centerspread pages 6-7

Vol. XVII no. II

Name: _______________________

Advisory: ___________________

Vol. XVIIFrIday, aprIl 29, 2011www.kerronicle.com no. VKerronicleT

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thrIFtIng: FashIon For lesslIFestyle page 10

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InsIde the Issue

2 Feature News

Kerr High School8150 Howell-Sugar Land rd. Houston, tX 77083

(281) 983-8484 ext. 267

Kerronicle

Staff:Editor-in-ChiEf

alexandra KarraSSiStant Editor

Joanna ariasStory Editor

Nneka WaturuochaGraphiCS EditorGabriel GuitierrezdESiGn Editor

Parbattee Maharajphoto EditorSara elmiaari

frEElanCE WritErSalejandro arellano

ayesha MalikStaff rEportErS

aja BryantDanielle Jones

rao KhanPhi-Phi Le

Krista LutrickJason Nguyenannie PhamJason PhamPhat PhamPhil Pham

anthony PhungNadia Zulfa

the Kerronicle is published six times a year by the student newspaper staff of Kerr High School and serves as a medium of communication for its readers. It exists to inform its readers about school and community, school policies and their changes, entertainment, and to serve as a forum for student expression.

advertisers interested in placing an ad in the Kerronicle should contact the staff at (281) 983-8484 ext. 267 or 8150 Howell Sugar Land, Houston, tX 77083.

Letters to the editor are welcomed and encouraged. Letters should be delivered to room 302 or e-mailed to laura.negri@aliefisd.net. All letters must be signed.

Friday, april 29, 2011Vol. XVii No. V

What started as a small project for the science center in the fall of this school year has turned into a full time project that will continue for many years.

From working on the actual pond to attending hands-on workshops on preparing plants, science students are currently learning and creating an environment that can be studied for Biology, aP environmental Science and aquatic Science.

On March 23, Flo Hannah, the Senior Sanctuary Steward from the Houston audubon Society, visited Kerr to hold a prairie restoration workshop for students. Hannah does prairie restoration workshops and manages several Houston audubon Society sanctuaries (bird conservatories).

"[the] Houston audubon owns 17 sanctuaries on the upper texas coast, " Hannah said. "there are about 3,400 acres and five counties and I manage a number of those sanctuaries for Houston audubon, so I'm a land-manager."

the restoration workshop allowed students to get hands-on experience by working with plants and preparing and propagating native coastal prairie plants, such as grasses and herbs, which will be moved to the pond at a later time.

"We're going to try to put them out on the west side of Kerr, in that field," science teacher Debbie Valdez said. "So we're trying to do our own prairie restoration, so that's why we invited her here."

Valdez said that the plants were going to expand the area where the pond and butterfly garden will be added to create a thriving and growing environment.

"We're just trying to have a really nice habitat out here," Valdez said.

As far as managing the financial requirements of the pond, Valdez has applied for a couple grants and is currently waiting for replies. She's also currently looking for help from the Parent Center, and in addition to her workshop, Hannah has offered help from eagle Scouts.

Valdez sees no end to the project because like any environment, it's always growing, changing and adapting. She sees it as a project that will continue on for years to come and sets basic goals to make sure the pond continues its consistent progress.

"[the pond] is going to be a never-ending project," Valdez said. "By the end of the year, I'm going to get the path laid out, the flower-bed laid out and the trees are already there. Next year, we'll put more money and more time into it. But it's a start; the basic bare-bones of it will be there.

"But it's never going to be finished anyway because it's going to be a learning place."

By: JasoN NguyeNstaff RepoRteR

Pond makes progress

Jaso

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the school poNd outside KeRR is Now home to a vaRiety of plaNts aNd aNimals aNd has BeeN filled with wateR.

Jaso

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studeNts pRopagate plaNts while flo haNNah fRom the houstoN auduBoN society explaiNs aNd gives diRectioNs.

West Oaks Music StudioPrivate Lessons for all

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3Feature

“I’ve only applied to two superintendent jobs my whole life,” Henry D. Chambers said. “I’ve applied for the Stafford job and the Alief job. I wasn’t out trying to find another job. I wanted this job. this is what I wanted to do.”

While the year school year is ending, newly appointed Superintendent Chambers plans for the upcoming years working in alief. He says he wants to show that he’s not just another person sitting behind a desk.

“they [the district] wanted someone that was a communicator,” Chambers said. “they wanted someone who would speak, communicate, and be out there. to be approachable and not just sit over here in this building and lose sight with what’s happening everyday with kids. that’s one thing I think I bring.”

Chambers sees alief as being a unique district with lots of accomplishments from students and teachers.

“I’m excited about the quality of staff,” Chambers said. “I’m excited that this district is not afraid to take chances. When I say take chances, I mean to think outside of the positional realm of educating kids. Kerr is a classic example. there are a lot of school districts that wouldn’t do that. they wouldn’t take the chance in fear of failure.”

to Chambers, alief shares his beliefs of how a school district should be. His perspective on what the district has to offer is one reason he didn’t want to apply to work anywhere else.

“I just liked the quality of people,” Chambers said. “I like the people that are working here and I felt alief was a district I would fit in. I believe their beliefs about education are very consistent with mine. We have to continue to force you guys to perform at levels you don’t think you can. a lot of school systems say they believe that, but not every school system behaves or acts that way.”

As of now, his priorities lie in managing Alief’s finances in the face of state and federal budget cuts and moving the district to State of texas assessments of academic readiness (Staar) testing instead of texas assessment of Knowledge and Skills (taKS).

“How do I manage the money that’s being provided by the state of texas and the local tax property payers?” Chambers said. “How do I maximize the money and not waste any of it? And right now the state is making it difficult [to try and figure out those issues].”

