Jared Riley
Jared Riley was born a sports fan. He grew up a sports fan and he still is one today. He enjoys all sports, but his favorite is football. Riley is the sports editor for the Orange High School newspaper Den Echoes. He is a 16 year old, three-time-award-winning journalist, but these accolades do not matter to him yet as his goal is to one day be a journalist for ESPN. He wants to be the next Adam Schefter.
Riley has played football since he was eight, and he wants to continue to be around football even when he grows up. He is an offensive lineman on the Orange High football team.
Riley has a life outside of football as well. He is in multiple clubs. Some of these include the Society of Saint Andrews (SOSA) and Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA). Riley enjoys hanging out with his friends. They like playing basketball and other sports outside. His favorite television shows are Sports Center and the news. Watching shows like this will definitely prepare him to work on ESPN.
Riley hopes to go to the School of Journalism and Mass Communication in the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He has an advantage over other students, as he attended a journalism camp at UNC this past summer. He sure has set the bar high and should be an example to others about having high hopes for their education.
Photo Credit: Amanda Tavares[/caption]Sami Dickerson, a junior and the junior editor of the Den Echoes, is a Netflix-obsessed journalism lover. She likes to spend her free time watching movies and says that taking this journalism class has helped her follow the plots of her favorite movies.
Since moving from Lumberton, NC to Hillsborough, NC, Dickerson has been a part of multiple school newspapers. Before writing for the Den Echoes here at Orange, she wrote for the Stanford Post at C.W. Stanford Middle School. She was lucky enough to be one of the last people to write for the school paper at Stanford before they stopped the program. She is very dedicated to the newspaper and finds it to be the most interesting class at Orange.
When Dickerson graduates with the class of 2016, she plans to major in business at UNC. Studying at UNC won’t change her decision to be a Duke fan, however. Here at Orange, she is involved in two clubs--SGA and FCA. She recommends everyone try and come out to support FCA.
Dickerson is a book fanatic and loves all genres. She enjoys taking history classes and reminiscing on past episodes of the hit show Friends. She loves spending time with her four cats and two dogs. When asked what five words Dickerson thinks describe her, she replied with intelligent, nice overall, funny, quiet, and introverted.
Photo Credit: Amanda Tavares[/caption]Jared Riley was born a sports fan. He grew up a sports fan and he still is one today. He enjoys all sports, but his favorite is football. Riley is the sports editor for the Orange High School newspaper Den Echoes. He is a 16 year old, three-time-award-winning journalist, but these accolades do not matter to him yet as his goal is to one day be a journalist for ESPN. He wants to be the next Adam Schefter.
Riley has played football since he was eight, and he wants to continue to be around football even when he grows up. He is an offensive lineman on the Orange High football team.
Riley has a life outside of football as well. He is in multiple clubs. Some of these include the Society of Saint Andrews (SOSA) and Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA). Riley enjoys hanging out with his friends. They like playing basketball and other sports outside. His favorite television shows are Sports Center and the news. Watching shows like this will definitely prepare him to work on ESPN.
Riley hopes to go to the School of Journalism and Mass Communication in the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He has an advantage over other students, as he attended a journalism camp at UNC this past summer. He sure has set the bar high and should be an example to others about having high hopes for their education.
Photo Credit: Brianna Hales. The Beta Club meets with other students for lunch.[/caption]Beta Club recently took on a project brought to them by a UNC study group to begin a peer social network at OHS. They wanted some students who don’t get out of their classroom often to feel more a part of the OHS community. The students meet in the Learning Commons every Wednesday with the same few students during second and third lunch. So far they have only met twice, but they plan to do it for the rest of the year because of how successful it has been.
At the weekly meetings, Beta Club members and the other students meet and start out by greeting each other. They are encouraged to talk and ask a lot of questions so everyone can get to know each other better. Julia Treis, a senior, said, “[The meetings] give them a wider range of friends and gives them an opportunity to interact with people that they don't see on a daily basis.” Members are also given a list of questions to ask to help guide the conversation in a productive manner. In a few weeks, once everyone becomes more acquainted, they will start doing more hands-on activities. The UNC study group motivated Beta Club members to meet with their group’s students outside of just that lunch period.
When Beta Club members met with the UNC study group, they set forth a list of three goals for them: help more students to feel welcome at school, meet and interact with students that they did not know, and increase social opportunities for students at their schools. They stated that their expectations were simply for everyone to have fun and enjoy the meetings.
