The Prowl - Vol. XXV, Issue 1

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Get your horror fix on. Page 9 New School Hours? Page 1 BENTLEY SPAIN & THE BIG 22. Page 5 Volume XXV, Issue I Monograms... more like mo-NO- grams. Page 12

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Transcript of The Prowl - Vol. XXV, Issue 1

Get your horror fix on. Page 9

New School Hours? Page 1

BENTLEY SPAIN & THE BIG 22. Page 5

Volume XXV, Issue I

Monograms...more like mo-NO-grams. Page 12

Providence ProwlA Publication of Providence High Schoolwww.providenceprowl.comVolume XXV, Issue 1 • December 2013

News1-4 Security measures Later school hours Common App Yoga Providence Plague College advice Miss Providence

Sports5-6 New coaches Bentley Spain Soccer success

Features7-8 Caplan crowned queen Meet Mr. Turski Speech and Debate Barnette is All-American

@ProvidenceProwl

@ProvidenceProwl

Entertainment9-11 Inside Insidious Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson Variety show Artpop review Arsenic and Old Lace

Editorials12-13 Monomania Obamacare

StaffMadeline WhiteEditor-in-ChiefRyan HerreraEntertainment EditorNikki Van LanenSports Editor

Sasha RogelbergStudent Life EditorJenna GardnerStaff ReporterEmma HankinsStaff Reporter

Editorial Policy The Prowl is governed by the First Amendment guidelines and those established by the Supreme Court in interpreting the First Amendment for school publications. While the newspaper is responsible to the principal as its publisher (Hazelwood School District v. Khuhlmier), the content reflects student thinking and may not be in agreement with adminstrative policy. The Prowl welcomes signed letters. We edit for brevity, grammar and clarity. Letters should not exceed 150 words and may be submitted to the staff in room 236.

On December 14, 2012, 26 elementary school students were shot and killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT. Since this event, school districts all over the country have been increasing security measures in schools as a means to prevent such events from happening. Among these districts is CMS, which is adding cameras, fences, and student IDs in all schools. CMS superintendent Heath Morrison had been think-ing about these measures last spring when constructing the budget for the 2013-2014 school year. The district proposed additional funds for school safety after putting a survey online for the community about budget priorities. The results of the survey stated that safety in schools was the number one priority. This additional funding provided by the county commissioners will be used to implement ID badges for all CMS students, additional cameras in schools, and fencing around the perimeter of selected schools. Principal Tracy Harrill states she has not received many details on the new ID badges, seemingly the students’ greatest concern, but she knows the system will be implemented soon. Schools were waiting to have their new card printers for the IDs installed and well as the new cam-eras installed, and Harrill says, “We’ll begin issuing IDs in the coming weeks.” However, Harrill says she received information from the school board that stated all camera systems would be installed by the end of the year. These ID badges will contain a bar code that contains the student’s lunch number and media center code. The ID will also be used to get into the school building when being scanned on newly installed devices. CMS hopes to have

the IDs later this month. Students began taking photos for their IDs on the week of November 4, but no news has been given on when the IDs will actually be issued. Harrill expressed her concerns about the new ID badges: “Our challenge is teaching students to wear their badges.” While elementary schoolers and even some middle school-ers are accustomed to wearing nametags on a daily basis, this was a habit high schoolers grew out of many years ago. “My biggest concern is dealing with students who don’t wear their badge,” Harrill continues. Harrill plans on taking disciplinary measures for students who do not wear badges, and is considering making it a policy of ‘insubor-dination’. Harrill also fears parents and students do not fully understand why and how these measures are being imple-mented. At a PTA meeting over the summer, one parent declared, “Mrs. Harrill is making us get ID badges!” Cer-tainly, this was not Harrill’s decision to make, and every school will differ slightly in their policies. Harrill’s goal right now is to try to make the students understand why these measures are being taken and what the students believe is important regarding security. Many eyebrows have been raised due to the gun law passed October 1 and how it will impact the new security measures. The gun law allows individuals over 21 to con-ceal a weapon in his or her locked car on school campus. Many parents and students are concerned about this law, and the CMS website specifically says they do not support the law. While Harrill agrees that

she does not support this law, she made it clear that it should not be an issue for Providence students because of the age limit on those who are allowed to bring guns on campus. The revised gun policy was passed on October 22. Su-perintendent Morrison states he was reluctant to implement the policy. This is not a CMS policy, but encompasses the entire state. Details are still developing on this topic, and school district members and administrators alike are sorting out the logistics of this change. “I’ve got some questions still,” Harrill says. She assures the student body that this will hopefully be a positive change, and that safety is important in the learning environment.

December 2013 Page 1

News

New ID scanners being installed.

CMS still implementing security measuresStory and photo by SaSha RogelbeRg, Student Life Editor

Cancel TweetNew Tweet

Providence Prowl (@ProvidenceProwl)

#Throwback First DayThe Prowl wanted the freshmen’s input from their first day of high school.

“I found upper classmen really intimi-dating. Don’t be scared though, it’s not that bad.”Carson Mulkey

Freshman student James Rucker. Photo by Ryan Herrera.

“I was nervous because I had no friends at lunch and I kept getting lost. Just don’t be afraid to ask trust-worthy people for directions.”Ciara Moose

“The students and teachers make this school what it is. I think the teachers and students give a great first impression of what Provi-dence High School is and should always be.”James Rucker

Dr. Robert Van Lanen, DDS 2428 N. Sharon Amity Road Suite 301 Charlotte, NC 28205 704-537-9475

“I got lost my first day so make sure you know where you’re going.”Sarah Marshall

“Everyone’s nice. There’s pretty much a single group you hang out with. You just don’t flock to wherever you want to go. The teacher’s get things done.”Kassidy Everard

December 2013 Page 2

News

Junior Mika Tuzon says, “I wake up so early that I feel sick.” This junior’s typical morning consists of being jarred awake from a dreamy residence by a harsh beeping. The maddening beeps continue, getting faster and faster, as if becoming panicked. Tuzon peeks at the alarm clock - it is 5:30 and it’s time to get up and head to school. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools took a close look at their school hours on October 14 during a school board meeting. This issue has raised concern among parents whose high school students start school at 7:15 and parents with elemen-tary students who don’t leave school until 4:15. “My daughter is tired all the time,” says Angelique Vestal, mother of junior Emily Vestal. “Emily has to get up so early to go to school and is completely exhausted when she gets back home.” The debate about school hours began in 2011 to save money. Since then, the busing has become staggered. One bus in CMS will usually serve 2-4 schools daily, forcing some students to wake up early and some students to come home from school late. Some students at certain late-releas-ing elementary schools do not have time for all their home-work, family time and extracurricular activities. A recent addition of 45 minutes to some elementary school schedules to help budget cuts has been criticized by many who say it puts buses into severe rush hour traffic, and causes drained staff and students.

“Staff has been working since last year with a group of parents who are concerned about the 4:15 p.m. dismissal time for elementary school stu-dents,” said Earnest J. Winston, the Chief of Staff for CMS. “When my daughter was in elementary school, she wouldn’t get home until 4 o’clock. She barely had any time to finish all of her homework plus her sports,” says Sandy Thompson, mother of junior Emily Thompson. Early starting times at high schools can cause students to lose sleep. The National Sleep Founda-tion proved that teens need more sleep than any other age group. Re-search shows that early high school start times hinder their ability to get proper rest. One NSF study found that only 15% of teens are getting enough sleep. A student’s ability to learn, listen, concentrate and solve problems is diminished by lack of sleep. Late last month, we surveyed 70 students at Providence High School. Two thirds of them said their preference would

be later starting times for school to allow more sleep. “Wak-ing up this early is not natural,” says Tuzon.

A growing number of school districts across the country have changed their high school schedules to allow students more sleep and the best opportunity to be alert. A large school district in Fairfax County Virginia with 40,000 students more than CMS developed a new schedule for high school students with the help of the Children’s National Medical Center’s Divi-sion of Sleep Medicine. A new division called “School Time Task Force” will be holding public meetings about these issues. “The CMS task force is being formed to review the Council’s report, study the effects of the late bell and make recommendations on issues related to school time,” said Winston. Superintendent Heath Morrison told the Charlotte Observer, “I don’t want to rush

into recommendations that are going to solve one set of prob-lems and create others.”

