Bulldog wrestlers are decimated by Blue Devils

The Brunswick Blue Devils visited the James G. Tyree Gym to face off against the Stow Bulldogs in an exhibition wrestling match. The dual meet took place on January 22. The Bulldogs were looking to bounce back after only taking 15th overall at the Bill Dies Tournament last weekend.

The match began in the lightweights and a 106-pound intense duel between Logan Reiheld of Stow and Joe Cacuzza of Brunswick started the meet off. Reiheld emerged victorious in an 8-6 decision, making the team score 3-0 in favor of Stow.

The following match was at 113 pounds, John Koneval versus DJ Skiba. Skiba was able to take the win in comfortable fashion, taking the score to 8-1 before his first period pin in 1:32, giving Brunswick the 6-3 overall lead.

Next up was Luke Black facing Branton Lantz at 120. Black was victorious in a 4-1 win, tying the team score up at 6-6.

Then it was 126, Justin George and his counterpart Thomas Castenoda were locked in a close one until Castenoda was able to secure the 11-7 victory. The team score became 6-9.

Anthony Valore, returning from earning eighth place at the Bill Dies Tournament, was looking to keep his momentum going facing off against Josh Heil. The match was one sided from the start. Heil took the score to 17-4 before he pinned Valore with 15 seconds left in the second period, increasing the Blue Devil’s lead to 15-6.

The middleweights started in a 138-pound match with Billy Muncy and Nick Kuissis. Kuissis was in control the entire match, finishing Muncy off by way of pin with 59 seconds left in the second period. Brunswick’s team score grew to 21-6.

Joey Andrassy and Austin Fallon had their skirmish at the 145-pound weight class. Andrassy, who took sixth at the Bill Dies Tournament, and his counterpart were unable to score any points in the first period. The nail-biting match ended in favor of Andrassy 2-1. Stow was back on the board, chipping away at the lead making the team score 21-9.

At 152, Logan Emery wrestled Cade Bonds. Bonds won the match by major decision 15-5. Turning the score into 25-9.

Bill Dies Tournament 160-pound fifth place wrestler Nick Planicka was up against Frank Tusick. In a tight one, Tusick was victorious in a 3-1 win, again increasing Brunswick’s total score to 28-9.

170-pound Travis Bodjanac grappled with Brandon Bryant. Bryant walked away with the easy win by pin in 1:31. The team score then became 34-9.

The heavyweight classes began in a quick, 182-pound pin by Mike Bekney who defeated Kiyal Izaldine in 45 seconds. Making the team score an incredible 40-9 in favor of Brunswick.

The 195-pound weight class, with Aaron Naples, granted Brunswick with a free six team points due to forfeit. Team scores 46-9.

Brian Baranowski was defeated at the 220 pound weight class by Collin Sustersic 5-2. Making Brunswick’s lead 49-9.

Even with the insurmountable 40 point lead, heavyweight Jared Tatgenhorst seemed unfazed. He hastily pinned Mike Fontana in 1:42, bringing the final team score to 49-15 in favor of Brunswick.

Barack Obama addresses education and cyber security

On Jan. 23rd beginning promptly at 9:06pm, President Barack Obama made his way down the aisle of the Capitol building, thus beginning The State of the Union.

The State of The Union Address is an annual, formal speech made by the president to Congress as well as the rest of the viewing nation. Within this one-and-a-half to two-hour address, the president takes careful time to note the progress made by the country in the past year as well as the aspirations for the upcoming year.

2015 marks the second-to-last State of the Union for President Obama but despite the end of his second term as president coming to a close, he has shown no less enthusiasm about where he intends to lead the country.

Topics in this year’s address included relations with Cuba, cybersecurity and the war on terror. Though, it was President Obama’s proposal of free community college that has sparked the interest of many young people.

“Two out of three jobs require some higher education,” said President Obama.

With the average fees for attending a public university averaging around twenty-thousand dollars, the threat of student debt has discouraged many from obtaining a higher education. Regardless of the impact a four-year degree could make on a person’s job outlook, the financial risk has proven too great for some families.

Obama’s initial proposal included that free community college would be guaranteed to citizens wishing to obtain a higher education. In short, a person’s income should not make a person feel limited.

The counterarguments to the president’s proposal have been incredibly abundant. Questions are already being raised about where the funding for these free colleges will come from. Above all, it seems Congress is in disapproval of  the notion and are unlikely to pass it but the necessity for change is, at least, being acknowledged.

Knowledge of the past always helps to prevent ignorance about the future. When Brown v. The Board of Education, a case that challenged the lawfulness of segregated schools, passed in 1954, African-Americans were given easier access to public education and greater opportunities for succeeding in life. To parallel this case with recent debate, the access to free community college can give those who cannot afford to go to college greater opportunities to succeed professionally.

The new discrimination in the education system, it seems, is based on income. Free education, while not the only option for low-income students, will make higher education an option for low-income high school graduates.

