Beginning in the Fall 2015 ac-ademic year fresh faces, besides the incoming freshmen class, will be among the student body. Twelve Chinese students, six freshman and six sophomores, will join the OLGCHS commu-nity and become Falcons, not for a short visit but for their entire four year high school experience.

These students will be travel-ing from places such as China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau.

Dr. Barker, President of OLGC-HS, initiated this program with the help of administrators including Mr. Campbell and Mr. Ehrman. Dr. Barker has also hired Mrs. Yihung Mohs as the Director of Global Pro-grams to organize this big transition.

Mrs. Mohs will be traveling in March to begin recruiting students. Mohs will also be conducting skype interviews to stay in touch with the students until the Fall semester.

The Chinese Exchange Pro-gram will not only help OLGC-HS reach students and families worldwide, but will also bring cul-ture to students and faculty alike.

“We are trying to give a more global perspective to our com-munity,” Dr. Barker said. “Teach-ers will have to work on different teaching techniques for the Chi-nese students who may be strug-gling with the transition from a Chinese to an American class.”

It will not be an easy process for the Chinese students to be accepted to the program. “The students are re-quired to know decent English. They

Our Lady of Good Counsel High SchoolApril 16, 2015 17301 Old Vic Blvd. Olney, MD 20832 Vol. VI Issue II

By Delia Launi,Staff Writer

Drive safely in poor weather conditions

By Andrew Lolavar, Staff Writer

When driving in poor weath-er conditions like extreme rain, ice, snow and frigid tempra-tures it becomes more diffi-cult to maintain safety, espe-cially for inexperienced drivers.

General rule of thumb is that you should always drive cau-tiously. Always wear a seat belt. Be aware of your speed. Re-member to go easy on brakes be-cause brake application often re-sults in a loss of vehicle control.

One easy way to be cautious in cold conditions like ice or snow is by simply waiting for conditions to improve. Stay off the roads until the threat passes.

Make sure you and your ve-hicle are properly equipped. before venturing out:

• Charged cell phone for making emergency calls• Plenty of antifreeze and windshield washer fluid to maintain visibility• Decent tire tread and proper inflation• Cat litter or salt in the event that tires become stuck• Warm blanket or clothing • Flashlight and/or road flares • Sunglasses

Never act or feel overconfident when behind the wheel. A major factor in many serious and fatal crashes is overconfidence in one’s abilities. Just because one can drive well, does not mean they can control the conditions of the road.

will have to score at a certain level on a standardized English Test,” said Barker. “The exchange students will also have to maintain high ac-ademic achievement and will be re-quired to take an English course.”

Dr. Barker is excited to imple-ment this program. Eventually, he hopes to expand the program to countries all around the world. “It will be a lot of work, but in the end it will be a great step forward in [helping] OLGCHS [to go] global.”

Information for this program can be found under the Admissions tab on the homepage. Clicking on the International Students link pro-vides basic information and allows parents to sign up to host students.

For more information on this program, contact Mrs. Yihung Mohs. Email: ymohs@olgchs.org.

The Talon

Swim

& Dive

Pages 12-13

News 2 | Arts & Entertainment 4 | In-Depth 6 | Athletics 11 | Opinion 14Index

Shaelyn Harris:Featured Artist

Photo by Delia Launi.Mrs. Yihung Mohs, new Director of Global Programs, and Dr. Paul Barker, President, pose at the front entrance of the school behind Our Lady of Good Counsel’s seal.

Photo by Andrew Lolavar.Icy conditions in Montgomery County create dangerous driving for students.

Page 4

El Salvador Trip 2015

Page 8

International students will join OLGCHS in Fall 2015

Page 2 NewsApril 16, 2015

OLGCHS participates in March for Life Day on and off campus

The Talon

By Dylan Ghion,Copy Editor

Photo by Colleen Tracy.

great to see people coming together as advocates for life, and there was a real sense of community among the marchers, especially among the other high school students there.”

Life Issues Day back on the OL-GCHS campus was again a day full of fun, service, and knowledge. Students participating at school did a variety of service projects in-cluding helping African Palms and making sandwiches for the hungry.

They attended a concert and mass inside of the Kane Center.

Junior Kathleen Collins said, “I’m happy that GC had us make sandwiches for the hun-gry because even though we didn’t go on the March, we still got to help the less fortunate.”

That spirit of helping the needy and celebrating all human life seemed to emanate among the OL-GCHS students making it one of

the more successful Life Issues Days to date on the Olney campus.

On Thursday, January 22, OL-GCHS students took part in Life Issues Day. The students did so in one of two ways - attending the world renowned March for Life or the activities on campus.Both of these impactful events were aimed at one purpose, appreciat-ing the beauty and dignity of life.

The March for Life has become one of the world’s most famous pro-life marches, which began in 1973. Contrary to popular belief, abortion is not the only focus of life issues day. Other topics of concern include chastity, contraception, cloning, and capital punishment. These are considered violations of natural hu-man rights by the Pro-Life Office of the Archdiocese of Washington and need to be fought against as such.

Thousands of people stormed the Washington, D.C. to show their support for the March, and although there was a slight hiccup when pro-abortion supporters tried to stop the 2015 march, it went as planned.

The overall day included the an-nual Rally for Life and Mass, as well as, many speakers who spoke on various pro-life issues. Thousands of high school students from around the country attended the March.

Regan McBride, a junior who attended the March, said “It was

OLGCHS students line the sidewalk in Washington, D.C. wearing their dis-tinctive orange knit hats.

The mission of the Our Lady of Good Counsel High School newspaper, The Talon, is to be the most accurate, most thorough and most interesting source of news, sports and entertainment for the campus community.

Mission StatementThe Talon

o To assertively seek content that has high interest, impacts the reader, provokes discussion and advances the reader’s knowledgeo To react quickly to any newsworthy events, whether on campus, around Olney or in another part of the world (if it impacts our readers).o To make the products as relevant to readers as possible by knowing what has happened, what is happening and what will happen in the newso To create a product that is a reflection of the diversity of the backgrounds, goals and interests of the readers.o To consistently adhere to the ethical guidelines of The Talon and foster the most professional environment possible at all levels.o To develop and become technically, ethically and successful student journalists.

The principles that staff members should operate by include:

Editors-in-ChiefCheyanne Neuenschwander (Print)Richard DeRiso (Web)

Executive Managing EditorJamie Large

Multimedia Managing EditorBernard Greenhow III

Promotional Managing EditorLauren Ridlon

Copy Desk ChiefMarius Mutijima-Page

Copy EditorsRobert GallowayDylan GhionChase Meadows

The Talon StaffNews EditorSamuel Jones

Life EditorDari LeBlanc

Arts & Entertainment EditorKatherine Mullineaux

Opinion EditorAlexis Keating

Sports EditorDonovan McAfee

ColumnistsMargaret GeanocopoulosWilliam HeintzAndrew Lolavar

Staff WritersKendrick BonillaMolly BoyleOlivia DanceMargaret Geanacopoulos Julianna GomezWilliam HeintzHana JonesDelia LauniAndrew LolavarPeter May Nikolai Navarra-PetrovicNicholas Ribas

Masthead Logo ArtworkKatherine-Aria Close

AdvisorMs. Neugebauer

New dialogue between U.S. and Cuba leads to diplomatic shift

On December 30, 2014 the United States and Cuba attempted to reestablish diplomatic relations. The U.S. and Cuba negotiated in se-cret which resulted in the agreement to allow U.S. citizens to fly to Cuba for non-tourisms activates. U.S. citizens will also be allowed to use credit cards with-out restrictions and to bring up to $400 of Cuban goods and $100 of Cuban alcohol and tobacco. The Cu-ban Government has also released 53 political prisoners as part of their agreement with the United States. For Cuban citizens this agreement will change their lives significantly as this allows construction material to be imported and travel restric-tions have been eased which will al-low family visits to be much easier. The relationship of both countries will change dramatically and for the better as Tom Kolar says, “It’s about time. This will move the coun-tries towards a better relationship.” Both countries have not had good relations since the Bay of Pig’s inva-sion and the Cuban Missile-Crisis

“It is time for a new approach.”

-President Barack Obama

By Kendrick Bonilla,Staff writer in 1962. When the war had been fin-

ished the United States reaction was placing an embargo on Cuba which stopped all imports from Cuba to come the United States. Later the Cuban-Missile crisis occurred and the United States and the Soviet Union was engaged in a 13-day po-litical and military standoff on the

issue of the instal-lation of nuclear weapons in Cuba. Many people be-lieved that this crisis would have caused a nuclear war and the be-

ginning of World War III. When the crisis finished both countries had come to an agreement of the Soviet Union would not launch the missiles while the United States had agreed not to invade Cuba. After this the United States had the previous embargo act changed and then cut of all trade for Cuba. The Cuban-Missile Crisis event had a huge impact on the two countries and after the event had left the United States having an embargo act on Cuba for 53 years. Tom Ko-lar of the History Department says, “The old policy has failed, Ameri-cans and Cubans want it to change.”

Chesney wrote “There Goes My Life” about a teen-age boy expecting a child and chooses to stay involved as a dedicated father.

Jolie is a support-er of adoption over IVF and has 3 adopted chil-dren along with 3 biological kids.

McGinely has a child with Downs Syndrome and is a widespoken sup-porter of helping parents of children with disabilities.

Images courtesy of Google free domain.

Celebrities who support #LifeIssues

News Page 3April 16, 2015

By Samuel Jones, News Editor

President Barack Obama (left) and Speaker of the House John Boehner (right) are pictured above.

Photo courtesy of Google free domain.

