PrideTime Reporters: ReporterAhjunae Williams, Nyema Burns, Rashida Richard, Michel Rivero Everyone is known for making new year resolution, but high schoolers usually don’t stick to them, here are some resolutions that you can easily stick to.
0 Comments
PrideTime Reporters: Lila Young, Walter Ordonez, Sophia Tarasidis, and Katherine Kline When you think of the winter holidays many things may come to mind. The first thing we think of is cookies. We went around the school finding out kids favorite cookies. The school favorite was sugar cookies. Below are some of the top holiday cookies.
PrideTime Reporters: Fatima Avalos, Valeria Chavez, Aly Molina, and Maria Ochoa
Next time you hear a Christmas song on the radio listen closely because the songs you might've been playing all month long could mean what you least expected.
Dayanara Matute, Jasmine Raymond, Nicole Viquez PrideTime Editor and Reporters The holidays are right around the corner, and shopping can be a little difficult when everything is last minute. It’s hard when you want to find the perfect gift for your perfect friend. But it doesn’t have to be. The size of the gift doesn’t matter, or the cost of it either. What really matters is getting them a subscription to Hulu, or that choker they wanted two christmas’ ago. If you’re running out of ideas for gifts, here’s a list of affordable things.
By: Bryanna Perez Pridetime Senior Editor While it's snowing outside and family members gather around the firepit taking in the smell of their Christmas tree, people have been talking about something that ruins the overall feel of what Christmas really is.
The famous, “Baby, it's cold outside,” song sang by the one and only Frank Loesser, has been targeted with notes that his hit single may, in fact, be considered a culture war over sexual assault, consent, and political correctness. According to Rolling Stone, Loesser created this song as a “playful call-and-response duet for him and his wife to perform at their housewarming party while their guests were preparing to bid them goodnight.” On Tuesday, December 11, CBC and two other large commercial radio operators, Bell Media and Rogers, announced they would be pulling the “controversial” song from their rotation. However, this subject matter was actually seen first in 2004 when it was first published by Canada's National Post. Garry Clement, a reporter for Canada's National Post mentions quotes from his audience that explain, “Baby, It’s Cold Outside has a lovely melody but it’s an ode to statutory rape. In sum, the man gets the girl drunk amid her protestations so he can take advantage of her.” The teachers and students at Brien McMahon High School have been presented with the issue and have been asked to voice their opinion on the controversy. Michael Macari (‘19), gives his thoughts and opinions as he says, “I think the situation is soft because, for one, this generation wasn't even born when it came out in 1944. There is no need to make a big deal out of it 74 years later.” The new librarian for the senators also had some things to say as she felt neutral about the situation. Mrs. O, explains, "I think that if there is something valid in there and if people are upset about it then I can understand where they are coming from." Furthermore, there has been a connection between parties and the song that most people would use to debate the culture of sexual assault. One student at Brien McMahon agrees with the controversy as she explains her feelings towards the lyrics themselves. Juliette Ochoa ('19), says, "I think the song has a lot of subtle meaning to it indicating some creepy moments and foul words that he indicates to women. For example, he explains how the girl wants to go and leave but the whole time the guy insists that she stays. The most important part that leaves people up to debate is the part where she says, 'what's in this drink?' This can be an indication that the male roofies the woman since that's what happens a lot at parties." John Loesser, son of Frank Loesser, publicly announced that his father wrote, ‘Baby It’s Cold Outside,’ as a special material for his mother to present at parties since she was a nightclub singer around the 1930s where the two met. In Loesser's head, it was an innocent duet that he and his wife had always sung in private parties. It was a call and response song that became a legend. Audiences have claimed the song as rape/seductive method song that supposed to be for the holidays. However, the Loesser’s never meant it as a holiday song, just a song to enliven a party. Peter Young Primetime Senior Editor Austin Keller Primetime editor Last Friday, in an increasingly routine PSA, Principal Hurwitz came over the loudspeaker to condemn a, ‘Scavenger Hunt,’ happening that weekend involving students, fearful of its potential safety and legal concerns. His message was simple, and to the point, as it was in an email that would be sent home to parents later that day - it had no connection to the school itself, and anyone who took part risked consequences with the police and his administration on Monday.
