How I Cried During the Finale

Charles Fernandez
Social Media Editor

    I want to start off by saying that reading this review will probably last longer than the finale of How I Met
Your Mother and I am notifying all readers of major spoilers ahead! You have ben warned! I have so much to say about this finale that I didn’t like and the mother’s death was the least of the problems, so I’ll leave her off for later.

    First of all, Barney’s (Neil Patrick Harris) ending was horrible. The fact that Barney started crying happily about having a baby made me very disappointed with its ending. The problem with this scene was that it made Barney completely fall out of character in a very unrealistic fashion. It isn’t even character development since the change occurs in an instant. Let’s recap on what Barney said related to having a daughter: “I’m about to tell a sad story," he began. "Glad someone can be happy on a day of a tragedy ... My life is over. Happy Notafather’s Day!”  When the doctor asked if Barney would like to see his daughter, he responded with, “Nah, I’m good”. THIS is Barney. Barney only asks for 3 things throughout his life: Number one is to sleep with as many women as he can, number two is to always have a suit near him and number three is to have a legendary life. Robin (Cobie Smulders) was the only case that managed to change Barney’s craving for a woman in bed every night, but even that took nearly 7 seasons to do. However, if anything were to stop Barney from achieving any of these three things, he would be 100% against it.
Barney would look at a baby and only consider it a thumb-sucking nuisance and a roadblock to getting women in bed with him. A baby, in Barney’s eyes, SHOULD be the epitome of bad luck. But instead, the show passes the touching scene over as if he has matured and really grown up. Of course most people would like to believe that, but in all honesty, as soon as he went back to sleeping with women, Barney reverted to his previous self. If you recall the Halloween party Barney was a part of in the finale, Barney said, “Marshall (Jason Segel), guess who’s digits I just scored? The slutty police officer-“and then he notices Robin, “ -er‘s tax attorney! Haha, saved it…”

    Maybe the new “I’m- in-love-with-Robin” Barney would have been crying and happy to have a baby (which is still a bit questionable), but the development from committed to player occurred to quickly to be believable.  Barney, as a player, is the last person who would be crying tears of joy and telling his arch-nemesis, “You are the love of my life”. It was touching, sure, but it should’ve never happened. When Lily (Alyson Hannigan) questioned Barney for the man he was, Barney replied with my favorite quote of the episode, “That’s me. Can I please just be me?” It saddened me that Barney’s ending didn’t even allow him to be himself. I can see that without the addition of the baby, Barney would have remained a very static character and not have changed from the beginning of the plot to the end. Yet, the whole baby scenario was a very unrealistic and bad way to go about making him more dynamic.

    Number 31 was a total excuse for Barney’s better ending! As heartless as it may sound, Number 31 was literally just a “baby carrier” misled by Barney, as all other women are, who didn’t get any screenplay, much less even given a name. This may very well be, the cruelest and most forced way of using a character I have ever seen in my life. And Barney thought HE had a sad story to share, but the heartless manner of using Number 31 for Barney’s personal story makes it funny and this is a comedy show. So, I’ll give kudos to that, I suppose.

    The scene I hated the most in the finale was when Marshall turned around to speak to the weird kids behind their booth. Nothing was more irritating than watching Marshall say, “Hey, you kids! Do you have any idea what happened right here in this very bar?” The kid asks him what happened and Marshall replies with, “Just… all kinds of stuff.”… What? I know some people took this scene as really cute to say, but this just felt like we hit a whole new level of corny, that it even became uncomfortable to me. Just all kinds of stuff? Care to elaborate on that, Marshall? All kinds of stuff happen around the world every day. All kinds of stuff are going on in Russia. All kinds of stuff are happening inside our bodies. All kinds of stuff happen inside a bathroom. I was left confused about the whole scene when the kid just turned back around to talk to his friends, as if telling Marshall, “Cool story, bro”. A much better replacement for that scene could have been with Marshall telling the gang, “I’m really gonna miss spending time with you guys here. ‘All kinds of stuff’ has happened in this bar.” Sure it’s a cliché scene, but then again, so is the majority of the show, which isn’t necessarily bad.

