Plugged In
Issue Five • the official school newspaper of Speedway Senior High School • March 18, 2016
Madness in the Air
With the snow
melting away and
hints of spring taking its place, March
seems to be coming in a bit out of
character; however,
for college basketball
fans, the only thing
that matters in March
is Madness. That’s
right people, the annual NCAA Division
JOSHUA MARCH
1 Men’s Basketball
Plugged In Reporter
Tournament is upon
us so hopefully you’ve prepared yourselves for brackets
and buzzer-beaters. Its popularity has become overwhelming and casinos, as well as colleges, have noticed a
ripple effect.
1939 was a year including events like the debut of
daily Superman comics, the first ever NFL Pro Bowl,
and the inaugural NCAA Tournament. With some quick
arithmetic you’ll find that 2016 will be the 77th consecutive running of the tournament. Over those years,
popularity of the tournament has steadily risen making
March Madness a tradition in many households across
the United States. Statistics from the American Gaming
Association and GfK North America reveal that just last
year over 70 million brackets were filled out by nearly 40
million people. March Madness has become so popular
that more people filled out a tournament bracket last year
than voted for Barack Obama or Mitt Romney in 2012;
however, this hasn’t always been the case.
NBC first televised a men’s basketball game in 1939,
the same year as the inaugural NCAA Tournament;
however, the tournament itself was not televised until
1969, its 30th annual running. That same year, the undefeated Long Island University Blackbirds declined their
invitation to the NCAA Tournament to play in the NIT
(National Invitation Tournament) instead. Legendary
Las Vegas bookmaker, Jimmy Vaccaro, recalls that the
NCAA Tournament failed to generate much popularity
Brackets rain down in this
month full of college basketball
until 1979 when Magic Johnson’s Michigan State Spartans and Larry Bird’s undefeated Indiana State Sycamores
faced off; even then, Vaccaro remembers few bets being
placed. Bracketology wouldn’t become wildly popular
until, get this, the early 2000’s in conjunction with the expansion of the tournament pool in 2001 to the 64-team
brackets we see today.
Much of the appeal of a March Madness bracket
comes from trying to predict the unpredictable. You
are more likely to die from using right handed products incorrectly (if you’re left handed) than to fill out
a perfect bracket. According to Jeff Bergen, a DePaul
University math professor, the odds are 9.2 quintillion to
1. Yes you read that right, quintillion! And yet across the
nation brackets aren’t only filled out but bet on. Last year
the American Gaming Association estimated that nearly
$2 billion were wagered on their NCAA Tournament
brackets legally while a whopping $7 billion were bet
illegally. Covers.com, a site dedicated to following sports
at both the professional and collegiate level, reported
that Nevada saw $260 million of $375.5 million bet on
the NCAA Tournament in March of 2015. That figure is
a record for the number one gambling state in America.
In 1939, the inaugural NCAA Tournament, the undefeated Long Island
Blackbirds did not participate. This would allow the Oregon Ducks to defeat the
Ohio State Buckeyes to become the first ever NCAA Champions.
Las Vegas betting records aren’t the only side effect
of March Madness’s skyrocketing popularity. Colleges
have noticed an increase in applications following a year
of success in the tournament. Before 2010, the Butler
Bulldogs wouldn’t have been mentioned in a conversation about March Madness; however, because of their
back to back NCAA Championship appearances that
year and the following, Butler University became a name
people recognized. This recognition caused a surge in
applications, mainly out of state, which lead to a bump
in tuition.
With the weather here being so indecisive and a presidential nomination race that nobody can explain, 2016
seems to be absolutely unpredictable. But never fear, a
throwback to normalcy is upon us. The NCAA Tournament is still happening, March will yet again be overcome
by Madness, casinos across the nation will overflow with
profit, and a few select colleges will see application rates
rise. So get yourself a bracket and enjoy this month of
madness.
Magic Johnson and Michigan State faced off against Larry Bird and Indiana
State in the NCAA Tournament Championship game im 1979. This game
would initiate a career long rivalry between the two midwestern basketball legends.
Florals? For spring? Groundbreaking
Fashion forward tips for the savviest of Sparkplugs
“The 70’s. I
think they’re
going to go real
big.”
