NOCTILUCA Feb. 2016

AREYOUAWARE? Appleton, Wisconsin February 2016 Volume XXI Issue I

Page 4

America’s growing obesity problem By Salma Abdel-Azim Are you aware that obesity

Noctiluca Mission Statement

The Noctiluca and northnoct.com are the student-run news sources of Appleton North High School. Noctiluca and northnoct.com are designated public forums for stu- dent expression. Student editors make all content decisions. Noctiluca’s mission is to publish information relevant to its readers and its community. Its goal is to maintain high ethical standards and provide a designated public forum for free and responsible expression of views. The newspaper and website welcome diversity of scope, depth and breadth of coverage in order to heighten mutual understanding and awareness through our entire community. Appleton North High School Mr. Ramponi, staff advisor, at: ramponiaaron@aasd.k12. wi.us. Editorial Staff Senior Editor-In-Chief Megha Uberoi Co-Junior Editor-In-Chief Elise Painton News Editor Katharine Hackney Opinions Editor Kate Bennett Features Editor Rachel Flom Co-Centerspread Editor Fatima Ali Leah Dreyer Nora Ptacek Erik Bakken Managing Editor 5000 N. Ballard Road Appleton, WI 54913 Phone: (920) 832-4300

be taught better habits, such as eating vegetables and eat- ing healthy meals, that will stay with them as adults. Also, school lunches need to be healthier, without sacrificing taste and amounts. Students should feel satisfied, both by taste and amount, at the end of a lunch hour. Parks should be built in more neighborhoods to encourage children to exercise more. Screen time should be lowered and fun, engaging ac- tivities should be encouraged. Exercise should be looked at as fun and not as a form of torture. In addition, healthy food everywhere should be in- creased. More grocery stores should be built, so people have access to healthy food. If we rectify the mistakes our society has made, we can become a more healthy soci- ety and reduce the disease rav- aging our nation. Encouraging exercise and healthy eating will ensure a better society.

obese. This is in part because poorer neighborhoods tend to have many more fast food res- taurants than grocery stores. This means that fresh, healthy food is limited. In fact, about 23.5 million Americans do not have access to a supermarket within a mile of their homes. TV, video games, and other electronic devices contrib- ute greatly to the obesity of America. While parents feel at ease when their children are at home, this does have a cost. Many children engage in “mindless eating” while watching TV or playing video games for lack of anything else to do. So what needs to change? We need to start at the root of the problem. According to Michael Rosenbaum, author of a CNN episode discussing obesity, “One way is to focus on obesity prevention, which starts in the home, school and community.” Children need to

caloric intake of sugary drinks has almost tripled. 50 percent of Americans consume fast food weekly and 75 percent of them, monthly. Only one-third of adults ex- ercise the recommended daily amount and children spend about 7.5 hours of screen time per day. All of these fac- tors contribute to the fact that Americans burn 130 calo- ries less daily in comparison “Encouraging exercise and healthy eating will ensure a better society.” to 1970, which compounds into 31,000 calories annually. In addition, the financial sta- tus of the families is an added factor to obesity. In communi- ties whose families earn under $15,000, ⅓ are obese. In com- munities whose families earn over $50,000, ¼ of them are for the past year. This proj- ect, lead by various members of staff and administration, is aimed to serve those at North without the financial means or capability of taking a school bus or providing their own transportation. Mrs. Strick, the school’s social worker, has been one of the main staff members involved in the proj- ect. “This route will serve stu- dents who are living in pov- erty, and those whose health issues make it difficult to get to school right away in the morn- ing, allowing them to at least make it for part of the school day,” she said. This new bus line will also allow many students the abil- ity to participate in after school activities that before were un- available to them. Kids who normally avoid going out for sports and theater would no longer be held back by the lack of available night time trans- portation. “The bus will increase student involvement at school. Every- one will be able to cheer on the football team or see the musi- cal, regardless of their eco- nomic status,” said Mrs. Strick. Students who take classes at alternative schools also suffer from the lack of public trans- port. Those learning at the Valley New School who wish to be

is plaguing America and soci- eties all over the world? It is a big issue around the world and is discussed widely. Ac- cording to PublicHealth.org, currently, one in every three adults is obese and so are one in every four children in the U.S., making our country one of the world’s most obese na- tions. Studies have shown that by the year 2030, over half of Americans will be obese, which will add 6 million cas- es of diabetes, 5 million cases of heart disease and stroke, and over 4 hundred thousand cases of cancer. This issue is so serious that our generation will be the first generation with a life expectancy that is lower than our parents. Forty years ago, this was not an issue, so what has changed? Americans are consuming about 25 percent more calories. In comparison to 1970, the percentage of the Are you aware that there is no hourly bus line to North? For many students, when the final bell rings, the real day begins. Teenagers all through- out the school rush to soccer practice or theater rehearsal, not a thought in the world about how they’ll be getting home afterward. However, for students who can’t afford the luxury of a personal vehicle or whose parents are unable to pick them up, this thought is everything. The city of Appleton is for- tunate enough to be endowed with a public bus system. Running Monday through Saturday, this invaluable re- source provides a method of transportation throughout the Fox Cities, making hourly trips to all of its seventeen established routes. Of these seventeen, there are two sepa- rate routes that carry passen- gers directly in front of both Appleton East and Appleton West high schools. Appleton North, on the other hand, is scheduled on a “peak hour” route, providing busing only twice a day, before and after school. For students who use the Valley Transit, this means that there’s no way of getting home past 3:05. At North, there has been an attempt to get an established public bus route in the works

Noctiluca Editorial

Creating a public bus line that serves all students equally

Culture Editor Maddy Schilling

Sports Editor AJ Floodstrand Photography Editor Sofia Voet

Copy Editor Abby Davies Advertising/Social Media Rachel Brosman Graphics Editor Morgan Stuedemann Online Editor Abby Plankey Advisor Mr. Ramponi Contributors Salma Abdel-Azim Fatima Ali

Many North students take the Valley Transit bus home from school every day. Photo by Rachel Flom

involved are required to par- ticipate in extracurriculars at North, as their school does not contain the necessary facilities or student population. Howev- er, there is no method of move- ment between the schools; the bus only stops at North once in the afternoon, and the VNS kids get out too late to catch it. This creates a barrier for many economically challenged kids, whose parents are unable to drive them or may not even own a car themselves. This lack of accessibility hurts not only students, but their par- ents as well. If parents have no way of getting to the school, how can they be expected to meet with administration, fill out paperwork, and attend con- ferences? Things that most of us take for granted would be unavailable to those whose

economic situation doesn’t af- ford them the luxury of a per- sonal vehicle. Fortunately, there may be a line on the way. Assistant Su- perintendent Ben Vogel has had ongoing conversations with Fox Valley Transit in an attempt to create additional bus lines. The goal of this project is to have a bus run to North several times a day and into the evening. The establishment of a steady bus route to Appleton North is crucial to our school’s acces- sibility and sense of equality. Without this reliable form of transportation, many students will miss out on many invalu- able opportunities that high school can offer, robbing them of countless social and educa- tional experiences.

Benji Backer Erik Bakken Kate Bennett Rachel Brosman Maddie Clark Rachel Flom AJ Floodstrand Katharine Hackney Nora Ptacek Jack Russell Maeve Salm Maddy Schilling Morgan Stuedemann Sonia Tallorth Megha Uberoi Sofia Voet Jacob Zajkowski Olivia Molter Elise Painton Ally Price