WINTER 2010WINTER 2010

Bullying Is Out of Control

Year in Review: Entertainment

Bullying Is Out of Control

Year in Review: Entertainment

CoyStewart(Are We There Yet?)

Has Arrived

2 TRUE STAR JR.

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ARE YOU THE ‘GO TO’ PERSON FOR THE LATEST IN SCHOOL

NEWS CELEBRITY GOSSIP AND TEEN

CULTURE?

WWW.TRUESTARIS.COM

EXPOSE’6 BULLYING IS TOO COMMON

BY TAJA ROBERTSON

7 A MILITARY LIFE BY QARIAH POWELL

8 LIVING WITH CHALLENGES: MALACHI’S STORY BY JOSHUA CHAPMAN

9 FIGHTING FOR FREEDOM BY DAYTWON WALTON10 REALIZING MY DREAM BY TAYLOR JACKSON

TALKIN’ NERDY11 GADGETS WE USEBY MEKAL STEWART

FALL/WINTER 201012 FASHION: WHAT’S HOT BY KRISTIAN JACKSON & RAKIM SINGLETON

13 FASHION: OUR STYLE

WOODSON14 EXCEL INSTRUCTORS BY KENNEDY BANKS & RAKIM SINGLETON

15 PANTHERS HOOP TEAM WINS TOURNEY

HOT OFF THE PRESS16 COY STEWART: Q & A BY TAJA ROBERTSON & NIA LACKLAND

17 17 THE DRAKE FACTOR BY MICHAEL BLAIR

18 YEAR IN REVIEW: VIDEO GAMES 19 TIS THE SEASON: TOP 10 HOLIDAY GIFTS20 HOW MUCH DO YOU TWEET? BY DAVEY HINES JR.

4EVER YOUNG21 PUPPY LOVE: WHAT DOES IT FEEL LIKE? BY NYA COATES

22 HEALTHY FOODS FOR YOUR SKIN BY PAIGE FLOWERS

TRUE STAR RADIO TRUESTARIS.COM TO DONATE TO TRUE STAR FOUNDATION, VISIT TRUESTARFOUNDATION.ORG

CONTENTS

PLEASE LET US KNOW YOUR THOUGHTS ON TRUE STAR JR. MAGAZINE

CONTACT US:LETTERS TO TRUE STAR JR.1130 SOUTH WABASH, SUITE 302CHICAGO, IL 60605-2717

EMAIL TRUESTARJR@TRUESTARMAGAZINE.COM

EXECUTIVE DIRECTORSDEANNA MCLEARYJ. NA-TAE’ THOMPSON

MANAGING EDITOREDGAR MOLINA

EDITORIAL COORDINATORKATHY CHANEYVERONICA HARRISONROZANNA RIVERA

WEB CONTENT MANAGERRASHAAN MEADOR

ART DIRECTION DESIGN AND ILLUSTRATIONANGEL D’AMICO-BAUER

CELEBRITY BOOKERRANDY C. BONDS

PHOTO COORDINATORDESHAUN ADAMS

SPECIAL PROJECTS MANAGERDESHAUN ADAMSPHILISTINE THOMPSON

PUBLIC RELATION & MARKETING OUTREACH SPECIALISTKIKANZA HARRIS

OPERATIONS MANAGERSAFIYA EDWARDS

PROJECT ASSISTANTSQIANTE ALEXANDERHENRY COLLINSMICHAEL MAHAFFYMARY RUFUS-ROSS

BOYS & GIRLS CLUB COORDINATORDAVID LEVERON

4 TRUE STAR JR.

CONTRIBUTORS

COROVON RAYFORD CARTER G. WOODSON CHARTER

JUJUAN ROBERSON CARTER G. WOODSON CHARTER

LAWRENCE JOHNSON CARTER G. WOODSON CHARTER

DALIA SANDERS CARTER G. WOODSON CHARTER

KENNEDY BANKS CARTER G. WOODSON CHARTER

NYA COATESCARTER G. WOODSON CHARTER

NIA LACKLAND CARTER G. WOODSON CHARTER

PAIGE FLOWERS CARTER G. WOODSON CHARTER

RAKIM SINGLETONCARTER G. WOODSON CHARTER

JOSHUA CHAPMANLINDBLOM MATH & SCIENCE

NOELLE WALTONCARTER G. WOODSON CHARTER

QARIAH POWELL CARTER G. WOODSON CHARTER

TAJA ROBERTSONCARTER G. WOODSON CHARTER

DAYTWON WALTONDODGE R. ACADEMY

KRISTIAN JACKSON CARTER G. WOODSON CHARTER

MEKAL STEWARTCARTER G. WOODSON CHARTER

TAYLOR JACKSONJOSE DE DIEGO COMMUNITY ACADEMY

DAVEY HINES JR MT. CARMEL

MICHAEL BLAIRNORTH LAWNDALE COLLEGE PREP

NOT PICTURED

6 TRUE STAR JR.

EXPOSE’

What is bullying to you?

Bullying can be expressed in different ways. The