Republicans win sweeping victories in 2014 midterm elections

After months of fierce cam-paigning, the United States Gen-eral Elections were held on No-vember 4. After consuming $3.7 billion, making it the most expen-sive midterm election in US his-tory, the 2014 midterms resulted in sweeping Republican gains as the final term of President Barack Obama enters it’s last two years.

In Congress all 33 seats in Senate Class II, as well as three in Senate Class III, were contested. Senate Democrats suffered a net loss of nine seats at the benefit of Republicans.

This marks the break of the Dem-ocratic Party’s hold on the Senate.

Former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid became Senate Minori-ty Leader as Kentucky Republican Mitch McConnell took his place.

House Republicans were able to both maintain their major-ity as well as gain 13 seats at the expense of House Democrats.

Republicans now hold their larg-est majority in the House since 1928. However, drama was present for one House Republican, Speak-er of the House John Boehner.

Boehner faced an insurrection by 25 Republicans who criticized him

for being too moderate. 29 votes were required to remove Boeh-ner, who has since evicted those House Republicans in revolt from key congressional committees.

Republicans also gained two governorships at the expense of Democrats who lost a third governorship (Alaska) to Inde-pendent candidate Bill Walker.

After making gains in both the Senate and the House, capturing the Senate from the Democrats, and weathering an internal power struggle for Speaker of the House, Republicans in Congress seem poised to own the next two years of lawmaking on Capitol Hill.

Upon closer examination how-ever, the future seams only to be filled with more gridlock. While the Republicans can pass bills through both houses now, President Obama still has veto power over any laws that make it through. To override this both chambers of Congress would need a 2/3 majority, which is an unrealistic request from the current Congress and would require a sub-lime lack of party discipline on the part of Congressional Democrats.

President Obama has already promised to veto the Keystone XL Pipeline proposal, which has al-ready passed through the House, if it passes through the Senate.

Seat Changes on Capitol Hill

Senate DemocratsGained: 0

Lost: 9

Senate RepublicansGained: 9

Lost: 0

House DemocratsGained: 3Lost: 16

House RepublicansGained: 16

Lost: 3

Republican GovernorshipsGain:

Arkansas, Illinois, Maryland, Maine

Loss: Pennsylvania

Democratic GovernorshipGain:

PennsylvaniaLost:

Arkansas, Illinois, Maryland, Maine,

Alaska (to Independant)

The Talon

The PAC under constructionBy William Heintz,

Staff WriterOn February 2nd Whiting-Turn-

er Construction Co. built a wall in the gallery hallway. This wall will serve as the future entrance to the OLGCHS Performing Arts Center.

The Performing Arts Center has been one of OLGCHS’s top pri-orities ever since arriving at the new campus. According to the Advancement Office, the audi-torium was in the original plans for the Olney campus but limited funding forced it to be put on hold.

Students and faculty noticed the partition as they walked into school at 7:45 a.m. Some had im-mediate concerns about the re-location of the school store.

“The preliminary idea is to con-vert one of the closets in the choir hallway into the school store. [In]the meantime, the store will be in a temporary location in the gallery for the rest of the year,” stated Ms. Tamsyn Ryan-Mc-laren, Campus Store Manager.

The new wall will be used as a donor showcase when the PAC is

completed and will be decorat-ed by Karen Singer Tileworks, Inc. using multi-colored ceramic tiles. Families and donors who give $50,000 or more towards the completion of the PAC will have their names inscribed on the wall when it is completed.

As of February 2015 the do-nor wall will hold 22 names. Contributions are still being ac-cepted. Contact the Advance-ment Office for more informa-tion about how to get involved.

Total funds raised for the project are $8,141,382 of the $10 million goal.

OLGCHS has made a con-certed effort to get the PAC com-pletely funded this year. Deeming 2015 the “Year of the Performing Arts” (YOPA), a pep rally, special events showcasing student work, and brochures with information about future plans for the center, ways perspective donors can con-tribute, and an artist’s rendition of what the PAC will look like are a few ways OLGCHS hopes to achieve its $10 million goal.

Page 4 A & EApril 16, 2015

for over half a century and cele-brating its 50th anniversary just last year, the Lord of the Rings se-ries has gained attention from peo-ple of all ages and has permeated through the ranks of science fiction fantasy to earn itself a position as a “neo-classic.” One of the most

widely known franchises in history, the manifestation of Tolkien’s mas-terpiece into a final movie adap-tion is needless to say, a big deal. While it bids a bittersweet farewell to the Baggins clan and their lovable comrades, it exits with a vivacious and satisfyingly worthwhile finale.

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies was released in the US this past December, bring-ing the world renowned Lord of the Rings prequel-turned-trilogy to a close in cinemas worldwide. J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy had previously been released worldwide in the early 2000’s.This timeless story follows Frodo Bag-gins’s perilous journey into the land of Mordor to destroy the Dark Lord Sauron and the One Ring. How-ever, its more recently-released prequel, The Hobbit, provides the much needed context and backstory of Frodo’s cousin, Bilbo, as he ac-quires the One Ring from Gollum in his journey with the dwarves. Perhaps the bigger story is the trend both in theaters and on tele-vision where prequels are released after the intended series of movies

or shows. This release of The Lion King 1 1/2 10 years after Disney’s original film. Additionally, it is not unheard of to have the final release in a series split up into multiple movies in order to to attract more hype and money, such as the films Harry Potter and the Deathly Hol-lows Parts 1 and 2, and The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Parts 1 and 2. This process not only earns the franchises additional income, but allows classic book-to-movie adap-tions to be released in multiple segments to insure attention to de-tail, as opposed to the entirety of a plot crammed into a single movie. As the Lord of the Rings prequel draws to a close, many are sad to see the series go while others are excited to see the culmination of a multimillion dollar series that has fueled books, movies, art, conven-tions, and many other aspects of society. Having been in existence

Prequels are series finales and finales are split into multiple filmsBy Alexis Keating,

Opinion Section Editor

specific source of inspiration. Har-ris appreciates artists with specific styles, or unique qualities in their work reflecting or their personality. “I can appreciate work that is very detailed because I am su-

per detail oriented as well,” Harris says. Her favorite medium is oil based paint; however, she also enjoys sculpting. Over all, Harris likes a little bit of everything. In college Har-

ris would like to major or minor in art. She hopes to work more quickly and develop a style that defines her, allowing for the cre-ation of her own artistic character. She is currently looking at Middlebury College (VT) and at Dickenson College (PA). The East Coast seems to hold Har-ris’s near future but she hopes to travel to California and pursue her career.

The OLGCHS Band Pro-gram has reached spectacular heights over the course of the first semester of this school year. The GC band is made up of four different ensembles: the wind en-semble (the highest level available), symphonic band, string ensemble, and jazz ensemble. The groups per-form numerous times throughout the year in school concerts, festi-vals, and even in a few competitions. The wind and string ensem-bles showcased their talent at the competition at Flower Val-ley High School this past fall. The ensembles prepared 3 piec-es that included one warm-up piece and two pieces to be scored by judg-es. They received superior ratings, the highest level of scores that the judges could give, across the board. "It was really great getting recog-nized for all the hard work we’ve put

i n t o p rac -ticing

and perfecting all our music," said Jamie Large, senior Flautist. “Scor-ing this high was a first for us which makes it even more exciting." This year’s Christmas concert was also a highlight. The wind and string ensembles played again as one. As a tradition, before their last piece, Sleigh Ride, all band members (and their conductor, Dr. Slocum) took out Santa hats to wear during the performance. In addition to achievements as a group, many soloists who are a part of the OLGCHS band are rec-ognized for their talent and success. The Solo and Ensemble Fes-tival is held every year for soloists and small ensembles to compete in. There is a county level and a state level, if the performers move on. This year, three GC se-niors, Jamie Large on flute, Hel-en Castelli on tuba, and Dan Zeng on trombone, are going to be competing in Counties in the hopes of reaching the State level. It is clear that the OLGCHS Band Program has brought great success to the first half of the “YOPA” (Year of the Perform-ing Arts) and will only contin-ue mounting their achievements. "This year has been so success-ful for the band and I’m excited to see what the rest of the year has in store," said Jamie. "Good Coun-sel’s music program is finally get-ting the recognition it deserves."

By Hana Jones, Staff writer

By Julianna Gomez, Staff Writer

Shaelyn Harris, senior, hard at work on her latest masterpiece.

The Talon

Images from Google free domain.

The WAMTC Fall Band Festival ratings chart is displayed to the left.Photo by Hana Jones.

The Good Counsel band ensemble poses together before a performance.Photo by Hana Jones.

Artwork by Shaelyn Harris.

Artist Profile: Shaelyn Harris

Photo by Julianna Gomez.

