If you feel comfortable with the way you dress (even if that means wearing sweatpants and a sweatshirt every day), then you should not try to change your style. Dress the way that makes you feel happy.  If you feel that you want to dress your style up a little more but you don’t want to change the way you look completely or spend a lot of money, use some of these tips in your styling process:

• Being “fashionable” is an opinion, not a price. You do not need to spend hundreds of dollars in order to dress nicely.
• Find clothes that flatter you: for example, a shirt that brings out the color of your eyes. Clothes should bring out the features that make you feel best about yourself.
• If you’re looking to change your style, start at stores that have big selections so you can get a feel for the abundance of styles out there.
• Fashion changes rapidly. One day you may see something at a store that you love, and the next day it may be gone, so keep an open mind when shopping.
• Most importantly, wear what you love.  Don’t let anyone else tell you that your style is bad. Remember, there is no such thing as “bad style.”

Style trends are continuing to change day by day, but stick to the style that makes you the happiest. Face it, you’re the one that has to wear the clothes that you pick out, and your opinion is the only one that matters.

According to a survey taken by 50 East students, 23 of those students leave their gym lockers unlocked. Of those 23 students, 11 have had something stolen.            

Items such as money, iPods, cell phones, and even boots or jeans have been reported as stolen throughout the building.            

It’s so convenient not to lock the gym lockers. It saves at least 2 minutes by not having to re-open it again. A lot of times students don’t even know their combination. But what the students don’t realize is that by not completing that two minute process of opening their locker, it just cost them their $300 electronic. No one is supposed to be in the locker room once the bell rings, but that’s not to say that rule stands strong.            

Leaving your belongings under the benches in the locker room is equivalent to not letting the lock do its job.

“My bag was too big, so I left it under the bench one day. When I came back, all the pockets were open and everything was unzipped,” said Sarah Minion (’12).            

If someone leaves a locker unlocked, it is not definite that someone is going to steal the possessions, but it’s better to be safe than sorry. Or empty, like your pockets.

Neither did I.

That’s until my father called me with the news: “The Eagles signed Michael Vick!”

After a few minutes of “What the…” and “Wow!”, it drew on me that many people weren’t going to be happy with this signing…not happy at all. After all, what owner or coach or teammate or fan wants an ex-convict on his or her football team? And not just an ex-convict, but an animal murderer.

Two years ago, Vick was arrested for running a secret dogfighting ring known as the “Bad Newz Kennels”, later pleading guilty to the charges against him. Vick was then sentenced to 23 months in jail.

Yet I am proud. I’m proud of the Eagles, of Donovan McNabb for being a catalyst in the signing process and of coach Reid and Jeff Lurie for doing something as honorable as this. I am excited to see Vick on the field once again. I SUPPORT MICHAEL VICK, and here’s why:

While in jail, Vick began to receive mutual mentoring from one of the most respected NFL coaches in recent history, Tony Dungy. After he retired from coaching, Dungy started to dedicate part of his life to helping inmates discover themselves…whether that meant finding G-d, or just realizing that what they did was wrong. For Michael Vick, Dungy did not only help him discover himself, but made him want to prevent others from traveling down the same path.

So he took action.

Vick has traveled to many different cities across the United States explaining to people how dogfighting consumed his life, and why it is wrong. He has spoken in Chicago, Sacramento, and many other cities around the United States. As I read an article about one of Vick’s speeches, one fact struck me hard:

“Vick said he was first exposed to dogfighting in his native Virginia when he was only 7 years old.”

Think about that. If you were raised to think that dogfighting was fun and okay, you would probably be doing it right now. At the same time, what if Vick had been raised differently? What if he had never been introduced to dogfighting when he was 7…make it 14, 18, 20…maybe he wouldn’t be in the position he is in today. When a child is 7, he/she is more open to accepting things, whether they are right or wrong. Vick happened to learn about a wrong activity at a wrong time in his life.

Which brings us to yesterday.

Overreaction swept Eagles’ Nation. Immediate boycotts and threats ensued: fans warned they would wear dog masks at the games, while others claimed that they were so disgusted with their team that they no longer wish to be an Eagles’ fan.

