After thirteen long years, the National Museum of African American History and Culture has opened9/30/2016
 Jessica Dorcelien
Editor-in-Chief Back in 2003, then-current President George W. Bush signed a bill establishing the creation of the nineteenth, and final, museum of the Smithsonian Institution. Recently, on Sept. 24, 2016, the National Museum of African American History and Culture opened making it the “only [museum] in the United States exclusively focused on African American life, history, and culture.” The building, designed by David Adjaye and built on the last available land of the National Mall, is three-tiered and features a structure on top that is inspired by a traditional African headdress, or crown, that glows at night. The exterior of building is made of 3,600 bronze panels to express “faith, hope, and resiliency”.  Amanda Dybal
Staff Writer What is actually in your drinking water? Most people believe that when they go to have a sip out of their water bottle, they will be getting water, and that is it. What they do not know is that in some states chemicals are being found in the water, including the cancer causing chemical, Chromium-6. Chromium-6 is a clear, unscented, and tasteless chemical that has been found in two thirds of American’s tap water at higher levels than suggested. The scale, which the Environmental Protection Agency set up twenty five years ago, states that the highest concentration of the chemical should be one hundred part per billion. Thirty one of the thirty five cities tested a few years ago were positive for chromium-6, and the levels just continue to rise. More than 60,000 samples were found within the last three years. CNN’s Susan Scutti says, “According to the group, the report indicated that only one public water system had total chromium exceeding EPA standards, but 2% of the water systems -- 1,370 counties -- had chromium-6 levels exceeding California's standard of 10 ppb.” In 2013, the highest concentration that was discovered came from Norman, Oklahoma. Now, Phoenix, Arizona certainly has the highest levels. The states with a high concentration of chromium-6 are California, New Jersey, Alabama, Florida, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Minnesota, Arizona, Illinois, Massachusetts, and even North Carolina. The naturally occurring chemical that may also be produced by industrial products and are subsequently released by leakages. Lung cancer is the worst side effect of consuming chromium-6, but small amounts can also have affects, such as skin burns, pneumonia, complications during childbirth, and stomach cancer. This chemical is effecting health around the United States.  Jacob Sosdian
Staff Writer This weekend quite a few movies were playing in theaters and we are here to talk about which was the top five films at the box office. The number one highest box office this weekend was The Magnificent Seven with $35 million worth of movie tickets. The Magnificent Seven was a remake of the 1960s film which is, in my opinion, a classic western movie many people should watch before seeing the new one. It is about a large group of thieves who raid from a village once in a while and one of the villagers asks for help. Seven very different gunmen come and try to stop the thieves. Starring our magnificent seven heroes, Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke, Vincent D’ Onofrio, Byung GarciaRulfo, and Martin Sensmeier. So if you are interested in seeing this action western movie, come see it in theaters while you can.  Patrick LaLiberte
Staff Writer “Row, row, row you boat, gently down the stream. Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily, life is but a dream.” I am sure you know that song; everyone does. It is a song that everyone has known since they were five years old. Most people know every word to it. However, something that most people don’t know about this song is that it holds a very important piece of information particularly in the last line; “Life is but a dream.” The song is telling you that life is just a dream, and you should not take it so seriously. And these simple nursery rhyme lyrics may have more real meaning and significance to them than you think. No one exactly prove that we are living in a dream. This theory has been debated by philosophers for a long time, and it cannot really be known for sure if the theory is true. If life really is a dream, then no one would ever really die; they just die in this life. After death, maybe they will just wake up in the “real” world, wherever that may be. Then later on, they might find out that that was a dream, too! Think about it; when you are in a dream, do you ever realize that you are dreaming? Do you ever realize that none of the things going on around you make any sense? I am sure we have all had dreams in which most of what is happening is impossible in this world, but in the dream, you just went along with it. Maybe it was snowing in ninety degree weather, or maybe your skin was purple. It is not until the next morning that you realize how crazy the dream was. During the dream however, you do not really take notice of these things.  Ashton Baysden