    Robin was never able to stay in one place once she became very successful and that was the overall reason why Barney and Robin got divorced. So if Robin’s traveling is what separated them both, how will this even help Ted (Josh Radnor) when he wants to date Robin? Is Robin at her house at the end of the story because she finished working? Can she now stay in one place? If so, then why doesn’t Barney go back to Robin? Barney did tell Robin, after all, that he loved her and vowed he would always speak the truth. I don’t think the baby would stop Barney from being with Robin because Robin likes the idea of having a child, which was why she cried a lot when she found out she wouldn’t be able to have kids. And something really makes me doubt that Barney and Number 31 are in a loving relationship. So I still have no idea why it ended the way it did.

    Even the kids at the end of the story had their problems. In some mysterious way, the daughter deduces that the whole story was about how Ted loved Aunt Robin. This is apparent when the daughter says “This is a story about how you are totally in love with Aunt Robin.” I don’t think anyone can say that this 9 season long comedy show that followed the lives of a whole gang with many interesting adventures and troubling relationships was just about “how much Ted loves Robin”. She continues on saying, “And you’re thinking about asking her out and you wanna know if we’re ok with it.” I must be missing something here because the daughter has now become the detective Ted has always wanted to be. The son agrees with the daughter, so he seems to be a genius too. This whole scene just forces Ted to go and ask Robin out for the “happy ending”. This scene was  way too rushed, didn’t make sense, and was the lowest point for me in the finale. Also, what a huge insult on the mother this has been! Instead of this whole story being about her, Ted spoke about another chick he liked and barely spoke anything about Tracy. Nice going, Ted.

    All of my other criticisms are a bit smaller. I’m sure many of us viewers noticed that the Mother’s death seemed like a really forced scene, as well. We weren’t even given an explanation for Tracy’s death, only that she got “sick”. Hope none of the readers die during Flu Season. This came off as if Tracy was only an obstacle standing in the way of Ted and Robin’s happy ending. And gosh darn it; Tracy must be eliminated to see that happy ending!

    I didn’t like the fact that Ted had way too much in common with Tracy (Cristin Milioti). I was happy to know that Ted could relate to Tracy, but I wasn’t hoping for so many similarities. If there was ever anything good that came out of the mother’s death, it would probably be that Ted doesn’t have to live with someone exactly like him and it makes things seem a bit more realistic. The similarities were dragged on way too far to the point that it just got plain creepy. Not only do they share the same interests but they shared the same initials, too (T.M: Ted Moesby and Tracy McConnel). I may have forgotten this, but can anyone recall a moment when Ted asked out Tracy? I was not only hoping for them to meet, but I was also hoping to see how Ted would ask Tracy out on a date. But the only thing I witnessed was Ted and Tracy already going out with one another rather than how they got to that point. All in favor of the sequel “How I Asked Out Your Mother”? Maybe this time around, we can tell Robin the story and end it with both of them getting a divorce, too. Now that we got all of the negative aspects of the finale, let’s go to what I really enjoyed about the finale!

    The only scenes I loved were from the time Barney wanted to play one last game of “Have you met Ted” through to the farewell of Ted. I felt that by having Barney play one last game of “Have you met Ted” with the mother, it could have started off as a great closing to the show. Unfortunately, this was never really implemented into the story but the E.T. farewell had me cracking up as well as the most legendary high-five. That’s about all of the positive things I can say about the finale and this ends my rant- I mean review.

Clash of Rivals

Stephon Hall
Sports Editor

    Broward College’s Men’s Basketball loss against in-state rival, Miami-Dade College on Jan. 29, at Central Campus gym 67-66. The beginning stages of the game started off slow for both squads as Broward went ahead by two early in a first period that was intense, to say the least. Miami Dade didn’t make it easy against the Seahawks as both team were tied at 16 during the first half.

