Yesterday North Carolina voters passed Amendment One, which bans gay marriages and voids such domestic unions from carrying legal status. The vote passed by a landslide 61% for and 39% against. Members from the President’s cabinet showed support for gay marriage days before.

Forces for the amendment worked hard on advertising and feel their word has gotten out. Their main reason was that it defies the nature of God’s design” and assorted reasons, most referencing The Bible and God.Both sides spent three million dollars combined on advertising, marches, and rallies.

In 2010, the North Caroline GOP was Republican, and thus there was the opportunity to bring the amendment in. It obviously went in by a landslide, but with disapproval from the president.

“I believe same sex marriage should be legal,” He told ABC news Wednesday. He says his opinion on gay marriage has evolved, and affirms his belief in same-sex marriage. He says the reason he did not support it before is that he thought civil unions would be sufficient.

But not everyone agrees with him, including Fox News. They published an article a while after he spoke his views titled “Obama Flip Flops, Declares War on Marriage” that they later changed to “Obama Flip Flops on Gay Marriage”.

North Carolina seemed to light a fuse that led to a topic that we won’t stop talking about soon, as reaction after reaction article is still being published. Obama finally speaking out about such a controversial could really affect who votes for him this year.
Twenty-eight states besides North Carolina have constitutional bans on gay marriage, and six states (District of Columbia, Iowa, and Washington to name a few.) allow it. Ten states allow civil unions and/or recognize out-of-state gay marriage.

Radio stations in Minnesota seem to neglect an important genre of music, and instead only focus on a select few, Country, Pop, and Rock. Genres are being left out and deserted; we put so much emphasis on modern music, that we forget our roots. Music that has stood the test of time, lead revolutions, and opened minds to millions is currently being neglected and forgotten by Minnesotan radio.

The Music I am talking about is Folk/Folk Rock; Folk music has all but been forgotten by Minnesota radio stations. In the hundreds upon hundreds of local and state wide (both AM and FM) there is not even one Folk station. There are 75+ Country stations, 18 Pop stations, and over 50 Rock stations. But nowhere is there room for Folk music.

Folk music’s impact on society is incalculable, with artists like Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Cat Stevens, Phil Ochs, and Donovan. Artists that spoke out, stood up, and sang the word of what millions had on their mind. The music was a way of peaceful protest, giving your input on life, and just relating to one another. All around, just making the world a more peaceful place to live.

Minnesota seems to be oblivious of that fact though, all the recognition Folk receives, will be an occasional Bob Dylan song here and there on the Oldies station. It’s sad thing to think about really.
Folk is a dying genre that will soon be forgotten, it’s up to us as citizens of Minnesota, to stand up for it, and start a petition to get a Folk radio station, and give it the respect it deserves.

Karen Hesse’s fiction book, The Music of the Dolphins, is an astonishing tale that follows the life of a girl named Mila. Written in first person, this book’s theme explains the passion people have to feel intellectual and wanted in the world. The beginning of the story starts out explaining that a girl has been rescued off the coast of Cuba. The girl found doesn’t look very human-like and is mistaken as a mermaid. Once rescued the child is taken to a center where she is examined and observed. The center is a bad place for the girl to be because it means confinement, fury, and locked doors. No one understands where the girl was originally from or who she is, so the girl is named Mila. After awhile of researching her, the workers at the center get her to respond to them. Mila can’t talk or understand English, but they find out her sounds she makes correlate to dolphin noises. After living with Mila they realize she has been living with a dolphin family for twelve years.

This book shows major transformations throughout the entire story. Mila questions things and wants answers to the mysteries of her being and situation. The growth and knowledge gain of Mila is the crucial part of the message. On page 133 Mila asks her doctor,”Why is it with this person I am most happy and with this person I am most sad?” The text in the book starts of in a very large font and the sentences are very simple and small, which symbolize the understanding and development Mila has of the real world. As other characters develop like her doctor, Beck and assistant Sandy, they support and encourage her to learn more. Still, as her life goes on her dolphin experiences are still strong and still seeping into her life. On page 110 Mila conveys her feelings on her current life by saying, “I am trapped in the net of the room. In the net of humans. I think maybe I am drowning in the net of humans.”Once a few chapters go by of large print, the writing gets smaller and more adjectives are added to the sentences to show Mila’s improvement and personal perspectives on real world things. On page 87 the intellectual part of Mila’s brain starts to function as she compares Dr. Beck to an orca by saying, “Big, and strong and beautiful, and so dangerous when he is hungry.” Mila is very close with her facility but as time goes on her personal dreams start to take over.

