The MaST Tribune
Issue 8 | January 2017
WHAT'S NEW?
- End of an Era: The Legacy of President Barack Obama
- COMING UP
- NOTE FROM THE EDITOR
- New Year's Resolutions
- Baseball Off-season
- DIY: Noise Cancelling Earbuds
Please fill out the survey at the bottom! MaST Newspaper wants your feedback!
End of an Era: The Legacy of President Barack Obama
by Zachary Galloza
It seems like just yesterday that my dad woke my 9-year-old-4th grader self up in 2008 to tell me - in a very happy and excited tone - that Barack Hussein Obama was going to be our next president. Two months later, I was watching his first inauguration in my art class, and a “kids” inauguration on Disney Channel the night before. Now as a 17-year-old high school senior, I am about to see the president who I pretty much grew up with complete the transition of power to another man. As much as I am saddened to see him go, I am excited to see what the future brings for him, VP Joe Biden, First Lady Michelle Obama, and for the rest of our country as we head through an unpredictable and heavily debated time in our government.
How did the Obama administration become one of the most memorable administrations in the history of the United States? For starters, he was our first African American president. An African American man being elected and re-elected opened the doors for many minority groups. Also, in 2009, the recently-inaugurated President Obama passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which helped get America out of the Great Recession, the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. By 2012, the President’s signature law the Affordable Care Act - Obamacare - was put into place, helping over 9 million people get healthcare. And there was also the death of Osama Bin Laden in 2011 and the legalization of gay marriage nationwide in 2015, both causing praise, and some uproar, across the country. And those are just some of his accomplishments. But like all presidencies, the Obama administration had its share of failures and disappointments, like the Benghazi attacks of 2012 and his controversial use of drones. But those kind of moments throughout his administration should not distract from his accomplishments and his love for the American people throughout his 8 years.
Another area in where Barack Obama succeeded was his appeal to the younger crowd, our generation. What appealed him to the younger crowd was his younger looking appearance, laid back nature, his socially liberal administration, and once finishing a speech by dropping the mic and saying “Obama out”. We has embraced him so much that multiple teens or young adults run Twitter accounts (Dory, Common White Girl, etc.) have expressed sadness in his departure and embraced him as not just an icon in American history, but also an icon in pop culture by making him the subject of internet memes, most notably the ones satirizing his bromance with VP Joe Biden. And throughout the 2016 election, these same Twitter accounts have made both positive and negative memes and tweets about the two main candidates, especially the then-Republican nominee Donald Trump.
COMING UP
Semester 1 Finals
Dismissal at 12PM
- Block 1/2
- Block 3/4
- Block 5/6/7
- Block 8/9
Wednesday, Jan 25, 2017, 10:00 AM
MaST Community Charter School, Byberry Road, Philadelphia, PA, United States
Semester 2 Begins
Monday, Jan 30, 2017, 07:45 PM
MaST Community Charter School, Byberry Road, Philadelphia, PA, United States
Report Cards Go Home
Wednesday, Feb 1, 2017, 07:45 PM
MaST Community Charter School, Byberry Road, Philadelphia, PA, United States
Talent Show Auditions
LOCATION: Mr. Worrell's Room
Audition forms located on Asian Club's bulletin board, located by the MPR.
Wednesday, Feb 1, 2017, 02:30 PM
Mr. Worrell's Room
Senior Dinner
Tuesday, Feb 7, 2017, 06:00 PM
MaST Community Charter School, Byberry Road, Philadelphia, PA, United States
Tri-M Ceremony
Thursday, Feb 9, 2017, 07:00 PM
MaST Community Charter School, Byberry Road, Philadelphia, PA, United States
NOTE FROM THE EDITOR
- All grades are welcomed to join Newspaper! The club is not limited to upperclassmen.
- The calendar events are listed under "COMING UP" for HS. The calendar from the school website includes lower school events, which is mostly irrelevant to HS.
New Year's Resolutions
by Sophia Shaloka
When we think of the new year, we typically think about creating resolutions that we plan, or at least hope, to achieve. However, are New Year’s resolutions really the answer to succeeding our goals?
Oftentimes, these resolutions create negative feelings and make people unsettled when we realize how difficult it can be to strive for our objectives. Instead, these resolutions should promote positivity and broaden our range of possibilities. Also, we tend to set our aspirations impractically, creating a feeling of failure if we are unable to achieve our wishes. For example, if you strive to lose 20 pounds and only lose 15, you sometimes feel ashamed of yourself, as if you didn't try hard enough. We should create more general targets, like losing weight, so that we don’t get disappointed with ourselves over the lack of complete satisfaction of our wishes.
