Thirty-nine Collegiate Academy students attended the World Language Competition that was held at Slippery Rock College on Feb. 19. 

Students from area high schools competed in several categories including: grammar, vocabulary, listening and culture.

“Kids seemed pretty positive. They were sharing what they learned on the way home, and seemed very excited about the tests,” says Mrs. Pohl

In their spare time, the participants learned and embraced the cultures of other places around the world.  Students also learned some phrases in other languages such as: Japanese and Korean.  They also investigated opportunities to study abroad.

“I loved learning about Japanese culture, and being on a college campus,” says sophomore Jonathan Talarico.  He spoke German, but many others spoke Spanish, French, and Latin as well.

Jets Competition

by abby taylor

Many of Collegiate’s dedicated students participated in an all day event requiring math and science background and the JV team took first place. 

“This year’s competition theme is “Behind the Scenes: Engineering Athletic Events,” with all questions focusing on the engineering involved in pulling off a large scale athletic event such as the World Cup, Super Bowl, or Olympic Games”, according to the JETS website.

The first part of the test had 80 multiple choice questions with eight different scenarios, 10 multiple choice questions each.  The second part of the test had four free response questions, and students could work in groups of two.

“It really shows you how science is applied to real-life situations.  You really get a feeling about what a real engineer would do,” says Zach Silvis of the JV team.

The JV team is composed of juniors: Zach Silvis, Alice Stanton, Nicole Crouch, Stephanie Engel, Sajaad Al-Dhumani, Cecilia Hibbler, Grace Zimmerly, and Lori Radder.

Having a women’s history month is kind of overrated. Maybe a women’s history day would be more appropriate.

Women have always had a significant place in World History; in the background, and as a whole, women have really lacked any kind of historical importance. In the United States, there were the founding fathers, not the founding mothers.

Amelia Earhart, one of “American’s great women” crashed her airplane and was never found. What an impact she made in the ground.

And why is it that we reward Rosa Parks for being lazy? She did not feel like moving because she was tired from her day. That makes her a monumental woman in history?

In my opinion it was a shame that women ever received the right to vote, and I am skeptical as to why they are allowed to have an entire month to themselves. What could women possibly do to celebrate? Iron shirts? Wash dishes? It is a complete waste of time.

The only woman that should be celebrated is most certainly Anne Coulter. I think she said it best when she said, “girl-power feminists who got where they are by marrying men with money or power — Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi, Arianna Huffington and John Kerry — love to complain about how hard it is for a woman to be taken seriously. It has nothing to do with their being women. It has to do with their cheap paths to power.”

I believe that Coulter is completely correct. They did not really earn it, they just have usureped it from a man.

I think the best thing a woman can do this month is be useful, and make her man a sandwich.

            Day after day American citizens are becoming more accustomed to watching their ever eroding privacy rights fade into a bottomless pit of fear, paranoia, and prejudice. From anti-terrorism wire tapping and data profiling, to the most recent anti-terrorism biometrics technology; if terrorists did not manage to send the American Economy crashing in the September eleventh attacks, they did do an exceedingly excellent job of ensuring that the United States government becomes a little better acquainted with its citizens.

            Considering the debate about National Security Agency wiretapping is getting just a bit tired, the FBI, according to CNN, is now planning to employ various kinds of biometrics technology as a new way to stalk citizens.  This has potential to be significantly more efficient and invasive than mere video surveillance or switching through teenage phone conversations. 

            The aforementioned biometrics technology consists of strategies such as tattoo mapping, eye scans, finger prints, palm prints, and facial shape analysis. 

            The FBI hopes to utilize such technological advances to create a colossal database filled with information and records of people’s physical traits in order to keep a closer eye on past criminals and increasingly, those working in sensitive jobs such as careers with children and the elderly.  Civil liberties experts, however, fear that as the program continually expands to new individuals, now encompassing a mass of workers and volunteers, it will eventually move to the whole population. 

            If this seems to be a somewhat unwarranted, unnecessary, step toward fascism, just remember, it is only to protect people.  The whole idea is somewhat reminiscent of domestic abuse victims rationalizing their situation with “He only hits me because he loves me.”

            Yet, will the effect of biometrics on terrorism really be great enough for citizens to sacrifice personal privacy?  Unfortunately, the government could convince people that even a color coded system to analyze danger would be a good idea if it was in the name of preventing terrorism.  In a way, it is decidedly depressing to think that people are so willing to throw their privacy rights down any old, oil-filled well if it means a sense of security.           

