 AMS 8th graders show their support. In 2018, feminism is a term that is used in everyday life, but some may feel that the phrase has “negative connotations”. Nowadays there are people who believe this term means man hater, over dramatic, or even think it means female chauvinism. These are stereotypes spread widely from social media and are not an accurate representations of what it actually means to be a feminist. Webster's dictionary defines feminism as “The theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes.” Equal, not women over men, or vise versa, and not crazy women who hate men. Just people who want to be equal.
Now that you have some background information, you need to learn some tactics for approaching a discussion about this important subject. One helpful thing to remember when having a discussion is that your goal is to educate, not insult. Another thing to remember is that feminism is for everyone, and is for equality - not putting women above men; this will keep your argument stronger and will keep the feminist movement where it should be. The goal of this movement is equality of the sexes, not anti-man. This can become blurry in a conversation if you do not choose your words carefully, remain concise, and speak the truth about feminism. Feminism is a movement that shouldn’t even have to exist, but it does because there is sexism; we need to work together as a community to fight this sexism and put males and females on an equal playing field. We need to have both genders work together to make the world a place where they are paid the same amount, and neither gender needs to work harder to prove that they are just as tough and strong as the other. On average, women in the U.S are paid 79 cents for every dollar that a man makes, and a woman's median salary is 10,800 dollars less than a man's according to a study conducted by the Joint Economic Committee Democratic Staff. These numbers are devastating to women who put their all into their jobs, just to be paid less than their male coworkers. There are many ways that you can participate in the community to advocate for this movement. For example, whenever someone says anything inaccurate about feminism you can politely correct them, you can participate in women's marches in your area (there is one on Saturday, January 20th in Asheville), and help support the young girls around you. If you are feeling generous, a great way to help push forward this community of very strong women and men is donating money or time to the many organizations empowering girls. A few of these are Built by girls, Girlschool, and even a local organization AAUW. There has never been a better time to help better your community, so don't let stigmas stop you from making a difference! Story by Alana Kendrick and Ginger Hanlon I had the chance to interview Quinton Rudock, who spends his time traveling and working in different areas. He has been in Oregon, Mexico, Washington State, and most recently, Canada. Quinton lived in Canada near the Arctic circle. He had a friend named Oliver who he helped to build a log cabin near Yellowknife, Canada. He actually got the idea to travel and work with different people from a New York Times article that he read about WWOOFing. There were absolutely no people whatsoever where he and Oliver were at. They were able to get around using his 3 dogs: Beaver, Nanook, and Ohma. They used the dogs to pull a sled around; the sled was their normal transportation. Some of the things that they ate were: fish liver, fish eggs, the meat and juice behind the fish eyeballs. He said that the not so fun part about living in the wilderness was that he almost cut his finger tips off with a chainsaw! It turned out okay, because if you get a cut in the wild, then you cure it with spruce gum which you can get it from spruce tree sap. He also never used soap because it would have attracted the mosquitos and other bugs. There were thousands of mosquitos there for about a month. Quinton said, “The water behind the house was so clean that you could literally take your hand and drink the water. It was the best tasting water, sweet and also delicious”. They also had some black bears behind their house! His main safety was bear mace, which is like pepper spray but for bears. Quinton also came across a native village while he was canoeing on the waterways. Instead of having electrical plugs, he would have enough energy and electricity to charge his phone with solar power. His advice to you is that the wilderness is open for anyone and everyone, and to start exploring the waterways. Story by Sydney Edwards
Photos by Quinton Rudock (IG: @quinton.notniuq)  10. Piano man- Billy Joel
Piano man is a classic released in 1973 that will have you bobbing your head and singing along just after the first chorus. 9. Tiny Dancer-Elton John Released in 1972, this song is a great song to listen to that will instantly put you in a great mood. 8. Imagine- John Lennon I would recommend this song to anyone. Guaranteed to restore your faith in humanity in seconds. It's a very chill song that you would want to put on loop all day. 7. Put Your Head on my Shoulder- Paul Anka This song will effortlessly bring you back to the sixties, and make you want to dance. 6. When a Man Loves a Woman- Percy Sledge One of the most timeless, beautiful songs you will ever hear. The lyrics and the tune are 10/10. It will never get old. 5. Stand By Me- Ben E King This song is so inspirational and makes people unite. His voice is the icing on the cake that makes this song an all time favorite. 4. Hotel California- The Eagles This is another great classic. It has an eerie vibe and unique lyrics that will leave you intrigued and wanting to hear more. 3. Uptown Girl- Billy Joel Upbeat and catchy, this is a song that will never age, and never cease to make you sing along. 2. Earth Angel- The Penguins This is a sweet song that makes you dance and sing. Great use of layering voices used to create this unique song. 1. Bohemian Rhapsody- Queen It's impossible not to love this song after you listen to it. This is a priceless song that gets better every time you hear it. Story by Alana Kendrick  Ninja, Neapolitan, Novelty; What do all of these words have in common, they all start with the letter N. We all know that N is the 14th letter in the alphabet but how much do you actually know about this magical nasally letter. I went to Fonts.com and learned much much more about this letter. For starters the letter N has always had a close association with water.