OLGCHS is a school with an excellent Fine Arts Department. The school has many great danc-ers, singers, musicians, and vi-sual artists. Senior Shaelyn Har-ris is a prime example of an artist dedicated to her craft at GC. Starting in pre-school, Harris always enjoyed arts and crafts, such as finger painting. Even in middle school she took very lightweight art classes. When she took an art class as a freshman at OLGCHS, Har-ris realized that high school classes are much more serious: “I was able to learn techniques that have helped me to strengthen my artistic abilities,” says Harris. During sophomore year, she completed a piece using chalk pastels. She did not have a true title for it, but calls it the “Green Dancer.” Her favorite part about the piece was learning and studying the muscle movements of the dancer. Harris’s favorite professional artist is Charmaine Olivia, a painter and photographer. Although she likes Olivia, she doesn’t have any one

“I can appreciate work that is very detailed because I am super detail oriented as well”

Band Program exemplifies “YOPA”

The Talon

A & E April 16, 2015 page 5

Wom

en’s

Chorus

Men’s Chorus

Chamber

Choir

Honors Chorus

Treble Choir

The entry-level vocal class-es, Men’s and Women’s Chorus, which are exclusive to male and female Good Counsel students, empha-size the concepts of secure

Let’s Break it Down

Does an actor/actress need to have a connection or any simi-larities with the character he/she plays in order to be successful? “Acting is not about being someone different. It’s finding the similarity in what is appar-ently different, then finding my-self in there,” says Meryl Streep. Seniors Rae Wessel and Hana Jones have been double cast in OL-GCHS’s spring musical Hairspray as Amber Von Tussel, a principle character who is beautiful and tal-ented but also spoiled and mean. Amber’s bratty and entitled moth-er runs the famous WYZT televi-sion station, which hosts the Corny Collins Show, the dance show Hair-spray revolves around. Her mother uses her power to make sure her daughter is prominently featured. Tracy Turnblad, the main lead, played by senior Molly Boyle, be-comes her enemy, threatening to replace her on WYZT and in her re-lationship with her boyfriend Link Larkin, played by Andrew Lehnus. She is the generic spoiled, bratty “mean girl” who is over-thrown by the likable underdog. Wessel and Jones feel they they are most connected to Amber through their mutual love of singing and dancing but agree they are more dif-ferent from her than they are similar.

Profiles of a principle character

By Lauren Ridlon, Promotional Managing Editor

vocal technique and an un-derstanding of basic musi-cal knowledge. The newest member of the choir family added this year and the only choral group conducted by Mr. Brett Taylor is the Tre-

ble Choir. This all-women’s intermediate group learns a vast repertoire of music from varying genres, mak-ing it a new and unique addi-tion. The highest level choir in the school, this group

experiments with a variety of different musical styles ranging anywhere from Pop to Gospel, and can often be seen and heard singing at the school-wide masses.

Neither girls are mean, bossy or entitled. Rather than being loathed by their peers, they are adored. “Hana and Rae are two of the nicest girls I’ve ever met. They both always have huge smiles on their faces and can light up a room!” says junior Colleen Tracy. There you have it: an actor or actress does not have to match the character he or she portrays. When it comes to a matter of height or hair color, maybe, but personality-wise, it is irrelevant. The ability of two girls to portray a character far from their true personalities proves this. Katie Grebenstein says it best: “Both Hana and Rae are super sweet girls, so them being able to act as mean as Amber, shows what talented actresses they are!” Wessel mentions that part of be-coming her character consists of taking past experiences and obser-vations and using them in her act-ing. Besides the blond hair, sassi-ness, songs and dancing roles, both Jones and Wessel were interested in the challenge of being Amber. “The connection comes when you really get to know your char-acter and are able to understand and express the emotions un-derneath all their actions. If you were exactly like the character you were playing, it wouldn’t be called acting!” says Jones.

Seniors Hana Jones and Rae Wessel behind the scenes at theater practice.

Shift Dress Skater Skirt Bodycon

The classic silhou-ette of the shift dress makes it an appro-priate outfit for any ocassion, regardless of the formality of the event

Skater skirt dresses are a great option for dances. The fitted top and flared out skirt provide a balance be-tween style and com-fort.

The bodycon dress is a school dance staple. The form fitting de-sign is very flattering, and at the appropri-ate length will follow any dress code.

Formal school functins like dances, such as Homecoming and Winter Formal, have been a long-standing traditions at OLGCHS. However, many female students are deterred from attending after reading the long list of dress code restrictions. Have no fear; there are several ways to obey dress code rules without having to sacrifice personal style.

An in-depth glimpse into the vocal performers at OLGCHSBy Alexis Keating, Opinion Editor

By Margaret Geanacopoulos, Columnist

Page 6 April 16, 2015 Life

New Year’s Resoltuons:In one year and out the other?

Top 10 New Years Resolutions

1) Work out2) Be happy3) Lose weight4) Stop smoking5) Unplug6) Be the best at...7) Stop drinking8) Love myself9) Work harder10) Make less mistakes

How long do resolutions last for people in the US?

48%

18%

36%

University of Scranton Study 2014

The Talon

Seniors weigh in on their year:

Second SemesterBy Olivia Dance,

Staff Writer

“My work load has not really changed. I have the same amount of homework each night. My stress level has gone down now that I have gotten into college and am not as stressed or worried.”

“I have much more free time since football ended. However, I make use of it by going to work during the week and weekend to make money.”

“I still care because I don’t want to let my grades go down or anything, but I feel less pressure to do well, so my amount of care has decreased some.”

-Lexy Andrews

-Stephanie Grodecki

-Maddie Miller

How has your social life and free

time changed from the first semester to the second semester?

How has your level of “senioritis” increased or

decreased now that it is

second semester?

How has your level of “senioritis” increased or

decreased now that it is second

semester?

How has your stress level and work

load changed now that it’s

second semester?

By Hana Jones, Staff Writer

Reputation: Are we innocent until proven guilty?

Earlier this year accusations were made stating that famous Comedian and star of the Cosby Show, Bill Cosby, had allegedly drugged and raped many women throughout his long-time career. Two dozen women have come forward to accuse Cosby of sex-ually assualting them in episodes dating back to the 1960’s. The alle-gations were made public by Come-dian Hannibal Buress at a show in Philadelphia, Cosby’s Hometown. These allegations and claims resulted in Cosby’s Come-dy Project being pulled from NBC and the Cosby Show re-

runs being pulled by TV Land, as well as a tarnished reputation. In the minds of Americans Cos-by is a supposed serial rapist due to the allegations against him. Al-ready, he is a victim of public opin-ion.The many memes associated with Bill Cosby convey the general feeling the public has towards him. The reason these allegations spread so fast and have such a great impact on the American public’s opinion of Bill Cosby is due to social media. In the modern age the internet and social media make informa-tion readily available, true or not. Turning an accusation into truth in the eyes of the public.

Comedian, Roseanne Barr says, “We all know women who know somebody, if they didn’t go through it themselves with Bill Cosby,” she said. “There are hardly any women — hairdressers, waitresses, working women — who don’t know some-body [affected by the allegations].” In response to these rape alle-gations Cosby’s attorney, John P. Schmitt has said, “Over the last several weeks, decade-old, dis-credited allegations against Mr. Cosby have resurfaced. The fact that they are being repeated does not make them true. Mr. Cosby does not intend to dignify these allegations with any comment. He would like to thank all his fans for the outpouring of support and assure them that, at age 77, he is doing his best work. There will be no further statement from Mr. Cos-by or any of his representatives.” Even though, to date, Cosby has not stood trial and none of these alle-gations have been proven, Cosby’s name still and will forever be asso-ciated with sexual assault thanks to the allegations made against him. In today’s world a simple accu-sation has the power to determine the guilt of the accused party even. Sometimes the power of “pub-lic opinion” is even more dam-aging to careers and reputations.

By Bernard Greenhow,Multimedia Managing Editor

Graphic by Bernanrd Greenhow.Poll Results from Rasmussen Reports.

“I procrastinate a lot more [now that it’s] second semester. I just don’t care anymore and I want to be stressfree so instead of homework and studying I watch a lot of vines and Netflix.”

-Richard DeRiso

When it comes to working out and being healthy it can be hard to maintain a consistent and help-ful regimen for the average busy teenager. With classes, homework, extracurricular activities, and var-ious personal obligations, finding time for exercising or planning out healthy meals can be diffi-cult and confusing, as well as time consuming—but not impossible. There are a few things the teen-ager looking to stay healthy should know: it is recommended that teen-agers under the age of 17 should be getting about at least one hour of aerobictype exercise each day. Now you ask: where am I sup-posed to get an hour of my time? The great thing about this sugges-tion, is that the time can be spread thorughout the day. Now of course

the more activity you experience, the greater your health will be, but getting in ten minutes here, ten min-utes there, or taking a twenty or so minute jog when you get home from school can start to quickly add up. Worried about the Dining Hall’s options? Look on the website at the Menu and use the color coding to plan what you should eat. A Green dot indicates a healthy option, a yel-low dot indicates an option in the middle, and a red dot indicates an option that you should only have a little bit of. The choice to exclude certain ingredients is also available. There are many health benefits to keeping an active lifestyle. Although it can be hard to stay healthy all the time, according to Nicole Nalesz-kiewicz, Sr., “It’s so worth it! Staying fit and spending that little bit of extra time has come with a lot of benefits. I’m more energetic and ready for the day after a run or quick yoga session”. Rugby player Jerry Terp, Sr., adds “the best feeling is knowing that you gave the workout your all!” Whatever benefit gives you in-centive, maintaining a healthy lifestyle is definitely attainable. Think: if you’re studying or read-ing a chapter in a book for home-work, why not do it on the tread-mill? If that doesn’t work for you, maybe hold a plank position for a page and then relax for a page. There are many ways to stay ac-tive. It just takes a bit of creativity.

Senior Yoga Club Co-President Nicole Naleszkiewicz sits in a calming pose during one of the club’s weekly sessions.

Why staying fit can fit into your lifeBy Katie Mullineaux,A&E Section Editor

Photo by Katie Mullineaux.

As quarter three comes to a close and students begin to clear out their binders for the fourth quarter, some take a moment to reminisce about a time when this was all new – freshman year. Many upperclassmen at OL-GCHS have probably forgot-ten what it was like to be the lowest on the social totem pole and many of the new things that all freshmen experience. As freshmen have become accli-mated and survived more than half of their first year in high school, they can now speak about “how it really feels to be a freshman.” Most, in typical fresh-man fashion, thought spir-it week was the highlight of their experience at OLGCHS. That week of the year being the liveliest, brought a sense of school pride and helping the freshman feel that they are just as much a part of the community. Midterms were the low. With the transition from middle school where many current freshmen had never had a true midterm exam, several felt as if they had no leg to stand on no matter how much in-class review they had.