Later school hours? Sleepy teens seek reprieveStory and photo by JeNNa gaRDNeR, Staff Reporter

Common App brings commotion to college applicantsStory and photo by MaDelINe WhITe, Editor-in-Chief

For many Providence seniors, the already nerve-wracking college application process has become more difficult due to technical issues experienced by students using the Common Application. The website updated with new soft-ware on August 1. Since its revamp, both students and colleges have experienced problems with the Common Application, including site failures, essay submission errors, and credit cards being charged multiple times. The malfunctions have left many students unaware if the colleges have received their materials. “It’s annoying, to say the least,” says senior Ingrid Lee. She has been editing her University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill application since early September for its original October 15 deadline. Due to com-plications with the Common Application, UNC-Chapel Hill is one of several schools to extend their early action deadline. “I put so much effort into my essays and spent a lot of time entering the correct information,” Lee says. “I was so stressed

the day before the application was due, but now I just feel even more frustrated.” The Common Application is a non-profit organization in Arlington, Virginia.Undergraduates can use the application to apply to 517 colleges and universities across the United States and internation-ally. The Common Application - now in its 35th year - allows users to enter their in-formation once on an application and then submit it to multiple schools. It also allows users to send and monitor other application components, including application fees and other forms. The organization processed 723,675 applications during the 2012-2013 school year. In response to the site’s problems, the Common Application representative said they are “committed to resolving these issues promptly.” The organization has also kept users updated on its social media platforms, including Facebook and Twitter. Still, many Providence students feel the company is not doing enough. “It’s not fair for the Common App to make students this

stressed out,” says senior Neda Hosseini. “When the college’s deadline gets pushed back, it’s more inconvenient for everyone involved, including our guidance coun-selors who have rushed to get everything done in time.”

In addition to completing several appli-cations through the Common Application, Hosseini says she has decided to submit some of her applications through the colleges’ websites as a safety measure. “I had always expected the college applica-tion process to be pretty tense, but I never thought it would be as bad as this.”

Senior Ingrid Lee has had difficulties with the Common Application website.

“I was so stressed the day before the application was due, but now I just feel more frustrated.”

CMS Chief of Staff Earnest J. Winston. (Courtesy CMS Media Room)

December 2013 Page 3

News

The Providence PlagueStory by JeNNa gaRDNeR, Staff Reporter

The students are lazily sitting in their chairs in Algebra II, completing a test. Nothing can be heard except the scratching of pencils and incessant sniffling around the room. De-spite the common rule of “no one can get out of their seat during a test,” students are often jumping out of their chairs in a panic to reach the tissue box in time to stop the continuous, maddening flow of mucus. The disturbing noise of someone blowing their nose erupts around the room, causing now distracted testing stu-dents to wrinkle their noses in repulsion. This common cold, or also known as “the Provi-dence Plague,” seems to be an annual school event. “It happens every year,” says Nancy Yudel, the school nurse, “Everyone is just more sus-ceptible after summer break. Our bodies are not used to waking up at 5:30, and they’re sort of freaking out.” This sickness has spread around the school, causing many students to be absent and have common cold symptoms. “I see about 20-30 kids a day,” says Yudel. Tracy Black, a nurse at Arboretum Pediatrics said, “There are a lot of kids coming in with congestion and fever.”

“I was out for two days last week with the Plague,” says junior Mary Weinstein. “I had was so feverish and felt horrible.” The causes seem simpler than one may have imagined. “When you put 2200 students plus 100 staff, there are a lot of germs that can go around,” says Yudel. “Students get it from their little brothers and sisters; parents get it from the people they work with. It just goes around and around and around.” This “plague” seems unstoppable, but there are ways to combat it. “By drinking lots of water, getting rest and getting sleep, and wash-ing your hands so you don’t keep giving germs back to yourself, you can help prevent this cold,” says Yudel. “If you are sick, take a day or two off and actually give your body a chance to rest. Trying to push through it usually makes you sicker.” Among the helpful advice given to stop the spread of the “Plague,” Yudel said, “Probably the most important thing you can do to stop the cold is to get your flu shot. It may not work 100 percent but it gives you a much better chance of not getting sick.”

Yoga antics

A calming, refreshing feeling flows through many student in Providence’s brand new yoga class. The tran-quility of typically rowdy students is a rare sight. They all calmly stretch out their arms and breathe deeply, complet-ing a sequence of movements called a “sun salutation.” This “sun salutation” is in the yoga class held in the school gym taught by Steven Touranjoe, better known as “Coach T.” “We have decided to have a yoga class this year,” Touranjoe says. This yearlong class is held in the gym and is taught by Touranjoe, Aly Faber, and Shelley Bear, all of whom are certified yoga instructors. “We chose to have this class because of the growing popularity of yoga and we want students to make healthier decisions for their physical fitness.” “Our class is cut up into separately graded sections. It is 60 percent participation, 10 percent dress-out, 10 per-cent homework, and 20 percent performance,” Touranjoe says, “We incorporate yoga with CrossFit workouts and other basic conditioning exercises.” While this class may appear to be mainly relaxing with yoga as the center focus, there has been some negativity. “We actually only do yoga every two weeks,” says junior Cheyenne Gest. “We also do circuit training, Insanity vid-eos, and very intense workouts. This is not what I thought I was signing up for.” Despite the vastness of the school gym, the class can get crowded with the large number of students. “My class

has 45 people in it, and sometimes it is very hectic,” Gest

says. While the class may not be what some students expected, there are some who enjoy it very much. “It’s great,” junior Emily Ferguson says. “I am able to spend time with my friends and work out simultaneously!” Touranjoe has set goals for himself and for the class. “I

want to positively influence my

students by helping them achieve lifelong fitness and well-ness goals and help them to be able to teach and demon-strate a yoga routine to other students,” Touranjoe says. Despite some pessimistic students, he says, “You have to give it a chance; don’t be so quick to judge until you try it.”

Yoga students demonstrate their tech-niques.

Story and photo by JeNNa gaRDNeR, Staff Reporter

December 2013 Page 4

NewsTalking college timelinesStory by MaDelINe WhITe, Editor-in-Chief

No matter what grade a student at Providence is in, each year brings different responsibilities and privileges. For juniors, one opportunity is the freedom to drive and park in the student parking lot. For seniors, it is the ability to duck out of school early at the senior bell. But all Panthers have a com-mon thread: they can all start preparing for college. According to Career Development Coordinator Sharon Walker, this preparation can begin as early as freshman and sophomore year. She explains that the first goal of freshmen and sophomores should be to earn the best grades they can, mainly A’s and B’s. The difficulty of the class is also impor-tant, so students should aim to take honors and Advanced Placement courses if possible. Good grades in those classes look impressive on a student’s college transcript. Walker says that is the first thing a college will look at during the appli-cation process. “I think it’s also a good time for students to explore what their strengths, weaknesses, and interests are in terms of what they want to do,” says Walker. “They don’t have to decide, but instead should start thinking about what things would be interesting to them and get some experience.” She recommends the Explorer program, which occurs once a month and offers students the ability to learn about different career fields and to gain a feel for them. In addition to the Ex-plorer program, Providence also offers academic internships, which can be of assistance for discovering and learning about possible careers. Walker aditionally suggests that ninth and tenth graders participate in extracurricular activities to learn about them-selves. “While they’re not always career-oriented, extracurric-ular activities are good ways to see what you like, if you have leadership skills, if you like working with people, and so on,” she says. “All of those things are good ways to get to know yourself and see what kind of personality you have.” Personlity, she says plays a huge role in success in a ture