Chambers strongly believes that everyone in a district must work together. He wants the teachers to teach at their best and students to reach their desired goals.

“I come to work every day with the thought in my mind

of how to help kids prepare so that when they’re seniors and getting ready to walk across that stage, the diploma that they receive means something,” Chambers said. “I want them to know that’s why I do what I do. Students have a responsibility. We will do our part best we can…and the students have got to meet us half way.

“Just because I try really hard doesn’t mean that’s going to make you successful. the only way to be successful is if I try hard and you try hard.”

News

they are worn while walking down the halls, or riding on the bus, or exercising at the gym, or running in a race, or maybe even seeking a little inspiration. Headphones are just as essential to you and your life as putting on socks before wearing shoes. However, have you ever truly considered what those same headphones are really doing to your hearing?

Many MP3 players, such as iPods and Zunes, boast features designed to make music and audio more enjoyable by providing a more personal experience. However, what you are unaware of is that there are plenty of dangers associated with the headphones that you’re using on a daily basis.

Overall, the most common risk that comes with all types of headphones is hearing damage, specifically hearing loss. according to the Hearing Loss Web, an informational site dedicated to deaf people, noise-induced hearing loss is generally caused by two types of noise: sudden bursts (guns, fireworks, etc.) or amplified music, such as with the aforementioned portable music devices.

the main factor that determines how much of a threat headphones create is the volume level. the type of headphones does not make a significant difference.

“You can have the regular earphones or earbuds, but it doesn’t make any difference,” Nurse Carol Wiley said. “as long as you have it set really loud, it’s basically just like going to a concert and standing next to a large speaker.”

Hearing loss is caused by a series of steps and once the process has started, it cannot be reversed.

“It starts out when a person can’t hear certain decibels,” Wiley said. “then, it progresses from there if you continue

to expose your ears to high levels of volume.”the only way to stop the damage from evolving is to

quit listening to high decibels and volume.Currently, using an MP3 player to listen to music or

radio for several hours is routine for many teens.“I listen to music on my MP3 player for about three

hours per day,” senior raiyan ahmed said. “It’s a part of my daily life because it allows me to just get away from boring moments and have something different to do.”

Meanwhile, sophomore Nazim Ghulam treats music as a simple hobby and, therefore, limits himself to only a few hours per day.

“I just listen to my MP3 for less than two hours because I only listen to it when I’m doing homework,” Ghulam said. “If I use speakers, it would distract the people around me, so my headphones kind of put me in my own zone.”

according to a study conducted in 2008 by Brian Fligor, director of diagnostic audiology at the Children’s Hospital Boston, using earbuds with the volume near 90 percent and listening for two hours a day, five days a week, causes sensitive ears to develop hearing loss within 10 years.

One option for avoiding hearing damage might be noise-cancelling headphones, which can reduce or eliminate background noise so listeners have no need for increasing the volume above 50 percent.

Sometimes consumers are reluctant to purchase noise-cancelling headphones due to their large size, lack of portability, or high cost.

Harmful headphones damage hearingBy: Rao KhaNstaff RepoRteR

H. D. chambers named new superintendentBy: saRa elmiaaRiphoto editoR

chamBeRs explaiNs pRoBlems with fuNdiNg. “Right Now the state is maKiNg it difficult,” he said.

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4 Feature OpiniOn

Social media brings attention to issues in Libya

Knowledge can be equated with power and the spread of information can facilitate either mass ignorance or something more meaningful.

Twenty-first century technology has helped unleash a flow of information and it’s not trickling down. Social media networks, such as Facebook, tumblr, Youtube, and twitter, have become weapons of mass mobilization; internet bloggers have become awareness campaigns, tweeters have become dissidents, and all of this culminates to become a small part of a

large rallying force for social justice.as people around the world challenge

authorities, from Iran to tunisia, egypt to Yemen, entire societies are being transformed as ordinary citizens see the difference between, imagine the alternative, and come together to organize for a better future.

uncensored, raw social media has been essential to bringing international attention to human details and events that might have otherwise been obscured by traditional media. People mourning over family members, video of sniper shots to the head, women screaming from balconies at mercenaries—this, as opposed to the broad brush strokes that would otherwise be applied in coverage of the uprisings by media outlets. Because Hosni

Mubarak, Col. Muammar Gaddafi and

others pulled the media kill-switch, each video, tweet, statement, picture, etc. put out by opposition groups and people on the floor engaged directly in the protests was invaluable. Private citizens around the world, who were desperate to follow events even when the news channels and newspapers in their countries were slow or unwilling to cover the events, could easily find a wealth of information available on Facebook, twitter, and Youtube.

Powerful demonstrations and communication via the internet even catalyzed people in different parts of the world to garner awareness about the crises in North africa and the Middle east. People on Youtube were making videos discussing the struggle for democracy for the citizens of Libya, tunisia, egypt, Bahrain, and Yemen. everyday individuals on tumblr were re-blogging photos documenting the violence and atrocities being committed against the protestors by the government to voice the need for intervention. Youtube celebrity Philip DeFranco reported news about the events unfolding, often saying,

“so long as there’s a story to tell, I will keep telling it.”

though twitter, Facebook, Youtube, and other avenues of social media have facilitated communication, the real

credit of mobilization belongs to the courage and initiative of

the working masses, expressed through their own forms of organization. this

editorial is not to reduce the level of complexity inherent in these events and relegate them to simple labels like “twitter revolution”—to

do this would be to fuel essential Western ignorance about the degree of development of arab society and mobilization through more traditional means by the people. Moreover, simply appropriating the energy of the revolutions in a way that portrays the West as a liberating force undermines the value of the protestors and the sacrifices they have made in their own realm. It becomes too easy to say, “Aren’t these people lucky we set them free by giving them Facebook?” the truth is of course that we have maintained these repressive regimes over decades, and it is despite us, rather than thanks to us, that the people of the region are finally freeing themselves.

