Got Books??

By: Vernon Bowman

Victoria Matthews, a senior at ACT Charter school, wonders why she doesn’t have textbooks in her classes.

“We shouldn’t have printed worksheets,” she said. “We should have actual books for us to learn out of. We learn better from having books.”

More and more students are complaining about the lack of textbooks in their classes. At the same time, teachers are saying that the problem is the cost of the books for each class and that students are not taking care of the books they already have.

Ms. Thomas, a Humanities teacher, said she’s heard from parents who are concerned about the lack of textbooks, but she said that the problem is that textbooks can only be used in one class.

“The books cost $10,000 for a class set,” she said. Ms. Thomas said that last year she even saw students throwing books out the windows. “School funding is not low, it’s just that students lose their books and they know that their parents don’t have enough money to keep paying to replace them.”

Corey Williams, a sophomore, said that having books helps students see things visually and worksheets aren’t visual.

“That is not good because some kids are visual learners and they learn better this way,” he said.

“Then it effects you, especially when you are a visual learner and just saying and seeing it [are] two different things.

Mr. Washco, a Humanities teacher, said that paying for books costs too much and they’re only needed in certain classes.

“Some books cost around 70 to 80 dollars a piece,” he said. “Also, some classes don’t need books—only in Math and Science. And we don’t have enough money for books, only if people donate money.”

Points And Grades

By Melanie Brooks

Student led conferences have arrived at ACT Charter School yet again. Student led conferences are meetings in which students explain their grades and points to their parents with their advisor present. Some of the students at ACT are really worried about the way their grades and points are turning out. This may be because some students have college in mind and feel their grades aren’t good enough or they may be worried about how their parents will react to their grades.

Anthony Cauley, a junior attending ACT, explains why he doesn’t like the points and grades system. “I don’t like it because you shouldn’t be graded on your points,” he said. “You can get an A in a class and fail because you missed a point and that isn’t right. In my case, I have all my points, but if I missed any points I would have failed. That is what most of my friends are struggling with. If you get a passing grade, you should be able to pass the class.”

Tiara Bell, a junior at ACT, explains something positive about the points system. “If you don’t get all your points when you were supposed to, then you can make them up the next time grades come out. For example, if in one trimester you’re low on points and get only six points, [and in] the next marking period you get all eight points, it will put you where you need to be.”

“I don’t know how it was created,” said Mrs. Szekely, a humanities teacher at ACT, who explains about the point/grades system and her views on it. “Mrs. Howard (ACT former principal) brainstormed with other teachers/administrators about it and they came up with it. Most school put quantity and quality together, but Mrs. Howard wanted to pull them apart to show that both are important. I like the idea that the two are separated because you can’t pass without doing both.” Mrs. Szekeley also gives some positive and negative thoughts on the grades/point system. “The negative thing about it [points/grades] is it’s confusing and it doesn’t work with CPS. Our system doesn’t work with their system. Learning is a complex process. I think it’s extremely helpful. I’m a fan of the point system because it helps students learn work ethic. You can’t just show up to school, breathe and expect to pass.”

Amber O’Neil, a senior at ACT, expresses what she feels about bad grades and how they might affect students. “Everybody is different,” she said. When some students get bad grades it might encourage them to work harder while some students might give up. I never get bad grades, but when I do I am never satisfied with them. It makes me work harder. Bad grades should never be acceptable.”

“I think points are helpful because they let us know the quantity of work [how much work was completed], said Ms. Toth, a resource teacher at ACT, who explains more about the point system and her views on it. “ Getting bad grades and low points can discourage some students, but some students might use it as a motivational tool. If students don’t get as many points as they should, it should be make them want to work harder because they need a certain amount of points to graduate and it shouldn’t be discouraging.”