            Then again, fear is an overwhelmingly persuasive tool and when the word “terrorism” can be heard roughly every sixty-seven seconds in any evening news program, people are decidedly more willing to give anything to ensure their life is safe, even if what they give is essentially their life.

            Yet, the last thing such pessimistic and apocalyptic thoughts should be accompanied by is more pessimism and doubt.  So, instead of dwelling in the endless debate and back and forth twisted logic that characterizes American politics, why not let the government do what it may and look the other way? 

            After all, with the terror alert at a vibrant baby blue, surely everyone can agree that as long as parents never discover that expertly concealed tattoo, does it really matter if the FBI knows where it is hidden?

            He grows tree-like roots from his hands and feet, while growing bark on his skin.

His name is Dede, a thirty-five-year-old Indonesian man who suffers from one of the

most peculiar diseases today.

            It all started when Dede was fifteen years old. According to an interview with

ITN, he suffered a small cut on his knee. This cut became infected because of the lack of

healthcare in his small, poverty-sticken village and a wart began to form. The local doctor

cut off the wart, but it was soon replaced with numerous warts that began to spread out

from his leg. As time passed, the warts grew out of control and eventually formed into

mossy, branch-like growths on his hands and feet.

            Anthony Gaspari, an American doctor of the University of Maryland, saw a report

about Dede, and became interested in the case. He traveled with a documentary team 

from the Discovery Channel to Indonesia to take some samples and study the condition,

with permission from the Indonesian government. His results were shocking:

            Dede suffers from a genetic defect affecting his immune system. When Dede cut

his knee at fifteen years old, the cut was infected with one of over one hundred forms of

the Human Papillomavirus existing in nature today. The combination of the rare form of

HPV and his genetic defect is what led to the overgrowth of warts that afflicts the man

today.

            In the interview, Dede says his feet are “heavy” and “difficult to move.” Because

of this, it is difficult for Dede to walk normally. His hands are so overwhelmed by the

growth that he cannot use them. He also explains to ITN how he could no longer care for

his children. “I can’t work,” he says. “I can’t provide money.”

According to The Straits Times, when asked why help was sought by the government for Dede’s conditions only after the international media reported on it, Indonesia’s Health Ministry Spokeswoman Lily Sriwahyuni Sulistiyowati said, “We actually treated him for more than one year about ten years ago despite the fact that we could not cure him, as there was no medication for this disease.”

            After over twenty years of suffering from this rare, life-threatening illness, Dr. Gaspari and his team of specialists have devised a treatment program for the “tree-man.”

Due to the failure to send this medication to Indonesia, the team of specialists was considering methods of bringing Dede to the United States, but were being met with heavy optimism by the Indonesian government. Eventually, the government agreed to have the medical procedure done in Indonesia, where he is still undergoing treatment to this day.

            Recession or not, President Bush and Congress have taken steps to rejuvenate the economy. Congress recently passed a $168 billion economic stimulus package that provides tax rebates, tax breaks and gives consumers greater accessibility to expensive mortgages.

            The bill is a response to the widely held fear that the economy is slipping into recession, and will hopefully avert major damage to the nation’s economic health. The idea of the package is to encourage consumers to spend more, thereby, increasing demand for all goods and services, and pulling the country out of recession. While the bill should be effective in its purpose, the necessity of the stimulus package is somewhat questionable.

            A recession is defined as two or more consecutive quarters of negative growth in the economy, yet the U.S. has not had two consecutive quarters of negative growth, not even one. The fourth quarter of 2007 showed markedly slower growth than the third, but growth all the same.

            Mrs. Gibson, macroeconomics teacher, says that even though the economy is not in recession yet, economists are worried because they have observed slower growth and lagging sales.

            Therefore the stimulus package will most likely dampen the effect of any upcoming recession, not pull the nation out of one that it is supposedly in.

            Mark Zandi, the chief economist for Moody’s Economy.com, says that the stimulus package “could make the difference between a long and short recession.”

            Critics of the stimulus bill say that it will not do enough to kick-start spending. According to an article on the website Market Watch, two surveys have shown that three quarters of consumers will save their money or use it to pay back debt.