Information is power—the more information everyone has, whether it is those in Libya who are trying to co-ordinate tactical responses and medical support, or those observing from abroad. Small actions on the internet can motivate larger political action. the more powerfully we can all raise our voices, the better we can put pressure on governments to revoke support, or intervene if necessary, against atrocities committed by regimes which thrive on secrecy.

By: AyeshA MAlikFreelAnce Writer

“There is no state with a democracy except Libya on

the whole planet.”-Col. Muammar Gaddafi

One of the last things someone would expect everyone at Kerr to freak out about is Prom. After all, we’re all so busy with either getting ahead in our classes, scheduling college visits, or meeting due dates. Considering the circumstances, we don’t even have time to think about formal dances like prom when one dress cost as much as three or four aP exams.

For the strangest reason, however, it seems as if the senior class has been fatally hit with prom fever. everyone is in a frenzy with booking reservations for restaurants. Girls are teaming up together to pool money for limousines. Couples attending prom are expected to match. everyone is rushing to get the best dress at a decent price.

even at school, you see girls giggling and gossiping about where they plan to get their hair and nails done, while the poor boys who may be paying for everything sit apart from all the frenzy as they watch their money dwindle away, dollar by disappearing dollar.

Speaking of fancy chiffon and silk dresses and suits with ties, it’s ridiculous how girls spend more than $200 on a dress that they will most likely never wear again, so it’s left in the closet, collecting dust. Stick to simple dresses. Macy’s and JC Penney’s have some at decent prices – well, at least prices below a three digit amount. After all, it’s not about the best dress, it’s about enjoying the event with the people you’re graduating with.

and girls, give the guys a little pity. If you bought your own ticket, then great; however, if your date is paying for your ticket, and for your dinner, aND giving you a ride, then make sure you are the nicest person in the world to him for the rest of senior year, maybe even the summer. these guys are spending either the money they earn from work, or trying to convince their parents why a girl like you is special enough to spend money on.

While this may come as a huge shocking heart-attack to many girls in class of 2011, prom is not that big of a deal. It’s not a wedding, and it’s not a girl’s only chance to go all out and be gorgeous. For one thing, every girl at this school is beautiful. this is not an editorial to boost

anyone’s self esteem – it’s fact. Everyone here has something about them that makes them gorgeous, that even a silk and chiffon dress, or some penguin suit you rented for $200 won’t show. Sure, prom isn’t some jeans and stained t-shirt type of event, but it’s not a huge party for celebrities either. It’s a dance, one last dance to share with your friends.

to sum it up? Quit stressing so much about prom. It won’t be the meticulous planning and freaking out you’ll remember. It’ll be the fun night with your best friends. You’ll have more than one chance to dress up formally and go out to have a night of fun in college.

Staff Editorial: Seniors plagued by prom fever

ArtWOrk ByAyeshA MAlik

internet BlOggers hAve BecOMe

AWAreness cAMpAigns.

5FeatureOpiniOn

New American Bible: making amendments or eliminating traditional teachings?

When I hear the word “booty,” I immediately think of pirates and gold. But according to the Huffington Post, some people would think of it in sexual terms.

On March 9— ash Wednesday—the New american Bible, or the english-Language Catholic Bible, was released with changes. “Booty,” “Holocaust,” “virgin,” and “cereal” have been edited and replaced with “spoils of war,” “burned offerings,” “young woman,” and “grain,” respectively. “Holocaust” was changed in order to bring about a positive reference of giving offerings to God, and “cereal” was changed in order to indicate loads of wheat. “Virgin” was changed in order to elaborate the Hebrew word “almah.”

the u.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has stated that the new translation allows for the Bible to be more precise, as “english is

a living language” (retired auxiliary bishop of Milwaukee richard Sklba, from the Blaze); they hope that the new words will give people a more modern understanding. John Kutsko from the Society of Biblical Literature told uSa today that the new version will be beneficial for today’s youth, stating that “young people are accustomed to change.”

But should there be changes to the Bible? It’s been 41 years since the original New american Bible was published, and many people may not approve of the change. I, for one, don’t. If people are laughing at “booty” when context clues clearly tell them that it is referring to gold or riches, they are acting immature when they should be taking the

book seriously. And if they don’t understand what context clues are, then they should just stick to a children’s Bible, which is less complex than a regular Bible. these new, modern, simple words give the implication that our vocabulary is not that robust. also, if Bible experts keep making changes, then

the influence of the Bible will be lost, because I can’t imagine anyone taking these simple words seriously. they seem to give the Bible more modern values, which are not as

godly as they were in the past.“Young woman” does not necessarily

mean virgin, and if the youth know this, then they could take it to mean that having a baby in their teenage years is okay because it was in the Bible. there is no reason for

“virgin” to be changed. after all, Christian doctrine says that Mary was a virgin when she conceived and gave birth to Jesus. If they take the word “virgin” out, it feels as though they are changing Christian teachings and taking away the miracle of the conception of Jesus. In my opinion, “virgin” fits better than “young woman,” anyway.

Sure, we may be accustomed to change, but change is not always a good thing. However, I suppose if people read a different translation, then they would be reading words that work best for their own understanding and comfort, for not every translation uses the word “booty”or “cereal.” In fact, the New International and New King James versions do not use “booty” at all.

I just prefer that they not change any part of the Bible, since, according to Christian beliefs, God does not change who he is or his love for us.

Teaching the future with past’s mistakes

By: kristA lutrickstAFF repOrter

iF they keep MAking chAnges, then the

inFluence OF the BiBle Will Be lOst.

