Romeo and Juliet set to debut at Black Box Theater

Juliana Discher I Staff Writer

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Honors Anatomy and Physiology students explore human body in UC cadaver lab

Juliana Discher I Staff Writer

The human body is the best picture of the human soul.

Students enrolled in Honors Anatomy and Physiology were given the opportunity to visit the University of Cincinnati for a cadaver lab on January 21. Carol Lehman and Maggie Long’s classes sent 40 students to attend. According to Lehman, this was the first time they were able to assemble a group of students to go. Lehman said she found it extremely beneficial for the students.

“Everything that we touched upon in class, they got to see on a person who donated their body to science,” Lehman said. “You talk about taking learning to the next level; it was such a great experience for these high school students. It was very respectful and done really well.”

This is an excellent way to prepare for a future medical career, Lehman said.

“It’s a great opportunity for them to see if it’s a field that they want to pursue,” Lehman said. “It allowed students to see if this is a passion for them and if medical school is the next step. We’re hoping to make this an annual event because it really benefited our students.”

According to junior attendee Heidi Cervantes, the hands-on experience was more impactful than just seeing pictures.

“I was able to see the organs within a cadaver and develop a better understanding of human life,” Cervantes said. “I got to actually hold a human heart, brain, and a diseased smoker's lung. It was really amazing to have that opportunity because it's not one many high schoolers get. It's one thing seeing pictures and learning about the anatomy of someone, but it's completely different being able to see it and touch it.”

Students were able to witness how all the body systems work together, Cervantes said.

“We learned about the organ system,” Cervantes said. “More specifically, how they each do their own job to keep our bodies working efficiently. We also learned the process of food digestion throughout the body to show how all the organs work together.”

Senior Andrew Ballou, who also attended, said he now has a greater appreciation for the human body.

“I went in not really knowing what to expect, not knowing how I would react,” Ballou said. “After seeing inside of a body, I can say that I'll tend to look at people a little bit differently now, knowing how amazing and unique we are all created.”

See the Full Story: http://thecspn.com/?p=34905

Performers light up National Honor Society Talent Show

Juliana Discher I Staff Writer

Mason’s got talent – its students perform heartfelt renditions of popular tunes to humorous skits.

National Honor Society held its annual Talent Show on Friday, January 23 at 5:00 p.m. Approximately $5,000 was raised for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. There were 20 acts performed and the MC’s were Kylie McCalmont, Sonya Kapoor, Singyi Yen and Carrie Lipps.

After the audience was able to vote for its favorite act, first place was awarded to “Halo” by freshman Kayleigh Fynn and sophomore Harrison Wright. In second place was “Elastic Heart” by junior Shreya Dey. Third place was given to the Gajdi Jawani Bhangra team.

See the Full Story: http://thecspn.com/?p=34789

25 Reasons Why You Should Apply for The Chronicle

1. You’ll look forward to fifth bell every day

2. Journalism Camp

In the summertime, the staff goes to a week-long journalism camp. Last summer, we went to Ohio University and the previous summer we went to Indiana University. It’s a great way to learn from the best and get to know the other members on staff.

3. You can cover what you want.

You decide if you want to write sports, news, feature, or opinion. You don’t have to just to stick to one.

4. Chronding

Hands down, some of the best memories of your high school career will be from Chronicle bonding, or chronding. We’ve done things like Salsa on the Square in Downtown Cincinnati, ice-skating, and canoeing.

5. Avoid the chaos of the cafeteria

Most Chronicle members stay in C103 and eat lunch. It’s a nice and calm setting to eat, plus we have a microwave. #soup

6. See your name in print

7. Mr. Conner

Our adviser, Mr. Conner, is an amazing teacher and person. It’s nice to have a teacher you can count on throughout your high school career.

8. The traditions

Some of the best traditions include:

• Secret Santa
• Candy Drawer: After Halloween, we all bring in candy and put in a drawer that you’re allowed to access throughout class. We try to get it to last until Thanksgiving, but it’s always a struggle.
• Food Friday: Every Distribution Day, we get food ordered from somewhere like Chipotle, Olive Garden, or Papa John’s.
• Sundae Thursday: We’ll bring in ice cream sundae supplies and pig out.
  
