hi ICC
I I ^nn I H Imi
Winter Olympics XXI
USA gears up for
epic rivalries and
great victories in
Vancouver.
page #6
Volume 84 No. 7
Grimsley High School
February 26, 2010
801 Westover Terrace
Greensboro, NC 27408
High LIFE
6(,
If students ^
choose %
to miss
class, that
is their
problem
and their own choice
to make, but if they are
responsible and complete
the missing work, they
should be exempt from
make-uptime.
Blair Bloomquist
page #4
News
Find updates on
global contributions to
the Haiti disaster,
including the “Hope
for Haiti Now” concert.
page #2
Opinion
International students
required to complete
additional tests,
processes in order to
apply to college.
page #4
Features
Editor reviews drama
students who hilariously
stage “The Complete
Works of William
Shakespeare Abridged.”
page #8
Sports
Coaches demand
respect and expect
sportsmanship but
often do not practice
what they preach. -
page 11
Index
News
2
Opinion
3-5
Spread
6-7
Features
8-10
Sports
11-12
“Brainy Bunch” proves its academic
prowess, prepares for upcoming match
BY KATHERINE PHILLIPS
Editor-in-Chief
55
Advisors Larry Williamson and
Michael Courts hold high expecta
tions of their "Brain Game" team,
and seniors Shelby Stoneking and
Jonathan Storch, along with jun
ior Alex Clegg, stepped up to the
challenge by winning the quarter
finals, thus advancing to the aca
demic competition's semifinals,
which wfil take place in Raleigh
on March 6.
WRAL-TV5 broadcasts
"Brain Game" live on Saturday
mornings. The trivial game
show for high school students
involves teams limited to three
contestants each. Advisors
select participants based
upon their performances at
Quiz Bowl practices.
Quiz Bowl teams consist of 10
to 12 students, who train by an
swering trivia questions
through a buzzer system. They
then compete in various tourna
ments, such as the Knowledge
Master Open, the Tar Heel Cup
on the campus of the University
of North Carolina at Chapel Hill,
and the Quaker Cup hosted by
the Early College at Guilford.
Students competing in "Brain
Game" answer questions from
nine categories: Pop Culture,
Headlines, Arts and Crafts,
Math, Science, Name Game,
Globetrotting, Across America,
and Word Power, a themed
crossword. Questions from the
Globetrotting and Across
America categories center on
three specific countries and
states, respectively, of which the
contestants are informed before
hand for preparation purposes.
Two of the three Brain Game
members, Storch and
Stoneking, returned from last
year when they won the tour
nament. Storch's rookie year
was his freshman year, while
Stoneking joined her junior
year. Glegg is in the midst of his
first season with the team, re
placing Daly Brower who
graduated in 2009.
"Replacing Brower isn't so
tough when I don't think about
it!" said Clegg. "When a match
first starts, it's a bit overwhelm
ing, but then I settle down, and
the tim.e goes by really fast."
Scoring 400 points at the
Brain Game quarterfinals on
January 16, the team defeated
Durham Jordan and Leesville
High Schools. Durham Jordan
scored 160 points, and
Leesville scored 120.
"We usually try to run the
first couple categories and then
let the other teams self-destruct
as they fight over the rest of the
Seniors Shelby Stoneking, Jonathan Storch,and Junior Alex
Clegg must agree before answering during a Quiz Bowl
competitiomThey won the quarter finals in Raleigh. Clegg photo
points," said Storch of the
team's approach.
Siich a plan will no longer be
applicable at the 2010 semifinals
since only two teams will com
pete instead of the usual three.
"This is the first time it's
been done this way, which
means we need to rethink our
strategy," said Stoneking.
Even so, academics are not the
sole focus of the tournament.
"We're known as the quirky
team," said Stoneking. "The
host in Raleigh, Mark Roberts,
told us how impressed he was
with our attitudes. We dress in
themes. Last year, we arrived
in prom attire."
Veteran Storch keeps a
healthy perspective regarding
the competition and enjoys the
humor of his passion.
"If we win in March, then we
become part of the Final Four,
which coincides with March
Madness—March Madness for
dorks!" he said.
Individuals interested in
attending and supporting
the Brain Game's live
studio audience should
contact Larry Williamson or
Michael Courts.
Security remains major issue in airports
BY LINDSEY STADLER
Reporter
Nearly nine years after 9/11,
many people believe security
in the United States is still not
up to par. Just this past Christ
mas Day, Umar Farouk
Abdulmutallab, a 23 year-old
Nigerian student, was arrested
for trying to blow up an Ameri
can plane on its way to Detroit.
He carried bomb materials
sewn into his underwear. Ei
ther the bomb was faulty or not
set off correctly; fortunately,
only a small fire occurred about
two to three-feet high.
Supposedly security on this
day at the Amsterdam airport
was very weak, and the
searches were not nearly as
thorough as usual.
In November of 2009, a Vir
ginia couple, Tareq and
Michaele Salahi, entered the
White House and attended a
state dinner without an invi
tation. According to a report by
Byron Wolf on ABCnews.com,
Secret Service spokesman Ed
Donovan claimed the couple
was no threat to security be
cause they were properly
searched. They were just seek
ing media attention, as she
was a cast member on "Real
Housewives of Washington,
DC," a television show airing
on Bravo.
As a result of their atten
dance, President Obama called
on Homeland security and the
Energy Department to develop
better screening technology.
"In the never-ending race to
protect our country, we have to
stay one step ahead of a nimble
adversary," said Obama.
Security experts have offered
new ideas including highly so
phisticated sensors, more inten
sive interrogations, and a lifting
of the United States prohibitions
against profiling. The latter ex
cludes the profiling of passen
gers based upon their ethnicity,
religion, or national origin. Tak
ing away these prohibitions in
the US would meet resistance
and legal challenges.
Some officials believe we
should operate security more
like the Israelis do at their air
ports, which are widely con
sidered the most secure facili
ties in the world. Their searches
are more meticulous with their
screeners searching every item
in luggage and bags; they un
fold socks, squeeze toothpaste,
and flip through books. Israe
lis also admit to profiling.
While the Israeli methods
are more scrupulous, there is
still some dispute as to
whether their searches would
work as well here because Is
rael has six airports, in con
trast to approximately 400 in
the US. Such intense searches
and interrogations would in
volve major delays that could
bring air traffic to a stand-still.
In order to become a more
secure nation, experts suggest
the US government should up
date policies regarding disas
ters, whether natural disas
ters or terrorism since those
presently in effect are old
and outdated.
According to Seattlepi.com,
recent activities indicate that
57% of Whites and 71% of Af
rican Americans support the
ethnic profiling of people who
look to be of Middle-Eastern
decent. Currently, however,
Americans must depend upon
US intelligence and surveil
lance for their protection.
As airport security aims to
stop would-be attackers from
bringing weaponsor bombs
into the airport, they rely upon
X-rays and metal detectors.
The suspect in the attempted
Christmas Day bombing on
Northwest Airlines flight
#253 started in Nigeria and
continued to Amsterdam
before landing in Detroit. Nei
ther of the two airports
noted anything unusual on or
about the suspect.
Terrorists seem to
know which airports are lax
with their security and which
are not, thus airports will
need to revise their security
equipment and standards.
Full-body scans are crucial
but expensive. Until all air
ports improve their equip
ment and security, Americans
may continue to fear their
lives are at risk.