Sami



Yeah Sami!

Poetry slam

**“Never”** By, Sami Ng  **September 8** New year, new year! Hurray, hurrah I’ve got on my new jeans And a push-up bra. Seventh grade yes, This will be my year No more being scared No longer fear. Look! I see a girl over there She’s got cool shoes And long, blond hair I think I’ll go And say hello I hope she’ll let me Sit in her row. Her name is Anna She nods briefly at me And asks if I  Want to take a seat. Friend on my first day, I’m so grateful, At least she’s nice And not too hateful. **Them** I do not like The way that group of girls Carrying around handbags and lipstick, Stare at me with their blue and green eyes. That group of girls They are pushy Mean And too skinny. They give me Looks that cut And whisper. I am not good enough.

**Pieces** Anna does not look at me She says no other song I guess those new popular friends Told her hanging out with me is wrong. **Anna** Anna does not want to sit with me anymore I wish she would go away I do not want to see her through this glass door. **They are Not** They are not Nice Funny Understanding. They are just Mean Cruel And reprimanding. **Look At Me** You make mean comments That’s ok, I hear them a lot You say that you’re in You say that I’m not Funny how you think That will make you cool It just makes you sound Cold and downright cruel. Look at me I’m a person, too Look at me, Stop acting like a fool. Look at me Look me in the eye Look at me Then you might see why.

**Anna Says** Anna says I am nothing She says she doesn’t know why we were ever friends. She says her new friends are prettier and cooler That I am nothing but a fool Anna says I’m odd Anna says I’m too skinny I guess in the game of frenemies There really is no winning. Anna says I’m ugly Anna says I stink Anna says that I’m so stupid I never even think. Anna says. **Glass Bottle** Words that cut like razors Ugly whispers down the hall. Slicing into me so dark Standing over me so tall. **Look At Me Again** Look at me What do you see? A girl drowning in misery. Look me in the eyes I dare you, go ahead Or are you too scared? Afraid? Lost in dread? Maybe you were bullied once, too Is that why you can’t look me in the eyes? Is that why you pretend like you never cry? Are you too scared to ask for help? Look at me, Look me in the eyes. **Fog** I never thought this would be true. I never thought I would have to Attend Anna’s funeral. Guess she had some rage of her own. Guess she sometimes felt alone. No excuse for her mean behavior, But do you think I could have saved her? No, no not at all Nothing could have broken her fall. I never knew she was in pain I thought her bullying was in vain. Guess she sometimes cried in her room. Guess she sometimes drowned in doom. Guess she had some ghostly fears Guess Anna shed a few tears. Guess she was really good at lying. Guess she’s really good at dying. Guess she was brave to keep on trying. 

Sami Ng Drew Hampson **Movies: The Rating System Is Still Ok!** Since the late 1900s, our cinema has evolved immensely. New movies have come out depicting stronger themes and provoke more discussion than in the past. There has been debate as to whether or not the movie rating system needs to be updates and made stricter. However, we think that the movie rating system is up to date and still appropriate. The Motion Picture Association of America frequently conforms and updates the movie rating system to fit today’s popular culture. For example, in the 1990s, PG-13 movies often depicted graphic violence and sexual situations. Nowadays, the PG-13 rating has been tightened up so that they only tend to include some sensuality, inappropriate language, and drug use. Every movie that comes out goes through a process of being viewed by a parental board as well as the MPAA screenings. The MPAA rating system has put in place certain warnings on the ratings. An example of this is the label on a movie that says “PG-13: For some language and brief drug use”. Parents and viewers know what the movie will include and are forewarned. On boxofficemojo.com, the MPAA posts more detailed descriptions of the ratings they’ve issued to movies, so if people think they have picked a questionable choice for a film, they can learn more about the reason for the rating. Oftentimes, people can even read parent reviews about a certain movie. While some parents may question the validity of the MPAA movie rating system, the ratings clearly state why the movie is rated the rating it is, and parents are usually forewarned for changes in ratings. The system changes as society and Hollywood changed In a world full of iPhones, tablets, laptops, and PDAs, everyone’s learning to use cool new features to navigate, sort, remind, research, and communicate with others. Many forms of personal electronic devices are even designed specifically to assist us in our everyday needs and tasks. These products are fascinating, and the enhanced technology these devices give us is powerful. However, many electronic devices are quickly becoming a sort of pandemic that is overtaking many of America’s adolescents and children, and while technology is an advanced science ultimately designed to help, is modern-day social media becoming too much of a distraction during school? Let’s go to a quick change of scenery. You’re teaching a math class, explaining the Pythagorean Theorem. You ask your students to pull out their cell phones and solve a problem. As you’re going around the room to answer questions, you take a tally of how many students are actually doing the assignment. While some are dutifully solving the problem, others are taking advantage of the opportunity and texting their friends, or posting pictures on their social media sites. Personal electronic devices are a distraction during the school day. If teachers bring cell phones into the curriculum, students will become distracted and unfocused on the lesson, their grades will drop, and there will be dire consequences. Another stressful thing these devices cause in a classroom environment is the increase in cyber-bullying. If cell phones and other devices are allowed during the school day, the realm of cyber-bullying is less controllable. Students may feel unsafe, knowing that social media and devices are allowed and there is more lax space for harassment. Having electronic devices in school may also cause more legal problems; new policies would have to be put in place regarding how a student is to be charged for cyber-bullying if it has been done during school hours. Lastly, it’s been proven that electronics can hinder someone’s interpersonal relationships with peers. Students will become dependent on these devices now that schools would encourage them, and will lose social skills in speaking to others. This could quickly snowball into a situation where, someday, people will not be able to communicate properly with others since the only method they know is through text. Although electronics can be very useful products, having them in a classroom environment is not appropriate. While they may encourage students to learn more, students will stop learning how to use books and other resources to search for material.