What do students do after graduating High School? The answer to this varies greatly across the globe, however, in America it is rather uniform. 65.9% of graduating High School students in the US will go into college the following year. Massachusetts even goes above the national average with a 73.2%. Even going around Woburn Memorial High School, the answer seems quite uniform, as many plan on “going to a 4 year college”.

Over the last decade college costs have increased noticeably; Private Nonprofit Four-Year College tuitions have doubled. Even with most students planning to go to college, the question that comes into mind is affordability. Can students, in our current economic recession pay for college? Is it even in their best interest to go to college, to put the burden of student loans onto the dawn of their adult life? Is college today worth the cost?

“Yes, it’s only a small part of your life, you can pay it back” said Douglas Huynh

But how small is it? How much do you pay back? Given Massachusetts’s 73.2% of students going on to college, many would probably agree with Douglas’s statement. Patrick Hurley agreed, considered the rising costs of college versus the educational value.

“College is still worth the cost,” stated Hurley.

Contrary to Douglas’s and Patrick’s statements, Senior James Rankin disagreed. 

“No…. You could teach yourself for a lot less,” argued Rankin.

What is a lot less? What is the cost? Each college is different both in its education features and in its costs. Nonetheless seniors gave broad estimates for what they expected to pay for college in four years.

“$200,000” mentioned Douglass given a broad estimate. 

“min $150,000, max $250,000,” said James Rankin – who said he would “probably” go to college despite believing it costs more than its worth.

$200,000 dollars, simply put, is a significant amount, an amount high enough to buy a small home or a luxury car (or two). However, acquiring this amount of money for tuition, fees, or other educational expenses is far from impossible. Student loans exist for the purpose of allowing students to go to college and pay the bill later. The difficulty, however, is how to pay back the money; how long it takes to be fully rid of debt.

“20 years” responded Douglass Huynh in a more serious tone.

20 years is a significant amount of time and it’s not far from the truth, on average it takes 21 years to pay off student loans (Bidwell). After the 21 years the debt is finally paid off, however not everyone would regard 21 years as “a small part of your life.” That being said, if college allows you to get a well-paying job then college may indeed be only a “small part” of your life.

“$80,000 - $90,000” said Douglass Huynh giving a range for what he expects to be paid per year when he enters his field of choice, biomedical engineering.

Is college worth its cost? Is the cost of college grown to be too staggering or outpaced its worth? For some the answer may very well be yes, yes that college has become so expensive that it is beyond its value. Yet, $90,000, even $80,000 a year is undeniably enough for a comfortable life. Perhaps college is no longer a continuation of high school, no longer definite stepping stone, but rather a choice, a choice to invest for the future or a choice to avoid and get a head start in the adult world.

Works Cited

Bidwell, Allie. "Student Loan Expectations: Myth vs. Reality." US News. U.S.News & World Report, n.d. Web. 25 Sept. 2015.

"College Participation Rates: College-Going Rates of High School Graduates - Directly from High School." HigherEdInfo.org: College-Going Rates of High School Graduates. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Sept. 2015.

"Highest Paying Associate Degrees by Salary Potential." Highest Paying Associate Degrees. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Sept. 2015.

"How Much You Need To Work To Cover Tuition in 1978 vs. 2014." Attn:. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Sept. 2015.

Norris, Floyd. "Fewer U.S. Graduates Opt for College After High School." The New York Times. The New York Times, 25 Apr. 2014. Web. 25 Sept. 2015.

"Tuition and Fees and Room and Board over Time." - Trends in Higher Education. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Sept. 2015.

Weissmann, Jordan. "53% of Recent College Grads Are Jobless or Underemployed—How?" The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, 23 Apr. 2012. Web. 25 Sept. 2015.

Weissmann, Jordan. "How Bad Is the Job Market for the College Class of 2014?" N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Sept. 2015.

What do you think of when you hear "twin"?

by Krysten Lyle

My brother, Chris, and I as adorable kids.

What do you think of when you hear twin? Most likely you think the common stereotypes: twins act alike, dress alike, are practically the same person, and have twin telepathy.

As a girl with a twin brother I can tell you most of those aren't true. Sure it's cute to match your twin when you're a little kid and it's fun to confuse people when you are identical, but as my fellow twin and I grow up all that gets pretty annoying. Of course the first few times when people ask you if you're identical after you explain in detail that your twin is of a different gender, as in a fraternal twin, you answer nicely. After you get asked that question almost every time you mention your twin your response is a sigh and you walk away. Can you really blame us? 

Aside from the difficulty of explaining identical and fraternal, twins have other myths to disclaim.  Sophomore James Burke explained  his views on being a twin.

"My life as a twin is fun," he says "[Kevin and I] are really close. Even though we yell at each other all the time, he does everything for me and I do everything for him." He also feels that twin telepathy is a myth. "...It doesn't exist. I never experienced it before and neither has any other twin I know," said Burke.