Senior Quinton
West commenting
on fashion styles
for this spring.
Quinton works at
Pac Sun.
Allyson Burns
sports a top from
Brandy Meville
and jeans from
Bullhead Denim.
Both can be found
at Pac Sun.
There’s no doubt that to prepare for Spring Break, many students dream
of sandy Florida beaches; others have been practicing packing for Germany
since Christmas. Whether travelling by car, plane, boat, or if you’re just staying home, chances are you want to dress the part for Spring Break 2k16.
Last month, Fashion Week for fall/winter 2016 was held in New York
City showcasing the highest designer’s trends. These trends consisted of
wearing velvet, off the shoulder tops, extra-long sleeves, gigantic fur coats
(“Revenant” inspired), and even “trash bags.” If you think that sounds a
little impractical, it’s because they are.
That doesn’t mean you won’t be seeing clothes similar to those on the
runway in the mall or on your fellow peers. The runway trends of Fashion
Week eventually trickle down to the fashion trends we suburban dwellers
hold dear. Runways trickle to what is known as “street style” prominently
found worn in large cities which eventually break up and evolve into what I
See WHAT STYLE on page three
ALLYSON BURNS
Plugged In Features Reporter
Have a fun and safe Spring Break!
2
Features
The Merc with a mouth talks up theaters
Deadpool dominates theaters with R rating
ANTHONY RAY
Plugged in Columnist
What’s a pirate’s favorite movie? An
arrr-rated one! “Why the corny joke
Tony?” you may be asking yourself. Well
dear reader, I thought it was a funny way
to introduce the topic of R-rated films.
On February 12th, the “merc with a
mouth” finally made his way to theaters
around the world in his first self-titled
film, Deadpool. For those unfamiliar with
the regenerating degenerate; Deadpool
is a comic book character in the Marvel
universe best known for his regenerating abilities, witty humor, and his Ferris
Bueller-esque fourth-wall breaking commentary. And eleven years in the making,
Deadpool finally got his own movie.
This isn’t Deadpool’s only appearance in a movie though. A version of the
character made a small appearance on the
silver screen in 2009’s X-Men Origins:
Wolverine. However, due to the terrible
characterization of the mercenary, fans
were worried that they’d never get a
proper version of the character. And now,
they finally got one.
To put the icing on the cake, it was
rated R. “Why is that a big deal if it’s rated
R,” you say? Well, typically R-rated films
don’t do too well in the box office due to
the exclusion of the below 17 year old demographic. According the the MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America) and
Box Office Mojo, the average amount an
R-rated film made in 2014 was $42 million,
which puts it above the average G-rated
film ($26.4 million), but not high enough
to surpass PG films ($82.2 million) and
the category under them; PG-13 films ($79
million). So choosing to go the R-rated
route was a risky move, despite it benefiting the character. But did it work out?
Deadpool opened on February 12th
to positive reviews and currently holds an
82% on film aggregator Rotten Tomatoes.
And as of February 24th, Deadpool is on
it’s second week of holding the number
one spot in the box office and has made
$497 million worldwide and $241 million domestically. Deadpool has already
surpassed 2015’s highest grossing film Fifty
Shades of Grey which made $166 million
domestically and at the rate the movie is
currently going, it could surpass the total
domestic earnings of The Passion of the
Christ ($370 million) and the worldwide
earnings of The Matrix Reloaded ($742
million).
For movie lovers, this is great news. The
financial and critical success of Deadpool
Merc With A Mouth:
Deadpool’s movie success
at the box office could open
doors for more R-rated films
But it may be too early tell
so we’ll have to wait and see.
not only puts Deadpool’s foot in the ever
expanding comic book hero genre, but it
also puts the foot in the door for maturely
rated films to be successful. Based on the
success of Deadpool, do you think Hol-
lywood will produce more R-rated films?
Deadpool could be just be an anomaly.
To truly see if R-rated become a growing trend, we’ll have to wait and see.
