In our quest to explore the world we have neglected and rejected what we call home. So no, that is not wisdom. Wisdom is different. While intelligence speaks, wisdom listens; we willingly close our ears to mother nature's screams and close our eyes to all her Help Wanted signs. Wisdom knows every action has an equal and opposite reaction. So if we were wise, we would see the storms, droughts, wildfires, and hurricanes are stronger than ever before because there is more pollution than ever before. There is also more carbon being produced and there are more trees cut down than ever before. We have increased the extinction of animals at a rate 1,000 times the natural pace. What a defeat! In the next 100 years or so, every beloved animal in kids’ books are predicted to be extinct. Lions-gone, polar bears-gone, rhinos-gone, tigers and gorillas- GONE! In just 3 seconds, animals that have been on Earth longer than humans will be extinct. Would it be better for them to go extinct because of us or maybe mankind should go extinct for them? In 3 seconds, a lifespan shorter than a Vine video, we have destroyed the circle of life. I mean, can anyone help? We were the only planet in our solar system to be given life; we are 1 in a billion. Actually, we are 1 in a billion trillion trillion. That’s 1 with 33 zeros behind. How are we not a miracle? We are positioned far enough from the sun so we don’t burn or freeze. We get medicine from trees; that is not an accident. But because we are all family, every species is connected in some genetic way. The problem is not environmental destruction or even global warming, but the problem is us. . . mankind. Millions have seen what we have been doing and have been standing up for nature. It is our duty to protect the Earth but we need your help. Yes, your help! Wondering what you could do? Well there are many extraordinary things that you can do, but a basic idea is to recycle. For example, take the plastic bags that you get from the store back to the store and recycle them! (And recycle all your plastic bottles and aluminum cans, too!) Another way you can help is by planting a tree this spring, which will add to Earth’s oxygen. Is your destination less than a mile away? Then ride a bike or walk. Carpooling, public transportation, and turning off lights are all other simple steps you can take to help the Earth. As the person reading this, you must help if you want to make it to the 4th second.Random Facts found by Rashan TuckerA cat will never meow to another cat. Cats only use this sound for humans.OJ was originally cast to play Terminator, but the director, James Cameron, did not feel he would be believable as a killer.Tupac never won a grammy, and he actually received more awards after his death.ZIP is an acronym for Zone Improvement plan.Michael Jackson was on an episode of Sesame Street when he was younger.In a 2013 survey, parents voted Miley Cyrus and Chris Brown the worst celebrity role models for kids.Oprah Winfrey’s first name was originally “Orpah”, but they spelled it wrong on her birth certificate.Male honey bees are called drones.In 1955, the minimum wage was $1.00.The human hand has 27 bones.Didaskaleinophobia is the fear of going to school.Nomophobia is the fear of being without your cellphone or being out of mobile phone contact.Pentheraphobia is the fear of a mother-in-law.A year is exactly 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes, 46 seconds.A fire truck holds 400 to 500 gallons of water.Movie Review: The Hunger Games Mockingjay Part 2THG: Mockingjay Part 2 is about Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark. They were the “Star Crossed Lovers” in the Hunger Games. Peeta got captured by the Capitol, and they messed up his brain to make him think Katniss is an enemy. When Gale and the others rescue him, Johanna, and Annie, Katniss went to see Peeta, but he attacked her. He hurt her so badly that she had to wear neck brace. Well, anyways, Katniss, Gale, Peeta, Finnick, and others went on a journey to kill President Snow. On the way, many people die, including Finnick. Katniss and Gale disguise themselves to try to get into the his mansion and kill him. Gale gets captured by the peacekeepers (police) because all of them were wanted. Katniss is all alone when she hears her sister, Prim, scream. She looks over and sees her in the war. All of a sudden, a big bomb explodes and she watches as her sister gets killed. Katniss becomes mad at Gale because she counted on him to protect Prim and he didn’t. She told him to get out of her life and go away, so he does. Gale moves to District 6 to work. Katniss is shown walking to her home in DIstrict 12 when she sees Peeta planting flowers in their garden. She found out that he is planting “Primroses” in her garden for her. A few years later, her and Peeta are married, and they have two kids. One is a boy, and the other is a girl. Then, the movie ends.The Threat of Our Earth and Population30337130By Anastasia AttarOur Earth is a wonderful place full of plants, animals, and breaktaking views. Unfortunately, our world is being threatened by pollution, deforestation, and fracking that is causing it to become sick and diseased. It is harder for plants and animals to survive now because of all the harsh things humans are turning our environment into. Plus, pollution, deforestation, and fracking are just three of the