Despite being born in the heart of Duke country, Jared emerged into this world bleeding Tar Heel blue, and he is a huge UNC fan. Even from the juvenile years of elementary school, Riley took interest primarily in basketball and wrestling. Jared knew and still knows just about everything about those sports. He also knows about other sports like college and professional football, baseball, hockey, golf, and more. Jared lives in a world of sports, and the world of sports lives in Jared.
As for journalism, Riley is no ordinary writer, as he brought home the 3rd place award for best sports column at the NCSMA (North Carolina Scholastic Media Association) state competition, showing a great potential for sports journalism in his future, and representing himself and the Den Echoes well.
In his spare time, Riley enjoys watching and playing sports. He also enjoys hanging out with friends, playing video games, and entertaining the classmates of his Journalism III class. Riley is very proud to be co-sports editor of Den Echoes, as he hopes to bring excellent sports writing ability and expertise to the table.
Maxwell wants to travel to Japan and Asia because, she said, “their style of living is very different from ours and I think it would be interesting to learn about.” While reporting in Japan and Asia, Maxwell will experience Japanese and Asian lifestyles and she hopes to make herself a “better person.”
Maxwell stated, “I think [global journalism] is a good job for me because my favorite subject in school has always been science.” She also said, “Hard work and dedication are the most important things I need to get me where I need to go.” This year, she is doubling up in science and plans to double up in math her junior year. Maxwell has already decided to attend the University of North Carolina because “it has one of the best journalism programs and it’s close to home.”
In preparation for college, Maxwell is a dedicated member of SoSA and Key Club. SoSA stands for Society of Saint Andrews and it focuses on feeding those who can't feed themselves. Key Club is a volunteer group dedicated to helping the Kiwanis organization.
Maxwell’s second career choice is being a field reporter. Field reporters and sideline reporters are very similar because they both cover athletic events from the sidelines of games. Field reporters usually release live updates on things such as injuries.
Following her college years, Maxwell dreams of moving to a new place to settle down and create a family of five. She is hoping to have two boys and a girl. “After pursuing my college plans, I want to live somewhere up north because I like the cold.”
This year at Orange High we have a wonderful array of new faculty and staff members. One of these is KayCee Butcher, a new English II teacher who has a passion for her students and the school she works at.
Butcher is originally from Wilson, North Carolina. She went to UNC-Chapel Hill as a Teaching Fellow. Butcher knew she wanted to be a English teacher since she was in high school. For Butcher, it just “made sense” because of her love for working with students, English being her favorite subject, and her enjoyment of high school. It was her plan to teach a high school class due to her wanting to be able to hold a conversation with her students. Not only that, but she has a love for being interactive with her students. She said, “I take my students everywhere with me. They’re always with me.”
Butcher said her favorite part of teaching is “my lovely students,” and that teaching is easier than many people believe it is. When asked about her inspiration for becoming a teacher, she said that she did not have just one teacher that made her want to teach. "It’s the only thing that made sense for me to do with my life… I can’t see myself doing anything else right now.”
Butcher thinks that Orange has an exemplary student body and a wonderful faculty. She says that she has been warmly welcomed and that it’s a great way to meet all different kinds of people. She believes that Orange is a lot like her high school, and that the diversity is one of the qualities that makes it so special.
As one of the newest and youngest teachers here, and well as her bubbly personality, makes her more likely to connect on another level with students. Butcher has just graduated college at UNC, her all-time dream school. She traveled to China to teach for a couple months and said that Chinese educations are vastly different from American educations. Classes start at 9 am and end at 9 pm. For six months she lived in Spain. She also traveled to Africa for a couple months. She got a touch of all different education systems, including ours.
Butcher briefly commented on Banned Books Week, saying, “ It's awful. I think that when books are banned and expression and knowledge is limited, I think that’s dangerous.” She also mentioned student laptops, saying that she loves the fact we get to work with technology and help the environment unlike students at many other schools.
So with her new job and bright personality, we welcome Ms. KayCee Butcher with open arms here to Orange High School.
Wednesday, October 2, marked the middle of spirit week with team day. Students wore collegiate and professional wear of their favorite sports teams. The female winner was Erin Sikes, a sophomore, showing off her Duke pride. Collin Pope, a senior, was the voted the male winner for being decked out in Pittsburgh Steelers clothes. The teacher winner was Mr. Webb who supported his alma mater UNC-Chapel Hill by wearing Carolina blue. Prizes were given out during second period on October 30.
Hales hopes to continue with journalism in college as a Communications major at UNC, saying, “UNC Chapel Hill has been my dream school ever since sophomore year because of journalism class. The school has a friendly atmosphere and a nationally ranked journalism program.”
Outside of journalism, Hales also enjoys studying Latin, being a member of the school tennis team, and dancing.
