By Rob PuglieseHighlights Staff

There once was anidea about juniors havingan ability to go off cam-pus earlier then the fourthquarter. Well now thisdream is a reality.

This privilege is nowavailable through theprivilege card. This is anID card that enables theperson to go off campusfor their lunch period.Last year, juniors use toonly get them during thefourth but now thanks tostudent government, theprincipal, the administra-tors, and most important-ly the students, this isnow possible.

Many juniors areecstatic about gettingtheir privilege card andgoing off for lunch. Oneof these juniors is ValerieVasquez. “I feel like Ihave more freedom withit” she said with enthusi-asm. Vasquez also statedthat “I feel like my hardwork is finally payingoff. It will be worth itand I will work hard tokeep it.”

Another junior,Vaughan Clewis alsoshared how he felt aboutthe new ability. “It’s

great, freedom and nomore bad food.” Vaughanalso said that he’s goingto work just as hard ashard because he knowshe won’t lose it.

According to juniorQuinn Simek, he’s veryhappy about this newability. “I like it becauseI feel like I have morefreedom” Simek said.“No, I know I won’t loseit and I work hardenough” The last thingthat was on Simek’s mindabout this new privilegewas “It feels like I’llhave less money.”

Along with this newprivilege came the newform for juniors and aswell as seniors. This newand improved form hadnew requirements such asfive unexcused absences,and having no more thanfive temporary I.D’s perquarter. Also a new thingadded was the ability toput your cell phone num-ber.

Don’t be scared, it’sfor safety purposes.Student government saidthat this was on it so thatif a student gets in afight, is a witness to afight, or if their safety isharmed in general, theschool can get a hold of

them. This could be use-ful in the future but intime it will hopefullyserve its purpose.

A big question aris-ing amongst the studentsis when they lose it, theylose it permanently.According to JosephPugliese, “Student gov-ernment is currentlyworking on a processwhere the student canappeal their denial of theprivilege card” saidPugliese. This “appeal-ment process” will be anattempt to aid studentsthat are working veryhard, and missed thisprivilege, to get a chanceto argue why they shouldget it.

When asked how dif-ficult this process was,student government saidthat it was difficult andlong but without a doubtworth it. “You have toexpect everything andanything,” said MollySalzmann, the presidentof student government.Joseph Pugliese, record-ing secretary of studentgovernment said that theyneeded to make sure theresults are “bulletproof”before they are ready tofinish it. They also saidthat the most difficult

part of this process wasensuring that the datawas correct and that theyneeded to “make sure itwouldn’t backfire.”

Student governmenthelped this process bynot only making sure itwill go smoothly, buttalking to the administra-tion and the principalabout getting theirapproval. “We helped bypresenting solid reason-ing and hard work” saidSalzmann. “It’s been twolong years but we finallygot it.”

The students of stu-dent government workedhard at this process for along time but their advi-sors helped them alongthe way as well. SeanSullivan and MarkNelson are those advis-ers. Sullivan said that hisrole in student govern-ment was to help the stu-dents troubleshoot ideas.“I’m a guideline theybounce ideas to. I’m thebarometer for them” saidSullivan. “I help the stu-dents with the littlethings such as wording,spelling, etc.”

Nelson, the otheradvisor for student gov-ernment, had this to say.“Mr. Sullivan and I arelike the presidential cabi-net. We provide advicefor the students, givethem ideas like issues,and scenarios that couldhappen when they arearguing for something.”Sullivan and Nelson bothmake proposals for thestudents. They said theywant to help the studentsbe prepared for everypossible outcomes duringthe meetings. “We pre-pare them for meetings”Nelson said.

When asked if ittaught the studentsresponsibility, Nelsonsaid yes it did. The rea-son is because they workfor it and they must beresponsible about keep-ing it. “It’s a given privi-lege.” Nelson said. “Ithink this overall this is

good.”Before this idea

could become a reality,the students of studentgovernment had to getapproval not only fromadministration, but theprincipal Adrian Manuelhimself. “This is a goodincentive to help kidsstrive for higher stan-dards” Manuel said.When asked the questionif it is a good way toteach students responsi-bility, he had this to say.“It doesn’t exactly teachthem responsibility.Instead it helps themunderstand its value.”

Manuel’s role in thisprocess was helping thestudents with knowingwhen they can go to themeetings and argue theiropinions. He listened tothe students, gave themadvice on what hethought they should donext with it. Manuelhelped student govern-ment tremendously onthis process and its partlydue to him that this ideabecame a reality.

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Coldplay

They’re back!

page 7

December 22, 2011 Kingston High School, 403 Broadway, Kingston, NY 12401 www.kingstonhighlights.com Volume 81, Issue 2

Stress

Remember totake it easy

man!page 5

Holidays

The holidaysare coming!

page 2

Joe Pugliese is one of many that now has a privilege card. Rob Pugliese/Highlights

Juniors got ‘em now too!

REQUIREMENTSFOR JUNIORPRIVILEGE

CARDS

Students must bepassing all theirclasses

You can not havebeen suspended(no referrals)

You can’t havereceived a tempo-rary ID more thanfive times

No more than fiveunexcusedabsences ortardies

2 EditorialHighlights December 22, 2011

It's time once again for the wonderful timeknown as "The Holidays". It's the time of givingand enjoying the pleasure of seeing one anotherhappy. It's a great feeling. And there are new gifts!Hooray! But do people actually realize the truemeaning of the Holidays?

