Penn Points Online

Are athletes overpaid?

money — Do professional athletes earn too much?
photo credit: Tracy O via photopin cc

By Mike Eshleman

Many athletes are begging for new contracts after putting up big performances. Take Joe Flacco for example. After winning the Super Bowl as quarterback of the Baltimore Ravens, Flacco received a record-breaking contract even though he had a mediocre regular season.

Dallas Cowboys’ quarterback Tony Romo also recently received a huge new contract, becoming the highest paid player in franchise history. However, Romo has only won one playoff game in seven years as starting quarterback of the Cowboys. Although he usually puts up good numbers in the regular season, he has shown that he will usually choke in key games that he needs to win.

According to ESPN.com, Romo’s contract is for six years and $108 million, with around $55 million guaranteed. Meanwhile, players like quarterback Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers, who is a Super Bowl MVP and regular season MVP, are making considerably less. Is it fair for Romo, who has had little to no playoff success, to make a lot more money than a player who has proven himself to be among the league’s elite quarterbacks?

Even Penn Manor senior Deryk Morales, who has been a huge Dallas Cowboys fan for a long time, does not think Romo deserved his brand new extension.

“He has not done enough in his career to be paid as much as other players at his position that have done far more,” Morales said. “Win a Super Bowl, MVP, or lead the league in passing and then maybe you would deserve that kind of money.”

Should athletes even be paid this much money to begin with? Players in the NBA, NFL, MLB and other professional sports make millions of dollars every year, and some make even more off of major endorsements. Should they be making more money than doctors, police, firefighters or other people who protect the lives of the American citizens?

An argument could be made for football players. In order to provide entertainment for many people around the world, these NFL players are putting their bodies on the line every week of the season. These players risk major injuries such as concussions, torn ACLs or even something as severe as paralysis. These injuries have been known to end the careers of players in the NFL and even change their lives forever.

Take former NFL tight end Kevin Everett from the Buffalo Bills for example. Everett sustained a life-threatening spinal-cord injury back in the 2007 season after a helmet-to-helmet hit with Denver Broncos’ wide receiver Domenik Hixon. At first, doctors said that the chances for Everett to ever walk again were not good. However, Everett defied these predictions and was able to walk a few months after surgery. His life was changed forever, however, and he will not be able to play football again.

Players in the NBA and MLB make a lot of money as well, but the risk of injury in their profession is much smaller than that of the NFL. NBA and MLB players still have the risk of injury while playing their sport, but they are not putting their bodies on the line like players in the NFL are. Concussions and major injuries are not as common in the NBA and MLB as they are in the NFL.

This will be a major debate for a long time, but it looks like professional athletes, who make millions of dollars a year playing a game, will continue to make ridiculous amounts of money for years to come.

Reality show World of Jenks inspires many

By Coral Consylman

MTV is known for crazy reality shows featuring pregnant teens or wild partiers. For its show World of Jenks, MTV took a completely different direction.

Andrew Jenks is a famous filmmaker who created a show where he lives with three different people with different backgrounds and struggles within a year.

Jenk’s reason for this show is to make a show that’s not just filmed but where he experiences these peoples’ lives. He wants to film lives of the real heroes and survivors not usually shown on tv. On the current season of World of Jenks, he follows an autistic boy, a dancer who lost his brother to the streets and a girl who’s struggling with cancer.

Chad, 21, is just graduating high school and starting to live his life on his own, while struggling with his autism and trying to separate himself from his parents. He struggles with anxiety and the feeling of not being able handle things on his own.

On the show, Chad was having a hard time doing a speech for his graduation ceremony and has a hard time sleeping in his own room. As he grew out of that stage and started sleeping in his own room, he felt uncomfortable if Jenks wanted to sleep in his room too. Jenks was patient but finally helped Chad through that fear.

Kaylin, 23, is an aspiring fashion designer who struggles with two different types of cancer that were found six months apart. Kaylin had Ewing’s sarcoma, a rare bone disease that she is battling once again. With her struggle she still is trying to make her dream come true by moving to New York and becoming a fashion designer.