Well I’m disgusted, also. I’m disgusted with the Eagles fans out there that are doing what I just described. You aren’t perfect. People live in different environments, and come across different situations in life. Some of us are set up in nice, pretty neighborhoods, where the biggest mistake you can make is doing drugs or speeding on the highway. However, some live in neighborhoods where the mistakes that you can make are bigger, badder…and have bigger and badder consequences. So whether you live in Cherry Hill or Detroit or Beverley Hills, people are going to be introduced to different possible mistakes.

And the most honorable thing that a person can do would be to take responsibility for their actions and mistakes. And Michael Vick has done just that. Some aren’t fully convinced that he’s done so, and you know what? That’s okay! Some say it’s because they don’t trust him yet, and that’s okay, also. But give him a chance to earn back your trust on and off the playing field. As you watch ESPN and CSN during the Eagles 2009 (Superbowl) season, please listen to stories on Vick, and his progress with his family and the community, because those are his goals.

All of us have made mistakes that, whether they are small or large, have been forgiven or forgotten. The Eagles aren’t trying to help Michael Vick forget or even be forgiven for what he did, but they believe that everybody on earth deserves a second chance at life.

“Failure is the opportunity to begin again, more intelligently.”-Henry Ford

Courtesy ofhttp://weblogs.wpix.com/sports/thehuddle/michael%20vick.jpg

Ticketmaster is the largest ticket retailer in the United States, and is banking on a simple principle to keep customers flocking to them through such times of economic hardship: there’s no way to pirate the experience of a live concert. So while it’s possible to download an artist’s newest album or concert DVD with the push of a button, neither come close to being quite as enthralling as watching the artists perform live firsthand. Because of this, consumers rely on Ticketmaster to provide them with tickets for shows of all genres and size, which may not seem bad at first. However, if one looks past the flashy advertisements and sleek website layout, a more detrimental company with immoral, even illegal, intentions appears.

What this company hides behind is their promises of crazy concert experiences and breathtaking shows is a trap of unnecessary fees and charges waiting to spring on most people too ignorant, unsuspecting, or helpless to know or prevent them otherwise. Perhaps this could be best explained through an anecdote: about two weeks ago I tried to purchase tickets to a Lamb of God concert, and, lacking a car, was forced to check Ticketmaster for tickets (there are no other online brokerages through which I could get them). Without added fees, or at door price, one Lamb of God ticket cost $38. After filling out my quantity of tickets and seating preferences, I proceeded to find the website charging me an extra $9.90 for “convenience.” Thinking it over thoroughly and deliberately, I swallowed my pride and selected the cheapest, yet slowest form of shipping (free), and went on to the next page, only to find Ticketmaster had charged me another $5.15 for an “Order Processing Charge.”

So let’s recap. The original ticket price for one ticket was $38, and $15.05 was added to that price for “convenience” and “order processing,” bringing the total price of my single ticket to $53.05… a 40% increase in price from the original. Needless to say, I had to have a third party drive to the venue and purchase my ticket for me, and while he took an extra $2 for what he claimed to be “bridge and gas fees,” it was a lot more reasonable than the ludicrous charges of Ticketmaster.

The fees put into effect by Ticketmaster are absolutely ridiculous in every respect of the word. The “convenience” charges are hardly convenient with their high prices, and may as well be called “we know most of our consumers are too lazy to actually go to the venue or pick up their ticket, so we’ll bill them extra” charges. On top of that, the “order processing” charges make absolutely no sense, because the type of preferred shipping is what the customer selects on one of the earlier pages, and even as I selected free, yet slower shipping, I was charged an extra $5.15 for it. If you want to avoid charges like this, it is absolutely necessary to actually get up, go out and purchase your tickets at the venue. That way you’re receiving your tickets and are preventing the Ticketmaster enterprise from growing even larger.

