Show 315

As for my role in Episode #315, I helped to create the choir ad, was a part of DUBTV investigates, and also a part of one of the DUBTV ads. Here's my breakdown of the show using my three tiered system: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.

The Good

• Nino/Me/Alex DUBTV Commercial was very received 
• Hallway Patrol had some awesome special effects and some cool plot devices
• DUBTV Investigates was a funny, spur of the moment segment, although it could've been introduced better

The Bad

• Jocelyn couldn't match the high-powered energy of Ayyad
• Sports was still lacking a little effort
• Choir ad could've been more energetic/a better promotion of choir

The Ugly

• Mr. Mascari looked like a floating head in his commercial
• The Coffeehouse ad was a little confusing and a bit too long
• The sound on Ups and Downs

Show 314

As for my role in Episode #314, I helped out with the Grab and Go segment. Here's my breakdown of the show using my three tiered system: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.

The Good

• Grab and Go turned a PSA into a pretty entertaining segment
• I loved the 90s music segment, but I was so mad at people for not knowing the friends theme
• Sabrina and Georgia had good chemistry as the hosts

The Bad

• The Tutor was very, very, slow paced again this week
• Sports was better with Khari at the helm this week, but still lacking a little effort
• Finish the Lyrics sound quality was off a little bit

The Ugly

• The sound on Sports was lacking once again
• Overall, the show felt a little lacking in content
• The coffee ad seemed rushed and not well edited

Alan Rickman

"There will be no foolish wand-waving or silly incantations in this class. As such, I don't expect many of you to appreciate the subtle science and exact art that is potion-making. However, for those select few...Who possess, the predisposition... I can teach you how to bewitch the mind and ensnare the senses. I can tell you how to bottle fame, brew glory, and even put a stopper in death. " -Severus Snape
      For those of us who grew up on Harry Potter movie marathons, dressed in our wizarding robes and waving wands, Alan Rickman's Severus Snape was a character we loved to hate. Behind only He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and an ever-sneering Malfoy, Snape's seemingly unfounded hatred of the Boy Who Lived had us rooting for this antagonist to be whisked away to the shadowy depths of Azkaban. Until one particular scene in the Deathly Hallows Part Two, where Snape reveals that he has been looking out for Harry all this time as a result of his everlasting love for Lily Potter, Harry's mother.
      With this reveal, Rickman's character is given new depth. Whereas Harry Potter versus Voldemort is a classic battle between light and darkness, Snape is a shade of gray. And as Lily's memory lived on through Snape's love, Alan Rickman's memory will live on through ours. 
       I won't pretend to know Alan Rickman's filmography outside of the Harry Potter world because to me, he'll always be Severus Snape, bewitching my mind and ensnaring my senses. As his legacy lives on, and generations after generations fall in love with the wizarding world all over again, Rickman will have even put a stopper in death. 

Show 313

As for my role in Episode #313, I helped out with the Ask an Ackie segment. Here's my breakdown of the show using my three tiered system: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.

The Good

• Ask an Ackie was very well received across the school
• The ad for Kopano's band was solid, although I just love music all around
• "Get these Armadillos" off me was a little weird, but very funny

The Bad

• The Tutor was very, very, slow paced again this week
• People you meet in high school didn't seem to grab the attention of the viewers
• I thought the winner of Emoji of the Week was not deserving of the title, but it was funny nonetheless

The Ugly

• The sound on Sports was awful once again
• Overall, the show felt a little lacking in content
• Reused a commercial for the credits, felt a little weird

Show 312

As for my role in Episode #312, I helped out with the X Files segment. Here's my breakdown of the show using my three tiered system: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.

The Good

• X Files was very well received by mostly everyone that I talked too
• Once again, Trixx Squad was a very solid segment in a mediocre show
• Unpopular Opinion was short and served its purpose well

The Bad

• The host segments were some of the worst we've had all year
• New Year's Resolution segment was a little weirdly filmed, can't place my finger on it
• Snapchat of the Week is an old and tired segment

The Ugly

• Camera was very close on the host's faces
• Overall, the show felt rushed and somewhat sloppily put together

Illinois going to take SAT (January Article)

by Ryan Wangman

It’s official; Illinois high school juniors will no longer be provided with a free state-administered ACT exam. After 15 years of juniors taking the ACT in Illinois, it has been unceremoniously replaced with rival Collegeboard’s SAT exam. The SAT beat out the ACT to earn a 3 year, $14.3 million dollar contract, $1.37 million dollars less than ACT’s proposed contract.

After the College Board was awarded the contract, the ACT protested the decision, citing "that the College Board did not disclose current or pending litigation as well as inconsistent, biased or arbitrary scoring in the evaluation of the proposals." State procurement officials say the protest could result in several outcomes, from siding with the Illinois State Board of Education's decision to award the contract to the College Board, or starting the whole competitive process over again.

To add to the problem, the state still doesn’t have a budget for standardized testing, so there is uncertainty surrounding the ability of the state to pay for the recently signed SAT contract. Amidst this uncertainty, dozens of districts across the state have signed up for ACT testing, even at the district’s own expense.

But whatever the result may be, current students don’t seem to be phased. “It doesn’t really matter,” Whitney Young junior Keduse Worku said, “The SATs are becoming more like the ACTs, and anyone who has trouble paying for either will now have options.”

The ACT has been overwhelmingly popular in Illinois. The most recent results for the graduating class of 2015 show that 157,047 test-takers from public and private high schools took the exam — the largest number of ACT test-takers of any state.  (Chicago Tribune)