Currently Browsing: In-Depth
Walter’s Gamer’s Corner: Star Wars’ light side of the force
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Written by Walter Robinson, The Eagle Senior Columnist
For those of you that know Star Wars, you should know about the force. With that said you should also know there are two sides to it: the light side and the dark side.
Though the dark side has cookies, the light side has cable and video games. But even while Jedi and light siders do have that, they also have most defensive use of the force with the acceptance of three aggressive force powers: Electrical Judgment that shoots out yellow and green lighting which is quite similar to Force Lighting, Sever Force which would surround a person in a wall of light that would stop and interrupt them from using the Force, and Combustion that could explode an object with sheer force.
You know it’s awesome when you can explode things around you and stop them from using the force, but that’s not all there is to it with a lot defensive techniques to use such as Alter Environment, that allows them to manipulate the environment with phenomena, fog, sub zero to blistering heat on an opponent.
Force Persuasion (also known as Mind Trick) would be used to get someone to do something without them being able to think for themselves, this works on weaker minded folks but those who have high mentality such as the Hutts and Geonosins.
Force Stun was also used to deaden a targeted person’s senses long enough for them to escape. Even the dark side probably envies the light side.
With Jaina Solo who was trained by Luke Skywalker in Jedi ways and by Boba Fett in order to kill her brother Jacen Solo (Darth Caedus) who became a Sith Lord, Obi-Wan Kenobi a master of Form III Soresu being able to kill General Grievous while blocking 4 lightsaber blows, Mace Windu a master of the force with his equals being Dooku and Yoda as well as being able to see Shatter Points in the force and creating Form VII of Lightsaber Combat Vaapad with only one him being able to use it without going to the dark side, yeah, the light side is pretty epic (EXTREMELY EPIC) and probably equal to or greater than the dark side.
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Currently Browsing: News
Colleges come to Obama; recruit students
Photo Credit: Mariah Howze, The Eagle Staff Reporter
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Written by Aziaha Robinson, The Eagle Senior Writer
Obama Academy hosted its 2nd annual college fair today in the gymnasium for its 11th and 12th grade students. Colleges ranging from CCAC to The University of Pittsburgh came to talk to prospective students .
They informed students on what they are looking for in a student, ideal criteria and provided as much helpful information as they could. Each student got to talk to the various schools, and some were even filling out applications on the spot.
Most of the colleges said that they were looking for students who were extremely well rounded. Others said extracurricular activities are important; however, transcripts and SAT’s were the core of what they were looking for. Though most students said that they would prefer to go to schools out of state, everyone enjoyed the informative event, and are extremely excited about the idea of attending college in the near future.
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Currently Browsing: Sports
Girls Volleyball team keeps on rolling, pounds Brashear
Photo Credit: Dajaha Jones
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Written by Dajaha Jones and Devoughn Spratt
As the Obama Lady Eagles have set in with their new name and players , they haven’t given up their “Schenley champion” ways. As the season advances, the Lady Eagles picked up a dominating 3-0 game win over Brashear to improve their record to 5-0. They crushed the Bulls, and their road to the city championship continues.
As the game started, the crowd was rowdy and ready to see their Lady Eagles. You could feel the intensity. They dominated the first set 25-9 to set the tone for the game. As the second half started, Brashear had their minds set on redemption as they started the with a 2-0 lead. Then, the Lady Eagles swooped in and scored 3 straight points to come back. As the game progressed, fans filed in to support the home team. #3 Anna Vitti hit two powerful spikes in a row to make the game 13-7. At the end of the set, the Lady Eagles barely pulled off a win ,25-21.
Coach Vitti wasn’t very happy, saying “It was a sloppy 2nd set. They need to work on passing, receiving, and serving”.
The Lady Eagles dominated the final set, building a lead of 20-6. They finished the game 25-11. They continue to dominate in the city as they shut out Brashear 3-0.
Dajaha Jones conducted a post match interview with Coach Vitti:
Dajaha: in addition to winning a championship, does your team have other goals? What are they?
