Ayla Mulvey - Round Table reporter

It is common knowledge that senior year is the most exciting, but stressful time of a teenager’s life. High school students have been working hard for three long years trying to get good grades in hopes of applying, and being accepted, to their dream school.

Some students after they graduate take a break for a year, especially those who graduate early. There are mixed feeling on taking a year off of school after graduating; some people think that it helps and some don’t.

With taking a leave from school, students can forget important facts and pieces of information that they had already learned. Some people take a “gap year” because they are tired of school or maybe they want to add a meaningful activity to their college application.

There can be downfalls to taking a “gap year”. The student may end up deciding not to even bother furthering their education; it could be harder for the student when they finally do decide to apply to get letters of recommendation from a teacher or guidance counselor.  Sometimes the teacher or guidance counselor may not remember the student very well to make a good recommendation letter for them.

When senior year starts many students start it off well, but then many students get senioritis, which is where the student stops caring and doesn’t do any of their school work or homework because they are just ready to be done with school. Some students start senioritis as early as the first term of school, which is not good news for their grades or college applications.

Getting senioritis can result in the student’s grades dropping. Many students think that after their junior year they don’t need to worry about their grades for college, but that’s not true. A person’s grades senior year are just as important as their junior year’s grades.

Some causes of senioritis are boredom, parental apathy, the fear of change from high school to college and the excitement of graduating.

There are ways to stop senioritis. A few ways in which a teenager can resist the urge of senioritis is to set expectations throughout the course of their senior year.

Expectations a student sets for themselves can be anything. Something simple, like, what grades the he or she would like to get during their senior year, or something as specific as meeting all the requirements to apply to their top choice college.

Also by thinking about the future and what benefits the student will be getting out of maintaining their grade can help keep the senior motivated during the school year. In addition, setting small goals throughout the year may help to make sure the student stays focused on what needs to be done. Any little thing that can be done to help stop senioritis will help during senior year.

Even though many students get senioritis their senior year,it is avoidable. All seniors want to make sure they stay on top of their grades during their senior year so it doesn’t affect them getting into college.

Ana Billotti - Round Table opinion editor

Sometimes in life people have to do things that they dislike rather than things that they love. This can be doing anything from working, to homework, going to school, or even attending meetings that the person is utterly uninterested in.

Life can’t be all fun and games there are times when people need to buckle down and get what needs to be done, done. Sure, it is probably more fun to go hang out with friends or get on Facebook for a couple of hours in the evening but what does a person actually get out of that in the end? A few hours of enjoyment?

It is not always the most enjoyable activity but sometimes working is the best option for a high school student. A person might not want to get a part time job while in high school but that job will not only be providing them with their own income but it can also provide a strong sense of individualism.

A student that learns the value of having a job at an early age will have a better chance of having a more successful future. They will understand that a job not only provides a source of income but also a necessary sense of responsibility.

Responsibilities such as working, doing homework  or even babysitting a family member may not always be able to be classified as a thing a person loves to do, but these current responsibilities help build a person’s character.

When a person does something they like to do they get a sense of satisfaction out of it and it can actually benefit a person’s health; hanging out with friends has been proven to lengthen your life expectancy, Facebook can fuel a person’s self-esteem, according to a study by Cornell University, and watching TV can reduce stress levels.

Balancing life can be difficult, but a person cannot disregard things they dislike to do, but need to do, in favor of doing something they enjoy. Students especially need to remember that school and work come first; being responsible now will result in being better prepared for the future.

This doesn’t mean that students should be serious all the time. They need to relax, and this can be by getting on Facebook, hanging out with friends, or watching TV can all provide that and have been proven to be beneficial but just remember balance is the key to a well-rounded and happy person.

Blair Donald - Round Table broadcast producer

The debate over the time that school should start for high school students is one that seems to appear periodically without ever accomplishing anything. The argument is that high school students statistically need more sleep than younger students, so why does high school at 7:30 a.m. when the primary and elementary schools start at 9:00 a.m.?

The opposite side of the debate is that high school students have activities to attend after school, so if school starts early and ends early, the students who play sports, are members of the drama department or work, have time to go to those things and get their homework done.

However, students who play sports willingly choose to play them, and those who don’t are still forced to get up early and go to school. Additionally, if a student is in a lot of extracurricular activities as well as AP courses, sometimes the workload on top of their activities is too much and students are forced to get by on very few hours of sleep- speaking from experience here.

