The Shark Reports

Knowledge is Power
By Claire Brown, Shark Correspondent

If you have a Facebook account chances are you have seen a video going around called "KONY 2012." KONY 2012 was released on Monday, March 5. That very night it made its way all the way to this small town girl`s Facebook newsfeed, it has now been two weeks and the video has been watched 74,311,494 times.

I`m not writing to tell you to go buy a Kony 2012 T-shirt.

If you haven`t watched the 29 minute documentary I`m going to give it to you in a nutshell. The video was created by the company Invisible Children. The purpose of the video is to raise awareness of Joseph Kony. Kony is number one on the International Criminal Court`s 10 Most Wanted list for "crimes against humanity." For about 22 years Kony has been leading the Lord`s Resistance Army (LRA). The LRA is different from your typical army in that it is all children. Can you imagine your 12 year old being sent into the military? No? I can`t picture it either. In Uganda and other areas affected by Kony this is a reality for many parents. Kony abducts children and forces them to join his army. He gives the boys guns and forces them to kill people, sometimes even their own parents. He turns the girls into sex slaves. In the past 22 years Kony has abducted over 30,000 children and made them join his army.

This article isn`t about Kony though. This article is about changing the world and how we can do it.

But first of all, after watching this video I had to ask myself, what does this say about human equality in our world? I`ll tell you what it says... there is none. Absolutely none. Imagine if someone tried to start a group similar to the LRA in America...I can assure you that the number of children abducted would come nowhere near 30,000. If a person set out to perform these crimes in the United States he or she would be stopped immediately. Also, in America it would be making national news the next day. In Africa, Kony has been doing this for 22 years and 99% of the world`s population had never heard his name.

Things are changing though. We live in a time where two people on opposite ends of the world can share ideas, thoughts, laughs, and information in a matter of seconds via the internet. There is no reason that with today`s technology there should be anymore secrets like Kony and the LRA. There are more people on Facebook than there were on the planet 200 years ago. Knowing that we should really all try to educate ourselves on problems in the world and work together to make a difference. The cool thing about Facebook is it allows us to all work together. One person alone can`t do much, but all of us together are capable of changing the world.

Really people, it would not be that hard to make a difference today. It just takes teamwork. We are blessed to live in America, but we could have been born into Uganda or another struggling part of our world just as easily. And if you were one of the children born there and you knew of this great country where everyone was free and had rights wouldn`t you long for those free people to do something to help you? I know I would.

We are all human, take away our outward appearance and we are all exactly alike. We all start out the same way and we`re all constructed the same way. So why is that we as Americans can sit back and watch turmoil unfold in the world and not do anything. How can we watch people who are JUST LIKE US struggle and fight for their life and not do anything. Especially when it`s so easy to do something in today`s world. You don`t have to go out and spend tons of money that you don`t have on campaigning for a cause. All you have to do is educate yourself and put it on your Facebook...20 minutes later and you have educated at least 10 people. 10 people who can now go educate more people. You don`t have to make an effort to go out and help. Just watch the Kony 2012 video. Watch other similar video. Watch the news. Read the paper. Know what`s going on because where you live shouldn`t determine if you live. Knowledge is power-and power can change the world.

Excitement over the Upcoming: "The Lucky One"
Chloe Reynolds, Shark Correspondent

Well folks, Zac Efron is back on the big screen with a new film based off of Nicolas Sparks` book called, "The Lucky One".

The film is about a Marine named Logan Thibault who has a difficult time falling back into step with life in Colorado after returning from serving three tours in Iraq. He decides to travel to North Carolina where he expects to find an unknown woman whose picture he believes had given him luck during the war.

The director, Scott Hicks, is best known for screen writing and directing the movie "Shine" in 1996. He is also known for directing the film "No Reservations" in 2007.

With one hour and forty-one minutes to tell this touching story, many of Sparks` and Efron`s fans will be rapidly filling up the theater seats within the first week of release on April 20, 2012. Being a new fan of Nicolas Sparks and a fan of Zac Efron, I plan to be in one of those theater seats the day of release. So, if you are a fan of either Mr.Efron or Mr. Sparks, buy your tickets and be ready to grab the best seat in the room to watch the action go down.