most common are physical and emotional abuse.

When being physically bullied, you usually

experience pain and anger. You experience

pain as they hit, punch, kick, bite or even scratch

you. You experience anger at the bully for

feeling like they have the right to hit you. One

thing you can do to reduce the risk of getting

bullied is as soon as it starts, tell an adult.

Bullying is something you should not fight back

on; fighting back on physical bullying can make

things worse.

Cyber-bullying is when a person on a social

network such as Facebook and MySpace

harass you via the internet. This is one of the

most common forms of emotional abuse of our

generation. During these, social networks can

include a chat and during that chat you and

many other people can be verbally abused,

threatened, or even your feelings can be

badly hurt.

Based on a recent survey of 1,500 middle

school students across the nation by i-SAFE

America (i-SAFE is a non-profit educating and

empowering youth to safely use the Internet.)

*42% of kids have been bullied while online.

1 in 4 have had it happen more than once.

TIPS: HOW TO AVOID VIOLENCE

*WALK AWAY

(REMOVE YOURSELF FROM THE SITUATION)

*TRY TO TALK IT OUT (LISTEN TO EACH OTHER)

*ASSOCIATE WITH MORE POSITIVE PEOPLE

*GET AN ADULT INVOLVED

(IF SITUATION HAPPENS IN SCHOOL)

*GET PARENT INVOLVED

(IF SITUATION HAPPENS OUTSIDE OF SCHOOL)

*CONTACT POLICE IF NECESSARY

Compiled by Woodson Charter School

*35% of kids have been threatened online.

Nearly 1 in 5 have had it happen more

than once.

*21% of kids have received mean or threatening

e-mail or other messages.

*58% of kids admit someone has said mean or

hurtful things to them online. More than 4 out of

10 say it has happened more than once.

*53% of kids admit having said something mean

or hurtful to another person online. More than 1

in 3 have done it more than once.

*58% have not told their parents or an adult

about something mean or hurtful that happened

to them online.

What needs to happen to keep the bullying

down is stop the violence, stop the silence, speak

up and keep this world safe.

BY TAJA ROBERTSON

Bullying is too common

TRUE STAR JR. 7

BY QARIAH POWELL

A Military Life

You all know how we have parents

that are strict? Well my parents are way

stricter than your parents and family.

Do you know why? Well that’s because my

family is a military family. My aunt, cousin,

and three of my uncles worked in

the military.

My cousin worked in the army and his title was

guard duty. His favorite part of the job was

traveling. He said that Social Studies helped

him in his job. The least favorite part of his job

was not seeing family often.

I also want to be in the army. I want to be in

the army because it will be a great opportunity

for me and also because our troops risk their

lives for our country. It affects me because I

miss my family when they have to go to work.

