The Hoot!
Through the eyes of an owl
FAU High Student Newspaper
Fall 2012
Volume 2 Issue 1
PAGE 2
Watch Dogs
The exciting new technology driven video game
Pg 4-5
PSAT’S More
than just a
prediction
Pg 8-9
Spring Fashion
Week
Pg 12-13
THE HOOT
Homeschool
vs.
High school
Pg. 3
Nerdfighters!
Pg 6- 7
Seasons of Writing
Pg 10-11
VOLUME 2 ISSUE 1
By Nicole Yacura
For pretty much all my life, I have been
homeschooled. Now a lot of people have misconceptions about homeschooled kids, and let me just
say; in pretty much all cases, those misconceptions
are incorrect. I was the only homeschooler I knew
who didn't have much of a social life, and that was
really my choice. I had a ton of opportunities right
in front of me, but I declined them. All of my
friends whom are/were homeschooled are social
butterflies, maybe even more than the average public school student, and, as mentioned, we do have
friends. Maybe not as big as a selection, but there
are plenty of sports teams or homeschool support
groups out there that are so simple to join. This also
answers the question of "Aren't you stuck inside
your house all day?"
Now that that is understood, I can get to my main
point here, which is the transition from being
homeschooled to going to a high school. I am not
the first to do this; in fact, my brother and sister
who were homeschooled as well went to this
school, and did fantastically (or so they say). In all
honesty, homeschooling isn't quite as hectic as a
regular school, and not just in curriculum. In fact,
the biggest changes that I've experienced so far
were mostly in schedule change. When I was
homeschooled, I usually got up at around 7:00 AM
(my choice, I'm a morning person) and sat around,
goofing off until around 8:00 AM. From there, I
usually finished by 1:00 PM, taking an hour break
from 11:00 AM to noon for lunch.
PAGE 3
I took most of my courses on FLVS, and I was only
enrolled in four. The way classes on FLVS work, you
get a pace chart for each course. This tells you how
many assignments to do for that week. On Mondays, I
went to this all day (9:00 A.M.-4:00 P.M.) sports program, so I didn't get any work done on Monday. Tuesdays, I would do my week's worth of Math; Wednesdays, English; and Thursdays, History and Science.
Thursday afternoons I would volunteer at the library,
and Fridays I would spend with my mom.
This year so far (the two months it's been) has been
very interesting. I'm still a morning person, except I
now get up 45 minutes earlier, which is fine. Instead of
math being one of my harder classes, it is one of my
easier classes. Science and history, which were my
easiest classes, are now the harder ones. English is a
lot nicer, because in my old class, although it didn't
give me any trouble, it was a lot of busy work that
made no sense whatsoever. Some of it wasn't even related to English!
In general, high school is a lot different than my
homeschooling environment. Some of the differences
are nice, but others really put me outside my comfort
zone. But you know what? If I do plan on fulfilling my
dream of being a psychologist, I need to get ahead in
college. And it's a good experience to be outside of
your comfort zone. I mean, I've obviously made
enough time to write for the Hoot, I haven't fainted
from exhaustion YET, and I've made a ton of friends,
or at least people I can see in the halls and say hi, and
they'll say hi back. So, with a bit of work, I've come
out of my comfort zone and done something huge.
This just proves that with an open and powerful mind,
you can do anything
PAGE 4
THE HOOT
By: Jerrick Flores
Technology. It has become an essential
part of our lives. We work, communicate, and even create with the help of
technology. As a society, we have advanced so far because of the various
technologies available to us. But what
happens if instead of us controlling
technology, it controls us? And then
the question is asked… what if someone could then control that technology
– and henceforth, control everyone?
Ubisoft creates that kind of world, answers those questions, and much more
in their E3 teaser game, Watch Dogs.
Background:
In the world of Watch Dogs, a
Centralized Operating System, CTOS,
was installed in America in 2011. This
CTOS controlled all the aspects of everyday life, such as traffic lights, trains
and subways, airplanes… and even
you. Everything and everybody is
linked to the CTOS. Each person has a
“digital shadow” – any information
that would pertain to an individual:
credit card history, medical records,
purchases made, everything. Why
though?