Help for wildlife is also endangered
Government lack of interest keeps preservation efforts from being a priority
With spring just around the corner, what comes to
mind besides the refreshing feeling of rebirth after a long
cold winter? Spring holidays such as St. Patrick’s Day,
Easter, and Earth Day. Earth Day in particular centers
around taking care of and keeping the planet clean, as
it’s our “home”. In correlation with “saving the planet”,
awareness campaigns for various endangered species appear almost out of nowhere.
While endangered species are a constant and normal
part of life and evolution, it’s happening faster than ever
with global warming and human interference factoring
in. In particular, zoos justify themselves by explaining
that the animals they
enclose are better off
in these enclosures than
in the wild, where they
were either rescued or
are endangered themselves. However, despite
the upsurge of tender
feelings towards animals
around Earth Day,
it seems like the help
towards endangered
species is endangered
JOANNA BERRY
itself - fewer people are
Plugged In Reporter
interested in saving these
animals, considering it a lost
cause.
A specific zoo under fire
for not being a safe haven
for animals is Karachi Zoo
in Pakistan. Most famous
for its elephant house, this
zoo also has a natural history museum, reptile house,
veterinary hospital, an
aquarium, and the Mughal
Garden, popular for its
roses and other flowers that
are exhibited there. A new
addition to the zoo is the
acquisition of white lions in
2012, which are drawing in LOOK INTO THESE EYES. Animals like this lion at the Karachi Zoo are not living happily ever after due to a
variety of causes including a surprising lack of interest in animal rights issues. Photo courtesy of White Star.
more visitors and are part of
a new breeding program at
of the IUCN’s classification of the species as critically
the zoo.
endangered.
Karachi Zoo is heavily criticized because of these
Nicknamed “the zoo where animals come to die”,
white lions and the treatment and conditions of the
Karachi is also heavily criticized for its unkempt pathanimals in the zoo. White lions are created through a
ways within the zoo and carelessness towards its animals.
genetic mutation that was, for a long time, considered
A blog post on dawn.com by Uzair Shah documented
unable to survive in the wild due to their rarity, and most
reside in zoos. Recently, multiple deaths of the Arabian
See DEEPLY ROOTED on page four
oryx species in Karachi threw the zoo under fire because
3
Features
The myth of the Irish
The truth behind Ireland’s infamous stereotypes
PAM ALBRECHT
Plugged In Senior Columnist
As soon as Mardi Gras passes, and
Valentines have been exchanged, all the
American population can question is
“Well, how much longer until St. Patrick’s
Day?” According to CNN, it is predicted
that 133 million Americans will celebrate
St. Patrick’s Day yearly, even though
roughly only 34 million Americans are
of Irish descent along with the rough
150,000 Irish born citizens living in the
country. Why is this culture so desirable?
A writer for Irish Central (an American/Ireland website with up-to-date
news, sports, and business in Ireland)
who uses the pen name “Gaelic Girl
Hannah” writes that the culture is just so
“inviting.” “The Irish,” she says “most
certainly do live up to their warm, hospitable in every way and I think that’s what
makes the culture so accessible.”
The American population (and a
good portion of the rest of the world)
constantly stereotype the Irish culture.
When asked the common stereotypes of
the Irish people, the typical responses
were: red/orange hair, lucky, heavy accent, green attire, the mouth of a sailor,
fighters, and of course drunks. Really how
true are these stereotypes? The most
common is that the Irish people are nothing but stinking drunks, but in all reality
that isn’t remotely true.
In a study performed by Business Insider
comparing the alcohol consumption per
capita in 2000 and 2013, the average
Irishman 15+ went from consuming 14.3
liters of alcohol to 10.6 liters annually.
Lithuania roughly consumes 14.3 annually
now. Out of the common OECD regions, Ireland actually is the country that
consumes the least amount of alcohol
(compared to two German regions and
the UK).
The Irish are constantly arguing and
fighting, right? Right and wrong. The
United State has a violent crime rate of
429.4 per capita, compared to Ireland’s assault rate of 347.9 per capita in the same
time period. The United States seems a
lot more dangerous, right? Mind you, the
United States was recorded for violent
crimes (including homicides), while the
Ireland statistic only included assaults.
In Ireland, few to no people actually
own a gun, thus making all assault as by
hand. This means that the Irish necessarily aren’t the most violent group, but the
most reckless for sure.