If younger children don’t need as much sleep, don’t have a huge workload, and aren’t in as many extra activities, it doesn’t make sense that they start school so much later than high school students. They are usually up earlier than teenagers are anyway, so it would probably lessen a lot of complaining.

Another effect this can have is students, because of lack of sleep (and probably motivation), will fall asleep during class. If students are sleeping and missing information, they may not even know how to do the homework that they are staying up so late to get done.

Some have argued that students that do get their homework and sports practices finished at a reasonable hour, rather than going straight to bed, will stay up late messing around on the internet, watching television, or talking to their friends.

However, it’s not messing around so much as winding down after a busy day. All work and no play makes Johnny a dull boy, and students aren’t going to devote all the time they have to being responsible and getting work done. In a perfect world, perhaps, but in our imperfect universe we must leave time for humans to be human.

Students with and without packed schedules would benefit from getting more time to sleep in the morning. Some students aren’t ready to eat breakfast at 6:45 a.m. or don’t have time to eat, and so will skip the most important meal of the day. If breakfast gets neglected, a student could be unhealthy because their metabolism hasn’t been kick started and hunger during the school day can be quite distracting.

Frederick County Public Schools has a new superintendent, so maybe next year the time school starts will be changed. Results everywhere have shown the reversal of schedules in the school system to be beneficial, so a change in policy is probably inevitable. Hopefully FCPS will catch up with the times and high school students will be able to sleep a little longer.

Ayla Mulvey - Round Table reporter

“You’ve got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do.” - Steve Jobs

Most people don’t know what they want to be when they get older. It’s a difficult decision to make, and not something that can be decided overnight. There are many careers out there, but because of the economy, not all places are hiring, which can limit a person’s career options.

It’s difficult to decide what to do as a career, but there is help available. There are quizzes online that help people decide what they want to be, but they don’t always work. Also, by observing a person’s own likes, dislikes and interests, he or she can try and figure out what he or she would most like to do in the future.

Another good way to help people decide what they want to be is to make a two-column chart. One column is for writing what a person’s skills and interests are and the other is for writing careers that relate to those skills and interests. It may not seem like that would help, but writing down interests and skills might open up more job possibilities then what was originally thought of.

On the other hand, some people know from a young age what they want to be when they get older; this doesn’t mean that they can’t change their minds during the course of their lives. Some people are set on being one thing from the moment they decide it, but this could limit their future job opportunities if they do not open themselves up to other career possibilities.

For instance, one person might have wanted to be a school teacher for the longest time, but after some experience with teaching, that person might decide that it’s not really the best choice.

Also, there are many other job occupations within a specific career field. Someone who wants to be a teacher has the options of majoring in elementary education, special education, counselor education, early childhood education and secondary education. A person would have to decide which one of those paths to take.

People want to pick a career that they will enjoy for the rest of their lives, except that can be hard to do. Not all places are hiring right now because of the poor economy, so some people aren’t getting the jobs they maybe hoped for or wanted.  However, with any job they get, they should be happy if they are earning money and able to get by.

Overall, the best way for people to enjoy a job is to know their likes and dislikes, gather information about themselves, their values, objectives, needs and so on. A person’s own interests and values will end up helping decide what future career to pursue more than anything else will.

Blair Donald - Round Table broadcast producer

Celebrities used to be classy. They were role models, people to look up to and be impressed by. They were talented and beautiful, and everyone wanted to be a celebrity and get some of that fame and glory. Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn, James Dean, all were famous and were so because they were talented.

Now, however, talent is unnecessary to be famous. Sex tapes and naked photos, drug abuse and scandals are enough to make a person notorious at least. People are willing to do anything to get their 15 minutes of fame. A family in Fort Collins, Colorado made the police chase a balloon thought to have their child in it (the child was hiding in the attic and the parents were aware) trying to get themselves a reality show. Vanessa Hudgens had nude pictures leaked online. Kim Kardashian made a sex tape that earned her fame as well as $5 million. Paris Hilton is famous for basically being rich and stupid, plus she has a sex tape too.

Jersey Shore’s celebrities are the most intelligent out of all of them. The stars aren’t book smart, but they certainly have figured out a way to make easy money. All they have to do is party and act like idiots and they make millions off their reality show.

