It is so funny because recently I feel like cell phone use has been a large point of discussion wherever I have been. Just today I was talking to Mr. DeMarco about cell phone usage, as well as the impact it has on students. We are talking about China right now, which would make sense as to why TikTok became a talking point. Mr. DeMarco says that he can actually tell the difference between his students vs. kids that didn’t have TikTok just eight years ago. He says that he hopes that TikTok is banned in the USA, as he thinks that it really only has negative effects on the attention span of students. I hate to say it, but I agree. I think it would be better if we just got rid of TikTok. As for this article, I really do think that parents should wait longer on giving their kids internet access and just handing them devices. For most families, they just use technology as a pacifier instead of actually speaking to their kids and teaching them social skills. The quote I picked out from the story was “psychological immune system: the ability of a child to handle, process, and get past frustrations, minor accidents, teasing, exclusion, perceived injustices, and normal conflicts without falling prey to hours or days of inner turmoil.” I think that this quote sums up my opinion on this really well. I see no point in giving anyone below the age of 8 a device. Let them play with toys and go outside. They would be much better off and would toughen them up, make them more healthy, and overall just set them up better in the long term.
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By Liam Rippel Carter Smith ‘25 arrived from Vancouver, Canada in August of 2023 with one thought in his mind, to play at a top tier collegiate program in the United States. Smith had played lacrosse for as long as he can remember, and fell in love with the game at a young age. Smith is regarded by many as a friendly and academically inclined student. Smith takes multiple AP courses, is dedicated to his studies and consistently earns Academic Honor Roll everywhere he goes. Smith mentions that his parents always push him to be his best, even when he earns an A, Smith says his father will ask him, “Why wasn’t it an A+?” “It is pretty much what I expected it to be,” said Smith, when asked about the difference between Canada and the United States. “Culturally we are very similar.” Smith has adjusted swiftly considering that he has moved to a new country. However, Smith mentions that the part of Vancouver that he lives in, which is called Maple Ridge, is really not that different from Roanoke, it has a similar population and geographic size, so that part of the transition has been the least of his concerns. Smith, living so far away from home, decided to stay with a host family over the Thanksgiving break, and when my family offered for him to stay, he gratefully accepted. Carter was well mannered and always very respectful. After he left, my mother mentioned how nice she found Smith to be. Smith got to know my family and spent some time with my siblings as well. Smith also really enjoyed the dinner that my family made. I asked him what were the differences between our Thanksgiving food and he said, “It was honestly the exact same, except for the sweet yams, there were marshmallows on the top which was different to anything I’d had before. It was very good, definitely something I’ll have to bring back to Canada.” Smith was very well liked by my family and they have mentioned they would love to have him again. Although Smith is very focused on his academic performance, the whole reason he is at North Cross is because he was recruited for lacrosse. Smith hopes to earn All-State and All-Conference this year for lacrosse, and wants to load up the stat sheet to attract attention from high level schools. Although do not mistake these goals for selfishness, Smith is a team first player, and demonstrated such, as in the winter pre-season tournament that boys lacrosse team attended, Smith tallied up a handful of assists, and although Smith is a threat on the offensive side of the field, do not underestimate him on the defensive side of the field. Smith is naturally gifted and is fast and athletic, allowing him to be proficient on the defensive side of the field. When Smith was asked about how he wanted this lacrosse season he said he wanted to “Light it up.” Additionally he talked about his hope for the team’s success, saying “team wise I’m looking to be a leader and guy my teammates can depend on.” These words are not taken lately as by Smith’s demeanor you can just tell he intends to fulfill these statements, and not just leave them as empty words. Smith is incredibly excited to get this season underway, as I am certain his teammates are looking forward to seeing his impact as well. I really enjoyed having my new friends stay with me over Thanksgiving break. Besides Carter, Mario Mitzkewitz ‘25 also stayed with me and gave me someone to hangout with over break. I enjoyed having them meet my family and experience American culture in a family setting. Both of them thanked me numerous times for letting them stay, and both and talked of having me come visit them in their home countries of Spain and Canada and offered to host me. Both of these places sound like they would be super fun to visit, and I’m hoping that one of these plans materializes, as I would love to visit another