career. “There is a lot of research on this,” Walker explains. “People that are the happiest and most successful are the ones whose personality matches up with the personality in their career. If you don’t have the personality for it, you are going to be miserable.” Ultimately, the goal for freshman and sophomore year is to explore and learn about what is impor-tant to you. Similarly, juniors should continue to explore their career interests. “[Students] should get on their Naviance account, which is important for all grades, but especially for juniors,” Walker says. Naviance offers students access to both career and college exploration. “If they’re interested in a certain ma-jor, they can see which colleges may be a good fit for them,” she says. “Students can then begin to see if the grades they have match up to the college’s.” Naviance also offers students the college history of Providence students from the past sever-al years and information on where past students have been ac-cepted. “It’s a very good tool for juniors to use,” Walker says. Additionally, juniors can create a resume on Naviance, which can assist in recording any activities they have completed, clubs they have joined, and awards they have won. During junior year, students should continue to focus on their grades because a junior year transcript is the last set of grades colleges will see for a first semester applicant.It is also important for students to continue to be involved in their extracurricular activities but not if their grades suffer. “They have to find a balance, sometimes even cutting back a little if they find themselves doing too many things,” says Walker. “Junior year can be very challenging academically.” In ad-dition to aiming for high grades during junior year, students should also take the ACT and SAT. In October, juniors will take the PSAT at school. “After the PSAT, students can look at their results and take it in January or the spring,” she says. The ACT will be given to juniors in March. Finally, towards

the end of the school year, students should begin to tour colleges and meet with representatives, an option offered to juniors in the spring. It is also important for students to begin listing colleges they are interested in applying to. “By the end of junior year, juniors need to know which colleges they’re going to be applying to so they’re not scrambling around this time senior year,” Walker says. Before senioritis kicks in during senior year, Walker emphasizes that getting organized is the most important thing to do. She recommends looking at all the deadlines for scholarships and applications and creating a calendar or fil-ing system to remain on track. If seniors are applying to any North Carolina school, Walker recommends using the College Foundation of North Carolina’s website. “You can apply to every school in the whole state through that one website,” she says. Additionally, students should begin applying and work-ing on their essays early on. Students should begin gathering recommendations from teachers and requesting transcripts or any counselor forms at least 10 days in advance. They should also apply for any scholarships or financial aid offered by the college. Additionally, Walker emphasizes and encourages students to be wary of social media during the application process. “The more competitive and small the college is, the more likely they will look at an applicant’s social media site,” she says. “Bigger colleges don’t always have the resources for it, but they might.” Walker recommends that students be very cautious of what they post on their Facebook or other social media sites to avoid posts that might make a difference in a college’s decision. “Students should have nothing on their so-cial media site that they wouldn’t want their grandma to see.” So make grandma happy and begin the college process as a freshman. It will make things easier by the time senior year (and senioritis) rolls around.

Seniors shine in Miss Providence showcaseStory and photo by MaDelINe WhITe, Editor-in-Chief

While most Providence students were already home on Wednesday, September 18, studying, napping, or a combina-tion of the two, eight Miss Providence contestants had already been judged by their application for the pageant, an interview, and were practicing their speech to present to the audience. The competition began with an introduction by the Masters of Ceremony Carter Fischer and Natalie McKoy.The contes-tants included Gaby Aleman, Mimi Brown, Kaitlyn Brunius, Caroline Cedrone, Rachel Rappaport, Danielle Robinson, Kara Spangler, and Lisa Voorhis. The eight contenders were intro-duced while donning their formal wear, as Fischer and McKoy announced the participants’ prospective majors and colleges. Each girl was accompanied by either Matt Coats or Steven Patrick as her escort. Following the formal wear presentation, juniors Olivia Rousey and Sam Abel serenaded the audience with a cover of The Miracles’ “You’ve Really Got a Hold on Me.” Next, the judges selected five girls to move onto the speech round, selecting Aleman, Cedrone, Rappaport, Spangler, and Voorhis. The contestants’ speeches were an interesting part of the competition, with their topics ranging from a higher demand of right-brained thinkers to the media’s role in distort ing beauty.

Aleman opened with a thought-provoking discussion of how easily guns can be obtained and the increasingly large number of violent gun acts today. Voorhis discussed both society and the media’s role in twisting the definition of beauty and giving girls, including herself at one time, low self-esteem, Cedrone stressed the importance of motivation for students to succeed throughout their education, especially in college. Rappaport explained the importance of right-brained thinkers with innovative minds in the workforce. Finally, Spangler closed with an explanation of the usefulness of video games, including its assistance with the military. As the audience awaited the judges’ selection of the top three, Abel and Rousey returned to the stage with a rendition of “The Wayfaring Stranger.” The judges narrowed the five contestants, selecting Aleman, Cedrone, and Voorhis. The girls were subjected to a final round of questioning. When Cedrone was asked what her number one item was on her bucket list, she replied that her dream is to write for The New York Times.

Aleman was also questioned about her future goals and said that in 10 years, she could see herself starting a nonprofit organization with her siblings. Upon being asked her greatest accomplishment, Voorhis shared that she has played the piano for 10 years. After Abel and Rousey’s final performance, a cover of Grease’s “You’re the One That I Want,” McKoy and Fischer returned to the stage to announce the win-ner. Voorhis was crowned Miss Providence 2013, with Cedrone

as first runner up and Aleman as second runner up. Voorhis will advance to Carolinas’ Carrousel Scholarship Competition, where she will compete against winners from over fifty other high schools. If Voorhis wins, she will receive a $3,000 scholarship and carry the title of Pageant Queen for next year’s competition.

Voorhis, center, was crowned Miss Providence with Cedrone, left, and Aleman, right, as runner ups.

December 2013 Page 5

Sports

Welcome to Providence High School home of the Panthers. We have encountered 25 years of tradition: highly acclaimed academics, and subpar athletics. Last year, Charles Lansing stepped up as the new Athletic Director. He has helped to boost the athletics at the school by hir-ing five new varsity head coaches. Four of the five new coaches teach as well. In January, Justin Hardin from South Pointe High became the first new coach to join Providence’s staff. Bruce Hardin, Justin’s father, retired from his 4-year term and 29-11 record in 2004 as head coach of the varsity football team. Does Hardin feel any pressure from being the son of a previ-ous coach? “No I don’t feel any pressure. I know we have a good team and we’re getting better,” he said. Not only does he spend two and a half hours, five days a week training and motivating the football team, but he teaches physical education as well. Stephanie Harpenau, chemistry teacher and former middleblocker for

Purdue University, is head coach of the Lady Panthers volleyball team. The Lady Panthers have had two new coaches in the past three years. Harpenau said that teach-ing and coaching “have many similarities.” Both take her time and commitment, and she believes she teaches not only in a class-room but on the court as well. Harpenau hopes to take the team to states this year, since the last time the Lady Panthers went was 2011. In three years, the men’s basketball varsity team has won nine games. June of last school year, Myron Lowery resigned as head coach to move to Olympic High School. Among over 50 people who applied for the coaching position, Scott Taylor was chosen. Taylor attended Florida State University. He also teaches physical education. Former Appalachian State wrestler Wil-liam Houghton was third to join the Provi-dence staff. Houghton took over Lansing’s wrestling coach position when Lansing was appointed A.D. Planning lessons and

making time for practices all in one day can be challenging but Houghton seems to manage. He says, “You just have to learn how to adapt in order to be success-ful.” Houghton teaches physical education alongside Hardin and Taylor. Last year, after 14 years at Providence, Sandra Martin retired leaving the head swim coach job to Bill Davis, the fifth new coach. Davis is a coach at Mecklen-burg Aquatics Center (MAC). He swam at Chapel Hill and has been coaching at MAC for many years. Davis does not teach at Providence but still plays an important coaching role. The football team ended its season in the second round of play-offs. The soccer team went undefeated in the conference season and lost in the third round of play-offs, and cross country was in high stand-ings. So how does the Lansing feel about these new seasons? “ I think that overall our programs are performing well and that everyone is very enthusiastic about their teams.” Keep it up Panthers!