ArtWOrk By phi-phi le

I’ll admit: like everyone else I make mistakes and lots of them. However, if you are ignorant of your mistakes and never try to fix them, then it will become a problem for you and those around you.

everyone is prone to messing up or having faults, even our prestigious teachers. But oftentimes, students might be too afraid to point out their teacher’s flaws or just not comfortable with discussing ways their teachers can improve.

Fortunately enough, we’re more comfortable and not at all afraid of discussing these things amongst each other. that being said, the following is a list of the top three complaints that many students have of their teachers.

So grades are due soon, right? Luckily, I just turned in a project that’s worth several major grades that would raise my B into an A, because according to my parents I’m an a-sian not a B-sian. However, a few days later, my teacher informs me that she didn’t receive my project and requests me to redo it ... by the next day. teachers, we know you mean well, but a student could have spent many nights on maps or essay assignments and then you just tell us that

you never received it and make us redo it! to teachers, it might seem like a reasonable thing, but for us it’s unfair.

Many students have even gone as far as to record or take pictures themselves turning their assignments in; in one instance, I recorded the entire process of me redoing my project just in case my teacher “didn’t receive” my work again. When a student has to go to such an extent, it says two things: one, the teacher doesn’t trust the student enough to believe that he turned his work in; and two, the students doesn’t trust their teachers enough to receive their work and not lose it. We understand that teachers get so many things back that sometimes they may accidentally lose our work, but it’s unfair to make us redo it. Instead of redoing the work, teachers could give the student a “No Grade”(N/G) for that assignment so that it wouldn’t hurt her overall average. another alternative would be to administer an oral test of the assignment to actually see if she did her work or not.

the next subject in the spotlight is how picky teachers are about their students showing work. For example, one of my teachers would deduct more than 20 points just because I wouldn’t show my work on a math problem the same way the book

solved it. It’s obvious that showing how you solve a problem is just as important as getting the right answer, but if you see how we solved the problem and the process we used to solve it, does it matter that we didn’t adhere explicitly to the method in the book?

additionally, some teachers seem to be biased against some students. teachers, you’re not going to see your students working all the time in class. Because Kerr is an independent learning school, as long as we meet the deadline, there is no reason why you should get on our case about doing work every minute of every period.

But putting the work issue aside, let’s talk about the different treatment we are given. For instance, a teacher will laugh with a student one second but in the next moment will get grouchy with a different student, for no reason the second student can see. It’s sad to say that I have personally w i t n e s s e d incidents like this several times and after

each time, my respect for teachers dramatically declines. Such favoritism is an unchangeable part of human nature; however, every time teachers show their favoritism towards some students, they should think about the other students who are not so fortunate to receive favoritism and how they feel in that situation.

I want to bring these issues to light not to criticize teachers as much as to inform them of the things we students talk about, in hopes that teachers who see themselves in this column will have better interaction with their students in the future.

By: phil phAMstAFF repOrter

6

White moves first, then black. They play with determination and strategy, aiming to win. Every move counts and must be considered with care. The game is what holds their focus, not the surrounding students.

Every day in the library, students gather at the chairs in the center or at a random table to play a game of chess. Junior Joseph Do dabbles in the game.

"I think the amount of comprehension that

goes on is interesting," Do said. "By that I mean that two people can look at the same board, but have completely different ideas about what's going on."

Sophomore Edwin Cheng. also occasionally comes before school to participate in a game.

"I find the intellectual aspect of chess interesting in that it exercises the mind," he said.

But underlying the game and its players are stereotypes developed by those who do not quite understand them.

"They're nerds and they think that chess is a sport," freshman Uyen Tran said.

Joe agrees with this nerdy stereotype."This seems all too true," he said.Cheng, however, takes a different stand."Stereotypes involving the social competency

of chess players are false,” he said. “In fact, Gary Kasparov, one of the best chess players, was very popular and a great speaker. He ran for Russia's presidency, but dropped out due to threats from rivals. Stereotypes involving the intellect of chess players are generally true: the game, at the professional level, demands high mental output.”

But regardless of whatever stereotypes wrongly define them, players still participate in

and enjoy the game."Being called or stereotyped as a "nerd" or any

such things has not impacted my game," Cheng said. "That is mostly because a game of chess demands full focus and anything other than chess moves rarely comes to mind. I also think that the environment contributes to that, because a chess player can feel comfortable when surrounded by students who understand the game or the skill needed to play it."

To some, chess is more than just a game. Do considers the strategies helpful in cases of cause and effect.

In-Focus

At first, freshman Laura Vu balked at an interview. She wasn’t typical, she insisted. But, statistically, she was.

“It makes me surprised, because I didn’t know that that’s the typical Kerr student,” Vu said. “I guess that’s how we come together. We connect together in ways we don’t even see.”

A survey of 400 students found the typical Kerr student to be similar to Vu—a ninth-grade Asian girl who is also Roman Catholic; an alumna of Albright Middle School; one who uses Facebook and texting for communication and the computer for schoolwork. The typical Kerr student also tries to be nice, worries about her future, and dismisses conformity as overrated.

“[Conformity]’s dumb,” Vu said. “I’d rather be myself and alone than to put a mask on myself and fit in.”

History teacher Michael McGuckin has been at Kerr since its 1994 opening and believes he has an explanation for Kerr students’ tendency toward student expression.

“We have a community of students and teachers that overlooks the superficial stuff,” he said. “We don’t let differences interfere with our getting to know each other and enjoy each other’s company.”

Being nice is another component of the typical student.“When kids bump into each other [in the hallway], they don’t

curse each other, fights don’t break out,” McGuckin said. “They say ‘excuse me’ and walk on.”