    The teams were neck to neck until Guard, Mikhail Rolle shot a two-pointer, putting BC in the lead with a score of 33-32 at halftime. One Seahawk, Daniel Ramis, scored 18 points, which included five 3-pointers. “I work on my throws, mostly getting a lot of reps during training,” said Ramis. Other contributors include Kareem Roach and Dashawn Richmond with 9 points, William Cruz with 12 points and David Gaberlavage had 13 points. These players helped by adding points to the scoreboard with free throws, 2 pointers, as well as 3 pointers. In the last half, BC struggled but managed to keep up with Dade. BC’s Guard, Cruz, suffered injuries to his knee, wrist and his head in the second half, but kept on playing despite those issues.

    Miami-Dade wasn’t to be denied as they kept the game close with them tying the game up until they took the lead in the closing stages of the game. Miami Dade also took advantage of the free throw line with 29 attempts and making 20 of them. Dade took the lead against BC 67-64 late in the period and Ramis made two crucial free throw shots, cutting the deficit to one; but, unfortunately, the Seahawks ran out of time to complete the comeback as Miami Dade escaped a close one.

    Early on in conference play, BC defeated Dade with a score of 85-61. “The Officiating was very poor. The worst part is, the Head of the Referees, was standing in the stands not doing anything about it,” Said Head Coach Bob Starkman, who, clearly was frustrated with much of the officiating throughout the game.

    Despite a great effort from the bench by Daniel, he understood the missed opportunity of this game. He also kept it in the perspective with optimism. “We’re a team so we’re going to bounce back from this but it’s a tough loss against our rival, Miami-Dade,” said Ramis.

    There are only a handful of games left for the Seahawks to play against state rivals and February is filled with crucial match-ups against Indian River (Feb 1st at Home & Feb 15th Away), Eastern State (Feb 5th & the season finale on Feb 22nd at Home), Palm Beach State College (Feb 5th) and Miami-Dade (Feb 19th Away) The Seahawks are 16-6 on the season with a 4-2 record in conference play.

Kim Coles Comes to Campus

Frankie Rosso
Managing Editor

    Have you ever had that “OMG moment” in your life; where you cannot believe that an opportunity
has been granted to you? I had that moment when I met and interviewed Kim Coles on March 18th. She lit up the room with her grace and wonderful sense of humor as she lectured about some of her experiences. “I’m a comedian, it’s what I do!” she said.

    Coles came to Central Campus as a speaker in honor of Women’s History month; providing messages of self-worth, finding your true identity, self-acceptance, and her journey through the world of television.

    “I love to inspire and teach others through my own real world experiences. It gives me great joy to be with you all,” Coles said as the program began.

    Born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, Coles is an American actress and comedian, best known for her starring role as Synclaire James on the Fox television series, Living Single. She also starred in Frasier and In Living Color, made guest appearances on The View, The Talk, and Dr. Oz Show, and even hosted her own show on the OWN Network called Are You Normal America? She’s also the author of two publications: I'm Free but It'll Cost You and most recently, Gratitude Journal.

    Coles spoke about the importance of loving yourself and being comfortable in your own skin. Her lecture provided insight about what it’s like to be an African American female performer and some of the struggles she faced throughout.

    “I’ll never forget the time I was on the Red Carpet looking fabulous, and I had $27 to my name.” said Coles.

    She stressed the importance of saving money and being a “responsible spender”. As students, we often fail to take into account the responsibility of money and saving to build a better future. We rather spend now and save later, and Coles’ message proved that lacking funds not only makes life harder but devastating. She shared about her experiences when she underwent a depression and her breakthrough. Her book highlights the “gratitude” she displayed though her breakthrough.

    “In my book Gratitude Journal, I wanted to promote positivity. If I can change just one life, I’m satisfied, “ said Coles.

    I felt inspired by her words and moved by her motivation and determination to succeed despite the obstacles she faced. I’m humbled to know that she was such a people person and spoke to us as if she’s known us forever.

    “I thought the event was dope. I think a lot of people needed to hear the message she came with. I was very moved. I especially enjoyed her book and even gave it my girlfriend,” said Music Technology major, Jahfar Campbell.

    Cole’s lecture was comedic, inspiring, diverse, and informative and left students with a lasting impression that TV celebs are people too. Inspiring others and changing lives one student at a time, the event was an overall success.