As much as we love the Holidays so much,we feel as if it is something else. The Holidayswas started because people just wanted to do onenice thing for someone else to make they feel bet-ter and be happy. It's a great thing that some peo-ple are capable of nice things. If only we couldjust do things for each other without feelinggreedy, maybe the world could be a better place.

People who give others things out of the kind-ness of their hearts are great people. Everyoneneeds to know what the true meaning of the seasonis, giving. My parents, my family, everyone does-n't have to get me anything; they choose to out ofthe kindness of their hearts because they want tosee me happy. That's what the Holidays are allabout. Not getting someone something becausethey want it but because what you get was an ideayou inspired yourself to follow. Something is bet-ter than nothing.

Go get a movie for your girlfriend/boyfriend,friends, or your family and just enjoy spendingtime while you can with them.

Kids expect bigger and better things eachyear, like video game systems and phones. Thiswe know from experience. Should that be whatthe season is about? Getting the next iPhone orCall of Duty game? Or should it be about spend-ing time with friends and family? But, could weeven continue this practice with the rising costs ofthe holidays?

Every holiday season, you're running to andfro trying to find the perfect gifts for your loved

ones. Laura wants a soccer ball, Henry wants thenew video game, and dad can't stop talking aboutthe ratchet set he saw at the Home Depot. Thesedays everyone wants and wants, and no oneremembers what the holidays are really about.Whatever happened to families that spend timetogether, face to face? Where are the traditions?These days everyone is so caught up in con-sumerism that no one stops to think, why don't Ihelp the less fortunate?

Donate the money that you would have spent,in his name, to a local charity, orphanage, or soupkitchen? It would be a gift that would not onlypromote kind spirit, but would also make multiplechildren's and family's day. As we sometimes for-get, there are others in the world, besides our-selves, others who need kind hearted people. Oh,and don't worry if Harry doesn't get the I-touch,the world will not end, because kindness and car-ing never go out of style.

But regardless of the expenses, late nightshopping, or annoying family members. The holi-days are a time of year in which everywhere yougo; no matter where you are you see a smile on thefaces of everyone you pass.

Although the smiles and the festive air arequite delightful to be around, it is certainly not thereason that commercialization promoting theseholidays begins right after Thanksgiving.

In an attempt from big business to gain asmuch of a profit as they can before the seasonends? This principle defies the logic of the holi-days, and slowly is beginning to take the truemeaning out of them. Start you're promotion thefirst day of December, it'd be a much greater deci-sion to move Black Friday, rather than to com-pletely abolish a holiday that has been celebratedfor multiple generations

Editorial:Theholidaysupon usagain

HIGHLIGHTSHIGHLIGHTS

StaffWilliam Barton

Lyric BlanchCody NaccaratoAlexis Parkhurst

Nate RingRobert Pugliese

Joe PuglieseNate Ring

Justina SchoutenJohn Villielm

Maria WhitcombKira Wilson

EditorCody Naccarato

Club PresidentJohn Villielm

Club TreasurerLyric Blanch

AdviserTed Leach

Editorial Policy: Highlights is afree and open forum for studentexpression edited entirely bystudents. The views expressedhere do not reflect the views ofthe Kingston City SchoolDistrict. Letters from readers arewelcome. All letters must besigned. The staff reserves theright to edit letters for lengthand clarity. Letters may be sentto Highlights, Kingston HighSchool, 403 Broadway,Kingston, NY, 12401, or bedelivered to Room 204.

Memberships: Highlights is amember of the NationalScholastic Press Association.

Advertising: To advertise inHighlights, please contact us atthe above address or telephone(845) 331-1970, extension 7686.

Some content courtesy of AmericanSociety of News Editors / MCTCampus High School NewspaperService

visit us online atKingstonHighlights.com

Graphic: Ron Coddington/MCT

By Nate RingHighlights Staff

Anyone who has ever enjoyed avideo game RPG has Dungeons andDragons and other tabletop RPGs tothank, says Alexei Rigaud, DungeonMaster of KHS’s RPG Club.

RPG Club is run by Alexei Rigaudand Joe Booth. It meets on Thursdaysand Fridays 9th period. Thursday meet-ings take place in room 202, thoughFridays have no set location.

In RPG club, members meet to playrole playing games, the main one beingDungeons and Dragons, which is playedusing “books, dice, and imagination”, asDungeon Master Rigaud puts it.

According to Rigaud, “The DM, orDungeon Master runs the campaign, mak-ing the rules and controlling the adven-ture. Players must create a character,choosing from a variety of races andclasses with numerous abilities. Thesecharacters are then role-played during the

game. To do this, the players must‘become’ their characters. They makedecisions based on what the charactermight do in a given situation, not whatthey themselves might.”

Throughout the campaign, playerscan do anything from exploring a dun-geon to fighting monsters to escaping

from prison (bit of a story behind thatone). It is the job of the DM to createobstacles and challenges for them to over-come as a group, such as traps.

“When dealing with these traps, ithas been discovered that it is extremelyhandy to have a fainted party member onhand.Or, if they so choose, they can just

kill each other.”

