While it is a bit entertaining to see all of the media attention our school is getting over something so trivial, it’s getting a bit too serious. According to a message from our principal on our school’s website and multiple commenters online, our school and principal have received an alarming amount of negative message by phone and email. It would be one thing if they were from concerned parents of students, but people who are just reading about this story online in other parts of the country are calling in. I don’t believe that these people realize that there are two sides to every story, and that they should check to make sure they have both sides before writing spiteful (and what they believe to be witty) messages to the school. Our principal is wonderful, she does a great job (from what I’ve seen and what I’ve heard from other students) and is extremely nice. She does not deserve to be put through all of this. If these people were really so concerned about spreading Christmas cheer like they claim to be they should think about the effect this will have on her Christmas. I feel so badly for everyone who has gotten caught up in this involuntarily, it can’t be a fun way to start holiday break.

Another thing that has been heavily discussed in regards to the Christmas Sweater Club is whether or not the entire story is out. While no one really knows, everyone I’ve talked to is suspicious. Many have claimed that they believe some of the news reports to be one-sided. However, with rules and regulations regarding student discipline, the school cannot discuss their punishment or their actions with anyone because of privacy concerns. This makes it very difficult for the school to fight back with facts if they wanted to do so. They have however stated that the original news report “generated much misinformation”.

On another note, this whole experience has been enlightening as an aspiring journalist. It has been a lesson in learning to check both sides of the story, really tuning in to people’s opinions, and seeing how a story goes viral…for good reasons or bad.

Every year, the week and a half before we leave for our holiday break, a group of about ten guys wear their Christmas Sweaters (yes, the extremely tacky and festive ones) and toss candy canes to students. It’s a really fun, innocent tradition in our eyes…but some of the administrators at our school do not see it that way.  The spirited students were written up for their actions. According to their interview with Channel 9 news, they were told that the candy canes could be used as weapons (sharpened with their teeth) and were thrown maliciously with an intent to harm. As a recipient of a candy cane, I can say that when I received mine it was in no way violent, malicious, or distracting. On one hand, I feel as if we are missing part of the story. It seems like something that would be made up as an urban legend. It also doesn’t seem like something our principal would do, and I feel bad for her because she is receiving tons of bad publicity that is not necessarily warranted. On the other hand, as a senior at Battlefield I’ve seen the administration at work for years and this doesn’t surprise me at all. I’d like to believe that this is unusual behavior at Battlefield, but it isn’t. People get in trouble over trivial things all the time. It’s never been a huge deal, it’s just a part of growing up. Nobody likes it but you just have to deal with it and move on.

What started out as one station’s story on what was probably a slow news day is now blowing up. Last night, a video of the Christmas Sweater Club’s interview on Channel 9 went viral over Facebook, Twitter, and other social networking sites. Today many students, including myself, wore their own Christmas Sweaters to school to show support for our fellow students.  By the time I got home from school today I learned that our school’s minor fiasco had made an appearance on Glenn Beck’s opinion site, The Blaze, and a Fox News site. Reading the comments has been interesting…people don’t believe it happened; they say it sounds like we live in a horrible part of town, when in reality it’s the opposite. There have even been multiple comparisons to prison. The 11 o’clock news will be covering it tonight. I turned on the radio to the most popular music radio station, Hot 99.5, only to hear it being discussed there. People are up in arms over it. I’ve listened to the discussion on the radio for over an hour now. Many students, including at least one member of the club, have called in to show their support for their school, and a number of other listeners have registered their opinions with the host (who is quite pro-Christmas Sweater Club).

One good thing is coming out of this situation. Battlefield students are defending their fellow students and working together to do so. A Facebook page titled “Justice for Battlefield’s Christmas Sweater Guy’s [sic]” has over 670 fans. It’d nice to see students supporting each other, even if it’s because our school is at the center of a minor, trivial, and most likely fleeting controversy.

(After another day at school, this information is no longer true. Please see follow up post for details.)

In conclusion, if what the news is reporting is true, I believe that the Christmas Sweater Club’s actions did not warrant punishment. That’s not to say that there is not more to the story or that the media has not skewed the story, but it’s all I have to go off of at this time. Either way, this minor and domestic incident has been blown entirely out of proportion.