New England Patriots crush legacy with new allegations

     The New England Patriots’ dynasty may officially be tarnished due to new allegations.
     On Sun., Jan. 18, the Patriots were set to play the Colts at home in Fox borough, Massachusetts. During the game, Tom Brady, Patriots quarterback, threw an interception to D’quell Jackson. Jackson noticed that the ball felt softer and lighter than a normal football. Game officials were alerted of this at half time of this under inflation.
     The Patriots now stand accused of deflating footballs during the AFC championship game. The Colts organization was even alerted by the Ravens, the previous team the Patriots played. They warned the Colts about New England’s potential doctoring of the football.
     Each and every NFL quarterback receives 12 balls before each game. They can then do what they want to them to break them in to their liking before the game. However, Deflating the football is illegal because it makes the football easier to catch and throw, especially in rainy conditions. The referees check the footballs before the game and then give them back to the team.
     How then could the New England Patriots have pulled this off? No one is absolutely certain how they did it, but they do know that it was done. ESPN investigators discovered that of the 12 balls, 11 of them were under inflated by 2 lbs. each.
     New England is now threatened by fines to both head coach Bill Belichick and All pro quarterback Tom Brady. The team also faces a potential loss of draft picks in the upcoming draft. Despite overwhelming evidence that the Patriots did deflate footballs, they continue to deny it.
     According to Yahoosports.com, Tom Brady said, “I didn’t alter the ball in any way. Everybody is trying to figure out what happened. I was as surprised as anybody on when I heard Monday morning what was happening.”
     Nobody in the Patriots organization seems to know what is happening, despite their history of cheating.
     Bill Belichick is one of the greatest coaches in NFL history and he is very good at cheating. In 2007, the Patriots were caught illegally filming a the New York Jets defensive hand signals. Before “Spy Gate” in 2007, the Patriots had won three super bowls, creating a dynasty. Belichick was fined $500,000 and the team has not won a super bowl since.
     It seems as though the only way the Patriots succeed is through cheating. The Patriots have returned to the super bowl for the first time sine 2011 despite being in the two previous AFC championship games. The organization made a connection that when they cheat, they succeed. Belichick’s legacy is in question because of his constant compromises to the integrity of the game of football.
         Due to these allegations, the Patriots are under fire once again. Their legacy has become tarnished and a tarnished legacy, is not really a legacy at all.

Student stress levels rise during finals week

As students battle their stress on a normal day, they realize that their stress becomes multiplied during midterms.

Often times the reason of this stress is due to lack of preparation or the insufficiency of teaching of the material in the first place. They automatically feel as if they will fail their exams and quickly begin to panic.

“It all depends on how you look at it,” sophomore Maya Conn said. “I think some teachers have prepared us well, but some have not. Of course no one knows exactly what it is on the test, but I do think teachers could prepare us more by reviewing rather than making us just do [notes] or do book work.”

Some teachers will even try to give their students study guides days before the actual test to study from until the actual exam.

“I think I prepared my biology classes by providing a study guide to help focus their study time, but ultimately it is up to my students to actually prepare for the test,” biology teacher Cathy Howard said.

Students completely forget their grade is entirely on them and not on the teacher.

“I feel my students are prepared completely,” history teacher Lisa Heilmeier said. “My biggest concern is that students do not do their part because teachers give all the information needed, but often students do not review the material and because of that, do not know how to apply what they have learned.”

Students also tend to forget they have seen all of the material presented to them on the exam or use the material they learn continuously throughout the course.

Examples of continuous use would be in English or foreign language courses.

In English, the use of literary devices is vital to analyzing literature. Once the students learn the terms, it is their job to apply the devices to the work they do.

Due to the use of the terms being so repetitive, students must simply relax and realize they have seen the words before and the definition is somewhere in their brain.

Other subjects like Spanish constantly use everything the students learn throughout every single Spanish class they will ever take.

“The best thing about Spanish is that it is not a one-and-done subject,” Spanish teacher Dana Kester said. “[Students] do not learn a topic, word, or grammar structure and then never see it again; we keep using it everyday. So my objective when having my classes review for midterms is to remind the students of those topics, vocabulary words, or grammar structures they already know.”

Most teachers do not forget to prepare their students for a big exam. They understand exams are a big deal to their students and will work to help them.

“My teachers work really hard at making sure we thoroughly understand the class materials,” junior Nick Rinaldi said.

Students just need to relax and focus on studying ahead of time rather than waiting until the day before their exams.

“To relax after studying or after an exam I just eat Doritos and watch That 70’s Show,” Conn said.

They should also start taking more responsibility for their actions leading up to exams rather than blaming their problems on the teachers.

Teachers are there to help their students remember the material and are working hard to do so.

Kester said, “[Reviewing] is just a matter of reminding the students that they already know how to do this and are totally capable of it.”

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