Ms. Toth has a tip for students to get back on track if there points/grades are low. “If they get to the middle of the marking period they should ask the teacher what they need to get on track so they will be able to graduate on time.” Ms. Toth gives some positive and negative things about the grades/points system too. “A positive thing about the grades/point system is they represent quantity and quality or work. I think that’s helpful because if you get an A in the class, but low points, it shows you’ve been doing well in the class, but not turning in enough assignments. If you get an F in the class, but all your points, it shows you have been turning in all your assignment, but the work isn’t good enough. It’s helpful for parents and students top see it that way. The negative thing about it is it’s confusing to explain to teacher, students, and parents. It’s different than any other grading system were used to”

Shanell Harmon, a senior at ACT, who also expresses her views about the points/grading system. “I don’t have a problem with it,” she said. “The problem is colleges aren’t looking at points, they are looking at grades. I am very satisfied with my grades and points. I worked very hard for them.”

Off The Burner

By: Lavante Hunt

R&B Star, Bobby Valentino is no rookie when it comes to music making. He first made a splash on the scene back in 1996 when he released the socially-aware hit single "Blackberry Molasses" with former group members of Mista. After a failed second attempt at success, Mista disbanded and would quickly fade away in the music scene. In 2005, Valentino would return and reach a new plateau of success including his platinum self-titled debut and his certified gold sophomore effort Special Occasion. Now in 2009, Bobby gives it a third try. His junior LP entitled, “The Rebirth,” places Bobby in total control under his co-owned new label, Blu Kolla Dreams yet I’m not exactly sure if it’s what you call a “Rebirth.”

The opening of Rebirth may be the strangest fusion of gospel and R&B ever. Gospel great Dottie People's offers a "hooping session" of quirky hysteria. It’s comedic and scary how Valentino introduces his supposed "Rebirth". However, Bobby doesn't reveal his mediocrity for long; his strongest points remain in his ballads. “Make You the Only One” makes up for the awful intro of the album.

“Just Me & You and 3 is the New 2,” allows you to see where Valentino gained most of his musical styling. Prevalent due to 90's crooner, Raphael Saadiq's, feature on Just Me & You. Possibly the best tracks in between the album are the first radio ready single Beep, a party anthem featuring Yung Joc and the ballad similar to the styling of K-Ci & JoJo, “Stay With Me.” Stay is extremely catchy and unveils the vulnerability of Valentino which really works for him. Half-way through the song Valentino switches from his raspy second tenor to high-registered Usher-like falsetto. With simple, memorable lyrics Stay should be strongly considered for the follow-up single to Beep.

Despite Stay being such a strong track, Valentino still hasn't garnered enough wisdom in music to have consistency with his albums. Either the tracks are really great (Stay With Me; Give Me Your Heart) or really thin on lyrics and mediocre. On Rebirth those songs are the irritating “Butterfly Tattoo,” the "popcorn" lyrics of “My Girl,” and the repetitive art of simplicity on Be My Love. Gladly his non-consistency offers equal amount of good versus bad. “Make You Say, Another Life, and On the Edge” are all great album fillers. Nothing major or stand-out, but basic good songs to keep listeners tuned till the Rebirth's close.

Valentino has two other high notes on “Rebirth.” “Dance the Night Away” should be stoutly being taken back into the studio and be converted into an entire song. Valentino's voice is crisp and incredible and would have been a great tag to attach to his album's title since it is a ballroom dance track. His other is probably the best track and will allow forgiveness to seep in for Rebirth's cry-for-help opening; If the title track is the worst example of a cross genre between gospel and R&B, Give Me Your Heart is the best example. The guitar in the background is clearly reminiscent of former R&B a-Lister, D'Angelo while the strains and grunts are similar to R.Kelly. The clap and choral harmony is clairvoyant to southern mass choir on Sunday morning. Bobby definitely receives credentials (and our forgiveness for Rebirth's opening) after creating this track.

Overall Rebirth is a solid junior effort for Valentino. Don't expect too much from Valentino. Bobby has battled with redundancy throughout his career and Rebirth is no different from that.

The Drugs, The Money, The Guns

By: Shaniqua Brown

There are so many youth in the community that’s dying everyday over some non sense. They get killed over something that they weren’t involved in so the end results are death. Everybody has something to say but hold their true feelings in because they figure that if they say anything they might get hurt or they might say something like this “I have to live in this community and they might find out that I said something and then it’s my life on the line.” So why do you think that so many youth are dying over non-sense?

Now in the lives of children/ teens the drugs are the things that start the violence off, and this is because the drug leaders have these teens that have the slitess idea about what is going on and what they are getting themselves into in the streets selling the drugs.