Related Media:

• Hot 99.5
• The Blaze
• Fox News
• WUSA9

Almost as soon as school got out, I travelled a great distance (read: half an hour) to attend a journalism conference at George Mason University called the Washington Journalism and Media Conference. What can I say about WJMC? It was by far one of the most life-changing experiences of my life, and I mean that. I’ve known since a young age that I want to go into journalism, but this week at Mason reminded me of how much I love journalism. Before I arrived, I was nervous and anxious about it. I had no idea what kinds of people I would meet or what the week would hold for me. I certainly had no reason to be worried at all. I had three fantastic roommates, and as soon as I met them all of my fears melted away. Later I met the Gold Team, the people I would spend the most time with throughout the week. I made some absolutely amazing friends in this group, friends I hope I get to keep for a very long time and to see soon. Being on a college campus and staying in its dorms (especially since it’s a school I’m looking at) was great because I felt like I was getting a trial run of college. I got to test out having roommates, making friends where I didn’t know anyone, and spending time with them while balancing our crazy schedule. We heard from amazing speakers, such as Chuck Todd, (who is actually the author of one of the books I have to read for a summer assignment!) Kevin McCarthy, (an amazing film critic/hero, who made me realize that becoming a film critic would be the perfect job for me) and Dean Andrew Flagel (Dean of Admissions at George Mason University, coolest admissions speaker I’ve ever seen, and all around awesome person at WJMC). I also really learned to appreciate DC better. Living here, people take it for granted. Seeing people get excited about passing things I see all the time really made me appreciate Washington. All in all, WJMC was one of the greatest weeks of my life and I want to thank everyone who made it what it was.

After I got home from WJMC, I had about a week before returning to Acting for Young People. As a camper for the past few years, AFYP has been like a second home for me and the people there have been like a second family. This year I did not go as a camper, but rather as an intern. I could not have been more excited to have the opportunity to work at a place that means so much to me, and it certainly did not let me down. Going from camper to intern felt like graduating, and it came naturally. I was able to grow closer with counselors and staff I had known and meet amazing new people. I won’t get to see them as often now that the summer is over, but I hope to see them as much as possible. I got to work with children a lot, and I really love that. Little kids are adorable, and I really enjoyed getting to work with them. I had a feeling that I would like working with children, but I absolutely loved it. I just wanted the kids in my groups to love AFYP as much as I do. I want them to have the amazing memories like I do. I think the highlight of the whole experience was when one of the groups put on a play about the counselors for the last day of camp. It was adorable, and you could tell the kids were really proud of it. However, I received a little surprise at the end. My own brother was in the group, and he went on stage wearing one of my shirts. Naturally, I was very confused. After a few seconds it became clear that he was playing me. I was later told that he had really wanted to play me. It was one of the most heartwarming things I’d ever heard. I may have had a different experience than past summers at AFYP, but it was just as amazing as ever, if not better. I owe a lot to everyone who made my time at AFYP as magical as it was.

Summer 2010, you’ve been good to me.

This golden rule is one of the first lessons in ethics we receive. We are usually first taught this at a young age, often in reference to sharing toys or not teasing other children. The golden rule becomes second nature to many, if not most, people. However, it is very apparent in those who never really learn it. Those who never learn to treat others as they want to be treated tend to lack respect for the opinions of others. Opinions and beliefs are a touchy subject, and everyone wants theirs to be respected. This goes for any sort of opinion–from political or religious beliefs to musical tastes.

For example, I have encountered people who think that their taste in music is the only acceptable one. I have been a Jonas Brothers fan for years–even before they were on Disney. As a result, I tend to get teased for liking them. I don’t push their music on other people, and I don’t go around saying that you should like them because I do. I have seen people who do that, and they annoy me as well. People often tell me that they don’t like the Jonas Brothers. And you know what? That’s fine with me. But what has happened to me an alarming number of times is that people will tell me that I shouldn’t like them because they don’t. They tell me my opinions are wrong. How can an opinion be wrong? It is rude remarks like these that show a lack of respect for others. It’s disrespectful. I wore a Jonas Brothers concert shirt the other day (it was the day after the concert, so I felt it was appropriate) and many people made a few comments, but nothing rude. Then one girl saw it and said, completely serious, ”Is that a Jonas Brothers shirt? Burn it.” I barely knew her.

