 Nick Stines
News Editor On Mar. 6, former First Lady of ex-president Ronald Reagan died at the age of ninety-four due to congestive heart failure. Most first ladies throughout history have not gotten much attention upon death, let alone while they were living in the White House. However, Nancy Reagan is deemed by many to be one of the most influential first ladies of all-time thanks to her push to end uncontrolled drug use. Reagan was buried at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California alongside her husband who died in 2004. Being a staunch conservative, she and Ronald made many controversial moves while in office to oppress the college protestors best known as “hippies” in the late 1960’s. The protests were most notably about America’s involvement in Vietnam; college students were of the few that knew much about Southeast Asia as a whole due to their access to professors and new media. Vietnam was the first televised war in history, and the Reagans had a lot to say about the involvement while Ronald was the governor of California from 1967-1975.  Henry McKeand
Editor-in-Chief and A&E Editor Some of the best art imitates life by focusing on the issues that mean the most to audiences, so it is fitting that two of the most talked-about shows being produced right now, American Crime Story: The People vs. O.J. Simpson and House of Cards, mirror key current events. The two shows deal with their respective subjects very differently, but they each capture some of the public opinion of today. American Crime Story: The People vs. O.J. Simpson: When this FX miniseries event focusing on O.J. Simpson’s infamous trial was announced, it was easy to feel skeptical. After all, the executive producers are Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk, the duo that brought viewers shows such as Nip/Tuck, Glee, American Horror Story, and Scream Queens. For better or worse, their strain of television focuses heavily on the shallow and the sleazy, so it seemed unsettling to imagine that they would be applying their style to one of the sleaziest, most shallow events in recent history. It felt realistic to predict that the show would only focus on, and exploit, the most sordid and shocking details of the case. But despite all odds, this series, created by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski, is a thoughtful and entertaining look at a time when all of the nation’s hidden tensions began to bubble up to the surface.  Nick Stines
News Editor Ex-Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning announced on Sunday, Mar. 6 that he will retire from playing football after eighteen seasons in the NFL. He was arguably one of the best quarterbacks of all-time, and his legacy will be remembered by the NFL fan base. It seems as if it is all too good to be true after winning Super Bowl 50; he is the only quarterback to ever win a Super Bowl with two different franchises, and the victory against the Carolina Panthers marked the 200 win of his career, advancing past Brett Favre on the all-time quarterback wins leaderboard. Manning was set to make $19 million if he remained on the roster for the upcoming season. He turns forty on March 24.  Kenison Garratt
Editor-in-Chief and A&E Editor Wake County Public Health officials confirmed March 4 that a Wake County resident has contracted the Zika virus. It has been released that the woman is not yet of childbearing age, and she caught the disease while visiting Central and South America within the last month. This marks the first Wake County case and the fifth case in North Carolina, a number which could increase shortly with 109 pregnant women awaiting their Zika virus test results. But Dr. Sue Lynn Ledford, Wake County’s division director of public health, does not see this as a cause for concern. “We are in contact with the patient and monitoring the patient’s progress,” says Ledford. “We want to reassure citizens that there is currently no risk of transmission from this patient to others.”  Meenakshi Sathish
Staff Writer The show starts with Thing snapping his fingers along with the illustrious tune that gets the audience humming along. Then, gifted by the presence of Cousin It, the audience gets that “altogether ookey” feeling that this musical is going to be the best. Apex High’s Laura Levine blasts everyone to the past with her spectacular debut as a musical director. It is not easy to direct a musical since it takes a choreographer, stage director, and a voice coach to make it all come to life. However, the real concern was how Ms. Levine was going to keep the magic from the original television series and 1991 movie. Nevertheless, they pulled it off and with such utter brilliance. Cameron Goz
Sports Editor Apex High Legacy recently conducted a poll on their twitter account, @ahslegacy, on who students favor in the upcoming election. The results were both shocking and despite a small sample size, representative of whom Apex High as a unit wants running this country.  Hailey Loftin
Features Editor There are very few Division I basketball programs in the country that are as up-and-down as NC State University’s. Your typical UNC fan would boo-hoo about a one-point loss to Duke and say that they have it worse, and a Kentucky fan would try to trump you by pointing out that they had an undefeated season and lost in the Final Four to Wisconsin last year. As a lifelong NC State fan, I can promise fans of both schools that they don’t know how good they have it. The UNCs and the Kentuckys of the world will never be swept under the rug or put down as much as the NC States will.  Sophia Shaikh
Staff Writer We are less than two months away from what is arguably one of the biggest events of high school. No, not graduation, although that is kind of important too, but first and foremost comes prom. It seems more real than ever before with the theme already announced: “Arabian Nights”. Dresses are being ordered and prom groups are being planned, leaving only one thing: promposals. Promposals have always been a high school tradition. They are modelled after cheesy marriage proposals and have always been highly anticipated by students. It is not uncommon to see over-dramatic proclamations of affection and publicized requests to take someone to prom. Bright posters, various foods, and colorful streamers are to be expected. Lately, more and more people are foregoing the dramatics and just asking prospective dates over the phone or, God forbid, through text. People are getting lazier and caring less about making promposals a big deal. But is this really a bad thing?  Hailey Loftin
Features Editor Each year at the Oscars is very different. From the fashion to the kinds of movies nominated, the Academy Awards are always an interesting event to watch. Any year that Leonardo DiCaprio is nominated for an Oscar but does not win, there is a sure bet that social media will be filled with jokes about DiCaprio’s great acting ability and lack of Oscars. It is a good night to get educated about movies that are impacting the film industry.  Ashton Baysden
Staff Writer Anyone who listened to the radio between 2010 and 2012 has most likely heard of singer-songwriter Kesha Sebert, who goes by the stage name Ke$ha, and anyone with current access to social media has most likely heard of the intense legal battle she is currently dealing with. Sebert signed with Sony Music Entertainment over a decade ago and has been making hits ever since. However, in 2014, Sebert faced a major career setback when she sued Sony producer Dr. Luke Gottwald for sexual, physical, and verbal abuse and filed for an injunction that would release her from her contract with Sony. |