The Fantastic FiveStory and photo by NIKKI VAN LANEN, Sports Editor

One- on-one with the ‘Big 22’ winner Story and photo by NIKKI VAN LANEN, Sports Editor

Every year WSOC-TV holds a contest called “Big22” in which the station asks coaches from the Charlotte DMA area to nominate five football play-ers they consider to be in the top 22. This year coaches nominated Bentley Spain as one of many. The players went through an interview process and the final 22 were chosen by the Channel 9 sports team. Then the public got to vote and chose the final 5. The winner’s school would receive $10,000. Spain was also chosen to be in the final 5. The contest

ended last week and Wednesday WSOC-TV announced Bentley Spain as the winner. Tiffany Wright, WSOC sports anchor, was at Providence on Friday to award a personalized trophy to Spain. OrthoCarolina, a co-sponsor of the “Big22”, presented the $10,000 check to the school’s scholarship fund. I got a chance to talk to Bentley about how this experience has been for him and ask him some personal questions.

Van Lanen: How do you personally feel the football season is going? Spain: I feel like the season is going very well. We have come together as a football team and have improved tremendously.

What has been your favorite moment from the season so far? My favorite moment from the season so far has definitely been our win over West Meck for homecoming. It was such an emotional and huge win for our team and school.

When you’re not on the field practicing, what can you be found doing?When I’m not on the field or training for the season, I can be found fishing or playing golf.

Who is your biggest role model? My biggest role model is my mother. She does so much for me and is the strongest person I know.

How long have you been playing football? I have played football for 11 years

How many years have you been on the team? I have started on the Providence Varsity team for 4 years

What attracted you to football instead of any other sport? Football is more attractive to me than other sports because it is so physical in nature, but also required an incredible amount of skill and finesse.

What position do you play?I play left tackle.

What has it been like to get so much media attention? Receiving so much media attention [has] been a great honor for me. I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to work hard enough to garner the attention. It has taught me to how to handle myself publicly and how to stay humble.

Harpenau, coach of the Lady Panthers vol-leyball team.

December 2013 Page 6

SportsThe mighty men’s soccer teamStory by NIKKI VAN LANEN, Sports Editor

The men’s soccer team won three state play-off games before being eliminated against TC Roberson in a 2-0 final score. In the past 25 years, the men’s varsity soccer team has won conference eight times, and the last time was in 2007. The last time the men’s team won the state championship game was 13 years ago, and they have won it a total of three times. This year’s conference record was 21-0. This is teacher Timothy Long’s fifth year as coach of men’s and women’s varsity soc-cer teams. He is most proud of “the work the boys have put into the practices and games” this year. Junior Matt Nozedar rejoined the team this year. He played varsity as a freshman but quit because of club soccer. He used to play for The United States Developmental Academy. “That team was strict about playing both club and school soccer,” Nozedar mentioned. “I knew I didn’t want to miss the opportunity to play for Providence again, so I quit club.” Nozedar scored 28 goals total and was the leading scorer. Over the length of the season, “there [have been] many of the boys that have stood out” Long says. He did not want to pick just two, but said Connor Kirby and Matt Nozedar have stood out to him the most. “Connor is an all-state player from last year and Matt started as a freshman.” Seniors Connor Kirby, Clark Currier, Qunicy Kroescell, Harrison French, Andrew

Zendan, Micahel Zendan, Even Pournaras, and Harris Duracak celebrated their senior night game with a 2-0 win against Catholic. Encouragements from Twitter pages such as Providence EB and the players’ personal accounts helped bring more fans to the home soccer games. When the scoreboard clock ran out, at the final game, the mood in the stands was unfamiliar. Most games this season had ended with smiles and cheers, but this one was not one to laugh about. Celebration from the side of TC Roberson was less than gra-

cious. All the Panther player’s faces dropped as they trudged to a huddle in the middle of the field. Senior Clark Currier fell to his knees in disappointment. The stands looked on in shock that their mighty men’s team was only human after all. The team only needed to win two more games to venture to the state championship game in Raleigh. Shortly after the end of the game, Twitter timelines filled with encouraging tweets and uplifting spirits. Providence stood behind its soccer team and was proud of their accomplishments.

The men’s soccer team is recognized at the Big 22 pep rally. Photo by Emma Hankins.

Snapshots from the ‘Big 22’ pep rally

Seniors Wyatt Maxey and Bianca Bishop race prior to pep rally. Photo by Emma Hankins.

Bentley Spain celebrates with his mother and father. Photo by Madeline White.

The student section cheers as the pep rally begins. Photo by Emma Hankins.

Men’s Varsity Soccer Results

8/20 vs. East Meck 3-08/22 vs. Terry Sanford 3-18/24 vs. Cuthbertson 1-08/27 vs. Rocky River 9-08/28 vs. Hough 5-19/3 vs. Butler 7-19/4 vs. Mooresville 5-09/9 vs. Olympic 2-19/10 vs. West Meck 11-29/16 vs. Phillip O. Berry 5-0 9/18 vs. Ardrey Kell 3-19/23 vs. Harding Univ. 10-29/25 vs. South Meckl 1-0 9/30 vs. Charlotte Catholic 3-110/2 vs. Olympic 5-110/7 vs. West Meck 3-010/9 vs. Phillip O. Berry 4-010/14 vs. Ardrey Kell 3-210/16 vs. Harding University 5-010/21 vs. South Meck 2-110/23 vs. Charlotte Catholic 2-010/29 vs. Butler 2-111/2 vs. Ardrey Kell 2-111/5 vs. Charlotte Catholic 2-111/9 vs. Roberson 0-2

December 2013 Page 7

FeaturesCaplan crowned queenStory by NIKKI VAN LANEN, Sports Editor

The student section of Providence’s football stands was more packed than a Justin Bieber concert filled with 13-year-old girls. Students of all grades were stand-ing shoulder to shoulder, without an inch of personal space, anxiously awaiting the homecoming court. Whether it was a result of the bright lights, the swirl of colorful dresses, or the sports cars riding around the track, excitement filled the air. The 3-4 Panthers were winning their Home-coming game against West Mecklenburg at half-time. The announcement of this year’s Homecoming Queen has contes-tant Mady “Mink” Caplan not as nervous as most would assume. “I was honestly just thinking about how happy I was to be standing right there surrounded by all the people I love most,” Caplan said with a smile. She was the fourth girl to be called for the walk down the 50-yard line of the football field as the announcers read off the col-lege she hopes to attend, NC State, and that she wanted to major in

Psychology. Dressed in purple with her best friend Megan Gray’s father by her side (her father was away at

a family wedding), she waited as 2nd runner up Lexi Wyland and 1st runner up Marni Silver were called. Announcers Matt Coats and Madi-son Walls called Caplan’s name as the winner. A sigh of relief relaxed Caplan’s tense body posture. “The look on her face was price-less,” junior Addie Black comment-ed. “The whole crowd stood up for her and cheered.” There had been rumors flying around the Provi-dence halls on who would win, but Caplan’s bubbly personality made

her a favorite. Senior homerooms gave out blank ballots on which each student wrote down the name

of one senior girl they felt deserving of the title. Then they tallied up the girls with the most nominations and awarded them to be on the court. The follow-ing week, the seniors and juniors selected from the eight girls. Junior Hannah Wheeler mentioned that she voted for Caplan because “she’s just an all-around nice person.” Caplan is known by peers for her role as co-captain on the varsity volleyball team. She has

been playing for the school since freshman year. Caplan is also a member of Women’s Chamber and had made various appearances in the past Variety Shows. Caplan also is known around Providence as “Mink.” No, she is not a semi-aquatic, carnivorous mammal but a girl whose mother decided to give her maiden name as her child’s middle name. “Now I am seldom referred to as Mady,” Caplan laughs. “I’m just used to it and think it makes me unique.”

Caplan, center, poses with runners-up Marni Silver, left, and Lexie Wyland, right. Photo by Emma Hankins.

