Interview With Lauren MacGray

Casey Holmes

September 23, 2013

Journalism F



Lauren MacGray is a seventeen year old senior that goes to Norton High School. She plays varsity soccer for the high school team. Lauren's athletic, energetic, and funny. She likes all kinds of music but “Country is my favorite type of music.” She has an older sister that is a sophomore in college.   "I don’t really like school so I would have to say psychology,”  stated Lauren. Her favorite place to vacation to is Disney World. She likes Disney since “I have been every year since I was 3." Forever 21 and American Eagle are her favorite stores to shop at. She enjoys watching the Boston Bruins when their season starts. “The Bruins are interesting to watch and they get into fights.” During the summer, she likes to go to the beach with her friends. During the school year she likes to hang out with her friends. If she was on death's row she would want to eat cheese pizza. She said she would want to cheese pizza as her last meal, "Because I love pizza and I can dip it in whatever I want to dip it in." Lauren MacGray is a very athletic and nice person.

The Sport of Volleyball

                Casey Holmes

September 21, 2013

Block F

                Volleyball is such an amazing sport to play but some people think you just stand there and swing your arms. It is definitely more than that. A lot of people have a negative outlook on volleyball but once you start playing it, it is definitely the best sport there is.

                Spandex is probably one of the biggest things volleyball is known for.  The reason we wear spandex is because it makes it much easier to move quickly in any direction that you want.  Spandex makes it easier to dive for any ball and not feel restricted. People may think that you just stand there but you are always moving, covering the hitter, covering the passer, and moving to help block the opposing team’s attackers. You always have to be down low and ready for anything to come at you.  Some people may think that you don’t have to run a lot since the court is so short but you sure have to be able to move very quickly in a very short amount of time.

                In volleyball there are four basic ways to use the ball, you can serve, hit, set, or pass. Passing is where you have to put both of your arms together to make a platform with your forearms. You have to have the volleyball hit exactly in the middle of your forearms or else it is going to go in the wrong direction. Setting is a little harder because you have to have both firm and soft hands. This is hard because you don’t want to have the ball fall through your fingers and you don’t want  your hands hard as a rock. Hitting you have to have footwork and then you have to time when you want to contact the ball and snap your wrist so that the ball does not go wailing out of bounds. For serving you need a strong hand and a lot of strength to get the volleyball over with consistency. You also need good form. Wasn’t as easy as you thought, right?

Since volleyball is a sport they need to train athletes just like any other sport. It isn’t just learning the skill but working out to help improve your overall health and your game. Volleyball works out your thighs, biceps, and surprisingly your abdomen. As you can tell volleyball has a lot more components than you think there would be.  You always need to have a positive attitude to help bring up your team even when you’re losing.  Volleyball is both a mental and a physical game, so get out and try it. You might be surprised at how much fun it is and how much physical strength goes into it. Hopefully you will try it out and maybe come to love the sport just like I do.

Rolling Stone's Controversy



Casey Holmes

September 17, 2013

Journalism

Block F

The cover and the article of the segment “The Bomber” was a very controversial topic that had a lot of justifiable negative feedback. Will, a friend of Jahar’s from high school, claimed there was a side to Jahar that nobody knew, “He kind of did, one time to me that he thought acts of terrorism were justified.” Even though he had only said it once, it was a tiny crack into his other side. “Jahar idolized his older brother, Tamerlan,” as did all of the children, following his footsteps as if he were a celebrity. Jahar always followed his brother Tamerlan first by doing boxing, then converting to Islam, and then working with his brother to cause a terrorist attack on Boston. The article profiled Jahar to be a good person because the Rolling Stone interviewed people that had a positive outlook about him. That is a completely different perspective than most of America.

            Jahar’s brother complained about America because he thought they had a “lack of values.” Bombing innocent people obviously lacks good values and morals. In the segment “The Bomber” the majority of it made him seem nice and innocent and then all of a sudden he became a monster. We can still tell that Jahar is self centered, and only cares about himself he “cried for two days straight after he woke up in the hospital.” The article made me believe that he was not crying for the people that died but since he came to the realization that he was likely to go to prison for the rest of his life.

            The cover of the article was a completely different part of the controversy. The picture they decided to use was Tsarnaev’s selfie, “the way he wanted the world to see him.” I feel as if he was going to be on the front page of the magazine he should be in his jail uniform. This would show that America doesn’t allow terrorism to dictate our lives. Rolling Stone magazine is where celebrities are recognized, not the face of a terrorist. People disapproved of it because it has Jay-Z on the side, and other famous artists who worked there way to fame, not destroying people’s lives. “Even if there was mental illness involved,” the Rolling Stone magazine should not be plastering his face on the front of the newspaper.

            I understand that the Rolling Stone is a magazine trying to cover hot topics and make a profit, like any other magazine, but I feel as if it should’ve been in a lighter tone. It should’ve been more sensitive to the people and the community affected by the bombings. The article should have been more focused on the countless acts of heroism instead of the one act of terrorism.