Northwood’s Amnesty International invited Matt Hunter, a representative of anti-genocide organization Jewish World Watch (JWW), and Wai John Wai, a member of a San Diego refugee center for Sudanese citizens, to the theater after school on March 24 to illuminate students on the Congolese and Darfuri genocides.

Hunter spoke first about the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo that began in 1996 and has resulted in an estimated 5.6 million deaths. He also presented two videos about the genocide, one of which concerned the brutal rapes of women and girls in the area. Wai, the second speaker, covered the mass homicide of non-Arabs in Darfur, a region in western Sudan, that began in 2003 and has taken 400,000 lives. Wai encouraged students to send letters to government officials to help stop the human rights violations occurring in the areas.

“I [already] knew about the events, but the videos at the end of the Congo session that showed a firsthand account of what happened were very impactful,” said junior Youngha Hwang.

To raise awareness about the genocides, Northwood’s Amnesty International is campaigning around the Oak Tree from March 28 to March 31 and collecting signatures for petitions pledging to buy products free of minerals obtained through genocide or violent conflict. It will also send a team to JWW’s Walk to End Genocide, which will be held on Sunday, April 3 in Fountain Valley.

“After hearing about the events in Congo and Darfur, I realized how lucky we are to live in such a safe area,” said junior Janny Jang.  “I realized that students do have a lot of power to bring about change. We can write to our Senators and urge them to stop the atrocities.”

Photo: testcountry.com

Several months ago I was intrigued reading a research article by S. Mark Young and Drew Pinsky titled “Narcissism and celebrity.” The article analyzed different degrees of narcissism  among different types of celebrities in the public eye. Although society has always been attracted to fame and wealth, fascination has grown as constant media coverage of pop culture now offers celebrities more attention than ever.

In the article, a study was conducted using the Narcissistic Personality Inventory to assess narcissism among different celebrities. The study found different types of egotism among different individuals. It was found that female celebrities were generally more egotistic than their male counterparts, often displaying more vanity. Comedians, reality TV personalities and actors all showed significantly higher signs of narcissism than musicians. Comedians scored the highest, showing signs of a feeling of superiority, exhibitionism, authority, entitlement and exploitativeness.

The truth in this study has never been more evident to me than what the media has proven in Charlie Sheen. Charlie Sheen, the former “Two and a Half Men” lead actor, has been featured on every news station, on many home pages of various websites and among tabloids and magazines.

Charlie Sheen’s drug use and erratic behavior became viral as he continued to do more interviews throughout the week, becoming seemingly more unstable with every appearance. He has become the poster child of narcissism within a week’s time as the public eye and media further encourage it.

“I’m bi-winning,” claims Sheen in defense of being called “bipolar” by onlookers. This has become possibly one of the most recognizable quotes from a week of interviews and Sheen’s odd behavior. Instead of scorning his actions, as a society we give Sheen the attention he expects and contribute to his narcissism.
   
Sheen’s behavior, along with other celebrities, is exciting and intriguing to follow. Celebrities lead seemingly fictional lives in comparison to our own, which is particularly appealing to humans. Our fascination has only contributed to narcissism among celebrities.

Sources
BOOK REVIEW
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2009-03-16-pinsky-narcissism_N.htm
ARTICLE
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6WM0-4K9C558-2&_user=10&_coverDate=10%2F31%2F2006&_rdoc=1&_fmt=high&_orig=gateway&_origin=gateway&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_searchStrId=1675129011&_rerunOrigin=google&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=d872018c55f1e478cea09b6e6ec5b62c&searchtype=a
NEWS
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/10/magazine/10Section2b.t-5.html?_r=1

Northwood’s Environmental  Club hosted a beach cleanup on Saturday, March 19 at the Corona Del Mar State Beach.

Despite the chilly weather, 14 students, including club members and AP Environmental Science students, attended the event.  In honor of saving gas and reducing  vehicle emissions, the attendees met at Northwood and carpooled together to the beach.

Students looked for and picked up litter on the beach for about two hours. Afterward, the group enjoyed snacks brought by Enviro Club presidents Melissa Jeng and Parveen Kasraee.

“I felt like it was just a small thing I could do to help the environment,” said junior Farheen Basith. “I learned that we should be a little more careful with natural habitats, such as our beaches. Birds and other sea animals are being affected by the trash.”

