Rock and Roll
Every year the renowned Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induct several of the most influential artists into their highly esteemed lists, however, this year’s inductions have caused controversy amongst fans. With questions rising the process of the R&R’s induction process is being analyzed. Issues taken with the genres of those inducted and the failure to induct some of the most influential bands has caused the drama. Highlighting the distress of the fans bassist of Kiss Gene Simmons Tweeted several remarks about the controversial inductions stating “Sadly, Rage Against the Machine shut out of RR Hall of Fame. The Hall should be ashamed of themselves…” Rage Against the Machine, a band from Los Angeles in the 90’s made a name for themselves with their politically fueled rock and aggressive rap vocals. The following Tweet from Simmons was “RR Hall of Fame is a sham not to include Maiden. Disgusting!” Referring to the English band Iron Maiden who has dominated the hearts of fans for decades. In good news the long awaited Foo Fighters band was inducted by the fans. Though the outcry is rampant there is no sign of these bands being inducted this year, however, this is hope for the next years to come as they will most likely be inducted. -Ethan Williams |
Foo Fighters band at the R&R Hall of Fame
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The Month of Ramadan
Every year Muslims worldwide celebrate Ramadan, a month-long holiday of fasting (sawm), prayer, charity, self-discipline, and commemoration of the Prophet Muhammad’s (PBUH) first revelation. The first crescent moon in the ninth month of the Islamic calendar marks the beginning of Ramadan, which will last a thirty-day period. The act of Ramadan is to direct the heart to cleanse the soul, to teach self-control, sacrifice, and to show empathy for the less fortunate. Every day from sunrise to sunset Muslims must not ear or drink, however, before sunrise and after sunset, they eat a giant meal called “suhoor” and “iftar” respectively. The idea of giving money away to the less fortunate is practiced during Ramadan. In an act of compulsory charity known as “zakat” It is commonly believed that Ramadan itself is believed to be more rewarding and is a time to devote oneself to prayer (salat) and recitation of the Quran with a section every day. On the last day of Ramadan after a crescent moon has been sighted the completion of the holiday begins and another holiday known as “Eid al-Fitr” begins, and commonly amongst cultures a giant feast involving the family begins. Ramadan is significant in the Islamic faith and is for most like a coming of age for children or for devotees. The millennium old holiday has been done by over a billion Muslims who see it as their religious duty, but for most it is a way to come together with their family and God. -Ethan Williams |
Muslims during Ramadan in prayer by the Kaaba.
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Military History Online
History is the past of the world and many people make it their livelihoods or hobbies to study it. One of these many people is Brian Williams who runs an online forum called www.militaryhistoryonline.com dedicated to military history. Williams made his website in the earlier days of the internet, “It’s been a thing for 22 years.” in response to wanting to make a community to discuss the Battle of Gettysburg, “I’ve always been interested in the Battle of Gettysburg. Since it was three days, and there’s so many things, you have no idea what happened.” His repeated interest in the battle had accumulated a following of several dozen. The small community that he had created inspired him to branch out, Williams said, “I wanted to expand it to other periods, and other battles, and everything. There were a lot of people who were kind of upset because they wanted it to be just Gettysburg, but my interests are other things like revolutionary to Napoleonic.” Many of the members in website wanted it to be a smaller closeted website, but Williams had bigger ambitions and wanted there to be more eras and topics to discuss. The expansion saw a massive growth in the community as people from all kinds of interests not specified to Gettysburg joined. Though the original purpose was at first to talk about battles it soon opened a new door for the members, “My whole function or reason I have the website is to help amateur writers display the works to get it out there. I don’t make a profit. I have the website to help amateur writers get their works. These people write their thesis for their masters, or the doctorates or whatever, and the submit it to share it and have it checked.” Many people go on the website to share their passion and their works with people who enjoy it as much as they do. One of these many authors is Jeffrey R. Cox who wrote books on the Pacific theatre of World War Two. His website started as a passion project to understand the Battle of Gettysburg and quickly got noticed and grew. By attracting members from every generation who share a similar passion, and many can get their books noticed by publishers and others who help them. The future of the website is surely going to be it growing and getting the recognition it deserves. -Ethan Williams |
Front page from www.militaryhistoryonline.com.
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The Musician of Harrison
Many students at Harrison High School have passions that they like to pursue, many of these passions are playing instruments. One of these many people is senior Evan Zielke who likes to use his musical expertise to play guitar. Zielke started playing guitar nearly eight years ago, “My uncle gave me a guitar for one of my birthdays and I just stuck with it.” He stuck with the acoustic guitar because, “It’s very relaxing I like to be able to take a song and make it my own.” To him, the way he can play whatever he feels like playing whenever he wants is liberating. Zielke likes to make his own music, “I mess around with chords, frets, and octaves and something just comes around and I make it work. It just kind of happens, it’s very situational.” Some days he plays faster paced songs, and some days he played with different styles depending on his mood. He continued to elaborate that he prefers certain styles as opposed to others. “I have my own style because I like to incorporate chords with strained singular notes after that.” Early on in his life, he was inspired by many guitarists who expressed themselves in various ways, but one of them stuck out to him, “Ozzy Osbourne is a legend; he has his own kind of thing.” He saw how this man did what no others would do and how he was different. Ozzy did what he wanted to do regardless of what others thought of him. Playing music is a form of expression and through guitar, Zielke enables himself to be free. Him continuing to play is a testament to his dedication, his passion, and him constantly changing as a person. To many students like him, his instrument is more than an instrument, it’s a way to be themselves. |
Evan Zielke shows off his guitar that he likes to play. This is one of his many guitars in his collection. "My uncle gave me a guitar for one of my birthdays and I just stuck with it."
