34,000 sui-cides in the United States annually, and there are at least 25 attempted suicides for every ac-tual suicide. Suicide is the third lead-ing cause of death amongst young Ameri-cans between ages 15 and 24, behind homicide and automobile accidents, respectively. “I think it’s important to do awareness weeks. I do think that’s important as a refresher for everybody, but I think it’s more impor-tant for people to be armed with knowledge,” says Ms. Daniel, a social worker at Tuscarora High School.

Were you Aware? By: Claire Frank

At the Bottom By: Megan Cohen It’s a well-known fact that the freshman class is not the most loved group of kids, not just in Tusca-rora but in practically every high school. Unfortunately (for them), that’s just the way things work. They’re the youngest in the school and the least experienced. Of course, freshmen’s age is not their fault, so obvi-ously any dislike for them is not personal. With the beginning of this school year comes the class of 2016, a group of students eager for high school but with much to learn. “I’m excited to be here, but it’s a big change,” says Kar-en Cassine, a freshman. Freshmen are not oblivi-ous to the typical thoughts some may harbor for them. “It’s understandable. We felt the same way about sixth graders last year in middle school,” admits Cassine. People have al-

ways known it’s about pecking order and that one day they will no lon-ger be at the bottom. Not only do they understand, some even agree with the labels that they have been given. “Not everyone really understands the respon-sibilities that come with high school,” freshman Anam Rana points out. The freshmen are young, but some try their best to defy the sterotypes of a typical ninth grader: annoy-ing, clueless, and naïve. On the other hand, the juniors and seniors have been here much longer. In a way, it’s almost like an invasion. Tus-carora has become the up-perclassmen’s home, and all of a sudden these new peo-ple have come pouring in. Middle school and high school are so different, and throughout the year the freshmen will come to understand all the things they

will need to know for the duration of their time here. Everyone was in their shoes at one point; everyone has to make the full transition

to a high school student. A majority of the time, resentment of the freshman class isn’t even a realproblem at Tuscarora. The

students in other classes are too focused on sports, academics, or clubs to even really mind. High school is where you transition into an adult, so a lot of upperclass-men don’t find situations like these important enough to get involved in. “If they don’t bother me, I won’t bother them,” says Marga-ret Knapp, a junior. For the most part, freshmen have nothing to worry about. Even so, no one likes to be at the bottom of the totem pole. But they are willing to patiently wait for their year. “I’m mostly look-ing forward to getting to go to prom,” enthuses Jamie Chica, another ninth grader. And the Huskies respect each other—they don’t try to get in each other’s way, and a majority of them are too busy thinking about their respective futures, which, at the end of the day, will always be more important than class rivalry.

Students displayed the word “love” upon their wrists on September 10th, proud to show their sup-port for the organization To Write Love on Her Arms (a non-profit organization that helps those with sui-cidal thoughts and depres-sion) on World Suicide Pre-vention Day. Yet very few went further and showed their support for some-thing even larger—National Suicide Prevention Week. National Suicide Pre-vention Week, which last-ed from September 9th to September 15th, was started by the American Association of Suicidology (AAS) in 1974. It revolves around World Suicide Pre-vention Day and works to-wards raising awareness for suicide prevention. To spread awareness, the AAS suggested mak-ing posters, wearing a tur-

quoise and purple ribbon (the official ribbon of sui-cide awareness), and or-ganizing events based on informing others; yet few students showed any sup-port at all. Out of a poll of 100 students at Tuscarora High School, only 19% even knew about National Sui-cide Prevention Week, while 43% had heard of World Suicide Prevention day. But why should this even be an important issue? If no one knows about it, it can’t be important, right? “I do not think that enough people are aware of the movement for aware-ness of suicide preven-tion,” says Mr. McNutt, a psychology teacher at Tuscarora. “I feel that hav-ing knowledge of suicide prevention could definitely lower the suicide rate.” According to the AAS, there is an average of

“It’s important to know the signs and symptoms. It’s im-portant to know what you are going to do if you start to feel [suicidal] or if you have a friend that tells you they’re feeling that way.” So, what should some-one do if they or some-one they know is consid-ering suicide? Get help.