Later that same day I went out to lunch with a few people. I was friends with most of the people, but there was one person I had only met a few times. In the middle of a conversation he turned to me and said (once again, completely humorless), “I’m sorry. I can’t take you seriously while you’re wearing a Jonas Brothers shirt. I threw a party when they broke up.” I had multiple problems with him saying this. Number 1: Was it really so important to tell me he didn’t like my shirt that he had to interrupt a conversation? Number 2: They’re a band, not a cult. Should that fact that I like them change his impression of me? Number 3: They never broke up. If someone is going to go out of their way to say something like this they should at least have their facts straight. As an aspiring journalist, I’m a firm believer that it would be better to say nothing at all than to say something that is incorrect.

These anecdotes may seem, and probably are, trivial. These people didn’t attack my moral, religious, or political beliefs. They didn’t attack my character. But it makes me wonder: If people have no problem attacking the opinions of others from a young age, will they ever learn to respect the opinions of others? Today they might just be giving me a hard time about my musical preferences, but tomorrow they could be criticizing my political or religious beliefs.

The way I see it is this: I don’t try to tell you what to think, so please don’t tell me what to think.

NOTE: There are some minor spoilers at the end of this blog. There is bright yellow text that indicates when they begin.

Like many movie-goers in America, I saw Christopher Nolan’s newest film Inception this weekend. Let me tell you, that film deserves every penny of the $60.4M it earned in it’s opening weekend.

Inception is the type of film that really cannot be explained; in order to understand it you must experience it. I won’t even attempt to summarize it. Even if I could, I wouldn’t be able to do so without major spoilers. That being said, if you have read a spoiler-filled review of it and you haven’t seen it I highly recommend experiencing it for yourself. After I saw it I read the plot summary on Wikipedia and it didn’t have the same affect on me as the film did.

While I loved Inception, and I believe it is one of the best films I’ve ever seen, I must admit that it is without a doubt the most complicated movie I have ever seen. However, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Nowadays it seems as if we’ve seen every movie that comes out…it’s the same thing over and over again with a few changes to make it “original”. Inception is a welcome breath of fresh air to movie-goers because it truly is original. For the first time in ages I felt like I actually had to pay attention to a movie because I didn’t want to risk missing an important detail.

It was much easier to form an emotional connection with the characters in Inception than in many films, and they had the entire audience hanging on their every word. Which just made the dramatic ending that much more frustrating. (Warning: Spoilers begin here.)Everyone that I have talked to who has seen the movie has their own opinion on whether or not the top fell, making every viewer question the state of reality that the movie takes place in. If you haven’t seen it, that probably sounds quite dramatic and complicated. But it was the most brilliant, mind-blowing, genius ending. At least, in my opinion. Many say that it leaves off at a point where Christopher Nolan can choose to make a sequel or not. Frankly, I hope he chooses not to. I loved Inception and even though it was quite long I want to see more of it. But I feel that everything about the movie, especially the ending, were done perfectly. Why mess with something that’s perfect? If I could offer Christopher Nolan advice on the situation (I can dream, can’t I?) I would tell him to quit while he’s ahead. There’s nothing worse than a sub-par sequel to an amazing movie.

Leave your thoughts on the film in the comments!

Maybe it’s been built up from not winning a world series for 86 years.

“My dorm room is ballin’ tonight”-Melaina

My suitemates, or “suite sisters” as Melaina says we should be called, are just hanging out in one of the rooms. For room check tonight we decided to line up by the door and do a count off instead of just saying that we were all there. It was pretty epic. We should probably start packing. Maybe later.  We’re having a pretty good time just chilling out and discussing the conference. Such a good time, in fact, such a good time I want to stop blogging and listen.

Goodnight and good luck, WJMC

Once again I’m blogging after a long day (I should probably work on my timing…) and I have to stop. But, I’ll leave you with the quotation of the day, one that seems to fit this week very well. I saw it on shirts, postcards, and even shot glasses in the Newseum gift shop:

“Trust me, I’m a reporter.”