Say NO to barefoot dances!

Jackie Gouris

Editor

Ladies, it’s time to address the elephant in the room. The world (high school) is divided into two types of girls, those who keep their shoes on at dances, and those who will lose to natural selection.

Each year at homecoming, the same pattern of behavior can be seen. As the first dance of the year, the freshmen tend to nervously glance around the dance floor before escaping to the bathrooms, unsure if the dance culture will look more like the Winter Formal in Mean Girls or the Halloween Dance in A Cinderella Story. Sorry freshman, New Hope has an atmosphere all its own. You are just going to have to experience it for yourself. If Chad Michael Murray shows up in a Prince Charming costume, I will be the first to let you know.

One behavior that you will see is girls in beautiful dresses, running around barefoot! It defies all laws of natural behavior. Who said it is socially acceptable for girls to go barefoot at high school dances. Not only are you walking around on the ~gym floor~ barefoot, but you are in serious danger of losing a foot when someone stomps on it in the typical jumping-up-and-down motion that apparently is a form of dancing. Let’s be the generation to end barefoot dances!

So ladies, we have three options. Option one: grin and bear it. Your feet may be cramped, your toes numb, but you have miraculously gained a few inches and your piggies are safe inside your heels. It’s no secret wearing heels is a major confidence booster (as long as you don’t trip). Brag about your ability to last three plus hours in agony, you have the blisters to show for it!

Option two: Wear flats. Nobody is looking down at your feet, and you will be infinitely more comfortable. Although most girls do seem to choose to show up in heels, flats are (and always will be) one hundred percent in style. News flash ladies, high school boys aren’t even that tall. Chances are, those heels might be moving you from eye level height to the very dangerous zone of taller than him!!!! if that’s something that bothers you. So why not give flats a try?

Option three: Bring a change of shoes! We have access to the locker rooms, so why not bring a comfy pair of shoes! You will be spending half of the dance in there anyway, so why not have a reason to go back and forth with every song change. And remember: SOCKS ARE NOT SHOES! When you get stabbed in the foot with a six inch stiletto with only socks on, don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Whether or not you decide to keep your shoes on, you will undoubtedly have a great night at Candy Land Homecoming 2015.

Your resolutions are all about attitude

Bailey Jaronski
Staff Writer

People usually open the new year with goals and a vague hope of realizing a better future. For instance, a lot of people view the new year as a reason to change; therefore, they are very motivated. People usually have common goals like eating healthier, working out more and having a  more positive attitude.  Do not get me wrong, I think it is good to have long and short term goals and the desire to be better. But in reality, it’s just another day. Nothing is going to happen between December 31 and January 1 besides your mindset.
  The internal struggle to change is the hardest part of improving yourself. It is easy to say “I’m going to eat healthier and work out more,” but you have to do that. Your mindset needs to be realistic in terms of the challenges of changing your lifestyle, or else you will give up after short period of time.
 Other people tend to look at the new year, not as a reason to have goals all of a sudden, but as a new start. I like that; events shape a person and every single person had a previous year of ups and downs. Therefore, a new year gives people the opportunity to move on.
  I agree with the people who want to have hope for a better year. However, I disagree with the people who view the new year  as a reason to change themselves. I believe in the power of a day. One day gives you endless opportunities to change something. No one knows how many days he or she will experience. Therefore we need to learn how to seize the day. Yes, some days it is hard with work, stressors, and “bad days,” but once one has the realization that a day is powerful and shall not be taken for granted, a more positive life shall follow.
 Waiting for the next year to change something is taking life for granted. Once one stops acting like tomorrow is guaranteed, they will really start living.