Speech & debate, a revival: acts II-IVStory by ryAN hErrErA, Entertainment Editor

Three years ago, Providence’s Speech and Debate team had deteriorated to the point of questionable salvation. That was until Mrs. Jenkins, a 10th grade English teacher, joined the faculty and was able to use her years of experience teaching Speech and Debate at Myers Park to help revive the Providence team. Within a year, the competitive team had participated in more than ten tournaments and had sent four students to national tour-naments. The following year came with the addition of a new Debate I class, around a dozen competitive tournaments, and 11 students qualifying to compete at national tournaments. Now, in the 2013-2014 school year, Jenkins’s vision for Speech & Debate education is complete with the inception of a Debate Level II-IV class. However, the process for setting up the Debate II-IV class was not easy. “There was not a curriculum, and people didn’t get honors credit for taking the upper levels,” Jenkins said. “It was a lot of work that went into that to get students the recognition that they deserve for sticking with it and taking the upper levels and being leaders.” What makes the Debate II-IV class atypical from a regu-lar A-Day-B-Day class is it’s integration with a 4x4 Debate I

class—meaning that on one day, all four debate levels will be in the class, and on the other only Debate I will be present. This posed a challenge to Jenkins, who often already had to balance teaching English II with teaching Speech & Debate. “I was quite perplexed all summer on how I was logistically going to make this work,” Jenkins said. “On A-Days I have 40-something kids in the room, and on B-Days, I’m down to 28 to 30. I was kind of building the airplane while in the air. Now that I’ve seen it work for about a week, I have a better understand-ing of the rhythm and the ebb and flow of the class.” For the students in the class, this integration of levels is a diverse experience all on its own. “This class is really excit-ing because even though we’re all at different levels, we get to work with one another and critique each other,” Simran Kashyap, a Debate IV student, said. “I feel myself growing as a speaker because of this class and the critiques I’m receiving from my classmates.” In terms of curriculum, Jenkins focuses on building a general skill set taken from some of the activities of the competitive team so that students can apply what they learn to other classes and situations. “The skill set of learning how to write an argument and learning how to speak in front of others is going to go with them wherever they go,” Jenkins said.

The impact that this class is having on students is evident each time a student feels a bit more confident in their abilities. “Being dyslexic, I have a hard time reading things out loud to people, and being able to do this has helped me learn how to speak better when I’m reading from something like a speech,” Valerie Keithly, a Debate I student, said. For Jenkins, this class is literally the “realization of a dream.” “To me, it’s something that I hold near and dear to my heart,” Mrs. Jenkins said. “You get to know [the students] really well, and just seeing it come off the paper and into the class-room is really awesome.” In the upcoming year, Debate I-IV students have a variety of activities ranging from interpretation of literature to congres-sional debate in store. “We are going to speak a little, we’re going to sing a little, and we’re going to do a little dancing,” Jenkins said. “We’ll have a lot of fun, but at the same time, learn a lot of important things that students can apply to other classes they take.” For Providence High School students interested in Speech & Debate, all are encouraged to sign up. “Join the madness and mayhem and fun that is the Provi-dence Speech & Debate Team,” Mrs. Jenkins said.

You can tell a lot about Richard Turski by his favorite character in a theatre production: Horton the elephant from the musical Seussical. “He’s genuine. He’s got lots of heart. And he’s big, like me,” says Turski with a smile. Turski, the newest addition to the PHS faculty, teaches the Technical Theatre classes this year as well as directing the fall play, Arsenic and Old Lace. In addition to being an avid Dr. Seuss fan, he lists his icons as Batman and Walt Disney. An adopted child, Turski sympathized with Bruce Wayne’s fami-ly struggles but liked that “he didn’t need [Batman’s] superpowers to do good.” As for Disney, it is all about the idea of “making something from nothing.” A graduate of East Carolina University with a degree in Theatre and a concentration in Design Production, Turski began acting as a senior in high school and has been involved in theatre ever since. But it wasn’t until his wife, a chorus teacher, got him involved in her school’s drama club that he began to consider teaching as a career. “I realized that I loved working with the kids beyond just acting,” he says. He then began designing sets for the children’s shows, a very different setting than his previous work, which in-cluded designing the annual haunted house at ECU, a best-selling event that brought in huge crowds. “I love scaring the bejeezus out of people,” Turski laughs. But before he could be hired at PHS, Turski had to impress not only the Providence administration, but also Paula Dean, the Theatre, TV Production and Digital Media teacher. Since Dean and the Technical Theatre teacher would be sharing the auditorium and stage for classes and working together on productions, it was important that the two be able to work cohesively. Dean has nothing but good things to say about Turski. “We knew as soon as he came in for the interview that he was the one for the job,” Dean says. Turski says his goal for the year is “to make it through alive!” He also wants to make a connection with his students. “If they remember just one thing from my class later on, I’ll have done my job.”

The truth about TurskiStory by EmmA hANKINS, Staff Reporter

December 2013 Page 8

Features Barnette is All-AmericanStory by NIKKI VAN LANEN, Sports Editor

Two students from Providence have played their way into U.S. Army All-American Bowl. Seniors Bentley Spain and Connor Barnette are the first students from Providence to ever make it into the Bowl. Barnette says this accomplishment was “a huge honor because it made all of [his] hard work throughout high school worthwhile.” The All-American Bowl is a football game that showcases the nation’s high school all-star football players, like Spain, as well as marching band members like Barnette. This year’s game is held in San Antonio, Texas at the Alamodome. During the live halftime show, the U.S. Army All-Amer-ican Marching Band, consisting of 125 of the nation’s top ranked young musicians, will play. The marching band has been a fixture of the bowl since 2008. USAAB Coordina-tor, Brian Prato, describes the application process that 1,300 students went through this year. The first step is band director nomination in the fall of the student’s junior year through the National Assoc. for Music Education. The students are required to send in three videos. One must show the student marching and playing, the second must be of the student only playing and the last should be a background video with information about themselves in the winter of their junior year. The videos are then reviewed by the instructional staff in the spring and summer of junior year. The 2014 U.S Army All-American Bowl Band members are finalized by a commit-tee in late July and early August. The 2014 USAAB selection tour started in September. It is a 10-week process that covers

1.5 million students. Providence band director Joshua Potter speaks highly of Barnette. “Connor is an excellent musician,” Potter says. “He constantly earns spots in honor bands such as All-District Band and NC All-State Band.” Barnette, who plays baritone and trombone, took it upon himself to make the videos and go through the audi- tion process. “I wanted to be a part of one of the most talented. During the week of the bowl, the students will receive instruction from top col-legiate and high school drum corps instructors from across the country along with U.S Army

Field Band members. Thousands are expected to attend and millions to watch.

Connor Barnette accepts his U.S. Army All-American Bowl Marching Band nomination. Photo by Madeline White.

To watch Barnette and Spain in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl, tune into NBC on January 4, 2013 at 1 pm

Connor Barnette (center), his family, and drum major Lexie Wyland (second from left). Photo by Madeline White.

December 2013 Page 9

EntertainmentInside Insidious: the sinister sequelStory by RYAN HERRERA, Entertainment Editor

The notorious red door is back with the latest edition to the thrilling “Insidious” saga, and fans can’t wait to see what lies behind it in James Wan’s newest installment. In a film that is more horrifying than its predecessor, “Insidious Chapter 2” incorporates the seemingly strange combination of love songs, baby carriages, and demons in wedding dresses into the most haunting epic of the year. Wan’s film picks up where the its predecessor, “Insidious,” left off—with married couple Josh (Patrick Wilson) and Renai Lambert (Rose Byrne) picking up the shambles of a family torn apart by paranormal interference. The Lamberts leave their pre-viously haunted abode and seek refuge in the house of Lorraine Lambert (Barbara Hershey), Josh’s mother. Strange events start occurring around the house, such as pianos playing and baby carriages moving with no one there, and Renai begins to realize that their supernatural troubles are far from over. Renai and Lorraine enlist the help of paranormal experts Specks (Leigh Whannell), Tucker (Angus Sampson), and Carl (Steve Coulter), who try to discover the truth. As a whole, “Insidious Chapter 2” delivers on its promise to be one of the most frightening movies of the year. Many of the major scares are predictable, but audiences are never too comfortable, and there seemingly is not a moment when view-ers can catch their breath. The orchestral sound effects, most notably the string section that sends shivers of fear up spines moments before Renai sees something move among the shad-ows, contribute to the film’s unsettling nature by emphasizing each scare and building suspense. The set choices and art direc-

tion for the film also play into the eeriness—viewers are never completely relaxed with the dark corner of the room or the closet door left open that characters seem to ignore moments before a paranormal encounter. All of these elements combine to make Insidious disconcerting the entire length of the movie, defining it as a staple of the movie saga. Despite its success at keeping the audience at the edge of its seat throughout the movie, “Insidious Chapter 2” is no horror franchise breakthrough. The film borrows many elements of its

plot from other classic films, such as the alternate ghost dimen-sion first seen in “Poltergeist.” Many of the classic horror mov-ies are legendary because they each contain signature character

istics or are the first certain aththat develop an essence beyond ties to the film, while the more recent “Paranormal Activity” movies have gained popularity for their unique filming involv-ing the use of regular video cameras. The characters in this film are boring, and the demonic villain’s unoriginal back-story is rarely touched upon.