Country Woodstock

Carissa Perry-Smith
Staff Writer

    It was a day full of drinking, music, and sunshine on Sunday Jan. 26. That morning, at C.B. Smith Park, Kiss Country radio station hosted their 29th annual Chili Cookoff. Chili Cookoff is a country-music festival where people from all over South Florida come to attend. According to www.southflorida.com, Wkis midday host, Darlene Evans said, Chili Cookoff is the largest country-music festival in the Southeastern part of the United States.

    With everyone dressed in their best country attire, people arrived at 1 a.m. to socialize, barbeque, eat chili, and drink beer. Being my first year at the Cookoff I wanted to experience the whole ordeal. I arrived at the park around 3 a.m. to tailgate and hang out with friends. The atmosphere was not at all what I anticipated. American and Confederate flags were plastered everywhere, beer cans were thrown all over the place, and country music was blaring from trucks. These are only a few words in my attempts to describe what the parking lot really looked like that morning. My friends, who are “veterans” to Chili Cookoff became very clever this year. For the aftermath of the 6 hours of tailgating we endured; they set up a tent with blowup beds to nap before the concert.

    After the drinking and the puking died down a bit, 8:30 a.m. came around and the real fun began. Once the concert gates opened, people raced to set out their chairs and towels to get the best spot in front of the stage.

    The line-up at this year’s Cookoff consisted of Cassadee Pope, Thomas Rhett, Joe Nichols, Brantley Gilbert, and headliner Rascal Flatts. Some songs played were Wasting all these tears (Pope), Get me some of that (Rhett), and What hurts the most (Rascal Flatts).

    “I was definitely pleased with the line-up this year. I would have wanted more popular artists to attend but it was still everything I hoped it would be”, BC student Dominique Brito said.

    It was a different kind of experience for me. I enjoyed the music to say the least; my favorite act was Brantley Gilbert. His performance really got everyone moving and on their feet. However, with the hot sun beating down, it was really the energetic atmosphere that kept me going. Everyone was cramped together on the lawn sitting on their towels and chairs. There was no moving room, people had to push their way in and out. However, once settled, people danced, sang, and made new friends.

    Although there were thousands of people in attendance, most which had been heavily drinking throughout the day, not once did I feel unsafe. I felt completely safe in the environment that surrounded me. Everyone there was extremely friendly. Where my friends and I sat we immediately made friends with the people around us. People were there to enjoy the concert not start trouble.

    Second time Chili Cookoff attender, Macy Jarvis said, “Even though this year wasn’t as entertaining , music-wise, for me, being in the lively atmosphere I still had a great time.”

    Being my first time at Chili Cookoff I really enjoyed myself. I definitely plan to attend every year. For people who have never attend, I think everyone should at least experience it once. It’s something that you do not want to miss.

Soulfrito is Back!

Carissa Perry-Smith

Staff Writer

    For the first time in 4 years Soulfrito is back. Soulfrito is an Urban-Latin music festival that was established in 2002. This year’s festival takes place on Feb. 22 at Sun Life Stadium in Miami. Soulfrito showcases multicultural artists in genres like Latin, Urban, Pop, and EDM. Founder Melissa Giles said she is expecting around 15,000 people to attend this year.

    The line-up for this year’s festival consists of Nas, Butta P, Donomar, Brass King, Calma Carmona, Juicy J, Plan B, Sensato, Mr Pauer, Hector el Torrito Acosta, Felisha Monet, and with hostesses Julissa Bermudez and Adrienne Bailon, and DJs, DJ Enuff and DJ Camilo. Recently added to the line-up is the popular rapper, Busta Rhymes. The mix of artists and genres attracts many Latino-Americans, especially those that are bilingual and speak predominantly English.

    BC student Flavio Hernandez said, “I’m excited because not only are Spanish performers going, but also American performers.”

    This event attracts not only Latinos but a variety of different cultures. “It’s going to be a spectacular time with 12 hours of great entertainment”, Giles said. Major sponsors include 99 JAMZ and Mega 94 radio stations.