“Although I did have finals in middle school, I still felt slight anx-iety when I was studying. [I wor-ried]about how they were going to be a lot harder because of how much more I had learned in some of my classes,” said Maggie Miller. Although freshman had the feel-ing of being overwhelmed with midterms, many students didn’t feel that they had struggled, academi-cally, as much as they first believed they would in high school classes. (This however excludes the fresh-man gym class, where many cringing at the thought of running the mile.)

Several freshmen credit their suc-cess at OLGCHS to their teachers and coaches. Their dedication too not only helping the students excel in the classroom or on the field but socially and organizationally, try-ing to motivate the underclassmen to be great in all aspects of their lives was the most noted reaction. And while many students expe-rience social anxiety coming in as a freshman about how they were go-ing to make new friends or where to sit in the dining hall, many said that being active during the summer at OLGCHS through sports camps

or the robotics club helped them make friends with common interests. “My experience coming into Good Counsel, was slightly dif-ferent because I had made many friends over the summer, through various camps and programs run by the school so I wasn’t really con-cerned about whether I was going to have people to socialize with. However, retreat definitely helped me meet people I wouldn’t have talked to otherwise and I think retreat was real-ly fun and helpful in that way. I think I’ve also kept several of the friends I had first met because of how close we are as a class,” said Cullen Yankee.

By Dari LeBlanc,Lifestyle Editor

Photo by Dari LeBlanc.A group of freshmen girls looking cheerful after school at the end of the third quarter.From left to right: Maggie McDarby. Jocelyn Smith. Lauren MacDanld. Sarah Petzold and Ally Lubeck.

Delia Launi, Staff writer

Two .5 credit interdisiplinary electives, Roots of Rock and Roll-1969 and 1970-Present are new course options as of 2015. Mr. Gittings’ love for music is not a secret to anyone in the OLGC-HS community, so it’s no suprise that his discovery of Steve Van Zandt’s (Bruce Springsteen’s guitarist) curriculum on-line led to a real class. Because of their love for music and so-cial studies, Gittings asked Mr. Kolar to co-teach these courses.

America at the crossroads: How music has shaped history and culture

Daily Activities:

• group discussions

• occasional projects• Listening to rock-n-roll music ranging from Bruce Springsteen to the Beatles to Motown.

Special Guests:• Teachers: Differ-ent teachers like Mr. Tom Hilton and Mr. Dennis Essig come to the class• They discuss how music affects their lives in historical times like the Viet-nam War and The March on Washington.

The Talon

Freshmen: A look at how they have acclimated to high schoolLIFE April 16, 2015 PAGE 7

By Lauren Ridlon,Promotional Managing Editor

LIFE April 16, 2015 Page 8

Lynette is a former Sister of the Sacred Heart. She left the order to become a nurse and was asked back as a layperson (not as a nun) to run the trips. She works 4 months on projects in El Salvador and spends the other 8 are on US front- connecting with schools, etc.

Milton is a 13 year old boy that Mr. Hanel saw 3 years ago at the daycare in Las Delicias. 2 years ago, Mr. Hanel got to know him better at Casa Voluntario (the volunteer house) where he stays when on summer vacation. His parents are not in the picture, so he lives with a foster mom in El Salvador. Happily, a family from Philadelphia is in the process of adopting him and it will hopefully go through this year. “Milton, for all he has been through, is the most genuinely kind human being i have ever met- he has a huge heart, and is always smiling. I wish him the best” says Mr. Hanel.

Don Miguel was in a seminary studying under Archbishop Rome-ro (Archbishop in El Salvador who worked for the poor). He left the seminary in 1980 after Romero was killed and joined the guerrilla movement. He then spent three years in the guerrilla camp on a volcano called Guazapa. Since the war, he has worked on countless projects with Project FIAT.

Who’s who?

2015 Winter Trip students and teachers at the local church in El Salvador (Back to Front): Fourth Row (Right to Left): Erica McGovern, Mr. Hanel, Mr. Curtin, Shea Scarlett, Ms. Narbon, Ms. Bechtol, Lynette, Sophia Tydings, Mr. Antico, Jake Kelly, Matt Stickell, Maddie Pack, Sedzro TamakloeThird Row: Rose Prizzi, Suzanne Kimble, Tara Shepherd, Ms. Riely, Meghan Lemmo, Cosette Riely, Mallory Fox, Bridget Cas-sidy Elisabeth DeMarco, Margaret Geanacopolous, Luke Bosley, Emma Malec, Maggie Herbster, Jesse Linsenmeyer, Abel BisratSecond Row: Haley Kuhns, Mackenzie Masters, Priest at the Rutilio Grande Church, Jenn Ampey, Demetra Zuras, Alexa Weis-man, Katie Herrmann, Lucy Hassel, Alexandra HackmanFront Row: Milton, Lauren Ridlon

200,000 impoverished...2.8% of the population lives under $1.25/day

Minimum Wage: $2/ hour

EL SALVADOR 2015 TRIP

** Cost for Mr. Hanel: $1400 per person BUT this is paid for through student fundraising

2010- Trip 1Repaired mudslide dam-age from Hurricane Irene

2011- Trip 2Laid the foundation in the daycare at Las Delicia and built in house Ilobasco

2012- Trip 3Painted daycare at Las Delicias and built a class-room addition in Ilobasco

2013- Trip 4Started the ground break for the classrooms at Cuidad Arce and built a house for a woman named Daisy

2014(winter)- Trip 5Laid a water pipe for the neighborhood in Las Delicias, painted class-rooms at Cuidad Arce

2014(summer)-Trip 6Built a retaining wall at cuidad arce, fixed road erosion in Las Delicias

2015- Trip 7Started groundbreaking for homes for women that have escaped abu-sive relationships in Las Delicias, paved the driveway for Cuidad Arce and painted their computer

Looking for a little entertainment? Try this crossword puzzle highlighting significant African American figures you should be aware of (sponsored by the BSA Club.)

Across:2. The name of the first black astronaut in space.4. The initials of the “I have a Dream” speaker5. Polotocal demostration held in DC for jobs and freedom6. The name of the first black professional basketball team

Down:1. Other country that celebrates Black History Month in October3. What other country also has black history month?4. The writer of “I know Why the Caged Bird Sings”

Every January (and now July), selected OLGCHS students and faculty travel to San Salvador, El Salvador for an international ser-vice/immersion trip. There, they participate in Project FIAT where they volunteer in the impoverished neighborhoods, like Las Delicias, and participate in projects includ-ing building houses in Las Deli-

Illustration by Angelica Johnson (Senior).

cias, visiting an orphanage, doing construction at a school (Cuidad Arce) and working at a daycare. In a country with about 6.3 million people, there are about 200,000 impoverished people and 2.8% live on the poverty line. Poverty is defined as living on less then $1.25 a day. GC students and faculty go for two reasons:

1) to provide aid for people most in need and 2) “to further the concept of the global community between GC and El Salvador” as Mr. Sean Hanel, English Teacher and Campus Min-ister says. The trip lasts one week and is filled with daily service, cul-tural experiences,and team bonding.

Maya Angelou was an actress, singer, au-thor and poet. She was a civil rights ac-tivist and best known as the first African American woman to write a non-fiction best seller, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Angelou’s talent is still remembered to-day even though she died May 28, 2014.

Photo courtesy of Lauren Ridlon.

THE TALON

Beneath the wig Waking up at six AM, I know the routine. First, the wig, hairpieces, hairspray and tons of bobby pins. Then, the meticulous application of makeup to make sure I look just as I want to. Finally, after bags are packed, warm-up clothes are on, and a yogurt is scarfed down, I am head-ed to the elevator of my massive ho-tel to compete in the 2014 Southern Regional Oireachtas. To most peo-ple this means regional champion-ships, but to an Irish Dancer this means months of training for a few minutes on stage to show all we’ve got. When a non-Irish-dancer comes to these events, all they see are the spray tan legs, sparkly dresses, hair wigs and lots of makeup- but un-derneath all of that is an athlete. Many people act as though I have it easy when I tell them I am danc-er- as if my muscles don’t ache the same or as if I don’t work as hard as someone who plays a sport. This isn’t “toddlers and tiaras” or “just dance”- not to us. Just as someone prepares for a championship in their sport, we prepare for ours . We train for months, upwards of eight hours a week, for a few minutes on stage. I am here to be an advocate for dancers and say that yes, we are just as tough. Not only do we have the stamina, muscle power and at-titude of an athlete, but we make it look pretty with impeccable tech-nique, fancy footwork and smiles. Our coaches are just the same- sup-porting us, being our biggest cheer-leaders … and our biggest critics. They train us to have the physical stamina of a champion but also to

have them mental stamina. Beneath the wig is a champion working. If you took a look in the brain of an Irish Dancer right before he/she steps on the competition stage, you would find it eerily quiet. As I stand on the side of the stage, I run through my routine over and over in my head, my focus crys-tal clear. I take deep breaths and keep my muscles warm as the line of waiting dancers moves closer and closer to the front. Finally, it is my turn to go. The minute my foot touches the stage, I am “on”. To make a good impression on the judges, I am smiling with my shoul-ders back and my head held high. Comments from my teachers about making the right impression run through my head as I make a mental checklist: Are my feet in position? Am I in the right place on stage? Oh, the judge is looking at me. The music begins and what was once a quiet mind turns into New York City on New Years. All at once my sense take in the music, the crowds , the other girl on stage, my heartbeat and tired muscles. At the same time, I am trying to pay attention to the music and keep in mind all the techniques notes I have been getting for months… Turn out! Cross! Point! Smile! Making big jumps, high kicks and steady beats, I can only hope my efforts are producing my best step. The dance finishes and I take the bow, rush off stage and get ready for round two which is much the same. After everything is done, the wait-ing and thinking begins. Waiting for awards and results to be announced

