Because of the huge impact these ladies have on the student body, as well as the teachers, DECA and FCCLA have come together to host a Spaghetti Supper to raise money for the three ladies who were affected so greatly by the storm.

The dinner, which will be held on May 13, will begin at 6:30 p.m. The entrance fee is $7 for adults and $3 for children who are 10 years of age and younger. Any extra donations will be gladly accepted to contribute to the families of these three women.

The entrance fee will purchase dinner, as well as entertainment performed by the Bartlett Jazz Ensemble. Any students and teachers who are interested should bring their families for a night of food and fun to contribute to a good cause.

The team has worked hard to improve their speed and to drop their times this season. According to head coach Mitch McDaniel the boys reached their peak at the right time.

Sophomore and first-time runner Chance Keeley has improved since the start of the year and now he clocks a time of 4:43 on the mile run. Also, sophomore Ryan Wilcox beat his personal record of five minutes on the mile run with a time of 4:53.

Also this year was the Harding Relay when seniors Willie Matthews, Jeremy Merriweather, and Gerren Harrison beat the triple jump relay record of 120 by five points, making the new record 125.

Even in track, a sport that revolves around each person individually, the seniors have been able to help the underclassmen improve.

“The seniors we have now have shown leadership through event training and competitions,” McDaniel said. “They have shown the underclassmen what it takes to compete at the highest [level].”

Support comes from all directions as the team moves forward towards the state competition.

Walker and Groninger take place as the top players in the boys’ and girls’ individual tournaments, and the team of Douglas and junior Krysani Hogg take top seed in the girls’ double tournament.

The seniors have taken a great leadership role this year in helping the newer players.

“The seniors have been instrumental in the training of the new players,” head coach Brad Kovach said. “Often the seniors will help run drills, offer tips on form and strategy, and serve as positive role models for the underclassmen.”

Although the seniors graduate this year, a number of players seem ready and able to step into the leadership role. The team will be needing these players as they get use to a new coach after Kovach leaves Bartlett High School to teach at Cayman International school in the Cayman Islands next school year.

The team has improved much over the course of the season, but this comes across as normal for most tennis players.

“Tennis is one of those sports that can be hard to keep up with in the off-season,” Kovach said. “As a result, the experience players receive during the season is very evident as the season progresses.”

Three girls participated in the state tournament last year, and the team hopes to send a few more this year. Kovach has shown excellent coaching and seems assured that the team will carry on the Panther’s winning tradition into the next season.

According to a recent study conducted by Harris Interactive, 47 percent of teens can text with their eyes closed. Fifty-seven percent “view their cell phone as the key to their social life.” Why do teens–and adults, too, for that matter–obsess so much over having top-of-the-line cell phones and over 50 different apps for a device originally invented to make one-on-one long-distance communication easier?

Cell phone addiction is quickly becoming the latest “trend” worldwide. A 12-year-old and a 13-year-old from Spain, after a year’s time of cell phone usage, found themselves admitted to a mental hospital for treatment, according to Drug Rehab Treatment Centers. The two would spend five to six hours a day on their phones and could not function normally.

“Their treatment will resemble that of drug addicts and those with obsessive-compulsive disorder,” the DRTS website said.

Similar, yet not so extreme, cases occur in the United States, as well.

“A friend of mine got her phone taken up sometime last week, and she had a meltdown,” junior Ashleigh Deaton said. “She was, like, crying, and she was, like, ‘Oh, I can’t talk to everybody.’ I was, like, ‘Girl, it’ll be alright if you don’t have your phone.’ And this weekend, she was borrowing mine.”

However, some students in America are working to kick their phone-using habits. For example, less than half of 250 private school students from Riverdale Country School in Bronx, NY, participated in a study in which they swore off cell phones for a whole weekend beginning on a Saturday morning.

The New York Times reported, “This text-free Sunday, the Riverdale students said, was unusually relaxing. They were shocked at how quickly they finished their homework, undistracted by an always-open video chat, or checking in on Facebook or responding to a hundred messages they typically get in a day.”

Despite some teens’ efforts, however, cell phone addiction has become so common that even “Digital Trends,” a website that acts as an information guide on the latest technological news and updates, has a list of 10 signs of a cell phone addict.

Some signs–including number six (cutting back on necessities to pay for a cell phone bill) and number four (feeling like a friend has died when the phone breaks)–are more easily recognizable. However, other signs are more subtle, such as spending more money on phone accessories than on the phone itself (number 10).

Teens and adults alike are having a difficult time waking up to the reality that cell phones do not run their lives.

“I think that it’s just superficial,” Deaton said. “If you don’t talk to the people you’re texting in person, then you don’t have a real relationship. People just need to chill out and go with the flow and stop worrying about what everyone else is doing.”

People rely on these devices for everything under the sun, from checking one’s e-mail–which a computer can accomplish just as well–to scheduling one’s entire day (stores sell daily planners for just this purpose!).

Only time will tell whether, in another decade or so, we will become like the futuristic humans of the Pixar movie “Wall-E”: communicating with each other solely through technological means, even when we are within an arm’s length of each other.