biggest threats Earth has right now and here’s why. Pollution creates dirty air and water which causes asthma, COPD, lung cancer, strokes and many other deadly illnesses and diseases. Pollution is also the killer of 40% of deaths worldwide. Pollution comes from factories, transportation, and electricity and a way to prevent pollution is to use less plastic, ride a bike, and turn of electric items when they aren’t in use.Deforestation is another one of the biggest threats to today’s environment. Deforestation causes animal extinction due to habitat loss and it also cuts down our oxygen resource. Deforestation cuts down 139 trees every minute, which adds up to the grand total of about 3 billion to 6 billion trees per year. Also, before deforestation, trees covered two-thirds of the world, now it only covers one-third. A way to help prevent deforestation is to recycle any type of paper that can be reused.Fracking is the last biggest threat to Earth. Fracking causes water contamination. It can trigger earthquakes, and it uses hazardous chemicals. Polluted water was reported in 11 states during 2012 from fracking. Think about how much there could be now. Unfortunately, there isn’t much to do to help stop fracking besides donating to a organizations and raising awareness.Pollution, deforestation, and fracking, are all just a few threats that our environments faces. Some more ways to help prevent more threats is to get them known to other people and donate to an organization. By doing these things, you will help keep our environment safe and healthy. We need to make a change, and you can make a difference.STEM Challenges by Marymae Waldron The STEM challenges that we’ve done each month during homeroom have been very fun. We just recently completed a challenge called “Hang Ten” where homerooms create a device that stays in the air the longest. My homeroom didn’t win. Another challenge we did this year was a very fun challenge called “Gummies in Space,” where homerooms made a device that carried gummy bears as far as possible. My homeroom made it to the finals, but, once again, we didn’t win. Here at Barker, we also do Stem challenges with our parents at our monthly parent invite to lunch. I beat my dad playing a game based on the card game War, but instead of kings and jacks and stuff, there are black (positive) and red (negative) numbers. Rules still apply, with the whole add up the cards and whoever has the highest number wins the round. I murdered my dad (in game, of course) with a score of- I forgot it was like a month ago. I know I beat my dad by like ten cards or more. All I need now is a victory chocolate that I ate while making this. The next STEM challenge that is approaching us is actually a community challenge kind of like Gummies in Space where we build bottle rocket. Some ideas could be drawn from Mrs. Harmon’s rocket from last year. We do need to keep an eye on quite a few of the homerooms since we have quite a few competitors (cough Surmanation cough). Oh yeah! I never said what materials, other than bottles, we get to have! We have bottles, and paper. I don't really know what we use to propel the rocket, but I'll probably figure it out!So, there you have it. These are just a few of the STEM challenges that we’ve done here at Barker this year.Day 2 “Why don’t you believe me Alex?”“I’m sorry but it just sounds so fake…”“Why would I make something like this up. You know I hate attention!” “I don’t know that. You could be lying to me.”“Why would I lie to my only friend?”“Good point. Oh, no offense of course.”“It’s fine. I know what you mean.”“Well, I guess I’ll see you in chorus. Bye, Savannah.”“Bye, Alex.”I walk into homeroom and sit in my seat by the far wall of the classroom.Night 2I walk into my room and crawl into my bed, I quickly fall asleep.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~I watch the clock turn to 12:07 as the girl from the closet digs her knife into my chest and cuts out my beating heart.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~I jerk upright into a sitting position.“Thank God, it was only a dream.”I look at the clock, 12:06. Suddenly, I hear my closet door creak open and see a hand come out. “Uh, Dad? Is that you?”Suddenly, I hear a giggle that sounds far too familiar. “Are you sure that your dad is still alive?”“Who are you?! What did you do to my father?”“Oh Savannah. Sweet little Savannah. Far too oblivious to notice what’s going on.”“Alex?”By: Savannah LoweInspirational Quotes“There is no elevator to success, you have to climb the stairs.”-Zig Ziglar This may mean that you have to work for what you want in life. Success isn’t just handed to you.“You fall, you rise, you make mistakes, you live, you learn. You’re human, not perfect. You’ve been hurt, but you’re alive. Think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive—to breathe, to think, to enjoy, and to chase the things you love. Sometimes there is sadness in our journey, but there is also lots of beauty. We must keep putting one foot in front of the other even when we hurt, for we will never know what is waiting for us just around the bend.”- Ritu GhatoureyThis could mean that you shouldn’t take life for granted, because you could leave this world at any second. So maybe Ghatourey was trying to capture that truth in a few meaningful words. ................
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