Ben+G

Ben Gilbert

A Broken Record

While eating a delicious meal at the Wellelsey High School cafeteria, many of the students enjoy listening to music that is provided for the student’s entertainment. Since there is great diversity of students at WHS, a wide variety of music is provided in the jukebox. From rap to country music, pretty much all of the student’s interests in music are satisfied. But what we do, as a student body, is play the same songs over and over again until some, like myself, feel as if they are going to break the jukebox if they hear that song one more time. There are some songs in particular, such as that infamous Boom, Boom song, and anything by Fergie, that have been played to such an excessive amount that the noise it produces is so common that it sounds the same as the chatter of the students. Many students have become annoyd and frusterated with the overplaying of songs. Sophomore Miles Bennett said, “I used to like listening to Fergie’s music, but ever since they started playing her songs over and over again, I’ve found that I can’t listen to her anymore on the radio or on the fifteen CDs I have of her music.” I think that there is a simple solution to this problem, and if we come together as a school, this problem can easily be solved. the solution of which I am thinking of is to take a risk and listen to a different song by an artist who you may, or may not have heard of. I know this sounds like a very dangerous task, but I believe that there are some courageous people at WHS who are willing to take a chance at a new song. One act of bravery is all we need to stray away from these overused songs and move into a new era where the songs played in the cafeteria display the difference in cultures that are at WHS.There are 55 words in the opening paragraph

Day 1- Mitchell Report Article

There are 12 paragraphs in the entire article

On average, there are 1-2 sentences in each paragraph

This article answers the question that professional baseball players have been using steroids. Also, former Red Sox players have used steroids in the past.

This article leads us to ask whether this steroid problem will keep going in the Major League baseball or come to a stop after these players were accused of cheating in the Mitchell Report. It also makes the reader wonder how MLB commissioner Bud Selig will react to the Mitchell report. He said that he was going to punish those who were accused of using steroids in their carreer. But we do not know if he will make the punishments more severe than they have been in the past.

Another story idea that could come from this one is the player’s reactions to the Mitchell list. They could interview players who were accused of using steroids and other players who either played with or knew some players who were on the list. It would be interesting to see how the players view the issue of steroids in baseball.

I was shocked when I heard all of the players who were being accused of using steroids. I’ve grown up admiring many of them and to hear that they had cheated at some point really put them down afew points in my eyes. I, however, am not surprised to hear that commissioner Bud Selig is taking this issue very seriousely. I believe that he should crack down on the players who have used steroids and if there is ever going to be a time to act, now is the time.

Ben Gilbert 1/11/08

Bradford Critique From the creative graphics to the witty, well thought out writng, the Bradford shows everything that occurs in Wellesley High School. For those sports fanatics, the Bradford features all of the school’s teams as well as certain athletes who excell in their respective sports. The arts also see time in the pages of the Bradford as the school’s palys are covered as well as as popular music and movies. The many clubs and organizations that form may see time in this paper, but because of the large number of them, not all them receive the same reconigtion. It’s very hard for a newspaper to feature all of the different groups and interests that occur in a school the size of Wellesley. To try to make sure that everyone’s interests show up in the pages of the Bradford, there could be a section on the last page of each issue (or any other page) that provides a space for students to give suggestions about future articles. There could be a box in the main office for students to place there ideas and the Bradford should take these ideas into account because it is the students who read the paper and the paper must give them what they want. When writing an article for a newspaper, it is important to be aware that there is always two sides to a story, and if a writer sticks to one side of the story, it will cause contraversy with the other side because they too feel strongly that their position is right. As a staff, the bradford has done a pretty good job remaining unbiased and acknowladging both sides of a story. In sports, however, there is little acknowladgment of the opposing schools team and their performance in the sporting event. this could make the coverage of the game much more in-depth and interesting. Overall, our writing skills are pretty solid. In terms of journalistic writing, we could use a bit more work. Although our leads introduce the reader to the upcoming article, they could be much more interesting and act as more of a grabber. Another writing we should focus on improving is to shorten our paragraphs. In big publications such as the New York Times and the Boston Globe, the paragraphs are generally quite short as they express only one idea. What is very creative and interesting about the graphics in the Bradford is that they vary from photographs to cartoon images from the computer. This variation livens things up a bit in a newspaper that is supposed to simply present the news. The Bradford is lacking charts or graphs in its pages that could be used as a method of keeping the readers interested. As a reader myself, I know that looking at a bunch of numbers and data is a great deal easier and less time consuming than reading an entire article. Although the stories in the Bradford are what makes it as good as it is, we could have some more of these number-based images that could take the place, or add on, to a certain story.

Boston Globe Sports Section Monday February 25, 2008 Today's issue included an article about the resigning of Boston Red Sox manager Terry Francona. another article spoke about the Celtics' victory over the talented Portland trail Blazers. Since the the 2010 Winter Olympics are in vancouer, the United States team can take a Greyhoung bus to the game and play in a pretty familiar territory. Another article tells the story of a contraversy in a shot put competition. For The Bradford, we could write an opinion piece about whether parents should be coaches at the high school level. Some people may say that it is unfair for parents to cach their own kids, but others may argue that if the coach is good enough, then he should be able to coach a high school team. Another possible article for The Bradford could be about schools pirit and whether Wellesley High school has enough of it or not. We could ask many students at Wellesley high school what they think of the issue and add our own input.