The ‘Scav Hunt’ is an annual upperclassmen tradition, we learned, that dates back to the fall of at least 2005. It’s a point-based objective, where teams compete against each other that night to complete the most tasks within the given time. They vary in degree of difficulty and place - it’s city wide. It had flown under the radar in its infancy, and was more of a quiet urban legend until in 2014, when seven students in two cars were sent to hospitals after they crashed and flipped on Fillow Street in West Norwalk during the spring installment of the challenge. Since then school policy has shifted from don’t-ask-don’t-tell to concerned and involved. Emails home urging parents to bar their kids from joining in have dated back to the Koroshetz era. But this year, as he often has in his tenure, Principal Hurwitz assumed a more hands on approach. The Norwalk Police Department was notified, and assured him they would be posted at McMahon that Saturday, as in past years a handful of items on the list have been required at the two high schools in Norwalk. In the main hallway across from the library, a large poster decorated with solo cups, facts about marijuana and alcohol usage, in large red text, it has the words ‘SAY NO’, impossible to miss. With multiple challenges on the Scav Hunt believed to be centered around just this, one could see how the school would want to try and stop it, and they did. Fairfield County has the second highest rate of kids who partake in Underage Drinking and Smoking nationwide, per a 2015 survey - as well as one of the highest amounts of instances where Police are called to bust High School and College aged House parties, the highest in the state. It’s safe to say McMahon’s Student body definitely plays a part in that with a consistently exciting scene, but that’s nothing new. “I’d say our school’s party life is definitely prevalent... lots of people are involved, it’s the tradition in fairfield county. McMahons party scene is super lively and everyone has fun, it’s every weekend, Turn up or transfer.”, an anonymous senior here had to say. When asked about this hedonistic, fast way of life, Ms. Sullivan was quick to confront the severity. “You (kids) think you’re experiencing the norm. But this is not normal, this is not how everyone is, I think people just want to justify their actions so they blame it on where they live.” she later added “It’s so much more drastic than what you think, when you get to college people will be surprised by what you did when you were in high school, it’s such a bubble here”. But why? And is it? Maybe it’s the money. The bigger the house, the bigger the party... the less reaction from the parents, I don’t know. But here’s the thing - teenagers partying has been an issue in the eyes of adults here (and everywhere) long before 2005, and hasn’t gotten any worse since 2014. But the consequences and visibility have. Social Media pages like Barstool Sports, ‘Old Row’ and ‘ImShmacked’ are a new thing, and they’ve cultivated a way of life - fast, fun, bros-will-be-bros, carefree as ever. Just ask Post Malone, a multi platinum face of this movement - who’s last album detailed the endless wild side of fame, with songs like ‘takin shots’, and now has a multi million dollar endorsement with Bud Light to show for it. Kids being kids doing a scavenger hunt won’t cut it anymore however, it appears, it feels like all the time we hear stories of expulsions from schools, denials of acceptance over the mere, hard to underestimate stupidity of teenagers taking pictures and videos of things probably they shouldn’t be doing, somewhere they probably shouldn’t be, and proudly sharing them with the world - clout comes at a cost. Ironically, in 2016 administration here cracked down on an instagram account with that same “turn up or transfer” as its unofficial slogan, it was full of pictures and videos, some of which were from scavenger hunts in the past, we’re told. What does one tradition like the scavenger hunt say about the weekend culture at McMahon? Is that way of life uniquely bad here? Has it gotten worse? Is it inevitable? Any concerned educator wants answers, which may not necessarily be the convenient ones here. But can they ever? Even if so, is that their business between 2:15 on Friday and 7:30 on Monday? Ahjunae Williams PrideTime Editor
ryday. You know I think that the discipline piece kept me going strong, it made me say you know what I’m not going to do it.” Vegetarianism is a factor of one or two things; for nutritional purposes and/or for the purposes of being against animal cruelty. Both of these purposes were why Daysent chose to become a vegetarian. Meat is detrimental to your body, it causes inflammation. “I have asthma and the mucus build stops me from being the best version of me on the football field or basketball court.” Animal cruelty is a big factor in veganism and vegetarianism as well. This factor really hit home for Daysent, when watching a documentary called “Earthlings” that show how the animals are being treated. They compare animal cruelty to rape,slavery and a lot of human historical events. “I had to ask myself do I want to be apart if that perpetuating cycle and I realized that something I don't want to be apart of.” Daysent said. But the one aspect of the way they treated animals that stuck to him was the slavery portion. “Me being an African American man and noticing what my ancestors went through.” He stated. After all this, vegetarianism helped shape who he is today. The main life lesson that being a vegetarian taught him was discipline. Driving down Connecticut Ave was/is a very hard task, as you drive past Wendys,Mcdonalds,Popeyes etc. He has to be able to stop himself from pulling to grab a chicken sandwich. “To get to any type of success in your life you have to have a certain type of discipline.” This translates to his everyday life. He is a soon to be graduate with 1 Master degree in Counseling and a second to come. He has to make sure he does his homework instead of hanging with friends. This is a life lesson anyone can learn, and bring with them throughout life. Veganism and Vegetarianism is a very hard lifestyle, but it bring out the best in you. If you want to know more about it, see Darryl Daysent in the Career center before December 21st, 2018 and watch the documentary “Earthlings” on Youtube. Michelle Perea PrideTime Senior Editor Senior, Alie Arcamone, roams the halls going about her day and hanging with her friends. To most people, she’s just another student at McMahon, but her artwork says otherwise.
Since third grade, her passion for art has grown and she has been able to develop skills to make her a better artist. Art is something that can be viewed in different shapes or forms. For Arcamone, she expresses herself through painting, printmaking, and drawing. “Art helps me express myself and brings out my creative side. Art is something I do in the moment, I don’t think about what I’m going to make I just do it. It’s an escape from reality, like how some people take out their feelings through sports. I guess I could say it’s the same but through art,” said Arcamone. Taking art electives and going to different kinds of art programs, Arcamone has increased her artistic skills and plans to continue art in her future but not as a career. “I don’t plan on doing art in college, but I will always pursue it as a hobby. I think that art will always be a part of my life in some way.” From a young age, Arcamone has enjoyed the feeling of creating. Her artwork expresses different kinds of emotions depending on what she feels like that day. But the question is, when did art become such a big part of her life? Why did her passion grow so much? “In elementary school, I took this test to measure my artistic skills to see if I qualified for being a part of ‘artistically talented’. That simple test made me work harder and get better throughout the years.” Her artwork not only inspires herself but others as well. When others see her work, they interpret it different every time. They believe that Arcamone has a true talent in her that should be expressed more to the public eye. “Her artwork inspires me to improve my own artwork. Sometimes I look at her art and it makes me want to explore other medias. I know she doesn’t really see herself pursuing a career in art, but I definitely see her doing that. She has great talent and creativity,” said Anna Robinson (‘19). Artists at McMahon are not recognized for their talent outside of the classroom. In Arcamone’s art classes, she can reveal her true talents and not be the unknown artist. |