D-Real, 21, is a hip-hop dancer in Oakland who grew up in the streets selling drugs. He got his brother into doing it, and his brother ended up killed in a shooting. D-Real then realized the streets were not for him and started doing his passion, dancing. He became YouTube famous by making a video with his crew called “Dancing in the Rain,” a tribute to his brother and all of his friends who lost their lives to the streets.

D-Real’s goal is to try and turn his town away from violence and try and pursue dreams through dancing. He holds friendly dance competitions as a sign of peace and enjoyment. Jenks follows D-Real’s life in helping him accomplish his dream for the better of Oakland.

Being one of the most popular and inspiring shows according to MTV, World of Jenks catches the eye of our generation of young adults. Some students of Penn Manor were asked why they watch World of Jenks and how they think the show is inspiring.

“I think World of Jenks is a show that our generation would benefit from because it shows that just because you have a physical or mental illness doesn’t mean you can’t live life and live your dreams. It is a great show for our generation to get into for the reason of showing that being different is okay and that people who are accepting are the strongest people out there. Andrew is an awesome example.” says Katie Myers, junior and a fan of World of Jenks.

World of Jenks consists a season of ten episodes and airs every Monday at 11 p.m.

Students predict spring trends

Junior Jackie Hemler wears pastel florals for spring. — Junior Jackie Hemler wears a pastel floral scarf for spring.

By Lauren Hillegas

With changing weather comes changing fashions. Spring is finally here and so are the new trends for the season. Even here in Penn Manor, the new fashion trends will be popular with those who are drawn to everything chic.

“I’m excited to finally wear rompers and skirts,” said junior Jen Adams.

While rompers and skirts are sure to be popular, pastel colors are going to be huge, according to VOGUE magazine.

Juniors Liz La, Rachel Shelley and Michelle Herman are all in agreement when it comes to pastels for the spring fashion season.

“I think pastel-colored lace will be a big trend for spring,” said Shelley.

According to ELLE magazine, lace is also going to make a comeback.

Another trend you will be seeing a lot of is floral patterns. As well as being listed as an upcoming trend in ELLE magazine, junior Rachel Hreben also predicted a wave of florals for the spring season.

Along with florals, bright colors are going to be popular, according to students Hreben and junior Kelly DiCamillo as well as GLAMOUR magazine.

Junior Rachel Hreben also wears florals, but chose bright colors, another popular spring trend.

Women make impact on the military

Catalina Torres, a 2009 Penn Manor graduate, currently serves in the US Marine Corps. She will finish her contract in June.

By Michelle Zercher

Women in the military is not a new idea, but it has become an increasingly more accepted one, especially as the military officially opens combat roles to women.

In January, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel remarked at his confirmation hearing that “I will work with the service chiefs as we officially open combat positions to women, a decision I strongly support.” This comment has led to increased discussion of the role of women in the military.

There is also renewed debate about making women ages 18-25 enlist in a mandatory draft. Diane Mazur, a law professor at the University of Florida and a former Air Force Officer, told an Associated Press reporter, “Now that front-line infantry, armor, artillery and special operations jobs are open to female volunteers who can meet the physical requirements, it will be difficult for anyone to make a persuasive argument that women should continue to be exempt from registration.”

Greg Jacob, a former Marine Corps officer and policy director for the Service Women’s Action Network, was quoted in the Associated Press as saying women should have the same civic obligations as men.

“The idea that I could get drafted scares me,” says senior Danielle Johnson.

Amber Casey, a senior at Penn Manor High School, has already enlisted in the National Guard and will start basic training in October and plans to make a career out of the military.

“I think that women should have to enter a draft because now girls feel like they can defend themselves and if they can, then they should be able to put their big girl pants on and fight for the country that gave them the right to even have the ability to defend themselves,” said Casey.

Catalina Torres, Penn Manor class of 2009, is currently serving in the Marine Corps and will finish her contract in June. Torres has a different opinion of women in the draft.

“I don’t believe women should have a draft. The military is a cut throat world and if you don’t want to be there then life will be even more impossible,” said Torres. “Women have and will be looked down upon by men in the military especially in the Marines.”

Seraphina’s civilized dragons lure a reader in

By Emily Thyrum

According to Rachelhartmanbooks.com, Seraphina is the winner of the 2013 YALSA Morris Award for Best Young Adult Debut Novel and a New York Times bestselling children’s chapter book. These awards are well deserved because the book absorbs the reader into its pages.