A&E Editor Mental illness is an invisible wound that affects so many high-school students while the people around them have no idea of their suffering. We get so caught up in what is going on in our lives that we often forget to consider the possibility that the girl in our homeroom or the boy in our fourth period could be desperately needing someone to talk to. According to Susan Wile Schwarz from the National Center of Children in Poverty, about 20% of adolescents have a diagnosable mental disorder, but this alarmingly high statistic typically does not occur to us when we are interacting with our peers at school. Mental illnesses like depression and anxiety are so widely dismissed that we often forget that they can affect anyone including our peers. Apex High School senior Allison Crowley is well-aware of the seriousness of the issue and is doing something about it. After seeing small pictures and magnets with the suicide hotline written on them around Apex, Crowley could not help but wonder, “Why not make it bigger? Why not spread the word more?” Such important messages are being communicated via such miniscule sources which is ultimately leading to a lack of knowledge about the matter. Now, she is taking it upon herself to spread the word by making posters raising awareness for mental health to put up around Apex High School. Crowley is making these posters with several goals in mind. She wants to educate people and end societal norms that are currently in place; there are stigmas attached to mental illnesses, and she is striving to break these stigmas through these posters. “I hope that after I start putting the posters up, talking about mental health will not be so taboo. I want people to feel more comfortable talking about it,” Crowley says. “I hope that people with depression will stop being seen as ‘lazy’ and people with anxiety will stop being seen as ‘attention-seekers’ and start being seen as serious as they really are.” Bryce Cullen and Patrick LaLiberte Staff Writers What is your name? Where are you originally from? What school did you go to… and degrees and such? I got my undergraduate and graduate, both from State. My Undergraduate is in psychology and my graduate in education. Are you single or married? Married. Do you have any kids or pets? One kid, expecting a second. No pets right now. I’m pretty excited to be having a boy; I have a girl right now. Amber Hancock-Burns Staff Writer On Sept. 21, 2016, Apex High School hosted their very first “Peak City Dodgeball Classic.” The new tradition had students and faculty members throwing dodgeballs at each other in order to raise money to buy new computers for students. There were a total of sixteen teams, made up of fourteen student teams with two staff teams. There was even live commentary from seniors Patrick Kenney and Reid Proctor. It ended up being a very popular event, and many students around Apex liked dodgeball much better than the staff-sketball game last March.  Amelia Borger
Staff Writer If you are a baseball fan, you probably woke up to the news that Miami Marlins ace Jose Fernandez passed away in a boating accident early Sunday morning. I know I rolled out of bed that morning, checking my phone like most teenagers do. I clicked on the Buzzfeed app, expecting a funny or politically related article that morning, and the headline at the top blew me away: “Miami Marlins Pitcher Jose Fernandez Dead at 24.” At first, I did not think this was true. I went to social media and checked MLB.com to make sure it was not. I could not have been more wrong.  Carlee Lewis
Staff Writer Katie and Dalton Prager both were diagnosed with cystic fibrosis at a young age. The two eventually met online and were eager to meet one another. Cystic fibrosis makes the body produce more mucus than needed, causing the mucus to plug tubes, ducts, and passageways. When two people with cystic fibrosis meet, it increases the risk of infection to the lungs. If they become a couple, it is almost certain both will develop an infection. Unfortunately, the odds were not in their favor. Both Dalton and Katie developed a lung infection and were put on a lung transplant list. They spent their first date riding roller coasters on King Island amusement park. Dalton gave Katie a necklace for her birthday. Almost immediately, Dalton gave Katie his infection. The two got married after two years of meeting. They were each other's self-proclaimed “other halves”. The two had to live in separate states for medical issues to be resolved. The couple rarely saw each other, so they would facetime every day. Dalton received his lung transplant before Katie. Katie struggled to get her lung transplant because of insurance issues. A year after Dalton’s lung transplant, he developed Lymphoma, meaning the transplant was not successful. Not far after Dalton, Katie also developed the disease.  Meenakshi Sathish
Features Editor Amal Clooney is not just “George Clooney’s wife.” The Lebanese-British lawyer specializes in international law, extradition, human rights, and criminal law. One could go on talking about her accomplishments, but it is better to ask what she has not done if they are in a rush. Her involvement in high-profile, international cases, advisory roles in the United Nation, and contribution to Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict initiative is enough to say that Clooney is no idle celebrity figure. Her reign for helping others continues as she assists the human trafficking survivor Nadia Murad. |