The Egyptians used the picture of a wavy line which meant the “N” sound. The Phoenicians used this sound around 3,000 years ago, it was nun which was pronounced Noon, this word meant fish. In the 10th century BC, Greece began incorporating letters from the Phoenician alphabet into their own alphabet. They used the initial sound in the Phoenician letter and the Phoenician “Nun” became the Greek “Nu”. The Greeks changed the letter shape slightly to become more sensible. The Romans over time have borrowed most things from the Greeks and the letter N is no different. Over time, stonecutters began to carve out letters using hammers and chisels. The length and overall shape of the letter changed into what it is today. Story by William Euler Images and facts from www.fonts.com Animal Abuse has been a large problem in the world for decades. From lab testing to animal “sports”, humans have subjected many species to painful and even deadly activities. To many people’s surprise, neglect is not the only type of abusive behavior exhibited by humans. There is actually a wide variety of animal abuse categories. In this article, the main focus will be on the most significant types of animal abuse in the U.S. That consists of lab testing and factory farms, violence and neglect, dog fighting, and euthanizing in shelters. In America alone, approximately 1 million animals are used in labs annually; as far as farming goes, 99% of livestock grown for food such as chickens, cows, and pigs are in factory farms. All of these animals are put in horrible conditions for their entire lives. In both the factory farm industry and the cosmetic/pharmaceutical industry, animals lead very unhappy, unsafe lives. This is a diagram comparing the 2 industries and a few examples of what the animals in them go through:   Dogs at a shelter. Another major issue in the U.S. involving animal abuse is violence and neglect. This is a big category. According to research, about 90% of the animals involved in these reported cases were dogs and cats. Studies show that most animal abuse cases can be related to abuse of the tormentor’s child or spouse as well. One of the reasons why this type of abuse is still so common is because animals do not have a way to personally report the incidents that occur; often the abuse occurs within one’s home, where the public would not witness it. Improvements in the laws involving the mistreatment of animals are in action in many states. Hopefully in the next few years the numbers of cases will decrease and less animals will be living in miserable circumstances.