Many elements of plot are also heavily reliant on the success of the first film in a blurred distinction between bringing back elements from the first film and not being able to incorporate new elements. Like the first Insidious, the sequel is unable to establish itself as an iconic horror film without any aspects that truly set it apart, and therefore will eventually fade away into the realm of horror movies suitably simply for a “one-time” scare. Despite it’s unoriginality, Insidious Chapter 2 manages to continue the chilling series with unsettling scares that startle the audience every time—perfect for those late-night guilty plea-sures. For those searching for originality, however, the film’s success in those regards is as foggy as the predictable mist in the ghost dimension. Sweet “dreams,” moviegoers.

The Lambert family, played by Barbara Hershey, from left, Patrick Wilson, Ty Simpkins and Rose Byrne. (Courtesy Matt Kennedy/MCT)

Bravo, bravo Andrew JacksonStory by sAsHA RogElbERg, Student Life Editor

This was not in the AP US History cirriculum. The spiked hair, the torn clothing, and the plentiful ‘rock on’ hand signs did not exist in seventeenth century America. But this isn’t seven-teenth century America; this is the Actor’s Theatre of Charlotte’s production of Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson. Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson (which ran from Septem-ber 12 to October 5), written by Michael Friedman and Alex Timbers, is a rock musical about young president Andrew Jackson and his rise to fame. The musical starts out with Andrew Jackson’s (Bo Broadwell) traumatic childhood. Indians shoot his entire family, which leads to Jackson’s personal hatred against the demographic. Jackson later becomes a Populist (as portrayed in the upbeat “Populism Yea Yea!”) and runs for office to elimi-nate the Spanish and Native American population from the states. Jackson falls in love with Rachel (Nicia Carla), who commits bigamy, and they have an angsty and passionate love affair. Af-ter many attempts, Jackson finally wins the presidency and finds that things are not exactly going the way he wanted. His Native American ally and friend, Black Fox, abandons him, and he loses much of the popularity he fought so hard to achieve. Even before the show started, the entire cast set the casual mood by already being on stage and inviting people up to play corn hole and playing some familiar rock songs. Jamming to punk classics like the ‘80s Violent Femmes’ “Blister in the Sun” and Green Day’s “American Idiot” made the 30-minute wait go

by quickly. The cast cracked jokes with the audience as the au-dience sang along with the songs and sipped their drinks. The first half of the show was very fast-paced and funny, featur-ing many endearing moments. The music was catchy, and the acting was intentionally campy. The blocking of some scenes made good use of the drum podium, and the actors broke the fourth wall to interact with the musicians. The live effects reen-acted the death scenes creatively, having actors hold an arrow and suddenly pretend to plunge it into their hearts. A scene where Jackson and Rachel smeared blood all over their faces and torsos made the audience both laugh and cringe. Songs like “Ten Little Indians” used staccato beats and simple rhymes to get the audience nodding to the rhythm of the music. The second half of the show, however, was a little slow. As soon as Jackson was elected president, the scene developed a formula, and there was less music to keep the audience engaged. The dialogue lost much of its humor, and the scenes seemed to

go on a little longer than necessary. The char-acters became one-dimensional due to the lack of humor, and it really became a teen-angst rock dirge. While it was still enjoyable, the last 45 minutes of the show were less memorable than the first. One thing that stood out in the show was the cast’s ability to create a strong ensemble. Ev-eryone, with the exception of Andrew Jackson, played multiple characters and was responsible for quick changes offstage. They were professional and energetic, which was necessary for a punk-charged musical. By the looks on their faces, you could tell the audience was enjoying themselves. The cast’s voices, however, sounded tired. At times, the lyrics were not as loud as they could have been, and some notes were not strong. The

emotions on the actor’s faces were filled with so much emotion, that it was disappointing at time that their voices did not reflect the same. Overall, what made this show enjoyable was the energy. The audience was engaged throughout the musical, and the cast re-ally seemed to care. They made an effort in the small theatre to make the audience part of the show, an experience that is greatly appreciated. Despite the angst-filled plotline, Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson left the audience full of energy and exhilarated

Carrie-2.0

Bad Grandpa-1.5

Gravity-4.0

Don Jon-3.5

“Even before the show stared, the entire cast set the casual mood by inviting people up to play corn hole and playing some familiar rock songs.” (Courtesy of Actor’s Theatre of Charlotte)

“‘Insidious Chapter 2’ delivers on its promise to be one of the most frightening movies of the year.”

December 2013 Page 10

EntertainmentProvidence stars shine in variety showStory by MAdEliNE WHitE, Editor-in-Chief

As the end of the first quarter approached, many students found their weeks crammed as they studied for midterms and monitored their grades on PowerSchool just before grades were finalized. However, Provi-dence’s 17th annual variety show offered a fabulous distraction for students: hysterical skits and enjoyable entertainment, courtesy of our peers. The first half of the show kept true to the show’s spooky theme, complete with emcees Suraj Minisan-dram, Alexa Arciero, Anna Gormley, Jon Walls, Kate Porzenski, Emma Pio, Elisa Hicks, and Meredith McNairy entering the auditorium dressed as witches as The Nightmare Before Christmas’ “This Is Halloween” played eerily in the background. The program opened with a head-banging cover of Iron Maiden’s “Phantom of the Opera” by seniors Michael Warstler and Lee Byrum. A stunning cover of Brett Dennen’s “Ain’t Gonna Lose You” by juniors Reva Jelenick and Emily Roy succeeded the song. I have never listened to Brett Dennen, but I found myself singing along with each strum of Jelenick’s guitar. While the show’s first half featured a wide range of performances, including cov-ers of songs by Taylor Swift, Fleet Foxes, and Sublime, one of my favorite presentations was the Acafellas’ cover of Mulan’s “I’ll Make a Man Out of You,” com-plete with hysterical dance moves from many of the members. In between acts, many Providence emcees provided ample entertainment for the audience members. The best sketch featured junior Meredith McNairy and senior Suraj Minisandram, called “Makeup Hands.” In this skit, McNairy returns as what appears to be a makeup guru, walking the audience through a beauty tutorial as Minisandram smears dozens of products all over her face. Although the sketch was repeated from last year’s variety show, it proved to be a huge hit with the crowd. I found McNairy difficult to hear at times, due to the dozens of moms around me bursting into hysterics with each of her lines. The brilliant performances continued into the

show’s second half. Seniors Malique Tatum, Brandon Caine, and Chase Crawford’s mesmerizing cover of John Mayer’s “In Your Atmosphere” had me playing the original version in my car for days after the show. Another one of my favorite performances was the cover of Lorde’s “Royals,” performed by seniors Tay-lor Centers, Jon Michael Askew, Rachel Rappaport and juniors Meredith McNairy and Emily Vestal. As if the song was not already catchy enough, the ladies’ beauti-ful harmony along with Askew’s awesome drumming thrilled the audience. Later, I enjoyed another visu-ally stunning flag routine by sophomore Kate Pasma, juniors Catherine Lattimore and Karla Katibah, and se-nior Merrily Lyons to “A Little Party Never Killed No-body.” Like last year’s show, the flag performance was one of the most fascinating acts to watch. However, the act that I most enjoyed of the second half was seniors Drew Edelson, Andrew Isaacs, Hayden Taylor, Parker Golz, and Haydon Welsh’s cover of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s crowd favorite “Free Bird.” The closing performance had the audience both laughing and singing along with the Welsh as he belted out the lyrics. One of my favorite things about the variety show is that it allows our peers to display their talents, in addi-tion to its emcees to provide us with dozens of laughs during a stressful period of studying. Ms. Setzer went above and beyond in organizing the show’s acts and skits. Next year’s performers will have a tough act to follow.