Thankfully, my grievances have been relayed more efficiently to the public through performer Bruce Springsteen. When tickets for his latest tour, the Working on a Dream Tour, went on sale on February 2nd, so many people were waiting to get them that many were put on hold or redirected to ticket resale (AKA ticket scalping, which is illegal) affiliate, TicketsNow, which charged several times higher than the original amount for tickets. Because of this, Springsteen wrote a letter on his website declaring his fury at Ticketmaster’s deception towards their customers, and when the Boss talks, people listen. Through word of mouth the situation finally reached New Jersey courts and the legality of TicketsNow went into inspection. If TicketsNow is the only available source of purchasing tickets at the time they go on sale, then ignore it and move on. Chances are you’ll come across another source which will sell you tickets for cheaper, though still highly over face price, and by doing this you are helping to permanently remove TicketsNow from the Ticketmaster site so more tickets will be made available for normal prices.

Even scarier than the prospect of not getting Springsteen tickets is the possibility of a merger between Ticketmaster and Live Nation, the producer and promoter for many of the biggest names in music, such as Madonna and U2. A merge like this could be a fatal blow to the music industry, as it would result in a near-monopoly on live shows. Since Live Nation controls most of the largest U.S. venues (over 140 in total), their conglomeration with Ticketmaster could put most big-name artists at their whim, giving them complete control over where the artists play, when they play, and most importantly, for how much. Suffice to say, if this merge happens, ticket prices will almost assuredly go up as a result of more employees to pay and other factors.
Also, if big-name artists decide to disband from these powerful entities, they will end up playing smaller shows, resulting in fewer seats for concertgoers, resulting in higher prices and competition for said seats, resulting in less money in everyone’s pockets.

Ticketmaster sold $8.3 billion worth of tickets in 2007, but with everyone’s awareness on the current state of live music these numbers can be drastically reduced. Instead of buying tickets off of the Ticketmaster’s site and paying more money for unnecessary charges, consider travelling to the box office at the concert venue and purchasing tickets ahead of time. That way, you are guaranteed a spot at the show and don’t have to pay nearly 50% more than face value for the experience. I guarantee you the price for gas and transportation will be a lot less than “convenience” and “order processing” charges, and by doing this you will slowly prevent and save the live music industry from its nearly-imminent destruction at the hands of this corporate giant.

Forty-seven million Americans per year are rejected when trying to seek preventive health care, mainly caused by insurance problems and lack of access to physicians. How can this epidemic be solved?

To help solve the insurance problems, insurance companies should accept physicians which are near patients. The only reason the insurance company should deny acceptance of the physician is if she or he is practicing at a clinic inappropriately or is not following Food and Drug Administration policies. This measure will reduce the number of people who do not seek medical care because of insurance issues.

Furthermore, more doctors should work evening and weekend hours for Americans who have full-time and part-time jobs.   If the hours are more convenient, patients are more likely to go to the doctor even if the symptoms don’t seem that pressing.  Out of 126 patients of different medical facilities surveyed, 28 percent of patients’ physicians had evening hours and 22 percent had weekend hours.

In addition to making it more convenient for patients to see their doctors by ensuring minimum proximity and longer hours, blood work should also be cheaper and more accessible.  According to IBD Insurance, blood work should be done every 12 months.  However, according to the survey, 34 percent of patients get blood work done at best within 36 months.  This preventive health care measure can be vital to their health as people could suffer from chronic health conditions without even knowing about it.  Cancer and diabetes, for example, can be detected early and treatment can be administered.

Thus, to make blood work and more accessible, there should be a computer-automated process instead of secretaries.  The patient would fill out his or her necessary medical paperwork on the computer, which would go to the medical technician.  This process would reduce the number of workers and save money.

When a patient suffers from a chronic health care condition, it is imperative that he or she seeks proper medical attention periodically to make sure that the condition does not worsen. According to IBD Insurance, 43 percent of Americans suffer from chronic health care conditions. The factors mentioned above — time, insurance and receiving proper blood work – are all serious barriers between these patients and the care they need.

According to the medical website Mercola.com, just about “ninety percent of Americans have microwaves in their homes.” However, is this convenient invention as flawless as it seems.

There are many reports of microwaves changing the original properties of the food, which can cause cancer as well as mutations in the body because the food no longer takes the proper and healthy form.