By Joe PuglieseHighlights Staff

Memories, “It’s oneof the most difficulttasks for students,” say,head of the yearbook.

Yearbook meetsonce every Thursdayninth period in room 10.

According toKarliner, the yearbookhas many parts of it thatare challenging andrequire hard work to getdone.

“It takes a student that has disciplineand hard work,” Karliner said.

“The yearbook is important becauseit documents all our lives for the year,”says senior Tamara Longendyke, one ofthe students taking care of the senior

class section. “It takes creativity, organi-zation, and hard work to do it.”

According to Donna Wolf, the year-book’s co-adviser, anyone canjoin yearbook if they come tothe meetings, and have theresponsibility to keep up withthe weekly tasks they areassigned.

This year the process is tak-ing some time because the year-book members are thinking ofnew designs, new colors, andmany other ideas that are float-ing around at the moment butwhen they figure it out they will

be ready. Yearbook will be getting in gears

after they design their layout, figure outtheir ideas, and focus on that one point.

“This year Maroon will be spelledright,” promises Karliner.

By Rob PuglieseHighlights Staff

On Friday, nov. 18, a remarkablesemesterly event occurred; The Catapultlaunch.

The catapult launch is the buildingand launching of an object from the cata-pult that a group builds from scratch.

This occurs in Jeffrey Karliner’sPrinciples of Engineering class. In thisclass, students work in groups and buildsomething to overcome a challenge or seehow it functions.

This event is run by Karliner twice ayear, once every semester.

“It’s as exciting as the first day ofschool,” says Karliner.

The purpose of this is for students tolearn how a catapult works, how to buildit, and teaches them ways to come upwith solutions to some engineering prob-lems they may face in the future.

One student that was in the groupthat launched the farthest was juniorJames Quick. “It requires a lot of hardwork and determination” Quick said. “Ithink it’s a great project that involvesresearch and working together as a team.”

The catapult building process and thelaunching of them was phenomenal.“Can’t wait to do it again” says Karliner.

News 3Highlights December 22 2011

Up, up, and away!

Watch out, I think the trajectory was good on that one. Rob Pugliese/Highlights

Yearbook ready for the year

Korey Jubie looks like he’s got something important to say. Rob Pugliese/Highlights

“The yearbook isimportantbecause itdocuments all ourlives for theyear.”

Roll the dice and fight an orc with the RPG Club!

Maybe with a little luck, they’ll be able to roll a natural 20! Nate Ring/Highlights

Quick Facts about Dungeons and Dragons

The Dungeon Master is the onewho runs the campaign.

In Dungeons and Dragons, aplayer does not die until they reach-10 health.

The original version ofDungeons and Dragons was pub-lished and popularized in 1974

By Cody NaccaratoHighlights Staff

One of the most standoutmemories of my early childhoodis when I had bought MarioParty 3. I had rented and playedMario Party and Mario Part 2. Ihad been saving up my moneyfrom my birthday, and odds andends chores around the house. Iwent to Toys R Us, and pur-chased my prize. On the wayhome, I turned downMcDonalds, and going intoJeepers to go home and play mygame. I played so much that mymom actually made me take theN64 into my room and play it. Icouldn’t have been more thanseven at the time, but I stayed upall night playing.

My mom and dad maderules the following day. I wasn’tallowed to play before school,no matter how early I woke up. Icould play after school, exceptfor on Wednesdays andThursdays for CCD and CubScouts respectively. I could playon the weekends if I went tochurch. This was my first experi-ence with owning something. Itwas the first thing that I boughtwith my own money, and I was alittle upset I couldn’t play it allthe time that I wanted to. When Iasked my mom why, she said“Cody James, it’s because videogames make you stupid.” Ialways thought the opposite tobe true; in fact, I felt that videogames would only add to myintelligence. The difference ofopinion was clear, but there is noroom for debate when you’reseven. To this day, it still piquemy interest. Do video gamesmake you stupid?

One of the largest miscon-ceptions with video games isthat they are making stupider orhindering growth in educational.James Paul Gee is the author ofthe book “What video gameshave to teach us about learningand literacy.” Gee discreditsthose people who are skepticalabout video games. Gee saysthat games like Yu-Gi-Oh andPokémon encourage kids towiden their vocabularies. Theexample he uses in his argumentis “Bulbasaur are a combinationof Grass-type and Poison-typePokémon. Because they areGrass-type Pokémon, Bulbasaurhave plant-like characteristics.”I’m unsure of others, but Iplayed Pokémon games on mydad’s Game boy when I was akid, and I never realized the typeof words they use. It’s not likeplaying Jump-Start for kids.

Video games that don’t outrighthit you in the face trying to getyou to learn can actually teachyoungsters (as well as an oldercrowd) at the same time. Alsoaccording to Gee, to avoid thefourth grade slump, where stu-dents can understand but notinterpret the words, video gamescan help. This leads to studentswho can answer the questions,and do well on tests, not beingable to apply what they’velearned to real life. It’s almost asif the standard way of teachingin schools is more hinderingthan some video games are. Amain summary point I got fromthis was that video games canactual help make you smarter,and not be purely negative. Notall feel the same way as Mr.Gee, and for some the reasonwhy they are harmful is moreimportant than why they arehelpful.