“Tell a trust[ed] adult,” advises Ms. Burnett, a guid-ance counselor at Tusca-rora. “Sometimes students are afraid to come forward because they’re afraid their friend will be upset with them, but they’re really doing the best thing in the world they can by coming in and telling [an adult].”

The class of 2016 got their first taste of Tuscarora during the 8th grade expo last May. Photo by MEGAN FoRD

INFoGRAPhIc by ERIcA WAlkER of suicides are because of

suicide attempts for every suicide

committed

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By: Breanna Shiflett

The Fate of Television Rests With You

After a long hard day of school and work, there’s nothing better to do than escape from our own reality by entering another. Many choose to do this by watching television. As soon as some enter the door and drop their bags, the screen is on, blaring action and laughs. It’s as comedian and talk show host, Jimmy Fallon, once said: “At the end of the day – if you’ve had a bad day, if life sucks—you still have TV.” Casual-watchers and die-hard fans alike all have their favorite shows, whether they are Glee, Ha-waii Five-0, or Jersey Shore. But what if at the end of the day you open the door, flop down on the couch, and find that your favorite show, your beloved escape from reality, has been cancelled? How could this have hap-pened? Who is to blame? Is it time to start sending nasty letters to your lo-cal NBC executive? Start rioting in front of the CBS headquarters in New York City? Well, you might want to hold off on that; those people have little control over the fate of a tele-vision show. In truth, the blame is entirely yours—the fate of your favorite show rests in your hands. How can something as signifi-cant as the fate of an entire show, its cast and crew, and everything along with it rest with you? It’s sim-ple really: the future of a TV show is based on viewership, which can be seen through Nielsen ratings. These ratings go back as far as 1923, when Arthur C. Nielsen cre-ated the Nielsen Company and set out to survey engineering perfor-mance, making Nielsen Company the first to monitor sales and pro-

vide market research. As time went on, the ratings were applied to ra-dio and eventually to television as we know them today. These ratings are detailed analyses of a person or family’s viewing habits and demo-graphic information, and are col-lected with Nielsen panels and cen-suses from DTV set top boxes and receivers, which are the devices that allow you to watch television broadcasts. Nielsen’s People Me-ter is another useful statstic which sees what is recorded, fast for-warded, watched, and which family member is doing the watching, is also used. When a family member sits down to watch television, they must log in to a device and punch in their name and age. They log out when they are done watching.

All of this data is sent to the Nielsen headquarters each night to be record-ed and to ultimately back the ever-so-important rating.

However, not everyone has these Nielsen boxes—in fact, only about 50,000 people (20,000 households) in the United States have them, so these ratings are generalized. In order for the collected data to be completely accurate, households are selected at random. You may receive a letter in the mail or a visit from a Nielsen representative if you have been selected, but there isn’t much you can do to get in yourself. Volunteering is not an option, so getting in on the Nielsen ratings is left to chance. Another unfortunate flaw in this system of ratings is that watching TV online (via Hulu, Netf-lix, iTunes, etc.) does not count to-wards the Nielsen ratings, and in this day and age, when many viewers