1:1 is worth it

Sam Lombardi
Staff Writer

Recently the school administration made a decision regarding the one to one devices, and the policies surrounding them. Ever since the first day they were given to us, there have been numerous counts of broken screens and other damages to the computers. For this reason, it will soon be mandatory to purchase and use a case for the device if you want to take it home.
  The decision was poorly received by the student body, and many people feel its unfair to require us to pay $25.00 for something we didn’t ask for. However, it seems like many people are forgetting that the devices were given to us for free, and the case is only needed if you want to bring it home. If you are arguing that you never asked for the the tablet and you don’t need to use it, then you also don’t have any reason to take it home after school.
  Although I do think it might be unjust in some respects, it’s the most reasonable solution for both the students and the school.
  Lots of people will be quick to bash the school for doing this, but we shouldn’t shoot the messenger. The whole reason for all of this is because the school had to file too many insurance claims in such a short amount of time. Instead of getting angry at the school, we should be recognizing the fact that we all were given these devices for free, and a $25 investment to keep them working isn’t ridiculous to ask for.

Students question new fees and regulations regarding 1:1

Matt Steele
Staff Writer

As more and more One to Ones end up in the infirmary, new rules regarding laptop cases aim to cut down on damage after break.
  About halfway through the school year, there are more than 30 One to Ones currently out of commission. As it becomes more of an issue, the school administration is looking for ways to cut down on the growing problem. Their newest idea is the implementation of mandatory cases for the One to Ones. These cases would cost $25 and be available for purchase in the library.
  Students are wondering how the office plans to enforce these new rules. When asked, Principal Malone told me that he is still looking for ideas, but they are starting with a service charge or $25. Each time a student broke his or her laptop, they would need to pay this fee instead of simply buying a case. Also, Ms. Schwander said that it’s possible that students without a case will not be allowed to take the One to One devices home.

A Frantic Friday

Steve Ratigan and Danny Doherty

Staff Writers

  Black Friday this year is going to be like any other black Friday, stampedes of people, irritated employees, and “Cheaper prices than ever.” Cheap prices, and ads all around to show these prices,  have dropped. What some don’t know is that certain businesses take advantage of the oblivious consumers that stampede the store on the first Friday after Thanksgiving. These business sometimes lower prices even lower than they advertise weeks before Black Friday, just to make more profit from the oblivious customers. If you did solid research on certain items and knew the retail price, you could catch these sudden drops in prices weeks before the big sale event. The crowds, the fights, and the early stampedes can be proven to not be worth it on Black Friday, especially if the sales are lower in prior weeks to the event. Working and shopping on Black Friday can be a drag, but can be beneficial to the customer, as well as the employees. Higher pay and cheaper prices could never be a better day for a customer and an employee, but the environment of Black Friday can be too much for someone not used to the crowds. Some employees say: “You couldn’t pay me enough to work on Black Friday!”

  Camping in freezing temperatures, dealing with stampedes and sometimes the bloody fight for the last item on the wall. Black Friday is an opportunity for people who love sales to get crazy about maybe getting a television for 50% that they do not even need. Black Friday in a sense has people saying, “I’d be losing money if I didn’t buy it.” With this comes massive amounts of people lined out stores, filling up streets, waiting for some of the biggest sales of the year in retail space to come out. Then again, they could wait until the next Monday when they could be sipping a hot cup of hot chocolate getting even better deals at home on their computer. But why would they? Why would they do that, when you can risk being trampled on and dying by electronically and home appliance hungry buyers? But for millions of Americans especially in a recovering economy like this, Black Friday has been the opportunity to not only get holiday gifts at a very low cost, but also a lot of the shopping for the year out of the way. There is a chance you could be run on and killed by thousands of insane individuals, but you also could be hit by a bus walking to the store. Black Friday every year brings commotion and madness, but in the end brings many families a financially easy holiday season. And really, what person does not love getting great deals, even if the stuff you are buying is not the most important. So this Black Friday, head up to Oxford Valley, Bridgewater, or King of Prussia and get the deals of the year on the items you love!

Barbie Encourages Unrealistic Body Type

Mariah McGlone

Staff Writer

A Barbie doll has a height of twelve inches, a waist that is three and three quarters of an inch, and hips that measure to be five inches all around. Her dimensions have been proven to be unrealistic by designer Nickolay Lamm.