    Tickets on sale vary in price. General admission with a rear/side view is $44, general admission in front of the stage is $65, and VIP admission is $145. With VIP admission there is a high-class private lounge area with a great view of the stage. It also has access to a private bar and restrooms.

    “The entire set up of the festival is very visually attractive and easy to see the stage from wherever you are seated”, said Giles.

    For additional information can visit soulfrito.com. To purchase tickets online visit ticketmaster.com or select locations which are listed their website.

Punk's Dead, or Is It?

Victoria Watson
Staff Writer

  If you haven't already seen the movie SLC Punk by James Merendino you should probably get started because there is already a sequel in the making going by the name Punk's Dead. SLC Punk came out in theaters 1983, a story about punk culture in Salt Lake City and the friendship between two Punks, Sevo (played by Matthew Lillard) and Heroin Bob (Michael Goorjian), two guys fresh out of college that decide to take their great education and live an anarchist lifestyle.

The Plot

  The story takes place 18 years later in Salt Lake City. Though Bob has died, the main character of the story appears to be his son whose mother is of course Trish, his name is Ross, a Death Rock (Goth/Punk) kid. Follow Ross as you see his observations and misadventures in life all while finding out what happened to all the previous characters affected by Bob's death including Stevo, the previous main character of SLC Punk and Bob's best friend.

“Why would SLC Punk need a sequel?”

  James Merendino responded to the questioning of Punk's Dead in Twitter post saying “Why SLC P Sequel? I got tired of f**king Babyboomers saying 'James,that punk thing you were into was cute, but thank God you grew out of it.'” The movies are based off of Merendino's teenage and years and so are some of the characters seen in the movie. This movie shows what happens to a Punk's as they grow older in the Mormon town of Salt Lake City, all while giving you a view into the creator's past life.

 Fan Support

   It’s all thanks to the fans of SLC Punk for making things happen. Using a site called Indiegogo.com fans helped fund for the movie buy sending in money, buying and selling SLC Punk merchandise, making advertisements and a fan support page to help get word of the movie out into the world. Of course none of this could be done without James Merendino himself, who is very hands on with his fan base even offering them parts in the movie, which seems rightly when you understand how much they helped make things possible. “It’s going to be a wonderful experience to be in the sequel,” says Annabeth Gish, who plays the role of Trish, in response to the efforts of fans. “Thanks so much for your support, everyone! Let's get this movie made.”

Punk's Dead should be out by the near end of 2014.

Beyoncé's Heading to the Top

Leeza Siddons
Staff Writer

    Beyoncé released one of her highest selling albums titled “Beyoncé” on Friday the 13 in Dec. ending the year 2013. “Queen B” decided to keep this record a secret and surprised the world with a visual album including 14 tracks with an additional 17 videos. Her secret non promoted album went platinum in less than a week. "Beyoncé" sold another 310,000 copies during the week ending Dec. 29, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

    Her self-titled album "Beyonce" debuted number 1 on top R&B hip hop albums. Her entire team had to make a vow not to speak on B's project and refrain from sharing with anyone. Beyonce claimed that she didn't believe this album could have been possible in an interview. After revealing this single she justified a new beginning for herself, "I have never done anything so brave in my life and the amount of personal growth is unlike anything I've ever done. I took all of my insecurities all of my doubt, all my fears and everything I've learned and applied it into this project."

    She goes into speaking about motherhood and explained beyond the music and being an artist she owned all her imperfections and all the things that made her interesting because she refuses to be put in anybody's box. "Yonce" (-as she describes herself in her new album) said found the woman who she is supposed to be. She switched her style up and went a little pop to explore a new genre of music but stuck to her R&B tone. 

    She expresses a massive sexual side expressing her different ways of making love, being jealous, and a bond that grows between her and 2-year-old daughter Blue Ivy, who features on one of Beyonces tracks titled Blue.

    "The Beehive" is Beyonce's fan base and a few claim that she has opened up enormously regarding her songs on her latest album and in recent interviews. The small town, innocent southern bell made a video for every song and added a few extra ones. The purpose of a video for each song was created to let the fans have more of an insight through her music. Beyoncé naturally sold 828,773 copies in just three days. Her husband Jay-z, Frank Ocean, Drake and few others feature on her album.

