Sarah Jane Martinez

The shooting at a high school in Florida that killed 14 students and three faculty members last Thursday is still being covered in the media and has caused a multitude of debates to arise throughout the nation.  Front and center of today's issue of the New York Times are two articles regarding this topic that continues onto a full page spread revealing two more articles. One of the articles was a feature regarding former assistant principal Joel Myrick, who happened to be armed during a school shooting.  While Myrick was able to scare off the assailant, he does not approve of arming teachers. Myrick revealed he suffered from acute stress, nightmares, and misery after the event. "Teachers have to teach, and that's what they should be doing...You don't need to be in school in charge of protecting children," Myrick said.  CNN's Anderson Cooper 360 show dedicated more than 10 minutes of their 5 p.m. news to a live segment called "Gunn...

1. Did the lead draw your interest to the story? Yes. The lead has a shock factor effect that makes me want to figure out why he only has a jockstrap on. 2. What's your favorite quote and why? My favorite quote is the closing sentence. It offers humor and ends the story on a happy note. 3. What's the angle of this feature? I think the angle of this feature is that everyone is multifaceted. Ali Mustaq is not only a gay man or Pakistani or a teacher. He is all of that and more. 4. What's the best description in the story? The best description is in the first three paragraphs as it helps set the scene of a place most people would be unfamiliar with. The description paints a very vivid picture of the bar and the atmosphere surrounding it. 5. How many people are quoted in the story? Five people are quoted.

Profile one's lead hooked my interest more. It was simple. I also like how they did not mention her name in the lead and waited to introduce her in the second paragraph. The focus in profile one is about Mills' passion for photography: how it came to be, why she likes it. The focus of the second profile is about Esposito's passion for music and the surprising  relation to baseball. I liked profile one better because the focus of the story was more concise. The story flowed much better than profile two. Every sentence felt contributed to understanding the foucs. Profile two was good, but I felt bounced back and forth too much between baseball and music.

An insurance salesman was stabbed by two men in a parking lot after refusing to hand over his wallet last night according to authorities.

Miami Beach Mayor Jim Lange was knocked out by a falling coconut on his way to work during Coconut Day.

A 2.2 magnitude earthquake struck residents in Santa Clara County near Alum Rock Falls Road. Highway 9 closed for almost nine hours as Caltrans workers cleared the roads of fallen trees. Two sticks of dynamite was found in freshmen dorm room yesterday during a campus-wide dorm inspection.

10 WORDS Your Word Where you read it (source info). The entire sentence in which you found this word. Dictionary definition for this word; part of speech (noun, verb, etc.). Use the word in a new sentence. Your sentence should make it clear that you understand the meaning of this word and know how to use it. Cupola The Mercury News In the Bank of Italy building, Dillabough’s group plans a major overhaul of the interior of the office tower, which has a spire topped by an iconic cupola. Noun a small dome, especially a small dome on a drum on top of a larger dome, adorning a roof or ceiling Many cathedrals in Italy have a grand cupola at the top of the structure. Zeitgeist The AV Club Just as a favorable Q score means more to celebrities and the studios in business with them than a slightly bigger payday, so too does the hard-to-penetrate world of the zeitgeist offer more long-term benefits to a company like Netflix than a few quietly well-received hits. Noun the definin...

She never takes a day off from cleaning. All covered in sweat and dirt, but does not have it in her to complain. Sometimes she will stop and think about what her parents would say if they saw her like this. Too bad they both passed away when she was little. She dutifully scrubs the floors all day while her step-sisters get to go out and play. Her step-mother keeps her away from the outside world, so the only friends she has are the rodents and bugs that scamper around the house. She has no idea what her father ever saw in such an evil woman like her. The blonde-beauty tries to throw together a last minute dress to attend the royal ball. She has never wanted or asked for anything other than to go out for this one night. Her jealous step-sisters however tear her dress apart ruining any chances she has of going out. All her time and effort wasted until a mysterious woman arrives and offers her help. This magical woman helps her fashion a br...

1. It's not OK to wear T-shirts at practice, coach Carter said. 2. Gen. Myers met 10 times with Vice President Gore. 3. He drove east from Seattle to Boise, Idaho. 4. The FBI office has moved to 1250 3rd Ave. 5. In the '90s she received mostly A's in school despite being a rock 'n' roll groupie. 6. Aaron C. Reskew Jr. is the candidate that will be elected mayor. 7. Seventeen clerks worked from 7-10 a.m. and were paid $5 an hour. 8. Over 16,000 attended game one of the World Series to see the Tiger's 5-2 victory. 9. Nearly 50 percent of adults say they're concerned about developing Alzheimer's disease. 10. The 19 year-old girl was born Sept. 20.

A love so strong it tore them apart. The concepts of love and death wrestle together in this love story with no happy ending. "Annabel Lee" by Edgar Allan Poe tells the haunting tale of a man torn away too soon from his lover Annabel Lee. Written from an unknown first person narrative, Poe describes the man's love so intensely that readers feel his love as if it was their own. They loved so deeply that angles from Heaven coveted it and apparently kill for it. This story at first reads as a romantic lament, but when analyzed closer it becomes apparent their love is not one to desire. The narrator is obsessed and borderline insane. "Neither the angels in Heaven above, nor the demons down under the sea, can ever dissever my soul from the soul of the beautiful Annabel Lee," writes Poe. His whole identity is tied to her. He loved her till death made them part except he could not let go and drove himself to insanity. Her death traumatizes him into ...

Myriad (adj.)  countless or extremely great in number Myriad stars could be seen in the sky. Innocuous (adj.) producing no injury The room was innocuous after they baby-proofed it. Feign (verb) pretend to be affected by Tim feigned surprise since he already knew about his surprise party. Temerity (noun) unreasonable or  foolhardy  contempt of danger or opposition The mouse had the temerity to run past the cat. Affront (verb) to insult especially to the face by behavior or language The student affronted the teacher when he yelled at her. Acquiesce (verb) to accept, comply, or submit tacitly or passively They failing company acquiesced the buyout offer. Interim (noun) an  intervening  time There was an interim between act one and act two. Trepidation (noun) a feeling of fear or agitation about something that may happen After the earthquake, trepidation filled the air as people worried about aftershocks. Alleviate (verb) to...

My love for my family is as permanent as the tattoo I have on my chest.  I grew up surrounded by family 24/7. My grandparents had 11 children and in turn had 23 grandchildren.  They used to joke they had too many kids to remember all their names and would call them by numbers instead. There were family parties every month, yearly reunions and summer vacations with everyone. Growing up with such a huge family was a blessing. I saw all 23 of my cousins as not only family, but as best friends. We did everything together.  Some of us are even planning to go to Europe this summer.   After the passing of our uncle, we wanted to do something that would remind of us we would all be there for each other. Our parents introduced themselves by their number instead of name during their eulogies to lighten the mood, but instead they inspired us.  And that is how I ended up with XI on my chest. We counted ourselves off like them a...