“Electro-magnetic radiation harms food, and converts substances cooked in it to dangerous organ-toxic and carcinogenic products,” Dr. Lita Lee–chemist, enzyme therapist, nutritionist, author and lecturer–wrote in her book, Health Effects of Microwave Radiation – Microwave Ovens (1991).  Seventeen years later this data still holds true.

However, the microwave is not just for food; microwaves are used in medicine, as well. For example, it warms heating pads and used to warm blood used in transfusions.

Norma Levitt, a hip surgery patient in an Oklahoma hospital (1991), died after blood being heated for her transfusion was altered in the microwave.  A lawsuit followed and because of this incident, blood is no longer heated in the microwave.    

Regardless of what has happened, corporate giants still claim that microwaves are great machines that have caused trouble to a “few people” and have had “few consequences.” However, people should decide if saving a few minutes is more important than preventing mutated, cancerous cells from entering the body. 

Dr. JonathanWright, Medical Director of Tahoma Clinic in Renton, Washington, considers the microwave unhealthy and recommends some alternatives.

“Try eating a lot of your food, like vegetables, raw. Ideally, at least one-third of the food in your diet should be raw, since this is the form that will give you the maximum amount of nutrients. If you do want to cook some food or heat up leftovers, use your oven or stove,” he said.

These alternative cooking styles may take a little time from your day, but can help you lead a healthier and more stable lifestyle. These methods will allow you to get the most nutrients from your food, as well.

Dr. Thomas Fuller, British physician, preacher and scholar (1654-1734), wrote in his book of proverbs, Gnomologia: Adagies and Proverbs, 1732, “Health is not valued till sickness comes.”

Dr. Fuller’s statement accurately describes many peoples’ attitudes in today’s fast-paced modern world, which has little consideration towards peoples’ health.

According to www.mediafamily.org, “Game environments are often based on plots of violence, aggression and gender bias.”  Many games, such as Grand Theft Auto and Halo, do fall into this category.  Unfortunately, many believe that these types of games translate into real-life problems for younger gamers.  Jack Thompson is known for his strong feelings against video games and their creators.  On the website, www.JackThompson.org, it reads: “…Jack Thompson has sent literally hundreds of letters, dozens of media appearances, and even several law suits, all attempting to restrict harmful video games from reaching the hands of youth.”

Perhaps Thompson is right in that there might have been violent incidents, such as the shooting in Patucah, Kentucky, caused by video games.  Patucah victims sued certain entertainment industries for their part in the tragic event. 

Although issues do exist, video games and their content, controversial or not, will always be around.  And, like any other powerful form of entertainment, video games will receive heavy criticism from all over, but the industry will continue to flourish.

From my experience in the virtual world of Halo, a violent video game, I feel no greater sense of aggression or anger.  I believe that this controversy can be lessened if people become more accountable for their actions.  It is simply inexcusable, in my mind, that any sort of violent act can solely be the effects of a video game.  People need to understand the possible effects of video games and act accordingly.  Jack Thompson and others can continue their fight, but in the end, it’s the gamers who control their own destiny.

However, there is a limit to my approval. The rankings can be great when based upon a school’s mean GPA and SAT scores, but when a school is judged by the number of AP tests that are taken per student, the rankings get out of hand, as schools can easily exploit these numbers by requiring students to take a given number of AP tests.

An example of a good ranking system would be that of South Jersey Magazine, which ranked Cherry Hill East as the fourteenth-best high school in this year’s rankings. These rankings were based primarily on statistics like GPA, SAT and the graduation percentage. Additionally, the magazine showed the AP test stats but did not include these figures in the rankings.

The main reason that I believe that rankings are important is the role they play in helping colleges compare applicants to each other. For example, if you were to apply to a college alongside another fellow New Jersey student with identical GPA and SAT scores, the high school rankings can help the admissions officers determine which student is better suited for their college.

How, you ask?

Simple: The college can use the rankings to judge how difficult the high school environment is for each student. Because East is a prominent academic school, you may fare better when applying against a person with the same class rank from a less competitive school.