Vu tries to help in her own way.“I like people coming to me and venting about their problems,”

Vu said. “I want to be there for them, as a friend or a best friend.”She is candid about her faults. “I’m lazy,” she said. “And I

procrastinate like there’s no tomorrow.”Procrastination thrives within these halls. According to librarian

Jean Wu, it’s been that way for a long time.“The kids still like to wait till the last minute,” she said.Wu, like McGuckin, has seen thousands of students pass in and

out of Kerr’s doors. Procrastination, she said, is one thing that has

remained the same.“The eve of something [being] due,

they are all in here,” she said.That is because the typical student

also worries about her future.Freshman Cindy Nguyen is

another student who fits many of the criteria for typical student. When asked about her top priority, Nguyen said, “My GPA. I just want to keep that up.”

Nguyen worries that she will not be able to get into a good college. Wu says this is a common concern.

“They all want to go to the best schools,” she explained. “They all want to do the best they can.”

Nguyen wants to travel the world. Vu dreams of being a psychologist and “an epic violinist.”

For now, however, Nguyen sees herself as commonplace.

“My life now is really typical,” she said. “I wake up, go to school, come home, and then the whole thing starts over again.”

Vu is a little more guarded about assessing herself.

“I’m honestly thankful for my life right now,” she said. “I couldn’t be like, ‘It could have been better’ because that’s like saying, ‘It could be worse.’”

51%admIt that they procrastInate but manage to get theIr

work done

30%oF students are catholIc

55%oF the student populatIon Is asIan

57%oF students are Female.

69%oF students useFacebook

(a)typical Kerr studentthe

by: krIsta lutrIckstaFF reporter

by: phI-phI lestaFF reporter

Finding common groundFresh

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data compIled by phI-phI le, aja bryant, phat pham, and danIelle jones

out oF 400 students questIoned (100 From each grade), here are the results From our typIcal student surVey.

Chess club battles to put people’s preconceptions in check

7

and enjoy the game."Being called or stereotyped as a "nerd" or any

such things has not impacted my game," Cheng said. "That is mostly because a game of chess demands full focus and anything other than chess moves rarely comes to mind. I also think that the environment contributes to that, because a chess player can feel comfortable when surrounded by students who understand the game or the skill needed to play it."

To some, chess is more than just a game. Do considers the strategies helpful in cases of cause and effect.

"The obvious action isn't always going to be the optimal one to take," he said. "You have to take into consideration the consequences of it."

He says he enjoys it when others' expectations of him are different than the reality.

"People generally think that I'm an incompetent player, so they [treat] me like I'm a scrub. That's when their pieces start vanishing from the board."

Cheng finds them helpful with military tactics."Strategies in chess are parallel to almost,

if not everything, in life," he said. "The most obvious is real-life military tactics. In World War II, Germany relied on Blitzkrieg, a tactic based on

fast invasion."Fellow chess player teacher Steve Bolting

feels that some strategies from chess can be applied to real life decisions, such as standing up for yourself and facing your opponent.

"I would say when one is under attack, it is often much better to get as close as possible to your attacker than to run away,” he said. “So in daily life, to directly confront an opponent is often better than trying to run from them or avoid them."

"Courage is not the absence of fear, but the choice to face whoever is attacking us directly."

In-Focus

Sophomore Destiny Jackson walks through the front doors of the building. She is wearing a vintage Twilight Team Jacob

shirt, covered by a black and green striped vest. Her

black jeans with blue and gold foil

printed on the back pockets, sits just above her black

high-top shoes, with the pink laces and the white, black, pink and green animal prints.

Her eyes, covered with a neon pink eyeshadow, catches glances from the other students, both questioning and admirable.

"I don't dress like the typical Kerr student." she said. "I go to Hot Topic, like all the time, and

then like a lot of times I wear loud makeup and I dress kind of like

in a laid-back but really awesome clothes."

As Jackson walks through the crowded hallway, minutes before the bell for advisory rings, she is soon caught by Mr. Jones. With a small smile he says, "I like your outfit." Jackson laughs as she thanks him, continuing her way to meet up with

the rest of her friends."I mean, a lot of times, people stop me in the hallway just to

compliment me on my outfit and sometimes, random [freshmen] stop me in the hallway just to talk to me." Jackson said. "But when I go into the cafeteria, a lot of the times the [freshmen] be all like 'I like your outfit.' Then a couple of my sophomore buddies, are like, 'I like your outfit.'"

But being untypical can mean more than just bright, neon colors and a desire for boyish grungy clothes. Some students shy away from the typical study all night and work all day norm of Kerr.

"I am a raver," senior Karen Cuvea said."The entire Spring Break, I partied every night. It was awesome. I procrastinate to party and then I do work. I only work in school, most of the time.

But of course, despite the hard-core partying nights, Cuvea devotes some time to finish up the rest of her senior classes.

"I work on my online class, whenever I'm at my friend's house, but at home, I just feel like sleeping." Cuvea said.

Senior Alex Tjon proves his differing ways as he disapproves two of Kerr students' favorite activites.

"Chess is just good exercise for the brain, but y0u don't do anything." Tjon said. "You just sit there and calculate every move. Plus everyone, who is good at Yu-Gi-Oh!, steals cards from Wal-Mart and I'm not a thief. I'm a good kid."

As you look around the hallways and into the centers of Kerr, some students, like Jackson, may stand out of the crowd, or others, like Cueva, may look like they blend in perfectly, but inside they have the opposite qualities of your average Kerr student.

"I look like I blend in, but inside, I don't. I'm happy about being the untypical Kerr student, I'm a boss." Cuvea laughs. "It makes me unique."