By Lauren Ridlon,Promotional Managing Editor is the easy part…

the thinking is not. Much like the Mon-day morning quarterback, a champion level dancer is play-ing the film of their dance in their head, worrying that the slight mis-take in their third step will cost them a p l a c e m e n t andwonder-ing if maybe they could have danced just a little harder. I was wrong earlier, our coach-es aren’t our biggest crit-ics, we are. When the numbers, the p l a c e m e n t - t h e compensation for our long hours of work- are on the line, it matters. I once heard, “if dance was any easier, it would be called foot-ball”. Now I am not saying any sport is easy at all, but I’m not saying dance is either. We have the same goals as a football player stepping onto the turf- to succeed. Just as the quarterback perfects his arm placement and passing so his throw is impec-cable, we spend hours in front of the mirror making sure each small move is perfect. studying and practicing , we rehearse our

steps until we are blue in the face, we learn to have the aware-ness and quick reflexes to avoid colliding with other dancers on stage. We also train year round doing strength training, stami-na conditioning and workouts. When people tell me dance isn’t a sport, it is hurtful. It makes it seem as though it is an easy hobby, not a passion and a lifestyle. It is most certain-ly an art form in its beauty and grace, but athletic in its demands. Shanna LaFleur said it best, “it takes an athlete to dance, but an artist to be a dancer”.

Athletics April 16, 2015 Page 9

RED- WestGREEN- Mid American YELLOW- SouthernORANGE- Mid AtlanticPINK- New England

American Regions for the Oireachtas (regional championships)

1

2

3

4

5

Dancers compete by age and ex-pertise and are scored based on technique and performance.

Regular competitions are run at all times of the year.

Regionals are held in De-cember, Nationals in the summer and Worlds in the

Most competitions (feis) are solo competitions but there are also group dances called ceilies

Competitions are called feis or feisianna

Competition Fast Facts:

(IMAGE) Lauren Ridlon, Sr. (right) with Regional Champion Saoirse Deboy.

THE TALON

Roger Mason, Jr.’s basketball jersey is officially retired to honor achievements By Robert Galloway,

Copy Desk Editor

Roger Mason Jr., class of 1999, would fall under the category of having a “successful NBA career”. He is a two time NBA champion, he finished top 10 in 3-point per-centage 3 times, and was one of the best free throw shooters through-out his career. These are stats that most NBA players did not accom-plish. Roger Mason also played in the league for 11 seasons, while spending the 2003 and 2004 sea-son playing in Israel and Greece.

However, his success did not start in the NBA. Coming out of Good Counsel, he was one of the most highly recruited basketball players in, not only the WCAC, but all of Maryland. In his senior year, Roger Mason, alongside fellow teammate Chris Monroe, helped the Falcons win the WCAC reg-ular season title and finish 21st in the USA Today Men’s Basketball rankings. That season he averaged 20 points, 7 rebounds, and 2.5 steals per game and was voted to the 1st team All-Met Men’s basketball for the Washington Post. Before he graduated he was also awarded the title “Mr. Basketball” which given yearly to the best basketball play-er in the Washington D.C. area.

Roger Mason left UVA with impressive stats and is 3rd all-time for his career free

throw percentage (86.9%).In 2002 he was drafted by

the Chicago Bulls in the second round. Though he spent his ca-reer playing with several differ-ent teams, he made a strong im-pact on the NBA and continues to be a part of it by being the vice president of the NBPA (National Basketball Players Association).

It is now clear why Good Coun-sel honored him and retired his jer-sey number (21) before the Men’s varsity game against Gonzaga.

Roger Mason tweeted after the game “Thank you @OLGCHS for re-tiring my jersey. I am truly blessed!”

Mason is already in the Good Counsel Athletic Hall of Fame and through being honored on January 9th and having his jersey retired, will solidify his ever-last-ing impact on Good Counsel.

Photo by Mr. Daniel Radford.

Varsity Wrestling’s 53 match win streak continues

Photo by Donovan MCAfee sports fan

By Donovan McAfee, Sports Editor

The Varsity Wresting team has amassed an impressive 50 dual match win streak.

The win streak started in the 2012-2013 season when Good Counsel went an impressive 18-0 anchored by the back of their line-up featuring: 195 pounder Spen-cer Neff, who currently wrestles at Duke University, 220 pounder Kyle Snyder, who was a junior world champion and currently starts for the Ohio State university at 197 pounds, and heavyweight Jemal Averette, who is now playing football at IUP.

The 2012-2013 team went on to win not only the programs sec-ond WCAC title in school histo-ry but also, the Good Counsel’s first Maryland State Independent School wrestling championship and placed third at National Preps.

Following the 2012-2013 sea-son Good Counsel lost three of its four state champions.

The team lost Spencer Neff to graduation, Kyle Snyder opted to go to the Olympic Training Cen-ter, and Jemal Averette opted not to wrestle in order to pursue a football career. Many young wrestlers had to step up to keep the program on top.

The 2013-2014 season featured the emergence of young wrestlers like Kevin Snyder, Nick Miller and Bailey Thomas who each placed sec-ond in their respective weight class-es at the Maryland state tournament.

Despite losing so much talent from the previous season the Fal-cons were able to increase their win streak to 33 straight dual meet wins; and recaptured the WCAC title for the second straight year.

At the state tournament Good Counsel finished a very close sec-ond place losing by only a half point to nationally ranked Mc-Donough. The team had an im-pressive 11 place winners at the state tournament that year.

This year Good Counsel has al-ready earned an impressive 20-0 record in dual meets, pushing their win streak to 53 consecutive wins.

The team is also currently ranked #1 in the Washington Post.

Under head coach Skylar Sarr the team has already won four WCAC championships including this year when they edged out St. Johns 226 to 199 at the WCAC championship, a State Champion-ship, placed third at National Preps and has finished ranked #1 in the Washington Post two years in a row.

Athletics April 16, 2015 Page 10

Roger Mason Jr. poses with his retired jersey. Also pictured from left to right: senior Greg Hill, junior Keandre Jones, junior Nick Gittings, and senior Matt Perrigard.

The Good Counsel Wrestling Team after winning WCAC’s

THE TALON

Why is football so big?In depth look at why football is such a popular sport, not only in our school, but also in the rest of the United States.

Photo by almunus Dan Whelan ’82.A panoramic photograph of the Our Lady of Good Counsel High School Dancel Football Field.

By Julianna Gomez,Staff Writer

It is well known around the Montgomery County area that Our Lady of Good Counsel High School has an exceptional athletics program. All of our sports teams are respected by the MOCO com-munity and we are proud to have them as a part of our Falcon fam-ily. Although this is true, there is one sport that seems to draw the most attention every autumn.

“Jumping on the bleachers, cheer-ing my team on with my friends every Friday night – that’s what I love about Good Counsel football” senior Savolia Spottswood said.

Having a national ranking of 192 and being number two in the state, the Our Lady of Good Counsel foot-ball team is very popular and attracts many football fans to their games during the fall season. Aside from the fact that GC has a great foot-ball program, there are more rea-sons as to why football seems to be

such a big focal point at our school. Not only are the OLGCHS

Falcons a strong and talented op-ponent for other teams around the area, but they also are a large source of profit for our school.

Every person who attends a Varsity home game, exclud-ing the freshman, JV, and Var-sity players, is required to buy one $5.00 ticket in order to be granted entry into the stadium.

There are about five home games on the Dancel Field per sea-son, with each crowd of 1,500 to 2,000 people on average. That is about $7,500 to $10,000 of income per game. Plus, for the big rival games of about 5,000 fans, that’s almost $25,000 in ticket money that the athletic program collects.

Of course there are fees that need to be paid with that income, such as the people who help to make the games possible, utilities for field lights, security, etc., but the rest of that money is the school’s.

Aside from the entry income that the football team directly brings in, football games also help to attract future students to the school. Ath-letes want to go to a school that is known for being good at sports, and the fact that OLGCHS is number two in the state for football helps to draw in many incoming freshman, whether they are football play-ers or an athlete of another sport.

According to ESPN, professional football is the most popular sport in America for the 30th year in a row, and is the ninth most popular sport all around the world. It also draws more college and high school par-ticipants to it than any other sport.

The NFL receives the highest tele-vision ratings of all major sports, and the Super Bowl is our nation’s larg-est annual televised sporting event.

It is not on purpose that people universally seem to put American football on a pedestal. Football has been the most popular sport in our country for many years,

as fans have kept and always will hold a passion for it in their hearts.

When outsiders think of Our Lady of Good Counsel High School, many may think of how it is an overall well-rounded school with a variety of class-es and extracurricular activities for their students to choose from.

While OLGCHS still holds this reputation as true, the word “football” continues to pop into the minds of many people when they think of our school.

From having one of our games broadcasted live on ESPN to hav-ing the Penn State University Football Coach making a surprise appearance to one of our games has definitely broadened the Fal-con fan-base to a national level, resulting in OLGCHS football to be considered a “big deal” in not only the Montgomery County area, but also all over the country.

Good Counsel’s Equestrian “Team” is a unique forum for competition

THE TALON

The Good Counsel Equestrian Team made its debut in the fall of 2013 and is one of the most unique teams at Good Counsel. A long time club offering, it was re-founded as a com-petitive “team” by sophomore Remy Nash and her mother, Barbara Nash.

The club currently has 15 team members rang-ing from freshman to seniors.

The competitive season for the club starts in September and fin-ishes with the regular season in February. Regionals, zones and national finals all begin in March through April. This year the na-tional competition is in Florida.