Howard Gardner is a profes-sor at Harvard Graduate Schoolfor Education. Gardner believesthat the literacy gained from thegames mentioned is the kind thatyou would find in “technicalmanuals.” Gardner claims, whileit is hard to argue with a lot ofGee’s points, you can’t teachexperience, and to learn youneed to enter intoreal life situa-tions. Gardnersays that youneed to be able toput yourself intothe reading toreally gain acomprehensive literacy skill. Hegoes on to say that literacy is alinear skill. Literacy as definedby Gardner entails that you puttwo and two together page afterpage to be able to understand it.Gardner’s main point is that youcannot broaden your vocabularyby playing games or surfing thenet. You can’t get lost in linksfrom Google and randomlybump into information. Gardnersays that his goal is to “Make allyoung people’s to think like ahistorian, a philosopher, aneconomist, or a literary critic.”The argument speaks true. Youneed to read a book once and awhile, and you need to be able toapply what you learn to real lifescenarios, and be able to takeyour knowledge to the nextlevel. Another point mentionedby Gardner is that you need reallife experience. You can’t be asurgeon and only practice onsimulations. Human beings arereal and can feel the effects ofyou messing up, and robots andmachines cannot. Both sides of

the coin are there, and while Iam leaning a little more closelytowards to Mr. James Paul Gee’sviewpoints, both sides havevalid points. Video games canhelp you become smarter, andexpand your learning ability (inconjunction with other activi-ties.) The next question to askfrom here would be, are videogames making us more violent,and aggressive? Or is that just abunch of hogwash?

It is my opinion, that blam-ing video games for the violence

in our society isnothing morethan a giantscapegoat. Peoplewere mentally illbefore playingGrand TheftAuto, and people

will continue to be after GTA, isnothing but a meaninglessacronym. Video games don’tcause people to commit violentacts. Before video games, it wasviolent and loud music. Beforeloud music, it was bad films. It’salways something, and in theAmerican society, we alwayshave to have a scapegoat. “Onemeta-analysis of video-gamestudies, conducted this year byJohn Sherry, of Michigan StateUniversity, found little supportfor the belief that playing violentgames causes aggression.” saysChristopher J. Ferguson, anassistant professor of behavioralsciences and criminal justice atTexas A&M University. Thisopinion, while some may dis-agree, proves my point. Violentvideo games do not play a directcorrelation. However, one couldpoint the finger on bad parentingfor letting dangerous youths playgames that they deem “unsafe.”Those kids might grow up andshoot up a school, but it’s notbecause of Call of Duty, it’s

because of piss poor parenting.All media forms will cause

somebody to react in such a waythat is negative. When most peo-ple listen to a song, they enjoy itand know that it is just for enter-tainment purposes. To othergroup of people, who will listento the same song, and take it tomean that they need to act. Asong about war, could causethem to run into a grocery store,guns blazing, and take out who-ever is inside. It’s all abouthuman nature, and how thingsare taken. You can try and scape-goat the problems of violence inour society onto video games,but it won’t work. It’s just anoth-er round of the blame game, andwhen people start pointing thefinger at what’s to blame, they’rereally just pointing four fingersback at themselves. Now weknow about how video gamescan improve how smart we are,and how they don’t make peopleviolent, the only question left toask is, what is the health riskinvolved, when playing theseworks of art?

An article published onWebMD.com, written by BillHendrick, says that gamers aremore sedentary, and tend to bemore depressed then those whodo not play video games. Theinformation he draws from is asurvey published in theAmerican Journal of Preventive

Medicine. Surveyors include amember from the CDC, and sev-eral of his colleagues fromEmory and AndrewsUniversities. The study showed45% of the 562 people surveyedhad played video games. Themen who had admitted to play-ing video games had reportedmore “poor mental health days”and had higher body mass index-es than those who didn’t playvideo games. To me, these don’tseem like real health risks, andaside from the few people whowill play Halo: Reach and havea seizure when a grenade goesoff in game, they’re really aren’t.I’m not disputing that therearen’t health risks involved withplaying video games. Whensomething is in moderation, itbecomes okay. If you play videogames in moderation, you mini-mize the risks associated withlong term game play. The samesentiment can be applied toeverything else in life such asdrinking alcohol. If you stay upall night and binge drink, youmight be dead the next morning.If you have one or two drinks aweekend, chances are you’reokay. My personal experiencehowever, speaks differently. Ihave no health maladies to speakof, perhaps I’m the exceptionthat disproves the rule.

4 FeaturesHighlights December 22, 2011

Video games and their effects

“You need to read abook once in awhile...” saidGardner.

Features 5Highlights December 22 2011

By Joseph PuglieseHighlights Staff

No matter what grade you’rein, no matter what you plan onbecoming, everyone takes gym.

As a freshman first entersthe doors of the Kate Waltonfield house, they are completelyunaware of what awaits themover the next four years.

“I was scared cause therewere big tall guys there,” saidKenneth VanDemark, a sopho-more. “I knew the education wasgoing to be the same, but wasn’tsure about the people.”

Throughout the school year,there are copious activities thatstudents can partake in duringphysical education.

