Author: Alec Way, senior staff writer 2014-2015
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Mad Max: Fury Road, still furious
It’s been over three decades since George Miller’s original release of “Mad Max” in 1979. A film series that is arguably responsible for launching both Mel Gibson’s career and Austrian New Wave movies internationally.…
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Revisiting Good Morning Vietnam
Last week, Mr. Hunt’s Lessons of Vietnam and Recent International Relations class screened Levinson’s “Good Morning Vietnam.” If you haven’t seen it here’s a quick summary: Adrian Cronauer, played by Robin Williams, is a…
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Furious 7 and the future of the franchise
Furious 7 and the Fast & Furious franchise are either movies that you love or hate, but if you love them then odds are you really love them. Now days after release, people are…
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Obama suggests mandatory voting
Voter turnout in American elections has never been anything to brag about. United States lags far behind most other modern industrialized democracies, with only about 54% in the 2012 presidential election, and 36% in…
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Cold war kids: Lessons of Vietnam students play Twilight Struggle
Most students relish the idea of watching a movie as the height of any class or particular day in high school. For Mr. Hunt’s (social studies teacher) Lessons of Vietnam & Recent International Relations…
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Leesville speech and debate returns to Enloe after one year of competing
Imagine waking up at 6:00 a.m. on a Saturday. Doesn’t sound scary enough? You’re not waking up to run a marathon, go to a charity event or morning yoga session, but instead only to…
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Boomerang by Michael Lewis
“The more complicated the times, the more crucial are those who demystify. These are really complicated times. So let’s acknowledge the endearing, enduring genius of Michael Lewis: the Explainer.” –Forbes Boomerang: Travels in…
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Stun guns and philosophy
When most people see a headline like that, the first thought that goes through their head is something akin to: “What an idiot!” “Why would you do that?” or maybe “Hey, if that’s your…
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Filing the FAFSA
As second semester begins, many students begin to receive their acceptance letters and take a well-deserved breather as senioritis sets in. Don’t worry, however, there is still a lot paperwork and red tape left…
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Enter Shikari
Enter Shikari has always been a band to cross genre lines. Although rooted in post-hardcore, the British group has utilized elements of electronica, and even spoken throughout their discography, to great effect; a duality…
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Analyzing Interstellar: The power of the visual medium
2014 was arguably one of the greatest years in terms of movies that has been seen for a long time, such as Boyhood, Birdman, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Nightcrawler to name a few.…
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The Colbert Report, a lasting legacy
On December 18, 2014, Stephen Colbert gave his last “word,” “Same to you, pal.” Stephen Colbert retired his persona and The Colbert Report to succeed David Letterman in hosting The Late Show. The show…
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The Review: The Interview reviewed
2003 — photos of Barbara Streisand’s Malibu home are published on the internet. Streisand, through a lawsuit, attempted to suppress the images; however, ironically this led to the pictures gaining viral attention. This phenomenon…
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Executive Council reigns in the holiday cheer
December 13, members of Leesville’s Executive Council spent their Saturday with the folks at Springmoor life care & retirement community. Members wished the residents of Springmoor “Happy holidays!” by singing classic Christmas carols and…
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Reasons not to vote
A preface: I do not vote and am a staunch advocate of voter abstention. My “voter apathy” does not arise from passive apathy, but active removal, springing from two riverheads. One is that voting…
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Leesville to join the National Speech and Debate Association
Leesville is new to the speech and debate game. The club, in its second year, has began cracking down to officially join the National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA), formally known as the National…
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Leesville raises record amount for JDRF
Saturday October 25, Leesville’s Team Pride took part in the Junior Diabetes Research Foundation walk. JDRF is an organization dedicated to finding a cure to Type 1 Diabetes, as well as aiding those living…
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Gmail adding new service
Gmail is easily one of the most popular free-email clients in the world. This success is largely in-part due to Google championing motto of simplicity and connectedness. For the first time in ten years,…
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Nancy McFarlane speaks at Leesville
Every year, in AP Environmental Science, Dr. Stone has his students write letters to legislators and party leaders. Stone said, “With the midterm elections coming up, I wanted to emphasize that [the students] write to…
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Teachers on Twitter, according to teachers
The concept of “The teacher on Twitter” has just recently burst onto the face of mainstream education. Controversy over Common Core and US public school systems, as well as foreign competition, has stirred up…
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Smart lunch: killing club life
Smart Lunch is easily the most radical, controversial change administration has introduced this year, if not in all of Leesville history. The new program has had a paradigm shift on what students do during…
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Blood drive preview
Every year Leesville holds two annual blood drives: one in the fall and another in the spring. The fall blood drive is on Oct. 21, a Tuesday. All students who are 16 or older,…
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Exec Council talks JDRF
At the last Executive Council meeting. a group of representatives from JDRF came to speak to the council. Both representatives were also mothers of children suffering from Type-1 Diabetes. They shared the stories of…
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Pride Launch welcomes freshmen, makes transition easier
On Wednesday, August 20, Leesville held the annual freshman orientation, called Pride Launch, for new students coming to Leesville. At the orientation, students are given their schedules, served food, attended a pep rally and…
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Political Club politics
On Thursday, May 22, Leesville’s Political Club had their final meeting of the year. The meeting had two main agenda points. First, a brief discussion of current events — namely the recent coup in…