It’s also extremely false to say that all
Irish people have red or orange hair also.
It’s ironic that people associate red orange
hair with Ireland, when roughly only 10%
of the population has that colored hair.
Red (and orange) hair is actually more
prominent in Scotland, where 14% of the
population has that colored hair. A great
portion of the Irish population actually
has brown or dark blonde hair.
What is actually true about the Irish
then? Well according to the Irish Central
team, they really do curse like sailors.
Writers from Irish Central have devised
the most reasonable answer on why the
citizens have the dirtiest mouths: because
they can. The Irish seem to like cursing an
awful lot, and it could just be because of
the artistic nature of words. The way that
the curse words flow along with normal
diction, is actually quite enticing to the
Irish people.
Another famous stereotype of the
Irish culture that is actually correct is that
the people of Ireland really are obsessed
with the weather. The Irish Daily Mirror
reported the findings of a company’s
survey to determine what the population
thought of the most, which happened
to be the weather. I have to give it to the
population, I would be worried all the
time about how the weather will be if I
lived in Ireland. If you think that Indiana
has bipolar weather, take a trip to Ireland;
this country is famous for experiencing
snow in the morning and extreme heat in
the afternoon.
Ireland is a magical place of mist and
wonder. Ireland is also a country that can
honestly say it’s a weird one. From the
beautiful landscape, to the beautiful stories, and even back to the people around,
Ireland is one of the most captivating
countries, even if what all we believe
about it isn’t true.
Leprechaun from the movie The Leprechaun
Source: Rotten Tomatoes
What style will you bring to SHS after the break?
Fashion choices not only move students, they drive the economy
continued from page one
FINALLY.
A USE FOR
THE CROP
TOP
SWEATER.
The top is from
Forever 21
and the skirt is
Brandy Meville
from Pac Sun.
Photo courtesy of
Dylan Neese.
found worn in large cities which eventually break up and evolve into what I call mall
fashion, the clothes made even more practical by mall franchises.
Fashion Week for spring 2016 brought an array of trends from all sorts of spectrums. Malls have released their favorite trends into what should be in your luggage
or as the outfit for that one lunch date. I have recreated a couple of looks for spring
centered around the resurrection of trends from the 1970’s, marbled sweaters, and style
referred to as “Victorian” fashion marked by high necklines, poofy sleeves, and the
groundbreaking floral.
Each outfit can be found at Forever 21 or Pac Sun. Except the keds, which I found
at the antigue store on Main Street, the sunglasses, which I got at T J Maxx, and my
glasses which I got at Heartland Vision.
Plugged In
Staff: Pam Albrecht, Joanna Berry, Allyson Burns, Josh March, Tony Ray, Abby Thomas.
Adviser: Derek Doehrmann
Printer: JS Printing and Publishing
Some materials provided courtesy of ASNE/MCT Campus.
4
Features
They finally will be satisfied in Cuba
Rolling Stones to perform first concert in Havana at end of March
MIAMI - To quote a Rolling Stones’ staple, time is on their side. In a country that
once frowned on rock ‘n’ roll, the British invasion will finally reach Cuban shores decades late when the Stones perform a free concert on March 25.A year after President
Barack Obama re-established relations with Cuba and just days after his planned historic visit, the evergreen Stones will perform at Ciudad Deportiva, a sports complex in
Havana. It will be the first performance by a major British rock group in Cuban history.
“We have performed in many special places during our long career, but this show in
Havana is going to be a landmark event for us, and, we hope, for all our friends in Cuba
too,” the Stones said in a statement.Many of the Rolling Stones’ Cuban contemporaries could listen only to smuggled rock tapes or records in the 1960s and ‘70s.Former
Cuban leader Fidel Castro himself balked at what he saw as the crass consumerism
and decadent influence of Western rock and banned Beatles’ recordings in 1964. One
Havana woman, now in her 50s, recalls listening to her one Beatles record in her bedroom with her girlfriends all gathered
around and the volume turned very
low.But by 2000, and even before, all
that had been forgotten and forgiven
by Cuba’s leaders. `
With “All You Need is Love”
playing in the background, Fidel
Castro himself unveiled a life-size
bronze statue of John Lennon in a
Havana park on the 20th anniversary of Lennon’s death on Dec. 8,
2000.”What makes him great in my
eyes is his thinking, his ideas,” Castro
said. “I share his dreams completely.