Ranging anywhere fromfootball when the year starts, toSuperstars when the year ends,

the students will have competedin basically all sports. Accordingto Tom Loughlin, one of theBoy’s coaches in the gymnasi-um, some of the favorites beingvolleyball, floor hockey, and thedance unit.

That’s just the upstairsactivities though.

At the beginning of theschool year, and after every newactivity, students in the gymnasi-um have the opportunity toeither participate in the upstairsactivity, or to stay downstairs inthe weight room. In the weightroom, students are able to workout with dumbbells, barbells, etcetera.

“There’s everything youneed down here,” said Loughlin.“You have weights, squat racks,benches; it’s everything youneed for a good workout.”

Also at the beginning of theyear, students have multipleoptions on where they want tobe for the rest of the year. Theycan stay in the field house andeither participate in gym, or goto pool. But they can also gowith Philip Brown, to the fitnesscenter.

“Everyone gets engaged atthe fitness center,” said Brown.“There’s no limit of space, andit’s all voluntary; students arerequired to come.”

Learning by example is justone of the techniques of the fit-ness centers education process.

“I tell them what’s going on,they see people becoming moreaware of their fitness.” saidBrown. “ It’s encouraging, itmakes them want to set goals forthemselves.”

According to RyanMatthews, a Junior, a studentgoes to the fitness center for aninfinite amount of reasons.

“I personally like the occa-sional free days,” said Matthews.“Cause then I’m able to do myown specific activities, then takewhat I learn in class and use it athome.”

With so many students inthe high school, a variety ofactivities are necessary toaccommodate for everyone’sown personal likes, so no onefeels left out.

“We always find a way toget everyone involved,” said

Matt Johnson, one of the Boy’scoaches in the gymnasium.“With two options, currentlyvolleyball and weight room,there’s never a large amount ofstudents sitting out.”

But class isn’t the only timethe Kate Walton doors are opento the students.

9th period is also a time inwhich many students go down tothe gym to get either a seriousworkout, or just hang out withtheir friends.

“We usually have the same15 to 20 kids that come on adaily basis, plus some studentsdoing make ups,” said Johnson.“It gives students a time to get agood workout, without having togo back to class sweating.”

Also, according to Johnson,in order to maintain fitness, stu-dents should normally be getting60 minutes of physical activityper day. This is a great way todo that, since you only haveroughly 30 minutes of activity ina gym class’ but with staying 9thin the gym, you get the whole 60minutes.

According to Loughlin, thephysical education curriculum iscurrently in the volleyball unit,and with this comes the annualvolleyball intramural that takesplace 9th period.

“Last year the turnout was-n’t that big,” said Loughlin.“There was a time where wewould have to stop accepting

teams, now we have to struggleto get the amount.”

According to Loughlin,there’s definitely a plethora ofchoices for students. And regard-less of where the student goes,whether it is to the pool, thegymnasium, or the fitness center,anyone can participate in afterschool activities.

Also, according toLoughlin, the upcoming volley-ball intramural consist of a maxof 16 teams, containing anyamount of students, but only 6players from a team will beplaying at the same time. Theone thing that makes this intra-mural stand out from the othersis that the activity is also coed.

“Last year’s numbersweren’t so good, we’re hopingfor a big turnout this time,” saidJohnson. “It’s a great sport, itprepares them for their futureand any student can be on anyteam.”

According to Loughlin, allteams have to be in byWednesday, Dec. 7, so if inter-ested, get your team in as soonas possible by handing the paperin to Loughlin in the FieldHouse gym.

“It’s human nature to beactive,” said Loughlin.” Animalsdo it for survival, we do it forpleasure.”

Let’s play volleyball!

By Alexis Parkhurst Highlights Staff

There is not one day a personcould walk down the halls withoutseeing anyone that looks irritated,cross or just generally stressed.Stress is something that happensto everyone at many points intheir lives. What stresses a personand how they react to stress alldepends on their values, beliefs,and personalities. With stressbeing so unavoidable, it is impor-tant to learn at a young age whatstress is and how to deal with it.

The definition of stress, givenby Deborah Zale, a health teacher,is the body's natural (mental andphysical) response to pressuresand demands of life.

A stressor is the person,event, or thing that causes you tofeel pressured. Some stress isn’tbad, and can even be helpful. Forexample, a stressor for a studentmay be a test coming up in one oftheir classes. This pressure couldcause the student to study, andwould result in a better grade.

Although stress such as this push-es us to do good things, too muchstress can do the opposite effect.

When a person begins to feelstressed, adrenaline is rushedthrough their body. This causespeople to react based on instinct,which explains why when stressedthe mind does not have as muchcontrol and some people becomevery irritated.

Stress can help an animalwhen in a situation that needsquick thought, but can be counter-productive for a person underpressure that will not be leavingthem any time soon. Pressure thata person is stuck with in their livesis called chronic stress, andaccording to Zale is the worst kindof stress one can have.

Zale also noted that “stress ishardest on adolescence becausethey are just learning how to man-age stress while in high school,which probably has more stressorsthan they have ever experienced.”

Shaina Harkins is a sopho-more enrolled in honors and APclasses. What’s difficult for her is

when there is little time to do alarge amount of work.

“It’s most difficult during thebusy times of the year, such asmarching season,” said Harkins.