Coach: We want to be more competitive in our game.
Dajaha: What are your team’s weaknesses and strengths?
Coach:Our strengths are serving, outside hitters and middle hitters.
Dajaha: Do you prepare the same way if you are playing the worst team on your schedule as do for
thebest?
Coach: Yes, we do, no matter what.
Dajaha: Are you players on top of their school work?
Coach: Yes always…school work comes before sports.
Dajaha: Who were your stars in this game?
Coach: They were Anna and Rosa Vitti, Naomi Purnell and Gabi Egler.
The ladies will be playing on Thursday next week at West Mifflin
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Currently Browsing: Student News
Mediterranean visit a unique memory for Ms.Kiska
Photo Credit: courtesy of Raechel Kiska
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Written by Philip Bova for The Eagle
The summer is a time of rest, relaxation, and…. TRAVEL! That was the exact case for Obama’s own Ms. Kiska, who, over the summer, traveled to Greece, but made some short stops along the way.
Ms. Kiska did not go alone, she went with two of her good girlfriends, and they spent a good twenty days overseas, seeing some of the world’s best sights, and enjoying some very nice weather.
The first stop along the way was Venice, Italy. Everyone knows that if you go to Venice, you must take a gondola ride, and that is exactly what they did. She commented that “it is something everyone must do at least once in their life. It is not the cheapest, but definitely worth it!” She said that the ride in its entirety was about forty-five minutes.
After two days in Venice, Ms. Kiska and her two friends departed by boat on a 12 day cruise. On this cruise, they stopped in Croatia, Greece, Turkey, and Greece again and then back to Italy. When asked what some of the memorable moments from the cruise, she said that she got the opportunity to go fresh oyster fishing, and that the taste of fresh oysters was not good at all. She enjoyed seeing how they are harvested, but commented saying she will stick to the cooked ones. She also mentioned how her and her friends found where the supposed home of the first pizza was made, and how they serve it was interesting. She said that it is served in one size, two ways: cheese, or no cheese! Who would have thought!
From Naples which was where the cruise stopped, and the boat, or floating hotel as Ms. Kiska called it, was docked, the three of them went to Greece for their excursion.
In Greece, instead of staying in a luxury hotel, they decided to do in essence, a homestay. Their place of living there was not the normal type. They stayed in a cave house, which is literally what it says, a house that is built into a cave. She commented saying that there was no heating and air conditioning, the house was naturally climate controlled. Their cave house was located in Finika which has no roads. It is a quaint village, which has a very old vineyard that is no longer in use, but is an interesting fact.
From here Ms. Kiska and her friends set out to see Greece, and boy, did they. While they were there, there were riots and protests. She comments saying that they were all peaceful, and that they did not really interfere with their sightseeing. The only disruption that they faced was that the cabs were on strike. Only if you had a child could you use a cab, which were called safe cars. So it goes to show you that child safety is not only big in America.
Ms. Kiska said she enjoyed her trip overall, and that the only downer was the straight flight from Athens to Philly which was twenty some hours. The summer seemed to be a blast for her, and she brought back many memories to share with family friends, and even students,if you ask
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Currently Browsing: In-Depth
Ash’s Aspects: Hey, long hair
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Written by Ash Lanith, The Eagle Senior Columnist
Long Hair. What do you think when you hear those words? Maybe about blondes, or maybe about hippies in the sixties. Me, I think about myself and other male students here at Obama who proudly wear their hair long, shoulder-length or longer in fact. “Why is this?” you may say. I think it’s a matter of style and personal satisfaction, more so than trying to make a point. Personally, I have long hair because I like it better that way and just never cut it. I can’t define a particular point in my life when I decided to have long hair, it just seemed to happen. And whether they have straight, wavy, brown, or blonde hair, I’m sure that is the way it was for most people.