The answer lies in the question, “who controls the technology?” The answer to that
question: big companies and businesses control the CTOS. Then back to the questionwhy? These big companies use a person’s
digital shadow to find out what people are
searching for on the Internet, what purchases
they make, etc. Consequently, the companies
then exploit that information of what the
populace is interested in, changing advertising campaigns whichever way to suit the public opinion. So in a way, with their control
over the CTOS, these businesses know what
everyone thinks and what they believe. Now,
even though these overlords seem to be in
complete control of everything, they miss one
key point – technology, even something as
advanced as a CTOS, can and will always
be… hacked.
VOLUME 2 ISSUE 1
PAGE 5
Gameplay Preview:
So at E3 2012 (A major videogame convention), the developer of Watch Dogs, Ubisoft,
had a press conference in which they had an employee play around ten minutes out of a random
segment in the game. This segment was in fact,
one of the earlier missions of the game. In this
mission, Aiden Pierce, the assumed main protagonist of Watch Dogs and also an infamous hacker
of the CTOS, tasks himself with assassinating Joseph Demarco, a snobbish self-proclaimed artist,
who is also a business owner with control over the
CTOS. Joseph Demarco owns an art gallery, dot,
and Aiden heads over to dot to try and lure out
Demarco.
To gain entry into dot, Aiden hacks and jams all
communications within the area around the entrance to dot, causing the bouncer guarding dot’s
entrance to investigate the cause, leaving the entrance wide-open. As Aiden enters dot, he approaches a man who seems to be waiting for him.
This man, whose name is never mentioned, is apparently an arms dealer, and dexterously supplies
Aiden with a pistol before quickly taking his
leave. Due to his infamous reputation, an employee calls Demarco warning him of Aiden’s
presence. Demarco responds to the employee, telling her that he is on his way to dot. Aiden, being
the hacker he is, tapped into the phone call and left
the club already, without attracting any attention,
even from the employee watching him.
Out on the streets, Aiden hacks into the traffic
lights simple and causes a multitude of car crashes
at an intersection. In this mess of cars is
Demarco’s, and after a short gunfight with his
bodyguards, Aiden approaches Demarco’s car and
drags him out, aiming his pistol at Demarco’s
head. All Demarco does in response is shout
empty threats and insults. Aiden, deciding that
Demarco is of no use, pulls the trigger. On
Aiden’s leaving of the crime scene, the ten minutes of gameplay come to an end and the screen
fades to black.
Protagonist , Aiden Pierce, standing over his target after a successful mission.
Final Comments:
Watch Dogs, with its ingenious ways of altering the view
of technology, is sure to be a game with a great storyline.
Adding in the unique gameplay aspect of being to control
all of the technology around Aiden, Watch Dogs is sure to
be a must-play game. Let’s just hope that the world doesn’t get completely hacked before Watch Dogs comes out.
Watch Dogs, a fast pace, futuristic game, with both an intriguing
story in an innovative setting.
PAGE 6
THE HOOT
Nerdfighteria
By Kelsey Landau
If you’re a big Harry Potter nerd (and because
you’re reading the FAU High School newspaper,
odds are good that you are) you may already know
what this article is about. If so, hi! DFTBA! If not,
an explanation might be in order about the YouTube-based community known as the Nerdfighers
(or Nerdfighteria, collectively) and why you should
care.
It started back in 2007, when two brothers, John
and Hank Green, decided that for a year they
would communicate via video blogs, or “vlogs,” in
place of other, text-based communication. They
regularly made videos for each other and uploaded
them to YouTube, under the YouTube username
vlogbrothers. John was already a well-known author of novels for young adults – his debut novel,
Looking For Alaska, has won the prestigious Printz
Award. Hank ran (and still runs) a major environmental website, EcoGeek. However, they achieved
much of their success though their YouTube channel, which really took off right before the release
of the seventh Harry Potter book. In July of 2007,
Hank made a video of himself playing a song that
he wrote, called “Accio Deathly Hallows,”
about his impatience for the book to come out. This
video got featured on the front page of YouTube and
went viral within the online Harry Potter community,
launching the duo’s popularity.