On top of being busy andmaintaining good grades, likeeveryone she has to deal with peo-ple around her that cause prob-lems. Drama and other stressorscause her to begin to isolate her-self away from others. It helps herto get away from those causingher stress, but unfortunately cansometimes cause issues with herfriends and family. Stress general-ly brings down her mood andeffects some her actions.

Justin Baker, a junior alsoexperiences problems with stress.Baker has a part time job at adepartment store that causes a lotof his stress. Costumers can bevery difficult to work with andduring the holiday season storesare busy. Throughout his child-hood, Baker also moved often,making it difficult to find a goodgroup of friends. School is some-thing Baker works hard at and

when he has problems or thingsdon’t go as planned he gets dis-couraged. “I don’t want to go any-where or do anything, and I’m notenjoyable to be around,”.Bakersaid.

Students aren’t the only oneswho deal with stress on a dailybasis. LawrenceLohman is thevoice teacher,choir and mixedchorus director,and the go to per-son for anysinging relatedevents in theschool.Managing somany childrenand events giveshim little freetime.

“My stress is caused by aconflict between what is requiredof me and what could make mehappy. Happiness eludes me andwhat is required dogs me.”

He says that his stress doesnot affect the results of his job, but

his happiness. “I’m a mess” hereplied when asked how stress hasaffected his health.

Stress is not easy for anyone,and makes every situation muchworse.People cope with stress inall kinds of different ways.Harkins avoids those that cause

her problems toavoid stress, andspends time withfriends, listen tomusic, and playspiano to copewith it. Justinwrites, reads, andtries to get ansufficient amountof sleep to makestressful situa-tions better.Lohman spends

his summers at the shore to relievehimself of the frustrating schoolyear. Anyone can eventually getthrough stressful situations butusing the right techniques andlearning what ways of copingworks best for them.

John Stapleton makes the save! Joseph Pugliese/Highlights

Health class teaches moststudents the four guidepostsfor stress & emotional man-agement -

1. Take a deep breath andcheck your feelings.

2. Consider all options tocope with the situation.

3. Make a plan of action todeal with the stresso

4. Create an outcome thatmakes you proud.

Tips on how to deal with stressors

Features 6December 22, 2011 www.KingstonHighlights.com HIGHLIGHTS

By Marcus Thompson IIContra Costa Times(MCT)

Stephen Curry strolled in late for aninterview at the Davidson College newspa-per last month, a look of disinterest on hisface. With an iPod earbud attached to oneear, the Warriors point guard sent text mes-sages as he answered questions and even

interrupted the interview to take a call.Then, suddenly, Curry burst into

laughter, his attempt at playing the part of abig-headed sports star gone awry.

"Steph tried to punk us," said AndrewBarna, co-sports editor of TheDavidsonian. "But he could only last threeminutes because he is such a nice anddown-to-earth guy."

Clearly, Curry is right where hebelongs. He could be playing overseas,earning back some of the money he is los-ing during the NBA lockout. He could beusing this time to hang out, travel, or playvideo games. Instead, Curry, 23, is back onhis old stamping grounds at Davidson, fin-ishing up a degree in sociology.

"It's about finishing what I started,"Curry said.

Going back to school may sound nobleconsidering the pampered, diva label oftenaffixed to NBA players. But in Curry'sworld, such a decision was "not a big deal."And that probably explains why transition-ing back into school has been as smooth ashis jumper.

"I was excited but I really wasn't sur-prised," said Curry's mom, Sonya. "It's abig deal to get a Davidson degree. Andthat's the expectation that (Davidson)Coach Bob McKillop set_that his playersgraduate. I didn't want my baby being theonly one who didn't."

The lockout has afforded Curry a rareopportunity to knock out a bulk of classesat Davidson. So instead of signing to playinternationally, where he could makemoney and expand his fame globally,Curry is back on the scholastic grind.

Offseason surgery in May to repairtwo ligaments in his right ankle made thedecision to avoid fulltime basketball easier.

Curry's ankle is still not 100 percent,though he was cleared for full activity onSept. 14.

Still, Curry said he would've gone tocollege even if the ankle was healthy. Theopportunity to secure his degree, he said, ismore fulfilling than the money or the expe-rience he would get playing overseas.

If the lockout ends suddenly, Currymay have to drop the books and head tocamp, withdrawing from his classes. If thatscenario played out late enough in thesemester, he could possibly work out anarrangement with his professors.

"Since I'm so close, it's important tofinish," said Curry, who after this semesterwill have one class and his senior thesis leftto complete. "I don't know that I will havethis opportunity again. I told my coach andmy parents I'd finish eventually. Theyassumed I would take one summer class ayear for the next seven years. But that was-n't going to happen."

Things are different time around atDavidson for Curry. Two years removedfrom school, he is older and now recentlymarried, tying the knot with longtime girl-friend Ayesha Alexander on July 30.

These days, Curry makes the 45-minute commute to campus in hisMercedes rather than experiencing the joysof dorm life. He also enjoys much moreanonymity walking across campus than hedid in 2008, when he led Davidson on itsCinderella run to the Elite Eight.

To be sure, he's still popular, though."It's awesome to walk (across campus)

and see someone you've seen in videogames," Davidson sophomore SamTrawick told The Davidsonian.