87%oF students don’t haVe a job

42%oF students spend three or more hours a day on

the computer

35%oF students preFer tex-tIng to other Forms oF

communIcatIon

31%oF students came From albrIght

(a)typical Kerr student

by: aja bryantstaFF reporter

Stepping away from stereotypesso

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out oF 400 students questIoned (100 From each grade), here are the results From our typIcal student surVey.

Chess club battles to put people’s preconceptions in check

edwIn cheng and joe do play a game oF chess In the lIbrary.

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8 Feature Feature

Freshman Cornelius asmerom prefers to purchase something both affordable and portable, such as earbuds that easily fit in a pocket and usually cost between $10 and $30.

“I want something basic, small, and cheap,” asmerom said.

there are some undeniable features that are proven to be exclusive to noise-cancelling headphones, such as creating antinoise and hushing any background noise. Some see a reason to invest in them.

“If I was rich or if headphones and music were part of my career, I would definitely purchase a pair of noise-cancelling headphones,” ahmed said. “But at the moment, I can’t be spending near $200 or $300 on something that’s basically used to listen to music.”

Ghulam sticks to a budget when he is out shopping for new headphones.

“the most I’d think about spending is about $20,” he said. “Nothing more because I don’t think it’s worth it.”

For others, noise-cancelling headphones are too bulky, especially since they prefer something of smaller size.

“I mainly look for regular headphones that are little and don’t cost too much,” asmerom said.

For all other types of headphones, the general rule for listeners is if the volume

is increased, then the duration should be decreased.

Dean Garstecki, a Northwestern university audiologist and professor, proposed in 2007 the “60/60 rule”: he advised listeners to use their MP3s and other audio devices for less than 60 minutes per day at below 60 percent volume to keep their ears protected from any type of dangers.

Wiley views the situation in a more practical manner.

“If people can hear your music and they’re just sitting next to you and they don’t even have the earphones on, then that’s definitely too loud,” Wiley said.

“It’s totally okay to wear the headphones, as long as you turn down the volume. If you don’t properly protect your ears, then expect some hearing problems.”

One of the main ways that hearing loss is detected is if someone fails a screening test. the purpose of a screening is to check if a person can demonstrate normal hearing. If a student fails his screening test at school, then he is rescreened for certainty. If the second screening is failed as well, then a note is sent home to the student’s parents that includes recommendations for audiologists that can help.

“experiencing health-related problems is a big deal,” Wiley said. “But the more important thing is to get the help that you need as fast as possible.”

HeadpHones continued

Bancroft accepted into math/science academy

Most students looking forward to their junior year are contemplating working on aPuSH, taking the Sat, and applying for college; sophomore Isaac Bancroft is going off to college instead.

Next year, Bancroft will attend the texas academy of Mathematics and Science. taMS is a two-year program for high school students who are gifted in math and science. Located at the university of North texas at Denton, the academy does not have any high school courses, such as Biology, Chemistry, algebra and World History; all the classes at taMS are college level, meaning that they are worth college credits. taMS students stay in the campus dorms, but they are separated from other North texas students.

Bancroft is looking forward to experiencing the unique way taMS students learn and the new environment.

He has visited taMS a few times and he really enjoys the atmosphere of the school, which only makes him more excited.

“I am really excited to go to taMS,” he said. “I think it is going to really advance my education.”

Students who apply to taMS must take the Sat and go through a process similar to college admission. Once there, they take college-level classes and participate in e x t r a - c u r r i c u l a r activities similar to those at a regular high school.

During Bancroft’s visits to taMS , he explored the school to see what it is all about.

“I was impressed with the campus and

the atmosphere of their program,” Bancroft said.

Bancroft was encouraged by both his parents to apply for the program, which only accepts about 120 students each year.

although he had their support, it was his choice to apply.

“When Isaac was little we knew that he had the mind for an upper level math,” his father, Mike Bancroft, said, “and I think that taMS is the next big step.”

Science teacher Margaret Bancroft, his mother, was told about the program by a counselor at

O’Donnell Middle School and from a former Kerr student, rachel Cheuk, who was accepted to taMS in 2004. Cheuk

also encouraged Bancroft to apply and also gave some advice for a person in Bancroft’s situation.

“explore the campus and campus activities. Just because you’re at taMS doesn’t mean you’re limited to taMS clubs,” Cheuk said in an e-mail. “there are also more similarities than differences between Kerr and taMS.”

Both Mr. and Mrs. Bancroft say they are proud that Bancroft will join taMS.

Bancroft will miss the friends he had made in Kerr, but he is also looking forward to making new friends at taMS too.

“I’m going to miss my friends at Kerr, but I am going to visit about once a month,” Bancroft said. “I think I can still maintain my friendship with them.”

Bancroft will have a summer orientation at taMS, but he doesn’t know exactly when he will be leaving. He will be leaving a Kerr student and entering taMS a college student.

By: Phat PhamStaFF rePorter

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9FeatureFeature/entertainment

kerrblog.

John Zahariev is used to telling jokes his friends don’t seem to get.

the junior’s dry, sarcastic wit sometimes causes awkward moments, when people are offended by what was meant as a joke or they just do not see the humor the same way Zahariev does.

But on tumblr, the social blogging site, Zahariev has found an audience of more than 1,900 followers who find his sense of humor something to appreciate and even share with others.

Since its start in 2007, millions of people have come to use tumblr as a means of both expression and communication. Zahariev explains tumblr as “a media blogging site where you can share media like text, photos, and such.” Zahariev initially became aware of the site when he saw updates from friends’ tumblr accounts on his Facebook newsfeed.

“It looked like another thing to waste my time on, actually,” he admitted. He joined the site, creating the username ‘youmaynowlaugh’ based on his personal experiences.