I, too, am a dreamer who has seen his
A B B Y T H O M A S • Plugged In Reporter
dreams turn into reality.”
Through the years, Castro had begun to think of Lennon as a fellow rebel.This
will be the Stones’ first major Caribbean stop, though original and remaining members
Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Charlie Watts recorded the “Goats Head Soup” album
in Jamaica in 1973. The group was formed in London in 1962.The Cuba stop is a lastminute addition to the band’s America Latina Ole Tour, which has played to packed
stadiums in Santiago, Chile; Buenos Aires; Montevideo, and Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo
EN CUBA. The poster for the history-making Rolling Stones concert in Havana later this month. Photo courtesy of the
official Rolling Stones website.
and Porto Alegre, Brazil. Lima and Bogota follow next week before what was originally
the finale of the tour, a Mexico City concert on March 17.
The Stones also will participate in a musician-to-musician initiative by teaming with
several organizations to have musical instruments and equipment donated to Cuban
musicians.Expect the Havana concert’s set list to approximate what the Stones have
been playing on the America Latina Ole Tour: “Jumpin’ Jack Flash,” “Brown Sugar,”
“Sympathy for the Devil,” “Miss You,” “Tumbling Dice,” “Gimme Shelter” and “Paint
It Black” among them.
The concert is being underwritten by Curacao-based Fundashon Bon Intenshon,
which supports charitable projects in education, cultural literacy, athletics, health care
and tourism as well as those that mitigate poverty.An article that appeared in Granma,
the official newspaper of the Cuban Communist Party, said the concert will come at “a
historic moment that will open the doors for other great bands to arrive in Havana.
“Rumors had been circulating in Cuba about a possible Stones concert ever since Jagger visited Havana last October.
Deeply rooted disrespect of animals
Multiple factors lead to rampant mistreatment
Continued from page two
recent visit to the zoo and his stark shock at the zoo’s condition: “To begin with, there
was a general disregard for cleanliness both inside and outside the animal exhibits.
Wrappers floated around everywhere, while plastic bottles floated in the stagnant waters
of the crocodile pond, undoubtedly thrown in by unruly guests…”
“While the guests are of course responsible for the mess they create, it is also the
job of the zoo staff to monitor their behaviour. In my entire time at the zoo, I saw no
sign of staff much of anywhere.” Shah goes on to describe his disgust at seeing a rat
scuttling around on the cage floor of a macaw exhibit. He also describes the mess of
the duck and geese pond, which he says was “one of the most blatantly appalling parts
of the zoo”. The water that these birds drink from is a putrid green, as seen from a
picture on the blog post.
While Karachi is not the only one of its kind, it is one of the biggest perpetrators
of complete disregard for animals and the environment. The enclosures for these animals are far too small for their regular behaviours, like lions, tigers, and zebras, usually
accustomed to vast plains for running and roaming, are subjected to a few square feet,
forced to pace back and forth, waiting until they die.
More animals are dying, not from “natural causes”, which is the excuse the zoo uses
every time. For example, a lioness gave birth to four cubs, but within four days three of
the bodies were found dead, and the fourth allegedly eaten by the mother. Another case
included jackals giving birth to three pups, and just a day later all three had allegedly
been eaten by their mother.
The horrible treatment of these animals and the zoo as a whole isn’t a recent development, either: since its establishment in 1878, the zoo has been on a constant decline.
It’s a deeply rooted disrespect towards animals and the environment. “In general, Pakistanis do not have a sense of civic responsibility, and this makes them feel no obligation to the upkeep of pleasantness in their surroundings”,
Shah’s blog post says. It’s a sad, cramped, concrete world that these animals live in,
and the Karachi Zoo can’t keep treating (or not) these animals in this way. It should
either revamp the zoo, change its ownership, or close down and send their animals elsewhere for better treatment and living. While it’s fairly out of anyone’s control whether
or not these animals see a better day, it’s important that we garner awareness and hopefully find a solution to this not-so-eco-friendly problem.
Who will win the
NCAA tournament?