Some celebrities today do have talent, but they aren’t the ones we pay the most attention to. Johnny Depp, Angelina Jolie, Emma Watson, and William Shatner are all famous for their talent and the movies they have made, not the scandals and trouble they have gotten into.

We pay far too much attention to people who aren’t really working. We are paying people to party, and they are far richer than people who have actual jobs and have to work to earn much smaller salaries.

What many people don’t realize is that these pseudo-celebrities wouldn’t exist if we stopped paying attention to them. If we stopped buying the magazines and listening to the gossip about people who are total strangers, they would stop getting paid and might actually have to contribute to society.

But perhaps they do serve a purpose. These people aren’t role models; they are examples of what not to do. The stars of the MTV series “16 and Pregnant” aren’t what little girls aspire to be when they get older, but they are warnings against making uneducated decisions.

Fake celebrities make too much money and have far outlasted their undeserved 15 minutes of fame, but if somewhere a little girl is watching Jersey Shore and thinking to herself, “I have to study or I’ll turn into an Oompa-Loompa!”, maybe it’s worth it.

Ana Billotti - Round Table editor

On Nov. 21, Emma Sullivan, a senior at Shawnee Mission East High School in Kansas tweeted, “Just made mean comments at gov brownback and told him he sucked, in person #heblowsalot.” Thus, Sullivan unknowingly sparked a firestorm about freedom of speech and social media networks.

Sullivan was attending a Youth in Government Program in Topeka, Kansas where Governor Sam Brownback was speaking at when she sent her tweet.

Brownback’s office monitors social media networks for postings that include the governor’s name and when they saw Sullivan’s tweet contacted the youth program coordinator who then contacted Sullivan’s principal.

Sullivan was called into her principal’s office and told that she needed to write an apology to Brownback. But in a strange turn of events, Brownback is now finding himself the one to issue an apology.

“My staff overreacted to this tweet, and for that I apologize. Freedom of speech is among our most treasured freedoms,” said Brownback in a statement released Nov. 28.

Sullivan, who’s followers on Twitter went from 62 to over 15,000 people, has been using the social media site to continue to bring awareness to the topic; tweeting, “I’ve decided not to write the letter but I hope this opens the door for average citizens to voice their opinion & to be heard! #goingstrong.”

This public example of freedom of speech is a great tool to teach others about the protection of their First Amendment rights. In a day and age where anything and everything can be posted for the public to view and comment on, it is important to teach not only teenagers and children, but adults as well about freedom of speech and the use of technology, when it is combined.

Sullivan’s tweet, regardless of how harsh it may sound, is protected under the First Amendment.

Under the First Amendment, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

Freedom of speech does not just protect a person when they say something to a person’s face. It means that, like Sullivan, they can tweet an opinion, or post a status and as long as their actions don’t put others in danger their freedom of speech is protected.

Freedom of speech has always come under fire, from freedom of speech in films (Joseph Burstyn, Inc. v. Wilson; 1952) to preventing a school district from disciplining a high school student for giving a lewd speech at a school assembly (Bethel School Dist. No. 403 v. Fraser; 1986).

Freedom of speech is granted to every citizen in the United States but as society becomes more involved with online social media, freedom of speech is sure to be targeted more frequently.

Sullivan is well within her First Amendment rights and, although she may receive some dislike for what she said, she is protected and allowed to voice her own opinion.

High school students across America should take note about freedom of speech and the use of the internet because it is easier today then it was twenty years ago to get in serious trouble for comments posted online.

Caitlin Ortiz, a college student, got in trouble with her softball coach, in June, after posting a picture of herself and lyrics from Big Sean and Chris Brown’s song, “My Last.” She reportedly lost her scholarship and was kicked off the softball team at her school.

Sullivan, just like Ortiz, is doing the right thing by taking a stand and making a point. Sullivan didn’t do anything wrong, but tweeted her own opinion and yet she got in trouble for it.

Taking a stand and promoting the protection of First Amendment rights is important and it takes strong individuals to do that.

Twitter on Dec. 15 will be holding an event called “Free to Tweet”. They invite students ages 14 to 22 to tweet their support for the First Amendment with the hash tag #freetotweet. This will enter them in a competition to win a $5000 scholarship.                                                                                                         

However, anyone is welcome to tweet and show their gratitude for the first amendment rights and Twitter is already getting big name celebrities to join in, such as, Ke$ha, Blake Shelton and Brad Paisley.