In 2008, dogfighting was officially banned in every state in the U.S. and it is now a felony if the fighters are caught. However, it is estimated that hundreds of thousands of people are still involved with this so called “sport”. The dogs who are used for this activity are kept isolated, on tiny, weighted chains. Narcotics and steroids are used on the fight dogs to improve their strength and aggression. The canines are put through violent and cruel conditions to motivate them. Brutal methods are also used to crop the ears of the dog and remove the majority of their tail. Both dogs in a fight will be injured, but the losing dog is generally killed or discarded. Bait dogs are also commonly used. They are often smaller, younger dogs and are used to begin the fight. These traumatic conditions that the dogs are put through affect them long term. When dogs are found who were previously used for dog fighting, they can be helped and rehabilitated to not expect abuse or remain violent. Many argue that dog fighting is one of the most barbaric types of deliberate animal cruelty. About 6 and a half million dogs and cats are put into shelters annually. Of these 6.5 million animals, approximately 1.5 million are euthanized. This is, in fact, a significant decrease since 2014, where 2.7 million out of 7.6 million animals were killed in shelters. The majority of the animals who are put down in shelters are killed simply because nobody adopted them within their limited days. These animals are generally perfectly healthy, young, and friendly companions. This occurs because the number of animals being brought in and bred has exceeded the number of people who are willing to adopt them. Some organizations have a catch and release policy, where they neuter stray animals so they can’t reproduce, and then release them again so they aren’t awaiting their likely death in a shelter cage. There are many other methods used to try and control the amount of neglected or euthanized cats and dogs, each has its ups and downs. If they were all put into effect, and shelters refrained from euthanizing their animals, about 1.5 million of them would be spared every year. Animal abuse remains a big issue in America, but every year we get a little closer to defeating the things that hurt so many species. The issues mentioned are definitely not the only ones that exist, although they are the most common ones in this country and the ones that need the most attention at the moment. You can use products not tested on animals, adopt or foster pets who are days away from being euthanized, and not eat meat raised on factory farms to help. If we keep going in this direction, we will eventually get rid of most of these methods that torture these mammals and they will no longer endure these kinds of merciless activities. Story by Willow Schenk  Ibtihaj with the new Barbie It's about time the classic 1959 hourglass figured blonde Barbie doll got a remodel. Mattel, the creators of the Barbie empire, have began to evolve from the tiny waisted dolls to a wide range of diverse beauties. Just in the year 2016, Mattel releases barbies coming in tall, curvy and petite. It's not over there. In 2018, Barbie is planning to release a new collection of barbies, all of which will be wearing Hijabs. These new dolls are inspired by Ibtihaj Muhammad, the first American to compete in the Olympics wearing a hijab. After the fencer heard the great news, she went to twitter saying, "I'm proud to know that little girls everywhere can now play with a Barbie who chooses to wear hijab! This is a childhood dream come true.” I guess Barbie doesn't have to rely on Ken anymore!
Story by Julianne Lally  The founders of Soundcloud Soundcloud is a great was for everyone to publish and listen to any type of music. It is was first founded in August of 2007 in Stockholm, Sweden, and then launched in 2008 in Berlin. The founders were Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss. They came up with the idea for the app when they met in college. They wanted to create a universal space (it is available in 190 countries) for any artist to have the ability to share their music. As of December, 2017, 10 million people and bands upload their music to Soundcloud.
Since it started, it’s numbers of both creators and listeners have been heavily increasing, and hopefully will continue to flourish. What makes Soundcloud so great is how unique it is. People can upload up to 2 hours of sound for free. 4 hours is $55 per year and unlimited is $135 per year. It is the cheapest way to publish music and still get all of the credit for the work. Anyone, from professional musicians, to teenagers recording sounds in the basement, gets the same platform for sharing their creations. This website and app has opened a new door for the music industry, and has helped thousands of music couriers begin and grow. Another thing that makes it so unique is that it has provided access to millions of songs that otherwise would never have been discovered. So much music has appeared on Soundcloud before any other streaming company such as Spotify, Pandora, iTunes, etc. It is by far the most diverse music collection on the internet, and continues to gain 12 new hours of sound every minute. Since 2010, Soundcloud has been struggling to survive. Since the audio social network has a free option for both it’s listeners and the artists, most of the users don’t pay for Soundcloud. Soundcloud almost crashed in the summer of 2017. Thankfully, due to the fact that it was responsible for majorly helping Chance the Rapper launch his music career, he invested enough money to keep it running... for now. If Soundcloud in fact can no longer continue in the near future, millions of music strictly on Soundcloud will be lost forever. The future of Soundcloud is still uncertain, but a lot of artists all over the world are relying on it to keep running for their futures. Hopefully it can find a way to save itself and keep doing awesome things for all kinds of creators and listeners. Story by Willow Schenk |
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