The riders compete at all differ-ent skill levels. This team is different from other sports because it is not technically a varsity sport, but a way for the Good Counsel women and men who enjoy riding torepresent their school in a competitive format.

The club members do not need to own horses themselves. Addi-

tionally, anyone wishing to join is required to have at least two years of riding experience, a com-petitive drive and enjoy team building opportunities with oth-er students from Good Counsel.

The team competitions are al-ways held on the weekends in Mary-land, Pennsylvania and Virginia.

In previous years they compet-ed in the Inter-School Horse Show (ISHS) series but this year the team decided to transition to the In-terscholastic Equestrian Associa-tion (IEA), which is also a series for high school level riders seri-ous about upping their game and desiring to continue competitive riding in college. IEA require-ments are much more stringent and the judging is more critical.

“This year, we are competing in a much more serious environment. IEA is a big step up from last year, and gives us the opportunity to gain the kind of experience College teams look for. We also have a wider range of skill level among our riders

and a great host barn, Oatland Sta-bles” said junior Molly Hutchinson.

The women on the team like the change but a new year also meant new challenges for them. Junior Brigid Thompson said, “The big-gest difference is that we joined a larger, more competitive league which has proved to be a bit of a challenge since it is only our sec-ond year, but I think we've definite-ly held it together pretty well. But of course the biggest difference for me personally is just how different everything is without our seniors

from last year. It's crazy how dif-ferent the team is without them”.

The team holds student-orga-nized meetings every month at school. Monthly social activities are planned by its members and a year-ly awards banquet is held each May.

Next season will bring about change again and it is anticipated that additional offers will be made available to any rider at Good Counsel with the desire to compete.

Contact Mrs. Nash for Ad-ditional information regarding the team bcrnash97@gmail.com.

By Richard DeRiso,Co-Editor-in-Chief

Photo by Mr. Tom Hilton.Our Lady of Good counsel’s Equestrian Team photo 2014-2015 team.

Athletics April 16, 2015 Page 11

Page 12 April 16, 2015 Sports

High school swim meets: How competitions are scored

By Dylan Ghion,Copy Desk Editor

Swimming competitions have four main competitions based off of the breast, back, butterfly, and freestyle strokes along with IM, which stands for individual med-ley. The medely combines the four main strokes into one race. There are two types of meets in the washington metropolitan pri-vate school swim dive league. There are dual meets in which two teams compete head to head. In dual meets, scoring goes in six peo-ple competitions because regulation sized pools fit six lanes. The scoring goes to the first five finishers of the race and your finishing position de-termines your point total. The win-ner gets 6 points for their team with the following finishers getting four, three, two, and one point respec-

tively for their team. There are also three relays in an average meet. Championship meets have a very different style of scoring due to a larger amount of par-ticipants The scoring of cham-pionship meets is based off of a scorecard that the scorers use. Championship meets have up to 20 participants in different heats. The top 16 finishers of the event are invited back later in the event for finals, usually held at night. Senoir Cheyanne Neuenschwan-der, who committed to Univer-sity of Pittsburgh, set a league record in the dive competitions. The swim and dive team looks to continue their strong performance into the championship meets this year, where they have done fair-ly well the last couple of years.

Throughout the years OLGCHS’ Ice Hockey has steadily been gain-ing more attention. There are cur-rently about sixteen players on the varsity team but that number fluctu-ates because the coach is not afraid to pull players up from JV to Varsity and vice versa. Like any other team, we have lost key players through-

out the years due to graduation.Sr. Aria Johnston said, “Even

though we’ve lost some big play-ers, it has allowed us all to learn how to step up and keep the depth of the team. The hockey team is honestly like a big community. As the only girl on the varsity team, I really appreciate the fact that the guys treat me like an equal”.

Since winning the champion-ship in 2013, our hockey team moved up the next division and changed focus regarding rivals. Steven Ralston, Class of 2014, claims that during his time at OL-GCHS, “Loyola was our biggest rival.” Now, senior Aria Johnston claims that “Gonzaga is our biggest rival,” but she also has high hopes that OLGCHS will bring home the championship again this year!

Serious athletes continue to play after high school. Steven Ralston ‘14 said, “I was never a top line player. When I came to Good Counsel I got a lot more ice time and it allowed me to improve and play the way that I play today. I love the game and I

Good Counsel Falcons Hockey Through the YearsBy Jamie Large,

Executive Manging Editor

Varsity hockey players pictured during warmups at the Rockville Ice Arena on senior night.

am so grateful that I have the oppor-tunity to continue to play”. Ralston now travels and plays for the Rich-mond Generals and seems to have a bright future lined up for him!

On February 12, the following seniors were honored before the game at the Rockville Ice Arena: Aria Johnston, Ben Tasto, Mason Leah, Zack Ralli, Jamie King, Joey Kelly, Kaitlin Simmons, Nathan Lester, and Michael Pratt. Each senior was honored with their par-

Photo by Jamie Large.

Kevin Budock, featured athleteBy Donovan McAfee,

Sports Editor

Photo by @Kevin Budda IG:

Junior Kevin Budock is this issue’s featured athlete. Kevin Budock is a three year starter on the OLGCHS Varsity Wrestling team. Kevin is also al-ready a two time Maryland State Wrestling Champion and is in pur-suit of his third consecutive cham-pionship this February. Budock is a two time National Prep Finalist, and is the defending Sophomore National Champion at 138 pounds. Budock has been wrestling since the second grade. He wrestled for youth league wrestling powerhouse Warhawks Wrestling Club, the same team that produced former Good Counsel superstar wrestler Kyle Snyder, as well as, current Good Counsel wrestlers and state finalist, Bailey Thomas and Kevin Snyder. Budock has aspirations of,

“one day winning an NCAA na-tional championship and hope-fully wrestling internationally.” Outside of wrestling, Kevin en-joys hanging out with friends. When asked what makes him so dominant, Kevin responded, “I be-lieve I work harder than most of the people I wrestle, and enjoy being pushed and challenged on the mat.” Many of Kevin’s teammates agreed that he is the hardest working kid on the team including Senior 220 pounder senior Nick Miller. Kevin Budock said that his moti-vation is the fact that he, “hates los-ing more than anything in life.” He also, said that his short term goals were to help bring Good Counsel its third consecutive WCAC wrestling championship and its second state championship in the last three years.

ents before warmups. Each senior was presented in front of the crowd along with their chosen college and their preference for playing hock-ey in college, given a flower, and posed with their parent for a quick photo on the ice. To make matters better, the Falcons won the game!

Although OLGCHS Ice Hockey still receives little recognition for their achievements, our team has still progressed significantly re-garding skills and student support!

Photo by Jamie Large.

The Talon

Senior Aria Johnston at the Rockville Ice Arena on Senior night

Kevin Budock in the state final.

1st place

6 points

2nd place

4 points

3rd place

3 points

4th place

2 points

5th place

1 point

6th place

0 points

How Meets are Scored

Poms Place 4th at Montgomery County CompetitionBy Jamie Large,

Executive Managing Editor

On January 10, the OLGCHS Poms team placed in fourth place at a major competition! The team has been rehearsing since the end of football season. The rehearsal schedule consisted of rehearsals for about three hoursevery day in an outstanding effort to perfect the rou-tine. The competition has been the central focus of the team’s efforts.

This is the Pom team’s first time competing with public schools. Usu-ally, the team partakes in a private school only competition. The danc-ers are judged based off of a series of categories which includes technique, style, etc. Last year they brought

home the championship and received high rankings across the board.

Senior Jenna Martinko said, “I’m really proud of the team for beating four schools who have been com-peting in the Division I Montgom-ery County competitions for years. We’re all so excited to do it all again in the private school competition!”

Throughout the years, Bishop McNamera has been the biggest ri-val of the Poms team according to senior, Hana Jones. Fortunate-ly, the Poms team is full of talent-ed and well-trained dancers who always bring their A-game! The choreography for the competition consisted of complex lyrical, hip-hop, jazz, and line dance styles.

Senior Josie Feron said, “We were

all really proud of how well we did and we couldn’t wait to see how we were going to do in this year’s competition!

We always have a ton of stu-dent support and love from the en-

tire Good Counsel community”. The Poms still plan to com-

pete in the private school com-petition that will happen lat-er in early March later this year.

Page 13 April 16, 2015 Athletics

After GC’s Swim and Dive Team officially concluded its season at Metros, the members of the team and their coaches, Coach Silva and Coach Lozupone, finally had the op-portunity to look back at their sea-son and appreciate everything they accomplished. Their progress of last season compared to this one is sig-nificant as they continue to prove that they are only getting stronger.

While there were many highlights, one of the most memorable occurred at Stone Ridge’s senior meet. The girls’ 200 medley relay team found themselves in the lead going into the last leg of the relay, and Stone Ridge’s anchor Katie Ledecky, Olympic gold medalist, was the only person stand-ing in their way. For Good Counsel it was up to Junior Ariana Casimates, who said, “I didn’t want to let the team down, so as soon as I dove in I knew I had to give it all I had and do it for the team.” Ariana was able to hold off Ledecky and bring home the win for GC in the relay.

The girls’ dive team was led by the private school league’s diver of the year and University of Pittsburgh commit, Cheyanne Neuenschwander, who was undefeated in dive meets this season leading up to Metros. The highlight of her season came when she broke the meet record at the Na-tional Catholic Championships, when she had six dives for a total score of 229.15 points. “I went into Catholic Nationals with the goal of breaking our high school record. When I heard I broke the meet record as well I was speechless! It felt so good to know that all my hard work is paying off.”

