Rite of passage

Juliana Discher I Staff Writer

With great power comes great responsibility.

Turning eighteen is a milestone that many seniors reach in high school. It’s the transition from being considered a rambunctious teenager to a legal adult. While some allow their eighteenth birthday to slip by like any other day, a few Mason students decided to celebrate in a big way.

According to Lifestyle Magazine, at eighteen you are legally able to: vote, buy a lottery ticket, change your name, get a tattoo, sue someone, get married, buy fireworks, join the military, go skydiving, go bungee jumping, and gamble.

Skydiving seemed like an adventure worth pursuing, according to senior Elizabeth McDonald.
“My eighteenth birthday was in August, but we ended up skydiving the weekend after,” McDonald said. “It was a bit like conquering a fear for me. Just getting out there and doing something crazy. It was on my bucket list for the longest time.”

The experience of free falling through the air is unique from any other, according to McDonald.
“It was terrifying first jumping out and the free fall was kind of scary, but once the parachute is pulled, it was actually really relaxing and so cool to just kind of float through the air,” McDonald said.

Although she went big on her eighteenth, McDonald said there are other smaller, but still fun ways to celebrate the milestone.

“I have some friends who ordered stuff from the TV because it says like ‘You have to be eighteen or older to call and order,’” McDonald said. “My aunt gave me a lottery ticket because if I won then I could have cashed it. I didn’t, but the idea of it was fun.”

Senior Justin Uth wanted to do something that would visibly mark his coming of age. According to Uth, he is designing his own tattoos that he will get soon after he turns eighteen.

“I am planning on getting two tattoos as long as I have enough money,” Uth said.  “I am getting one that will wrap around my arm that’s a rattlesnake and a rose. I play guitar and I have been writing lyrics lately and the rattlesnake and rose are really relevant to the lyrics. The one I plan to get on my leg is a wolf head.”

There are other perks to being eighteen, Uth said.

“Now I can vote, which is nice,” Uth said. “Plus, since I am in a band, now I will be able to play in venues that I wasn’t able to play in before. There are a lot of open gigs that you have to be eighteen to play in, so now I’ll have more opportunities.”

Uth said that he appreciates the privileges he has with the age mark.

“Every time I have had a birthday in the past, I have felt the same, but with the tattoos now they will help me express myself more,” Uth said.

McDonald said that now more than ever, it’s important for her to use good judgment in her choices.

“Since turning eighteen, I feel like I’m treated as more of an adult,” McDonald said. “While there are some really cool things I can do, such as skydiving, there’s also a lot of responsibility to be on my best behavior. I know that the decisions I make will impact the rest of my life.”

Tattoo designed by Justin Uth

Skydiving picture from Elizabeth McDonald

Full Story: http://thecspn.com/?p=27029 

Creative distinction

Senior qualifies as finalist for 2015 Overture Awards

Juliana Discher | Staff Writer

Creativity is intelligence having fun.

For senior Katie Hibner, who was named a finalist two consecutive years for creative writing at the Overture Awards Scholarship Competition, her intelligence and creativity combination really paid off.

The Overture Awards is a program that recognizes, encourages and rewards excellence in the arts among students in grades 9-12. They offer scholarships in six artistic disciplines: creative writing, dance, instrumental music, theatre, visual arts, and vocal music.

According to Digital Image Design teacher Aaron Roberts, the Overture Awards are a highly selective process and achieving recognition as a finalist is no small honor.

“The entire process of Overtures is extremely challenging,” Roberts said. “The best young artists have their work and performances judged by professionals in their respective field. Because schools are limited to a certain number of competitors, this (competition) brings out only the best of the best. Each round obviously gets harder and harder.”

Hibner’s collection of poetry propelled her to advance past the semifinals.

Five other Mason High School students were named semifinalists at the Overture Awards
Scholarship Regional Competition on January 10. These students were: Ryley Arnold (Theatre/Musical Theatre), Sneha Gundavarpu (Dance/Ethnic/Folk Dance), Rebecca Shu (Instrumental Music/Piano), Julianne Su (Visual Arts/2D Art) and Alice Zhang (Visual Arts/2D Art). Hibner was the only one to move on to the final competition.

Hibner said her experience with the Overture Competition last year made her even more excited to be a finalist this year.

“Last year I got to read my poems on stage at the Aronoff Center as part of the final competition,” Hibner said. “That was pretty intimidating, but it was still really awesome to get the audience feedback and reaction right away.”