These days, many people will automatically assume that these long-haired citizens are homosexual, which is unfortunate. Just because someone doesn’t do the same thing as the rest of their gender doesn’t mean anything in particular (just to clarify, I have nothing against homosexuality. I use it as a word and nothing else).
When people criticize my hair, I get pretty mad. But I know that arguing with people would be useless, just like it is about what’s cool in music or in life (see “Cool” and “The Deterioration of Music” from last school year). So I just have to be content with knowing that I like having long hair, and that I have a few fellow long-haired men here at USO.
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Currently Browsing: Student News
Obama security works hard to keep students, staff safe
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Written by Daija McClain, De'Shjua Rhodes, Jazmine Deakings, Jamill Meadows
Our Security guards do so much for Obama and it was definitely time to give them some recognition. One of our female security guards, Ms. Cox is a hard working security guard and an all around sweet woman. She is filled with humor and she is a great person to have a conversation with. I didn’t know whether or not the conversation would be interesting, but after talking to her, I felt like I could talk to Ms. Cox for hours. Obama is beyond lucky to have such a wonderful woman working for them. I’m grateful that I got the opportunity to talk to her for a few minutes, and I also got to ask her a few questions as well.
Jasmine: What’s your real name?
Ms. Cox: My name is Robyn.
Jasmine: How does Obama compare or contrast to other schools that you’ve worked at?
Ms. Cox: Obama doesn’t have as many altercations as the other schools, so it’s just a bit different.
Jasmine: What do you do in your free time?
Ms. Cox: I am a student at the CCAC campus in Homewood. I go to school for two nights a week. I also work as a cashier part-time at Walgreens.
Jasmine: How many years have you been a security guard?
Ms. Cox: 20 years
Jasmine: Do you enjoy doing your job?
Ms. Cox: Yes, I love my job. I enjoy working with the youth and leading you all in the right direction.
Jasmine: Do you build relationships with any of the students?
Ms. Cox: I have a great relationship with all of my students. Some of the kids even call me mom or aunt.
Jasmine: What’s the most challenging thing about your job?
Ms. Cox: It is difficult making sure everyone is safe, because some students don’t understand how dangerous situations can become.
Ms. Cox left with one additional comment:“I want the students to know that when everyone leaves out of the door (after graduation), it’s every man and woman for themselves, and it is very important that you all make decisions that will keep you safe.”
By Jazmine Deakings
Meanwhile, Mr. Chisholm is also one of our security guards. Most may see him during transition sitting down at the desk right in front of the main office. He is a very calm guy and I don’t know one student that has had a situation with him. He has been a security guard for 14 years. He says our school is easy to manage compared to the other schools.
D- What’s your full name?
C- Gerard Chisholm.
D-How many years have you been a security guard?
C- 14 years
D- Do you enjoy doing your job or is it just something that pays the bills?
C- I like my job because it’s the only job that pays for beating up kids! (laughs)
D- What kind of relationship do you have with the students here?
C- I believe that keeping a good relationship with the students is the key to doing my job well.
D- What’s the most challenging thing about your job?
C- During transition it’s hard to get the students out of the hallway and into class before the late bell.
D- How does our school compare to the other schools you’ve been to?
C- Every school has their bad and good days but this one is easier to manage.
D-What do you do on your free time?
C- I watch TV and read books!
By Daija McClain
I interviewed Ms. Branch, sometimes known as “the mean security guard”. Actually she’s not mean, if you show respect! In this interview I learned that teachers aren’t just the only staff we should thank. We also need to show appreciation to the security guards. Imagine what it would be like if there wasn’t security. Well, all I see is people hanging around all day and fighting; a good name for it would be a ZOO.
Me: So what’s your first name?
Ms. Branch: “Ms. Branch”
Me: No, full name!
Ms.Branch: “It’s a secret!”
Me: Ok, well how does our school compare with other schools?
Ms. Branch: “Well, it’s very different from the old Schenley High School and there are way less fights. The kids are different nowadays!”
Me: Oh, so I wonder what you do in your free time outside of school.