Many on the team enjoy the so-cial aspect of it all, and that spend-ing all the time at the pool brings them closer, emphasizing how a team is often looked at as a fami-ly. “The best part about the team is

making friends who I wouldn’t have met before”, said Junior diver Col-leen Tracy. Coach Silva gives much of the credit to the captains, “We charged our captains (Alex Mun-son, Stephen Haase, James Murphy, Cheyanne Neuenschwander, Annie Karta, Kara Lerche, and Helen Cas-telli) this year with the task of build-ing a solid team, and they did. They planned and orchestrated a number of social events and team bonding experiences, and they fostered a great atmosphere”, said Coach Silva.

The team consistently support-ed each other. At WMPSSDLs, the team’s best breaststroker, Allison Wade, was injured on the start-ing block, and the rest of the girls’ team was instantly surrounding her to help her. Many stayed with her for the rest of the meet, bringing her anything she needed. With Alli-son unable to swim in a relay later in the meet, freshman Leah Broome had to step up as an alternate. The rest of the girls’ relay brought Leah in and gave her encouragement to get the job done in the relay. This emphasizes the “next swimmer up-”mentality of the team, in that they weren’t going to let anything stop them from accomplishing their goals.

The team always rallied around an

individual who needed extra encour-agement. At WMPSSDLs, Freshman Mason Karl was forced into a swim-off in the 500 freestyle race with a Junior from Gonzaga. This is a long, physically exhausting race and it’d be the second time Mason would be swimming it that day. “With most of the GC team gathered around the pool cheering, he touched out his competition. He bettered his time on the second go-around, and came back and dropped his time again in finals for the third time in one day”, said Coach Silva. The endurance it took for Mason to swim that race twice in a short period of time was an extremely difficult challenge, but with his team-mates rallied around him he was able to persevere through that challenge.

The coaches are most proud of the dedication and heart of the team, as the work they have put in has cer-tainly payed off. These two exam-ples (Allison’s injury and Mason’s 500 free) demonstrate the heart and the spirit of our team, which is real-ly what Coach Lozupone and I are most proud of”, said Coach Silva.

Swim and Dive is a sport where the improvement of an individual from the beginning of the season to the end is measured by how much their times or scores have changed.

Yet the true success of the team is measured by how everybody prac-ticed and got better than they were at the beginning of the year, and that is the true reason why Good Counsel Swim and Dive continues to improve, and they don’t show any intention of slowing down that progress now.

By Nick Ribas,Staff Writer

GC Swim and Dive

The Swim and Dive Team Captains(Pictured left to right: Back Row: Alex Munson, Stephen Haase, James Murphy (back row), Helen Castelli, Cheyanne Neuenschwan-der, Kara Lerche, Annie Karta (front row).

Senior diver Cheyanne Neuenschwander twists gracefully at Georgetown Prep.

Photo of the poms team before the Montgomery County competition.Photo by Pat Shepherd.

Photo by Tina Neuenschwander.Photo by Glenn Karta.

Graphic by Julianna Gomez.The Our Lady of Good Counsel Swim and Dive season reasults of 2015.

Season ResultsBoys Girls

GC vs. DJO12/02

Meet @ Stoneridge

1/10

Meet @ GP1/20

NationalCatholicHS Chips

1/24-1/25

WMPSSDLS1/28-1/31

Metros2/04-2/07

WIN

WIN

7thPlace

3rdPlace

6thPlace

12thPlace

3rdPlace

4thPlace

Loss vs. GP

Loss vs. AHC

WIN

WIN

The Talon

Page 14 April 16, 2015 Opinion

As I begin, I state that I, the writ-er of this article, am a black teenag-er. Bias in the media in itself cannot be judged without bias of its own.

We all have preconceived no-tions of what bias looks like. I de-fine racial bias as media coverage coming from only one angle of a story, focusing on a person’s race as opposed to the facts of a story. We must first discern by saying that many stories do have a ra-cial aspect to them but that does not make the news agency biased. When students at OLGCHS were polled, most felt that the me-dia is biased in general. They not-ed that the media is biased to po-litical agendas. The most notable examples of this are FOX News, a notably conservative agency and MSNBC, a recognized liberal me-dia outlet. Both of those media outlets have their own agendas: promote the parties we support and taint the other party negatively. The next surprising revelation made known by the poll of OL-GCHS students was the over-whelming number that found there is racial bias in the media. Being black, I anticipated the

Racial bias does exist in the media todayBy Marius Mutijima Page,

Copy Desk Chief

Graphic by Marius Mutijima Page.

minority students, especially the black and/or African-American ones, to claim racial bias in the me-dia in the aftermath of the Michael Brown and Eric Garner situations. Many students have claimed that the coverage of those situations were racist and are getting sick and tired of the headline, “White Po-lice Officer Kills Black Person”. However, those types of head-lines do not make the media racist. In those specific cases, they are the facts of the cases. Nowadays, the media is so afraid

of being portrayed as racist that it wants to take color out of the story. Sometimes, it just isn’t possible to take color out of the story because they are the facts of the situation. On August 20, 2014 on the O’Reilly Factor, host Bill O’Reil-ly stated: “I am furious about how the shooting death of Michael Brown is being reported and how some people are reacting to it.” Although Mr. O’Reilly is really speaking about coverage from liber-al news media outlets like MSNBC, this is a prime example of how some

people were uncomfortable with the situation. O’Reilly was unhap-py about adding color to the story. In the case of Michael Brown, it is impossible not to add col-or to the story due to the historic racial tensions between minori-ties and police in Ferguson, MO. As a writer, the information from the poll shocked me because I asked students to specify what ra-cial bias they had seen in the media. The most common bias the students identified was the por-trayal of Muslims within and out-side of the United States. After the tragedy of September 11th, the Islamic community has strug-gled with its public portrayal. Muslims in other countries, es-pecially in the Middle East, are por-trayed as crazy terrorists wanting to bomb first world countries. Such a small percentage of Muslims glob-ally are even remotely involved in terrorist activity. It is an injustice that because of the media, the perception of Islam is that they are terrorists. If the majority of OLGCHS stu-dents identified bias in the portrayal of Muslims and minorities, it can be deduced that the media does in fact have racial and ethnic bias. This bias does not make the media racist; it just means they are biased in their portrayalof certain groups of people.

Does Free Speech ever go too far?

Last month in Paris the satir-ical magazine, Charlie Hebdo, was attacked by radicals who claimed defense of Islam after cartoonists at the magazine pub-lished highly offensive draw-ings of the Prophet Muhammad. While of course the right to free speech is important, should journalists really publish con-tent with the sole intent to of-fend a large part of society? The core of the issue goes back to the prohibition of drawing the Prophet in Islamic tradition as a precaution against idol worship. Muslims view the Prophet with utmost esteem and respect and therefore insults and provocations against Him are very offensive.The Cartoonists, knowing this fact,

purposefully drew the Prophet in a highly disrespectful way so that they could draw the response of France’s four million strong Muslim popula-tion and the Muslim world in general. Is this really expressing free speech or abusing it? If your sole aim in publishing con-tent is to provoke a part of society with a highly sensitive subject, that is, in my opinion, an abuse of free speech because it goes against both conventional wisdom and respect for the multicultural society you live in. As a journalist you have been given a large platform to produce content for a whole society and that comes with a responsibility to produce content that is respectful and proper. However, the response of the radicals was also out of hand.

Lunch watchBy Bernard Greenhow,

Multi Media Managing Editor

When middle school kids shad-ow at OLGCHS, one of the most memorable events during their visit is the all-you-can-eat school lunch. For many this is one of the best school lunches they have ever had but some people in the school com-munity wonder whether school lunches are actually healthy. Many of the main items usu-ally include pizza, french fries, root beer floats and funnel cake. Biology and Environmental Sci-ence teacher, Mr. Cabigas says, “School lunches are very healthy.” Essentially he means that if you make the right choices on what to eat and what not to eat the school lunches are healthy. Every item on the school lunch menu has a color assigned with how healthy or unhealthy it is Green is the healthiest and red is the least healthy. The bottom line is school lunch-es are as healthy as we make them. We must also educate our-selves and make conscious choic-es about what we are eating.

Illustration by Sam Jones.

By William Heintz, Staff Writer

THE TALON

Muslims should not respond to such open provocation with vi-olence as that only fuels the fire of anti-Muslim sentiment. Islam does not promote vio-lence in any way and these “Is-lamic” extremists have com-pletely misinterpreted the peaceful message of Islam. The worldwide press has re-acted in a plethora of ways to the most recent provocation by Char-lie Hebdo as their latest issue por-trays the Prophet once again in a disrespectful manner. Some me-dia organizations have chosen to show the image (BBC and Fox News) while others have made the responsible and respectful choice to not show the images (CNN, Al Jazeera, Sky News, MSNBC). The media has an import-ant role to play in not exacer-bating the situation further and to report fairly and sensibly during this very sensitive time. Free speech is a beautiful thing if used in the right way, and we all value it as journalists here at The Talon. However, it should not be used as a tool to express and publish xenophobic content with the intent to offend as this goes against the values journalists hold and against the role as a citizen of a religiously diverse society.

