Tweets from a lockdown

“Check internal for further instructions.”

That command to teachers over the intercom at Hillsborough High last week meant we were on lockdown, with only 30 minutes left until the end of the day. Wonderful.

While the teacher checked the computer for information, students checked their Twitter accounts.
Thanks to those students with a view of Wylder Street, we learned there were “Helicopters, rifles, and billions of cops” @alex_lutton (Alex Lutton, sophomore) arriving at the school.

The atmosphere wasn’t panicky, probably because we knew the school grounds were teeming with law enforcement. But my thoughts still drifted to the Newtown, Conn., school massacre in December, and I wasn’t the only one whose head whipped around to look out the classroom door window every time we heard the swish of someone passing by in the hall.

One cop, two cops, three cops. Eventually I lost count, and students became more restless as the lockdown dragged on and we still didn’t know its cause. Someone started a hashtag: #lastminuteconfession (#LMC).

Soon the principal, with no explanation, announced over the intercom that everyone was safe and we would be out in no time.

Again, Twitter filled in the blanks: It’s okay guys, someone threw a firecracker @CaseySeguiti (Casey Seguiti, junior). We continued to entertain ourselves: #LastMinuteConfessions I never liked any of you

@Superstar (Kendall Gribble, junior), and #LMC I know all your secrets, @erin_mclachlan (Erin McLachlan, senior).

Meanwhile, law enforcement officers had a lead that the firecracker thrower was wearing pink tights and furry white boots. No furry boots in my classroom, so they moved on.

THEY’RE FINALLY STARTING TO LET US OUT PRAISE THE LORD@kevinstephens (Kevin Stephens. senior).

At 4:02 p.m. we began to exit the school, a great relief to us, and to our bladders.

RACHEL MOWAT, Hillsborough High

A beautiful thing

When Blake High added a few single-gender classes to its lineup, reading teacher Sunny Royal-Boyd says she had her doubts about whether she would like the new system. Now she couldn’t be more proud of “Mrs. Boyd’s Beauties,” which is what their class T-shirts proclaim. Do girls rule? The girls’ class had higher grades on a semester exam, which won them a pizza party.

Making a school 'governor-ready' (pictured above)

Florida Gov. Rick Scott paid a visit to Dixie Hollins High last Friday to launch the online Algebra Nation program developed by the University of Florida to help students succeed on the Algebra 1 end of course exam. The governor was at the school for just an hour and a half, but man, did the visit take lots of planning. Here are just some of the things the Dixie Hollins student government had to oversee to get the school “Governor” ready:

• Make sure any place on campus where the governor would be was freshly painted.

• Lay new sod.

• Put in new mulch around trees.

• Order food, drinks and snacks to be available for the governor and his entourage and other visiting dignitaries.

• Make sure that there were no stains on the carpets in the library where the governor spoke to the press.

• Remind the student body to be on their “best behavior,” as they always are!

• Make sure there was more than one restroom always in proximity and available as the governor toured the school. (This was a tough one since you can’t move restrooms around).

Radio re-do

Up until recently, 97X was known for its no-filter morning show, with Drew, Seth and Danielle dishing on “The Morning X” and providing alternative rock fans with the new, the old, the good and the bad. Flip to 97.1 today and instead you’ll hear a computer automated voice letting you know what’s up next. Who’s picking the music? The fans. This means the rock station can now be heard playing Macklemore’s Thrift Shop and just about anything else, thanks to the new app where fans can vote any genre/artist up or down. Devoted listener Jessica Klein, East Lake High junior, is not amused.   

How long have you been listening to 97X?
Since I started driving, so only a year and a half. The regular stations that everyone listens to like 93.3 FLZ were getting old, and I started to love 97X music.

How’d you first handle the change?
I was very angry when I found out. I realized there wouldn’t be a morning show anymore and I immediately started wondering what would happen to the concerts they hold. I went to my mom and started ranting, but when she didn’t understand I went straight to Twitter.

Are you going to keep listening?
At first I was dead set against it, but then I turned it on and I was not as upset as I thought I would be because they’re still playing some of the music I like. A lot of older music isn’t played anymore though, which is kinda disappointing. So, basically I still listen to it sometimes, but recently my iPod has taken over the radio in my car because of the change.

So was the morning show a big reason you listened to 97X?
It was my alarm clock in the morning and kept me sane on my drive to school. A computerized voice can never replace it.

What made the old 97X better than the new?
I think a lot of it was the personalities on the show. So many people enjoyed driving to school and work listening to the morning show and their hilarious conversations. They all had such great chemistry and I’m sad to see it end. I also always knew 97X was the station to get away from the pop music on other stations. I always had faith that they would play good music, and now you never know what you’re going to hear.

—  KATIE LAMONT, East Lake High