“People have told me I’m a really funny and hilarious person and when I first started Tumblr, I really admired the ‘humor’ blogs, so I aspired to be one of them,” he explained. “However, there were also moments where I thought something was genuinely funny and nobody laughed, hence the whole ‘youmaynowlaugh’ username to show that it was sarcasm.”

At first, like other casual users, Zahariev acquired a few followers among friends and acquaintances; over time, however, word of his particular brand of humor spread on the blogging site. another user, whose follower count was over 1,000, reblogged a joke of Zahariev’s, causing many people to find his blog and begin to follow him.

Because they enjoy the content of his blog, followers bypass constantly typing in Zahariev’s url and regularly see his posts on their personal homepages whenever they log in. Many of these users aren’t even from Houston. they can be anywhere, from California, to even in another continent.

“I currently have 1,941 followers, but I don’t follow everyone back,” said Zahariev. “I only follow blogs that I enjoy or like, because if I didn’t like or care about anything on their blog, what would be the point of following

them in the first place?”For now, Zahariev spends his time posting

content he knows his followers will enjoy, but he knows the trend of having a blog on tumblr will fade fast.

“technology evolves really fast,” said Zahariev. “I doubt this site will still be popular in a decade. I for one will probably use this site less and less due to time constraints and any events that occur in my life.”

John Zahariev’s Tumblr page can be found at youmaynowlaugh.tumblr.com. Warning: Zahariev’s blog is written outside of school hours and some of the content may be inappropriate for campus viewing.

Zahariev’s humor tumbles all over famous siteBy: annie PhamStaFF rePorter

Internet memes pervade pop culture

Grammatically incorrect cats, rick-rolling, and rebecca Black—these cultural references have spread far and wide across the Internet, and today it’s not uncommon to seem them pervade popular culture.

the term “meme” was actually coined by evolutionary biologist richard Dawkins in his 1976 book, “The Selfish Gene,” to describe how ideas change and spread throughout society. today meme refer to the viral videos and amusing captioned pictures that often appear on social networking websites.

the rocketboom institute, which is a vlogging group that focuses on non-mainstream media, maintains a Wiki-esque database of memes at www.knowyourmeme.

com. as internet culture is becoming prevalent on social network outlets, Cheezeburger, a promoter of past memes such as LolCats, has bought the website and now includes it in its suite of meme-related databases.a word of warning, though—not everything on the Internet is appropriate, and neither are all the memes entries on Know Your Meme, so browse the entries with discretion.

arguable one of the earliest memes to be easily duplicated and spread was Lolcats, captioned pictures of emotional cats in humorous situations. One famous example is a picture of a smiling grey cat sitting on a couch with the words “Can I has cheezburger?” placed overhead the cat. there are memes with a cat staring at you from a hole in a ceiling, cats that look like Hitler, cats that play the piano, and now most recently, a looping animation of

a cat with a pop-tart body flying through space, leaving a rainbow trail behind it.

So memes are prone to changing. Some of them may start off as a relatively simple idea, but popular memes are often tweaked bit by bit until they give way to other memes. In a sense, internet memes, at least prevalent ones, evolve.

Imagine a classic bait and switch. You’re on a website. the link actually leads to a music video of British music artist rick astley’s 1987 pop-hit “Never Gonna Give You up.” the song topped the music chart in several countries when it originally released, but the disco style instrumentals of the song and rough transition cuts between astley and background dancers don’t help at all to make it relevant to the topic at hand.

For more, go to kerronicle.com.

By: anthony PhungStaFF rePorter

10 Feature LifestyLe

Yes, we may be neck-deep in a recession, but all hope is not lost for aspiring fashionistas: all it takes is a quick drive to your nearest thrift store to find affordable pieces that can be mixed and matched to create a different and personal outfit.

I don’t pretend to know much about fashion, but I do know clothing doesn’t have to be brand-new or hundreds of dollars to be cute.

thrift stores are everywhere and there’s one thing they all have in common: ridiculously cheap clothes and accessories.

In your search, look for clothes with little wear and no stains. Second-hand shoes may seem unhygenic, but there are some that look brand new. Never pass up a chance to look at shoes because you never know what you may find.

two of my favorite haunts are Value Village and the Salvation Army, right across from each other on Bissonnett and Hillcroft.

Value Village has an immense selection of shoes and every kind of clothing packed tightly and color coordinated along the walls and aisles. There are also purses and belts galore, though you definitely have to hunt for the ones without stains or weird smells. When I went with Story Editor Nneka Waturuocha, she made two great finds here: an oversized Christian Dior sweater and a Dooney and Burke bag (6).

Salvation Army has a distinct dusty odor, but don’t let that deter you. I purchased two of my favorite pairs of shoes here: brown oxford heels (8) and super comfortable moccassins. Both were like-new. There isn’t a great selection in the way of clothes, but the few things you can find will be worth

the hunt. If the task of sifting through piles and

piles of old clothing is too daunting, try higher-end thrift stores like Buffalo exhange and taxi taxi (both located on Westheimer and Dunlavy in Montrose). These places only accept high quality, newer clothes, while regular thrift stores accept pretty much anything. Items may be slightly more expensive here, but they have great deals on designer brands.

For more thrift finds and a color gallery, visit kerronicle.com.

By: ALexAndrA KArreditor-in-Chief

1 Oversized white cardigan: $1.902 carryland bag: $33 navy blazer with gOld buttOns: $3.904 gOld lOcket and earrings: $1.20 tO $35 FlOral print skirt: $1.906 dOOney and burke bag: $5.997 cream lace tOp: $1.908 nine west brOwn OxFOrd heels: $7

phOtOs by alexandra karr

Hunting for hot bargainsthriFting prOvides FashiOn FOr less

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11Feature

Take a Nintendo DSi and make it bigger. Then, give it the ability to play 3D games. Finally, take away the obligatory 3D glasses. That’s right, the new portable system for Nintendo is out and it plays 3D games without the glasses.