country. By Liam Rippel In the spring of last year, my family introduced the idea of moving somewhere over the summer. This was far from ideal for me, as I was getting ready to wrap up high school and start my senior year. There were talks of moving to Ohio or Lynchburg, but my family decided on Blacksburg. This brought up the topic of whether I stay at North Cross. Fortunately, I ended up staying. My parents and I decided that it was unrealistic to drive two hours a day for school, so we opted into the dorms, and I can tell you it has undoubtedly been an experience. I am one of a select few Americans who have lived in the dorm. However, I can guarantee that I am the first dorm student from Roanoke. This year has been a learning experience like a watered down college experience a year early, having to self regulate and manage my time. I think that has been a great challenge for me so far. I have truly enjoyed living in the dorms this year. Last year I was very secluded in the way I related to and spoke to people at our school. But this year I have a whole new group of people to hang out with and it has benefited me tremendously. Our school is very small, so you find friends wherever you can, whether they are in different grades, different schools, different sports teams. I have many great friends but having all of these people in the dorms to become friends with has really enhanced my social life. For example, my junior year, I rarely spent time with Didi Dibetle ‘24 or Moritz Schmoranzer ‘24, and over the course of this year both of them have become two of my closest friends. I had the opportunity to room with Schmoranzer until January when he left for Pittsburgh to begin workouts for football. He was a great guy and a great roommate. Didi and I played soccer together my junior year but never really had the opportunity to click as friends. Moving into the dorms allowed for us to become close. I thought moving away from Roanoke and living in the dorm was going to be such a hassle, but I am grateful that I did. It allowed me to grow up a little more, prepare for college, and become closer with some incredible people. The Super League was a league that would be established by all of the richest football clubs across Europe. These would include clubs like Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Tottenham, Manchester United and Manchester City. These were all of the English clubs that announced their support and said they would join the Super League. Additionally, international powerhouses such as Real Madrid and Barcelona, as well as a fellow club from Madrid, Atletico, all said they would join the Super League. Both clubs from Milan in Italy promised their participation in the League, as well as one of the most well-known clubs in the world, located in Turin, being Juventus. First off, this would completely change the way all European football operates, as most top flight leagues would fall apart after losing their top teams in the country. Additionally this would end the Champions League, as all the teams that would join the Super League, are normally all the teams that would have Champions League places. This idea originated in 1987, Real Madrid and Milan, as well as a smaller club in Scotland known as the Glasgow Rangers, who is one of the two most famous Scottish clubs, but is much less notable in comparison to Madrid and Milan, introduced the idea of a league competition with single-round league play, similar to that of other top flight leagues across Europe. This was trademarked by European mass media as the “Super League.” It was planned that this league would run in parallel to the three European Football Competitions at the time, however they decided to abandon the idea in 1991. Around this time, the idea of this league was replaced, and the Champions League was created satisfying the need of all football fans who wanted to see the highest level of competition between Europe’s top clubs on the world stage. Overall, it is better for the footballing world as a whole, especially in Europe, that the European Super League was not created a few years ago, as it would make money the only truly important thing in football. Well, even more so than money is now, as all other European leagues would fall apart as the players go where the money is, which would be the Super League. Additionally no teams can ever get relegated or be promoted into the league, keeping all the rich clubs, giving us little to no variety in football. It would destroy all tradition in football, there would be no Merseyside Derby (Liverpool vs Everton), where there is a deep rivalry between a smaller club like Everton and an international powerhouse like Liverpool. It would also destroy the culture of traveling supporters, there would be few fans that would make a trip from London to Turin, or some other similar length of travel every other weekend. It would also just completely disband some aspects of culture in some countries, as football is so deeply rooted in everyday life in many European countries. It would destroy European football, and would more than likely cause the smaller clubs in Europe to just fall apart, as best said by Jeremy Smith, or Leslie Higgins as he is portrayed in popular football show Ted Lasso, “Not only would David never face Goliath, the Davids would cease to exist. |
Liam Rippel
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