Resolutions are not about remaking oneself, but are about improving oneself. You should remember that the person you are may be flawed, but that does not make you weak. Finding areas in your life that you would like to improve upon is fine. However, the ¨New year, new me¨ concept is offensive and impractical. Setting unfeasible goals takes away the actual meaning of goals, which are desired results that lead you to a better life. This concept of improving rather than transforming tends to get lost through the pressure for perfection that social media places on us. We are easily led to believe that there is something wrong with us if we do not have the socially ideal outer image, which is completely unrealistic. We should be doing things in life that make us more positive and happy each day.
It is great to have an aim, but if you make it too difficult for yourself, or you feel negativity while working for these aims, it truly isn’t worth it. Having New Year’s resolutions is completely fine, but mostly if these ambitions are advocating a positive attitude towards change. After all, the main intention for a New Year’s resolution should be happiness.
Baseball Off-season
by Joseph Gardyasz
The off-season is well under way and most teams are sorting through the rubble and debris left behind from the 2016 season. The chaos of last season, which saw the Cubs win a World Series for the first time in 108 years, had lead to a rather lackluster off-season. Many teams are trying to hold on to the pieces that brought them success in the past years while others are looking to bolster their lineups. Let’s take a look at some of the big name changes this off-season.
We start with Edwin Encarnacion, who signed a three year $60 million dollar contract to play for the defending American League champions, the Indians. It’s a move that is sure to cement the Indians as a World Series contender as some people believe they would have won with one more big bat in the lineup. His contract also includes an attendance incentive which could see Encarnacion earn an extra $1 million on a yearly basis. I like the move. The 36 year old will come into a lineup that already includes Carlos Santana, and Jason Kipnis. Overall it's a move that can only make a stronger case for the Indians’ World Series bid. In 2016 Encarnacion hit .263 with 42 home runs and 127 runs batted in.
Dexter Fowler, who was the lead off hitter for the World Champion Chicago Cubs, has signed a five year $82.5 million contract with the St. Louis Cardinals. He is a player that can do a little bit of everything. He is a great center fielder with an infinite amount of range. He can hit and run; last season his home run and stolen base totals were the same. He’s not going to hit it into the stands every time, or even often for that matter, but he’ll give around 15 home runs each year making him more than productive near the top of any lineup. Last season he was at the top of the Cubs lineup and started off game seven of the World Series with a home run. This is an absolutely huge move for the Cardinals as they not only get a good player, but they weaken their divisional rival. Last season, the divisional race wasn’t even close as the Cubs ran away with it by 17.5 games. The Cardinals missed out on the final Wild Card spot by one game. This move makes them even more of threat to Wild Card and the Division. It’s going to be a tough climb back into the division but St. Louis has shown that they won’t go down without a fight.
Despite being quiet in the off-season and finishing second to last in the division last season, the Phillies have been okay this offseason. They resigned Jeremy Helickson to a one year deal and have traded for Clay Buchholz. Hellickson is an interesting pitcher. Some days he is really good, and he had a pretty good season last year keeping his earned run average below 4.00. He has been consistently good overall, but he has those performances where he seems out of it. Still, the Phillies need pitching help, and a lot of it, so this is a good move. Clay Buchholz has spent the entirety of his career in Boston. He has played against some of the best hitters in the league and has good career numbers. He is 81-61 throughout his career with an ERA of 3.96. Now he is moving to the National League East. He goes from dealing with Fenway Park (and every baseball fan knows how that goes) to dealing with Citizen’s Bank Park, which is a known hitters park. Though he is a good addition, the Phillies are going to need to do more if they want to climb back into the prominent team they were in the mid 2000s. They have a good, young team to work with. Let’s see if they can put it all together this season.
DIY: Noise Cancelling Earbuds
by James Abraham
Noise cancelling headphones are prized possessions of many audiophiles nowadays. Not only are they valuable, but these headphones and earbuds are able to make even the noisiest places quiet and enjoyable for listening to music. However, not everyone can afford those high end headphones whenever they feel like getting them. So what do you do when you’re on a budget?
The following will show you how to make your own noise cancelling earbuds.
Disclaimer: This is meant to be a temporary alternative and hence only lives up to certain standards.
To make these, you’ll need:
A pair of earbuds
Earplugs
Scissors
Here are the following steps:
First take the earbuds and remove the plastic ear piece off.
Then take the ear plug and cut it to the same length as the ear piece.
After that, carefully make a hole in the ear plug with any utensil of your choice.
Afterwards, put the ear plug onto the earbuds in place of the ear piece.
Once you find the right fit, you will have your own noise cancelling earbuds.
Below is a video that shows the steps. Good luck!