TRUE STAR JR. 7

8 TRUE STAR JR.

My little brother, Malachi, has the

condition SMA (Spinal Muscular Atrophy). SMA

means that a person’s muscles are weak from

the neck down. Malachi can’t walk, talk, eat,

or breathe on his own. He was diagnosed at 5

months and my parents were told by doctors that

he would never make it to his second birthday.

But his story continues. In fact, he will celebrate

his 12th birthday on January 16th.

There are a lot of blessings being Malachi’s big

brother. Malachi has brought so many wonderful

people into our lives, especially nurses. One nurse

in particular, Nurse Julie Fitzsimmons, has been

with us since Malachi was 6 months old. There

are also burdens that come with being his brother,

however. It’s hard taking Malachi to everyday

places, such as the zoo and the doctor’s office,

because it’s difficult packing up his stuff into the

van and unloading it once we get to a destination.

It also stinks whenever we go to public places with

Malachi and people, even adults, stare at him

like he’s a part of a museum or something and I

have to act like his bodyguard. My cousin, Julian,

had to say in response to that: “It’s just human

curiosity. I don’t think people do it on purpose.”

“It’s really about educating people. We might

react the same way if we didn’t know about the

disease,” said my mother.

One of the things that I’m amazed by Malachi

is his strength and bravery. The few times that

Malachi has had to go to the hospital, he hasn’t

seemed extremely worried; he’s usually the most

Living With ChallengesBY JOSHUA CHAPMAN

cool, calm, and collected of the entire family. In

fact, whenever we go to get our annual flu shot

together, I’m always the one that’s more skittish

than he is. Malachi is never thrown by life’s

curveballs. One time, when our van ran out of

gas, my parents were worried sick about how we

would continue on while Malachi was as happy

as can be, listening to Bob Marley.

“I think we can all learn from Malachi, his

courage and faith. We cry over little things, but

Malachi stays calm and he’s been through a

whole lot and he’s still standing,” says mom.

I love being Malachi’s big brother, but sometimes

I do wonder why it happened to him. I’ll also

wonder why I didn’t get the disease and he could

live a normal life. I usually don’t spend much time

thinking about that, but it does come across my

mind from time to time. I also wonder if stem cells

could actually cure him fully and if that would be

the right thing to do for him.

Being Malachi’s big brother is somewhat of a

burden at times, but it is also a joy. I love to watch

movies with him and read books to him. Malachi

is one of the coolest, laid back people I know.

“It’s humbling. I realize how blessed I truly am.

He makes me appreciate life more,” says Julian.

Courage: the ability to face danger, difficulty,

uncertainty, or pain without being overcome by

fear or being deflected from a chosen course of

action. My brother is most definitely courageous.

TRUE STAR JR. 9

Life is rough! To me, life is like a bowl of Cap-N-Crunch… which are really hard. When I think of

life, it feels like jail because you can’t live your life freely.

These days people are coming up missing, getting killed, getting raped, or even kidnapped. I believe

that it’s not right how people are losing their kids to drugs, gang-banging, or getting killed.

I believe people need to start fighting for their lives and family members’ lives. People don’t want to die

because some thug shot them.

I believe that these drug dealers that are selling drugs to kids should be in jail! Lock-up these drug

dealers by calling the police when you see something happen, so people can have their family and

their lives back!

I feel life is nothing to play with, so if you want to keep your life: fight for your freedom!

FIGHTINGfor Freedom! BY DAYTWON WALTON

TRUE STAR JR. 9

10 TRUE STAR JR.10 TRUE STAR JR.

My Dream

BY TAYLOR JACKSON

Realizing

Singing and acting has been a dream of mine

since I was 4 years old. I noticed this dream when

I was at home with my uncle and my mom was at

work (as always).

My uncle, who was always the goofy one said,

“Hey lets make a home video!” He got his camera

out and started recording. I have never been shy

around people or let alone in front of a camera.

So I said to myself, “I’m in front of a camera, let me

give them a show!” I started to sing my favorite song

which was, “Heal the World” by Michael Jackson.