“My mom’s goal in life is to please me, so she insists on decorating my dorm room,” senior Austin Boyd said. “She will make sure that I have all of the essentials that I need, such as a flat screen TV, a nice refrigerator, a few lamps, and a comforter ensemble with a matching furry rug. My mom knows that I like the way fur feels on my feet. I like fur.”

Although these may not be essentials to everyone, rugs, desks, lamps, and comforter sets are items that college students search for in order to glamorize their dorm rooms.

“My roommate and I found some really nice stuff at Target,” senior Sean Haley said. “We made a gift registry for our families, and we were able to color coordinate everything. I also like Target because their prices are really reasonable.”

Target is not the only store with reasonable prices. Wal-Mart and Kohl’s have colorful comforter sets for only $29.99, while Bed Bath & Beyond has nice desks and lamps for unbelievable prices.

As always, there are those freshmen who are thrilled about living on campus while others have decided to live at home. No matter where upcoming freshmen decide to live, they can still re-decorate their rooms and/or add furniture in order to give their room a more college feel.

J. C. Penney has numerous bean bag chairs that college students use while talking on the phone, studying, or watching TV. These chairs are only $7.99, and they will add originality to any room or dorm room.

“I am staying at home so that I can stay more focused during my freshman year,” senior Rebbecca Quirate said. “Over the summer my mom and I are going to paint my room and buy me a new comforter set. I want to find some kind of desk too, I want to feel that I am living on campus even though I am not really there.”

With so many colors and patterns to choose from and economically friendly prices, students can mix and match room decor until they have created their dream room.

“Freed-Hardeman doesn’t have softball,” senior Carly Williamson said. “So Jordan is signing on for cross-country.”

Present at the college signing were softball coach Katie Maroon, girls’ cross-country coaches Steve Sullivan and Catherine Jones, and assistant principal Ken Demetriou, along with girls from both the softball and cross-country teams.

“Whoever wins the season always loses district,” junior Domenic Martini said.

Relying on this slim chance, on top scorer sophomore Josh Ballard, and on coach Layne Hardin, the Panthers are kicking their heels up with the hope of improving their season by winning district championships.

At a general meeting of the Mid-South Tea Party, which is based right here in Memphis, on April 29, over 100 people attended while the Party discussed general business and campaigned to recruit volunteers to help run their committees. However, the Party’s main order of business was to educate the people in the Bartlett/Memphis area about how they can make a difference in their government.

“The goal of the Tea Party is to unify, empower, and amplify the voice of ‘We the People,” Mid-South Tea Party member Mark Herr said.

Contrary to what some people may believe, the Tea Partyers did not spend the whole meeting bashing Obama and plotting conspiracies to overthrow the government. They merely expressed their discontent with “big government” and “big spending,” which they believe goes beyond what the Constitution has laid out.

Herr stressed this point when he stated that the Tea Party remains unaffiliated with either the Republicans, independents, or Democrats. The Party is also working to counter stories that the organization is, as described by the Commercial Appeal, “sponsored by right-wing ideologues and corporate interests and fanned into flames by cable TV.”

In Tennessee specifically, the Tea Party has support in Congress from Senators Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker and from Representatives Steve Cohen, Josh Tanner, and Marsha Blackburn.

Plus, Tennessee has so many Tea Party branches, many have joined together to create the Tea Party Cooperative. Their main goal is to petition against the health care law Obama passed earlier this year (aka Obama-care). The group’s website has an online petition requesting support for the Tennessee Health Freedom Act, which the state feels Obama-care violates.

In fact, one doctor who was invited to speak at the Mid-South Tea Party meeting in April spoke heatedly against the health care law.

“It is not a hyperbole that Obama-care will kill people,” ophthalmologist Jim Savage, MD, said. “Many things will interfere with good care. There will still be people who can’t get care. People haven’t thought ahead about finding a doctor who will accept Medicare.”

The Tea Party is fighting to return power to the people of the United States. They believe that the federal government has become too powerful, and they will continue to express their concerns until the government decides to change.

“The government doesn’t run us,” Mid-South Tea Party member Carmon Heilmann said. “We run the government. WE gave the government the authority they have.”

Even mayoral candidates are agreeing with the objectives that are the foundation of the Mid-South Tea Party.

“The Tea Party speaks a common language,” Memphis mayoral candidate Charlotte Bergmann said. “It’s called the Constitution.”

As the Tea Party movement grows in supporters across the country, the government may end up having to make some major changes to make up for the growing power they have encountered in the past decades.

by Laura Sledge

Lions, tigers, and bears, oh my! These animals can be extremely frightening, but what is even more scary is that people would want them tattooed onto their skin.

Some people may think that getting a little bit of body ink will make them look “cool,” but tattoos can be very dangerous.

While tattoos can cause allergic reactions to a select few, anyone can get a skin infection which, according to the Mayo Clinic, will cause swelling, redness, and pus. Also, some tattoos can come out looking more like scars than art.

Aside from the visible drawbacks tattoos can cause, they also cause many diseases in the blood, such as HIV, which can lead to AIDS. So anyone that simply must get a tattoo should be extra careful to have it done safely so as to not lead to anything potentially life-threatening.

