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Volume 22, Issue 8, Saint Thomas Aquinas April 8, 2010 INSIDE Christina Miller endures hardships Christina Miller faces hard times with positive thinking and support from others. KEVIN WATSON Campus News Editor The power of positive thinking does more to help the sick and op- Tired of the craziness of Math Hall? pressed than one can imagine. Senior See page 3 Christina Miller knows this is true. She lives each day thanking God for all of her blessings, and makes a sincere effort to bring happiness to those she encoun- ters. In the 18 years of her life, she has had 32 surgeries, countless IV’s, and too many labs and blood work taken Photo Courtesy of Christina Miller to count. Christina and her twin sister Christina Miller prepares to cut her hair for Wigs Out with Amanda Robison and her sister Ana Miller. Ana were both born prematurely at 26 ½ weeks. Christina was also born with a condition called hydro- low more room for her growing brain. from school, Christina was hospital- so positive and upbeat. She considers cephalus. This condition causes excess “My brain was ized. Only two her rough times and challenges blessings cerebrospinal fluid to collect on the literally too big weeks later, from God. She accepts God’s blessings brain because it doesn’t drain properly. for my skull,” “I couldn’t go through everything after the medi- and gains strength. One of her first surgeries was to put in joked Christina. that I have if I didn’t try to make cine had failed “I try to make the most of these a shunt that goes through her ventricles She spent 24 to alleviate her blessings, and make life better around down through her neck and into her consecutive days the world around me better.” headaches, she me by being positive, because me being abdomen where all the excess fluid is in Children’s had another negative doesn’t help anything at all,” then absorbed. She went almost 11 years Mercy Hospital - Christina Miller, senior surgery. A Christina said. without any major health problems. Her during February lumbarper- Christina has drawn from the Aqui- healthy streak ended freshman year. and March. She hid severe headaches itineal shunt was put in her back and nas community for strength, friendship Need a better alarm clock? Check Growth to adulthood is hard on any that began in early January from her wrapped around internally to the end if and inspiration. Cross country runners, out these funky inventions, pages 6 teenager, but for Christina it involves family and doctors. She has had enough her ventriperitineal shunt. The rest of especially, gave Christina support. and 7. extra difficulties. She has had to un- experience from CT scans and head- this semester has been more of the same dergo two cranial expansion surgeries. aches to know that nothing can be done as Christina was sent home, allowed to The first occurred when she was only until the pain is almost unbearable. return to school, and made many return four. The last surgery took place right Christina’s pain was first discovered trips to the hospital for a staph form of before spring break. During the surgery, when she collapsed and blacked out. meningitis infection. See AQUINAS STUDENTS SUPPORT doctors “shaved” the inside of her skull While the rest of Aquinas’ students were After all that Christina has gone CHRISTINA MILLER’S RECOVERY, bone to expand the space inside and al- enjoying their extended snow day break through, people are amazed to find her page 9 Enrollment process gets a virtual up- Baseball season kicks off with their first game against Bishop Miege, grade page 11. MITCHELL COTA Reporter This year’s class enrollment process underwent a major overhaul from the old fill-in-the-dots format to the updated method of online class selection. MAX WILBER/ The Shield This new format came along with (Left to right) The Apple iPhone and the LG Chocolate Touch. Aquinas’ updated computer system, Sky- ward. The old computer system, SASI, did not have this capability. Starting 36 next year, Skyward will allow students to see their grades whenever they want Touch-screen phones compete to through a program called Skyward Family Access. Virtually anything can be an app. iPhone The LG Chocolate Touch by Veri- “[Skyward] will also be able to The iPhone causes users can play almost any games, get zon also has many cool features, includ- print students’ schedules from home, homework help, find new recipes, and ing music capabilities such as syncing so no more long lines the first week of competition for the best even make travel plans. For example, music from the computer to the phone, school to reprint a schedule,” Registrar if someone wants to find a certain res- creating and managing playlists, and Ellen White said. touch-screen phone be- taurant, there is an application to show storing up to 250 songs. It costs $49.99 Class enrollment has three steps. tween phone companies. them the closest one and its address. with a two year contract. First are the presentations in the evening The iPhone also has features that are “The LG Chocolate Touch is my for each class. The second step is filling 31 available on most phones, such as the first touch screen phone. I had some out a course enrollment worksheet and internet, shortcuts to email, texting and problems adjusting to it but now I love planning out future courses. Finally, social networking websites such as it.” sophomore Jana Coombs said. students come to the computer lab and MAGGIE FOLEY Facebook and MySpace. The 8 GB 3G The Samsung Highlight by T- enter their course selections. Reporter iPhone is $99, the 16 GB 3GS is $199 Mobile also has features such as a music After all the courses are selected, and the 32 GB is $299. The fact that the player, voice activated functions, and tallies are made. Some courses do not iPhone has so many applications avail- downloadable ringtones. It is $59.99 make the final cut due to the minimum Cell phones have become an impor- able and still sell for a reasonable price with the Even More plan and $219.99 number of students not being met. tant part of people’s daily routines, and is why many people are trying to create with the Even More Plus plan. Teachers are assigned their courses and providers continue to improve upon the a phone to compete with it. “I had to charge my old phone then the computer generates a schedule. original models with new features and The LG Xenon by AT&T, with every day, but now I only have to charge “The final step is the creation of a designs. its music player, streaming radio, and it every other day,” sophomore Lizzie master schedule and 1,060 new student 33 Cell phones have evolved greatly touch screen, is one of the many phones Marshall said. “It’s really convenient.” schedules,” White said. since they were introduced around 1973. created to rival the iPhone. Although The LG Lotus Elite by Sprint has It is rare to get a schedule that can Today, one very its design is different similar features as the iPhone, including accommodate 100 percent of every stu- popular phone, the “The LG Chocolate Touch is than the iPhone’s, the GPS, TV, and voice activated calling. It dent’s choices, but White and Castinado Apple iPhone, has Xenon has games, has a unique square shape with an exter- can get close. The new enrollment pro- many capabilities my first touch screen phone. I video share, Internet nal touch screen and Sprint One Click, cess has cleared up some former issues people back then access and texting which is a home screen customized by with class selection. could only dream had some problems adjusting capabilities. It dif- the owner of the phone to more easily “One big problem is [that by Au- a phone would to it, but now I love it.” fers from the iPhone access the application they use most. It gust,] students forget what they choose have. because it is also a is $99.99 with a two year contract and in February, so hopefully Family Access The iPhone - Jana Coombs, sliding phone with mail-in rebate. will help with that,” White said. “Now has thousands of sophomore a full keyboard. It is “I like my phone because it is dif- students will be able to pull up their 20 applications, com- $19.99 with a two ferent from other phones, since it’s a schedule anytime, and if changes need to monly referred year contract and an square and it flips open but it still has be made in the summer they can get that to as “apps.” online discount. a keyboard,” sophomore Marie Radke done before school even begins.” d 2 The Shield Around the Globe April 8, 2010 How Free is Speech? A House Divided on People tend to take the right the United States,” according to interference with school disci- to say whatever they want for gposaccess.gov, restricts “know- pline or the rights of others,” Health Care granted until they are personal- ingly and willfully mailing or the First Amendment rights of ly offended. Protests, offensive otherwise making any threat to teachers and students can’t be Largely split along party lines, the recent vote by the House of speech and censorship are just take the life of, kidnap or inflict taken away. Representatives that passed health care reform to the President's a few examples of things that bodily harm” on the President.

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