Since then, John and Hank Green have become a
bona-fide YouTube sensation. An online community,
known as the Nerdfighters (the name referencing
them fighting for nerds, not against them) has popped
up, coalescing around the videos that John and Hank
continue to make. The Nerdfighers’ stated goal is to
decrease what they and John and Hank call “world
suck,” which is basically what it sounds like, and to
promote as much awesome as possible in the world.
The initials DFTBA, which “Don’t Forget To Be
Awesome,” is the slogan of Nerdfighteria and the
vlogbrothers.
In 2010, the pair’s charity project, the Project for
Awesome, raised over $100,000 for charity, enough
to send five planes full of relief aid to Haiti, which
just had an earthquake that it is still recovering from
to this day. The vlogbrothers, with Nerdfighteria behind them, have also raised over $10,000 for the This
Star Won’t Go Out foundation which fights against
cancer.
VOLUME 2 ISSUE 1
Their videos don’t have a stated theme, but are basically the two brothers talking to each other through
vlogs. The videos are sometimes educational, but in a
fun and interesting way – for example, the two brothers are currently critically analyzing Fahrenheit 451
while the Nerdfighters read the classic dystopian
novel with them. The vlogbrothers also sometimes ask
Nerdfighteria to decrease world suck in specific ways
– such as in John’s recent video in which he challenged people to lend money to small businesses
though Kiva, a microfinance website. The Nerdfighter’s Kiva group has loaned over a million dollars
and counting. Many Nerdfighters are also huge Harry
Potter fans, and the two have achieved a level of rockstardom within the Harry Potter community. While
their videos encourage their viewers to think critically
and, as John often says, “Imagine the world complexly,” the basic format of the videos has not
changed: it is two brothers talking to each other. What
has changed is the size of the community that has
sprung up around them, and the influence that the
community can hold.
Their fans have encouraged the pair in their respective
professional fields, besides their work on YouTube.
John’s most recent book, The Fault In Our Stars, was
published in January, received rave reviews, and spent
weeks at the top of various bestseller lists, including
Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and The New York
Times. Hank has released three albums of mostly humorous music, and his most recent album, Ellen Hardcastle, charted on Billboard.
The pair also launched two educational YouTube
channels, CrashCourse and SciShow, earlier this year,
both of which were funded by a grant from YouTube.
PAGE 7
On CrashCourse, John teaches a course
equivalent to AP World History and Hank
teaches AP Biology in an interesting and
funny way. On SciShow, Hank makes videos about a wide variety of scientific information. These range from reporting on
breaking news in the scientific community
to profiling famous and not-so-famous scientists, to rebuffing popular scientific misconceptions. Both channels have over
200,000 subscribers and continue to educate
and inform viewers of all ages.
The story of John and Hank Green is an inspiring illustration of how two funny, talented people making videos in their basements have become extremely influential
people upon which an entire online community is based. The Nerdfighter community
has raised a lot of money for charity, and
given a place of belonging to a community
of typically maligned people to come together and express themselves. John and
Hank still make videos on vlogbrothers
every Tuesday and Friday, and you can
check them out at youtube.com/vlogbrothers. They recently
reached 1000 videos on that channel, and
what started out as two brothers living in
different parts of the country with a crazy
idea has grown in ways that nobody could
have foreseen. As John, Hank, and Nerdfighters around the globe would say, don’t
forget to be awesome!
John and
Hank
Green
from
their
highly
viewed
Internet
show
Showing they are more than just a YouTube sensation the green brothers at a book signing for
one of their published works.
PAGE 8
THE HOOT
By Phoebe Chu
Of FAU High’s 2012 graduating class of twenty
four, the National Merit Scholarship Corporation
recognized three students as finalists and commended three others. Approximately 1.5 million
students enter the National Merit Scholarship
Competition each year, but only around 50,000
entrants are eligible for recognition by the National Merit Scholarship Program. There are four
tiers: commended students, which consists of
about 34,000 of the 50,000; semifinalists, which
consists of about 16,000 of the 50,000; finalists,
which consists of about 15,000 of the 16,000;
and Merit Scholar designees, who are selected
from the finalist pool.