What about the whole sharing everything deal? Most kids would probably be annoyed and jealous to share their birthday with someone, especially when younger twin who always gets "Happy Birthday" sung to last. Honestly, it's not that bad. No, my brother and I don't share a room, but we share teachers, a birthday, and a whole bunch of other things, but it's not that bad. After almost 16 years you're used to it. Isabelle Claude, a sophomore, agrees.

"When it comes to you being a twin you basically share everything. Teachers, coaches, a birthday. Some people just know me as Nelson's twin sister or know Nelson as Isabelle's twin brother," stated Claude. "It can get annoying, my whole life I've gotten half of something, it's like getting one shoe instead of a pair!" 

What if we had been identical twins? If I had an identical twin I would have to apologize to everyone.  I know how I am and if there were two of me, oh my! Never mind the jealousy! Claude speculated on life with an identical twin.

"...She would be my best friend, but I feel like I would get envious over the little things and I wouldn't want to be in competition my whole life," mentioned Claude.

I 100% understand especially since my twin is my only sibling and wouldn't know how to handle a sister.

All this talk about a twin and I haven't introduced you to mine yet.  My partner in crime is Christopher Lyle, born one hour before me December 29. After asking several times and being avoided,  he finally explained what it was like to be a twin.

"Being a twin is like having another sibling, we just have a strong bond.  The whole telepathy thing doesn't exist we are just so close we know what we're thinking and we finish each other's sentences for the same reason," Lyle replied.

I wouldn't change being a twin for the world.

He and I both know that we are always there for each other. I really wouldn't know what my life would be like without him.

Our parents shared their thoughts about my brother and I being very close twins.

"Twin telepathy, I never experience it myself, but seeing my twins experiencing something like it, it makes you wonder.  When we found out we were going to have twins we were excited to experience a whole new way of raising children. Since we never found out the genders until birth, once we found out it was a boy and girl, knowing I might not have children again due to a high risk pregnancy, we were excited to know we were going to have one of each,” my mother, Marie Lyle explained.

Despite the couple hours of labor, one natural birth, one c-section, almost dying several times, and my dad almost having to make a decision between the love of his life and his newly born children who were also dying, my mother firmly stated, "I wouldn't change it for anything... not in a million years." Seeing the way her eyes lit up over the memories was really a sight to see.

Having a twin is normal for me. Sure it's a cool thing to mention about you, but really, we are just like everyone else. Yet, I wouldn't change it for the world. 

Straight Outta Compton a hit with Generation Xers and Millennials alike

by George Rosatone

Straight Outta Compton is one of the most popular docu-dramas to date. A large portion of the audience involves middle-aged men and women trying to capture a feeling of nostalgia from hearing the classic, controversial music of N.W.A. However, even though the movie is rated R, many of the seats in the theatres were taken up by teenagers and young adults as well.

The reason behind the Millennial following is that in the 90s, N.W.A started a new trend in music that still carries on to this day. N.W.A, with Dr. Dre’s mixing and production skills, as well as Ice Cube’s gritty, violent lyrics and Eazy-E’s rhythm, were among the first to write rap music about real, controversial events. With songs like “Straight Outta Compton”, and “F--- Tha Police”, they spoke out about the racism, poverty, and gang-related issues many African Americans had to face in downtown L.A.

This once unique style has continues to stay fresh and enjoyable through the decades, as the young people of this generation still listen to rap groups like D12, or even solo artists, like Drake, Kendrick Lamar, or Eminem. The fact seems to stay though, as many of these new listeners all understand that N.W.A. are legends in the music industry. Even now, N.W.A’s albums still sell relatively well, especially in light of the new movie.

 A few students at WMHS even went to go see the film and most if not all seemed to enjoy it.

“My favorite part was when the gang member got onto the school bus and pointed the gun at the troublemakers. This scene shows that gang members in Compton were not afraid to get up close and personal in public,” said sophomore Luke Abreu.

Sophomore Jonah Barnes-Guzman “when the group [N.W.A.] had live performances” most. This style of scene occurred quite a few times during the film, showing a dramatized version of an N.W.A. concert.

Similarly, sophomore Taylor Lages said “my favorite part of the whole movie was the use of the music in the background of most scenes.”

The use of music was phenomenal, as the movie provided nearly every track off of the Straight Outta Compton album, as well as related titles such as "Boyz in the Hood" by Eazy-E. The music not only makes for great background music, but also displays the progression of N.W.A. as artists over the years.

Overall, the movie was a huge success, among teenagers and 80s kids alike. The legendary tracks from N.W.A. appeal to almost all audiences of the rap genre, and the group’s music is still amongst some of the most popular to this day. The nearly two and a half hour long movie had definitely met the standards that the group’s music set.