Photo Credit: Den Echoes archive[/caption]The grass is always greener on the other side, whether one is a lamb or a college applicant. Until recently, Hillsborough, a unique little town filled with interesting people and places, seemed like the dullest place to live in the world. I yearned to leave and go to a big city, where there would always be something going on, and I’d meet new people every day. However, the last few months have taught me the error of my ways. While cities definitely have their perks, towns like Hillsborough are just as important. True, they may not offer the constant excitement of the city lifestyle, but they provide quiet moments, like a casual stroll down the paths of Ayr Mount or free ice cream at Last Friday.
I’ve always viewed Hillsborough as a brief stop on the road to my future. I’d pass through it then go on to better things and bigger places. However, as I’ve begun counting down the months until I leave, my view of the town has changed drastically. Suddenly, certain things have become last moments. These have included ridiculous things like my last last Last Friday (they end in September, and I leave in August), as well as more sentimental moments like my last Halloween and my last first day of school. While I know when the big ones occur, what about the small ones? I rarely get chocolate at Matthew’s Chocolates, so might the next time I go be my last? The same applies to some other restaurants and businesses--Cup-A-Joe, Saratoga Grill, the Maple View store. Since each visit might be my last, I cherish it and make sure to experience it fully.
This has given me a new perspective, as I don’t just glide through life anymore. Little moments have become big moments. I imagine that all seniors go through this, although the colleges I’m planning on attending will make this transition more drastic for me than it will be for other students. I’m applying to 14 schools--three are in North Carolina, six are other states, and five are in the United Kingdom. So far, I have been accepted to the University of Manchester, a college in Great Britain. Finances are certainly an issue with regards to going overseas, but I’m at least hoping to go out of state. My newfound appreciation for my town has not changed this fact--I want to live in a big city, and few places in North Carolina are big.
Assuming that I get accepted into and choose to attend an out-of-state school, I’ll have to leave North Carolina in about nine months. This is the state that I have spent my entire life in. While it isn’t perfect by any means, it is still my home, and leaving it will be difficult. I moved to Hillsborough when I was five and have lived there ever since, so Hillsborough is basically synonymous with North Carolina to me. Both the town and state are charming and unique, and both will be sorely missed.
What makes Hillsborough different? For people like me who grew up in the town, it may not seem like that special a place. It has some cool shops and a nice atmosphere, yes, but why is it so dearly loved? It takes an outsider’s perspective to answer this question. When I was being interviewed for a job at The Chapel Hill News a few months ago, the editor of the paper said that he wished he had more coverage of Hillsborough because it’s such an interesting place. I didn’t respond negatively, as I wanted the job, but in my head I scoffed at this remark.
A few days later, when I was walking through town running an errand, I looked around and actually saw the town I had lived in for 12 years. A toddler spun around happily in a circle and fell on the grass. An elderly couple walked their dog down the street. A band played guitar and the spoons in an alleyway. Behind the courthouse, there’s a beautiful glass wall, but a few hundred feet away there are historical buildings and signs explaining Hillsborough’s past. This mixture of young and old, historic and new, is what makes the town so intriguing.
Hillsborough isn’t a bad town. It certainly isn’t perfect, but it contains many memories for me, and I’ll miss it and its inhabitants dearly.
Photo Credit: Quinn Dombrowski (Flickr)[/caption]Most kids don’t want to stay in high school for the whole four years. People want to drop out because they don’t feel like getting up early or doing homework. They don’t care about going to college or getting a good job. In this century, you have to at least have a high school diploma to be considered at a fast food restaurant. It would be hard to provide for yourself, much less a family, without a high school diploma. So, why drop out?
“A high school dropout will earn approximately $300,000 less over a lifetime than a high school graduate. An individual that does not possess a high school diploma is more likely to be unemployed because they are not as marketable. In fact, it is estimated that at least half of all welfare recipients do not possess a high school diploma,” said a New Mexico University representative. So, why would you want to live your life without a high school diploma?
If you drop out of high school, you miss out on many memories and opportunities. You don’t get to go to prom, you lose your friends, you don’t go on field trips or learn about life in general. You lose all of these achievements, because you didn’t want to get up early.
If you expect your children to stay in school and get their high school diploma, you might just have to eat your words and practice what you preach. “Children are observational learners, meaning they learn from watching you and others around them. Be a good influence for your children if you want to see them to succeed in their high school career,” said the representative.