    She released one of her singles “drunk in love” ft. Jay-z and it is currently stationed at number two on R&B/Hip Hop songs chart. "Beyoncé" is the first album by a woman to notch three weeks at Number 1 since Taylor Swift's "Red" claimed seven weeks at the top. With that being said ultimately, Beyonce has definitely out done herself. She continues to make a legacy for herself with her strongest album to date. Recognizing all of beyones competition comparing her to Rihanna, Katy Perry, Nicki Minaj and more, Mrs. Carters always seems to make her way back to the top of the charts. She highlighted the importance of being a woman, a mother and a dedicated musician in just one album.

The Hidden Gems of Netflix

Damian Gordon

Staff Writer

    It’s the most addictive drug that has taken over countless lives, and grows in popularity every day; I even walked into a room with a friend passed out in front of it. This addiction is Netflix, a streaming service that’s taken over many homes and lead to countless emotions after finishing a 22 hours of a show in a day. There are too many shows for any person to search through; here are two of the finest this service has to offer.

    Arrow, a show about a rich billionaire playboy Oliver Queen played by Stephen Amell, who after  He takes his new found skills of archery and martial arts puzzlingly learned from the island to take down city’s criminals while solving the mystery of who shipwrecked him there.

being stranded on an island for 5 years, returns to his home-city to find it’s been overrun by crime and corruption.

    A subplot involving Oliver’s time on the island is mixed in the episodes through flashback scenes, showing he may not be only one there with other dangers lurking around every turn. It is an exciting combination of fearless crime fighting Oliver Queen in the present scenes, to his scared fragile version on the island.

    The show has excellent choreographed fight scenes, which make you feel every hit and broken bone.

Being a CW show, there is no lack of scenes that have Amell shirtless, while talking with his fully clothed partners like other shows on the network such as Vampire Diaries. Luckily, Arrow has a captivating story with characters you feel and relate to, making the payoff even greater in the season finale.

    Parks & Recreation is a hilarious show with loveable characters that breathes new life into the sitcom genre. It follows Leslie Knope, Amy Poehle, as  deputy director of The Parks and Recreations Department of a small quirky town called Pawnee.

    Pawnee is filled with citizens who are a danger to themselves, and that makes for many fun misadventures in the town.  Such as, an old town law misspelling of the word “tea” that looks like “Ted”, that requires them to hunt anyone named Ted once a year and throw him in lake, having him comically run and fear for his life.

    The cast is rounded out with standout performances, most notable being by Nick Offerman and Aziz Ansari. Ansari plays Tom Haverford who is a sarcastic employee filled with pop culture references, always finding humorous ways to do as little work as possible at his job.

    Offerman plays Ron Swanson, Leslie’s boss who hates government and goal is to make his department very ineffective. He goes so far to hire employees that don’t care or are awful at their job, which amusingly makes her job tougher.

    Both Parks & Recreations and Arrow are television shows that pull you in immediately and only get better with every season. They are two great shows not too many know about, that anyone can watch with friends or family.

Spring Break X Tips

Damian Gordon

Staff Writer

    Waking up in some foreign place with no money and a kidney missing is not the ideal ending to spring break for most people. Every year, that mythical week comes around, where a mild mannered college student turns into law enforcements worse nightmare. 

    Spring break is the week when that blood pact occurs for no one to speak of what happened ever again. Here are some tips to get through on top like a champ and not a chump. 

    Money is the big factor that is going to decide how long the adventure is going to last, once the dough runs out so does the trip. Depending on where the trip is taking place, things like hotels, plane tickets and gas are not paying for themselves. 

    Get a good estimate on how much the trip is going to cost, then bring some extra “just in case” cash for good measure. Nobody wants to tell the story of the “odd favors” for cash they had to do find a way back home.

    It cannot be stressed enough that hotel reservations should be done as early as possible. When spring break comes around, all the prices go up and the amount of cash in a student’s pockets goes down even more. This will separate from sleeping in a motel surrounded by gunshot noise and that ominous guy standing at the corner and a peaceful sleep in a hotel with security around the corner.