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Community college: no longer a stereotype
As second semester winds down, students begin to hear back from colleges as they make the pivotal decision that will impact their next four years, if not their entire life. Approximately 90% of Leesville…
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Red Hat uncages downtown Raleigh
It’s not every weekend that one of your favorite bands comes to North Carolina… let alone holds a free concert in the heart of downtown. Friday, May 2, Cage the Elephant, an alternative rock…
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“OMW over stay calm”: Texting 911
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and major US wireless carriers are giving Americans a new way to reach a 911 dispatcher in an emergency. The FCC program which debuted on Thursday, May 15, in…
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Cows, tortoises and guns; a cautionary tale for modern America
In America, the common saying goes, “We take our freedoms for granted.” Yet too often such a statement is used to bolster our government and when dissent arises, the very same people spit back,…
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Loonies to Lawyers
In Law & Justice class, Leesville students learn about the many complicated philosophies and underlying systems and terms of American law. During the first semester, theories and practices of civil law are expounded and…
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Dictators debate who’s most dastardly
Never has a more atrocious group of individuals all been assembled into one small school room. After school on Thursday, April 10 Leesville’s Speech and Debate team assembled to participate in a balloon debate…
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APUSH pushes students for early exam prep
Spring Break and the onset of April are already upon us, and with that, AP students begin to enter a complete panic as they prepare for all of the tests they will take in…
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PrideFest perspective: Why you should want it to continue
As we all know last Friday March 21, was Leesville’s inaugural Pridefest. An event that was subject both to crazy hype on part of the administration and teachers, and tons of skepticism by the…
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Flying burrito passes with flying colors
In a world dominated by Chipotle and Moe’s, Flying Burrito is a local restaurant that has ventured to carve its own unique niche in the market of fast-casual Mexican food. Often times when choosing…
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Political club clashes on controversial conflicts
On Thursday March 6, Leesville’s Political Club assembled in Room 124 to discuss many controversies both in the US and the global sphere. The issues on hand involved the escalating conflict in Ukraine and…
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Leesville speech and debate debuts at Enloe tournament
On February 9, at 8:30 a.m. Leesville’s very own speech and debate team descended onto Enloe High School for its debut competition. The tournament hosted a variety of events, with Leesville students competing in…
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Duvall leaves Leesville for Hunter
To any Leesville student, new or old, Mr. Duvall is instantly recognizable. The administrator joined the Leesville family in 2009 as our assistant principal. Duvall left during the winter break to serve as the…
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American Hustle bamboozles box office
David O. Russel’s brilliant take on the ABSCAM Affair of the 70’s, “American Hustle” tells the story of con artist duo Irving Rosenfeld (Christian Bale) and Sydney Prosser (Amy Adams) as they are forced…
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Exec takes the cake
Every year during November and December, Leesville holds the annual food drive. This year Leesville students managed to raise 7,500 dollars and 15,000 pounds worth of food. While this is not a record setting…
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Pride Way 3-way stop: how about not
At the intersection of Pride Way and O’neal, two additional stop signs have been added, effectively creating a 3-way stop. Many have speculated that the stop sign additions came as a result of complaints…
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Celebrate the last night of the year with Raleigh’s First Night
Raleigh is considered the City of Oaks, and every year Raleigh heralds this title by dropping the acorn on New Years at a festival known as First Night. First Night is an event that…
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Russell Brand rages against the machine
Russell Brand, British actor and comedian, is surely no one’s idea of a political theorist; yet on October 23, Brand went on Newsnight to be interviewed by BBC’s Jeremy Paxman about his problems and…
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Speech and debate observes first tournament
On Saturday November 9 Leesville’s Speech and Debate Club observed a tournament at Cary High School. The tournament lasted from 9 a.m. until well into the after noon, but Leesville students left at 2…
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Captain Phillips Splashes on Scene
Captain Phillips on surface level may appear to be only the dramatic retelling of the heart-pounding thriller that was the 2009 hijacking of the US container ship Maersk Alabama. However, through the distinctive lens…
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Brand new bathrooms!
Imagine the feeling of finding that all the restrooms available are confined and lack privacy? Surely this is a feeling no one wishes to experience as it places people out of their comfort zone.…
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Leesville’s fall blood drive is a bloody success
Leesville students once again gathered to participate in first semi-annual blood drive on Tuesday, October 15. The Red Cross comes to Leesville twice a year to hold the drives, and students get out of…
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Leesville’s first food trucks find fecund fruition
The Community Night Carnival is a tradition here at Leesville and was held Wednesday, Oct. 9. Leesville’s use of food trucks for the first time uniquely in its history occurred. Three different food trucks…
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BuzzFeed Buzzes Onto the Scene
What constitutes as news media in the modern day? With the advent of the technological age, many traditional definitions such as this have been thrown into question. Jonah Peretti, founder of BuzzFeed has attempted…
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NHS Induction Ceremony Lights the Path for Inductees
Nation Honors Society held its induction ceremony for new members on Wednesday, September 26 in the Leesville auditorium. The ceremony began at 6:30p.m. and ended at 8:00p.m. with a cupcake reception. At the ceremony…
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Recycling: A Critique
The US spends $8 billion of American’s tax dollars each year on recycling, accomplishing a whole lot of nothing. Now I know what everybody is thinking, I’d have to be crazy to be against…