A popular reason that teens drop out are friends and peer pressure from other high school dropouts. “Family or other outside relationships can influence teens to drop out of school," the representative stated. This also goes for the teens that choose to drop out to join a gang or to be accepted in other teen groups and street communities all over the country and world.
So why would you risk your financial support, your future, and lose your friends for drugs, peer pressure, and to sleep an extra few hours?
Photo Credit: Maddie Norwood[/caption]Union Jacks. Tea. The Tube. Bad teeth. Doctor Who. Phone boxes. These quintessentially British things are what first attracted me to England in 2013, when I traveled there with theatre students and teachers from OHS and C.W. Stanford Middle School. My experience was incredible, and I can still vividly remember the sights I saw. What attracted me most was the culture. The British are sophisticated and refined, with a history that dates back more than a millenium. While America hasn’t even been a country for 250 years, England was founded in 927 AD. Numerous philosophers, thinkers, and artists have lived and died there, so where better to study for my undergraduate education?
My parents, friends, and teachers all have the same reaction at this point. Study? In England? For college? They laugh, mistakenly thinking I’m joking. Immediately, their main concern is tuition rates. However, applying to five colleges only costs $37 and the actual cost of college is slightly less than the tuition for my top U.S. college, New York University. Plane tickets are a concern, but video calling and social networking has made it easy to talk to family without actually coming home.
Financial issues aside, the benefits of a British education are undeniable. I applied to majors relating to political science. Studying this topic in a foreign country would provide me with a unique perspective that my classmates back in the U.S. would not have. The political system of the U.K is vastly different than the American system, so I would gain a ton of knowledge about politics that I couldn’t get in the U.S.
I applied to the University of St. Andrews, the University of Surrey, King’s College London, the University of Manchester, and Oxford University. Oxford, one of the highest-ranking schools in the world, is the one I wanted to go to the most. Even if I end up not being able to afford it, just saying I got into Oxford will be worth it.
As one would expect, applying to Oxford is much more difficult than applying to the other colleges. While the actual application is the same, because the UK uses a system similar to the Common Application, I have to be interviewed, take tests, and send in written work. Oxford requires U.S. applicants to score a 5 on three AP exams. I only have one 5 so far, meaning the most I can hope for is a conditional offer.
The two types of offers one can get from a U.K. college are conditional and unconditional. The former means that the applicant must meet certain criteria to be accepted into the college. The latter, rarer than the first, is unconditional acceptance--the applicant is accepted without meeting any more criteria. In a way, this is similar to U.S. colleges having the right to revoke their offers.
UCAS, or the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service, is a surprisingly easy system to use. Like in the Common Application, users just enter their basic information, test scores, et cetera. Unlike in the U.S. system, there’s only one essay that applicants have to write, no matter how many colleges they’re applying to.This was one of my favorite parts about applying to the U.K.
Whether I can convince my parents to let me go to the schools I applied to is uncertain, but, even if I can’t attend them, I’ll be satisfied just having been accepted to a few.
Photo Credit: Brianna Hales[/caption]| Week 1 | Morning 8 a.m. | Afternoon 12 noon |
|---|---|---|
| Monday, May 5 | Chemistry Environmental Science | Psychology |
| Tuesday, May 6 | Computer Science A Spanish Language and Culture | Art History |
| Wednesday, May 7 | Calculus AB Calculus BC | Chinese Language and Culture |
| Thursday, May 8 | English Literature and Composition | Japanese Language and Culture Latin |
| Friday, May 9 | English Language and Composition | Statistics |
| Studio Art | ||
| Week 2 | Morning 8 a.m. | Afternoon 12 noon | Afternoon 2 p.m. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday, May 12 | Biology Music Theory | Physics B Physics C: Mechanics | Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism |
| Tuesday, May 13 | United States Government and Politics | French Language and Culture Human Geography | |
| Wednesday, May 14 | German Language and Culture United States History | European History | |
| Thursday, May 15 | Macroeconomics World History | Italian Language and Culture Microeconomics | |
| Friday, May 16 | Comparative Government and Politics Spanish Literature and Culture |
Photo Credit: Will Okun. Megan Joyner goes to kick the ball.[/caption]Megan Joyner, a junior at Orange High School, has recently committed to play soccer for Western Carolina University. As a junior she can’t sign with the school, but as a committee she is able to sign with WCU her senior year.
Joyner visited a number of different colleges including Messiah College in Pennsylvania; Queens University in Charlotte, North Carolina; Lee University in Tennessee; and Wingate University, which is also in Charlotte. Of all of these though, she liked Western the best. “My favorite thing about Western was the atmosphere. It really felt like a family,” she said about her visit there.