use these methods to watch their shows, this leads to a large number of viewers not taken into account.The most unfortunate thing about the Nielsen ratings, however, is that they are virtually unheard of to the general public. A casual television watcher will most likely not know what the ratings are called, let alone understand their complexi-ties. They’re not going to spend their time searching on the Inter-net for a small number unless they are seriously invested in the show and its fan-base. Even at Tuscarora High School, where many students love their television shows and chat about them constantly, the Nielsen ratings are virtually un-known. Out of 33 students of all four grade levels, only 8 of them had even heard of the ratings, and a few only recalled knowing about them after the premise had been explained. This lack of knowledge can definitely impact a show, as many people are unaware that their television-watching habits can actually hurt the shows they love. What’s so important about a little number, especially one that most people haven’t even heard of? Surely it doesn’t have enough power to determine the fate of a show. While these ratings are important to networks, there’s another number that is far superior in the sense of determining television lifetime. Almost everyone uses DVRs and other recording devices these days, either because they aren’t around to watch the show, or simply to skip the dreaded commercials that accompany them. The latter reason has so much importance in the fate of TV shows: commercial ratings are actually really what matter. These ratings are used to buy ads, set

prices, and ultimately determine the fate of the show. The advertis-ers couldn’t care less about who is watching what show, but who is watching their ads. Even if you’re a hardcore fan of Grey’s Anatomy, and you record it every week and never miss an episode, if you fast forward through the commercials

you’re still hurting the show. During commercial breaks, most people get the urge to channel surf, even if they end up

switching to a show they have no interest in, just to avoid watching the ads. In reality, you could end up helping a show that you don’t like rather than a show that you may have invested a lot of time in. What does this mean for you and your favorite TV show? If you’re the number one fan of a show and its cancellation would mean the end of the world, the best thing that you can do is watch it LIVE. Even though watching commercials isn’t the most exciting thing in the world, and you have the urge to channel surf, the most important thing you can do is stay on the same channel. Do everything possible to not actu-ally watch the commercials—mute the TV, walk away for a few min-utes, grab a snack, or surf the web on your phone—as long as your television remains on that channel. That way, you’ll be doing every-thing in your power to keep your show on the air and let your fears of your favorite escape from reality being lost to the archives dissipate. So take notice—the future of your favorite show rests not with ad salesmen, local executives, or high up producers, but with you, the viewer. The fate of television rests with you. What will you do with it?

What’s so important about a little

number?

“At the end of the day...you still have TV.” -Jimmy Fallon

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InfographIc by Danny seDlazek anD erIca Walker

survey by erIca Walker

The Friend EffectBy: Meilan Solly

StaffMegan Ford…………………..Editor-in-ChiefMeilan Solly………Assistant Editor-in-ChiefJack Minchew……Assistant Editor-in-ChiefSean Cassar………………………Layout EditorDominic Gavan………Advertising ManagerForest Langhorne………………Sports EditorShalom Montero……Entertainment EditorDanny Sedlazek……Entertainment EditorErica Walker…………………………Art Director

Staff WritersMegan Cohen Abdullah ElqadriKatie Forcade Claire FrankDaniel Friend Tyler Garling Meghan Kolcum Danielle Matta Breanna Shiflett

The Husky Headline is written, edited, and designed by students from Tuscarora High School. All opinions expressed in this publication are those of the individual writer. The views published in this newspaper are not necessarily those of the Tuscarora High School administration, faculty, staff, or student body The Husky Headline serves as an open forum of public expression for the students and teachers of Tuscarora High School. We are committed to delivering relevant, accurate news - which means we want to hear from you! We welcome your opinion. Opinions may be expressed in letters to the editor and can be sent to the staff at TheHuskyHeadline@gmail.com. Please include your name and class standing in all letters to the editor.

Have you ever talked about a friend behind their back? Can anyone honestly say they haven’t? Saying bad things about your best friends when they’re not there isn’t exactly one of the Seven Deadly Sins, but it is a definite step towards becoming a toxic friend. Ac-cording to three freshmen – Emilly Grueso, Jordan Stinger, and Taylor Hover – toxic friends are backstab-bers. They tell other peo-ple’s secrets, and they’re “two-faced and judgmen-tal.” Liam Marshall-Brown, a senior, defines a toxic friend as “someone you think you can trust who goes behind your back.” According to a Today.com article entitled “Toxic Friends? 8 in 10 people en-dure poisonous pals,” 84% of women and 75% of men have had toxic friends. This idea is supported by Stinger, who says, “Most friendships are [toxic].” Various types of bad friends include the “narcissist,” who is self-ob-sessed; the “chronic down-er,” who’s always depress-ing; and the “underminer,”

