By Cora Beyer
Staff Writer As a Senior at Red Lion Area Senior High, it seems to me that more and more people turn 18 every day. While 18 is an exciting age because you are a full-fledged adult now, it is also the legal voting age. Despite the growing population of voting age people, the percentage of young people who go to the polls is steadily dropping. We can’t let this be our trend! With the Midterm Election coming up on November 6, this is the perfect time try out your newfound right. Even if you can’t vote this time around, you will be able to in the near future. Therefore, here is a list of reasons to remind you why YOU should go out and vote.
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By Clare Mankin
Business Manager So this past Saturday, SATs were held here at the high school. I was one of many students from Red Lion signed up to take the test who felt absolutely prepared. I woke up that morning ready to start my day, I got dressed, ate a pop-tart, and had a glass of orange juice. I guess you could say my day was starting off pretty great. Until I found out that someone stole my calculator the night before while I was at the football game. Yeah, that's right my calculator. Now I know what you're thinking: "It's just a calculator, Clare" or "Is this girl seriously ranting about a stolen calculator?" But here's the thing, I SPECIFICALLY bought a FIFTY dollar calculator at the beginning of August for the SATs! How would you feel if you woke up at seven in the morning, on a Saturday by the way, to go take a test you don't even want to take, and then breakdown in tears because one of the most important things needed to complete said test isn't there? I know most of you wouldn't be all that happy, and if we're being honest, most of you guys would probably start freaking and be on the verge of an aneurysm. And to top it off, I forgot my photo ID, so I almost missed my test to go back home and grab it. I'm just grateful I got there in time and the teacher had an extra calculator. So here's what I've gathered from this exhausting day:
I hope you enjoyed this first post on Leo's Roar. Remember to always check on theleonid.com and any Leonid social media accounts for the next blog update. Leave any comments or questions you have down below and we will try as a staff to get back to you as soon as possible! By Aubrie Wise
Junior Editor-in-Chief Last week I traveled 16 hours in a packed full van to Biloxi, Mississippi. Biloxi is located right on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico and is cluttered with casinos and huge boats. However, I would not recommend planning your family vacation there because the Gulf is filled with red tide and between the luxurious casinos, are homeless people, a lot of them. I went to Biloxi, not to vacation, but to help rebuild a broken land and society. State of Affairs in Biloxi Craig Steenkamp, one of the heads of Back Bay Missions, informed my group of what happened to Biloxi that created the need for help when we arrived. The homeless population along the coast exploded for the first time in 2005, for those who were just children during that time, or maybe are just bad with dates, 2005 was the year of Hurricane Katrina, a Category 5 storm that destroyed the Gulf Coast. While the government tried to send support to the Coast, the influx of people with destroyed homes, and people storming into cities like Biloxi looking for work in reconstruction caused an overabundance of people without jobs and without homes. Nothing could keep up with the growing population of homeless in the small cities along the Gulf, and as time went on, people began to turn a blind eye, and pretend the problem was solved. Hurricane Katrina was thirteen years ago. Thirteen years, and people are still suffering from it. Now, in 2018, the government no longer classifies the Gulf as a disaster zone. Funding for rehabilitation and recovery for the people has been pulled almost completely out. Not only is the funding gone, but the homeless population is still increasing today. People come to Biloxi for two reasons: the promise of work, and the warm climate. Homeless people, just so happen to be attracted to those factors. The need for help in Biloxi and areas like it is overly apparent, which is why I missed a week of school, traveled there, and contributed free labor in the relentless one hundred-plus degree weather. Back Bay Missions A nonprofit program consists of seventeen paid workers, and tons of volunteers, Back Bay Missions organized the trip for the church I attend. I have been on six mission trips before, but what makes Back Bay special is the variety of work that can be done, including the ones that follow. Veterans Home On Monday, I went to an apartment complex that had been recently inhabited by a homeless veteran. Back Bay has multiple apartments that partnered with the VA (US Department of Veteran Affairs), houses previously homeless veterans. The one that I went to had been abandoned by the veteran who had been living there two months prior, and my groups job was to clean it out and get it ready for the next veteran. Loaves and Fishes Loaves and Fishes is a local soup kitchen in Biloxi. With three paid workers, and many more volunteers, this nonprofit organization provides the homeless with both a breakfast and a lunch with one or both of those meals being a ‘hot’ meal. The homeless that I met at Loaves and Fishes did not look or act like I expected. Everyone had clothes that fit them and shoes on their feet, thanks to Back Bay. Additionally, everyone smiled and said thank you. These people who had it the worst off were some of the happiest and most grateful people I have ever met. Micha Day Center The Micha Day Center is a local shelter for the homeless to spend day hours in. At the Center, the homeless can shower, do laundry, and escape from the heat in an air conditioned building. At the Micha Day Center, the homeless are considered the workers’ ‘clients and are able to put themselves on the same playing field as people of means. The Center provides help like giving them monthly haircuts, helping them write their resumes and creating life goals. Home Renovation The final aspect of working at the Back Bay Mission is what is usually associated with mission trips and that is refurbishing a home. The work is everything from siding to painting to gardening to demoing (demolition of houses). Over the course of the mission trips I have been on, the purpose is always to help someone else out, because overall that’s all that matters. No matter how hard the work, or how hot the heat, at the end of the day, the overall experience of being able to help those who have it way worse than I do is what makes a Mission Trip. It is what keeps me volunteering six trips later. Marissa Burd