Seraphina tells the story of a teenage girl in a mythical world where dragons and humans live together in an awkward type of peace, the dragons taking form of humans. This awkward peace is at its breaking point, however, when the treaty that keeps the citizens of Goredd in line needs to be renewed. Seraphina takes on not only her position as court music composer’s assistant, but also an investigator of the death of Prince Rufus, along with Prince Lucian Kiggs. Along her way, Seraphina must face the problems of her identity and parentage, along with the lies that they have brought her to tell.

The book’s incredible length might push some readers away, but every page adds to the suspense that makes the reader forge ahead in the book. The beginning is confusing and a bit boring, but as the novel continues, the reader will realize that the slow beginning is worth the wait.

The development of the characters is a strong aspect of the story because you will find yourself wrapped up in the character’s relationships with one another. The characters, mostly Seraphina, are easy to relate to, which makes the story seem much more real.

The fictional world is also well developed for a fantasy novel, because of the details related to the dragons vs. humans feature of the story. All in all, the book was exciting and will make you want to continue turning the pages.

Safe Haven: hit or miss?

Safe Haven, a film starring Julianne Hough, Josh Duhamel and Cobie Smulders, is based on the popular Nicholas Sparks novel of the same name.

By Lindsay Terry

Safe Haven, a movie based on the best-selling novel by Nicholas Sparks, hit the big screen on Valentines Day.

In the movie, actor Josh Duhamel plays local store and bait shop owner, Alex Wheatley, who is trying to forget his painful past while supporting two beautiful kids. Actress Julianne Hough plays Erin Tierney, a young woman who changes her name to Katie Feldman in an attempt to try to escape her painful past and a man she thought she loved.

Throughout the movie and the novel, set in South Port, North Carolina, the two develop a slow but steady relationship that all starts when Alex’s daughter helps Katie check out a few items at Alex’s local store. The rest is played out with suspense, romance and tear-jerking scenes as the couple fights their pasts together while creating a safe haven in each other.

There were mixed reviews on the book compared to the movie, and lots of controversy on whether Nicholas Sparks and his producers got the movie “right” themselves.

Freshman Julianna Cox said she enjoyed the movie.

“I think that it kept you on the edge of your seat, if you hadn’t read the book,” said Cox.

Cox is less positive about the comparison between the book and the movie.

“The book to the movie was a little disappointing. I expected a little more from the movie. The actors were exactly how I pictured them, but the book was 10 times better than the movie.” She also commented that the movie took a little too long to get Alex and Katie together, and didn’t quite explain the relationship between Erin and her “husband” like the book did.

Having seen the movie myself, I thought that the relationship between Katie and Alex should have progressed a little quicker. I also believe that the movie portrayed the character Erin as someone she wasn’t. In the movie, Erin is forced to stab her husband in order to escape him and her own death, but in the book, she leaves him while he is on a business trip and there are many chapters in the book with lots of detail explaining the time, patience, and hardship that it took for her to do that.

Like Cox and so many girls in Penn Manor High School, I was enthralled by every page in the novel, and would have recommended it to anyone who asked. Nicholas Sparks once again never fails to intrigue his readers from the very first page to the last one. The movie lacks some detail that the book had but it’s still worth seeing.

High hopes for track and field team

The Penn Manor track and field team practices on March 26. (Photo by Alexis Cunningham)

By Alexis Cunningham

A new season is a new start to this spring’s school sports. Penn Manor’s track team hopes to have a decent season and send multiple events to the state championship.

Head coach Art Morris leads a team of coaches including throwing coaches Joe Herman and Allie Girvin, long distance running coach Lauren Finn and sprint/ jumping coaches Dan Massey, Jana Richards and Tom Simpson.

Penn Manor’s Athletic Director Jeff Roth comments that this season’s potential depends a lot on the field events. He is confident that the runners will have a good season.

According to Roth, Penn Manor has had a strong track and field team in previous seasons. “Sprinters and distance runners will be strong this year,” he said.