The last part of the book is the most remarkable section. Mila has reached the most development possible and has to make the biggest decision of her life. Will her longing to be with the dolphins take a controversial turn in her life? The people that facilitate her and her essential Doctor Beck are all keys to the choices she makes as she is determined to make life for herself.

The Music of the Dolphins is a great book for anyone looking for a quick read and realistic setting. It is a book that makes you think because Mila’s thoughts are sometimes hard to follow and reason with. This book captures every single emotion and detail possible when imagining this peculiar scenario. This is a great tale to

Who is Facebook’s popular fan when it comes to most updating status,

messaging, and changing ‘about me’ sections? Teens. Although this is a rhetorical

question, it is the amount of time that is spent on this social network and why that is even

more surprising. After surveying twenty students and interviewing one Park student, it is

evident that teens are more socially conscious than ever before.

Ranging from the numbers zero to ten in hours, I asked twenty students where

they land on how much time they spend on Facebook daily. The average number was

four and half hours; the lowest was zero and the highest six hours. Many of them

pointed out that their phones and iPods are connected Facebook which means that they

are on it twenty-four hours!

Fastcompany.org reported in 2009 that ninety-three percent of Facebook users are

teenagers. This rises the question of why are so many teens wired to this consuming

network? After interviewing a student at Park, the answer will become clearer for those

who wonder this as well.

The Student, requested to remain anonyms, was asked questions on why so

much time is spent on Facebook. The first question for her was why does Facebook eat

up so much time for teenagers that could be sent doing something active? Her response

was, “ I personally believe that people care so much on what’s going on in other peoples

lives. They are curious on who’s dating who, what drama is going on and even what their

profiles look like to who views it.”. The student continued on with, “ Teen are too

conscious and it isn’t as if we aren’t already but Facebook elevates it. That’s why I

deactivated mine, it was taking away time from real life things.”.

In other words, teens have become more socially conscious on what’s going in

other teen’s lives and how people perceive them. That is why the staggering percentage

of Facebook users falls in their sector because they are too worried. If one doesn’t go

online, it becomes a nagging feeling or a silhouette that looms over teens with accounts.

The numbers well continue to grow even more since pre-teens are now becoming

participants of the site at a younger age.

“I couldn’t imagine not coming to practice every day!” said 8th grader Cameron Anderson. Although she may act like a normal 8th grader, Cameron is definitely not your typical 8th grader. Getting ready to attend Park High next year as a freshman, playing soccer for Cottage Grove United Soccer Club here in Cottage Grove, and “just having fun with friends” as she puts it, Cameron also participates in 3 sports here at Park at the varsity level; Cross Country running, Nordic skiing, and Track.

This is a huge accomplishment for 8th grader. When asked what it feels like to be the one of youngest athletes who competes at the varsity level for not only one, but three different sports; Cameron said that “the varsity level of sports is challenging, but fun. I enjoy the competition.” But just like any other 8th grader you may run into, Cameron is still very nervous about coming into a new school building.
Cameron says that “I don’t know what to expect next year. It’s still hard to believe I’ll be a freshman.”

Cameron is just one of the many examples here at Park High that shows being young isn’t a drawback, and as long as you are willing to put in the work and have a lot of determination you are able to achieve great things. So in the future, remember the name Cameron Anderson, and be looking out for this all star athlete as she makes her way into Park High and makes a name for herself.

The superhero blockbuster Avengers opened at an astounding $200 million this past weekend setting a new record for any opening weekend in history. The previous record holder Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows Part 2 opened last July at $169.2 million, more than thirty million less than the mark that Avengers has now set.

The film follows a group of Marvel superheroes as they come together to fight a villain named Loki and the army of minions that he controls. The heroes are assembled from a string of recent movies that revolve around the individual Marvel heroes. This includes Robert Downey Junior’s character Tony Stark, better known as Iron Man coming from the 2008 released Iron Man and Iron Man 2 which was released in 2010. The Avengers also features the superhero Thor who was introduced in the 2011 movie Thor. The movie also features a string of other Marvel superheroes which have made appearances in the Iron Man movies as well as in Thor. The list includes the Black Widow played by Scarlett Johansson, Hawkeye played by Jeremy Renner, and The Incredible Hulk play by Mark Ruffalo.