Joyner started her soccer career at age five when she played on her first team, the Rainbow League in Chapel Hill. Since then, she has played on a variety of teams including the club team Triangle United. “My favorite thing about soccer is that I can stay active and I’ve met a lot of new friends along the way,” she said. “Some of my closest friendships were made through soccer.”
“I’ve played with Meg for about eight years now, that’s actually how we met,” said Rachel Shinnick, a junior on the Orange varsity soccer team. When asked about her favorite part of playing with Joyner, Shinnick said, “Meg is is such a competitive girl. She plays with a lot of heart.”
Tallie Phillips, a senior, also had something to add about Joyner’s contribution on the field. “She’s really feisty,” Phillips said. “She can be counted on and she’s also really nice.”
Joyner is looking forward to her experience as a soccer player at Western Carolina, but in the meantime she is enjoying every minute of playing with the varsity team at Orange. “The Orange soccer team is like my second family, and Coach Hunter has had a really big influence on me as a person and as a soccer player,” she said. “I’m really going to miss this team.”
Photo credit: Brianna Hales. Application and college papers have been piling up for OHS seniors![/caption]Tuesday, March 19, Orange High was supposed to hold its first annual College and Career Expo for OHS students during lunch in the gym. It would have featured over 30 colleges and local businesses and helped students plan for their futures.
Due to a winter mix that included freezing rain and snow, all Orange County Schools were at first delayed, and then canceled. Evelyn DeLoatch, who is in charge of the Career Center at Orange, said that “there might not be a College and Career Expo this year because teachers are so behind because of all the weather delays and school being canceled.”
It has not yet been decided if there will be a College and Career Expo this year, but stay informed as this story develops.
Photo credit: Brianna Hales. Colleges will be handing out pamphlets for students with a lot of important information.[/caption]The Career and College Expo is being held on Tuesday, March 18 during the school day. It will feature over thirty representatives from local businesses and universities. Students and staff will be able to ask the representatives different questions. Schools and local businesses include:
Colleges: Wake Tech Community College Durham Tech Community College UNC-Chapel Hill NCCU UNC-Greensboro Johnson and Wales High Point University Louisburg College Alamance Community College Appalachian State University Johnson C. Smith NC Wesleyan College St. Augustine's College Lees-McRae College Living Arts College Livingstone College Careers: Research/Science: Duke University Research/Science: UNC-Chapel Hill Aveda Institute Huntington Bank Human Resources: EEOC Piedmont Electric Pharmacy Design & Engineering: Summit Sports Endeavors North Carolina Forest Service Orange County Health Department Orange County Emergency Medical Services Hillsborough Fire Department Apprenticeship and Training Bureau: NCDOL Weaver Street Market Construction (Cranes & Rigging) : Buckner Companies Aquatic Management Group, Inc. Army Marines/National Guard Navy |
These two things, grades and money, have led me to a certain apathetic feeling towards my classes this year. I've put everything I could into school my whole life and yet somehow it's not enough. At this point, most AP classes I took do not seem worth the time. All the hours I spent stressing over tests, projects, and homework, all the nights I got back from sports and stayed up until into the middle of the night to do work, all the the days I skipped doing fun activities so I could do more school work; none of it seems worth it.
I have seen my friends have breakdowns, crushed under the unbearable weight of perfection that the world seems to expect from students. We do everything within our power to please our teachers, colleges, and parents but yet it seems it is never enough. Some of my teachers have told me, “I know what you are going through,” or “I can see it from your point of view,” but it is almost impossible for them to imagine what each of us is really up against. Students go to school for seven hours and then are asked to go home and do even more school work. I can assume that no matter what I’ll have at least two hours of homework a night. How are students supposed to be well rounded if we do not have time to keep a job, do a sport, gain an internship, or have any other extracurricular activity? The expectations of students is constantly being raised so that even young teachers can not relate to us anymore.
I am not trying to tell my fellow students to not try at school but rather do not push yourself too hard. Have fun and do what you think will matter to you more the next day. If that is going to a movie with your friends, then by all means do it. But if what matters is homework, then by all means do that. This is advice I wish I had been given when I was a freshman. Here I am, as a senior, and I am completely burnt out. I used to have passion for learning but now that light inside me has faded. I have been accepted into college and that is something to be proud of, but its not a dream school, at least not my dream school. Knowing I may not get into the universities that I have worked for my entire high school career for is heart-wrenching.