Ms.Branch: I like to travel, shop, go to the movies, and go out to dinner.
Me: Oh cool, so how many years have you been a security guard?
Ms. Branch: Actually, I have been a guard for 15 years, but I have worked in a different department for two years before being a guard.
Me: Interesting! So do you enjoy your job or are you just doing it for the money?
Ms. Branch: Well it’s a little bit of both.
Me: What is the most challenging thing about your job?
Ms Branch: The most challenging is the metal detector in the morning and also getting kids to class before the bell rings.
I found Ms.Branch to be friendly and funny. She’s clearly here to help students.
By De’Shjua Rhodes
Of course, Ms. Robinson knows exactly what it’s like to have the task of making sure every student in a school is safe. She’s been working as a guard for the past 20 years at a variation of schools. These include: Gladstone, Frick, Greenway, Reizenstein, Westinghouse, Peabody, and Lincoln Middle.
She has various different ‘jobs’ to do throughout the day, like working the metal detectors, keeping order in the lunchroom and the halls and sporting events. There’s a specific schedule she has to follow every day: working the front desk during 9th and 10th grade lunch and then for the rest of the day she remains in the 11th and 12th grade hallways.
When asked, she summed her work up this way: “My job is to maintain order. My job is to secure the inside and the outside of Obama, to protect the students and staff of our school.”
By Jamill Meadows
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Currently Browsing: Sports
Boys soccer team loses tough game to ‘Dice, 3-0; suffer injuries
Photo Credit: Montana Moore
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Written by Brandon Hutton, The Eagle Staff Reporter
“If we play with enough heart, we will win,” is what Ben Friedman of the Obama soccer team said after the loss against Dice.
The game started out, well, not so good. Dice was dominating for the opening seven or eight minutes. After that, Obama started to get some drives down the field. Most of them were led by Abe Kouyate but would end up with either a misplaced cross or a takeaway by Allderdice.
Obama defender Mike Bueford went down in the middle of the first half and had to take a rest. There were quite a few chances each way, but Dice had the majority of them. USO had a pretty good chance off a foul kick around the 50 but they just couldn’t put it in. Daniel Denlinger, the goalkeeper for USO, made several spectacular saves throughout the game. One of the most memorable was when a USO player directed it off of his head just a few yards in front of him but he was still able to make the save. However, it wasn’t enough as Dice took a 1-0 lead in the first half with not much of a counter by USO.
The second half started and USO fans were hoping to see a comeback for the team. However, it didn’t happen. They were simply out-matched and out-ran numerous times. But even with all of that, the USO managed a few more opportunites to score in the second half. Unfortunately, Allderdice’s goalie saved all the shots, and cost the USO team their points.
Allderdice illustrated their skills again in the second half with another goal. Daniel Denlinger jumped up high for the save, but missed it, and then landed on his back and had to be taken into the locker room. He came out with bad news: something in his back had been chipped. He couldn’t go back into the game.
Another large problem arose as the USO needed to find a replacement goalie.They had no backup goalkeeper to put in. While they were waiting for Daniel Denlinger to get off the field, they huddled and tried to decide who. First they decided that Jonah Raether would go. However, Ben Friedman, who has had goalie experience, told Jonah to come back and that he would go in for the last 20 minutes of the game. Ben Friedman only gave up one goal while he was in.
After the game, I interviewed Ben:
Q: How was it going in goal, not expecting it at all?
A: It was very scary, I was shaking I was so nervous.
Q: Do you feel you can replace Dan for the rest of the season, if it’s needed?
A: I don’t think I’ll be able to replace Dan. Let’s hope we don’t have to. He was a great goalie…Sam Conturo will probably replace him if he is out for the season, but I will glady do it if it’s needed.
Q: Do you have hope you can beat dice in the playoffs?
A: If we play with enough heart, we will win.
After the disappointing loss to Allderice, I’m sure the boys are looking for revenge in the playoffs. Not to mention the team must be hoping for their starting goalie Daniel Denlinger to make a return to the game.
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