Editor-in-Chief The SATs play a large role of getting into college, depending on where you’re looking to attend. The SAT essentially tests your skill in all the mandatory classes you’ve taken your 3-4 years of high school. When I took the test for the first time, it’s appropriate to say I was unprepared. I didn’t know what to expect and I regret not asking more questions before taking it my first time around. I showed up to the High School and didn’t know what to expect. I walked into my usual world history class and felt the environment of a typical school day as familiar faces walked into the same room they were too assigned. Yet, there was a nervous tension all around. It was almost comforting knowing I wasn’t the only one not knowing how to feel at the moment. This test did determine where our futures would potentially take us. Everyone sat silently in their seats with two No.2 pencils, and their test taking approved calculator. Someone other than my world history teacher passed out the test and answer booklets to each of us students. It felt like I was taking a state standardized test again, there was nothing special about the book. What followed was a series of script reading and personal information bubble-filling. Finally, us eager students were given the signal to start. Accordingly I finished each of the sections with the time I had to take them. The time started to shrink as I advanced to each section. Time goes by fast when you have anywhere from twenty to fifty minutes to answer fifteen to forty questions. Over the last few years in my school career, I’ve taken many standardized tests. When taking Keystone tests or PSSAs, they tell you to take your time and if you don’t finish after the time that’s given, you will be given extra. Nevertheless, this did not prepare me for the SAT and it’s something I really struggled with when taking it for the first time. That said, after I finished the test completely, I realized there were a few other things I wished I would’ve prepared myself more. There’s a list of things I think everyone should know before taking such an important test:
By Clare Mankin
Business Manager For the past couple of weeks, we have been hit with a multitude of heat waves. This weekend, however, we were able to get a break from the scorching weather--with rain. Lots of it. The remnants of Hurricane Florence are coming our way, in the first of what looks like a busy hurricane season. The climate does call for some questions to arise, especially the 'why' ones. According to Science Daily, our climate has had radical changes in the past couple of years, and not for the best. From wind and solar shifts to the movement of the earth axis in 2017 to increases in carbon ----- the planet's weather patterns are changing. Scientists believe this is a result of how we treat our environment and the amount of pollution we put back into our atmosphere. What scientists have determined is that our globe is warming at unprecedented rates. According to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, since 1951 and 1980, the global average temperatures have increased between one and two degrees higher. With this rise in temperature, the rise in sea level is increasing. These regularly occurring spikes produce more hurricane four and five occurrences, extreme tectonic plate shifts under the Earth's surface, devastating volcanic eruptions, and colossal coastal runoff. All of this ties back into the past month and the last couple of years. This is one of the many reasons why the climate has been changing and why the atmosphere is deteriorating. Places like Hawaii, who have had major volcanic eruptions and are now experiencing a hurricane as the aftermath, and under siege of these shifts, changes, and spikes. However, we can prevent and slow this process by limiting the trash consumption and production of our individual selves. The planet is greatly affected by man and its influence over it. Take action and help save our atmosphere. Lend a hand in repairing it by recycling, using decomposable materials instead of non-decomposable ones, pick up litter, don't litter. Do whatever you, as an individual, are able to do. Don't sit idly by as the planet becomes more and more damaged by mankind. Fight for the possibility of a thriving world. By Brody Patmore
Sports Editor Sports provide many opportunities like a Red Lion athlete feeling on top of the world after beating Dallastown, setting a new record, or simply just having fun with friends. However, sports require equipment and fees that aren’t cheap. So this begs the question, is the cost worth it? Required equipment for just one soccer players includes a pair of cleats, shin guards, and a bag among other smaller items. However, just these three could cost around $400 in total. My cleats alone cost me $165. Soccer isn’t the only sport that has expensive prices for equipment. Baseball isn’t cheap either, with just a bat and a glove totaling somewhere around $275. Ok, we get it, we get it equipment for sports isn’t cheap, but that’s not even that much money so what’s the big deal? Well, in addition to the financial costs of equipment if a child participates in a sport at the club level they have to pay just to have a spot on the team. Fees can come in monthly or once a year depending on the club. Over a year’s time, the fees can add up to the thousands. As well as required payment, the expenses of traveling add up as well. Sometime longs trips require many stops for gas and maybe even staying a few nights at a hotel. With all of these expenses is participating in a sport even worth it? In my opinion, yes, playing sports is worth the financial costs that it comes with. Playing sports allow athletes to broaden their horizons in so many ways. It gives them the chance to make new friends that they could possibly never have met otherwise. Personally, playing club soccer I have made friends that I wouldn’t even know if we didn’t play together. Sports also make for some of the best memories. Beating Dallastown or Central are sporting accomplishments that I’ll never forget how and who I did it with. The great friendships and memories that participating in a team sport allowed me to have I believe were well worth every penny that it may have costed. |
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