Next the money, because once the money comes up missing or short, then everybody gets hurt, because the child is running around trying to find out how to get the money and winde up getting hurt or killed over money.

Last the guns, this is the one that every teen that’s in a gang has or are afraid of because of what they saw happen with it. The guns are used on these teens once again because they don’t know what they have got themselves into, and they running around hiding from something that’s bound to kill someone that they know because they have got themselves into something that they weren’t ready for. So many people are killed by what you call guns because they look like someone or because they are in the same family as the person they are looking for. Also because they are into the gang life and they are at war with the other gang and by stray bullets flying nameless.

I interviewed some adults and students/ youth that have experienced this in their life.

“Well I think that the youth are being killed because they are family of someone who is related to someone that they are looking for,” said Tiana Miller, an adult in the Austin community. “And also they because they are at the wrong place at the wrong time.”

Deandre Stackhouse, actually experienced a personal loss due to gang violence.

“Well I really don’t have too much to say because it makes me very emotional,” said Stackhouse. “I think that it’s unnecessary to have gang violence because I lost my brother to gang violence so I don’t recommend anyone to be in gangs or to use gang violence in something that you can talk out.”

“I think that every youth has something that everybody can use first off,” said Joyce Matthews a freshman student at VOISE Academy. “But at the same time there are people who hate on someone that have something that they don’t have and that’s pentiful because that person may can help you and give you something that can help you out but they’re gone now.”

Resident Evil: Degeneration Review

By: Cortez Leslie

Over the past few years, the Resident Evil franchise has always been a huge benefactor towards the survival/ horror genre in both games and movies. The newest entry in the RE series, Resident Evil: Degeneration the movie isn’t the best film for newcomers, however, it is pleasantly nostalgic for hardcore fans.
Resident Evil: Degeneration stars two former characters from the Resident Evil 2 video game on the original PlayStation. In that game Leon (Paul Mercier) and Claire (Alyson Court) were two survivors of a bio-terrorism incident in a fictional city named Raccoon City.

Degeneration starts ten years later after the Raccoon City incident. Leon now works as a government official for the President of the United States and Clair helps establish an organization that deals with Bio-terrorism. As Clair moves to a new city to begin her new job, another bio-terrorism incident suddenly happens and she is right in the middle of it. As people are infected and transformed into flesh-eating zombies right in front of her eyes. The President gives the order to send Leon to deal with the new threat.

This CGI film had a lot in common with its predecessors, but does a number of things better, such as the voice acting of Paul Mercier (Leon). He does an excellent job of conveying Leon’s heroism and “I-told-you-so” personality. Alyson Court (Clair) gives off the more sensitive and lighthearted role of Clair. In addition to that, its storytelling elements keeps you involved in what is going on, who is doing it and their reasons behind it.

While the story and voice acting is top notch, the films biggest faults are its action sequences and its survival/horror elements. The action scenes are amazing, but the only problem for me is that there wasn’t enough action to change the pacing of the film. Another fault is that Degeneration didn’t scare like most Resident Evil games do, which is kind of a disappointment.

Degeneration gives you a good story, great voice acting with amazing, but short action scenes, and with no scary moments at all. In the end, I felt that Resident Evil: Degeneration is a good attempt at bringing the series to the movies, unlike past Resident Evil films.

Fighting Evil Never Got Anymore Sexier!

By: Angelica Askew

Supernatural is the hottest show to hit the CW, formally known as the WB. It has action, drama, sex appeal, pain, love, excitement and most of all shocking plots. Its shot in Vancouver, Canada; September 13, 2005.

The two sexy hunks to take a leading role in the show make it so much better to watch. Jensen Ackles (Dean Winchester) and Jared Padalecki (Sam Winchester) play two brothers that are hunters. After their mom (Mary Winchester) died in a tragic fire in their own home by a demon. Jeffery Dean Morgan, who plays John Winchester; the boys’ father raised them on hunting the supernatural like: Demons, Vampires, Ghosts, Spirits, Werewolves, Wenidgos, Shapeshifters, Reapers, Pagan Gods, Poltergeists and Witches for the revenge of his dead wife.