But what might surprise those whodon't know Curry is how he blends in.

Despite being an NBA star among co-eds,Curry has managed to keep a low profileon campus. No entourage. No fancy jewel-ry or sunglasses worn in class. Normal col-lege kid attire: a backpack, t-shirt andshorts.

Curry's courses_History of Education,Medical Sociology and a researchclass_make for a busy Tuesday/Thursdayschedule. But, similar to his mindset on thecourt, Curry is fully engaging himself andfocused on being a good teammate.

"He does a fabulous job interactingwith students," said Jessica Taft, one ofCurry's sociology professors. "He's just oneof the students. He adds a lot to the class-room. It says a lot about what of person heis. It says something about his commitmentto education."

When he's done with class, Curryheads over to the gym to work out with themen's basketball team. In addition to help-ing McKillop prepare the Wildcats for theseason, Curry is strengthening his ankleand polishing his game.

On his way to the gym, he may signan autograph or two or chat about the goodold days. And he might even prank anunsuspecting fan. But it's clear Curry isback where his NBA stardom was launchedfor bigger reasons than basketball. It'sabout finishing something important to himwhen the chance was presented.

As he said, "I had an opportunity toget it done."

2011 The Contra Costa Times (WalnutCreek, Calif.) Visit the Contra Costa Times(Walnut Creek, Calif.) at www.contracosta-times.com. Distributed by MCTInformation Services

Curry back on campus

Tigers off to a good startBy Lyric BlanchHighlights

The boys Varsity basketball team isstarting their season off the right way!This previous weekend the Tigers trav-eled to Albany Academy for their firsttournament of the season. They cameback crowned the champions of the tour-nament.

On Friday the opening day of thetournament Jordan DeCicco hit a gamewinning 3-pointer with 11 seconds to playto lift Kingston (2-0) to a 77-76-champi-onship victory over host AlbanyAcademy.

“I was happy and excited.” DeCiccosaid. “The hours I spent in pre-seasonpaid off, I would practice shots like gamewinners in situation like these. I’m justglad my team and I won.”

December 3,Saturday the Tigers trav-eled back up to Albany for the champi-onship game and won. The Tigers beattwo of the most difficult schools inSection 1,so high expectations arerequired from them.

“The sky is the limit for them.”Yoneik Marshall said.

The Tigers are currently 2-0-0. Thesegames were non-league, which meansthey don’t count towards their section 9league record but will count in their over-all record.

Junior captain Justin Robinson whohad 16 points stated, ”We’re a talentedgroup of boys, We play together a lot sowe have a bond that cant be broken.”Robinson said. “It’s games like these thatprepare us for long term games, either it’sthe section 9 finals or a state champi-onship game.”

DeCicco scored 20 points, Robinsonhad 16 and Michah Riddick added 13 —all three were named to the all-tourna-ment team.

Robinson was crowned MVP of thetournament.

Last year the tigers fell short to theWashington Ville Warriors in the finalgame of the season, which was the Tigersentry ticket to the section 9 finals.

This year our Tigers are determinedto win it all, So come out to support your

Tigers at their home games. Games willbe held at Kate Watson Field House. Theadmission is $2 for students and $3 foradults.

The Tigers are trying to pack their

stands for this game so “TELL AFRIEND!”

Keith Allison / Flickr / CC-A-SA

Laffy4k/Flicker/CC-A

Entertainment 7Highlights December 22 2011

By Robert PuglieseHighlights

“Let me guess, someonestole your sweet roll” says aguard in the new epic ElderScrolls game Skyrim. Skyrimis a game by the awesomegame company Bethesda,which as we all know is thecreator of the Fallout series.This game was released onFriday 11/11/11. What anawesome day for a gamerelease!

This game is about howyour character is a specialthing known as Dragonborn.The evil dragon Alduin hasreturned with his dragon armyto enslave the Skyrim people.Your character must learnskills, travel, and find outways to defeat Alduin beforeit is too late.

This game is without adoubt a buy. I have been wait-ing ever since I got the recentElder Scrolls game Oblivionfour years ago for this game.The Elder Scrolls has fivegames created relateing to itsseries, the fifth being Skyrim.I have only played Oblivionand Skyrim, but I have heardfrom friends and seen reviewsabout the others that weregreat for that time. My friendDaniel Lonegran agrees withme when I say Skyrim rocks!

There are a ton of newenemies and people, weapons,

quests, and areas that willkeep the player interested inthe game for weeks. Insteadof playing my daily portionsof Halo Reach, I’ve been get-ting served my full me inSkyrim.

As I stated above, Skyrimfeatures many new things theother games left out. One ofthem was the dual castingability. It is insane. You canshoot constant waves of fire,ice, and electricity from onehand, or from both! My char-acter has been almost every-where in Skyrim and Iattained every achievement inthe game with the help of mymagic abilities.

On thing that they addedthe ability to sprint like in

Halo: Reach. The stamina barwas in the game in Oblivionand in Skyrim, they added anew feature to it. When theplayer does a power attackwith a weapon or weapons, orsprints, the bar decreases.After a period of now doinganything, the bar will recoverback to its maximum point.