  

9. You’ll still having time for extracurricular activities and sports

Since this is a class during school, you have time to do your work. All Chronicle members are super involved outside of school, but still have time to get it done.

10. Allow someone's story to be heard

It’s great to be able to shed light on an issue or allow somebody to get their name and quotes in print.

11. The power of the press pass

Not only are our press passes super legit, but when you’re covering a game or school event, you can get in for free.

12. You're not in the typical classroom setting

13. Grade and age don’t matter

Sophomores, juniors, and seniors all work closely together without any problems.

14. Chron Family

These are the people you can count on to cheer you up when you have a bad day. We have too many inside jokes to count. Our GroupMe chat can get out of control—in a good way.

15. Improve your writing abilities

16. Independence

Coming up with story ideas and visuals is on you. It’s good practice for the real world.

17. Distribution Day is marvelous

There is Food Friday, getting to see people’s reactions to the paper, and the monthly PowerPoint where every Chronicle member gets assigned from a certain theme, for example, celebrity look-alike.

18. Cool spirit wear

19. High quality technology

Macs, Canon cameras, Adobe programs all at your fingertips.

20. Get out of your comfort zone 

You'll be challenged with strict deadlines. Talking to people you don’t know can be uncomfortable sometimes. The more you do it though, the better you can handle it.

21. Chronsgiving

One of the best traditions we have. Before Thanksgiving break, we have a full on feast of turkey, mashed potatoes, pie, and the works.

22. Practice running a professional social media account

Running the Chronicle Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook is great practice and forces you to be creative and pay attention to what your audience likes.

23. The skills you learn help in a variety of careers, not just journalism

A lot of the people on staff might not necessarily major in journalism in college, and that’s okay. The people skills and writing skills you gain are still very valuable and applicable.

24. Tweet-to-the-Editor

 It’s always fun to read your peers’ replies to the Tweets.

25.There are a lot of positions available: staff writer, business/marketing manager, photographer, graphic designer

http://thecspn.com/?attachment_id=34554

 Applications are due January 20th at 2:15 PM in room C103.

Paddling students harshly remembered at MHS

Illustration by Visual Editor Madison Krell

Every 30 seconds, a child is hit in a public school somewhere in the United States.

While corporal punishment may not seem like a common practice, a federal data analysis reported this statistic. Corporal punishment is a discipline method in which a supervising adult deliberately inflicts pain upon a child in response to a child’s unacceptable behavior. This can take place in different forms, such as spanking, caning, or paddling. Ohio banned corporal punishment in 2009, but it’s currently legal in 19 states, although not every school implements it.

Senior Aminah Baig attended a school that enforced corporal punishment when she lived in Thailand. Baig said that Thai culture had a huge emphasis on teaching discipline to kids.

“In Thailand, a big philosophy is respect and discipline,” Baig said. “So if kids did things like not doing their homework or disrespecting a teacher, they would use thick wooden erasers to hit us.  You would have to put out your palm and you would get a smack.”

Although the punishment didn’t cause severe bodily harm, Baig said that it instilled a fearful relationship between the student and teacher.

“I definitely don’t think it was an effective way to punish kids, especially the younger ones,” Baig said. “I felt like it really scared a lot of my classmates from even wanting to speak to the teacher.  It made it very uncomfortable and I would think, ‘Well, I don’t want to ask her for help if I don’t understand something because she is just going to get mad and hit me.’”

Baig said that having an open and friendly relationship with teachers is critical for success in school.

“I feel comfortable speaking to teachers at Mason,” Baig said. “As you get older, you want to be more open with your teachers.  You want to be able to talk to them and share things that are happening in your life.”

According to The Washington Post, corporal punishment is most prevalent in Texas and least prevalent in Wyoming. Out of the 19 states that still allow it, two border Ohio: Kentucky and Indiana.

American History teacher Joe Hammond said he grew up in a time when paddling, caning, and hitting were prevalent practices at home and in school.

“I received my first swat as a second grader and that was around 1963,” Hammond said. “In seventh grade I took a fist to the mouth from the principal. I also took another direct shot in the back of the head with a giant book by the same principal in eighth grade.”