The First Amendment needs to be protected because it is essential to the freedom of every citizen in the country. If it comes to making an individual’s story public to help bring awareness to a cause than that may just need to happen.

As Sullivan tweeted, “”First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.” –Gandhi.”

Ayla Mulvey - Round Table reporter

 We all have those busy days where we feel like we don’t accomplish anything on our “To Do” lists. We end up getting stressed out, feeling like nothing is going right, and it results in a horrible day. Sometimes there’s just not enough time in the day to get everything done,  other times it is a lack of time management that results in not much being accomplished.

 There is no doubt that people lead busy lives. Teenagers go to school for six hours a daythen, if they have a job, they go to work for several hours, get home late and still have homework to do. Some people can’t help that; they need money to support themselves and pay for their education. In these cases, a person just needs to pace themselves and prioritize what needs to get done.

 Managing time can be difficult, especially when a person has to decide between doing something like school work or hanging out with friends for a couple hours. Most people would choose to hang out with their friends and just do their homework later, but often times they end up not even touching their homework and, as a result, their grades start to slip.

 For time management to work well, people need to prioritize what needs to get done. A person should get into the habit of getting what needs to be done first, done first, and at least making an effort to start tasks that don’t necessarily need to get done right away but need to get done, nonetheless.

 A person also needs to use any free time wisely. Many teenagers spend hours on Facebook or Twitter when they go home. That is not using the couple hours of free time that they get each day wisely. Instead of getting on Facebook or Twitter, get homework finished or do any chores that need done, then get on Facebook or Twitter.

 Another good way to make time management work well is to write and complete a “To Do” list. Write down a few items that need to be done and as they get done check them off. Also, start using a daily/weekly planner where appointments, classes or meetings can be written down, that way, nothing will be missed.

 Some people naturally have good time management and some need to work on it. Whether or not a person has good time management, everyone is capable of acquiring it. And when push comes to shove, they probably will achieve at least some ability to manage their time to their advantage.

Ayla Mulvey- Round Table reporter

There’s always been controversy over whether or not music really helps people concentrate. There are people that say music can help

them focus and be less tense while doing stressful tasks, and there are others that say music is a big distraction during the course of their work or school day.

Some teachers allow students to listen to music in the classroom; however this is typically when they are not teaching.

Elona Hartjes, an Ontario Certified Teacher, wrote an article about allowing her students to listen to music in class.

“Listening to music helps improve productivity. Why? One reason is because music acts like white noise in the background preventing students from noticing every other little noise that usually distracts them. Some kids can’t tune out things like a pencil dropping or someone asking a question.” said Hartjes.

Listening to music while working can be a good thing; it can help the student’s focus on what needs to be done. When listening to music, the music blocks out what’s going on around them, such as another student having a conversation with someone else or someone asking questions.

Although music can be beneficial to some students in the classroom it can be considered a distraction by others.

If the student gets too wrapped up in the music that they are listening to they may lose focus of what is actually going on around them. This can cause them to not complete the work that they were assigned to do and get in trouble with the teacher.

Also if the students listen to their music at a high volume it could distract other students. If the teacher allows the students to listen to music there has to be guidelines so the students listening to music aren’t listening to it while he or she is teaching.

Studies have been done in recent years that suggest that music can be beneficial to people who are trying to get tasks done.

“Studies have shown that the right kind of music can help you relax your mind which enables you to concentrate better. Perfect to studying, doing homework or studying for a test or exam. It cuts down on distractions and helps you focus on your work,” says UNC Charlotte and University City.

Ultimately, it is the teachers, administrators and school boards that get to decide whether or not students are allowed to listen to music in the classroom. There are both positive and negative aspects to listening to music during school hours but it is a school by school decision in the end.

Blair Donald - Round Table broadcast producer

By Blair Donald
Round Table broadcast producer

Occupy Wall Street started on September 17, 2011 in Zuccotti Park in New York City’s Wall Street financial district. The movement was to call attention to the corruption on Wall Street and the uneven distribution of wealth in the country that the government is doing seemingly nothing about.

It is getting harder to be a middle class resident of the United States, especially for college students who are graduating with a ton of debt and not a lot of job opportunities. People are angry and demanding change, but they are not as organized as they should, and possibly could, be.