The PSAT (Preliminary SAT)/NMSQT(National
Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test), which will be
taken by high school students across the nation on
October 17th and 20th, is used to determine to
whom recognition will be awarded. The PSAT assesses one’s critical reading skills, math problemsolving skills, and writing skills. PSAT questions
are typically taken verbatim from the previous
year’s SAT. PSAT provide an estimation of how
well one will fare on the actual SAT and help students pinpoint areas for improvement. The highest
scorers, the ones with the greatest Selection Index
Scores, are the ones who qualify for recognition by
the National Merit Scholarship Program.
Requirements for participating in the National
Merit Scholarship Program are: taking the
PSAT/NMSQT during the designated year of
high school, no later than one’s third year of high
school; being enrolled as a high school student
and progressing towards graduation at a normal
pace; and being a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident intending to become a citizen when
allowed by law. Commended students are chosen
from the 50,000 eligible entrants.
Upon taking the test in the fall, high scorers have
the privilege of having the National Merit Scholarship Program write letters of referral to their two
colleges or universities of choice in the April following the test. These high scorers then discover
whether they have been deemed commended students or semifinalists in September. Semifinalists
generally have higher scores than commended students and they continue on in the National Merit
Scholarship Competition while commended stu
VOLUME 2 ISSUE 1
dents do not. They are appointed on a state representational basis. At this time, semifinalists
are also sent application materials by the National Merit Scholarship Program; they must
advance to Finalist ranking to be considered for
National Merit Scholarships. To qualify for Finalist standing, semifinalists must have consistently performed well throughout high school,
submit a completed application through the
Online Scholarship Application, have SAT
scores that verify one’s PSAT excellence, write
an essay, be endorsed by one’s school principal,
and provide any other additional information the
NMSP requests. Merit scholar designees, the
winners of the National Merit Scholar Competition, are chosen from the finalists. They are
evaluated on their academic records, the curricula and grading system at their schools, SAT
scores, extracurricular activities and leadership
skills, and finalist essays.
There are three types of scholarships finalists
can be awarded: National Merit $2500 Merit
Scholarships, Corporate Sponsored Merit Scholarship Awards, and College Merit Scholarship
Awards. Special Scholarships are available for
participants that are not finalists. About 1,300
special scholarships are awarded to participants
each year.
If you do not do as well on the PSAT as you
would like during your junior year of high
school, fret not, because although you may not
qualify for recognition by the National Merit
Scholarship Program, you can still do well on
the SAT. Test-wise, colleges only care about
your SAT scores. There are a plethora of study
tools the College Board makes accessible to all
PSAT test takers. There are also numerous SAT
prep books available for purchase at your local
bookstore and for checkout at your local library.
In addition, there are is a myriad of SAT prep
programs one can join.
PAGE 9
PAGE 10
THE HOOT
Writing throughout the Seasons
By Phoebe Chu
National Novel Writing Month
Throughout the year, there are several notable months of importance to writing fanatics. In November, while most people look forward
to sitting down with their families during Thanksgiving break and watching football, aspiring writers anticipate the start of NaNoWriMo, National
Novel Writing Month. During this month, writers challenge themselves to
write 50,000 words, the approximate length of a novel. Write-ins are
hosted at various locations such as Barnes and Nobles and local libraries
to encourage participation and to help foster a sense community. The purpose of NaNoWriMo is to help first-time novelists create a rough draft,
and so quantity is emphasized over quality. It is such that participants will
often challenge each other to “word wars,” in which the writer who writes
the greatest amount of words within a set amount of time is dubbed the
victor. Additional information about NaNoWriMo can be found
at www.nanowrimo.org.
National Poetry Month
In April, writers celebrate National Poetry Month or NaPo by challenging themselves and their peers to write a poem for every day of the month. More
information about NaPo can be found at www.poets.org. Along with NaPo, April
is also the month in which Script Frenzy takes place. Script Frenzy challenges its
participants to write 100 pages of original script within the 30 days of April. Its
tagline is “30 days. 100 pages. April. Are you in?” Participants who complete the
arduous task and verify it on the official website are crowned winners. Much like
NaNoWriMo and NaPo, there are no real prizes for winning. Script Frenzy humorously states that the prizes for winning as the following: “Happiness. Creative
juices. Pride. Laughter. Bragging rights. A brand-new script.” For more information on Script Frenzy, visit www.scriptfrenzy.org.