Another great thing Iloved in this game was thenew spells. I found this spellcalled transmute which canturn ores into a greater formof it. So from iron to silver togold. Also, when the playergets a skill to 100, they cando a quest to achieve some-thing powerful that relates tothat skill. When I got mydestruction up to 100, I wasable to start a very confusingyet amazing quest that got mea spell thats fantastic.

As well as dual castingspells, the player can nowdual wield weapons like dag-gers, swords, etc. I used dualswords to conquer this onetower I went into and it tookcare of the bandits. And forthe last bandit on top of thetower, he got a fireball to theface into the river below.Aside from that, you can nowwield a sword in one hand,and cast spells in the other.This is good for charactersthat want to make their char-acter a battle mage type or awarrior type.

Another thing theychanged in this game that Ilike is the level up system.After the player increases hisskills and hits the new levelmark, sounds of warriorschanting loudly and the levelbar blinking. Then the playergoes to the skill menu andcan level up. When the playerlevels up.

They can either choose toincrease their magicka,health, or stamina. Every timethe player levels up and picksone of these attributes, theygain ten points. Me being amage, I increased his magickaa lot and his health once ortwice.

The last and most impor-tant thing about this game isthe dragons and the shouts.The player is Dragonborn,which means their ancestorskilled dragons and were ableto absorb their powers. Thereare many shouts in the gamethat give the player advan-tages over enemies but inorder to get them, the playermust do three things.

One, they must kill adragon and absorb the soul inorder to unlock a new shout.Two, they must find a dragonstone template which is agiant wall with all sorts ofshouts but it only unlocks oneper wall. And three, unlockand equip it. I found andlearned 15 shouts that were

extremely beneficial to mycharacter. The dragons in thisgame are ferocious and strongbut with a good focused mindand a strong weapon or spell,it can be slain.

Overall, Skyrim is the gameof the year in my books. With allthese new abilities, weapons,and powers, this game is fantas-tic. Out of 10, I give this game a9.5. But in general this game is arequirement and a necessity forthe year. Slay the beast andshout like a true Dragonborn.

By Caroline SecheHighlights

I believe that we need tostart truthfully; Coldplay hasnever disappointed me, andtoday is no different. There havebeen many negative commentsabout the new album “MyloXyloto,” but often, when a sup-ported band ventures out anddecides to experiment with theirsound, the fans nine times out of

ten will not be supportive, but Iam part of that one percent, andI say that you should give thisalbum a chance. I will admit“Every Tear Drop is a Waterfall”does not even compare to mypersonal favorite, “Till KingdomCome” off of X&Y, but that isone song I fell in love with themoment I heard the first guitarcord.

Music is something thatneeds to speak to you for you to

be able to love it, that is why itis so individual, and that’s whatmakes “Mylo Xyloto” the per-fect album. It appeals to the oth-ers, the people who neverthought they would like aColdplay song; and that is whatevery musician should aim for.Mutuality.

“Mylo Xyloto” is an albumI can see myself listening toeveryday for months; it wouldbe part of my homework

playlist, my running playlist,and my car trip playlist. I’m notwriting this because I want read-ers to go out and buy thisalbum, but because it’s the truth-this album is upbeat and fun, it’sexciting to listen to and makesyou want to get out your seatand dance. Why someone wouldnot want to give this album achance, I have no idea.

“Hurts Like Heaven” is aperfect example of a upbeat and

dance wor-thy song. Itis, in myopinion, oneof the bestsongs on theCD with thelyric andguitar com-bination Icannot evencomprehendwhy anyonewho is ofright mind,for any rea-

son, would not fall to theirknees.

“Written in graffiti on abridge in a park .Do you everget the feeling that you're miss-ing the mark?” “Written up inmarker on a factory sign I strug-gle with the feeling that my lifeisn't mine” “See the arrow thatthey shot, trying to tear us apartFire from my belly and the beatfrom my heart” “Oh you, useyour heart as a weapon And ithurts like heaven.”

When you turn on your CDplayer or plug into your iPod,don’t you ever have one songthat you go straight to, the songthat got you through the schoolday, the song that gives youhope and makes you happy nomatter what the world has done?Everyone does, and there isbarely a reason as to why one ofthe fourteen songs on this albumcould not be your cup of tea. Sotake a chance, and trust me.

Coldplay returns with a new style

Skyrim attract eyes, ears, and controllers

TIPS FOR NEW PLAYERS

Until you hit level 20 orhigher, the game is fairlyeasy.

Magic is very strong butif your spell isnt, thehammer will comedown.

Warhammers are thestrongest two handedweapon, but swing veryslow.

The executions are ran-dom. The can only bedone with one handedor two handed weaponryand only when blow iscertain to kill enemy.

Smithing is the easiestskill to increase as longas you have the coin tosupport it.

8 The back pageHighlights December 22, 2011

From top right to top left. A silkscreen by Cheyenne Rosslerwould’ve made Marilyn Monroe proud! Zed Lucienne, Sam Shippeeand Caitlyn Ziegler Horton all standing around talking about the art!Kelli Sillik’s dry point attracted the attention of those around them.Sillik also brought people over like a moth to a flame, with her hand-made paper sculpture. Cheyenne Rossler and Kacysm London lookover the work of Luke Benicase. London looks impressed. JoePugliese/ Highlights.

Senior SeminarMid Year Show