At the moment that I started singing I realized, I had

so much fun and I decided I wanted to become a

singer. So now I am determined to make that dream

happen. I’m going to work hard, and I’m going to

do whatever it takes.

I feel I can do anything if I keep my mind on it. I

can’t let anyone pull me down by distracting me

with drugs, gangs, crimes, etc. I know I can fulfill this

dream if I just keep my head up.

TRUE STAR JR. 11

TALKIN’ NERDY

EVERYONE LOVES ELECTRONICS. ANYTHING THAT’S ENTERTAINING LIKE LAPTOPS, PHONES, MP3S, VIDEO CAMERAS, YOU’LL BE SURE THAT WE WILL WANT THEM.

playgroundBY MEKAL STEWART

ELECTRONIC

FASHION FALL/WINTER 2010

Fashion PoliceFashion victim Hadiya Pendleton (left),

Fashion Police Tyanna Liggett

What’s Hot

What’s HotFront row (left to right):

Diamante Jefferson

and Kennedy Chaney

Back row (left to right):

Dalia Sanders,

Tyanna Liggett

Noelle Walton

12 TRUE STAR JR.

TRUE STAR JR. 13

What’s HotBY KRISTIAN JACKSON AND RAKIM SINGLETON

What’s Hot Diamante Jefferson

What’s Hot

What’s HotTyanna Liggett (left)

Hadiya Pendleton

SILLY (RUBBER) BANDZ

ARE THE NEW FASHION

CRAZE. IF YOU FEEL

UNORDINARY, SILLY

BANDZ HELP YOU

STAND OUT WITH THEIR

DIFFERENT SHAPES

AND COLORS.

PALLADIUM SHOES

AND PF FLYERS

HAIR ACCESSORIES AND

SHOES THAT COME IN

BRIGHT COLORS. PEOPLE

WILL AUTOMATICALLY

SEE YOUR CREATIVITY.

SKINNY JEANS

TUTUS. WHETHER IT’S

WORN OVER SOME

LEGGINGS OR IT’S

ATTACHED TO A SHIRT,

TUTUS ARE BACK

IN STYLE.

JERK GLASSES

KNEE-HIGH GYM

SHOES AND COLORFUL

KNEE-HIGH SOCKS ARE

ALSO THE LATEST BUZZ.

SHOWING UP

TO A PARTY AND

DRAMATIZING THE

PARTY’S THEME WITH

YOUR OUTFIT. PEOPLE

WILL SEE THAT

YOU LOVE TO

DRESS UP AND

YOU’LL BE KNOWN

AS A FASHIONISTA.

14 TRUE STAR JR.

WOODSON

Woodson Excel Instructor Profiles

Carl Hubbard EXCEL SPORTS INSTRUCTOR ON MONDAYS AND WEDNESDAYS.

Daria AmerikEXCEL VISUAL ARTS INSTRUCTOR ON MONDAYS.

TRUE STAR JR. 15

Panthers Hoop Team Wins TourneyUNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO-CARTER G. WOODSON BOYS BASKETBALL TEAM WON THE BEACH

CLASSIC CHICAGO PUBLIC SCHOOLS TOURNAMENT IN NOVEMBER AT RAINBOW BEACH. THE

PANTHERS BEAT THE RAINBOW BEACH ALL STARS 39-33.

16 TRUE STAR JR.

HOT OFF THE PRESS

Coy StewartBY TAJA ROBERTSON AND NIA LACKLAND

‘KEEP TRYING, KEEP PERSEVERING. NEVER GIVE UP.’ - COY STEWART

TSJ: How did you get the role as Kevin in

“Are We There Yet?”

Coy Stewart: I auditioned in New York. I’m

originally from South Carolina. I auditioned and

they told me that they like me…they called me

up…we talked…about two weeks later they said

they wanted me for the part. I was really excited

about that.

TSJ: How did you get into acting?