Not only are tattoos a risky form of self expression, but they are also somewhat unattractive, especially when taken to the extreme. Who really wants to date a boy or girl with endless designs inked into his or her skin? Not me, that’s for sure.

Also, many of those who get tattoos have them stitched into obvious places of the body, such as the wrists, shoulders, ankles, or the ever-popular lower back. I really cannot think of anything less attractive than a big black tattoo scarring a girl’s lower back.

I mean, I understand self-expression. All people should be able to express themselves in one way or another, because it’s important to be distinguished from others. However, anyone can find a million ways to do that, without the high cost, pain of repeated puncturing of the skin, and the permanence of getting a tattoo.

Either way, tattoos are not the best way to express one’s self. Why not get a new piercing that can be easily removed after a period of time instead of dishing out hundreds of dollars for a big black brand that can never be removed without more costly and painful procedures?

Besides, as people age, they tend to grow wrinkles and their skin is not quite as taut as in younger years; therefore, when a girl gets a tattoo on her lower back at age 18, when she turns 60, we all know where that goes.

And not only do tattoos harm physical appearance, but they could always hinder one’s ability to get a job later in life. According to an article ABC News, more and more employers require no tattoos to be visible in order for employees to keep their jobs. Consequently, more people are having tattoo removal surgery to appear more professional.

With so many ways for people to commemorate lost relatives, to express their own personalities, or to decorate their bodies, why not get a new haircut or color, or try some new clothes?

The point is: Wasting money to trash one’s body isn’t smart, because most likely those who do will eventually regret it.

Tattoos present great form of expression

by Lauren Haley

Although they might have been a controversial issue back in the day, tattoos have become an accepted way to show off someone’s personality.

A study done by the American Academy of Dermatology in 2006 found that 24% of people ages 18-50 had at least one tattoo (that is one in four), and 36% of people 18-29 have tattoos.

This form of ‘body art’ has become very popular over the years.

Tattoos are a cute and fun form of expression. Teens often talk about what tattoos they want when they become old enough to get one. Some parents even sign off for their kids to get tattoos while underage, even though, at Bartlett, visible tattoos are against dress code.

Often times, people get tattoos to show individuality. These nonconformists see tattoos as the ideal way to show off their rebellious side.

Also, people love hearing stories about how or why someone got a tattoo. So, in a way, tattoos could be an awesome ice breaker when meeting new people.

There are plenty of reasons for someone to get a tattoo.

Some people get tattoos to commemorate a family member, or something else that is special to them, while others just get it because they like the design of a tattoo that they see. Some even get them to show their religious beliefs.

And now, tattoos are even being seen on the runway, Chanel recently had their models sporting removable tattoos, which they will start selling for $75 each.

Some teens just want tattoos because they see that their favorite celebrities have a tattoo. When people look at stars such as Kat Von D. on the popular television show, L.A. Ink they see tattoos in a more glamorized way.

Having a huge tattoo can have its disadvantages, but they are also a great creative outlet for not only the person getting the tattoo, but also the tattoo artist.

Tattoos are becoming more accepted in society. One may not be able to find a job to start their career being all tatted up, but it is apparent from seeing people with tattoos, that most minimum wage jobs will accept someone with tattoos. And, nowadays, a lot students are going with their parents to get tattoos on the teen’s eighteenth birthday.

Even those who, at 18, want a big tattoo to show off can still get it removed. Although this procedure is painful and expensive, because the surgery can cost from $250-$500 depending on the size of the tattoo, it is still an option for people who think twice about their tattoos a little too late.

The tattoo may take a while to completely go away, but removal is always an option.

Tattoos, for a lot of people, are the perfect way to show off their creativity. So, there is no need to hesitate about getting tattooed, express yourself!

After serving at four different high schools as an English teacher, Person came to Bartlett High School.

“My first thought about Bartlett High School was that it was a terrific school,” Person said. “I’ll miss all of the staff and the students.”

Due to a health issue, Mr. Person had to retire. “I think that despite his health issues, Mr. Person has done a great job this year,” English teacher Paula McCalla said.

Person will be missed for his great hardworking and kind manner. “Mr.Person is a wonderful gentleman, and I love his sense of humor and his engaging manner,” said Vice Principal Jane Gatewood. “He is a hardworking person and a delightful individual to be around.”

As an administrator, Person handles discipline issues and bus schedules. As a discipline administrator, “he has counseled with [students] as many times as possible trying to get them to turn themselves around with their problems,” Latin teacher Blount Smith said. “I would say that he has had a good effect to those who will take advice in a positive way.”

Also, Mr. Person has always done his best to help others.

“When he was an English teacher we were rationed paper, so he would stockpile all of his paper,” Smith said. “When he moved into his administrating position, he shared his stockpiled paper, which helped all of the English teachers.”

Although Mr. Person hasn’t entirely planned on what to do during retirement, he jokingly replied when asked what he will be doing, “sleeping in.” Many staff and students will miss Person, and they will always appreciate the terrific job he has done at Bartlett High.