Enviro Club wanted to give both members and AP Enviro students the opportunity to get involved in reducing  beach pollution and be part of a fun, hands-on experience. Participants  received community service hours, and AP Enviro students also earned field hours for the class. 

“I think [the beach cleanup] was a success because we had a great turnout, and it seems like we really picked up a lot of trash,” said Kasraee. “It looked like everyone had fun while doing it!”

Northwood High School’s Science Olympiad took a strong team to the Orange County Regional competition on Friday, March 4 and placed 3rd in the competition. Over 350 high school students from 22 different high schools faced off in the competition at Golden West College.

The team matched the toughest competition in events that ranged from creating the best rubber band-powered helicopter to designing a car powered by mousetraps.

Other events include Disease Detectives, where students recognized a disease in a lab and explained its cause, symptoms, prognosis and treatment; Chemistry Lab, which required students identify unknown acids using a series of experiments; and Optics, in which students showed concepts of reflection and refraction using lenses, mirrors and lights.

“The ultimate goal of the Olympiad is to encourage a greater enthusiasm of science among our young people,” said Carol Grimes, organizer of the competition, who spoke to the OC Register. “We often focus a lot of attention on sports teams in high school. The Olympiad shows that exercises of the mind should also be celebrated.”

High school teams are made up of up to 15 students. Teams can only carry seven seniors, with the rest of the teammates coming from the other grade levels.

Placing 3rd, Northwood finished right behind Irvine High School (2nd) and Troy High School (1st). University placed 4th, while Aliso Niguel (5th) and Canyon High School (6th) followed close behind. These six schools will advance to the State Competition on April 9th to battle wits against the top 6 schools in every county.

Photo: Quincie Li

The second annual Timberwolf 5K Run and Walk on Feb. 19 was once again a huge success, just as it had been the previous year.

Despite the possibility of rain, many runners and volunteers still showed up to participate. Participants, however, felt that the morning was perfect for holding the event, with its clear overcast skies.

“I was worried that it might rain today because it had been most of the week. If it did, I’m sure there would have been less people who would show up and participate in the run,” said sophomore volunteer Alan Sun.

There were about 750 participants ranging from Northwood students and faculty to community members. Participants of all ages joined together to run or walk along Wolf Trail, Orchard Hill Drive and around the back of the school.

“It’s really amazing to see everyone out there supporting [the 5K] and helping out. It was a community effort,” said runner Emaan Baqai.

The 5K also raised money for Boosters as well as Families Forward.

“It’s great that the 5K helps organizations and also promotes physical exercise. It’s a win-win situation,” said runner Christine Yang.

All participants were allowed to join the 5K whether they are a serious runner or a leisure walker. Johann Appell, Ryan Purcell and Luke Decker finished the 5K in 1st, 2nd and 3rd place, respectively.

“All three runners were really close. It was difficult to tell who placed first if we didn’t have the timing chips,” said runner Zeerek Ahmad.

The 5K Run concluded with refreshments, food and an awards ceremony. The top three finishers of each age group were given medals.

“Overall, the event was great and it would have never been possible without the help of the Northwood Athletic Boosters and volunteers. I think everyone did great and I’m sure next year will be just as successful, if not more,” said Sun.

Photo: tvdoom.com

Growing up in the somewhat boring, sheltered city of Irvine, there is definitely a vacancy in our lives when it comes to drama. It is time to find your fix.

Degrassi is somewhat like a soap opera, dramatizing domestic teen problems without the explicit themes showcased in other shows of the genre, such as MTV’s Skins.

Though originating in Canada, “Degrassi” airs in the United States and the United Kingdom as well, this season being the first to have the new episodes aired on the same day in the United States and Canada. Now in its 10th season, the show has decided to promote the last 12 episodes with the new title, “Degrassi: In Too Deep.” After recently embarking on this new chapter, the first few episodes, not to mention the trailers, have started off a very promising chapter in “Degrassi” history.

Each week’s episode follows a large group of sophomores, juniors and seniors who attend Degrassi Public High School and the modern problems that they, and some young adults may face.

With quite a slew of different characters in three different grades, the plot can be difficult to understand, especially when you are newly acquainted with the show. To get you up to speed with the more current events within the greater Degrassi cast, I summarized the problems between most of the major characters.