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US History and Covid
Every year students participate in the Advanced Placement program administered by The College Board. These advanced classes offer a harder course for students with the reward of an early college credit in high school. Students if they choose are offered to take the AP Exam for that subject, and this is consistent every year. With the current events involving Covid it is a wonder how AP teachers and TCB are handling it.
AP classes have more interactive and hands on courses due to their challenging nature. I interviewed Mr. Doug Liscio, the AP United States History teacher at Harrison High School and he commented, “Pretty much my lectures and what I do really hasn’t changed that much. If I show a video or we have a lecture or I’m doing a review I’m able to pretty much do what I normally do.” Despite the challenging nature of the class Liscio is still able to teach his classes as if they were normal.
Students in Liscio’s class are concerned about the AP Exam, and the uniqueness of the AP Exam as a timed assessment requires practice. That is what Liscio is preparing his students for. He said, “I’m going to do everything I can to get my students ready. They’ve already shown that they’re concerned bout doing the paper pencil, but I want to make sure if we practice that way to calm some of their fears and take out some of the anxiety that it’s going to come with that, to go from strictly online assessments to paper pencil where you’re timed.” Liscio is doing his best to help students prepare for the AP Exam by giving them timed assessments to get them in that mindset of it so they don’t get stressed out when taking it.
As a teacher Liscio teaches his students about United States history while simultaneously preparing them for the hard AP Exam. With all his hard work will hopefully pay off when his students perform well on the exam.
-Ethan Williams
US History and Covid
Every year students participate in the Advanced Placement program administered by The College Board. These advanced classes offer a harder course for students with the reward of an early college credit in high school. Students if they choose are offered to take the AP Exam for that subject, and this is consistent every year. With the current events involving Covid it is a wonder how AP teachers and TCB are handling it.
AP classes have more interactive and hands on courses due to their challenging nature. I interviewed Mr. Doug Liscio, the AP United States History teacher at Harrison High School and he commented, “Pretty much my lectures and what I do really hasn’t changed that much. If I show a video or we have a lecture or I’m doing a review I’m able to pretty much do what I normally do.” Despite the challenging nature of the class Liscio is still able to teach his classes as if they were normal.
Students in Liscio’s class are concerned about the AP Exam, and the uniqueness of the AP Exam as a timed assessment requires practice. That is what Liscio is preparing his students for. He said, “I’m going to do everything I can to get my students ready. They’ve already shown that they’re concerned bout doing the paper pencil, but I want to make sure if we practice that way to calm some of their fears and take out some of the anxiety that it’s going to come with that, to go from strictly online assessments to paper pencil where you’re timed.” Liscio is doing his best to help students prepare for the AP Exam by giving them timed assessments to get them in that mindset of it so they don’t get stressed out when taking it.
As a teacher Liscio teaches his students about United States history while simultaneously preparing them for the hard AP Exam. With all his hard work will hopefully pay off when his students perform well on the exam.
-Ethan Williams
Harrison’s Swim Team and the State
The Harrison Swim Team on Feb 6, 2021 partook in the 7A State Championship competing against forty different schools. The swim team had been preparing for the state championship, and their efforts paid off as they placed sixth in the competition. Following their outstanding performance, I interviewed Senior Evan Zielke, and Junior Parker Murray for their input on the meet.
I asked how they prepared for the meet and Evan Zielke said: “I prepared by going to practice every day and tapering, I ate healthy foods and carbo loaded so that I would have the right energy, I relaxed while I was there so I wouldn’t be stressed, and I warmed up every so often by stretching and swimming to make sure I stayed loose.” He constantly prepped for the big day that could change his life. When swimming Evan Zielke said that he “Also cheered the team on during the race I didn’t really think, I just swam, the only time I thought was when I choked on some water and had to think about how to get it out of my throat.”
When asked if the meet was any different Parker Murray explained: “State, it was a very great experience. Compared to other years, it was very different, only one session of timed finals, other years it was prelims on Friday and finals the next day on Saturday.” I prompted him to explain how they handled proper social distancing he said “Guys and girls were split this year into two session, girls in the morning with guys at night. Only 10 guys were allowed to come from our team this year, and all ten were there for one another, pumping each other up and cheering each other on.”
Their overall thoughts were very positive with Parker Murray stating “The meet all around was very good, everyone did the best they could with how strange it was. Some people broke some school records and other made national (NCSA) cuts.” The great work of those on the swim team really showed with their dedication and practice to compete with the other schools.