(Clockwise from left) Tori Morgan, senior, performs “22” by Taylor Swift. Vladimir Antonov, junior, working his leather jacket. Emcees Merideth McNairy, junior, and Suraj Minisandram, senior, performing a sketch. Jack Vincent, junior, Ian Trott, junior, Iain Smith, senior, and Sam Abel, junior, doing an acapella rendition of “I’ll Make a Man Out of You”. (Cut-out) Jala Hines, sophomore, performs “Stay” by Rihanna,

“Next year’s performers will have a tough act to follow.”

characters. Teddy Brewster (Dillon Newland), a nephew of Abby and Martha, convinces himself that he is Teddy Roosevelt, the 26th President of the United States. Along with continu-ously sprinting up the stairs yelling “CHARGE” (a command Roosevelt yelled at the Battle of San Juan Hill), Teddy also believes he is digging the Panama Canal in his basement when he is actually burying the old men his aunts have murdered. The play gets even more interesting when Martha and Abby are visited by their enemy and nephew, Jonathon (Tay-lor Smith). Dr. Einstein, an alleged plastic surgeon, is espe-cially humorous with his German accent and shaky personal-ity. The partners in crime are hysterical in their attempt to hide more dead bodies in a tiny storage cabinet. This entertaining play also includes romance between Mortimer Brewster (Andre Egas), a dramatic critic and another nephew of Abby and Martha, and Elaine Harper (Catey Fisher), the daughter of

the Reverend (Jon Walls). Their flirty relationship added a relatable feel to the production. The set was quite possibly the largest Providence has ever seen. It stretched across the whole stage and was completed with a grand staircase in the front. “Mr. Turksi, the new

Technical Theater teacher, has an unbelievable talent in set design and construction,” says Jon Walls, a junior who plays the Reverend. “The scene he created was like something I had never seen before.” The set cost about $2,000 to build. “The set was a mix of materials, platforms, and flats that we already had,” says Turksi. “I like to use all my resources and reuse as much as possible.” “I didn’t even know they could build a set that big,” said junior Keenan Murphy. The set was first designed in early September, and construction began later that month. “My tech theater classes are the ones who build the sets,” says Turksi. “The parents also helped with coming in with props.” Choosing the play to perform was a task on its own, “I decided that this play was the perfect comedy for this year,” says Tur-ski. “It hadn’t been done since 2002.” Although this play was very enjoyable, it started off slug-gish. It took a while for Jonathon and Dr. Einstein to arrive at the scene and start the drama. “I think the play is great but the beginning is a little slow,” says Turski. Additionally, some char-acters had very shrill voices which made them hard to listen to at times. All in all, this play was very exciting. The transitions were exceptional, with many breaks for the audience. There was bright lighting complete with a backlit door to create shadows. The audience was laughing from performances by all the char-acters including the villains, Jonathon and Dr. Einstein.“My goal is to continue raising the bar with sets, whether it is in lighting, sound, construction, or painting,” says Turski. “The students really worked hard. They trusted me and my concepts, and I am very proud of the amazing set as well.”

than dope” is repeated consistently throughout the song, but it strays from the use of auto-tune and other synthesizers—the emotion behind the lyrics never falters once during the song. It reflects Gaga’s struggle to look for other outlets besides her drug addiction. “Gypsy,” another song that provides insight into a more relatable side of Gaga, is an upbeat ballad that combines piano and electric pop into what she describes as a “space rock electronica explosion of beats.” The song’s lyrics seem repetitious and lack substance at first, but they reflect how she fell in love with traveling around the world. In the song, Gaga expresses how she feels like she has a home wher-ever she’s performing for her fans. The album, of course, does contain the classic and infec-tious pop anthems that Gaga is so well known for, but what distinguishes them from other songs on the Top 100s are allusions to mythology and art as well as modern culture refer-ences. Aptly named “Artpop,” her album features synthetic pop songs such as “Venus” that contain references to important compositions in art history. The heavily synthesized yet catchy song alludes to both the Greek goddess of beauty Aphrodite

and The Birth of Venus painting by Botticelli. This gives another level of depth to her songs in comparison to artists like Miley Cyrus, whose deep-est allusions are to drugs and construction tools. The song “Donatella,” contains heavy electric pop elements throughout and references Italian fashion designer Donatella Versace.

The song, whose contro-versial lyrics are meant to portray a (perhaps shallow) form of feminism, uses Versace as inspiration for being a fearless

December 2013 Page 11

EntertainmentRound of “Applause” Review by Ryan HeRReRa, Entertainment Editor

The zenith of Lady Gaga’s eccentric career is often placed between 2010-2011. These were the years that her fans, “Little Monsters,” and the general public alike were captivated and even shocked by Kermit the Frog costumes and Grammy entrances in the form of eggs. A few months later, a hip injury and cancelled tour changed the course of the pop star’s career, taking her away from the mainstream media landscape and the eyes of most Americans. Those who were not aware of her injury were left wondering if it was the end of a short-lived era, and the blog Hypable went so far as to ask, “Has anyone checked on Lady Gaga lately?” Around six months later, Gaga began her comeback to the forefront of the media in a subtler manner than most expected—wearing a simple black dress to the VMAs. “Little Monsters” everywhere were taken aback by this rather severe wardrobe adjustment and wondered if it held significance for the future of Gaga’s career. Rest assured, her new album “Artpop” is a testimony that her legacy of creating addictive chart-smashing hits is far from over. There’s something very raw about each of Lady Gaga’s songs, an intimacy that separates her from fellow pop stars such as Britney Spears and Ke$ha. They provide a glimpse into Gaga’s life, no matter how raunchy the lyrics may be. “Dope,” performed live at the Youtube Music Awards, is a prime example of this. The powerful ballad begins with a soft piano melody and progresses into a series of glorious cho-ruses as she sings about her personal struggle with substance abuse. Instead of cocaine or even “Molly” that has been com-monly alluded to in Miley Cyrus songs, Gaga’s own substance abuse battles have been against marijuana, as she used it as an instrument to aid in the process of coping with her recovery from her hip injury. The heavy chorus “cause I need you more

New production for ‘Old Lace’ Review by Jenna GaRdneR, Staff Writer

The yellow curtains opened to a dark set with towering red walls. The silent audience turned their attention to the stage to watch Providence’s fall play, “Arsenic and Old Lace.” The play tells the tale of two seemingly innocent women and their strange idea of how to help elderly men. Abby Brewster (Emily Trainor) and Martha Brewster (An-nie Mohr) are the main characters of the play. They acquire a very bad habit of poisoning old men, thinking they are putting them out of their lonely misery. These murders lead them on an adventure involved with many other ridiculously funny

Live for the Assad: A Lyrical Analysis with Sasha Rogelberg While many believe Gaga’s radio hit “Applause” is simply about the infectious positive reinforcement after a performance, the meaning of this song goes beyond its superficial lyrics to explain a much more profound issue: the Syrian civil war. “Applause” opens with Gaga stating she’s waiting for someone to “bang the gong” and poses the ambiguous question, “Is it right or is it wrong?” This is clearly a reference to the moral disputes of the two sides of the Syrian civil war. Is intervention an appropriate response or can diplomatic action be taken? Were citizen revolts justified by the atrocious treatment by the government? Just seconds after the post-chorus, she demands that her audience puts their hands up and “make ‘em touch.” This time, Gaga is directly addressing President Assad and the numerous other countries trying to reach peaceful solution with Syria. She wants the hands of these world powers to touch, to shake hands in the name of peace. In the end, Gaga wants the same thing we all do: peace and togetherness in a world that is broken. Gaga is fixated on the belief of a country crying out in distress and the steps we must take to attain peace. So we must ask ourselves this: don’t we all live for the ap-plause in the end?

