Sports traditions around the country

Many schools all the over the United States have unique sports traditions that are similar to the high school.

For instance, at C.E Jordan High School in Durham, North Carolina, their marching band takes the field at half time in halloween costumes, a tradition that started in the 1980s when homecoming fell on halloween. Even though homecoming is not always on halloween for Jordan High, the costumes  are always worn during the homecoming game.

At Cupertino High School in Cupertino, California, the water polo teams catches everyone by surprise. After their king and queen are crowned at half time, the team runs to the corner of the stadium and across the field in nothing but speedos.

West Stokes High School in King, North Carolina, has their cheerleaders do pushups for every point on the scoreboard after a touchdown. They also throw peanuts and stuffed footballs to make the crowd “Go nuts for the Cats” during boring parts of the game.

A more local school, Hudson High School, also has some unique traditions.

Before each game there is a pasta dinner for the team.

When the Explorers score a touchdown, children ring the “Explorer bell.”

At the end of the season, flag boys pick the “super-fans” for next year. Explorer girls paint letters and then at the end give them away to an upcoming senior.

Another high school, Archbishop Hoban, has a quite interesting tradition.

Before Hoban plays their rival, St. Vincent-St. Mary, they spend their entire school day in complete silence. The night before that, all of the seniors stay overnight and decorate the school.

This became known as Mum Day, and it has been happening for over 50 years. It started in 1962 when Student Council wanted to do something to increase spirit, and ever since then, it stuck.

They also have a collection of cheers to do during their game, and they do spirit fingers before kickoff.

Hoban senior Emily Dunn said, “I love the traditions we have at Hoban. It unifies us as a student body and really builds spirit no matter what the scoreboard says.”

The high school does an especially good job on keeping the entire school unified before and after the games.

Student Council kept the student body involved on picking the spirit day themes for homecoming week by tweeting out ideas.

The school organized a Davenport Derby and holds  a homecoming festival filled with a parade, food trucks and games.

The band drum line plays cadences every day after school during homecoming week in a different location each day.

On other Fridays besides homecoming, sometimes there is a tailgate beforehand. There are always cadences held on Fridays near the auditorium.

Homecoming game or not, there is always something going on before football games.

During the football games, the student section chants multiple cheers, and they jump up and down on the bleachers before kickoff, much like Hoban does spirit fingers.

When the team scores, a senior boy does as many push ups as there are points on the board. This is extremely similar to the way the West Stokes High School cheerleaders do push ups.

The senior girls and boys are the only ones who lack a spot on the bleachers because they stand along the fence. They also paint letters on to themselves, much like Hudson, even though this is against dress code.

“Certain traditions exist that we try to honor. I would never debate with [these traditions]. Because it is tradition it is acceptable,” Principal DiMaruo said.

Many schools have traditions that are similar to others and some that are unique. Either way, no matter the location, all schools hold one thing in common- the unity to their team and to each other.

Police brutality questioned by many

When the TV is turned on and the flat black of the glass screen bursts into colors and depth. But, all news programs seem to be reporting the same story, a black child was killed by a white police officer and now the african american community is calling the the indictment of said officer. These events of alleged police brutality have defined this millenium as the age of miscommunication, the decade of falsehood and the manipulation of the public millenium.

Recent deaths by the hands of police officers in the United States have sparked controversy about police officers racially profiling perpetrators and intentionally killing them because of their race.

These events have turned into a complete frenzy for not only the media but especially  for celebrities and social media users. Celebrities have used their status to spread their opinions , whether those opinions be educated or uneducated. Social media users have condensed their opinions into 140-word tweets and long-captioned videos on facebook. Unfortunately, while social media allows people to post whatever they want, people are posting false information and is creating more information and outrage.

The true information lies only in the hands of court officials and yet the media is tapping into the frenzy to extrude an emotional response  like one would tap into a tree to extrude maple syrup. Media makes their money on reactions like the ones going on in the United States and media is greedy and will do anything to make money. Thusly causing the media to spread false information to receive a greater emotional reaction. Media is portraying things worse than they actually are.