VOLUME 2 ISSUE 1
PAGE 11
3-Day Novel Contest
A less renowned writing event is the 3-Day Novel Contest, which has
been taking place annually since 1977 during Labor Day weekend; Labor Day
falls on the first Monday of September. Unlike the former competitions listed,
this event requires an entry fee of 55 dollars and registration on their website.
There are also no rules on novel length. The winner of the 3-Day Novel Contest
gets his or her manuscript published by 3-Day Books, the contest’s independent
publishing house. Taking into account that most books published by independent
publishing houses do not reach the same level of success books from their bigbrand publishing counterparts do, this is not as impressive of a prize as it may
seem. Second place winner receives 500 dollars, and third place, 100. More information about this event can be found at http://www.3daynovel.com.
National Day on Writing
Annually, FAU’s University Center for Excellence in Writing celebrates National Day On Writing by hosting an event along the breezeway
which includes readings and fun writing activities such as “post-it poetry,
banana-grams, and fortune cookie fortune writing.” This year, FAU will
celebrate National Day On Writing on October 18th from 10:00-2:00 in the
Traditions Plaza. FAU also holds several writing contests of which include
a Flash Fiction contest and an Essay Contest. Winners of the Flash Fiction
contest will have their pieces published in the Coastlines Literary Magazine. Winners of this year’s essay contest will be awarded $50.00 towards
financial aid. More information on National Day On Writing and FAU’s
writing contests can be found at
http://www.fau.edu/UCEW/ndw/index.php.
PAGE 12
All Aboard the SS13
The most dominant
trend this season
wasn’t really a trend
at all; it is more an
idea: "spring is the
new fall." Dark hues
of black, brown, and
red were seen on
many a runway
(most notably Marc
Jacobs’.)
Ella Brooks
It’s hard to believe that time of year
has come and gone yet again:
Spring/Summer Fashion Week. It
seems as though just yesterday we
were patiently awaiting the arrival
of our September issues and anticipating the newest collections. However here we are, another Fashion
Week done and so much to process.
Fashion Week, which comes around
twice a year (once in the fall and
once in the spring), is a time for designers to debut their new collections for the upcoming season.
Fashion editors, photographers, and
socialites alike all pack into Lincoln
Center, NYC to watch the new
looks and models on the runway.
Spring/Summer 2013, which took
place September 6-13, was filled
with more than 120 shows. Keeping
up that many new collections can be
difficult, and to some, what happens
during these shows seems less than
important. Some people just don’t
realize how important fashion iseverything we buy (yes, everythingincluding the bedspread you bought
at Wal-mart) is influenced by the
runway looks seen in New York,
London, Milan, and Paris. These
collections set the tone for what we
see on sale during the upcoming
season.
THE HOOT
Colorful graphic
prints are back.
Vibrant flowers,
psychedelic
prints, art deco
patterns, and typography were
layered upon each
other in many
shows. Jeremy
Scott, Marc by
Marc Jacobs, and
Clover Canyon
had some of the
most memorable
patterned ensembles.
VOLUME 2 ISSUE 1
PAGE 13
Conversely, bright col
ors, as always, are in as well.
Brands such as Rachel Roy, Alice + Olivia, and Chris Benz made
made great use of fluorescent pinks, yel
lows, and blues. When we think of we
Spring, we always think of fun, floral
colors, so this is right on point.
Staying with the movement of embellished
designs, jewels and metallic tones adorned
many garments.
Marchesa's Indianinspired collection featured sheers draped in
jewels, paired with metallic tops. Sheers,
lastly, were another fabric trend seen on the
runways of designers
such as Prabal Gurung,
Reed Krakoff, and Jason Wu.
Thank you to everyone who
helped contribute to our first
new issue of the student newspaper, The Hoot. All our wonderful authors for writing
these awesome articles, our
editors, Sam Marder, Kelsey
Landau, Dyllan To and Phoebe
Chu for reading through each
article and making sure they
were issue ready, Kaitlyn
Hendricks for doing layout and
design and also Ms. Rosenblum
for being our advisor yet
again this year. We hope you
enjoy our first issue.
Thanks for reading!