Leggings are comfortable, not a crime

Should you ask any female GC student what they believe to be the most annoying part of attending our school, she might respond with “How strict they are about skirt length” or “How our phones can’t be in our pockets”. However, the most popular answer would definitely be: “How we’re not allowed to wear leggings on dress-down days”. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, leggings are “a cover-ing (as of leather or cloth) for the leg”. Typically, a stretchy material and relatively tight fitting, leggings have become an extremely popu-lar fashion trend in young women. They are a comfortable and casual alternative to jeans, but are nicer than sweatpants - a happy medium. At the beginning of the 2013-2014 school year, I remember hearing rumors that the OLGCHS administration would only allow female students to wear leggings on dress-down days if a shirt or jacket was worn to cover their rear-ends. This seemed reasonable enough to me, considering OLGC-HS is a Catholic school and leg-

gings are relatively tight fitting. However, this rumor soon turned into an official rule that leggings were not to be worn at all. Many fe-

male students were very upset; half their wardrobe consisted of leg-gings. So, what else were they sup-posed to wear and still be able to both

look cute and feel comfortable? This year, in preparation for raf-fle ticket and dress-down season in the fall, students were remind-ed over the loudspeaker on mul-tiple occasions that “girls may not wear leggings on any of the dress-down days.” I understand the idea of wanting OLGCHS’ dress code to remain modest, but I do not see the harm in allowing girls to wear leggings. Requir-ing girls to cover their butts when wearing them seems rea-sonable, but outlawing the style all together is unnecessary. If there is a question concerning the tightness or the supposedly revealing quality of leggings, let me pose this in return: are skinny jeans not just as tight? I suggest that the administration reform the policy banning leggings to al-low the clothing as long as girls agree to cover themselves proper-ly. This way, the modesty of OL-GCHS’s dress code may remain intact while the wishes of the fe-male student population can be ap-peased - another happy medium.

By Molly Boyle,Staff Writer

Illustration by Sam Jones

opinion April 16, 2015 Page 15

If you live in the state of Mary-land, then the earliest that you can obtain a provisional driv-er’s license is 16.5-years-old. You have to be 15 years and nine months old to acquire a learner’s permit and once you have the permit for nine months and fulfill a bunch of other nonsense for the MVA, then the driver’s test can be taken. Passing the driver’s test earns a person an ugly photo of them-

selves and restricted street legality. But why should we make kids wait for this wonderful gift of driving? Most teenagers apply for a per-mit sophomore year since that is when most teenagers are of age and are eager to start driving. Some teenagers cannot obtain their per-mit until sophomore year is over, which is unfair. While everyone else at school is learning to drive they are unable to because they

got stuck with birthday in August. I believe that if the process in obtaining a driver’s license was based on high school grade level, instead of age, the sys-tem would be a lot more efficient. Permits should be able to be ob-tained once a student becomes a sophomore. This would organize the system better than having it by age. If this happened, most students would be learning to drive at the same time. Schools could have driving courses at the school so students would be learning with their “friends” and not a bunch of strangers at their local driving school. Teenagers should not wait to be schooled on the rules of the road by some dull schmuck or bored ex-cop based on their age. It is not like age dictates how mature or smart a person is. Teenagers usu-ally progress with each other by year in school, not by how old they are. The provisional license should be able to be obtained when someone holds their learner’s for nine months. Organizing the licensing process as a whole by grade would mean that someone could obtain their li-cense by sophomore year and more kids could drive to school as ju-niors instead of taking the bus or bothering their parents for a ride.

Maryland

John A. Fakelastname1234 Fake StreetNot Olney, Maryland SignatureBirthdate: 09-09-99Expires: 12-12-21Sex: M HT: 6-05 WT:220Restr: BC Type: GNissue Date: 01-26-15

Class Drivers License

Signature12345678

Should the driver’s license age be 16?

By Peter May, Staff Writer

Graphic by Peter May.

12-12-2014

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Advanced placement courses are commonplace at OLGCHS, as many seniors, juniors, and even a few sophomores search to chal-lenge themselves throughout their academic journey. These cours-es can potentially stand in place of accredited college courses and, therefore, they are work-heavy and require a lot of effort. Is the extra effort worth the trouble? I say yes. Not only will these classes allow the students to test their own abilities in the classroom but also serve to give a preview of what college may bring. “I believe that advanced classes are important because they prepare you for what a college level course will be like. It's about getting that experience. It's mental preparation. It provides the easiest (if one could even say it is easy) transition from high school to college. AP classes

help you learn how to manage col-lege level work and they help you learn how to think more critically, which will be a pretty handy skill to have,” says senior Nevada Tyler. These courses span the year and end with an optional AP exam that varies in length according to subject. Although registration for the exam does cost some money, $91 per exam, the average college course costs considerably more and if one does well enough on the exam (a 4 or 5 is accepted by most universi-ties), they could potentially save a lot of money when it comes to pay-ing for General Education classes. According to alumna Abby Sa-linas ‘14, an honors student at American University in Wash-ington D.C., taking advanced courses really made a difference: “Taking AP courses and doing well on the exams was of great ben-

efit to me both in proving to colleges that I could excel at a higher level and in helping me to be ahead of the crowd once I was admitted. I was able to start taking courses related to my major in my first semester because of the AP credits that ful-filled a majority of my GenEd re-quirements— definitely worth it.” Taking AP classes will help with college in the future, yes; however, the immediate benefits of applying oneself every day can help grow one’s work ethic in other standard high school courses, as well. Not to men-tion, there are tons of possibilities when it comes to what you can take. I challenge you to get outside of your comfort zone and put your brain to the test by signing up for at least one AP class in your high school career — you never know what you could be missing.

AP courses: are they worth it?

One student’s critique of i-Pads at school: i-Paid for education Although teachers seem to agree that i-Pads can be helpful, concerns also center around whether or not students are being proactive enough in their learning, i.e. writing down notes is more helpful than looking at a powerpoint. In fact, 100% of teach-ers polled feel that students should take notes instead of passively tak-ing a picture of the board. Actively listening and taking notes is more ef-ficient than playing a game on your i-Pad and half-listening to a teacher go over homework that you didn’t do. On the other hand, i-Pads are tak-ing away from verbal communica-tion and social skills in class and in community. I’m sure teachers don’t mind a quiet class, but I think stu-dents should interact in community instead of playing on their i-Pads. 73% of teachers polled are opti-mistic towards the role that i-Pads will play in the future of OLGC-HS education. As distracting as they are, teachers do not feel that they are hurting academia. It comes down to students being able to mon-itor themselves. Teachers agree that the future looks bright with i-Pads.

to do your homework, should you choose to do it, from your i-Pad makes your backpack lighter. Less physical books means less to carry around. In college it is common to bring a device to class, and this is prepar-ing students by teaching them to take responsibility for their own learning. Despite the benefits, concerns lin-ger. “For example, if there is down time, before a bell rings, many of my juniors will pick up their i-Pads to watch or do something alone. My seniors will actually talk to each other because they don’t have i-Pads to play with,” says one teacher. i-Pads challenge students to mon-itor themselves and pay attention. I doubt anyone is going to focus on school all the time but just because the person next to you is playing a game in class does not mean you should start playing a game, as well. “I’m worried that students, espe-cially younger ones, will misuse Ip-ads to the point where it could be det-rimental to the educational aspect of school, the part of school we are re-ally here for. Ipads should be utilized, not abused,” says another teacher.

ing but are distracting to students. Besides airdropping and air-play issues, I think i-Pads are very helpful. Generally, teach-ers agree that i-Pads have tremen-dous potential in helping students. Being able to look at powerpoints on your own device helps students who are sitting in the back rows stay engaged in class. Greater engagement keeps students quiet, instead of dis-tracting others by talking. Being able

Religion teacher Mr. Bache looked at me and told me he needed a moment to think about my ques-tion. “Are Ipads actually helpful?” Some variation of the complaint:“I hate them; students are so distracted. They are not using them properly, and it only hurts them,” echo many teachers. After a full semester of having an academic system that includes per-sonal devices, i-Pads are still con-troversial. They can enhance learn-

Life before the invention of smartphonesBy Julianna Gomez,

Staff Writer

Being born in 1997, I had a glimpse of what life was like before smartphones. I remember when all my parents had were simple flip phones, and that was all they needed to keep in touch with each other. Smartphones have taken over our gen-eration. When I was in elementary and middle school I didn’t have any type of cellphone and I survived, so why today do we feel dependent on our devices? From personal experience, I know that I really do enjoy having my iP-hone. Not only can I contact my fam-ily and friends wherever and whenever I please, but I can also download any application onto my phone that I want. It is common among most smartphone users to partake in social media. Almost everyone that I know has at least an Insta-

gram, twitter, facebook, snapchat, or any of the other social media apps out there. These apps are mainly for entertainment purposes, but are they really necessary? “I do like having social media apps because they are fun to check up on every once in a while, but spend-ing all day on them is a waste of time” says senior Valerie Krizmanich. Social media and everything else that smartphones are capable of other than

contact is just taking away from actual social abilities of human beings. Be-ing on your cellphone while you are spending time with your friends and family in person is antisocial, and it is hurting the way we communicate with other human beings around us daily. “I almost miss the times in middle and el-ementary school when most of my friends and I didn’t have cellphones, and we had to find a way to entertain ourselves without

using technology” So. Will Burke said. Creativity and social skills among today’s generation are rapidly decreas-ing. It is disturbing to me when I go out to dinner, and I look around at the other people in the restaurant to see them staring at a screen instead of having a conversation with the per-son sitting right across from them. I advise teens to try and spend less time on their cellphones when it’s not necessary. If you know that you could be talking to your family, hanging out with your friends, or even just spend-ing some time outside instead of being on your phone, it is in an interest for your health and personal wellbeing that you take advantage of these opportuni-ties as much as you possibly can. Life is happening all around us, and we can’t let technology get in the way of that.

Photo by Julianna Gomez.

Opinion April 16, 2015 Page 16

By Katie Mullineaux, A&E Section Editor

Graphic by Katie Mullineaux.

iPadshelpful?

100%

Teachersare

73% iPads ARE helpful

students should take notes when using iPads

73% iPads will be more helpful in the future

Graphic by Chase Meadows with assistance from Ms. Neugebauer.

actuallyon

THE TALON

By Chase Meadows,Copy Editor