Long distance runner Greta Lindsley, a junior, prepared for the upcoming spring season by participating in winter track. Lindsley runs 45-50 miles per week. This season she is running the 3200, 800 and 1600 meter races.

Lindsley commented on her goals for this season, “I like to run the 1600 (meters) so I can break my personal goal of 4:50.” Lindsley’s record mile time is currently 4:57.

Head Coach Art Morris, who ran middle distance events in both high school and college and has been coaching track and field for 15 years, is confident in the middle distance running events.

“On the boys side we should be strong in the middle distance with seniors Harrison Schettler, Jonathon Bitner, Travis Wells and Shadrack Kiprop leading the way,” Coach Coach Morris said. “The boys also have strength in the sprints and jumps with LeVonta Jones and Adrian Viruet. Javelin throwers Nate Binkley and Luis Marcelino will be factors.”

“On the girls side, Greta Lindsley and Meghan Maisano are experienced returnees who will be key factors in the middle distance,” said Morris. “Katie Stringer is a strong thrower in both shot and discus.”

Coach Morris said that the season is hard to predict due to the fact that the majority of the team is on the younger side.

“We have pretty young teams (only one senior on the girls team) so I expect many of our athletes to experience nice improvements as the season progresses,” Coach Morris said.

Penn Manor girls team defeated McCaskey 79-69 and the boys team lost 57-93 their first meet on March 22. On March 27, both teams lost to Hempfield.

Prom proposals: it’s not just asking

By Jordan Machado

Senior Zach Plank spelled out a message in candles to ask senior Sarah Giuffrida to prom.

Being asked to prom may be the best thing that could happen to a high school student. People ask their dates in many different ways, some very creatively such as at a school event with lots of people and some in the simplest forms through text. Either way, high schoolers look forward to prom and plan early.

“Prom is the best thing high school has to offer and being asked in a simple way just shows that to some people it’s just a dance,” said senior Amber Casey. “To me, it’s more than just a dance. It’s a great time to spend with a special person and friends and some people only do it once.”

Many Penn Manor students have been asked to prom in creative ways.

Senior Sarah Giuffrida was asked to prom by her boyfriend, senior Zach Plank, on March 19. Plank used lit candles to spell out a message to Giuffrida.

Senior Natalie Pavlovec used this art board to ask her boyfriend to prom.

“I wasn’t expecting him to ask me this day. I was sitting outside with my friend senior Alex Kresh waiting for Zach to come over,” said Giuffrida. “Zach kept telling me he needed me to go inside because he forgot something in my room. It started to annoy me so then I finally went in, walked up to my room and my floor spelled out (Prom).”

Senior Natalie Pavlovec recently asked her boyfriend Donald Bender, a junior at Lancaster Mennonite, to prom using an art board disguised as homework.

“I pretended to go to the bathroom but went to his room and put the board on his bed,” said Pavlovec. “He looked at the board and thought it was amazing.” Pavlovec added a piece to the back of the board that said lift. When Bender followed the directions, there was a message asking him to prom.

Senior Dave Glick has used sticky notes to tease senior Emily Adams about parking incorrectly before. The same method was ideal to ask Adams to prom. — Senior Andrew Glick has used sticky notes to tease senior Emily Adams about parking incorrectly before. The same method was ideal to ask Adams to prom.

Pavlovec said she was nervous he was not going to say yes. “I was wrong” she said. “He looked at me and smiled saying yes”.

Senior Andrew Glick’s method of asking his friend, senior Emily Adams, to prom ensured she would say has.

“I was on my way out to my car to leave school and saw all these sticky notes on my car. Every single note said (Prom?)” said Adams.

Emily was not expecting this to happen but said she wanted to be asked in a different way besides a text or asking verbally.

“He asked in this way because when I didn’t park correctly he would leave a sticky note on my car telling me about it” said Adams.

Chorus members set to travel to Disney

photo credit: Express Monorail via photopin cc

By Coral Consylman

It’s close to the time when Penn Manor High School’s orchestra and chorus members go on a week trip to perform for a crowd. This year is Disney World. The Disney trip happens every three years and the trip is for fun and a chance to sing in front of a big and new crowd of people.