-Ethan Williams
The Harrison Swim Team on Feb 6, 2021 partook in the 7A State Championship competing against forty different schools. The swim team had been preparing for the state championship, and their efforts paid off as they placed sixth in the competition. Following their outstanding performance, I interviewed Senior Evan Zielke, and Junior Parker Murray for their input on the meet.
I asked how they prepared for the meet and Evan Zielke said: “I prepared by going to practice every day and tapering, I ate healthy foods and carbo loaded so that I would have the right energy, I relaxed while I was there so I wouldn’t be stressed, and I warmed up every so often by stretching and swimming to make sure I stayed loose.” He constantly prepped for the big day that could change his life. When swimming Evan Zielke said that he “Also cheered the team on during the race I didn’t really think, I just swam, the only time I thought was when I choked on some water and had to think about how to get it out of my throat.”
When asked if the meet was any different Parker Murray explained: “State, it was a very great experience. Compared to other years, it was very different, only one session of timed finals, other years it was prelims on Friday and finals the next day on Saturday.” I prompted him to explain how they handled proper social distancing he said “Guys and girls were split this year into two session, girls in the morning with guys at night. Only 10 guys were allowed to come from our team this year, and all ten were there for one another, pumping each other up and cheering each other on.”
Their overall thoughts were very positive with Parker Murray stating “The meet all around was very good, everyone did the best they could with how strange it was. Some people broke some school records and other made national (NCSA) cuts.” The great work of those on the swim team really showed with their dedication and practice to compete with the other schools.
-Ethan Williams
The Study of the Mind and Behavior
Psychology is defined as the study of the mind and its behavior, but what exactly does that mean? Mr. Leland Wilson is a psychology teacher at Harrison High School who exuberates his love for the subject everyday he teaches. Throughout the day he teaches others on how to study the individual and their behavior, but that raises the question. Why psychology?
Those interested in psychology yearn to learn about the things around them and to further understand the world. The reason for Mr. Wilson’s interest as he stated, “I liked the fact that it was a science and that it covers the entire gambit of human behavior.” His intrigue in the subject continued when he realized it’s place in theories, “It puts you on the cutting edge of learning.” How psychology fits the puzzle pieces of the world and human behavior by offering a tangible understanding to the questions he asked.
Having an interest in psychology is one thing, but to teach it is another. Mr. Wilson quoted “docendo discimus” teach in order to learn. With every question asked there is an answer, but that answer will lead to more questions. To Mr. Wilson he believes, “With the more you learn, the more you realize you don’t know.” He always learns along with the students that he teaches. It is by teaching psychology that he in turn teaches himself.
Psychology offers a deeper understanding to life, he stated, “There aren’t many aspects of life that I don’t use psychology, whether it be principles that I integrate into my everyday life or relationships. Offering explanations to behaviors that might be unusual or unique, a better understanding of our body’s and how they work, and how we learn. It bleeds into everyday aspects.” To Mr. Wilson psychology isn’t limited to studying and understanding others, it can also be implemented into understanding himself and his own actions better. He can connect many actions to things that relate to psychology in the most simplistic or complex way possible.
There lies a deeper, and more personal connection to psychology. This connection is more than science, it is a lifestyle to him because, “What was purely scientific has become philosophical.” Psychology influences many aspects of an individual’s life and can help with understanding many things previously thought inconceivable. This influence shows true in Mr. Wilson and the students that he teaches.
-Ethan Williams
Psychology is defined as the study of the mind and its behavior, but what exactly does that mean? Mr. Leland Wilson is a psychology teacher at Harrison High School who exuberates his love for the subject everyday he teaches. Throughout the day he teaches others on how to study the individual and their behavior, but that raises the question. Why psychology?
Those interested in psychology yearn to learn about the things around them and to further understand the world. The reason for Mr. Wilson’s interest as he stated, “I liked the fact that it was a science and that it covers the entire gambit of human behavior.” His intrigue in the subject continued when he realized it’s place in theories, “It puts you on the cutting edge of learning.” How psychology fits the puzzle pieces of the world and human behavior by offering a tangible understanding to the questions he asked.
Having an interest in psychology is one thing, but to teach it is another. Mr. Wilson quoted “docendo discimus” teach in order to learn. With every question asked there is an answer, but that answer will lead to more questions. To Mr. Wilson he believes, “With the more you learn, the more you realize you don’t know.” He always learns along with the students that he teaches. It is by teaching psychology that he in turn teaches himself.
Psychology offers a deeper understanding to life, he stated, “There aren’t many aspects of life that I don’t use psychology, whether it be principles that I integrate into my everyday life or relationships. Offering explanations to behaviors that might be unusual or unique, a better understanding of our body’s and how they work, and how we learn. It bleeds into everyday aspects.” To Mr. Wilson psychology isn’t limited to studying and understanding others, it can also be implemented into understanding himself and his own actions better. He can connect many actions to things that relate to psychology in the most simplistic or complex way possible.
There lies a deeper, and more personal connection to psychology. This connection is more than science, it is a lifestyle to him because, “What was purely scientific has become philosophical.” Psychology influences many aspects of an individual’s life and can help with understanding many things previously thought inconceivable. This influence shows true in Mr. Wilson and the students that he teaches.
-Ethan Williams