Hammond said he feels that physical discipline can be an effective method of communication to a child, as long as it’s not used excessively.

“In my day I would get a swat from my parents, but it was never meant to hurt or injure,” Hammond said. “It was just meant as a way of saying that you were out of line. When I think back, I found it pretty effective. I think it’s a form of communication as opposed to a form of violence. If it’s used as a form of violence then I think it’s wrong.”

According to the The American Psychological Association, the use of corporal punishment to discipline children may create an impression in a child that they are “undesirable”, lowering their self-esteem. The APA opposes the use of corporal punishment to discipline children.

Advanced Placement Psychology teacher Angie Johnston said physical punishment can have adverse long term effects.

“From what research studies have shown, if you use spanking as punishment, it might work initially,” Johnston said. “It might stop the behavior for a short period of time and maybe even up to a year. But it just represses the behavior and the behavior can come back. It can even make the child more aggressive later on in life.”

Johnston said that corporal punishment can mess with the parent and child or teacher and child dynamic.

“If the child is fearing the spanking, the child might fear the parent or whoever it is delivering the spank,” Johnston said. “Research shows that this can really mess up a relationship with a child and the parent.”

From her experience as a psychology teacher and mother, Johnston said she finds positive reinforcement to be the most effective in shaping behavior.

“I am more on the positive kind of  reinforcement and trying to be positive with the child,” Johnston said. “Just from the research I have seen with teaching this class and even with my own children that is definitely how I am. But I don’t look at the other side and say, ‘Oh, you’re a terrible parent’ because everyone has their own way of handling things.”

See the Full Story: http://thecspn.com/?p=34614 

Digital Image Design Projects

 This past semester I had the opportunity to learn how to use Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop in Digital Image Design class.

In our first project, we learned the art of logo making by studying well known logos in our society. Then I began sketching a series of logos to try and represent myself. Ultimately, the one I chose to create was an elephant made out of my initials--JD. I thought this would be a nice way to add a personal piece of myself to the animal. Elephants represent serenity and strength. Once I had decided what I wanted to make, I had to use French Curve tools to draw two; one drawn in in black and white and one in color. Then I scanned it and made it digitally on Adobe Illustrator. Since I liked the final project, I decided to make it the icon for this blog page.

Next, we explored Adobe Photoshop by creating silhouette collages to represent ourselves. My silhouette collage has a lot of symbolism within it. The fire in my head represents the passion I bring to life. The bird and sky represent how I'm still trying to find myself and who I am. The wall depicting Mason High School shows how I'm passionate about my high school and where I live. The flower and sunset symbolize my positive attitude. My boxer, Comet, shows my love of all creatures.

The next two mini projects we had tested our Photoshop abilities. I decided to do a pig for my animal photoshop extravaganza mainly because there is a breed of small pigs called Juliana pigs. (If you don't believe me, Google it) So in homage to the Juliana pig, I made the Juliana/pig hybrid.

 This mini project embodies one of my favorite hobbies--soccer. Initially, when I was brainstorming what image to photoshop, I thought I could do a photo showing my love for journalism, But ultimately I decided an action shot would be better, so my mom and I had a photo shoot in our front yard in order to achieve the perfect action shot. Then I followed the 'Show Me the Light' tutorial to create it on Adobe Photoshop.

The final project of the semester tested our ability to create packaging for a product of our choice, designed for a specific audience. The intended audience of our sunglasses, Bright Eyes™, is female teenagers to young adults. We wanted to create a product that would be girly, but not overly done. We achieved this by not using stereotypical girl colors--like pink and purple--but instead we used a muted blue color. We tried to clearly show what our product was and the style of it by making our logo a cute pair of sunglasses. We used a common girly pattern, chevron, as a background behind the title. The font we selected is twisty cursive, which gives it a girly vibe. Our slogan “Be the best you can be, See the best you can see” really suits our audience. Teenage girls often struggle with finding who they are, so this little motivational message is fitting. Overall, all of the choices we made were suited for a teenage to twenty-something year old girl.

If you would like to check out the creative process behind these works, please visit my Behance profile: https://www.behance.net/discherj