            However, Zandi says, “Because the rebates are targeted at lower- and middle-income taxpayers, who are often living paycheck to paycheck, many recipients are likely to go out and spend their checks quickly.”

            Mrs. Gibson points out that, even if consumers use the stimulus to pay off debts, they will still be able to free up money to spend that would have gone toward their payments.

            “Americans are very consumer oriented,” says Mrs. Gibson, “I would expect that the stimulus money will be spent.”

            The rebates will not reach citizens until May, which is probably why Zandi estimates that the growth will occur later in the year. Mrs. Gibson says the rebates, coupled with holiday shopping at the end of the year, will cause a significant surge in the economy. Zandi predicts that half a million jobs will be created by the stimulus.

            Even though the economy is not yet in serious trouble, the stimulus package will bring a welcome boost to consumers.

My boyfriend completely forgot Valentine’s Day, and I’m STILL not over it. I just don’t know what to do; I am so angry and hurt!

Leah: You should do the right thing. Pretend not to remember his birthday. I think that’s the classy way to go about this. Hopefully his birthday is in the upcoming months, and you can mark your calendar to remind yourself not to say anything.

Vanessa: Ouch! We have one of two options: 1. You could drop him and find a guy who does remember. 2. Use this to your advantage. Make him wish he never even attempted to forget Valentine’s Day. Ask for everything and anything you could possibly want, and if he tries to say no just remind him how he basically stinks at life and should be happy you’re even speaking to him. You gotta  hit’em where it hurts, in the literal and figurative sense.

Dear Leah and Vanessa:

I’m a senior, and it’s third quarter. All of my friends are goofing off and stuff (and that doesn’t really bother me), but I’m actually kinda sad that I only have one and a half more semesters here. What do you guys think? Am I being irrational?

Leah: Not at all. I’m greatly saddened that we still have one and a half semesters left.

Vanessa: NO. I deeply regret to inform everyone that I too am very sad to be leaving my high school days behind me, it’s a very emotional time. Don’t feel weird that you’re upset. And don’t let Leah fool you; she cries herself to sleep at night just at the very thought of not seeing Mr. Thomas Vogt everyday.

Dear Leah and Vanessa:

Week after week after week I am continually disappointed with your sad attempt at humor and journalistic style. You two are poor excuses for writers and should feel ashamed that there is space wasted for this nonsense you like to call an advice column.

Leah: HAHA! I’m sorry…did you realize that Vanessa and I have received over $100,000 worth of college scholarships? So our “journalistic style and  nonsense” obviously didn’t get us anywhere. *blank stare* You are hilarious. Your feeble attempt to try and break the spirit of this column was pathetic!

Vanessa: ** Smiles, as she then blatantly ignores this comment and continues to have the time of her life briskly typing away, creating one half of the next epic installment of “The Saucy Suggestion”, while basking at the great usage of asterisks she has pulled off.** 

Dear Leah and Vanessa:

Is it true that when you guys graduate “The Saucy Suggestion” will be no more!!! Say it ain’t so, please say it ain’t so!

Leah: Wow. I never really thought of that ,Vanes-err “kind writer”. I guess that is true! I’m so depressed now! As you should be as well king readers! I say “readers” loosely because I don’t really think anyone reads this column.

Vanessa: True story, hun. Yep take advantage of our lovable words while you can, because as of June 4, 2008 “The Saucy Suggestion” is no more. Maybe Academy will be a better place because of that, or maybe just a lot less funny. Either way get your Leah and Vanessa fix in, because we’re peacin’ out. (Maybe this will be some incentive for an actual person to write in).

Leah: Good one…someone actually write in…

            Hitting a four-foot-long object from 133 miles away with a missile in a window of about ten seconds seems like something out of a science-fiction novel.  However, the U.S. Navy ship the U.S.S. Lake Erie did just that on Feb. 20, 2008, at about 10:26 P.M., according to CNN.

            Gen. James Cartwright, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said of the attempt, “By all accounts, this was a successful mission.  From the debris analysis, we have a high degree of confidence [that] the satellite’s fuel tank was destroyed, and the hydrazine has been dissipated,” reports CNN.

            The target was a fuel tank filled with a toxic hydrazine propellant, which resided in a U.S. spy satellite about the size of a bus.  The satellite was malfunctioning and about to crash down to Earth, causing alarm among some government officials.

