Cody Carpenter | journalism

One man down

WVU Mountaineer fans are in awe as the news spreads that WVU senior kicker, Josh Lambert, has decided to quit playing with the Mountaineers.

Lambert was suspended from three games at the beginning of the season; he returned for one game and then announced, “Lambert’s suspension may have something to do with it [the decision to quit playing for the Mountaineers]. It’s his decision, whether fans like it or not, but I don’t know why he would do it senior year.”

In regards to this matter, Jeremiah Nicola commented, “I believe he is the best kicker that WVU has, so the team may hurt a little bit.”

Dana Holgerson, WVU head coach, has yet to speak about Lambert leaving, but Nicola was asked how he would feel if he was Holgerson. “I would be pretty upset to think that my senior kicker has left me.”

While this may affect the Mountaineers moving forward in their undefeated season, of course they will try to recoup and continue to win their games. The freshman kicker will have some big shoes to fill, following in Lambert’s footsteps.

Strawberry Stem

Another life hack is coming your way! When trying to eat strawberries, do those annoying stems get in your way? Not to worry, because you’re about to know a trick to deal with that problem! Strawberry eaters can push a drinking straw through the bottom of a strawberry and push the stem out the top. This prevents butchering a strawberry while trying to remove the grassy stem. Jackie Smith was interviewed about her opinion on this particular life hack.

“This life hack looks like it would work, and I’m interested in trying it myself,” Smith stated. Interest in this hack is increasing majorly, so maybe before you know it, strawberries will come with straws. Simple solutions to common issues are very helpful most of the time, but this one especially is, since no one eats the stem of a strawberry. It is truly amazing what time-saving fixes people create for everyday problems.

“I have never heard of this life hack until now, but you have changed the way that I eat strawberries.” Smith commented. These simple strategies can change the way many people look at the world. We, as human beings, throw so many things away that can be reused as life hacks. “This life hack has put a new view on the way a strawberry is eaten now.” said Smith.

This simple resolution and many others can make peoples’ lives easier now and down the road. Eating strawberries may never be the same for some people. The straw through the strawberry point of view is a very intellectual idea. As you can see, these ideas can be very beneficial, even when you are newly familiar with the concept.

Keep phone chargers longer

With technology advancing rapidly, one would think that cellular companies- such as Apple or Samsung- would find a way to prolong the life of the phone chargers. Often customers are disappointed, because the charger bends right where the cord meets the adapter. Over time the wiring frays leaving customers without a means to charge their phone and having to pay a ridiculous price to buy another charger.

However, putting a spring from the inside of a pen around a charger will keep it from bending and consequently prolong the life of everyone’s phone charger. The spring allows the cord flexibility, minimizing the damage of the wiring inside.

Hannah Hunt believes that the life hack is splendid, saying, “I think that is brilliant, I can’t believe I didn’t think of that, but I’ll be using that now. I have been through so many chargers for this exact reason [the wiring fraying due to the bending] and I’m excited that I have a reason to keep it from happening now.”

Depending on the brand and the quality of the charger, a charger can cost anywhere between ten and twenty dollars. If a person had to replace a charger every year, having the same phone for five years, the cost would be between fifty and a hundred dollars. Save your money now by using a pen’s spring to protect the wiring in your charger.

Never be in the Dark

Recently, a life hack involving a phone’s flashlight and a water bottle to create a bright lantern has been taking the internet by force. Ashton Maxwell, had never heard of the hack until just recently. She believes that the hack could prove to be beneficial in a pinch.

While this life hack seems very helpful, the downfall of this would be that you need a phone for this to work. Not everyone has a cellular device that will work for this particular life hack.

America prepares for a new leader

America, being just over a week away from Trump taking office as President, is preparing itself for the ceremonies ahead. Over the past year, Americans have listened to a constant fight between candidates Trump and Clinton. As the election ended on November 8, 2016, Americans realized who their leader would really be, Donald Trump. In eight days, Trump will be inaugurated as the 45th president of the United States.

There are many steps in getting from one President to the next. The first of these steps was the national election, in which we learned that Donald Trump would lead our country. Chelsea Queen, a student at BUHS, gave her opinion. “I was glad that the election was over because I was tired of hearing the arguing.” The second of these steps was the farewell speech given by current president, Barack Obama, on January 10th. Queen stated, “He [Obama] said some things that had good points, but he also said things that I disagree with.” Obama, being a Democrat, is handing over the presidency to Trump, who is a Republican, and that has sent the country into a fury. No one can just assume that the next four years will be bad, but we all shall wait and see.

In just over a week, the 45th president of the United States will be inaugurated. While not everyone may like Trump, the position he holds should be respected. Everyone, when elected, should be given a chance as our leader. “America should just quit fighting, and try to better ourselves as a whole.” Queen added.

End of course exams proposed

A bill circulating in legislation right now is proposing that schools in West Virginia have an end of course exam in place of the Smarter Balance we already take. North Carolina and Florida have already adopted this concept, but why can’t West Virginia? It would mean students have to take an exam at the end of every school year for every course they take. If this bill is passed, not only the Summative Assessment be replaced, but shut down.

WV could join NC and FL in giving students end of course exams. This concept would better show if kids are learning what is required by the state. However, every teacher teaches differently, but all the kids will take the same test. This could affect the students because not everyone has a teacher that follows the guidelines, so they may miss information.

One way to solve this would be if teachers could make their own exams based off the guidelines. If the legislation passes this bill, we may see exams as soon as next school year. It is all up to the government to determine what truly lies ahead for our education system. We need to try to improve our education for every student.

Do we give kids too many trophies?

The modern idea of giving every kid a trophy is corrupting our youth. Every child should know that there is a winner and a loser—that’s life. “Not everyone deserves a trophy because there should always be a winner and a loser,” an anonymous source spoke. Also, if you give kids trophies even when they lose, they have no reason to try. They think that they can just be lazy because they’ll still get something out of it. Too many trophies are being handed out and we need to find a better solution.

The other side of it would be that giving kids trophies makes them feel successful. The problem with this is that the kids who earn the trophy don’t feel successful because the ones who don’t try get the same rewards. There are things that most people can agree on about this. For example, sports aren’t the same as they used to be, where there was a winner and a loser, but both teams showed sportsmanship.

Nowadays, kids get mad when they lose instead of accepting it and trying to do better. They think they should be rewarded for showing up and that’s not how it’s supposed to be. Both teams at the Super Bowl don’t get the championship trophy, so why does our youth? They are truly being set up for failure, and that’s not a good thing.

Trophies are a privilege that should be earned, not given. The youth of America are corrupt from video games and television already, so let’s not mix unearned rewards in too. Ask any professional sports player and they can probably tell you how thankful they are that their coaches were hard on them and made them work hard. Many of them can probably tell you about a humbling experience they’ve had too, whether it be coming up short in a championship game or recovering from an injury. None of them mention the fact that they wished they had received a trophy too.

In conclusion, trophies should be limited to only people who earn them. Whether a trophy is earned as a team or individually, it is a reward, and should not be handed out to those who do not earn it. “Instead of dragging the good down, we need to pull the bad up,” commented an anonymous student. There are trophies for many different things and many ways to earn them, so put forth the effort and get what you deserve. Roy Baumeister, in What it takes to win, said, “Trophies should go to the winners. Self-esteem does not lead to success in life. Self-discipline and self-control do, and sports can help teach those.”

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