According to Hibner, she finds inspiration in English teacher Mandi Bross.

“Mrs. Bross always encourages me to write because I work with her through the school’s literary magazine, Writers’ Block,” Hibner said.

Bross said Hibner stands out as both a writer and a person of character.

“Katie is an outstanding representative of Mason High School, and not just because of her talent with the written word,” Bross said. “She is such a hard worker, constantly puts others ahead of herself, and is so humble. Katie has worked incredibly hard to succeed at this level of competition, and I can’t wait to see her come away with first place.”

The finals will take place at the end of February, where Hibner is competing for a $4,000 scholarship.
“I’m really hoping for the grand prize of $4,000 to help pay for college,” Hibner said. “I already get $1,000 just for being a finalist, but the extra money would be nice, too.”

Hibner said she is honored not only to be recognized for her work, but also to be among other Cincinnati student artists.

“I feel like it’s a really neat competition because I get to not only interact with other student writers in Cincinnati, but also other student artists,” Hibner said. “During the ceremony, we get to watch other students dance, sing, perform a musical instrument, or see their visual art. It’s nice to have a union of other student artists in Cincinnati. Plus, it’s really neat to get to share my work on stage at the Aronoff Center. That’s a huge honor.”

Full Story: http://thecspn.com/?p=26788

Man behind the mic

Allen takes pride in role as morning voice of Comet Country

Juliana Discher I Staff Writer

Whether you tune them out or listen attentively, the morning announcements are an omnipresent part of our daily routine. Most students, however, are unaware of the man behind the mic.

Thurman Allen, an English teacher at Mason High School, has been the unseen face behind the voice resonating through classrooms for the past six years. What started out as a somewhat random selection by a former assistant principal evolved into a job in which Allen can embrace his Comet pride every day.

According to Allen, the best part to him is being in the loop of MHS’ news.

“I like the fact that I know what’s going on,” Allen said. “Any time I can read congratulations, or see how the band is doing, or the lacrosse or water polo team, it’s always fun.”

Allen said there have been several challenges to his duty that he has faced over the years.

“The hardest part is probably that people send me announcements, but they won’t proofread them,” Allen said.  “Earlier this year I had to be on the fly and make corrections as I was speaking. Also, there is always the fear of messing up a word. Names are especially bad. I have had some problems as well with students who will ask if I can invite someone to Prom or sing happy birthday, but if I start with them, I will have 3,400 students who will want to make it happen as well.”

Outside of school, Allen said he participates in several extracurricular activities.

“I am co-coach for the academic team and the advisor for the film club,” Allen said. “When I’m not directing, I am an adult volunteer for the drama department. Occasionally, I help out with the book club.”

Along with juggling his teaching duties, preparing the announcements and running clubs, Allen said he still finds to time to be in a band.

“(My band) is called Entertaining Lucy,” Allen said. “We are a three-piece combo–I play bass guitar. We basically play everything from classic rock and Pearl Jam to more modern stuff that people like to listen to.”

Allen said he likes to mix things up sometimes by changing the coined closing of ‘Comet Country’.

“My favorite one to do is when I go to the ASL class,” Allen said.  “No one ever gets it. I say have a great day, and it’s just quiet. We tried to do that a couple of times on the Day for Deaf. Or I go to different language classes and it’s like in German. Or we did the choir and they sing it.”

The fact that even some of his own students are clueless on his announcing duties is amusing, according to Allen.

“Most students don’t make the connection until suddenly someone informs them,” Allen said. “What I get from the students is, ‘You’re the one who does the announcements?’ Yes, you hear my voice every day. They have no idea.”

According to Principal Mindy McCarty-Stewart, she, along with the rest of the administrators, are extremely grateful for Allen’s contributions throughout the years in saying the announcements.

“I love that Mr. Allen is the morning voice of Comet Country because he is so enthusiastic,” McCarty-Stewart said. “He is a great way to jump start our day.”

Full Story: http://thecspn.com/?p=26215

Dear Madison,

Dear Madison,

I would just like to say that I thoroughly enjoyed your letter and all of the...interesting details. Since Peyton might have been a little mortified after having his blunders exposed to the cyber world, I figure I should should level the playing field by exposing some of my own embarrassing childhood moments.