who treats other people’s problems or accomplish-ments like they’re nothing. Friends who possess these characteristics negatively impact relationships be-cause, according to Psychol-ogy Today, “they take and you give, [and] they con-sistently disappoint you.” The difference between

toxic friendships in men and women might seem small if one looks at statis-tics, but Mark Armstrong, a junior, says, “Guys’ friend-ships are about sports and similar activities, whereas girls’ friendships are more about feelings.” David Fred-erick, a professor of psy-chology at the University

of Hawaii, expands on the idea, explaining that “wom-en’s friendships tend to be more about intimacy...the downside is that leaves them more open to attack.” If toxic friendships are so very horrible, why do peo-ple continue them? Friends are, according to Mar-shall-Brown, people “you

can trust and enjoy being around,” and toxic friends obviously don’t fit those requirements. However, ac-cording to Today.com, 83% of people stay in toxic re-lationships simply because it’s hard to end a friendship. Grueso adds that “even if [a friendship] is toxic, [people] still think they’re friends.” Stinger says that if your toxic friend also hap-pens to be your best friend, ending the relationship can leave you friendless. Toxic friends have been around for a long time, and it’s likely they’re here to stay, especially with technology keeping everyone connect-ed 24/7. This doesn’t mean, though, that once you’re in a toxic relationship you’re stuck. “Talk it out first, and if it doesn’t work then stop being friends,” Stinger ad-vises. Another way of han-dling a toxic friendship is best explained by journal-ist David Hochman, who says, “I stopped focusing on the toxic part of the relationship and started focusing on what’s good. Now we just play tennis together and it’s working.”

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@tuskysports @huskyheadline

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4

InfographIc by MeIlan Solly

Wide reciever Jack Coates catches a throw from quarterback Nick Azzarita at the Crush County game on September 21, 2012. The Huskies beat the Loudoun County Raiders 21-7 with a great showing of spirit from the Tusky Terror, led by Kyle O’Connor.

Marching Huskies Prepare For Upcoming Competition

Breaking Barriers and

Setting Standards

A first-person ac-count of the golf team’s successBy: Daniel Friend

Many sports teams this year didn’t consider Tusca-rora much of a threat; Now they fear us. Going into the annual Curly Licklider Golf tournament, the competi-tion looked rough as we, the golf team, were competing against some of the best teams in the state and try-ing to retain our rank as 1st of the 30 teams. The gen-eral consensus was “let’s do our best and see what happens.” Much to ev-eryone’s surprise, our two seniors, two juniors, and two sophomores won the entire tournament. Over-joyed on the way home, two things ran through our minds: how did we win this, and we can’t be flukes. Had you told me last year that next season the golf team would go undefeated, I would have shook my head in disbelief. Had you said that we would place in the top 3 for every District mini, I would have chuckled. Had you said that we would win districts and move on to re-gionals, I would have cried from laughing too hard. Yet somehow, all of those seemingly impossible events happened. This is my last year on the team, and I couldn’t think of a better way to end my high school golf career than by setting the bar higher than ever before and being a part of a program with so much potential. To go from 5th place in 2010, to 2nd place this year even with the loss of our 2 best play-ersI still don’t know how we pulled this much off. Regionals took place on September 28th at the same course where we previously showed up 29 teams. The team placed 4th, miss-ing 3rd place by just one stroke. Unfortunately, this ends our season. Many underclassmen plan to re-turn and hopefully lead the Tuscarora golf team to the state tournament next year.

The Marching Huskies performed their show Native at the Crush County game on September 21, 2012.