Fiona’s dangerous addiction to champagne, had spiraled out of control, starting from a way to cope with her loneliness, to a dangerous device making her act and say things much different from her few sober moments finally leading up to a climactic intervention with her friends and family. The one who set this up was Holly J, Fiona’s best friend and senior class president.

Drew is a star on the basketball team and notices that he is not as popular as last semester , due to the fact that he is spending more and more time with Bianca, who is despised by all the other girls because of her reputation of being very promiscuous. His brother Adam is a female-to-male transgender and has had romantic instances with Fiona, not knowing if he could ever have a true relationship the way he is.

His best friends, Eli and Clare are in a serious relationship, having been through traumatic events as a couple and clearly head over heels for each other.

Zane and Riley are a homosexual couple, Riley being newly “out” to everyone except his parents.

Tune in to TeenNick (formerly The-N) on Friday nights at 9 p.m. to witness “Degrassi” and bring the wonders of a teen drama into your life.

Photo: indieshuffle.com

Bright Eyes’s latest endeavor in the musical world with “The People’s Key” (Saddle Creek) sounds roughly like what I would imagine a Kurt Vonnegut novel to sound like – a tad bit futuristic with a nod to the past.

Previously, lead singer Conor Oberst wrote acoustic ballads that sounded like a wide-eyed teenager hoping to find himself and his place in the world. Since then his music has dropped the folk influence and developed into a synth-rock sensation that keeps the dark and deep tune of past albums.

In comparing The People’s Key to previous albums such as 2007’s Cassadaga, Oberst says that he was “really burnt out on that rootsy Americana [garbage.]” His move towards rock is complete with synthesizers and electric guitars, something that older records lacked.

His stronger voice and more compelling lyrics sound like liquid poetry, dripping with honesty and a curiosity regarding the most diverse topics, including time, religion, Satan and Hitler. Oberst shouldn’t receive all the credit though; band-mates Mike Mogis and Nate Walcott dabble in the mandolin, keytar and even accordion, creating an almost-ethereal backdrop to Oberst’s vocals.

The title track, “A Machine Spiritual (In the People’s Key)” sets the mood and tone for the entire album. A cosmic creation about the possibilities of the New Age, “A Machine Spiritual” ends with a universal motto – “We’re starting over.” A motto that Bright Eyes seems to relate to quite well.

If you’re not too interested in rock, but enjoy a good throaty ballad, look no further than Adele’s newest album “21” (Columbia). The now 22-year-old singer-songwriter, has upgraded to the status of a UK Soul Diva. With songs like “He Won’t Go,” Adele proves that she is not just another sex idol or marketing tool.

Her voice is powerful and vulnerable at once, bringing music back to its core sans auto tune and flashy music videos. Drenched in rawness, “21” gives us stellar tracks that scream for features in FOX’s hit show “Glee” (sung naturally by Miss Mercedes).

Although mostly popular in the United Kingdom, Adele seems to have broken out stateside with her new soulful album. Dubbed the new Aretha Franklin, Adele only needs her voice and a piano to perform.

Songs to be sure to look out for include “Rolling the Deep” and “Turning Tables,” in which she brings out her American country and soul influences. “Lovesong,” a new take on The Cure’s “I Will Always Love You,” takes listeners on an emotional rollercoaster and is so bold that it sounds like it could be staged at Paris’ Palais Garnier.

In “Rolling the Deep,” Adele belts out “Think of me in the depths of your despair.” Will do, Adele. Will do.

Jumping the pond from the U.K. to Miami, let’s take an earful of Ricky Martin’s latest album – “Musica + Alma + Sexo” (translated in English to “Music, Soul and Sex”). I don’t usually listen to Latino music, but decided to give it a chance.

I’ve found Ricky Martin’s album to be a great way to practice my Spanish and although most tracks on the album sound like the same variation of each other, “Frio (feat. Wisin y Yandel) [Remix Radio Edit]” has a unique sound with a great beat.

This album seems to be a reflection of his happiness and freer spirit as of late, but I’m not particularly convinced of his talent. The first track on the album “Mas” (More) has great potential, but tapers off in the middle, leaving listeners dissatisfied and just a little confused.

Martin has definitely grown and developed as an artist since his nineties’ hits, but “Musica + Alma + Sexo” does not show off his capabilities. This album is a good listen if you’re getting nostalgic for the good times of wide-leg jeans and Radio Disney, but if not I would recommend leaving Ricky Martin behind along with the last century.

Photo: blogspot.com