CS: I started acting when I was five. When I was

about nine or 10 I stopped and started playing

different sports. Then I got back into acting

again. I’ve been doing it off and on.

TSJ: Would you like to have your own

show one day?

CS: That would be really, really cool. I love

doing the comedy stuff. I think that’s my favorite.

Yeah, I think having my own show would be

really awesome.

TSJ: What advice would you have for

other kids that would like to become an

actor?

CS: I would tell them to keep trying, keep

persevering. Never give up. Always know that

something good will come out of it.

Never give up.

16 TRUE STAR JR.

TRUE STAR JR. 17

The Drake FactorBY MICHAEL BLAIR

“Do right and kill everything,” that’s

what rapper Drake proclaims his name means.

When examining that, several people may agree

or disagree whether or not his style has changed

the music game.

According to Drake, he is the man of the year,

the title to track number 24 on his mix tape titled

“Comeback Season.”

His first official album just released mid-June of

this year. “Thank Me Later,” which sold 500,000

copies in the states alone.

Charles Metoyer, 28 year old resident of the

Westside, said he rushed to pick up

Drake’s album.

“He is who holds Young Money together,”

said Metoyer.

In the year 2005, Lil Wayne was named

president of Cash Money, and in the same year

he founded Young Money Entertainment as an

imprint of Cash Money. However, late in 2007

he stepped down from the management of both

labels and handed over the management of

Young Money to Cortez Bryant. On December

23, 2009 Lil Wayne dropped the collaboration

album with Young Money which consists of

Lil Wayne, Drake, Nicki Minaj, Mack Maine,

Tyga, Gudda Gudda, Jae Millz, Lil Chuckee, Lil

Twist, Shanell, and T-Streetz. On December 23,

2009, Lil Wayne and everyone in Young Money

released a collaboration album entitled “We Are

Young Money.”

The mind behind the man has been on top of his

game even more after the albums release date.

Drake has taken his hometown Toronto, Canada

and created its own music festival, October’s

Very Own Fest (OVO Fest). The event took place

for the first time on August 1st of this year.

Then there is Drake, the actor. The acting skills

that he has gained from Nickelodeon’s

DeGrassi have inspired him to want to play

President Barack Obama in any possible up and

coming biopic.

“Can you see me, can you see me, get your

Visine on,” Drake urges his audience. He has

gone into the airplane business, so his audience

better look up. Drake has a commercial airplane

named after him called “Air Drake.” This is

under Virgin America, a flight that goes between

Toronto, Canada to California, USA in San

Francisco and Los Angeles.

So does the Drake factor work for everyone?

“I don’t like Drake as a rapper,” said

Shannon Braswell, a graduating senior from

North Lawndale College Prep and future student

at Upper Iowa University. “There are some of

his songs I do like, but I feel that he should go

back to DeGrassi. He is a better actor than he is

a rapper.”

Drake feels that it is far from over and for those

who are not feeling him, he says “point the

biggest skeptic out, I’ll make him a believer.”

TRUE STAR JR. 17

18 TRUE STAR JR.

Holiday GiftsHoliday Gifts

18 TRUE STAR JR.

Top 10

10. ViVi Brown9. KeKe Palmer8. Demi Lovato

7. Amanda Cosgrove6. Jaden Smith

5. Willow Smith4. Miley Cyrus

3. The Jonas Brothers2. Taylor Swift1. Justine Beiber

Performers of 2010The world of junior performers this year just keeps turning as younger people take the stage.

Singles by our favorite artists and movies by our favorite actors has had us all grip the arms of

our seats and boost up our volume in our headphones. And as the world continues to turns, the

list gets longer…

18 TRUE STAR JR.

TRUE STAR JR. 19

Top 10 Video GamesBy the control of your fingers, video game characters came to life this year. Just when you thought

you’ve found your favorite, another hot video game released. As your fingers did the playing, and

your mind cracked the codes, the best of the best helped create not only a competition of winners,

but a competition of video games.