Many social media users have brought up the point that this serious problem about police brutality is not about race, it is not about right and wrong, it is about what the public does now. Violently protesting is not what should be done. Profiling all police officers as “bad cops” is not the answer. The violent tendencies of this nation, which have ultimately been revealed in the wake of this scandal, are not justifiable even when lives have been lost.

Everyone in this country has ten amendments just from them laying down their rights as citizens of the United States.

The first amendment of the United States Constitution reads as follows; “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably assemble: and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

But these rights stop when acts become criminal.

Contrary to popular belief there is a federal government of the United States  that is doing all it can to protect this country from going down in flames. There is a government that this trying to right its “wrong”.

Teenagers are not the rulers of this country. Opinions on twitter are not going to be made into law, someones tweets are not going to get magically transformed into a bill and get voted on in Congress. So teenagers need to stop making generalizations and making these sad shootings about them. Teenagers need to stop tweeting about this situation only to get a certain number of favorites and retweets. Be constructive with opinions and try to seek change in a rational and realistic way.

This situation is about what the country does now and unfortunately peoples are making the “now” pretty bleak.

Attacks in Ferguson disrupt daily life

Events taking place in Ferguson, Arkansas have been making headlines in newspapers all over the United States for the past month.

On Aug. 9, a cop received a call over a theft occurring in a convenience store.
That day the cop came across a boy who fit the description of the robber that had on reported to him. Events occurring during the encounter between the boy and the cop have differed between the individuals

interviewed.
According to New York Times.com, some witnesses say the boy punched the officer in the face. Other witnesses say the suspect never moved toward the cop at all.

The story has changed, but the ending result has not. Michael Brown, a 18 year old unarmed teenager was shot and killed by Officer Wilson.

Ferguson held a candlelight vigil to honor Brown on Aug. 10, which began as a peaceful memorial, but soon turned into a violent protest.

That night, USA Today.com stated that more than a dozen businesses were vandalized and looted and over

30 people were arrested that night, along with 2 cop injuries.
On Aug. 11, the first day of school was cancelled for safety of the children that could be walking that day. A large amount of death threats in relation to the shooting of Brown were said to be received by the police.

USA Today.com said Brown’s mother released a statement that day stating, “I would not want them to get out there and use my son’s situation for their personal violence. That is not what I want them to do. We are out there marching for justice for my son and peace for my family.”

Although the parents of Brown told the public they did not want their son’s death to be the cause for rioting, rioting continued to break out in Ferguson.

Along with Brown’s mother, President Barack Obama also spoke about the events in Ferguson to the public.

“I know the events of the past few days have prompted strong passions, but as details unfold, I urge everyone in Ferguson, Missouri, and across the country, to the remember this young man through reflection and understanding. We should comfort each other and talk with one another in a way that heals, not in a way that wounds,” Obama said.

On Aug. 24, Brown’s funeral was held where over 100 friends and family members gathered to view his body. The family hoped for peace on this day.

“All I want is peace while my son is being laid to rest,” Michael Brown Sr. said.
Sept. 26 was the day Officer Darren Wilson testified before the grand jury.
On Oct. 10, a four day peaceful protest began during the investigation of Brown’s death.
Waiting for the grand jury’s decision, Brown Sr. preaches peaceful protest while the people wait for the outcome.

An advocacy group, St. Louis Forward, posted a video featuring Brown’s father continuously saying that violence is not the answer no matter what happens. The decision was made by the grand jury on Nov. 24, declining indictment of the shooting and killing of Brown.

Despite what Brown’s father said, the protests have continued after the decision by the jury.
According to NBC News, the President plans to meet with young civil rights leaders, politicians, and law enforcement from around the country to build trust between the community and the police.

President Barack Obama said, “Recent events in Ferguson, Missouri and around the country have shone a spotlight on the importance of strong, collaborative relationships between local police and the communities they protect and serve.”

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