 Lamm recently did the project: “What would Barbie look like in real life?” In this project, he compared Barbie’s disproportionate body to that of a healthy 19 year old’s. To do so, Lamm used 3D models for both body types.

 “Of course, Barbie is just a doll, and I’m sure people are going to say that a toy can’t negatively affect a young girl’s self-esteem. However, if people talk so much about skinny models in advertisements, surely we can talk about Barbie.” Lamm said.

 He found that if Barbie were to be scaled, she would be five feet nine inches with a bust that is thirty-six inches, an eighteen inch waist, hips that are thirty-three inches, a head circumference of twenty-two inches, and a neck that measures out to be nine inches.

 Compare this to a healthy nineteen-year-old girl that is five feet three inches and a half will have a 33.6 inch waist, a head circumference that is twenty inches, and a neck that measures to be fifteen inches. Her bust would be thirty-five inches with hips that are measurably forty.

 This information proves that a real life Barbie would not have even enough space in her body for her vital organs, considering she only would have room for half of a liver. In addition, she would need to walk on all fours, given her ankle and foot size. Imagine getting a quadruped Barbie doll for the holidays.

 Lamm takes his project of deciphering the measurements of a human Barbie a step further by creating a new more realistic and healthy Barbie doll. Nickolay Lamm calls his doll a “Lammily.”  

 “Lammily” displays proportions of a healthy nineteen-year-old girl and includes stickers that exhibit real life occurrences in a young adult girl’s life, such as acne, cellulite, and tattoos. Lamm has stateed the imperfect nature” of the dolls does not seem to be an issue and that he watched young children playing with them, laughing as they took the stickers on and off to customize their Lammilies. To prove this, he posted a video to YouTube that showcases a group of second graders’ reactions to the innovative doll. He hopes that they will appeal to teenagers, as well, given their distinct but relatable characteristics. Lamm also recently completed a study entitled: “What would Barbie look like without makeup?”

 While a Barbie doll can be dismissed a toy, why continue to promote this unrealistic body size? Almost every girl grows up playing with a Barbie doll. Even though not every child believes she needs to look like one to gain acceptance, the prevalence of a doll with unrealistic and unhealthy proportions instills that idea. The option is now there to provide a toy that girls can relate to instead of one that they wish they could look like. At a young age, girls are unadulterated by the pressure to look perfect at all times. Barbie doesn’t significantly change that, but the doll doesn’t encourage that either. Instead, Mattel introduces a specific body type that is ideal for girls to look like and for men to idolize. A Lammily eradicates the pressure of unrealistic expectations for young girls.

Republicans Win the Senate

Heather Borochaner

Staff Writer

 For the first time since 2007, Republicans have gained a majority in the American senate. This senate race was critical for the remaining two years of Obama’s presidency and his agenda, which Republicans will now argue against as much as they can, along with pressing for the repeal of Obamacare. The Republicans now have 53 seats compared to the Democrat’s 46 seats and two seats belonging to Independents, and one runoff election set for December 6th in Louisiana between Sen. Mary Landrieu, who is desperately clinging to her seat, and her Republican opponent Bill Cassidy, who has been gaining more support due to more bitter opinions towards Obama throughout Louisiana. Many blame the result of this election on President Obama’s low approval rate among Americans, however the president refuses to take responsibility. One responsibility he won’t be able to deny, however, is if he decides to veto the Keystone Pipeline when the Republicans give him the bill for it when the new Senators are inaugurated, which Republicans promised would happen. If Obama does veto the bill, Democrats will have a very difficult time obtaining their votes in the elections to come, since the Keystone Pipeline would make America energy independent.

 Despite the huge success in the Senate, Republicans probably won’t be able to do much, even if they try. If Obama chooses to refuse working with the Republicans in any way and just vetoes whatever is put on his plate, he’ll gradually starve himself and the States. With a current overall approval rating of 41% (Republicans at an 11% approval rating towards Obama, Independents at 22%, and Democrats at 76%), it isn’t too hard to see that it will only move further down with all parties if Obama refuses to work with the new Senate given to him by the American people.