In just its first three days Avengers grossed more than the life time earnings of Captain America, Thor, as well as The Incredible Hulk. By the beginning of this weekend it is also projected to have surpassed both of the Iron Man flicks. With the type of opening and sustained revenue there is sure to be more from Marvel in the coming years.

April is the season all Park High School students 9th through 11th grade can expect to be taking the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments. All students in Minnesota are required to pass these tests to graduate high school. There has been an emphasis nationwide on testing students because of the federal No Child Left Behind law. The law has affected the way children are being taught in school, the types of assessments they take, the way money is spent on education, and the proper training of teachers everywhere, (http://www.greatschools.org)

Although PHS has had increasing percents of passing the tests since 2007, some of the scores may surprise you. Last year 80.9% of Park sophomores passed the reading MCA. The state average was 75.3%. A recently opened school close by PHS is well-known East Ridge High School. East Ridge High School beat PHS in the reading results by having 88.9% of their sophomores pass the reading MCA, (http://minncan.org)

A question some people may ask about MCA testing is how much time do teachers spend preparing their students for them? Ms. Scott, an English teacher answered the question by responding, “Teachers incorporate test preparation though out the year in their lessons. Also we teach specific MCA classes the week before the tests.” Students also have their own way of preparing for the tests. Ashley Culbertson said, “I worked hard on in class work preparing for the English MCA.” Molly Moran added to that and said, “I went to all of my prep classes.”

Even if students protest or complain, the MCA test is an essential requirement to passing the four years of high school. Unfortunately, 52.1% of seniors at Park High School this year will have to retake the 11th grade math MCA because less than half passed last year when they took it.

Where can you find Polish egg decorating, Ukrainian musicians, and churros all in the same place?For one weekend every year, the answer would be “The Saint Paul RiverCentre”. This Thursday through Sunday, the Festival of Nations, one of the nation’s largest cultural festivals, is setting up shop.
Not only can you expect to find twenty-eight artesians from around the globe and fifty different cultural exhibits, also expect to encounter thirty-five different authentic cafes. The origins of these foods boast far-off locations such as Taiwan, Finland and Nepal. Foods include momo (Taiwanese dumplings), pickled herring, and aloo dum (a Nepalese curry).
The Festival of Nation acknowledges the importance of introducing people to alternate cultures, both incouraging volunteers to donate their time and hosting a student day at this exceptional cultural experience. Many schools, including Park High School, also recognize event as a beneficial experience, offering a field trip every year. This year’s field trip is on Friday March 4th at 2:30, but the Festival of Nations welcomes the general public on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Tickets bought at the event are $12.50 for adults, and $7 for kids under sixteen.
When asked if the experience was worth the ticket price, people agreed unanimously that it was. After being asked, many shared their favorite parts which included “the dancing”, “the clothes” and “the food”.
So if you’re looking for a good time, including musicians, unique dishes, and artists from around the world, stop in at the St.Paul River Centre this weekend.

“The bike was rusty, particularly on the wheels and handlebars, but the logo on the fuel tank was unmistakable. First I thought, this has got to be the craziest thing anyone has ever found,” said Peter Mark. ”Then I looked a little closer and the license had Japanese writing on it. The wall of the trailer had Japanese print on the tags. And the first thing that popped into my head was this is likely from the Tsunami in Japan.” As recently as recently, many items have been washing upon shores of the United States and Canada that are thought to be caused from the earthquake and tsunami that occurred in Japan in March 2011. Other items that have been reported include a soccer ball, volleyball, and a Harley motorcycle as described above Steve Mertl explains to us in his article “Japanese tsunami victim who lost Harley to get it back after bike found on B.C. beach.”

These “treasures” that are coming onto North American shores prove to be more of a problem than they were thought to be. Scientists believe lighter objects such as buoys and oil drums began reaching land last November or December. The rest is spread over thousands of miles of ocean between the northern Pacific Ocean and the northern islands of Hawaii. About 95% of these items will probably never come ashore and are destined for that massive swirl of floating plastic known as the north “Pacific garbage patch,” says Suzanne Goldenberg, a US environment correspondent, in her article “Japan tsunami debris moves towards US and Canada.” You may have thought that Japan was far away from us and that we had nothing to do with them, but this just shows how connected we truly are with the islands of Japan.