After the NHL lockout ended January 6, 2013, the Carolina Hurricanes took to the ice and began their season. During the course of the season, I had the pleasure of attending two games at PNC Arena. The first game I attended was on January 24, when the team took on the Buffalo Sabres. It was the team’s second home game and the crowd was very excited to see their hometown team back to work. Along with the Hurricanes fans, there were many Sabres fans as well, which is common in Raleigh. In the end, the Hurricanes sent the Caniacs home happy with a 6-3 victory. Overall, you can expect a family-friendly atmosphere with very proud fans, and a Hurricanes staff who loves to get the fans involved with trivia games and fan cameras.
Duke Basketball
November 16, 2013, I attended the Duke game at Cameron Indoor Stadium against the Eagles of Florida Gulf Coast University. As this Eagles team was rarely heard of before this David vs. Goliath match-up with Duke, they made quite a story becoming the only #15 seed in NCAA Tournament history to win their first 2 games and advance to the Sweet 16, where they eventually fell to their now in-state rival Florida University.
According to USA Today, Cameron Indoor Stadium is the #1 ranked college basketball arena in the country, and it was ranked 4th by Sports Illustrated for the best sport venues of the 20. Located near the famous “Krzyzewskiville” sign at the epicenter of Duke Sports, Cameron Indoor Stadium was opened on January 6, 1940, and it’s cost was $400,000 (6.3 million in 2013 dollars). Krzyzewskiville is actually named after a phenomenon in which a pretty lengthy line of undergraduate students wait to get admission to Duke home games (more famously and commonly against UNC), and is often confused as a ticket line (Duke students get admitted to the “Cameron Crazie” student section for free).
Durham Bulls
Did you know that you lived less than an hour away from the minor league baseball team that has had 2 of the last 3 International League MVPs? Well, you do, and according to StadiumJourney.com, the Durham Athletic Park is the #2 ranked AAA minor league baseball stadium in America. The DBAP really is one of the nicest minor league ballparks in America, and if it had a larger seating capacity and city position, it could be home to one of the U.S.’s 30 Major League teams. The experience really is a part of the stadium, and the weather is usually fantastic around the Durham area. Despite the team being more well-known for the 1980’s baseball movie Bull Durham, the Durham Bulls just recently took their third ever International League Championship in 2009, along with their first ever AAA National Championship, championing them as the top overall minor league baseball team in America.
The food at the DBAP really is great too, and in 2012, the DBAP introduced the “Bull Dog,” a mouth-watering hot dog wrapped in bacon and fried in a delicious dough. The Bull Dog was taken off the menu for the 2013 season, however. Never fear because it was replaced by the “Nuke Dog.” The Nuke Dog consists of a famous relish recipe by Cottage Lane Kitchen, and is named after Ebby “Nuke” LaLoosh from the 80’s film. Also on the concourse are national and southern favorites Domino’s Pizza and Moe’s. Also adding to the experience are the between-inning games/rituals. Various mascot skits, races, and sumo wrestling entertain the fans while the action is temporarily shut off. Even the crew that lines the infield in the 5th inning dances to some music for the fans’ enjoyment. Overall, you will have a great experience at the DAP, and it is hands-down one of the best minor league stadiums in the country.
UNC Basketball
The University of North Carolina has one of the top three traditions in college basketball, with 6 National Championships and 18 Final Four appearances. Along with the fact that 29 UNC alumni have went on to win an NBA Championship, which is the most of any school, the Tar Heels also have a beautiful stadium to call home. That would be the Dean E. Smith Center, aka the Dean Dome. Opened in 1986, the Dean Dome has been home to 3 national championship winning teams along with 7 ACC Tournament champions, and 11 regular season ACC champions. During the 2012- 2013, I attended one game at the Dean Dome, when the Tar Heels took on the Florida State Seminoles. When the game had a break the Tar Heels showed numerous videos of all their past moments and a personal favorite of mine called “I am a Tar Heel," during which many of the former Tar Heel greats repeat the phrase, inspiring many striving basketball players. Overall, the Tar Heels have one of the top stadiums in the country, and for a reasonable price you can come to Chapel Hill to witness some of the best basketball around.
UNC Football
While the UNC might be known more for their basketball or women’s soccer, they also have a very solid football program. This year, I was able to attend three Tar Heel football games, two at home, and one on the road, so I am able to compare the experience to opposing teams. The home games I attended were against ACC foe Virginia Tech and in-state rival North Carolina State. The NC State game is now known as one of the best games in Tar Heel history, because with 31 seconds left in a tied ball game, North Carolina running back Gio Bernard returned a 74 yard punt for a touchdown to earn UNC a victory. While watching home games at Kenan Stadium, from the home side you can get a glimpse of the famous bell tower in Chapel Hill. Throughout the game the fans are pumped up by several playings of the AC/DC song “Hells Bells” which reenacts the playing of the tower.