I have also only broken one bone in my life. Since I come from a background of playing soccer and other physical activities one might figure I broke it then...nope. I tripped over a scooter and fractured the growth plate in my foot. When people at school asked why I had a bulky blue cast on my leg I lied and said I fell out of a tree trying to save a cat. (This was in third grade FYI)

You mentioned that you and Peyton liked to play Sharkboy and Lavagirl. I did have a similar shark themed nickname--Jaws. This was due to the crooked, overbite teeth that filled my mouth. (Thankfully braces exist so this nickname is no longer applicable. My parents says this was the best return on an investment they've ever made)

Another moment that still makes my family chuckle happened to me in first grade when we lived in Arkansas. We were touring an abandoned hotel and it was covered in a plethora of graffiti. Since I loved to read and learn I began to study the words spray painted on the walls.

"Daddy, what does F*** mean?"

It was a simple question for a curious 7 year old so I was surprised when my parents and older siblings began laughing hysterically. Of course my dad teased me about it after by asking me what word was written on the wall--just to hear me say the f word again.

These are just a couple of funny incidents that happened to me, but I hope they made you and Peyton laugh. I look forward to the fun times ahead for me and Peyton. I'm also glad that he has a very cool older sister who I can be myself around. :)

-Juliana Discher

IN RESPONSE TO: Dear Juliana,

What am I thankful for?

A wise man once said a picture is worth a thousand words.

Check out this slideshow to view the people and things I am grateful for.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Slideshow

Black or white

Juliana Discher I Staff Writer

For biracial students, filling out the racial category on a standardized test isn’t always black and white.

Many high stakes standardized tests, such as the SAT and ACT, ask students to identify their ethnicities. According to USA Today, test makers ask this question to compare the scores of different races and see how the scores of a particular racial group change over time. And while the answer to this question doesn’t affect the test taker’s score, the pressure to paint an accurate picture for test makers and also stay true to individuality can be a dilemma for students of mixed backgrounds. Before the test questions are even revealed, these students can sometimes face an internal identity crisis.

Sophomore Jonathan Mccollough, who is half Chinese and half Caucasian, said he has undergone that exact confusion of having to identify his race on a test.

“When I took the PSAT this year, I had trouble filling out the race portion at the beginning of the test,” Mccollough said. “There was an ‘other’ option, which is what I chose, but I wasn’t sure if that was right.”

According to The Cincinnati Enquirer, by the year 2060, 1/7 of Cincinnatians will be biracial. Mccollough said that this makes it even more important for these individuals to be recognized on standardized tests.

“Biracial students should be accounted for because they’re a growing population,” Mccollough said. “It’s becoming more common, so they should have something to identify themselves on tests.”

Junior Ri Moodie, who is half African American and half Caucasian, said that the ‘other’ option is the best selection for biracial students, but there should be a better choice.

“Mixed races have been around for so long, but they’re still not included,” Moodie said. “The tests have Native American and everything else listed, but they don’t have mixed race or an option to choose multiple races. I think it should be its own category instead of ‘other’.”

According to Mccollough, the ‘other’ option undermines his identity.

“In a way, ‘other’ does have a negative connotation,” Mccollough said. “It’s like you’re not included with everyone else.”

Rather than feel that isolation, sophomore Jay Singh, who is half African American and half Indian, said he chooses the ethnicity he feels more connected to.

“I think I share more of my mom’s side, so I just put black,” Singh said.

Picking between one of your racial makeups can be emotionally exasperating for biracial students, according to Singh. He said that essentially they have to decide between two very distinct cultures that are a part of them.

“Your racial identity is who you are,” Singh said. “When a biracial student is taking a standardized test and they’re forced to select one race, (the test makers) may not realize it, but they’re making the kid neglect an important part of who they are. It just doesn’t feel right.”

Full Story: http://thecspn.com/?p=25897

Mac Attack

Juliana Discher

The Mac attack is upon us and I have yet to conquer the beast.

A few weeks have gone by since the sleek, white computers of the future made their entrance to room C103.

While the jumbo sized monitors and high tech programs are going to infinitely improve our quality of work, at the moment I am struggling on how to function these machines. By function, I mean just yesterday I just learned how to copy and paste.

I've never been an Apple person--being the outcast of my friends for not owning an iPhone, so the system is foreign to me.

As a result of these new Mac computers, I'm constantly pestering my peers for help on how to print, how to open a new tab, etc.

I'm still a long ways away from considering myself a Mac person, but I know soon these computers will be the Apple of my eye.

The Chronicle room with the new Mac computers