John trained his boys’ well, starting at a young age. He taught them everything they needed to know about the supernatural, like: how to fight, shoot a gun, and patch each other up and so much more. Years passed of trying to find the Yellow Eyed Demon that murdered Mary but was unsuccessful and killed everything else in their path. I love this show! It’s awesome! One of my best friends, Ebony Chambers told me and Melanie about Supernatural and we were hooked. At first, I was like, ‘whatever, that show is lame’ but when I started to watch it, my god it’s satisfying! And Jensen Ackles is one hot man. So is Jared.

Stop Treating The World Like A Garbage Can!!!!

By: Ericka Richards

The environment is in extremely bad state. There is pollution and the wasting of natural resources. People every where are littering and not cleaning up after themselves. They are treating the world like a garbage can..
When you are walking down the street, like Madison Street for an example, it looks like people don’t even know what garbage is.
“It seems like people don’t care about the place they live,” said Tiara Bell. “They treat it as if they have more than one world and like they can’t a new one.”
“If everybody gets up and helps clean up the environment we would have a good environment,” said Lazarick Coney. “But it seems like people don’t care.”
My opinion is people need to stand up an help out the world. Nearly all of the world natural resources are being wasted because of not recycling reused product.
It takes more energy and more resources to make new product form new resource than it does to make a new product form recycles. If everybody pitch in and did something to help better the environment then it would benefit it.
For example the whole in the o-zone does not need to be made bigger, but people can do thing as simple as taking the train or bus instead of polluting the air with millions of cars. The environment is precious and does not need to be ruined any more than it already is.

Heartbreak of Mr.West

By: David Jones

Kanye West’s new album 808’s and Heartbreak released November 24, 2008 and has 12 fabulous tracks on it. This album is amazing because it expresses how West feels and what everyone has been through at least once in their life.

For example, one of his songs called Heartless is talking about a girl that is being about him in a negative way. Any one can be heartless, male or female, but I honestly think Kanye was talking about his ex fiancé, Alexis Phifer. I thought he was talking about his Alexis because he said “you’re just an L.A. girl.” Another song from his new album is called Paranoid ft. Mr. Hudson. Kanye is just telling the girl she is worried about the wrong things and is paranoid. He is telling her to stop being paranoid because nothings going on.

My favorite song is Coldest Winter because he is trying to get over this girl but he can’t sleep because he’s thinking about her. He’s talking to his friend saying, “Can he ever love again?”

The album also has great work by West. It has mixtures, sound editing and word processing. The word process makes your voice change when you’re speaking in the mic so you can have more effects. That’s how Mr. West makes his voice sound different in each particular song he made.This CD to me is about a girl that is mistreating him and it’s from a man’s perspective. When a man breaks up, or cheats on a girl, a lot of girls express their feelings by singing about their relationships. So this CD is different. That’s why Kanye made this CD, to let everyone know that men get cheated on just as much as women.

Costly Perscription

By: Shanell Harmon

My auntie Claira Morris is a seasoned woman who is usually calm and quiet, but seemed stressed when we talked about how much her prescriptions cost.

“Whenever I walk into a pharmacy it leaves a feeling of grief; because after paying for medication there is no money left,” she said. My auntie is on a fixed income and lives in a retirement center and on occasion has to choose between getting a prescription filled and replenishing her refrigerator. And she is not alone. The battle between major pharmaceutical companies and American consumers has left the U.S. paying the highest drug prices in the world, according to Richard T. Evans, senior research analyst of global pharmaceuticals at Sanford C. Berstein & Co. This puts Americans in a crucial situation. This is not fair. No one should have to feel like my auntie. The Government and the pharmaceutical companies need to work together in order to find a solution. The Government is responsible, therefore they are the ones that have complete control.It’s hard to manage when the source that one depends on seems to be working against any chance of progress. In this case the government is the source.

However, the government is not completely hanging the people out to dry. Recently, the government has been giving more information about generic drugs. Generic drugs are supposed to be cheaper and deliver cures to an illness. It has been proven through research that generics are better then name brands. But this is not enough.

Government should work with insurance companies so they are able to pay more of a percentage of prescription drug costs. If the government and insurance companies decide to work together, individuals like my auntie won’t have to worry about the price of getting well.