That isn’t to say that the protesters are unorganized in their protests. Occupy DC has a food system, tents set up with street names (for example, one man told me that I could find him at 113 Malcolm X Ave.), and has started their own newspaper (the Occupied Washington Times). However, it’s their message that needs work.

One young lady is there because she thinks the environment needs more protection. Another woman is there because she wants better healthcare plans. A Vietnam War veteran is there because he wants improved wages and better job security. An Iraqi war veteran is there because he thinks that the government has taught its soldiers to dehumanize people. One man described to me his solution to fix the hugely uneven distribution of wealth. He told me that he wanted no classes, that everyone should be equal. I don’t think he realized that he was a communist, but someone will let him know eventually.

There are so many problems and issues that people are angry about that it makes it hard for any sort of message to get through. The protesters have a veritable soup of complaints, and because of that things get jumbled and lost in the chaos. Because no one problem has been identified no one solution has been suggested, and nothing will get fixed. The government will carry on corrupted as usual and not much will change, except for the economic situation getting worse and a lot of chilly protesters come Christmas.

The protesters need to get their act together. They represent a myriad of groups and aren’t getting any sort of message through. We know that things need to change, but that isn’t going to happen with a protest that can’t figure out what it’s protesting.

Another problem with the protest is that the people involved are so used to society that they are recreating it. If I was in charge I’d have them all read “Animal Farm” or “1984”, because none of them seem to realize that a utopia of equals is impossible with individuality and that they are slowly becoming what they hate.

Everyone is selling something, and no one wants to buy anything. Maybe not something that can be physically held or seen, but they are advertising organizations and projects, and everyone is selling an idea.

“Go to my Facebook page and like it!” “Follow me on Twitter!” “Call my radio station!” Everyone is giving away ideas. Whenever someone is asked why they’ve joined the protest, he or she will respond with general ideas and complaints about the system, but no one really has any substantial ideas on how to fix the identified problem.

Then there are the homeless of DC. They were at the protesting site on K Street before all these 20-somethings showed up to complain about being poor. They live there and are becoming outcasts in their own homes. They are not the favorites of the protesters and are usually described as “weird”.

The DC protest may be very different from the others, I don’t know for sure. But from my personal experience, the protesters are confused about a message, far away from any sort of solution and don’t know that a utopia is impossible. The protest may one day have an effect on society, perhaps when people in theUnited Statesare more informed and knowledgeable about politics, or maybe when the politicians and political parties change, I don’t know. For now though, the protest is jumbled and not as effective as many had hoped it would be.

Ana Billotti- Round Table editor

Eleanor Roosevelt once said,  “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” Those 10 words can provide comfort and strength to people going through difficult times.

When people are told that they are not good enough, not strong enough or not smart enough, it lowers their self-esteem and makes them doubt themselves, but why do people allow themselves to believe that they are lesser than others. People let other’s words tear them down and make them doubt themselves. But in the end there is only one opinion that truly matters and that is their own. People just need to realize that.

A person addicted to an illegal substance or alcohol will not get help until they themselves realize that they do, in fact, need it. Regardless of what other people encourage them to do, the only opinion that matters is their own.

Not seeking help when it is blatantly obvious that the person is in need of it is not recommended, but people with addictions do on a certain level not accept other people’s opinions of them. Yes, they could benefit from the help of others, but their opinion of themselves helps them not feel inferior and compare themselves to others.

But that was negative image of not listening to others’ opinions. Let’s try a positive example.

When someone is being picked on, being told that they are stupid, short or ugly, those words can make a person feel worthless. If that person lets those words get to them.

Eleanor Roosevelt got it right when she said those 10 words. Feeling inferior can only be brought on when people themselves believes that they are inferior.

No one is worth less than anybody else; everyone is equal, so why should people listen to others’ negative comments about themselves?

No one knows somebody better than a person knows themselves. Yes, the other person can probably judge a person’s skills and abilities better because they see that person from the outside looking in. But the individual’s own true thoughts and feelings are that person’s and that person’s alone. When a person has confidence in themselves and a secure knowledge of their skills and abilities, then what other people say about them shouldn’t have any affect on them, unless it is in a positive light.

Being confident in the fact that what other people say doesn’t matter and allows the person to realize that no one can make them feel inferior without consent from themselves. When people are being teased and picked on, they should just keep in mind Eleanor Roosevelt’s words and remember that their opinions of themselves are the most important thing.