Photo by Ryan Herrera

female in the wake of judgment from the media. Despite its good intentions, culture references, and infectious nature, the song’s lyrics endorse a shallow and stereotypical mate-rialism expected in the world of fashion. The return of Gaga is complete with the success of “Artpop,” landing her a second number-one album in the United States with first week’s sales of 258,000 copies. “Little Monsters” will have to wait and see if the newly released album will be up to par with albums “The Fame” and “Born This Way” in terms of awards such as Record of the Year, but one thing is certain: Lady Gaga’s new album will be making audiences everywhere erupt with applause.

Photo by Mr. Turski

December 2013 Page 12

Editorials

Why monograms are dangerous to the student body and the entire worldStory and photos by SASHA ROGELBERG, Student Lfie Editor

I walk through the halls at school perplexed about many things, but the thing that perhaps perplexes me the most is an epidemic sweeping across the high school popula-tion, a plague damaging the well-being of the student body, a crisis that we cannot escape: monograms. The more I see monograms, the more they confuse me. Why do they exist? Do people consistently forget their own initials and must brand them on their possessions to remind them? Are they representative of our animalistic tendency for territorialism that we must mark everything we own? Are they a fabulous yet sensible trend that is simply just ‘totes adorbs’ (totally adorable to those of us who are valley-girl vernacularly challenged)? It must be one of these things, Providence. I tried to find out more about this phenomenon by asking Emily Shane, a junior and peer-proclaimed monogram-aholic. Shane says she has a necklace, bracelet, backpack, multiple shirts, a water bottle and bed sheets monogrammed. If she’s not an expert on monograms, I don’t know who is. Shane says she has lived most of her life with monograms, having had them since she was a baby. Through the years, she’s had a love-hate relation-ship them. “My mom was always dressing me in mono-grammed stuff,” Shane says. As she grew up living in Florida, her opinion on monograms took a turn for the worse. “I used to hate it when I was eight or nine,” she says. Monogramming just wasn’t cool for adolescents in Florida. When Shane moved here two year ago, however, monograms were grow-ing in trend. Shane said she liked these popular (yet con-troversial) accessories because she “think[s] it’s pretty…ev-eryone has them.” Shane goes on to explain that her friends have monograms as a way to customize things and separate items or show possession. (So perhaps it is an animalistic instinct.) Shane says the craziest thing she’s ever seen mono-grammed is the back pocket of a pair of jeans. “That’s just taking it to a whole other level,” she says. However, monograms are not just a problem at Provi-dence. According to the Yellow Pages, there are 18 shops just in the Charlotte area that will monogram possessions. On Etsy.com, a popular online market place, there are 290,472 monogrammed products on sale at this very mo-

ment. Even with this information, I still have not grasped the complex and daunting psychology behind monograms. It seems as though they serve more of a social trend then any lucrative purpose. Other students seem to share my bewilderment. “What’s a monogram again?” asked freshman Parker Hilliard.

Many students go so far as to say that they dislike mono-grams. “Cursive letters confuse me,” says sophomore Mar-cus Knapp. I don’t want to know your name or your initials.” “I hate some letters...like the ‘T’ looks just like a ‘J’, said Austin Rabah, a junior. Rabah and Knapp continued to

discuss their monogram peeve between themselves, bonding over their opinion that the last name

initial and middle initial switched on most monograms is unnecessary and

bothersome.Even though my mother still

sometimes writes my name on my socks and underwear to make sure I don’t lose them, the monogramming of arbitrary items such as bed sheets and t-shirts seems less practical. Is someone going to acci-

dently steal your bed sheets because she thought they

were hers? Maybe this is the teen-girl equivalent of protection

against identity theft. While I’m not malicious toward mono-

grams, I can’t help but question their existence. Despite my efforts, I don’t believe I will ever fully under-stand this trend. Shane seems to agree. She thought for a while about why monograms are so popular before saying, “I don’t even know why.” Maybe no one knows why monograms exist or even where they came from. They are a concept the human race is still battling with, a reflection of our own animalistic tenden-cies or a way to keep our possessions safe from accidental theft. Whatever it is, Providence, guard your belongings and tell your parents you love them. Stay safe from this perplex-ing and potentially dangerous phenomenon. Stay safe, PHS.

Monomania

“‘What’s a monogram again?’”

Monogram 101 with Ryan Herrera From sorority girls to preppy South-ern moms, monograms are a must have detail in all things fashionable. The Mono-sphere contains a multiplex of different fonts and styles, so for those inundated in a whirlwind of swirls and initials, here is a quick guide:

Cursive: Debatably the most popular style, these monograms are characterized by a col-lection of three letters interlaced with swirls that serve as serifs. One can often get lost in the sea of loops, as the lines between a “g” and a “w” quickly become blurred.

Circle: Do not fret about this modern style. Contemporary chic with just a touch of gaudy, this arrangement is surprisingly not a circle—the letters are simply formatted in the shape of one.

Block: My personal favorite style. Just a tip: The last name initial goes in the center before the middle name initial, because logi-cally that makes sense in the order of names.

December 2013 Page 13

EditorialsStory and survey by RYAN HERRERA, Enter-tainment Editor

Note that the responses from the survey have been intentionally unedited. In a recent video, Jimmy Kimmel compared the American public’s views on Obamacare to the opposite of a McNugget by saying that “most Americans don’t like Obamacare, but they love what’s in it.” This paradox reflects how many people lacking sufficient political knowledge will often side based on a label or name rather than what a bill stands for. In an investigation of Providence’s political knowledge, the Prowl staff went to six random classrooms and handed out the same anonymous survey—and the results were simultaneously alarming and interesting. The Prowl did not distribute this survey as an attempt to “weed out the Republicans” as one junior thought. Yet from the studying the data below, one can find some interesting trends among the demographics of political parties. Just as Kimmel said in his video, most people will side with whoever they usually side with. Most people who did not know that the bills are the same and chose Obamacare are likely Democrats, while those who chose the Affordable Care Act are likely Republicans because they chose a bill based on its association with Obama. This trend is reflected in the explanations of some responses as shown below. “[I prefer] Obamacare because I support the Democratic Party,” a sophomore said. “[I prefer the] Affordable Care Act because my family is Republican and I guess I am too,” a freshman said. “[I prefer the] Affordable Care Act because I don’t like Obama,” a senior said. The Affordable Care Act is not a Republican ideal by any means, yet it becomes the go-to op-tion simply because Obama is not in the name. Most importantly, the results of this survey bring to light two major issues with the Provi-dence student body: a lack of political education and apathy. As shown in the infographicbelow, only about one-fourth of the students interviewed knew that Obamacare and the Affordable Care Act are synonymous, with only about 9% of freshmen students knowing this fact. Despite Providence’s improved reputation in the Charlotte community due to high SAT scores, there is an alarming rate of misinformation among our student body. Below are just a few of the responses that reflect the need for Providence students to become more politically informed. “[Obama] is taking away health care to people who have it and if you don’t get Obamacare you have to pay a fine and if you don’t you go to jail,” a sophomore said. “I don’t know what they are. Affordable sounds better,” a junior said. “[ I choose] the Affordable Care Act [because] I’m used to this one plus I don’t want the stock

market to crash,” a junior said. The issue of apathy for current events such as these bills is just as alarming as misinformation. As a generation that will have an important say in how future society functions, it is necessary that students show an interest in the government and the world.

Survey Says: Affordable Care Act vs Obamacare

Below are more responses justifying why Providence students answered the way they did. “[I choose] Obamacare because people should be taken care of if they need it whether or not they’re rich and can afford thousands of dollars of bills,” a senior said.

“[I choose] Affordable Care Act. Well it’s Obama, and the way the economy and health is now and what it seems to be in the future does not look promising,” a senior said.

“They’re the same. I’m not an ignorant Republican who hates Obamacare just because Obama won. Don’t throw a fit just because Romney lost,” a senior said.

“Both are the same, but with different names. I would prefer Affordable Care Act just because of the name,” a junior said.

Key:- Both bills are the same- Affordable care act

- Obamacare- Indecisive

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