    Be surrounded by the right type of people is another crucial part to a great spring break. Don’t bring anyone that doesn’t want to be there, they’ll just bring down everybody’s mood with constant barrage of sighs and complaining  

    BC student Taylor Nethersole advises others that” If traveling out to always walk with a friend, don’t tell strangers where you’re staying.”

    Travel with people you enjoy, if you can’t stand Keisha from work, you’ll hate Keisha the roommate.  These are people you will spend an extended amount of time with for a week, make it one to remember for the screams of joy and not of murder.

    Do all your assignments before the partying, “I want lots of essays and projects!” said nobody ever. The reality is that there will probably be work from teachers and it’s easier to do it sooner rather than right before class Monday.

    If the mode of transportation is by car, music is a vital part of keeping the good vibes alive. Make a playlist that is varied and everyone in the car can stand. No one wants to hear Adele the whole way to Tampa, because someone broke up with their girlfriend recently. Mix a little of rock, rap, and electronica for a soundtrack everybody can enjoy. 

    Switch drivers when necessary, to make sure everyone gets to the destination safely.  If it’s late at night and the driver is tired, talk to them and keep some conversation. Remember they want to sleep just like the others in the backseat are already are.

    Drink responsibly, no one wants to be their buddy’s chaperone the whole week, handle yourself and what you put in your body. 

    Florida State University attendee, Moremi Vassall has a warning for other students to ”Go with a group of people  you know. Don't do anything illegal, you will get caught…the police are like hounds during spring break.”

    The last thing to remember is nothing ever goes perfect as planned and unexpected setbacks might occur. In the end, following these tips will help turn an ordinary spring break into an extraordinary one.

The Dangers of Social Media

Carissa Perry-Smith

Staff Writer

    Social networking is intended to be a fun way to connect with friends and family. However, if the person is not using it properly then it could be more harmful than enjoyable. Students especially need to realize the dangers of sending and or posting inappropriate or explicit pictures. Things posted online could ruin a person’s chances of getting into a university, get a person in trouble at work or fired, and can ultimately put the person at risk for sexual predators. 

    A person is not able retract what they send once they send it. That is why it is most important not to send nude pictures to anyone. Once you send it, that person has free reign to send or post the pictures wherever they please. Once a picture is shared the sky is the limit as to where it can go via the world-wide web. 

    According to www.dosomething.org, 22 percent of high school age teens and 33 percent of college students have been involved in some form of “sexting”. 17 percent of “sexters” share the messages they receive with others, and 55 percent share them with more than one person.  

    On Wednesday Feb. 5, the Pembroke Pines Police Department received a complaint about students as young as 12 years of age having their naked pictures posted via social media. Since then they have heard from over 20 victims who have found their pictures online. 

    The main social media website that these pictures are being posted on is Instagram. Multiple accounts with similar names were created to prevent police from tracking the accounts. Police say that these pictures could have been stolen from students’ cellphones without their knowledge or consent.

    “Everyone was shouting the page out on Instagram so they could be accepted and see the pictures. I reported the accounts multiple times. Whoever did this is disgusting,” said BC student Dominique Brito.

    Investigators are still unsure about how many people are involved in creating the accounts.

Detective Mike Silver said that the creators could be facing either state or federal charges. Anyone who possessed or transmitted these pictures could also be looking at charges, even the victims. Child pornography is considered a felony. 

    Whoever posted these pictures also asked followers to send them additional pictures with the victim’s name, age, and the school they attend. The victims are from schools all over Broward County; most of which are underage. 

    The Broward School District police and the FBI have also joined the investigation.

“People need to be aware of what data they have on their phone. It’s better not to have it so it can’t be uploaded without the consent of the sender,” said Silver.

    Students need to be aware that anything they send to friends or family via text or e-mail can end up on social networking websites. They also need to understand that anything they post could get them into trouble or could be blown out of context. 

    If you don’t want your private moments or images to end up in a social network site, avoid having or taking any “inappropriate” snapshots. You never know who will see them, it could be your future university and/or employer.