The Nintendo 3DS is finally upon us and it is revolutionary.

the system sticks with the dual-screen design its predecessors sported, with a display and a touch screen. even though the touch screen is relatively smaller than the display, the quality of the experience makes up for it. The system has an adjustable slider for the 3D which allows users to set the amount of 3D the system incorporates into the games. With one end as OFF and the second as 3D, consumers have a lot of liberty to either keep their system 2D or just have a bit of 3D.

Although the list of 3DS games currently available is pretty slim, the system does come with a number of games and, if anything, those few are just a preview of what the system can really do.

When you first open the box, you are greeted by the system and a set of AR --”Augmented Reality” -- cards. the ar games use the cards to, for lack of a better term, augment reality. You place a card on a flat surface like a table and point the 3DS’s outer camera towards it. Once the system recognizes the AR card, an image of the table appears on the display and the game begins with the appearance of a yellow box; shoot an arrow at the box and the image of the table actually morphs and a number of trees pop up with more targets to shoot. After you shoot those targets, the portion of the table the ar card is sitting in begins to morph and bounces up and down as if something was trying to break out of the table. I won’t spoil the ending (since it’s the most fun),

but it’s entertaining to see the game follow the player as he moves around. You can see all of objects popping out of the table at many different angles as long as the outer cameras have a clear view of the card.

The other in-system game is Face Raiders. When you start the game, the system asks you to align your face with the markers on screen and take a picture. Your picture then lifts up from the surface of the screen and morphs into the shape of a ball wearing what resembles the helmet of a samurai. The avatar, wearing your own face, then begins to attack you while you move the camera to try and dodge its attacks while also shooting it. This where the 3DS’s ability / to recognizes shifts, graphics, and reality really shine. The camera will actually recognize objects that are close to the camera, so when you move the camera in the direction of, say, a book on a table, your enemies will bounce off the book like it was actually in-game.

Overall, this is an amazing system with a lot of potential. Sure, some of the critical and restrictive windows you have for playing games in 3D are a bit tedious-- plus, the headaches can really aggravate you -- but the system is really fun and enjoyable. There are a small number of games available, so if you get bored with the out-of-the-box games you can go out and buy an actual 3DS game. With this system you really are investing for the future: titles planned for the system include Kid Icarus, resident evil: the Mercenaries 3D, Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time, and many, many more. aside from the games that will be coming out, I’m excited to

see if developers will take advantage of the system’s capability of augmenting reality and being able to shift the camera accordingly, because the preinstalled games are mere tech-demos.

Players can immerse themselves in the game by being able to freely move around and view what they want when they want. For the first time, players are in full control of the game and this system allows them to make something boring, like a simple table with books, and turn it into a fun experience with just a placement of a card or the simple task of taking a photo.

The 3DS is an impressive system and it’s not something anyone will regret buying.

entertAinment

By: ALejAndro AreLLAnofreeLAnCe Writer

3ds speCifiCAtionsmotion sensing CApABiLities

eAsier And CustomizABLe menus

BACKWArd pLAying CApABiLity

AdjustABLe styLus

tAKes 3d piCture

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When life just isn’t 3D enough

By: joAnnA AriAsAssistAnt editor

Angry Birds find their target on Facebook

Countless hours have been spent killing pigs on a four-inch screen. Boomerangs, bombs, and eggs have become weapons of mass destruction against the swine population in the popular mobile application game Angry Birds.

If you are not familiar with the game that has over 75

million downloads on the app markets, in angry Birds the player uses a flick of the touchscreen to slingshot birds at an army of pigs protected by structures of wood, glass, stone, or a combination of all three. Players are given multiple birds with different abilities. These include speed boosts, dropping harmful eggs, releasing

spawn birds, and a kamikaze bird. There are five episodes of varying themes inside the game and

each is equally addicting and comical.Multiple platforms on which to play angry

Birds are making it easier and easier to get a hold of the game. It’s now available on iPhone,

Droid, Palm and Nokia phones as well as PSP/PS3 and Windows 7, and in January it was made available on PC to the first 15,000 lucky downloaders.

unfortuntely for those who have no application-supporting device, the game is lost. But the dark clouds have parted and hope is shining through for those addicted to the game, but have no way to play it. A version of

angry Birds is expected to be introduced to Facebook in May. Now that the game is headed for the largest social media site in the world, rumors of an angry Birds 3D game, a movie, and an animated series are swirling.

recently, in celebration of the latest computer-animated film from 20th Century Fox, Angry Birds Rio has emerged. Instead of raging against the pig population, players have monkeys as the new targets. This version is also extremely well-developed and engaging, but the monkeys are almost too cute to destroy.

the constant updates and new versions of angry Birds keep this brand alive and exciting. Angry Birds is a truly entertaining way to spend time and with its inexpensive cost of 99 cents, it is a great investment for your phone or gaming system.

I recommend it for those who enjoy strategy, action, and every sort of game in between. If you haven’t already downloaded it, take a load off today and hurl some birds.A

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Naja TibiStarting off with an average point and shoot camera, senior Najah tibi has found

her passion. “While I was at my grandma’s house, I took a bunch of pictures of ran-dom things and when I showed my family, they got really excited,” tibi said. “that was the starting point.”

Now, two years later after starting photography, tibi has won two gold medals at regional VaSe, a gold key for her Scholastic portfolio and continues to wait on other portfolio evaluations. She plans to become a teacher later on in the future.

Photo courtSEy najah tiBi, Story By Sara Elmiaari