I also attended a game at Wallace Wade Stadium, home of the Duke Blue Devils when they took on the Tar Heels. Wallace Wade Stadium is much smaller than Kenan and more than half of the stadium was filled by UNC fans. The food was poor quality compared to that of UNC games and the PA announcer failed to get the fans pumped up very much. Overall, I would say that there aren't many better ways to spend a Saturday afternoon than watching a Carolina football game at Kenan Stadium.
The rivalry of tobacco road is the best rivalry in basketball history, with historic coaches and players with names like Michael Jordan, Christian Laettner, Dean Smith, Mike Krzyzewski, and countless others. There have been many memorable moments such as Jeff Capel’s half-court shot and Carolina scoring 8 points in 17 seconds, both sending the game into overtime. Recent moments such as Gerald Henderson giving Tyler Hansbrough a bloody nose and Austin Rivers’ game winner in 2012 have boosted this rivalry’s attention even more this year.
As for this week’s match-up March 9 at the Dean Dome, it will be an intense fight between 2 of the top 30 teams in college basketball right now. With the return of senior forward Ryan Kelly, Duke is clearly one of the teams to beat in the upcoming NCAA tournament. Duke is an astounding 17-0 with Kelly this season, and my not so bold prediction is that Duke will steamroll Carolina at their home court, winning by a final score of 88-71.
I believe Duke, not just because of my fanhood, but with Ryan Kelly, Duke is the team to beat this year in Division I Men’s College Basketball. With Duke’s elite ability from the 3 point line and National Player of the Year candidate Mason Plumlee, Carolina’s defense led by James Michael McAdoo will not be able to stop the Blue Devils down the stretch. If Duke can get the Dean Dome fans silent and get a couple of goals, increasing the lead to about 8, I think the game will be over.
DEVIL FORTH!!!
alism and Yearbook classes headed to UNC Chapel Hill to improve their reporting skills October 18. UNC Chapel Hill hosted its annual Journalism Day. The field trip lasted from 7:45 a.m. to 3 p.m. The teacher for both classes, Brooke Smith, arranged for the classes to attend the convention for the second year in a row. Twenty-eight students, wearing matching blue "Keep Calm and Report On" t-shirts, got to experience this event that had student representatives from high schools across North Carolina.
There was an assortment of classes that students could attend. Students went to three sessions and ate lunch at the Lenoir Hall after classes were over.
Monica Hill, director of the North Carolina Scholastic Media Association, greeted the school groups. Journalism Day started with an opening session about covering the current election year led by John Frank from The News & Observer. The session also featured a door prize drawing. The classes were mainly centered in Carroll Hall, with the advertising sales presentation in Gardner Hall. Each session lasted approximately 40 minutes.
After long lines and a delicious lunch, students headed back to Carroll Hall for the closing session. Steven King, former editor and director of video at The Washington Post and current UNC professor, gave a short lecture on what makes a story and why stories are important. A few more door prize winners were announced then students and teachers packed up and returned to their regular learning facilities.
The movie shows the life in the slums from a group of young mens' perspective. They are from different religious and ethnic groups, but they come together to play their favorite sport, soccer. Soccer is a huge part of these childrens' lives. We mainly follow the stories of Nicholas and Adan, both of whom are the captains for their respective teams. They tension of the film comes from their meet in the final match of the Champions league soccer tournament.
[vimeo]https://vimeo.com/35025081[/vimeo]
The producer of the film, Beth-Ann Kutchma, came to Orange to present the film and answer question from the audience. Carolina for Kibera is based in Chapel Hill, providing a great opportunity for members of the Peace Club to interact with the organization.
The Without A Fight website features reviews of the film. One of which, written by Neil
Morris of the Independent Weekly, said, "Without a Fight—Set in the slums of Kibera in Nairobi, Kenya, against a backdrop of bloody unrest, village youth toss aside their often warring ethnic and religious tribalism to instead battle for supremacy on the soccer pitch. As the teams compete in the local and loftily named Champions League, the film chronicles the march toward the season's championship and the backstories of some of its participants. Coaches must not only contend with political unrest and violence, but also players whose training is inhibited by suchobstacles as hunger and a lack of shoes—impoverished kids occasionally have been killed trying to steal cleats. The film is both uplifting and illuminating, a look inside a place where the degree of bloodshed and poverty might seem foreign, but the healing power of team athletics is universal." For more information, visit www.withoutafight.com.