Boston Globe Sports Section Tuesday February 26, 2008 The stories in today's sport's section consisted of an article about the Boston Celtic's victory last night against the Los Angeles Clippers. There was also an article about the start of spring training for the world champion Boston Red Sox. Along with a nice picture, there is a piece about Tiger Woods and how he is going to be even better than he has been in recent years. The Red Sox aquired all star pitcher Bartolo Colon over the off season, and they believe that he will provide some depth to the already steller pitching unit. For The Bradford, we could take a poll of students, teachers, and administrators and ask them which Boston sports team they follow and care about. Of course, they would need to provide reasoning for their selection. Colon signed a contract with the Red Sox under the conditions that he would receive 1.25 milion dollars along with many bonuses. An opinion article that could be interesting for The Bradford is how much importance is put on athletics in society and our school. There is a whole section in the Wellesley Townsman about school sports, but rarley is there a section, or even more than one article, about the arts. In the Celtics article, coach Doc Rivers stated that this year's team has really come together and played as a very tight group. A possible article for The Bradford could be about the social advantages of playing a sport. Many people participate in athletics because they feel that they will meet others who have similar interests to them.

Boston Globe Sports Section Wednesday February 27, 2008 In today's issue of the Boston Globe, the stories include an article about the Boston Red Sox's trip to Washington D.C. to meet with the president. Another article that was featured in this issue was about the Boston Bruins. The Boston hockey team that has achieved some great success over the past few months. New Red Sox pitcher Bartolo Colon stated that he will be ready to pitch as early as March 9th. The debate about steroids in baseball continues as there was another trial on Capital Hill today. Veteran point gaurd Sam Cassell expressed his interest in playing for the dominating Boston Celtics. In the article about the Red Sox's trip to Washington, the Red Sox also plan to visit a hospital designated for injured veterans. For The Bradford, we could have an article that states the effects celebrities have on society. A simple visit from a professional baseball team could change someone's life. The steroid issue in professional baseball is a big problem. Another huge problem is the steroid use by high school athletes. This usage continues to grow as the competition to succeed in athletics increases. Some high school coaches actually instruct their players to take steroids so they will have a better season.

Boston Globe Sports Section Thurday February 28, 2008 In today's issue of the Boston Globe there was an article about a young pitcher for the Boston red Sox named Justin Masterson who is showing that he is a future star for the Red Sox. There is another article about the ongoing trial on Capital Hill revolving around the steroid use of Roger Clemens. Although Lebron James scored his 10,000 career point, the Celtics were still able to shut down James and the Cavs and come away with a victory. For The Bradford, we could discuss the pressures young athletes are put under by their coaches, parents, peers,and even themselves. Another possible article for The Bradford could be a poll or an opinion piece about this issue of steroids in baseball. We could discuss how the perpetrators should be punished and how it has had an effect on the integrety of the game.

Boston Globe Sports Section Friday February 29, 2008 In today's issue, there is an article about former Patriot's star Asante Samuel. today, he signed a contract to play with the Philadelphia Eagles. There is also an article about the staus of Patriot wide reciever Randy Moss. Red Sox pitcher Justin Masterson tells the readers what the very beginning of the Red Sox season has been like thus far. For The Bradford, we could talk about private schools and how athletics effect students' decisions to leave their public school and attend these private schools that are designed solely for athletics. Another possible article for The Bradford could be about coaches' lofty expectations for their players. For example, football and wrestling coaches expecting their players to work out every day all year in order to prepare for the upcoming season.

Danny Schwarz Profile

On March 19, 2008, I interviewed Danny Schwarz about the issue of balancing school and a sport. What I found was that managing all of your schoolwork and staying with your commitment can be a daunting task. Schwarz made it very clear that his participation in both football and basketball has greatly effected his academic performance as he often arrives at his home late in the day and has very little time to complete an assignment that is his best work. Even though the consequences of committing to a sport prove to be problematic for Schwarz, he still feels that the overall experience has been a positive one. He has learned the value of teamwork and dedication through playing sports for the high school and those are lessons you can’t learn in a classroom. Along with playing two sports for the high school, Schwarz also plays AAU basketball in the spring. He does not feel that this extra commitment has made an impact on his academic performance because he doesn’t play a sport in the spring, so he is spending the same amount of time playing a sport than he would if he played for the high school. A former three season athlete, Schwarz states that the reason for his departure from baseball was based on the his lack of interest for the sport. He also said, however, that if he did still play baseball he would consider dropping it for academic purposes. Schwarz also believes that playing a sport does add to the already high amount of stress students have. For many sports, the athletes are expected to remember all of their team’s plays and sets. Remembering about 40 plays and also memorizing history facts can seriously stress a kid out. Schwarz thinks that coaches shouldn’t be as hard on their players for forgetting the plays because with all the information they have to remember, one minor detail can be easily forgotten. Schwarz is a good example of a student who excels on the athletic fields, but believes that the workload and the stress is a bit too much when combined with the pressures of the classroom.