By: Tyler Garling Fall is the peak of the marching season for the Marching Huskies since they have to prepare for their upcoming performances at competitions. The March-ing Huskies, under the di-rection of Katie Newmiller, will spend the rest of their season perfecting their show Native, which fea-tures music from the 1992 film Last of the Mohicans. With a competition on the horizon, many members of the band are about to experience exactly what marching band is all about. Drum Major Lauren Choinski is entering her fourth year of marching band. Choinski, a senior, has noticed many chang-es in the band since last year. “I think it’s more stu-dent run than usual. We’re working a little bit harder than last year,” she said. The Marching Huskies started their summer band camp in August and have

made tremendous prog-ress since they first started learning the show. “So far, we’ve come a long way. Every day we progress a little bit,” said Choinski. Nick Striegal, a fresh-man and one of the per-cussionists, is ready to face the challenges of the season. “[So far] it’s been pretty tough. We’ve been going through exercises, but it all ends up being worth it,” said Striegal. The Marching Huskies un-dergo exercises during prac-tice so that they have enough ener-gy and stam-ina to make it through m u l t i p l e runs of the show. They usually run laps around the school to improve their endurance. Nothing could be worse than the band passing out during their performance at

the competition! “It’s our first competition so we’ve been practicing a lot,” explained Striegal. “The show is outstanding, especially when everyone

is playing together at once.” Another newcomer, sophomore Matt Almond, also believes that the Marching Huskies will do well throughout the sea-son. He plays clarinet and decided to join marching band because many of his friends said that it is a fun experience.“I think it’s been pretty fun lately, and I’m looking forward to our first competition,” Almond said. Since it’s Almond’s first year in marching band, he’s had the challenge of learn-

ing the basics of march-ing band, like marching in step with the rest of the band and memoriz-ing all the mu-

sic, but he’s made plenty of improvements. “Consider-ing [that] when I started I knew pretty much nothing about marching band, I’ve progressed a lot,” he said. Sophomore Vanessa Wilkinson is entering her second year of march-ing band. She is a trumpet player and is very confident going into the first compe-tition. “We’ve been mak-ing a lot of improvements since our first game, which is good, and we’ll keep on improving,” said Van-essa. “Last year was a lot less organized. This year we have better marching; we have more people who care about the program.”

Though many think march-ing band is simple, it re-quires a lot of effort and can’t be taken lightly. Even though it’s a lot of work, ev-ery member must put forth the effort for the band to be successful. The band, like Wilkinson, has gotten bet-ter at playing and march-ing. With everyone improv-ing at what they do, there’s no doubt that the March-ing Huskies will have suc-cess, not only at their first competition, but through-out the rest of the season. The Huskies’ first competi-tion was on September 29th at Herndon High School, and their next competition was on October 6th at Lou-doun Valley High School. At the competition at Hern-don High School, the Hus-kies placed second in both guard and percussion, with an overall score of 68.625.

All Photo Credits: MeghAn KolCuM

Drum Major Lauren Choinski leads the Marching Huskies at the home Briar Woods game.

5

being worth it.” “...it all ends up

-Nick Striegal

Looking for the Magic NumberBy: Megan Ford

issues and jeopardize your safety, causing dep-recating consequences. Many teens experience short-term consequences rather than long term. Espe-cially in school, the ability to remember and consolidate information is key to being successful. Sports and AP classes can play a large role in students’ lack of sleep. Ogedegbe states that “[sports] don’t affect the time I have for homework and studying, but they do affect the amount of sleep I get.” Another senior, Ky-lie Ritz, is experiencing the same thing. With 5 AP classes, cross country, and piano practices, Ritz said that she spends about 3 hours on homework each night. When asked about how sports and college ap-plications affect the amount of time she can spend on homework and studying, Ritz said, “They affect it

in a big way; I have so lit-tle time to do anything.” The amount of time you sleep is not the only fac-tor that plays a role in your mood when you wake up. Each night when you fall asleep, you go through four stages of sleep. Each stage can last anywhere from five to fifteen minutes, and once you’ve progressed

through each stage, the process begins again. Once you’re asleep for about an hour and a half, you will en-ter REM sleep, also known as Rapid-Eye-Movement sleep. The cycle will contin-ue through all the stages of sleep, and each time REM sleep is reached, it will last longer than the time before. The most key part of REM sleep occurs in the morn-ing, though, when you’re