The Pentagon could not be certain for another 24 hours that it hit the tank, but based on the vapor cloud that appeared around the satellite and a rather spectacular explosion, a few officials stated that the missile apparently hit its target. 

            The main cause for concern, surprisingly, was not the size of the object.  After all, flaming two-and-a-half ton objects the size of buses come hurtling through the atmosphere all the time.  No big deal.

            What worried scientists was the toxic fuel.  Hydrazine is a toxic fuel that, like chlorine and ammonia, harms the lungs.  According to CNN, if the satellite had been left to its own devices, it would have crashed to Earth in early March, releasing a harmful, if not deadly, gas over an area about the size of two football fields.

            The United States used this as a justification for destroying the satellite.  However, China is critical of this explanation.

            Just last year, the Chinese government shot down one of its own faulty weather satellites in order to test its missiles system.  It claims that the U.S. is just showing off its military muscles in this exercise.  The deputy national security advisor James Jeffrey denied this claim, saying that it was “all about trying to reduce the danger to human beings,” reports CNN.

            However, there are some uncertainties about the explanation provided by the U.S.  According to Time Magazine, the satellite would have most likely been incinerated during its fiery descent to Earth, and even if the fuel tank had survived, as predicted by the U.S. government, it is unlikely that it would have affected anyone.  After all, 70 percent of the Earth’s surface is covered in water.  Not to mention that the fuel tank was not nearly as durable as other tanks that have survived similar crashes, so it was likely that it would have been incinerated during its re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere.

            Time Magazine reports that the U.S. may have been worried over something aboard the satellite that did not involve toxic fuel.  Spy satellites are normally equipped with highly advanced technology, and this one did not seem to be an exception. Had this “secret hardware” been found by another international power, it would have erased the technological gains made by the United States.

Serenity Self, a junior at Collegiate Academy, is mostly concerned with the cost of the mission and if it was necessary. CNN reports that the mission cost between $40 and $60 million. However, she is “just happy they did it on the first try.  I’m glad they did it as they meant to, instead of nipping it and then just hoping it would have burned up.”     

            A little known fact, this month is Women’s History Month.  This month- long celebration of women’s progression in American society initially started as International Women’s Day, in 1911.  Soon the event became so popular that early in March some schools decided to have a week long celebration of the women’s movement. From there, the event snowballed into what is now a nationally recognized holiday passed by Congress in 1987.

Despite the initial excitement that surrounded this event, today as women are seen more equal than ever before, the celebration has lost its spark.  Yes, women have made it to an arguably equal status, but the daunting journey it took to get there, and the battles some women are still fighting should be recognized and celebrated.

            This celebration is meant to recognize the incredible strides women made  throughout American history, from the days of the Suffrage movements to the still waging war for equal pay in the work force. 

Women have made headway not only in societal views, breaking through standards and stereotypes that once shackled them to the monotony of housewife and motherhood, but they have also contributed to the good of the American people. Women have worked as literary scholars, inventors, doctors, scientists, war veterans, and held many other important, impacting roles, and the fight, though mostly over, is continuing.

            Statistically, women make only about 75 percent of men’s salaries for the same exact job.  This is the biggest battle today’s women are fighting. Since this issue has been seriously brought to light, employers are being sued and are changing this fact, but the problem is still very much an issue. 

Also, today’s women, though mostly free from the past societal standards and ideals that restrained them from fulfilling their desires, still feel the sting of stereotypes and sexism from fathers, grandfathers, friends, boyfriends, and even other women.  So to say that the movement is over is wrong.

            Despite whether the women’s movement is over and we have reached gender equality, the celebration of past progressions to this now state of arguable equality is still in order. Women’s History Month should not be the past celebration of past successes and actions, and something that no longer needs to be taken seriously, it is a remembrance of what did happen and is still happening, the unbelievable succession of American women to their rightful place as valued, equal citizens.

            According to a recent University of Chicago study by researcher Nicholas Epley, the desperation and sadness accompanied by loneliness may cause people to seek solace in pets, the supernatural and religion.

            As human beings, we are intrinsically inclined to seek social interaction. Collegiate psychology teacher Mr. Taylor says, “We are social animals. I think we’re meant to interact with each other, and most people want to be around others.”

            Due to the distress, grief and hopelessness that loneliness entails, people may replicate the social connections once shared with human beings by anthropomorphizing (to ascribe human characteristics to things not human) computers, cars, pets or by believing in supernatural events or religious figures.