10. SPLIT/SECOND

9. X-MEN ORGINS: WOLVERINE

8. URBAN TERROR

7. CALL OF DUTY: MODERN WARFARE 2

6. RAGING BLAST 2

5. TRON LEGACY

4. HALO REACH

3. BIO-SHOCK

2. RAW VS. SMACKDOWN 2010

1. NBA 2K11

10. Laptop9. Xbox 3608. Flip camera7. Fushigi Ball6. Flat screen TV5. Wii4. PS33. Blackberry2. iPod1. iPad

Holiday GiftsTop 10

Holiday GiftsTop 10 Top 10 Movies

of 2010

10. How to Train Your Dragon9. Toy Story 38. Step Up 3D

7. Lovely Bones6. Takers

5. Twilight Eclipse4. Just Wright

3. Shrek Forever After2. Karate Kid

1. Paranormal Activity 2

The big screen seems to have gotten even bigger

this year. Movies for this year’s junior audience

spanned from action to animation, romance to

horror. Regardless of its category, each movie

landed its place on the top ten list…

TRUE STAR JR. 19

20 TRUE STAR JR.

1. What year did Twitter start?

A. 2001

B. 2002

C. 2005

D. 2006

2. Who is the most followed celebrity

on Twitter?

A. Britney Spears

B. Lady Gaga

C. Lil’ Wayne

D. Nicki Minaj

3. How many fans do they have?

A. 5,330,174

B. 7,543,567

C. 1,500,543

D. 6,194,803

4. How many characters can you

type on Twitter?

A. 150

B. 140

C. 130

D. 120

5. Who made the song

‘Hit Me on Twitter’?

A. Trey Songz

B. Drake

C. Mistah FAB

D. Chris Brown

How Much do you Tweet?BY DAVEY HINES JR.

6. How many tweets are posted a day?

A. 1.9 million

B. 5.1 million

C. 2 billion

D. 3.1 million

ANSWER KEY:

1. D

2. A

3. A

4. B

5. C

6. A

If you got between 4 and 6 correct, you are a

Tweeter Expert and should be very proud of

yourself.

If you got 3 correct, you are a basic Tweeter Fan

and should step up your game.

If you got between 1 and 2 correct, you are a

Tweeter Rookie and should probably just stick to

Facebook.

20 TRUE STAR JR.

TRUE STAR JR. 21 TRUE STAR JR. 21

YOU KNOW THAT FEELING WHEN YOUR KNEES GET WEAK AND YOU WANT TO CRAWL

INTO A CORNER AND HIDE?

Well, that’s the feeling you get when you see the person you like. You slowly look into their eyes

and they’ll finally come up to you and ask your name. Then your heart starts to melt. Next the

conversations start and you’ll start doing homework together, studying together and sitting next to

each other at school games.

THIS IS PUPPY LOVE.

4EVER YOUNG

What’s

BY NYA COATES

Puppy Love?

22 TRUE STAR JR.

Healthy Foods For Your SkinBY PAIGE FLOWERS

‘IF WE START GOOD HABITS NOW, WE’LL CONTINUE THEM AS ADULTS.’

Now is the time for us to take good care of our

bodies. If we start good habits now, we’ll continue

them as adults. Did you know that some of the foods

we already eat (and drink) are helping us take good

care of our bodies?

Water: Keeps skin clear and keeps you

hydrated

Green tea: Helps fight off bacteria

Almonds: Has Vitamin E and helps your skin

look young

Fruits: Keeps your skin looking young

Cucumbers:Takes away the puffiness around

your eyes

Yogurt: Has Vitamin A and keeps your skin

looking young

Avocados: Has Vitamin B-complex and

soothes your skin when it’s irritated

Mangos: Has Vitamin A and keeps your skin

from looking flaky

Cottage cheese: Keeps your skin looking

young and glowing

Salmon: Helps your skin stay moisturized

TRUE STAR JR. 23

24 TRUE STAR JR.