Sleep deprivation is not uncommon among teens. Walking through the halls it’s easy to tell which stu-dents are happy to be here and which ones just need to go home and take a nap. Senior Ben Ogedegbe be-lieves that teens should be getting about 8-9 hours of sleep a night. But, according to the National Sleep Foun-dation, there is no “magic number” of hours that you should sleep. Sleep needs are individual and can vary depending on age, gender, and even your genes. Re-searchers have recently be-gun to study the concept of basal sleep need, as well as sleep debt. Basal sleep need is “the amount of sleep our bodies need on a regular basis for optimal perfor-mance,” while sleep debt is “the accumulated sleep that is lost to poor sleep habits, sickness, awaken-ings due to environmental factors, or other causes.” The interaction between basal sleep need and sleep debt leads to many discrep-ancies about how much sleep you should be getting. Regardless of how much sleep you should be get-ting, lack of sleep can cause a problem over time. In the short term, lack of sleep can hinder your ability to remember or consolidate information, as well as reduce your productiv-ity. Over a long period of time, sleep deprivation has more severe effects; it can cause serious health

about to get out of bed. If your alarm clock happens to go off when you’re in Stage 1 sleep, you may wake up feeling tired as if you hadn’t slept at all. On the other hand, if your alarm clock goes off while you’re in REM sleep, you will wake up feeling more rested and ready for the day. This is be-cause while in REM sleep, your body and brain are closer to “being awake” than they are when you’re in any other stage of sleep. There are many ways to fix your sleep sched-ule. Time management is a huge factor. Many teens are known to be procrasti-nators, waiting until the last second to do a project or homework assignment. If you’re given a weekend or a few days to work on home-work, take advantage of it. Don’t put it off until the last minute. Then, set a specific time window in which you

“There is no ‘magic number’ of hours that

you should sleep.”

will plan to go to bed every night. Especially if you play sports or volunteer, this can be a huge help in get-ting the amount of sleep your body needs. Keep your room quiet and dark once your set sleep time comes around. Leave the book on the nightstand and the TV off, and let yourself fall asleep; your body needs it. Even on weekends, try to keep to your sleep sched-ule, as one can only be truly set over a long period of time. Make sure you’re not eating or exercising within about 3 hours of the time you expect to fall asleep, as these activities will wake up your body rather than putting it to sleep. Try to keep to calm, quiet activi-ties, and you’ll find that you have a much easier time getting to sleep, staying asleep, and you’ll feel bet-ter when you wake up too.

5. QuizletCategory: Study toolsWhat it is: If you haven’t heard of Quizlet, then be glad you’re reading this article. Quizlet is a study tool that lets you make electronic flashcards. The flashcards are very inter-active. You can take prac-tice tests, play games, and more. You can also look up sets that other people have created. The app is a condensed version of the website, and it’s very help-ful for studying on -the-go.

4. EvernoteCategory: OrganizationWhat it is: Evernote is one of the best ways to access notes on various devices. You can sync your phone with your computer and other devices, and whenev-er you make a note on one it shows up on all the other ones. Note that you cannot use Evernote offline un-less you buy the premium version. One cool feature of Evernote – you can take photos of documents and they become searchable.

3. Merriam-Webster Dictionary

Category: ReferenceWhat it is: The Merriam-Webster Dictionary app is your basic dictionary, but it’s a lot easier for students to use. The app works even when you’re offline, so (if your teachers let you use it) it’s perfect for class use. When you search a word, Merriam-Webster supplies the definition along with synonyms, antonyms, word origins, and more.