“Performing in Disney is an exciting experience for high school students,” said chorus teacher Lauren Forbes. “It provides them with an opportunity to share their talents with a large audience outside of the traditional Penn Manor High School auditorium setting.”

The chorus will sing on Thursday, April 18 at Downtown Disney, but begin their journey in the Animal Kingdom. The rest of the trip they may go where they please as long as they stay in Disney World.

The 95 people including chaperones have spent about a year raising money for the trip. The fundraisers that helped pay for each individuals trip were Mary Kay, Joe Corbi’s Pizza, christmas wreaths, Bender Bingo, chicken bbq and subs.

Some of the members going are first timers, while others are revisiting.

“I’m really excited! I haven’t been to Disney in awhile. I’m excited to sing there cause it’s a new experience I will have.” said Patience Burd, a senior who is an active chorus member.

While others are excited to see new attractions, some are ready for a brand new experience.

“I have never been there, so it will be a new experience.” says Hanna Eichelman, a ninth grader and a first timer for Disney.

The week-long trip will be from April 16-21, 2013.

Sony announces PS4

Sony announced the Playstation 4 at a recent press conference, but did not release any photos of the new device. — Sony announced the Playstation 4 at a recent press conference, but did not release any photos of the new system.

By Gabrielle Bauman

When Andrew House, president and group chief executive of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. came on the stage, it was no secret what he was there for.

House was unveiling the Playstation 4, the latest in the line of PS gaming systems. But the press conference itself is leaving many with more questions than answers.

“I’m glad they’re building a new console after eight years. The hardware’s starting to look pretty old,” said Penn Manor senior Caleb Bolinger.

The game will be available by Christmas 2013, but no concrete release date has been announced yet. The press conference also failed to include pictures of the PS4, though the changes to the standard Playstation controller were highlighted.

These include a touchscreen, a blue LED light which is advertised to match your onscreen character, and a share button. The “Start” and “Select” buttons typically found in the center of the controller have been combined into a single “Options” button. However, the old Dualshock controllers used by the PS3 will not be compatible by the PS4.

The share button goes along with Sony’s plan to make gaming a more social experience. Video capture will be made easier with the PS4, and live streaming will attempt to make videogames similar to a spectator sport.

“I think the share button’s pretty gimmicky,” said Bolinger.

Sony also gave short presentations on some of the games that will be available with the PS4 launch, which included Killzone: Shadow Fall, Destiny (from the creators of Halo), and Driveclub.

The Playstation 4 will be a PC gaming console. According to the PC Magazine, “The system will run an x86-64 AMD Jaguar CPU with eight cores. It will also come with a 1.84 teraflop Radeon graphics processor and 8GB of RAM. Despite the increased focus on downloadable content, the 6xCAV Blu-ray drive stays. The system will also come with USB 3.0, Ethernet, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth, as well as the predictable HDMI, Analog AV out, and Digital Output.”

This is behind the current top gaming computers, but the difference is that while gaming computers become outdated quickly, consoles last for years. The Playstation 3 was put on shelves in November 2006, almost 8 years ago, and top titles are still being released on a regular basis like Beyond Two Souls, a motion capture game starring actress Ellen Paige.

When the PS3 was unveiled in 2006, SCE America head Kaz Hirai said, “The PlayStation 3 is going to be a console that’s going to be with you again for 10 years.” This will not be far from the truth by the time PS4 is released later this year.

Another highlight of the Sony press conference is the application of the cloud. Last year Sony paid $380 million for cloud based distribution company Gaikai. Gaikai CEO David Perry stated at the press conference that Sony was working on cloud based distribution for all their upcoming titles. The user will download the game from the cloud, and then play the full game as the rest is still downloading.

No wait times, no demos.

This may play into the market currently held by the cloud based distributor Stream, a realm over which it currently reigns supreme. EA attempted to topple it with Origin to no avail, but now Sony seems to want to get into the cloud action.

“Try for free and buy only the games you really love,” said Perry.

Bolinger commented on the success of Nintendo’s latest console, “It sucks for the Wii U that just came out…it’s got the specs of current generation consoles and now there’s a new one.”

The PS4 will be here by this holiday season, but there is no word on pricing or of what the actual console will look like.

Don’t worry — If it’s anything like its predecessors, it’ll just be a black box.