The benefits of high school rankings far outweigh their downsides. It’s really not difficult to believe the rankings are good if you have chosen to attend a competitive school like East because all they can do is help you. If you refuse to believe that rankings matter, then go ahead: it’s your choice, but just don’t come crying to me when that other South Jersey kid beats you out in the race to your dream college.

But there is actually something genuinely interesting among all this blankness. What if “Barack” were to become a common American name?

The first American presidents: George, John, Thomas, James, James, John, Andrew. Everyone knows a John; most have met a Tom, George, Jim, etc. The name of the President, as one of the most widely known in the country, almost invariably becomes a popularly used one, if it isn’t already.

There are exceptions, of course-”Ulysses” as in “S. Grant” never really caught on, nor did Rutherford, Grover, or Lyndon. Whether Ulysses should be counted, the clause being that his first name was actually Hiram, may be debatable but I really don’t care, the point is it didn’t hang around. The rest of the names did.

There was a paroxysm of “Woodrow’s” after Woodrow Wilson was in office (sometimes they went by “Woody,” making it difficult to see why the name didn’t stick). Are we in for a burst of baby Barack’s? Potentially we are.

Imagine a century from now, a corn-fed white Midwestern farmer boy, blond-haired and blue-eyed, named after one of America’s (soon-to-be?) most easily-memorizable presidents; imagine a Barack Thomas Hendrickson! Maybe “John Q. Public” could become “Barack L. Public.” Soon it would be the most popular name in the country, usurping “Jacob” (the most popular male baby name of 2007, according to the Social Security Administration). There could be female variants: “Baracka”, or “Brockette.” Or maybe in the spirit of equality everyone could just be called Barack.

Would he be ahead in the polls with a less-catchy name? Maybe, maybe not.

But none of this has anything to do with his policies! Yes. That is true. Making a joke out of a politician is healthier than taking them seriously-so chill out…Barack.

Update on story (from National Geographic)

Online classes are offered for a multitude of on-site courses, ranging from Biology to History AP classes. Each course has its own length and price.  I for one have sampled the platter that East caters to its students, deciding to take biology online rather than here at East. This decision allowed me to choose a one-year history elective that I likely would not have been able to take otherwise.

However, many students choose to take courses online specifically to avoid the grueling task of taking them in school. This decision alleviates the overwhelming stress of numerous homework assignments, tests and essays that an AP course or another equally difficult course might entail. In addition to a significant reduction to the effort in completing the course, the result also unfairly favors the student taking the online course.  While a student taking the class in school might receive a hit to his or her GPA, an online student’s GPA would be unaffected, either for better or for worse.

We, as in society, watch enough law-related television shows to understand the phrase “breaking the spirit of the law,” which is wholly applicable to this particular situation. A person cannot be properly educated by a lifeless machine, much less via the cheap, knock-off textbooks that are normally packaged with these aforementioned online courses.

I was forced to use the textbook American Pageant by Thomas Bailey, which can also be found as referred to in the book Lies that My Teachers Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong by James Loewen. To put it somewhat lightly, Loewen views American Pageant neither as a historically accurate nor academically vital textbook for high schools or, for that matter, any other conceivable purpose.

The fact is that online courses do not provide the level of education that East aspires to present to its students. When we walk into school each and every day, we are bombarded by declarations of East’s academic achievements, the most major of which is the blue ribbon. Not one of those judges could justifiably pin that same ribbon upon the screen of a computer running an online course. Any student, when taking a step back from his or her own particular set of circumstances, would agree with those statements.

According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary Online, the definition of education is “to develop mentally, morally or aesthetically, especially by instruction.” Not a single person can provide ample examples of online courses developing any of the things with which education is defined. Computers do not act as a substitute for face-to-face interaction that presents at least the possibility of both mental and moral development.

As Jim Rhodes, played by Terrence Howard, claimed in Iron Man, machines can never truly overtake a human pilot in the skies because of the unique human instinct. By that same logic, a computer can never replace a human teacher in the classroom due to the knowledge, instinct and interaction the latter exclusively brings to the table.

Online courses simply will never provide the education that a classroom does on a regular basis.