2. Free Graphing Calculator

Category: MathWhat it is: This is simply one of the best apps avail-able, not just for students but for everyone. It’s not as sophisticated as a TI-84 and so on, but it can do a lot of the same functions. For example, Free Graphing Calculator lets you graph equations; calculate sin, cos, tan; and look up lots of helpful information like how to multiply a fraction or find complementary trig functions. If you take math, then you need this app.

1. WikipanionCategory: ReferenceWhat it is: Most teachers adamantly declare that Wikipedia is not a valid source, and it’s really not. It is, however, a very help-ful tool for looking up the basics about a topic. Use Wikipanion as your start-ing point for research and move on from there.Hint: At the bottom of the page, you’ll find references which you might actually be able to use for your paper.

Top Five Free Educational Apps For Students By: Meilan Solly

7

Kanye West is hip hop’s golden boy. Practically ev-ery album he released has been declared a classic by the rock/mainstream-press, while still manag-ing to have a more than a handful of Top 40. All of this in an industry where artists fall out of fame in way less than 15 minutes. It seemed as if he could do no wrong.One of the major reasons West, also known as Yeezy or Ye, has managed to at-tain the success he has, is his unrelenting dedication to changing up his style. While I personally believe he rips most of his “style” from lesser-known art-ists, he seemed to be on the brink of a truly origi-nal “Kanye West” sound with My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy in 2010. That record was the cul-mination of his whole ca-reer: it brought elements of chipmunk soul from his College Dropout days, the lush orchestral instrumen-tation of Late Registration, the electronic grooves of Graduation, and the RnB influences from 808’s & Heartbreaks. Lyrically, the rhymes on My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy were simultaneously the most technically impressive and emotionally deep of any al-bum he had put out thus far. Yet there was still so much room for him to grow. It was a template that any art-ist wishes they could have. When he announced Watch The Throne in 2011, a collaborative effort with mentor Jay-Z, we weren’t expecting much. It was sup-posed to be a fun record that cemented their legacy as the most successful rap-pers of the modern era. So when Ye wasn’t up to the standards of his previ-ous LP, I wasn’t surprised or worried; he had two al-bums slated for 2012 that were sure to be better. He announced a solo al-bum whose only confirmed fact is its existence, with no release date in sight. The other, released

Semptember 18th, was a collaborative effort from his entire label, G.O.O.D. Mu-sic, which has a star studded roster featuring veterans Mos Def (now known as Yassin Bey) and Common, pop sensations Kid Cudi and Big Sean, and street fa-vorite Pusha T, to name just a few. Needless to say, the album is hugely anticipated. Technically the G.O.O.D. project, titled Cruel Sum-mer, hasn’t been out too long, but the album was leaked onto the web the week before. So I’ve had extra time to take it in, and wow…really Kanye?Almost half of the incredibly brief album was released via singles, and almost ev-erything that wasn’t al-ready out was weak RnB fluff. Those singles, with the exception of the lyri-cally marvelous “New God Flow,” were all hype-rap songs with little substance and heavy trap influences. When trap-star 2 Chainz, who isn’t even on your label, seems the most at home on supposedly “lyri-cal” label’s songs, you are doing something wrong.It seems we’ve discovered Kanye’s newest style: hype-rap. Pitch-corrected snare rolls, flurries of hi-hats, and artificially deep vocals dominate the sound of this record. Lyrically, it’s some of the most boring floss-ing Yeezy has ever done. At least back in the day, while he walked the line between corny and clever far too of-ten, he was never boring. He’s been out-rapped on ev-ery song he’s been on, but it’s not like he seems to be on autopilot; he just seems to be running out of steam. The ironically titled Cruel Summer, whose release date is precariously close to autumn, just sounds like a pop-rap album where only one or two MCs actually seem to be trying on each song. It’s very disheartening.Kanye’s other recent work that didn’t go into Cruel Summer has…well basi-cally been nonexistent.