Something about our education system needs to change. Students who work hard should be rewarded with classes that push them intellectually, not ones that just give extra work on the same curriculum everyone learns. Part of the apathy that comes from students is the fact that we are bored in our classes because we already know what we are learning or we are just given busy work to make the class “challenging.” If students were given intellectual and specialized class options plus a flexible schedule they would be able to explore their passion before they even get to college. This would also help students find a college that suits their needs and give them an advantage on being accepted.
The workshop started out with an NPR clip of students at a Washington D.C. school stating how they wished they would have written their college essays before the turmoil of fall semester. Cox advised the juniors to write six or seven drafts of their essays before sending them to colleges and to start them during summer. He also handed out notes of different essay questions asked on the Common Application which is accepted by many local colleges such as UNC-CH, Wake Forest, and Duke. The notes also included tips for writing the essay which must be between 250 to 650 words. Cox said that the word count, however, should be the last thing on the student’s mind when first writing their essay.
McLaughlin started off with having the students close their eyes and imagine walking to their front door. He asked them specific questions to remember like “what sounds do you hear as you are walking up to your house?” and “how do you feel as you walk into your house?” Including feelings in the essay were stressed because they are very important in creating a connection between the writer and reader.
The students were allowed to then write for five minutes and start their essay to that question. A few students such as Ryan Farrell and Anastasia Zitko offered to read their essay out loud. Alliteration, onomatopoeia, and imagery is what made their writing effective according to Cox. For the students’ braveness of reading out loud, they were awarded slinkys.
A packet of three student essays that were sent to Duke were passed around to the students. After reading them they discussed which ones were more effective and why. All of the essays were ones that were adequate though most students agreed that the last essay was far superior to the other two.
The workshop concluded with students being able to ask Mr. McLaughlin questions. Some students even stayed after to have specific, elaborate questions answered.
Orange High School seniors are wrapping up the last seasons of high school sports. Some seniors will continue to pursue their athletic careers by participating on their college athletic teams.
M.J. Bumgarner, a senior at OHS, was accepted to Lees-McRrae College. Bumgarner participated on the OHS women’s tennis team and was first seed her sophomore and senior year. After the season wrapped up, she went to visit her future teammates at Lees-Mcrae.
“Everything just sort of clicked. I just fell in love with the team,” said Bumgarner, “The camaraderie there was really good. They had really good friendships. It was like all of them were best friends.”
Bumgarner was able to not only meet all the players, but she also practiced with them by “hitting some balls” with the team captain.
One concern Bumgarner has the worry she might not be able to balance her school work, which will include her major in biology, and her sports-related work. This only slightly concerns her though because she has been used to balancing advanced placement and honors courses while still participating on the tennis and soccer teams during her high school career.
Update 3/27 10:49 am - Boy were we wrong...
We only predicted two upsets, and one of them (11 seed Minnesota over 6 seed UCLA) did in fact come true, but lower seeds beating high seeds upsets include: Oregon over Oklahoma State and St. Louis, Wichita State over Pittsburgh and #1 seed Gonzaga, Ole Miss over Wisconsin, play-in game winner La Salle over Kansas State and Ole Miss, Harvard over New Mexico, Iowa State over Notre Dame, Temple over N.C. State, California over UNLV, and perhaps the biggest Cinderella in NCAA Tournament history, Florida Gulf Coast knocking off #2 seed Georgetown, then defeating #7 seed San Diego State to become the first 15 seed to advance to the Sweet 16.
On top of all these historic upsets, some close calls have already come up with close finishes between 16 seed Southern and 1 seed Gonzaga, and 10 seed Iowa State and 2 seed Ohio State. You can expect to see Louisville, Michigan State, Wichita State, Ohio State, Michigan, Florida, Indiana, and Miami as your Elite Eight teams for 2013.
The 2013 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament has the potential to be one of the most surprising in history.
With the 2013 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament set to begin on March 21, 2013, here is some help with filling out your bracket. (Bracket at bottom of page)
During the 2012-2013 college basketball regular season there were numerous upsets and surprises, so the average person would expect to see that during March Madness, but they won't. In the first round you can expect to see many higher seeded teams win except for number 11 seeded Minnesota who we project to beat number 6 seeded UCLA. Jared also predicts that 14 seed Davidson will win against 3rd seeded Marquette. As for the rest of the tournament, check back to Den Echoes for updates periodically.