            Collegiate junior Clay Grego says, “At the points that I’m my most stressed or lonely, I turn to God because I don’t have anyone else. He’s always there for me, and it’s certainly better than talking to rocks.”

            The results of the two-part study further affirmed the aforementioned notion. Epley and his colleagues induced and manipulated feelings of loneliness in the participants to observe how it affected their feelings toward pets and their belief in religious figures.

            In the first part of the experiment, participants were split up into three different groups, shown movie clips and told to try to empathize with the protagonist, in order to put them into one of three emotional states: isolation, fear or happiness.

            After seeing the movie clips, the groups were asked to describe a pet by picking from a list of traits provided to them, and to rate their belief in ghosts, angels, the devil, miracles, curses and God.

            Those in the loneliness group were not only more likely to describe their pet using anthropomorphic traits that related to social connections (thoughtful, sympathetic), but they also reported a stronger belief in the supernatural agents than did the other groups.

            In the second part of the experiment, the participants were asked to fill out a questionnaire and were told that it would later be put into a computer, which would generate a future-life prediction.

Those whose result implied that they would be lonely later in life reported a stronger belief in the supernatural agents in the previous experiment than those who were told they would be socially connected for the rest of their lives.

Surprisingly, those who rated a belief in God before the study, and were made to feel lonely reported a stronger belief after the experiment. Epley says, “We found that inducing people to feel lonely made them more religious essentially.”

According to Epley, owning pets and having strong religious beliefs are known to augment people’s sense of well-being, and he and his team are working to learn if anthropomorphizing pets, electronic devices and religious figures is responsible for diminishing feelings of loneliness. If they are, it could give people alternate ways to feel socially connected when human contact is unavailable.

            Now that the NFL season is over, and rabid fans are already salivating over this year’s top college recruits, it is time to take a step back and settle the Patriots controversy once and for all.

            The Patriots’ almost perfect season was ruined by the so called “Spygate” scandal at the beginning of the year. The world was shocked that something so evil could happen in the NFL. Players around the league spoke out on the issue; some of them sure that they had heard the Patriots calling out the other team’s plays. Suddenly, the Patriots’ three Super Bowls were suspect. Had the Patriots been cheaters all along?

            Patriots coach Bill Belichick was fined $500,000 and the team forfeited a first round draft pick this year, but some people were not satisfied. Don Shula, coach of the 1972 undefeated Dolphins team, said that the Patriots deserved an asterisk next to their record if they had gone undefeated; similar to the one Barry Bonds will likely receive. However, if one steps back and examines the facts, it becomes obvious that the Patriots did not swindle their way to the top of the league.

            First of all, the cheating occurred in the first game of the year. Even if the Patriots won that game because of their deceitful tactics, it was only one game. They won the next 17 without any illegal taping. It is unlikely that the Patriots ever benefited from their taping, because NFL officials stopped the cameraman before he could give the tapes to them.

            Secondly, taping of an opponent’s signals is only illegal if it is done on the sidelines. NFL rules allow taping of the games and signals, as long as it is done inside a booth. So the Patriots, and any other team, could have obtained the opposing team’s signals legally, they just decided not to.

            Besides, as a Yahoo! Sports columnist pointed out, teams change their strategies and signals constantly. Therefore, the Patriots would need to tape every single game just to keep up with the shifting signals. If the Patriots had done so, the NFL would have made an announcement by now.

            Mr. Boetger does not believe that the Patriots did anything wrong in that first game, but he says that they would not have gained a significant advantage if they had.

            There were even reports that the Patriots had filmed the St. Louis Ram’s walkthrough before the 2002 Super Bowl, which fueled even more questions and suspicions about the their so called dynasty. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said that he investigated those claims, and decided that there was no evidence of wrongdoing.

            Mr. Boetger thinks that the Patriots have taped before this season, but that other teams have done the same.

            “Everybody knows the other team’s signals,” he says. “Even if they did cheat, you still have to play the game.”

            Fans are now left with one option: that the cheating was an isolated incident. There is simply no way that the Patriots could have cheated again this season after getting caught once. They were already under intense scrutiny during the season while they attempted to go undefeated.

            The New York Giants did the Patriots a favor by winning the Super Bowl. If the Patriots had won, there would have been no end to the speculation about their credibility. Hate them or love them, you cannot astericize them.