This is really the first we’ve heard of Yeezy since 2011, besides his very public relationship with why-is-she-famous-again per-sonality Kim Kardashian. This was the first time I’ve ever been bored with Kanye. Even at his worst, he was at least interest-ing. Now, it seems like he’s running out of ideas and is just piggybacking on his younger protégées to maintain relevancy. Unless his new solo album is the best thing since sliced bread, I think this group LP is the end of Kanye’s industry dominance. Does this mean he’s go-ing to stop selling? Not likely. He’s built up a huge a brand in an industry whose main selling point is name-recognition. But I doubt he’ll be the bar all other artists are held to within the mainstream any more. Still, no one has become remotely close to occupy-ing Yeezy’s pompus seat on top of the game. So the decline won’t be overnight. Regardless of the accuracy of my predictions, one thing is for certain: Cruel Summer is a travesty, and will tarnish Ye’s name in the long run.

“This school is only in its third year. Our spirit ri-vals and trumps the other schools who have been standing five times as long as us,” explained Kyle O’ Connor mid- bite into his spicy chicken sandwich. Tuscarora High School is entering its third year with sports teams that would make more sense if they belonged to a pres-tigious private school. Our football team just brought home a win against Loudoun County High School on County’s home turf, proving that you can’t “Put Down The Huskies” and bringing our season record to 4-0. The game cemented Tuscarora as a team to be contended with this year. Just like at every other game, Tusky Terror was there, tightly packed into the last quar-ter of the away stands. It was a black mob brandish-ing signs that said “Crush County” and screaming at two teams who were playing their hearts out. Tusky Terror is an extreme-ly organized student section with chants, vuvuzelas, and a Facebook page to match. Coordinated clothing is an-other feature our student section does well. The face paint is so abundant the section can often resem-ble a moving portrait. The chants are so catchy that

other schools have started to mimic us. “You can’t do that” could be heard com-ing from County’s side dur-ing the game. Behind a great thing like this there is always a great leader, and that man is Kyle O’ Connor. At first glance a few words that may arise when you look at Kyle are short and skinny with short hair. He appears to be normal, but behind that average kid is the heart of a lion. Kyle is kind and fairly humble about his position as the leader of the famous Tusky Terror. “I know I play a big part in the overall group, but with-out the student body there would be no Tusky Ter-ror,” O’Connor remarked. Kyle is a truly inspiring person to our crowd of stu-dents, and he has been since the first year this school’s doors were open. He com-mands the crowds like a general would on the bat-tlefield: screaming chants, instructing rollercoasters, and getting the blood flow-ing with jumping. The Tusky Terror doesn’t just attend football games, though. Tusky Terror also shows up en masse to soccer games in the spring, bring-ing their spirit right along with them. Any sport, any weather, and any time, our student section will be there bringing the terror.

Getting involved does not mean participating in a hundred things. Start off small with a club or two, and eventually, if you really like the club(s) you started with, you can branch out and try more.

When signing up for a club, make sure to choose carefully based on your hobbies and interests. By doing so, you’ll meet new people that you have so much in common with, and you’ll really enjoy whatever

the club is doing. Otherwise, you’ll lose interest.

If you’re really the type of person that likes to stay at home in peace and quiet, then maybe try step-ping out of your comfort zone a little. It can be slightly difficult to make such a transition, but high school

is the best time to explore new things and find out what you enjoy doing.

Have a friend join with you if you’re a bit nervous about meeting new people. Everything’s easier when you’ve got someone close doing it with you.

Make sure to attend the meetings once you join—you can’t call yourself involved if you never show up for anything!

If none of the available clubs appeal to you, then there are other ways to get involved. Fundraisers, pep rallies, and football games are all great ways to show your support for your school and have a fulfilling

high school experience.

InfographIc by Danny SeDlzek